Commentary

In college, I was a weekly columnist for The Colgate Maroon-News, and later The Scarlet at Clark University.

This is, theoretically, every opinion piece I've ever published. Most of them have comics to go along with them. I haven't had time to clean the comics up for the web, and I kept them small to save on file sizes, so sometimes the writing is hard to read. Try hovering over the link to see the text of the comic.

Because I knew zip about politics when I started writing these commentaries, many of the earlier ones (especially the first two years) are rather embarassingly terrible, in both content and execution. If you read one and cringe, just assume I'm older and wiser now and would disavow the cringe-worthy parts.

I've also included some of the comics I drew to illustrate other people's commentaries. These are marked with the smaller bullet (), and I do not necessarily endorse (and did not necessarily ever endorse) the opinions expressed by them.

First-year
Fall   |  Spring		 | Sophomore
Fall   |  Spring		 | Junior
Fall   |  Spring		 | Senior
Fall   |  Spring
Grad Year 1
Fall   |  Spring		 | Grad Year 2
Fall   |  Spring		 | Grad Year 3
Fall   |  Spring

The Big Ol' List:

Spring 2005 -- Grad Year 3

#Hubbert's Iceberg [Comic]
28 April 2005

#Separation of Powers [Comic]
21 April 2005

#One Death Into Many Lives
24 March 2005
Comic

#Full Plate [Comic]
24 March 2005

#Death Penalty Losing Support
3 March 2005
The title here is apparently based on only the opening paragraph, since I go on to argue that support for the death penalty is actually fairly strong, but that that should change.

#Stating the Obvious [Comic]
3 March 2005

#Forgive And Forget [Comic]
24 February 2005

#U.S. Won't Shoulder Kyoto Responsibility
17 February 2005
Comic

#Summers Slammed [Comic]
17 February 2005

Fall 2004 -- Grad Year 3

#Maine Debates Over North Woods
2 December 2004
Comic

#Warning Label [Comic]
2 December 2004

#Same-Sex Situation Not As Bleak As It Seems
18 November 2004
Comic

#Curse Of The Bechtel-bino [Comic]
18 November 2004

#Draft Fears Overestimate George Bush
11 November 2004
Comic

#Distant Third [Comic]
11 November 2004

#Candidates Finally Get Real About Terrorism, Get Blasted By Critics
28 October 2004
Comic

#Campaign Healing [Comic]
28 October 2004

#Environment Shows True Nature Of Bush
21 October 2004
Comic

#Circular Logic [Comic]
21 October 2004

#A New Rise Of Brutality: Justice
7 October 2004
I have no idea what that title means. The article behind it is about outsourcing torture.
Comic

#Insatiable [Comic]
7 October 2004

#On Eradicating Gay Republicans
30 September 2004
Comic

#Circus Security [Comic]
30 September 2004

#Native Americans Find Their Voice
23 September 2004
Comic

#Follow The Yellow Chad Road [Comic]
23 September 2004

Spring 2004 -- Grad Year 2

#Can We Draft An Anti-War Movement?
29 April 2004
Comic

#Low Wages Every Day [Comic]
29 April 2004

#Democrats Don't Need McCain To Win In '04
15 April 2004
Comic

#Death And Tax Evasion [Comic]
15 April 2004

#Bush's EPA: More Mercury, Less Justice
8 April 2004
Comic

#With Our Hands Full [Comic]
8 April 2004

#This Article Is Beyond The Pale
1 April 2004
Comic

#Think Locally, Pollute Globally [Comic]
1 April 2004

#Bush: Blinding US With Mad Science
25 March 2004
Comic

#One Nation Inconsistent [Comic]
25 March 2004

#GOP: Small Government, Big Bills
4 March 2004
Comic

#Liberté? Non! [Comic]
4 March 2004

#These Pictures Are Worth 1000 Vows
26 February 2004
Comic

#Guard Dogs And Fat Cats [Comic]
26 February 2004

#Will Deaniacs Become Naderites?
19 February 2004
Comic

#Buck Of Mass Destruction [Comic]
19 February 2004

#BSE ... It's What's For Dinner
12 February 2004
Comic

#The Enemy Within [Comic]
12 February 2004

#Getting Out As Fast As We Got In
5 February 2004
Comic

#No Cigar [Comic]
5 February 2004

Fall 2003 -- Grad Year 2

#Colonial Legacy Is Mugabe's Excuse
11 December 2003
Comic

#Wrong Order [Comic]
11 December 2003

#Energy Bill: Pro Capitalism Or Pro Capitalist?
20 November 2003
Comic

#The Mayhem-flower [Comic]
20 November 2003

#State Of The Union: The New Face Of Labor
13 November 2003
Comic

#Bombing The Hand That Feeds You [Comic]
13 November 2003

#Senators Come Up Short On Air Quality
6 November 2003
Comic

#Y'all Should Vote Democratic [Comic]
6 Novembber 2003

#Veto This? Cuba And Bush In 2004
30 October 2003
Comic

#Fighting Fire With Rhetoric [Comic]
30 October 2003

#Disillusioned With Howard Dean
16 October 2003
Comic

#Blessed Are Ye Who Are Persecuted [Comic]
16 October 2003

#If A Tree Falls, Does A Voter Make A Sound?
9 October 2003
Comic

#Lawnmower Politics [Comic]
9 October 2003

#Dem Candidates On The Defensive
2 October 2003
Comic

#God On The Dole [Comic]
2 October 2003

#Does A Man Need A Woman?
25 September 2003
Comic

#Georgepetto And His Puppet [Comic]
25 September 2003

#The Second Coming Of Clinton
18 September 2003
Comic

#Don't Tease The Dog [Comic]
18 September 2003

#Bush's Big Government Straw Man
11 September 2003
Comic

#Paging Dr. Multilateral [Comic]
11 September 2003

#See No Quagmire [Comic]
4 September 2003

Spring 2003 -- Grad Year 1

#Farm Subsidies Suffocate South
17 April 2003
Finally, I get to bash farm subsidies.
Comic

#Iraqi Dumpty [Comic]
17 April 2003
The nursurey rhyme misses one point, though -- the king's horses and men didn't push Humpty off the wall.

#Democrats To The Right Of Bush
10 April 2003
This column is a bit jumbled, as evidenced by the fact that I wasn't sure if my comic should be about Bush or about Dean.
Comic

#United We Fight [Comic]
10 April 2003

#Making A Moral Case For Gay Rights
3 April 2003
Comic

#No Funding Left Behind [Comic]
3 April 2003
This is my tribute to Howard Dean, since the "Bush's education plan is an unfunded mandate" idea came straight out of his talking points.

#Stereotypes, Trust, And Kennewick Man
27 March 2003
This article was written for Different Voices, Clark's multicultural publication. It's in part a rehashing in layman's terms of my anthropology seminar paper. The overall argument is a bit stretched because I was trying to make it fit the theme of the Spring 2003 issue, which was "stereotypes."

#Combat Is A Woman's Choice
27 March 2003
Comic

#Snip [Comic]
27 March 2003
I thought this one might be a little tough to make out, but our Editor in Chief mentioned she liked it, so I guess not.

#Playing Political Games With Estrada
20 March 2003
I thought up the comic for this as a stand-alone, but then I didn't have any other good ideas for an article, so I went with it.
Comic

#Let's Call The Whole Thing Off [Comic]
20 March 2003
No endorsement of Louis Prima should be inferred from this title.

#Out Of The Finance Pan, Into The Fire
27 February 2003
Comic

#"Real" Funny [Comic]
27 February 2003
I decided to mix it up with some non-political topics. And I was tired of doing stuff about Iraq.

#Israelis, Belgians Butting Heads
20 February 2003
Comic

#Kurdish Heartbreak [Comic]
20 February 2003

#Dispute Over Darwin And Divine
13 February 2003
This column doesn't state its real argument until halfway in.
Comic

#My Enemies Must Be Friends [Comic]
13 February 2003

#Preserving Language Preserves Identity
11 February 2003
I wrote this for the 13 February issue of The Scarlet, but decided it was pretty shoddy and wrote a new one on a different topic. I kept this as backup, but never needed it.

#Francophilia vs. Francophobia
6 February 2003
It was the week of the Columbia shuttle disaster and Colin Powell's presentation to the UN, and all I could think of to write about was France.
Comic

#Surfing The Foreign Policy Web [Comic]
6 February 2003
Six years after Mrs. McGrath told us no, I finally got a picture of Saddam Hussein in a bikini into the newspaper.

#Take The Sharpton Challenge
30 January 2003
This is a slightly longer version of a post I had just made on my blog.
Comic

#A War Over Oil [Comic]
30 January 2003
I think some people may not have gotten the point of this one (that Russia only wants peace because of oil), since one friend who saw it told me "you're right, we do just want to attack Iraq for their oil."

#War With Iraq Is Inevitable
23 January 2003
I tend to run out of room in these, so the intro states two hypothetical conditions that could stop the war, while the body only deals with one.
Comic

#Abortion Progress [Comic]
23 January 2003
After seeing all the articles rallying people to the pro-choice cause because of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I felt the need to weigh in with my cynical view of the abortion debate. I had come up with the cartoon based on my impressions, but I double-checked with Gallup and found that American attitudes to abortion hadn't changed by more than a few percentage points in the last 30 years.

Fall 2002 -- Grad Year 1

#Back To The USSR In Central Asia
5 December 2002
Another summary article, this time drawing on my research about Central Asia.
Comic

#Betrayal Of Trust [Comic]
5 December 2002
I finally got a chance to take aim at the BIA. I was a bit uncomfortable using the stereotype of the feather headband, but I figured it was better than writing "Native American" across his chest.

#What Is The Bush Administration Hiding?
21 November 2002
This is sort of a summary article about the administration's control of information flows to bolster its own power. The title doesn't capture the idea very well. And I fell into my old trap of getting really extremist at the end of the piece.
Comic

#White House Christmas [Comic]
21 November 2002
I'm proud of this one because I managed to break out of my "two people talking to each other" motif.

#Kurds Complicate U.S.-Turkey Cooperation
14 November 2002
This was supposed to run in the 7 November issue, but when we got to the press at 6 a.m. we discovered that we had two page 9s and had to drop one.
Comic

#Ouch, Putin [Comic]
14 November 2002

#A Scout Is Tolerant [Comic]
7 November 2002

#Chechnya Rebels Undermine Own Cause
31 October 2002
Comic

#North Korea's Nuclear Revelation
24 October 2002
After I published this I realized that, contrary to what I said, North Korea hadn't continued its old weapons program, but rather had started a new secret one after the old one was halted. This oversight still bothers me.
Comic

#Bush Fires [Comic]
24 October 2002
Not my strongest work, but I was short on time and just went with what I had.

#Let Torricelli Keep His Dirty Money
10 October 2002
I got off the Iraq topic by picking the same subject as The Scarlet's other political columnist.
Comic

#Connect The Dots [Comic]
10 October 2002
Harsh, but I think it's my favorite.

#Call Saddam's Bluff
3 October 2002
Comic

#Red Square Webcam [Comic]
3 October 2002
I take on an important campus issue.

#Iraq Won't Fall As Easily As Taliban
26 September 2002
Comic

#Stay Focussed [Comic]
19 September 2002

Spring 2002 -- Senior

#Senior Commentary: With So Many Opportunities, You Can't Help Missing Out
26 April 2002
Moon-Pie!
Photo 1  |  Photo 2

#Editor's Column: Drinking Advice From The Non-Drinker
26 April 2002
I almost never wrote about campus issues, but people were always asking me what I thought about them, especially alcohol. I think they saw me as a sort of reasonable spokesman for non-drinkers. I was worried about writing this column, but it's been rather well received.

#Chirac Should Debate Le Pen
26 April 2002
My last regular column ever. And I wrote about France.
Comic

#Terrorism Muddles Decision To Bury Waste At Yucca Mountain
19 April 2002
I liked this commentary, because I felt like I actually said something different. It wasn't just a reframing of the arguments for or against Yucca Mountain.
Comic

#United States And World Fan Middle East Flames By Protecting Self Interest
12 April 2002
Comic

#American Taliban Becomes Scapegoat In Drive To Bolster Patriotism
5 April 2002
Comic

#Congress Needs To Hear What Ridge Has To Say
29 March 2002
This column wasn't published, for space reasons. And because I couldn't find enough information to have 800 different words to say about it without getting sidetracked into general snarling at the secrecy of the Bush administration.

#Both Palestinians And Israelis See Violence As The Only Road To Peace
8 March 2002
I finally broke my promise never to write about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Comic

#Zimbabwe's Mugabe Takes A Dangerous Path By Silencing Opposition
1 March 2002

#President Bush's Gas Emission Reduction Plan Is A Lot Of Hot Air
22 February 2002
I suppose I have to thank Brad Rules on the Brunching board for provoking andrea/asd109 to provide a bunch of the information I used in this one.
Comic

#DuBois Lecture Gives Alternate Viewpoint On Slavery Reparations
15 February 2002
When I drew the comic for this, I was having trouble remembering whether Robin D.G. Kelley had a goatee or not. I guessed wrong.
Comic

#Bush's Reasons To Face Off Against "Axis Of Evil" Don't Match Facts
8 February 2002
Comic

#Editorial: How Much Is A Big Name Worth?
The next week I did a story that found out that this Editorial was based on hearsay rather than fact. Lesson: do the research first.
8 February 2002

#Vice President's Clintonesque Stonewalling Leads To Assumed Guilt
1 February 2002
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Threatening Situation Takes Away From Bush's Buffoonery" by Andrea Suarez Falken
1 February 2001

#Victims' Fund Not Meant To Compensate For Loss Of Life
25 January 2002
Comic

Fall 2001 -- Senior

#Minor Cloning Advancement Shouldn't Prevent Necessary Deliberation
30 November 2001
And the week after my most vehement commentary, an indecisive commentary worthy of Matt Hagarty.
Comic

#Secret Military Tribunal Shows Bush's Fear Of Justice System
16 November 2001
This is probably the most vehement thing I've ever written. I started writing it even before I finished reading the Washington Post article about the military tribunals. It felt really good to be able to compare Bush to Alberto Fujimori.
Comic

#Assisted Suicide Ban May Be Legal, But Isn't Necessarily Right
9 November 2001
I got a little off base at the end of this, as Ashcroft's job is to enforce the law, not question it.
Comic

#Fake Child Pornographers Unfairly Prosecuted For Evidence, Not Crime
2 November 2001
Ryan said it warmed his heart to see PageMaker give him a message that said "importing porn.tif."
Comic

#No News On The Home Front, IRA Situation Improves
26 October 2001
I really need to teach Compter how to write headlines. No comic this week because I was in Minnesota with the pep band.

#Anthrax Overreaction Infects Apprehensive Public With Unnecessary Paranoia
19 October 2001
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Bin Laden, And Not The United States, Is To Be Held Responsible" by Steve Matzie
19 October 2001

*Comic drawn to illustrate "How To Achieve Academic Excellence, Without Even Trying" by Leslie Happas
19 October 2001

#Cooler Heads Bring Challenges For The President's Support
12 October 2001
The loss of support I predicted didn't come about nearly as quickly as I thought, although the sudden successes in the war may have helped to postpone it.
Comic

#Bin Laden's Gripe Is With American Foreign Policy, Not Freedom
28 September 2001
The text in the comic didn't come out very well, It says "They've supported Israelis, they've helped out Saddam. Near Mecca they've stationed their planes and their bombs."
Comic

#Restraint Necessary To Avid Declaration Of World War III
21 September 2001
Comic

#War Mentality Distorts Perception Of Situation At Hand
14 September 2001
This was perhaps the hardest commentary to write of any in my career. I had to find something I could say in the wake of September 11 that wasn't cliched (like the phrase "in the wake of September 11") or jingoistic.
Comic

#UN Racism Conference Too Broad To Succeed
7 September 2001
Comic

#Stem Cell Foes Answering The Wrong Question
31 August 2001
Another column that indicates how frustrated I am by the abortion battle.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "This 'Buddy' Is No Friend Of Mine" by Josh Klauber
31 August 2001

Spring 2001 -- Junior

#Referendum On Free Trade Would Help To Ensure Fair Trade
27 April 2001
I decided the week before that I wanted to write about the FTAA (I would have done it then, but I didn't know if there would be any big changes, like when the Seattle protests got out of hand, between press time and publication time). Then I decided that globalization was way too big a topic to deal with in 1000 words. So I tried to take an angle that was neither for nor against the FTAA.
Comic

#Editor's Column: Why Not A Pirate?
27 April 2001
This one is in a really different style than my usual ones. And I'm writing about a campus issue. Whoa.

#A Broadcast Execution Is Just What Timothy McVeigh Wants
20 April 2001
It was hard not to turn this one into a general anti-death penalty rant.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Racism Charge Is Overused Against The Right" by Jeffrey Martin
20 April 2001

#Apology Set The Right Tone For Chinese-American Relations
13 April 2001
We got a letter the next week attacking this commentary and Andrea Suarez Falken's take on the issue. Apparently now it's a factual error to suggest that there's anything at all wrong with our judicial system.
Comic

#To Get Tax Cut, Bush Must Regain Control Of National Agenda
6 April 2001
These analysis pieces worry me, because it sounds like I'm endorsing things (like the tax cut) that I'm not.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "China Caused Collision With U.S. Aircraft" by Jeffrey Martin
6 April 2001

#Stopping Anti-Reparations Ad Does Not Advance Racial Debate
30 March 2001
I thought I'd be safe from doubling up topics by writing about an issue that had died down, but Greg Stevenson went and wrote about the same thing (and took the same side).
Comic

#Ready To Play [Comic]
30 March 2001

#Campaign Finance Reform Supports Intent Of First Amendment
23 March 2001
I should have known that everybody and his brother would write about Campaign Finance Reform this week.
Comic

#Drilling In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Is Bad Energy Policy
3 March 2001
I started out meaning to make this an argument about the impact on the local indigenous people, but as I wrote I discovered that I could make a complete argument against the conservative viewpoint on its own economic grounds.
Comic

#Assassination Is Bad Foreign Policy
26 February 2001
This commentary was written for the short-lived Student Discourse site.

#Sanctions Hurt Iraqi People But They Do Not Weaken Saddam
23 February 2001
University Chaplain Nan DeVries kept telling me how wonderful this commentary was. I was honestly more pleased with the comic than with the writing.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "A Tax Cut Is Essential To Bolster The Economy" by Jeffrey Martin
23 February 2001

#Editor's Column: Emissions Trading Is Move In The Right Direction
16 February 2001
I had to write this on an hour's notice because we had a hole for an 800-word article, but Keith Brooks sent us 3000 words. So we bumped Alex's Editor's Column into the hole (which was right under my other article), and I wrote this. I'm kind of unhappy with it, as it was based on a single article from the Washington Post.

#Fight Against Colombian Drugs Should Focus On Demand
16 February 2001
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Bill Clinton Needs To Stay Out Of National Spotlight Now" by Jeffrey Martin
16 February 2001

#Abortion Groups Could Accomplish More By Working Together
9 February 2001
I'm undecided on the most divisive issue in American politics. Yay.
Comic

#Mishandled Deregulation Caused California's Energy Crisis
2 February 2001
This was the commentary that got me noticed by the short-lived Student Discourse site.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Surplus Allows Privatization Of Social Security" by Jeffrey Martin
2 February 2001

Bush's Proposed Tax Cut Would Damage Fiscal Responsibility
26 January 2001
Comic

Fall 2000 -- Junior

#Assembling Bush Administration Shows Motivation
1 December 2000

#Al Gore In '04? Not Likely
17 November 2000
I'd still vote for him, though.

The Cost Of Clean Air: Should Limits Be Put On The EPA?
10 November 2000

#Nader's Greens: How Not To Build A Third Party
3 November 2000
This one didn't actually get published because of space constraints, but I wrote it so I figured I'd stick it up here.

Editor's Column: Bush Is Wrong on Kosovo
27 October 2000
And he took it back not long after I wrote this. Coincidence?

Death Penalty: A Missed Opportunity For Gore Campaign
20 October 2000

#Napster Will Not Be Stopped
13 October 2000
Comic

The Three Faces Of Al Gore
29 September 2000
Comic

#School Vouchers Not Practical For Everyone
15 September 2000
Comic

#Clinton Chooses To Postpone Construction Of Defense System
8 September 2000
The title doesn't show it, but I am against the missile system.
Comic

#Boy Scouts Refute Claims Of Homophobia
1 September 2000
This was a really cathartic commentary. I wanted to write it ever since I heard of the Dale case, but this was my first chance.
Comic

Spring 2000 -- Sophomore

Editor's Column: Decision On Gay Unions Is Commendable
28 April 2000
Unfortunately, the Vermont legislature seems to have been on a higher plane than public opinion.

Law Cuts Into Miranda Rights
28 April 2000
The Supreme Court didn't follow my advice, but it accomplished the right ends without having to trust Congress to overturn a stupid law when it had better things to worry about. Hooray for expediency.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "An Ideal Outlook For Colgate" by Katherine Wiley
28 April 2000

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Sigma Chi's Derby Days Are A Positive Force On Our Campis" by Peter Daunis, and "Derby Days Shoul Recieve The Same Scrutiny As Spring Party" by Andrea Suarez Falken
21 April 2000

Neediest Patients Should Get Organ Donations
14 April 2000
And my advice seems to have been followed.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Beware Of The IM Octopus" by Derek Hom
14 April 2000

Bush Has A Long Way To Go On Environment
7 April 2000
Posting in the Washington Post's forums, I was way too quick to bring up the information I used for this commentary.
Comic

Flag Burning Not As Big A Problem As It Seems
31 March 2000
And yet the issue will get trotted out again every July. *sigh*
Comic

Politics Have No Place In Pope's Mideast Trip
24 March 2000
Just before I placed this story on the page, I checked the news to double-check a spelling and the Pope had changed his trip, thereby throwing the whole original version out of whack. Stupid Pope.
Comic

*Comic drawn to illustrate "Tardiness Is A Campus Problem" by Katherine Wiley
3 March 2000

Drama, Not Conspiracy, Led To McCain's Success
25 February 2000
I still probably would have voted for Gore, but a Gore-McCain race would have been so much better than Gore-Bush.
Comic

People Of China Will Benefit From Free Trade
18 February 2000
Comic

Commandments Belong In Bible, Not School
11 February 2000
Comic

EU Sanctions Will Not Eliminate Right Wing Austrian Party
4 February 2000
For once it was Wahlers, not Brad, who was ripping apart my commentary. But it turned out he agreed with me, he just didn't see my point from the commentary.
Comic

Editor's Column: Confederate Flag Should Not Be Flown
28 January 2000
"The monkey raises the Union flag over the South Carolina Statehouse. The monkey is now wanted for Treason in the state of South Carolina."

We Don't Need "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy
28 January 2000
Comic

Fall 1999 -- Sophomore

FDA Does Not Need To Label Genetically Engineered Foods
3 December 1999
I've lightened up on the issue since then, but I still think people are overreacting the the supposed threat of genetic engineering.
Comic

First Ammendment Protects Prayer At Games
19 November 1999
Comic

Saving Miners' Jobs Doesn't Justify Blowing Up Mountains
12 November 1999
Comic

Fleeing From Police Is Reasonable Grounds For Suspicion
5 November 1999
Comic

"Gay Panic" Is No Excuse For Killer In Matthew Shepard Case
29 October 1999
Comic

Editor's Column: Technology Is Taking Over Our Lives
29 October 1999

World Ignoring Chechen War
22 October 1999
Comic

Rejection of Test Ban Treaty Sent Bad Message
15 October 1999
Comic

Leave Art Censorship To The Artists, Not The Government
1 October 1999
Comic

Federal Lawsuit Against Tobacco Industry Is Long Overdue
24 September 1999
Comic

Congress Must Pass Finance Reform Bill Now
17 September 1999

Editor's Column: Bursting The Colgate Bubble
10 September 1999
I really liked the last two lines of this piece. I got a nasty phone call from a guy who apparently was so upset about the penultimate line that he never finished the commentary to see the joke of it.

No Good Reason To Offer Clemency To Puerto Rican Terrorists
10 September 1999
Based on this commentary, which he happened to agree with, I was asked to work on the campaign of Tony Lopez-Cisneros, an ultra-right-wing (and marginally coherent, to judge from his emails) candidate running for the House of Representatives in Illinois' 4th District.

America Must Take Responsibility In Settlement With China
3 Spetember 1999

Spring 1999 -- First-Year

Reflections On Colgate -- Or Should I Say, Crimegate -- University
23 April 1999
This article was mentioned on a CUTV call-in show that I happened to be watching, but the next caller's comment was "penis," so the discussion changed topics a bit.

Money Should Not Attract Organ Donors In Pennsylvania
16 April 1999

Missouri Voters Made The Right Choice In Concealed Weapons Referendum
9 April 1999

There Are No Decent Solutions To The Ongoing Problems In Kosovo
2 April 1999

The Suicide Doctor, Jack Kevorkian, Has Gone Too Far With Latest Act
26 March 1999
I got a response to this article (one of the very few responses I have ever gotten) from some lady who completely missed my point. I was supporting assisted suicide, but advocating that Kevorkian must maintain a clear line between what he is doing and anything that could be construed as murder.

DNA Testing Of All Suspects Would Improve Justice System
5 March 1999

New York City Car Seizure Policy Merits Consideration
26 February 1999

Punishing Mexico Will Not Help The War On Drugs
12 February 1999

Giant Reflecting Device Would Be Bad Idea
5 February 1999

Social Security Funds Must Not Be Invested In The Market
29 January 1999

World's Governments Alone Cannot Regulate What Goes On Internet
22 January 1999

Fall 1998 -- First-Year

U.S. Must Work With Existing Foreign Governments
20 November 1998
Juxtaposed with Erik Heinle's "It Is Time For The U.S. To Permanently Remove Saddam."

The United States Should Focus On Its Own Greenhouse Emissions Problems First
6 November 1998

UN Must Demonstrate Trust in Iraq And Weaken Its Stance
23 October 1998
Thank you, Jon Egan, for that lovely title.

Colgate's E-Mail Wars Could Teach NATO A Thing Or Two
9 October 1998
This commentary sucked. Even if you agree with the main idea, you have to agree that this sucked. And hoo boy did I hear about it afterward.

The President's Private Life Hardly Deserves The Attention It Is Getting
25 September 1998
I'm surprised at the poor editing in this piece. For example, the fact that they published it.

A Few Days At Colgate Teach Some Important Lessons
28 August 1998
While not technically a commentary, this essay I wrote for the Orientation Issue was what prompted Treff to tell me I should write commentary. Here you can see me failing to be the next Dave Barry.

High School

Smoking -- What To Do About It!
February 1998
My first commentary ever, written as an unsigned editorial for my high school paper, The Avenger. Mrs. McGrath entered it in some high school journalism contest and it won a prize. At the time I was pretty proud of the reasoning in the early part, although now my philosophical bent has taken me far away from rights-based ethics. And you can clearly see my tendency to descend into ludicrous solutions in the end of the piece.

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