September 2000

Olympics & Drugs Comment -- Austin, Texas online columnist Mike Jasper thinks its time to allow any kind of performance enhancing drug athletes want for the Olympics -- to level the playing field. In his tongue-in-cheek commentary, he advocates equal opportunity for all players.

Remember the Titans -- Commentator Mark Jenkins was a student at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971. He says the new film Remember the Titans, which is based on events in at Williams High that year, doesn't square with his memory of the school.

Multitasking -- Commentator David Weinberger realizes the current vogue in business to "multitask," but argues that few do it, and no one does it well. Slicing your attention, he says, is like slicing a plum -- you lose some of the juice.

Vision -- Texas writer Kim Lane thinks she has seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary in her coffee cup. She wishes she had gotten a clear message about what exactly this vision means.

Americans & Foreign Affairs -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr reasons that the American electorate's lack of interest in foreign affairs emboldens rogue leaders like Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.

Holding to Principles -- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been blamed for much of the bloodshed in the Balkans. Yet Commentator Iain Guest, a visiting fellow at the Overseas Development Council in Washington, D.C., says the elections this weekend are more about principle than personality. Demonizing Milosevic, Guest says, just strengthens his position.

Teaching Writing -- Commentator and novelist Reynolds Price says writing can indeed by taught -- at least to serious college students, who can learn serviceable prose. He adds that some skill at creative writing can be acquired, but superior creative work is the far rarer result of inborn "neural tilt," and early environment.

Baseball Player -- Danny Perez is a 29-year-old centerfielder with the Aberdeen Arsenal of the independent Atlantic League. He remembers being a Little League phenom as kid in El Paso, Texas.

Marriage -- Commentator Guillermo Gomez-Pena tells the tale of his marriage to his wife Carolina. Their union was a blending of two cultures, Mexican and Colombian, done in what he calls is the most "American" way -- at City Hall. He says their marriage represents a transnational love that defies all boundaries.

Voter Apathy -- Commentator Darrell West, who teaches political science at Brown University, says this could be one of the most exciting and important elections in four decades. But voters are not paying attention to what could be a very exciting race.

Driving Solo -- Commentator Joanne Kaufman just got her drivers license -- at age 41. Her ultimate road test was a trip to the drugstore. She talks about what she missed not being able to drive, the freedom it would have meant as a teenager. Driving solo as an adult is a defining moment she wants to tell everyone about, but the destinations and reasons to drive are different.

Entertainment Violence -- Commentator Nick Gillespie says all the concern this week about the marketing of violence flies in the face of reports showing a decline in violent crime by youth and a decline in birthrates among teens. If rap music, TV and movies are such a danger to our kids, Gillespie asks, then how can their behavior be improving? (3:00)

Martians in Manhattan -- Commentator Hallie Deaktor finds evidence on the subway that aliens are among us. Her suspicion is reconfirmed by another strange being on the street. She says she's ready to join them. After recent news of evidence there might once have been microbial life on Mars, she's not sure of anything anymore.

West Nile Panic -- Commentator Richard Goldstein says the current obsession with West Nile Fever seems strange. Other disease, such as tuberculosis have killed many more people and asthma, which affects thousands of children, is aggravated by cockroaches that infest the ghettos. He says a disease that torments the poor apparently just doesn't push the panic button.

Wen Ho Lee - Analysis -- Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders if American intelligence didn't learn of former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee's suspected espionage for China from the Chinese themselves.

Laura -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu speaks about his girlfriend's love of dogs, and his own dog experience.

Domestic Violence -- As the law now stands, victims of domestic violence can't sue their former partners for the cumulative damage of a long-term abusive relationship. But Commentator Lis Wiehl says the Washington state Supreme Court may change that, opening the door to compensation for victims of domestic violence.

Wheelchair Access Denied -- Reporter Chad Swiatecki, of Michigan's Flint Journal uses a wheelchair. He was assigned last weekend to cover the Al Gore visit to his area. But the auto plant Gore was visiting was not wheelchair accessible, and neither was the bus used by the campaign. The Secret Service would not let Chad follow in his own car. Swiatecki comments on the event.

Middle East -- Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr notes that the prospects are not good for any progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Debates -- Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders why George W. Bush is hesitant to engage Al Gore in presidential debates.

Secret Sauce -- Commentator Amy Dickinson tries to find out the recipe for the "secret" sauce that's powered the Methodist barbecue that's been held every summer weekend since 1949 in her hometown in upstate New York. The secret is: there is no secret after all. It's a myth.

Wine and Beer -- Commentator Lenore Skenazy has some thoughts on the history of wine and beer inspired by a museum visit.


Return to the Commentaries main page.