Mark Knows It All

Let's try to figure this out. Robert Novak wrote a column a few years ago in which he mentioned that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. Ms. Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, was appointed by the Bush administration to investigate whether or not Saddam Hussein attempted to buy nuclear yellow cake from Niger. Mr. Wilson concluded there was no Niger-Iraq connection, but neglected to report that Saddam did make inquiries as to whether there was nuclear material available. Instead of keeping this information privileged for his employer, the United States Government and the President, Mr. Wilson wrote an Op Ed piece for the New York Times about what he didn't find in Niger. So much for confidentiality of public officials. He then claimed that his wife was "outed" by the Bush Administration as punishment for the Op Ed piece. There is a statute which prevents the outing of our secret agents, but it is highly technical in nature, and involves actual intent. So the Justice De...

President Bush stepped into the big pile with his nomination of Harriet Miers to the United States Supreme Court. Outside of the Iraq War, Bush will be remembered mostly for the mark, or lack thereof, that he will leave on the Supreme Court. Those from the right, who have worked over the years to reign in an activist court, look upon Ms. Miers with dismay. No verifiable conservative credentials raises the fear of the Republican knack of appointing liberals in sheep's clothing to the court, translate Justice Souter and the very late Earl Warren. Those from the left are unjustifiably cackling with glee at the Republican dilemma. After all, Ms. Miers is a born again Christian who has overtly stated she opposes Roe v. Wade, and given the chance, she would vote to overturn it. You got to watch out for those born again Christians. Both sides are pointing to her lack of judicial experience as the pretext to eliminate her from consideration. She is no John Roberts, they say. She needs a cr...

In the wake of Delphi Corporation's bankruptcy, it is time for the United States government to get its head out of the sand and begin to address the issue of a declining American manufacturing base. In a brutally frank news conference on October 13, Robert "Steve" Miller, Chairman and CEO of Delphi, spelled the problem out in frank terms, the truth of which was as refreshing as it was disturbing. Those of us with political science backgrounds tend to be free traders. The number 1 rule in political science is free trade promotes peace and prevents wars. That was the lesson of World Wars I and II. And those of us with rudimentary backgrounds in economics believe in Adam Smith's invisible hand in matters of free enterprise. One can make the argument that free trade and free enterprise are proper approaches when dealing with Japan, Europe, possibly India, and other areas of the world. China is a different ball game. There is no way the United States can compete with China...

My wife had some surgery very early in the morning this past Friday. It was performed at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. As she was wheeled into the operating room, I was directed to the surgical lobby. This 1958 modern, boat shaped addition to the front of the original hospital looked much the same as it had through the 40 something years my father was on the hospital's dental staff. Not much had changed. It is a huge space that defines kitsch. It had the same Crucifix, the same 1950's style furniture, the same reception desk, the same wall clock. The elevators to the rest of the hospital were a marvel of lights on a panel showing which of the many elevators was on which floor, a technological wonder. The only thing missing was Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey. Of course now they had several televisions connected to the myriad of channels offered by Time Warner Cable. I took a seat so I could watch one of them awaiting the completion of the surgery. But the seats close to th...