editorials

Nov. 30 -- Saving pennies could develop into real money (ARN Editorial): What's a penny worth nowadays? Not a lot, to most of us. In fact, more often than not, pennies are just a bother, something that gets in the way.

Nov. 30 -- Overcoming the glitch (ARN Editorial): The long-term viability of the Social Security program may be under a cloud of doom, but the Social Security Administration is leading the way among federal agencies in solving a more immediate goal - the Year 2000 computer glitch.

Nov. 30 -- Special privileges gum op the works (Molly Ivins): AUSTIN - Here's a wonderful example of a common political problem tied up with the barmy oddity in which the British specialize. Seems they're having an awful time in England right now because the House of Lords is in rebellion.

Nov. 30 -- Clinton is the result of our decadence (Cal Thomas): Theologians call the state in which we find ourselves "contented worldliness," in which nothing matters except our own personal peace and affluence. In Dow Jones we trust.

Nov. 29 -- City Sidewalks means it's time for Christmas (ARN Editorial): Abilenians of a certain age well remember what a magical trip it used to be to come downtown in December to see all the elaborate lighted Christmas displays with which merchants would decorate their display windows.

Nov. 29 -- Hill GOP should heed Gov. Bush (Morton Kondracke): NEW ORLEANS -- When Republican governors and Congressional leaders meet next month, the best thing that could happen is for the Washington gang to begin absorbing Texas Gov. George W. Bush's philosophy of "compassionate conservatism."

Nov. 29 -- House has no choice but to impeach: The House Judiciary Committee hearings still have a ways to go, but there is a sense that with the testimony of Kenneth Starr, the whole issue of the president's possible impeachment has at last reached its climax and is approaching its resolution.

Nov. 29 -- Christmas tree with meaning arrives in town (Sharon Randall): Christmas came early this year to America's Last Hometown. Tuesday afternoon, I pulled out of a parking lot with a trunk load of groceries and an attitude.

Nov. 28 -- Smoking is up among nation's college students (ARN Editorial): Roughly 28 percent of all college students smoked in 1997, up from about 22 percent in 1993, it was recently reported. Most started lighting up in their pre-college teens. By the time they matured enough to recognize the stupidity of their ways, they were hooked.

Nov. 28 -- Savings go negative (ARN Editorial): Americans just keep spending and spending, and when their paychecks have failed to provide enough to foot their mounting bills, they have dipped into their savings. The consequence is what is known as a negative savings rate. What that means is that, on the average, people are borrowing from themselves more than they're saving.

Nov. 28 -- Farce winds down to a dying smirk (Donald Kaul): The nation was subjected to 11 straight hours of the Conservative smirk last week, and no one reported an increase in suicides around the country. It proves we're an emotionally stable people.

Nov. 28 -- Jail escapes, toy bears, children's hearts (Bob Greene): REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- You have to ask yourself what the children of this country -- once they are grown -- will think.

Nov. 28 -- Dr. Laura calls for advice with dilemma (Rheta Grimsley Johnson): Imagine my surprise when Dr. Laura telephoned the other day and asked my advice. The conversation went something like this:

Nov. 27 -- An ideal day to save pennies for Goodfellows (ARN Editorial): Many Abilenians and Big Country residents will be hard at work today to get over our Thanksgiving "stuffing" by heading out for a full schedule of Christmas shopping today.

Nov. 27 -- Rewind at the Alamo (ARN Editorial): The auction last week for $350,000 of the memoirs of Lt. Col. Jose Enrique de la Pena, a Mexican army official who claimed to have witnessed the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo, has raised a ruckus among Texas historians.

Nov. 27 -- Give up, impeachment fans; it's over (Joseph Spear): It seems clear to all but a few hundred zealots, fruitcakes, monomaniacs and extreme partisans that Bill Clinton will not and should not be impeached and that it would benefit the national psyche to stop this madness now and move on to other things.

Nov. 27 -- Most influential 20th century author (George Will): WASHINGTON - Clive Staples Lewis was known as Jack to his friends and is known as C.S. Lewis to his still-growing legion of readers. Many more than 50 million copies of his books - no one knows how many - are in print 35 years after his death.

Nov. 26 -- Washington's words remain timely today (ARN Editorial): After the Pilgrims first set their table of thanks in the New World, some 168 years passed before President George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation in the United States of America on Oct. 3, 1789.

Nov. 26 -- Being thankful for Thanksgiving (ARN Editorial): To have looked at the spread at that first New England Thanksgiving in the autumn of 1621, you would have thought the Pilgrims had rediscovered the Garden of Eden.

Nov. 26 -- Why do Americans celebrate by feasting on a bird they despise? Like most people in post-War America, I grew up eating turkey at Thanksgiving without ever having met an actual turkey.

Nov. 26 -- The blessings for which to be thankful (Joe Alcorta): This year, even before the turkey is sliced, let us stop and give thanks to God and to people for the many things we enjoy.

Nov. 25 -- Nation needs leadership on Social Security (ARN Editorial): President Clinton may have escaped the usual successes of the opposition party in the sixth year of a president's tenure by default. By that point in an administration, presidents ordinarily have faced up to uncomfortable responsibilities almost sure to breed unpopularity in some quarters.

Nov. 25 -- Buckle up or pony up (ARN Editorial): For families traveling this week,here's fair warning: Texas law enforcement agencies will be making a point to see if drivers and their children are buckled up.

Nov. 25 -- Thankful for fewer poor than in the past (Linda Chavez): As predictable as our own turkey dinner each Thanksgiving when I was growing up was the story my father told about the year his family could buy only a few slices of baloney for the holiday.

Nov. 25 -- Giving thanks for the things that hurt (Bob Greene): On the eve of Thanksgiving, let us take a moment to be grateful not for the good things with which we have been blessed - but for the difficult things that make us feel frustrated and small.

Nov. 24 -- Crime figures at odds with public opinion (ARN Editorial): Do we all just watch too much TV? Public opinion polls consistently show crime at the top of Americans' concerns, and most people believe crime is going up.

Nov. 24 -- Jerry Springer shows us bottom line (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - For one brief moment this fall - before Monica became a household voice, before Barbara Walters and Andrew Morton got video and print dibs on her story - it looked as if Fox TV had won this ultimate TV "get." They were ready to pay a $3 million talk tab.

Nov. 24 -- When civilian, military values conflict (George Will): MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT, SAN DIEGO - The 9 p.m. darkness resounds with shouted cadences of freshly minted Marines marching to meet family and friends at the end of the 12-week basic training. Up Interstate 5, at Camp Pendleton, seasoned Marines, many of whom passed through this depot, are getting gear together for possible flights to the Persian Gulf.

Nov. 23 -- Gold Deed winners shine outside the limelight (ARN Editorial): Joe and Hester Washington are not among the most high-profile Abilene residents. That's because they don't try to be. In fact, they've tried hard not to be. But they've been found out.

Nov. 23 -- This time next year (ARN Editorial): Just a reminder for Abilene parents: This time next year, your children will be home from school - all week.

Nov. 23 -- Consensus against the war on drugs (Molly Ivins): AUSTIN - Heads up, team: I think we're starting to see a major change in the old Zeitgeist on the issue of drugs. This is one of those seismic shifts when the unsayable suddenly becomes sayable, when we notice the emperor is wearing no clothes. The main problem with the war on drugs - you've probably noticed - is that we're losing.

Nov. 23 -- Ken Starr's defining moment of truth (Cal Thomas): After four years of a one-sided attack on his integrity and professionalism by paid and unpaid defenders of the president, Independent Counsel Ken Starr spent his first two hours before the House Judiciary Committee dispassionately laying out a series of charges.

Nov. 23 -- Census has always been contentious: WASHINGTON - There is no such thing as a perfect census. Even Thomas Jefferson could not find every American when he directed the first count of the nation's population in 1790.

Nov. 22 -- City seeking down-to-earth improvements (ARN Editorial): Abilene voters should look favorably on the five capital improvements proposed for the Dec. 8 city bond election. These projects are not extravagances proposed by a spendthrift city government that likes to throw money around. Rather, they are modest, common sense responses to demands to keep city services in good working order.

Nov. 22 -- Election shows parties dead even (Morton Kondracke): More than "status quo," the label that the 1998 elections deserve is "parity." The two parties now have equal loyalty among U.S. voters, setting 2000 up to be a crucial, fascinating contest.

Nov. 22 -- Hitting on Hillary: a male intern's tale (Dale McFeatters): Nothing proved the truth of the title Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus more than the Monica Lewinsky-Linda Tripp tapes. There is no way guys would talk like that.

Nov. 22 -- Loneliness is a mystery, hard to define (Sharon Randall): Loneliness is a mystery, hard to define, harder yet to fix. It means different things to different people. And as for cures, what eases it for one can worsen it for another. More than a condition, it's a question that asks, "Who are you?" And no one can answer it but the lonely.

Nov. 21 -- Old e-mail doesn't just die or fade away (ARN Editorial): Bill Gates, who is surely as rich as some country somewhere, has uttered thousands of words about the blessings of the device that conferred this wealth upon him, the personal computer. It is a great friend of humanity, he has said, a revolutionizing instrument that could ultimately make life better for one and all.

Nov. 21 -- His foot in his mouth (ARN Editorial): House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde angered many American veterans when he suggested late Thursday night that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr deserved a purple heart for surviving a long day of televised questioning about his four-year investigation of President Clinton.

Nov. 21 -- Clinton's enemies still serve him well (Donald Kaul): Whatever you think about Bill Clinton, you have to give him this: He is exceedingly fortunate in his enemies.

Nov. 21 -- Folks in Ashtabula want to say thanks (Bob Greene): REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- "The people of Ashtabula, and especially the children, are still very grateful to the people who read your column."

Nov. 20 -- Livingston has good chance as new speaker (ARN Editorial): Bob Livingston, the Louisiana Republican who is due to become speaker of the House in January, has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do, and some are kidding that his martial-arts skills could come in handy in his new job.

Nov. 20 -- Inquiring minds ask, Why didn't you vote? (ARN Editorial): We have a national election every other November, together with either a presidential or a statewide election. Each time one of these cycles comes around, the Abilene Reporter-News encourages people to vote. Each time, fewer and fewer do.

Nov. 20 -- Abortion flap clouds embryo debate (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - Could we pause for a moment in our race past the new scientific landmarks? We went by this one so fast we barely had time for more than a single "Gee Whiz."

Nov. 20 -- Saddam will determine Clinton legacy (George Will): WASHINGTON - America nearly went to war last weekend in defense of weapons inspections in Iraq that U.S. diplomacy surreptitiously subverted last summer. That subversion provoked an American rarity, a resignation on principle, by inspector Scott Ritter, who never learned in the Marine Corps the delicacies of surrender.
Nov. 19 -- Politics, cash shouldn't rule Texas courts (ARN Editorial): The Republican Party owns justice in Texas. Or so it would seem. Come Jan. 1, only Republicans will be seated on the state's two highest courts, the nine-member Supreme Court and the nine-member Court of Criminal Appeals.

Nov. 19 -- Livingston is Mr. Special Interests (Molly Ivins): AUSTIN - As fallout from the recent plebiscite continues to flower, what was up is down, down up, up down, all around. Which leads me to my first twinge of Newt Nostalgia.

Nov. 19 -- It's the GOP's character that matters (Cal Thomas): PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In a "post-election" cruise sponsored by National Review magazine, economic and social conservatives agree that Republicans had no message. In cards as well as politics, something beats nothing.

Nov. 18 -- Try to give up smokes, if just for Thursday (ARN Editorial): More Americans quit smoking every year. With nicotine gum and patches plentiful on the retail shelves, smokers who want to stop have never before had so much help available to them.

Nov. 18 -- Getting their number (ARN Editorial): Readers tell us many telemarketers are still blocking their numbers and calling anonymously, despite a new state law that the names of solicitors and their telephone numbers must show up on Caller ID.

Nov. 18 -- Starr must convince American public (Linda Chavez): Not since the first Christian faced the lions in the Roman Coliseum has one man entered so dangerous an arena as Kenneth Starr does when he appears before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

Nov. 18 -- Satellite will send golf game into orbit (Bob Greene): They wanted to play golf. This is going to sound like a fantasy, so I will tell you their names right away. David Logeman, Gary Griffin, Don Raymond. This was a few weeks ago, on a golf course in Mississippi.

Nov. 17 -- Make this deal the last deal with Saddam (ARN Editorial): In announcing that Saddam Hussein had backed down and agreed to allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into Iraq, President Clinton and his advisers did not look, act or sound like a team that had won a victory, and for good reason: They had not.

Nov. 17 -- Dribbling away fortunes (ARN Editorial): Nobody cares. That is the conclusion of a wildly unscientific poll of office sports fans on whether the National Basketball Association season goes down the drain.

Nov. 17 -- Refusing to gloat at Newt's passing (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - I promised I wouldn't gloat. Not even when the square-jawed speaker of the House pronounced himself flummoxed by the election results. Not even when Newsweek made him their coverboy: "The Loser."

Nov. 17 -- Developing a community in Queens (George Will): QUEENS, N.Y. - For 11 years, until November 1997, the Rev. Floyd Flake was also Democratic Congressman Flake. He had said when he went to Washington he would serve at most six terms, and midway through his sixth - he couldn't wait; sound fellow - he resigned. One of America's ablest black leaders has responsibilities more manifold, pressing and satisfying than politics offers.

Nov. 16 -- Arts in school need stronger commitment (ARN Editorial): Richard Riley, the secretary of education, declares himself dismayed, and well he should be. A study shows the arts are getting short shrift in the nation's schools.

Nov. 16 -- Eyes of Texas on art (ARN Editorial): The University of Texas at Austin announced last week the acquisition of the Suida-Manning Collection of more than 700 European paintings and drawings valued at nearly $35 million for the school's Blanton Museum of Art. UT President Larry R. Faulkner called it a great occasion "in the cultural life of the university, the state of Texas and the art community."

Nov. 16 -- Thinking fondly of departing Newt (Molly Ivins): AUSTIN - When I think of Newt Gingrich, the words that come to mind are sick, pathetic, traitor, ideological, cheat, steal, insecure, bizarre and radical.

Nov. 16 -- School choice is real GOP revolution (Cal Thomas): While shellshocked House Republicans wonder what became of their "revolution," the Supreme Court has allowed the real revolution to proceed. By a vote of 8-1, the court refused to block Wisconsin's program that allows poor children to attend the private or religious school of their parent's choice.

Nov. 15 -- Court should have clarified voucher issue (ARN Editorial): The Supreme Court ducked a chance to decide the constitutionality of public money going to private religious schools through the medium of vouchers. With no explanation, the court last week let stand a taxpayer-funded voucher program in Milwaukee.

Nov. 15 -- Finding right way to punish Clinton (Morton Kondracke): The election results all but guarantee President Clinton won't be removed from office. Now, Congress' task is to find a fitting punishment short of that. Chances are, it will.

Nov. 15 -- Glenn completes a beautiful symmetry (Rheta Grimsley Johnson): I met astronaut John Glenn back when he wanted to lead a free world, not hitch a ride into one.

Nov. 15 -- Love knows no age, nor does jealousy (Sharon Randall): Looking back, I admit, she had reason to hate me. It was simple. We loved the same man.

Nov. 14 -- It's time to go after Saddam; his time is past (ARN Editorial): Once again, in response to a new provocation from Saddam Hussein, the United States is assembling a huge armada of aircraft and warships in the Persian Gulf.

Nov. 14 -- The end is not so near (ARN Editorial): Columbus never did discover the edge of the Earth, but astronomers, thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, are close to discovering the edge of the universe.

Nov. 14 -- Voice of America says, 'Amuse me' (Bob Greene): Being a moron when it comes to analyzing political trends, I mistakenly thought I was being somewhat insightful recently when I wrote a lighthearted piece about Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Buddy "Nature Boy" Rogers.

Nov. 14 -- 'Get Clinton' game keeps backfiring (Donald Kaul): The Republicans remind me of the drunk in the bar who lost his bet on the Monday Night football game.

Nov. 13 -- Primary date is one priority for Legislature (ARN Editorial): The 76th Texas Legislature doesn't convene until Jan. 12, but lawmakers are already busy filing hundreds of bills, many of which won't even receive serious consideration and most of which won't be passed.

Nov. 13 -- Hit the ground running (ARN Editorial): Two new state executive are wasting no time putting their houses in order.

Nov. 13 -- We're living tomorrow's reruns now (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - Frankly, I have never shared the national nostalgia for the 1950s. And it's not merely due to a lingering vendetta against poodle skirts and angora sweaters.

Nov. 13 -- New GOP leaders must ignore tutors (George Will): WASHINGTON - Forced by circumstances beyond their control to choose a new speaker, House Republicans, a proudly nonconformist and notably predictable crowd, thought long and hard, as thinking is measured here.

Nov. 12 -- Third-party ads raise questions about fairness (ARN Editorial): In the wake of his second loss to U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm of Abilene for the District 17 congressional seat, Republican candidate Rudy Izzard said he wished outside groups had stayed away and not aired a barrage of political ads.

Nov. 12 -- Seeing Newt in her rear-view mirror (Molly Ivins): AUSTIN - From here in the have-no-mercy-liberals camp, the political weather continues delightful. What could be more fun than watching Republicans turn on one another, snapping and snarling, throwing left hooks, right jabs and mud pies? Splendid doings.

Nov. 12 -- The revolting Republican revolution (Cal Thomas): It is irritating to hear some people say that conservatives, especially those with a social conscience, lost an opportunity to expand Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Like God, it isn't that conservatism was tried and found wanting. It was not fully tried, except in the states where principled conservatives won, with a few exceptions.

Nov. 11 -- A last salute is offered to WWI veterans (ARN Editorial): This Veterans Day is special. It marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a four-year slaughter that worldwide consumed the lives of more than 8.5 million soldiers.

Nov. 11 -- The digital election (ARN Editorial): Whatever else U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston's tenure as speaker of the House of Representatives becomes known for, his elevation to that post marks a new era in political campaigning - the digital election.

Nov. 11 -- Dumping Newt not nearly enough (Linda Chavez): Dumping Newt Gingrich won't do much to reverse Republicans' failing electoral fortunes unless GOP members come up with a winning policy agenda for the 107th Congress, and so far they seem clueless on what that might be.

Nov. 11 -- Phrase whose time still has not come (Bob Greene): HOUSTON - Fourteen months, give or take a few days. That's how much longer we have to wait until the irritating phrase, in all of its many incarnations, is gone for good. "The '90s." Not the decade itself - just the phrase.

Nov. 10 -- New Congress will hinge on 'swing' votes (ARN Editorial): Perhaps someone should have reminded Newt Gingrich to be careful what he wished for.

Nov. 10 -- Bush flexes muscles? (ARN Editorial): Though still not declared as a presidential candidate in 2000, Gov. George W. Bush already appears to exercise considerable influence in Washington.

Nov. 10 -- No 'free love' for Tom and Sally (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - It may be that every generation gets the Thomas Jefferson it deserves. The Jefferson of my childhood was the face on the nickel and Mount Rushmore, the signature on the Declaration of Independence. The Jefferson of today is one of DNA tests, sex, scandal, hypocrisy, the Jefferson between the William and the Clinton.

Nov. 10 -- High school texts failing on marriage (George Will): WASHINGTON - An old joke: A preacher, called to a new church, arrives the day of a funeral at which he must preside. Having never known the deceased, he asks the congregation for voluntary eulogies. A voice from a rear pew shouts, "His brother was even worse."

Nov. 9 -- Genetic news looks far past mere politics (ARN Editorial): Edging its way into newspapers Friday and competing, but just barely, with the post-election analysis was a story of far more import for mankind than anything having to do with the shrinking size of the Republican majority in Congress or President Clinton's uncanny ability to slip past revelations of lies under oath.

Nov. 9 -- Party of impeachment stubs its toe (Donald Kaul): A funny thing happened to the Republican Party on its way to a landslide victory Tuesday. The American people.

Nov. 9 -- Monica not Clinton's biggest problem (Cal Thomas): While the House of Representatives prepares to open hearings on whether President Clinton should be impeached, several current and former Capitol Hill staffers are quietly trying to persuade Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde to expand the inquiry beyond allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice to whether the president compromised U.S. security in his open-ended pursuit of campaign cash from China.

Nov. 8 -- GOP sends mixed signals to minorities (ARN Editorial): Don't be surprised if minorities in Texas pick up mixed messages from Tuesday's Republican sweep of state offices.

Nov. 8 -- Bush faces White House questions: For Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Tuesday's election was the easy part. Now, he will have to decide whether to try following his father's footsteps to the White House.

Nov. 8 -- Coke minus sugar, caffeine, everything (Dale McFeatters): First, soft drinks boasted of no aftertaste. Then of no sugar, no caffeine, no calories and, now, Coca-Cola is going all the way: No ingredients.

Nov. 8 -- Tacky farewell seemed just the right thing (Sharon Randall): One thing I hate is an unrefined goodbye.

Nov. 7 -- 'Hate crimes' -- bad law with good intentions (ARN Editorial): In Wyoming, a gay student, Matthew Shepard, was kidnapped, robbed and beaten to death. Police quickly arrested two young men, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, and charged them with first degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping. If convicted, they likely will face the death penalty.

Nov. 7 -- Lint! Right ahead!: The Titanic, as everybody knows, sank when it hit an iceberg, but today's ships suffer from a more insidious danger: lint.

Nov. 7 -- Word NASA shouldn't have used (Bob Greene): REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- As Ohioan John Glenn has orbited the Earth in recent days, there has been widespread commentary that this has all been little more than a brilliant public relations move by NASA -- an inspired bit of promotion to rekindle interest in the space program.

Nov. 7 -- Grisham just wants house with a view (Rheta Grimsley Johnson): OXFORD, Miss. -- John Grisham is upset about the double-wides. Everyone in town is talking about it, because Grisham wrote a letter to the editor. And everything that man writes is well read, even a semi-snotty letter.

Nov. 7 -- Maintaining election-night TV tradition (Sharon Randall): Election night I stayed up late watching election returns on TV. It was worth it just to see former pro wrestler, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, become governor of Minnesota.

Nov. 6 -- Stalemate in Congress not all-bad result (ARN Editorial): The Democrats fought the Republicans to a standstill in Tuesday's elections, leading to White House glee and some GOP mournfulness,. But an issue much bigger than either party's welfare, from the point of view of most citizens, is probably whether action on a variety of programs will also remain at a standstill.

Nov. 6 -- Hillary was the woman of the year (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - OK, let's dump all those nice little pink handles that analysts use to make politics such easy lifting. The Year of the Woman? Long gone. The Year of the Soccer Mom? See ya later. The Year of the Other Woman? No way.

Nov. 6 -- Voters cry out: Stop the impeachment (George Will): WASHINGTON - Even before the dimensions of their debacle were fully revealed Tuesday evening, Republican congressional leaders were responding with interesting insouciance.

Nov. 5 -- Election shows national, state trends at odds (ARN Editorial): Call it three turns of the screw. The nation leaned slightly Democratic, Texas went heavily Republican, and the Big Country - which otherwise joined in the statewide GOP landslide - sent a Democratic incumbent back to Congress.

Nov. 5 -- Books indict Clinton as 'sad waste' (Morton Kondracke): In the past few weeks, President Clinton has demonstrated again what a genius he is at compartmentalization - and what a waste he's made of his presidency.

Nov. 5 -- Clinton's greatest peril isn't Monica (Cal Thomas): While the House of Representatives prepares to open hearings on whether President Clinton should be impeached, several current and former Capitol Hill staffers are quietly trying to persuade Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde to expand the inquiry beyond allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice to whether the president compromised U.S. security in his open-ended pursuit of campaign cash from China.

Nov. 4 -- Iraqi problem responsibility of U.N., not U.S. (ARN Editorial): Last weekend, Saddam Hussein reneged on a commitment he made in August, after reneging on a commitment he made last February, and so on and so on, back to the commitment he made in 1991 to end the Gulf War. Iraq announced Saturday it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

Nov. 4 -- A hero leads the cheers (ARN Editorial): John Glenn's space shuttle trip is a publicity stunt in the best sense of that expression. Supposedly, he is doing medical experiments that will benefit the elderly, a cover story that must strain NASA's straight face.

Nov. 4 -- Bureaucrats still make key decisions (Linda Chavez): Maybe all those folks who didn't vote in Tuesday's election know something the rest of us would rather not believe: Elections don't matter, so long as unelected government bureaucrats still make the important decisions that affect our everyday lives.

Nov. 4 -- President Bush is a winner nowadays (Bob Greene): HOUSTON - Within minutes after landing at the big airport here, I found out that it had undergone a name change. It used to be called Houston Intercontinental Airport. Now it is George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Nov. 3 -- Vote one side or the other, but vote today: (ARN Editorial): For your consideration, here are the Abilene Reporter-News' endorsements in contested races.

Nov. 3 -- Anybody got any letters to the editor? (ARN Editorial): Over the past month, the Abilene Reporter-News has published 338 letters - 144 during the last week alone! Although we haven't kept actual statistics about such things, we don't recall seeing this volume before and hereby declare this to be our unofficial record.

Nov. 3 -- We need 'mom' to teach civics class (Ellen Goodman): BOSTON - Ah yes, another civics lesson. Just in time for the 1998 election, Roseanne Barr offered up a public service message to any woman who might be planning to vote today: Don't bother.

Nov. 3 -- Election is about which side is worse (George Will): WASHINGTON - Wednesday morning, when the black bat, night, has fled, professional Republicans and Democrats - almost the only people who will care - will pronounce themselves pleased as punch by the election results. Neither will be truthful, but Democrats may be most pleased.

Nov. 2 -- Study shows youth safer in school than out (ARN Editorial): When federal agencies are instructed to study a problem, you can generally bet they will find a serious problem that demands a federal program as a solution.

Nov. 2 -- Starr's extravagance (ARN Editorial): Kenneth Starr's office of independent counsel has been paying Samuel Dash, a former Watergate lawyer, $400 an hour for ethics consultations, and a question arises - is that ethical?

Nov. 2 -- Time for cherished right not to vote (Donald Kaul): It may come as a surprise to a lot of you out there, but there's going to be a national election here this week.

Nov. 2 -- Mother Teresa was right about killing (Cal Thomas): Mother Teresa used to warn anyone who would listen that the abortion culture cheapens human life and finds expression in violent streets, terrorism of all sorts and a debasing of the uniqueness of human beings.

Nov. 1 -- Endorsements presented for consideration (ARN Editorial): In a rather back-handed compliment, one recent letter to the editor said voters should pay attention to their local newspaper's endorsements because they are at least likely to be more reliable than campaign advertisements.

Nov. 1 -- Signals of the election (ARN Editorial): Voting percentages might be down throughout the general population, but judging from the avalanche of letters the Abilene Reporter-News has received this political season, the people who intend to vote on Tuesday are anything but apathetic.

Nov. 1 -- Is politics from the pulpit suitable?: WASHINGTON -- It was the Friday before Election Day in 1992 when a small New York church bought a full-page ad in two newspapers urging voters to reject Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton on moral grounds.

Nov. 1 -- He's with the band; they're winners (Guest Columnist): It's OK -- I'm with the band.