Jack Lessenberry Politics & Prejudices e-mail Jack Lessenberry 12/30/98 Predict the future! Sharpen your mouse, pour some Perrier on your keyboard for luck, and let prophecy begin!  Presenting the second annual Future Shock quiz. 12/23/98 Xmas in the year of the locust Clinton's worst failing is not his predilection for cheap and insanely reckless sex. What is far worse is that he has no concept of the presidency as anything sacred, or anything other than an extension of his ego. 12/16/98 Poppin' 'n' droppin' Can you imagine a worse threat to our freedom than trying to find out whether someone who wants to buy a lethal weapon might be a convicted criminal? 12/9/98 The great divorce Behind the Fieger-Kevorkian breakup. 12/2/98 Close this school now! What if your government spent $20 million a year to train right-wing military types to commit atrocities? It's not a hypothetical question. 11/25/98 Time for our grim reaper Jack Kervorkian wants, desperately wants, a trial. 11/18/98 JFK returns to office John Kelly brings his own brand of integrity to WSU board. This could be interesting. 11/11/98 Newt leaves the water What's being missed, amid all the hoopla, is how much Bill Clinton has needed Newt Gingrich, and may need him still. 11/04/98 Why live with the bomb? There is little doubt we will eventually be destroyed in an especially terrible way. We're talking about nuclear weapons, something nobody thinks much about these days, except when places like India or Pakistan occasionally behave like idiots. 10/28/98 For governor: the only choice He is rude, yes, crude, egocentric, but a positive pit bull for anything and anyone in which he believes. 10/21/98 Journalists in disgrace Why try to find out how polluted the land is when we can speculate on semen stains? Why cover lawmakers' backroom deals when it does little for ratings? We know all that. But one ethical bottome line remains: What we write, what we broadcast has to be true. 10/14/98 The politics of life and death Why think for yourself when Right-to-Life will do it for you? 10/07/98 Hoffa II, Take 2 The elder Hoffa was deeply corrupt. Yet he also negotiated something called the National Master Freight Agreement, which tripled the wages of the average member. What if this Hoffa proved to be intent on restoring the bright side of his father's legacy while avoiding the rest? 9/30/98 Age of sexual McCarthyism Quite apart from Clinton's woes, we are in an orgy of sexual McCarthyism, in which allegations of "improper" behavior can ruin one's life as thoroughly as being called a commine could have in the 1950's. 9/23/98 Where's Geoffrey's campaign Geoffery Fieger started his run for governor in traditional style, roaring out of the gate like a lion-- tangling with reporters, right-to-lifers, the bloated incumbents, his opponents ... Since then, his campaign has appeared punch-drunk stalled. 9/16/98 Capable of honor Long ago, Allen Drury, the reporter/novelist, summed up the perils of elective office this way: a tough life, but one capable of honor. That's something this woman who went to WSU law school at night has by instinct, and the world's most self-destructive Rhodes Scholar may never know. 9/9/98 Tale of two universities Something rather beautiful happened to me last week. I met a real hero, saw a large public university do a noble thing, and was reminded that sometimes, against all odds, the good guys really do win. 9/2/98 Sacred mad cow disease, 1998 Clinton-era man thought he had been liberated from taboos because his media said or printed "penis" and "oral sex" whenever they pleased. Indeed, by 1998, most of what passed for a national dialogue in the Untied States of America revolved around the leader's phallus. 8/27/98 What about Clinton now? The president is not supposed to be a reckless idiot. His ineptness handed Congress over to the right wing, he has degraded his office, and all of us, and helped turn journalism into semen-stained stenography. 8/19/98 A tale of two Monicas Bill Clinton seems likely to be remembered mostly as the first president to be questioned extensively about his Richard in legal proceedings. 8/12/98 A governor to die for, part II Will he win? Does he deserve to win? Would he be a good governor? I do not know, not yet. But I have heard the same line out of the mouths of a thousand Michiganders. "Feiger's a jerk," they say. And then they add, "But if I ever needed a lawyer, I would hire him in a minute. 8/5/98 Genocide, Michigan style Michigan sterilized 2,339 men and women in Lapeer before the mental health code was rewritten in 1974. Those who want to bring it back need to talk to "Fred" first. 7/29/98 Yawning into the stretch Nobody seems very excited, to put it mildly, about next week's primary election. That's unless you count the establishment Dems desperately dribbling into their Depends at the thought of Geoffrey Nels Fieger as their very own nominee for governor. 7/22/98 Sometimes, hope is fulfilled Yes, Focus: Hope still feeds needy folks; seniors and children, 47, 000 of them a year, and does it with dignity. But it also runs a child care center so superb that U.S. Rep. John Conyers sends his kids there. There is also a community arts program, and most impressively, a series of state-of-the-art manufacturing programs. 7/15/98 Casinos: Can Archer beat it? It didn't have to happen. Archer could have co-opted Barden. Yet he stubbornly refused to do it, laying the groundwork for last week's spectacle where, in a masterstroke of political theater, the crafty Barden suddenly reappeared with the creature formerly known as Michael Jackson. 7/8/98 Who should be an American? Today, we no longer pretend to welcome the world's "wretched refuse." When it comes to immigrants, we now want few, if any, and want those to be White, or at least Asian, with computer skills. 7/1/98 What about students & booze? College life always has been learning just what a thrill projectile vomit and waking up with a pounding headache can be. 6/24/98 Republicans kill kids for money That's precisely what happened last week, when the U.S. Senate killed a broad package of legislation designed to stop children from smoking. 6/17/98 Attorneys General and specific Three weeks ago, Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley startled the twin peninsulas when he announced his retirement. Then we all went back to our tattoo magazines. 6/10/98 A governor to die for Michigan as an independent country. 6/3/98 Seeing things that never were Bobby Kennedy might have been able to radically transform our politics without bloodshed. He might have made politics something honorable again, a concept now alien. 5/27/98 God, politics, Cook and book Our world is light-years beyond those of apostles, and we have a lot of work to do if the Christian belief system is to survive. 5/20/98 Unpopular heresies What, one defense expert was asked, if there were a nuclear war between Pakistan and India? Well, 'bout all we could do was "sit back and monitor radiation levels." 5/13/98 Old white guys on the future Talk about diversity! Three middle-aged white guys and one elderly one, gathered before a nearly melanin-free crowd in an ancient club attached to the soon-to-be vacated Free Press building. 5/6/98 Apology to the NRA Last month I finally wrote a column that even my diseased brain realizes was over the top. I violated one of the last two taboos in American journalism, by obscenely suggesting that maybe, just maybe, it might not be a good idea for every toddler to have universal access to automatic weaponry. 4/29/98 Don't bet on casinos yet The truth is...there may never be any casinos at all. 4/22/98 The real merchants of death No business is as corrupt and exploitative as the funeral business, which fleeces millions of people every year at their most vulnerable time. 4/15/98 Saluting a consumer hero Years ago, long before it was socially acceptable in Detroit for whites and blacks to be friends, a couple of young labor organizers outside the mainstream became pals anyway. 4/8/98 Punishing the baby killers The fanatic leaders of the National Rifle Association are the biggest force for evil in the world today. 4/1/98 Could GOP dump Big John? Making it to April Fool's day gives us the perfect excuse to revisit the governor's race. 3/25/98 Royal Oak flirts with casinos The word went forth and it was NIMBY. 3/18/98 Detroit's forgotten heroine Viola Liuzzo remains perhaps the most enigmatic of the heroes of what was, really, the second American Revolution. 3/11/98 Did we kill Roosevelt Dawson? Why did this one bother me so much? 3/4/98 Scrape this one up Geoffrey Fieger confides to Jack about why he loves the media. 2/25/98 But are they fit to read? Money is the only thing they care about. 2/18/98 From the ministry of truth "We're the cops of the world." 2/11/98 Death penalty for the media Too often, the bottom line ain't truth. 2/4/98 How tragedy became farce Today, we can't tell parody from reality. 1/28/98 Should Clinton resign? He is guilty of supreme and utter lack of judgment. 1/21/98 Hold tight to the dream Dr. King's oppressors are dust and his legacy endures. 1/14/98 Living right on the left The boys in blue didn't like the idea of "some old red" telling them what to do. 1/7/98 Fair Play for the Bullies Nevers seems to be a sadistic bully . . . but he didn't get a fair trial. 12/30/97 What really happened in '98 Sharpen your mouse and oil your keyboard, get ready to test your skill at predicting the future in the Jack Lessenberry First Annual Back to the Future Quiz. 12/23/97 Christmas, the press, the prez How much credit does Clinton deserve. 12/17/97 Politics comes out in Ferndale Things are run on the feudal model. 12/10/97 U-M: In the affirmative Thanks to demagogues like George Bush, many white people think "affirmative action" is code for "admit as many poorly qualified blacks as we can instead of deserving white kids." 12/3/97 Pick of the litters Cynical? You betcha, and you know I'm right. 11/26/97 The all-Scottish election Clan McPhail vs. Clan McNamara. 11/19/97 An election that really matters Not that racial porn is new from our pal. 11/12/97 After the chips went down An alien world with three glittering pods. 11/5/97 Niagara Falls in Archer's brain "I gotta get at least a federal court spot." 10/29/97 Minor dictator on Lafayette I felt the onset of an attack of clung. 10/22/97 Award-winning evasions For brilliance in conspiring to evade the truth. 10/15/97 Democracy: the Bosnian way Bosnians really really wanted to vote. Turnout was 97%. 10/8/97 Dying, with lack of publicity It now seems, if not normal, part of the background noise. 10/1/97 Mayor Nobody needs somebodies An independent and vigilant council is desperately needed. 9/24/97 The truth about term limits I have come to the realization that I was dead wrong. 9/17/97 The Crocketts: Father and son It took courage in the '50s to stand up for anyone on the left. 9/10/97 Nude photo of Di taken by Mir Diana is now secretly on the Greek island of Macarena. 9/3/97 For another war on poverty Inequality is increasing worldwide. 8/27/97 In search of Governor Fieger The media should be asking the hard questions. 8/20/97 Howard speaks up for all Simon did more by not going to school. 8/6/97 Engler, maybe not a shoo-in Who, then, will the would-be good guys put up? 7/30/97 Death agonies of the dinosaurs Finally, some newspaper competition. 7/23/97 The strange case of Ali Termos 7/16/97 Needed: guns for Britain 7/9/97 Detroit summer then and now They talk about what community should be. 4/23/97 Hate groups thrive on the Internet 3/12/97 Engler wrongs your rights