Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

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The OK corral

By Jacob Sullum (Dec 26, 2000)

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating was recently in the spotlight as a leading contender for U.S. attorney general. Now that George W. Bush has picked defeated Missouri Sen. John... more

Academic credit

By Jacob Sullum (Dec 19, 2000)

According to a federal appeals court, Cleveland's school voucher program is unconstitutional because it's not generous enough. That, at least, was the implication of a... more

The santa clause

By Jacob Sullum (Dec 12, 2000)

Someone in Brooklyn is burning Christmas wreaths. So far the arsonist has targeted at least 18 homes in Marine Park. "Police classified the fires as possible bias incidents... more

They've got my number

By Jacob Sullum (Nov 21, 2000)

I have a confession to make. The other day, I was reading about a recently enacted New York law that, starting next spring, will prohibit telemarketers from calling phone... more

Your father's voting booth

By Jacob Sullum (Nov 14, 2000)

In addition to determining the next president, the Florida recount has brought attention to a hazard that has been overlooked for too long: hanging chads. A chad is the... more

Minor problem

By Jacob Sullum (Nov 07, 2000)

"Sexuality, Some Drug Use and Brief Violence." It may sound like a low-rent night on the town, but it's actually part of the warning accompanying ads for "Lucky Numbers," the... more

Picking fights

By Jacob Sullum (Nov 01, 2000)

Al Gore will fight for you. And not only you. He will also fight for desperate, beleaguered, downtrodden people all over the world, oppressed by dictators, menaced by... more

General confusion

By Jacob Sullum (Oct 24, 2000)

After he took over the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1996, Barry McCaffrey announced an end to the war on drugs. Instead of a military commander fighting an... more

Rules of the air

By Jacob Sullum (Oct 18, 2000)

Remember the "fairness doctrine"? Back in the 1940s, the Federal Communications Commission announced that broadcasters would be expected to provide balanced coverage of... more

One man's blight

By Jacob Sullum (Oct 10, 2000)

In 1997, after renting space for nearly two decades, St. Luke's Pentecostal Church of North Hempstead, N.Y., finally found a permanent home. Or so its congregants... more

The smart guy

By Jacob Sullum (Oct 03, 2000)

When I was a boy, I thought Isaac Asimov would be the ideal president. Not only was he a great science fiction writer, but he was really smart. At the time, it seemed... more

Moving words

By Jacob Sullum (Sep 26, 2000)

Imagine you're sitting on a bus or a train. You look up and, amid the ads for ambulance-chasing attorneys and laser-wielding dermatologists, notice a picture of two police... more

Flashback

By Jacob Sullum (Sep 19, 2000)

I remember staring at the paperback edition of Wilson Brian Key's 1973 bestseller "Subliminal Seduction," trying to see the nude woman in the ice cubes. I never could. Key... more

Must-see TV

By Jacob Sullum (Sep 12, 2000)

Accusing George W. Bush of trying to limit the audience for this year's presidential debates, Al Gore demanded that they be inflicted on as many people as possible. Now that... more

Thy neighbor's faith

By Jacob Sullum (Sep 06, 2000)

"We need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purpose," Joe Lieberman told an audience at a Detroit church last week.... more

Vouching for vouchers

By Jacob Sullum (Aug 29, 2000)

Al Gore has admitted that he used to smoke pot, saying he realized it was a mistake and resolved not to do it anymore. Gore's running mate, Joe Lieberman, recently came... more

The Lieberman lurch

By Jacob Sullum (Aug 22, 2000)

Joe Lieberman's integrity did not last long. Barely a week after he was picked for the Democratic ticket, the Connecticut senator had renounced most of the positions that... more

Synagogue and state

By Jacob Sullum (Aug 15, 2000)

The other day I received a call from a producer at a National Public Radio affiliate in Los Angeles. She was planning a show about religion and politics, tied to Al Gore's... more

Car trouble

By Jacob Sullum (Aug 08, 2000)

My wife and I both drive cars that are getting on in years: a 1992 Honda Accord inherited from her parents, and a 1989 Ford Crown Victoria inherited from mine. Lately, it... more

Fault finding

By Jacob Sullum (Jul 28, 2000)

It has frequently been observed that some people are eager to believe the worst about the federal government's actions at the Mount Carmel Center outside Waco, Texas, in... more

The 145 billion dollar message

By Jacob Sullum (Jul 20, 2000)

To call it the biggest liability award in history would be an understatement. On July 14, a Florida jury ordered the five leading tobacco companies to pay $145 billion in... more