washingtonpost.com - Ellen Goodman (washingtonpost.com)

A Vatican Retreat on Homosexuality

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- Somewhere along the way the dividing line over gay issues picked up and moved. It's no longer between red and blue states, or left and right wings, but between nature and nurture. Or, to be more precise, between those who believe that homosexuality is a choice and those who believe that homosexuality is innate.

Equal-Opportunity Bash

Ellen Goodman — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 00:00:00 EDT

BOSTON -- Call me a cockeyed pessimist, but I'm having trouble finding any good news in the trashing of Harriet Miers. Somehow Miers has become proof that we have moved on to a great gender-free utopia, a post-feminist world in which we can now mercilessly tear down a woman without fear of being labeled a sexist piglet.

In Praise of a Snail's Pace

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:00:00 EDT

CASCO BAY, Maine -- I arrive at the island post office carrying an artifact from another age. It's a square envelope, handwritten, with a return address that can be found on a map. Inside is a condolence note, a few words of memory and sympathy to a wife who has become a widow. I could have sent these words far more efficiently through e-mail than through this "snail mail." But I am among those who still believe that sympathy is diluted by two-thirds when it arrives over the Internet transom.

Views That Facts Can't Shake

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 00:00:00 EDT

BOSTON -- The medical examiners delivered their autopsy report in the most matter-of-fact tone. Terri Schiavo's brain had atrophied to half the normal size for a woman her age. Her eyes, the focus of that famous videotape, saw nothing. She was blind.

Dispensing Morality

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EDT

BOSTON -- To begin with, I don't believe that anyone should be compelled to do work he or she regards as unethical. History is full of heroes who rebelliously followed their consciences. It's also full of people who shamefully followed orders.

An Oscar For Dialogue

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 00:00:00 EST

Is it too late to create an Oscar for the Most Politically Controversial Film? It would be awfully handy to have a designated category for controversy so the rest of us could concentrate on what everyone's wearing.

The High Court's Unhealthy Secrecy

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 08 Jan 2005 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- I can only imagine what William Rehnquist thinks of all this. When he first became chief justice, a reporter asked about updates on the health of the justices. He shot back: "You people can be like a bunch of vultures." Does Rehnquist see vultures circling over his black robe? His spokesman says he won't be in court for the new session on Monday. Will he swear in the president on Jan. 20, as he has promised?

Will Her Voice Ever Be Heard?

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- Ever wonder what happened to the State Department's chief of propaganda? The head of public diplomacy was supposed to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim street.

Those Poor College Conservatives

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- I like the old maxim that academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small. How else to explain the intramural conflicts that erupt over such searing campus issues as tenure and parking?

The Truths of 'Desperate Housewives'

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 20 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- I'm not supposed to like "Desperate Housewives." It's either post-feminist or pre-feminist. It's too racy or too retro. It's either an example of the backlash or a product of the cultural collapse.

Sex Ed Silliness in Texas

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 13 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- Here it is, just days after the red states gave their presidential seal of approval to the man from Texas, and we've already been treated to another skirmish in the culture wars. The Texas Board of Education has now given its educational seal of approval to what may soon be dubbed Red Sex Ed.

Winning Back Values Voters

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 06 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST

BOSTON -- I got familiar with the losing business rather early in life. When I was just a kid my dad ran for Congress. He lost by about 600 votes, although I suspect that over the years, that number has been chipped away by family lore.

A Post-Bush Mind-Set

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EDT

BOSTON -- While we are still in a pre-Nov. 2 mind-set, may I offer my last few words on the "pre-Sept. 11 mind-set"?

Questions for the 'Comforter in Chief'

Ellen Goodman — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EDT

BOSTON -- How could I have forgotten that George W. was a compassionate conservative? He chose the moniker of a kinder, gentler Republican four years ago to distinguish himself from Newt Gingrich's crowd. Newt's idea of compassion was building a chain of orphanages.