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BIG STINK OVER BIG APPLE’S BIG (…GULP) BAN

“Today’s ‘large’ is, well, why we’re large”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, June 3, 2012 From all the bellyaching over Mike Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large servings of sugary drinks, you’d think the New York mayor was threatening something truly onerous this time. Like canceling Nathan’s Famous July Fourth Coney Island Hot-Dog Eating Competition. Or saying…

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BAD GUYS, BAD COPS — WHO’S WHO?

“Justice falls victim to flawed convictions”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 27, 2012 It’s easy to think of shady police work as a victimless crime. Really, who’s being hurt when cops bend the evidence against a bad guy — or the crime lab gets sloppy or a prosecution witness is nudged toward a lie? Is…

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FACEBOOK’S RELATIONSHIP STATUS WITH INVESTORS FIZZLED

“Facebook investors bought into the hype”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 19, 2012 How do you “like” that? After all the breathless frenzy over the Facebook IPO, the most-anticipated new tech stock since the last most-anticipated new tech stock hardly went anywhere. With a final-hour beat-down of instant buyer’s remorse, shares closed less than 1…

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DOWN THE AISLE SPLIT ON GAY MARRIAGE

“A tumultuous week for marriage”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 13, 2012 If you don’t like it, it’s “homosexual marriage.” If you do, it’s “marriage equality.” As in the battle between “right to life” and “pro-choice,” you tell me which words you use. Then I’ll tell you which side you’re on. What a difference a…

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CAMPAIGNING FOR FRENEMIES

“GOP rivalries hardly forgotten”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 6, 2012 Should we pretend to like people we don’t? They’re coming around very slowly this bitter campaign year. There on Friday were Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, locked in a room together for an hour and a half — no cameras, no aides, not a…

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THE ENTERPRISE ENTERS ITS FINAL FRONTEIR

“Time for another giant leap into space”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 29, 2012 Let’s go somewhere fun. How does Mars sound? Or Pluto? I don’t care, anywhere that’s far, different and feels like somewhere once we get there. For a good long while now, NASA has been having trouble getting the trip-planning formula quite…

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RESUME DROUGHT WARNINGS – AFTER THE RAIN STOPS

“Already in drought and it’s not yet summer”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 22, 2012 How’s that drought coming? Step under my umbrella. We can discuss it here. It’s always tempting — isn’t it? — to sneer at dire warnings when the evidence points the opposite way. Ask Al Gore, whose global-warming lectures are inevitably…

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MINIMIZING MOMS MAKES FOR MESSY POLITICS

“Let’s not drag Mom into the political fray”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 15, 2012 Don’t say housewife. It’s not a house she’s married to. Don’t say stay-at-home mom. With all the soccer practices, doctor’s appointments, carpool trips and runs to the mall, she should be so lucky. Whatever you do, don’t talk about the…

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GOD BLESS AMERICAN POLITICS

“Religion’s still at the center of politics”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 8, 2012 Things don’t change much in the battle for the American soul. One day, Roger Williams is debating John Winthrop, Puritan preacher against Puritan governor, over the proper distance between religion and government. The next — or 400 years later — Rick…

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REPUBLICAN RACE WAS FUN — FOR DEMOCRATS

“GOP prez race’s inevitable winner: Romney”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 1, 2012 That was fun. Too bad it’s over. Oh, I know. The race for the Republican presidential nomination isn’t officially settled yet. Rick Santorum could romp through Wisconsin on Tuesday, just like Newt Gingrich’s win-by-staying-home strategy could be just the Hail Mary pass…

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