TED RALL - The Japan Times

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TED RALL

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TED RALL

For TED RALL's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY

Jun 17, 2001

Bipartisanship is killing American politics

NEW YORK -- When I vote for a Democrat, the last thing I worry about is whether he'll be able to get along with the Republicans. I never consider his ability to reach across the aisle, or his willingness to act in a bipartisan manner or take conservatives into consideration. Quite the opposite: I expect that Democrat to fight like hell to stop Republicans from getting any of their stupidass ideas enacted into law. If I wanted a Republican, I'd vote for one. But I don't. And if a Democrat sells me out -- by voting with the Republicans on anything important -- I will never vote for that Democrat again, for by that one sin he is no Democrat at all.

COMMENTARY

Feb 18, 2001

This cup of coffee is on George W. Bush

NEW YORK -- I admit it: The money's already spent. I know, I know. I should have waited until that huge GOP windfall actually hit my bank account before going out on a wild tax-cut bender, but I just couldn't help myself. The mere thought of all that budget surplus loot -- trillions! of dollars! just sitting around doing nothing! -- destroyed what little fiscal self-control I used to have.

COMMENTARY

Feb 11, 2001

In the land of the militantly mellow

NEW YORK -- San Franciscans, if we're to believe reporters who've spent the last week running up their New York employers' expense accounts, are searching the bottom of their recyclable souls in the aftermath of the death of Diane Whipple. Whipple, 33, was killed by one (or two, according to some sources) 54-kg Canary Island mastiffs that left her splattered all over the hall outside her apartment. As the cliche goes, even longtime police veterans had to seek trauma counseling to deal with the gory scene looping over and over through their grizzled brains.

COMMENTARY

Dec 10, 2000

American democracy teeters on the brink

NEW YORK -- There's plenty of room for reasonable disagreement in this post-election netherworld. The Bushies are right that we need a president-elect and we needed one weeks ago; despite lackadaisical opinion polls and surprising public apathy, the legal maneuvering over recounts can't go on forever. Yet Gore's peeps are right too. As everybody now knows, our votes don't all count, and while it doesn't matter in most elections, there's no better time to remedy that situation than a contest with a 500-something vote spread. The tension between the need for speed and the desire for accuracy has people of all political stripes spewing contradictions, lies and faulty syllogisms. But it's not because they're ill-intentioned; they're just angry that their guy came so damned close.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 9, 2000

The decade that was, and always will be

SAINT-REMY-DE-PROVENCE, France — The full-page ad gracing the back of last week's Village Voice hit me like a heavy pointy object. "HOT SUMMER TOURS," the headline blared. As a U.S. citizen residing in the city of New York, I enjoy the golden opportunity to see '70s band Steely Dan perform at the romantically named PNC Bank Arts Center on July 7. Alternatively, "Margaritaville" '70s crooner Jimmy Buffett will perform his hits Aug. 29 at the Jones Beach Amphitheater, and '70s diva Diana Ross is at Madison Square Garden July 6.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 25, 2000

Operational advice for New York's finest

NEW YORK -- New York's mayor, a man so relentless that he won't let prostate cancer get in the way of his horniness, feels sorry for the cops. "It seems like the cops just can't win no matter what they do," Rudolph Giuliani complained to a caller to his weekly radio show.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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