A half-century ago, an East German communist demanded that the people exhibit more confidence in their rulers. "Would it not be easier," the poet Bertolt Brecht responded, "for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?" Though aimed at a long-ago Stalinist, Brecht's gibe comes alarmingly close to describing how legislators in many states keep themselves in power. ...more

November 8, 2008

Just like that, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden has given voters the single reason why they should not elect Barack Obama president of the United States. ...more

October 25, 2008

The last time I had seen Checkpoint Charlie, the best known border crossing between what was then East and West Berlin, was in 1972. ...more

October 22, 2008

East German leader Erich Honecker proclaimed in 1989 that the Berlin Wall could remain in place for another 100 years. But his faith in East German construction was almost as off the mark as his political instincts. The Wall opened for traffic a few months after Honecker spoke. Now the remaining pieces are crumbling. ...more

October 16, 2008