PREFACE
During the years from 2005 to 2017, I sent the Huffington Post about 70 articles on a wide range of topics, mostly political. Though one of my early posts (about Dick Cheney) was soon axed and several others have lately disappeared, most of the others are still available online. Below is a selection of these Huffposts along with a few other pieces published elsewhere or drawn from my files. Whether or not a particular article is available online, every article listed here can be called up by clicking the title.
Some of these pieces--such as those on torture, abortion, and the humanities--are serious essays. But as the title of the whole collection suggests, I sometimes opt for fun, as in writing about Steven Colbert, or turn satirical, as when I channel the voices of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, or Bibi Netanyahu. In short, I have thoroughly exploited the freedom that blogging permits. So happy browsing!
As appetizers, I’ve put my satiric pieces and jeux d’esprit first, followed by just one memoir of a good friend and then a set of serious pieces under several topic headings starting with religion.
James Heffernan
Hanover, NH
June 22, 2020
SATIRE AND JEUX D’ESPRIT
GEORGE W. BUSH’S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS: THE GIFT OF WAR (MIKE GERSON DRAFT #23) January 2005
DID YOU KNOW THAT DICK CHENEY IS PRAYING FOR TIM JOHNSON? December, 2006
ARE YOU ALL READY FOR THE LATEST CATECHISM ON TERROR? January 5, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: HIGH-PRICED ESCORT TELLS ALL ABOUT HER WILD NIGHT WITH NEW YORK GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER
On March 10, 2008, the New York Times revealed that Eliot Spitzer, then Governor of New York, had recently spent the night with an astronomically-priced 22-year-old escort named Ashley Dupré in the Mayflower Hotel of Washington, DC. After Spitzer’s bank had reported some suspicious transfers to an escort service called The Emperor’s Club VIP, the FBI had wiretapped the Club’s phone and thus caught Spitzer booking a night with Ashley, who knew him as “Client 9.” Having risen to power as a fierce enforcer of ethics in public life, Spitzer felt bound to resign his post on March 12, when he also pledged to devote himself to serving ”the common good.” In my own post about this scandal, I let Ashley tell her side of the whole story.
EXCLUSIVE: WHY I DESERVE MY BONUS (EVEN THOUGH MY COMPANY TANKED IN THE CRASH) March 18, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: BIBI NETANYAHU EXPLAINS VIDEO OF ISRAELI RAID June 12, 2010
CHOCOLATE MILK, OR, THE FINE ART OF FAKING ONE’S LIFE STORY June 30, 2010.
COULD STEPHEN COLBERT BE THE NEXT POPE? May 18, 2012
HOW EMERGENCY ROOMS CAN SAVE ROMNEY’S TAX PLAN
I CONFESS: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY July 23, 2013.
JESUS AND HIS WIFE: THE PRE-NUP, April 11, 2014
BIBI NETANYAHU EXPLAINS ISRAEL’S LATEST ATTACK ON GAZA (August 4, 2014)
THE SUPREME COURT HAS JUST DESTROYED MARRIAGE June 26, 2015
BOMBSHELL: TRUMP TOWER DISCOVERED ON PLUTO July 20, 2015
DOES TRUMP REALLY HAVE THE BIGGEST DICK IN THE RACE? March 11, 2016
HERE’S WHAT HILLARY COULD SAY ABOUT TRUMP’S PLAN TO JAIL HER October 13, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: PUTIN’S CHRISTMAS DAY PHONE CALL TO TRUMP December 24, 2016
PRESIDENT TRUMP ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER DECLARING HIMSELF INSANE January 25, 2017
MEMOIR
REMEMBERING FRANK JANNEY (1930-2006) February 2006
RELIGION
IS GOD THE GREATEST TERRORIST OF ALL? January 9, 2005
WHEN WILL THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA STOP GENUFLECTING TO THE REPUBLICAN RIGHT? April 21, 2005
SO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY NOW MEANS THE FREEDOM TO ENDANGER WOMEN’S HEALTH January 31, 2012
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH NOW DEMANDS HUMAN SACRIFICE May 6, 2013
IS POPE FRANCIS REALLY PLOTTING TO BREAK UP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? November 3, 2015
ABORTION RIGHTS AND GAY RIGHTS
WHY CAN’T I BE PRO-CHOICE AND PRO-LIFE? May 25, 2011
WHY MUST PRO-MARRIAGE MEAN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE?
HOW TO KILL THE ANTI-ABORTION CLAUSE OF THE TRAFFICKING BILL March 19, 2015
PSEUDO-VIDEO, LIES, AND CARLY FIORINA September 18, 2015
TRUMP’S GAFFE BARES THE TRUTH ABOUT CRIMINALIZING ABORTION March 31, 2016
LET’S STOP CALLING ANTI-ABORTIONISTS “PRO-LIFE” July 2016
THE BATHROOM LAW IS SELF-DEFEATING AND UNENFORCEABLE May 25, 2017
WAR AND TERRORISM
WHEN WILL WE STOP FIGHTING TERROR WITH TORTURE? March 1, 2005
GUESS WHAT? IT’S THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF LETHAL HYPOCRISY March 18, 2008
GUESS WHO’S BEEN NEGOTIATING WITH A TERRORIST? April 7, 2008
AT LAST! THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT MEETS AN IRRESISTIBLE FORCE July 27, 2008
WHAT DOES ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF REALLY MEAN? November 20, 2012
WILL THE ISRAELIS AND THE PALESTINIANS EVER VANQUISH THE LUST TO RETALIATE? (November 20, 2014)
WHY CARTOONISTS GET KILLED January 8, 2015
WHY WE SHOULD ALL WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE JORDANIAN PILOT’S FIERY DEATH February 9, 2015
WHY MUST WE DEMONIZE ALL MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS? November 18, 2015
POLITICS
DOES POLITICAL CHANGE MEAN ANYTHING MORE THAN SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT? February 4, 2008.
HOW A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER SAVED 33 LIVES October 14, 2010
MR. PRESIDENT, YOU ALONE CAN SAVE US FROM DEFAULT July 30, 2011
LET’S START SMITING THE RIGHT WITH FIGHTING WORDS January 11, 2012
RESCUING AMANDA: A PRETTY WHITE GIRL IN A BLACK MAN’S ARMS May 16, 2013
LET’S STOP TALKING ABOUT INEQUALITY February 20, 2014
WHY DOES HILLARY NEED 2.5 BILLION FOR HER CAMPAIGN? April 13, 2015
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS TELLS POLITICIANS TO SERVE THEIR DONORS May 4, 2015
WILL THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS EVER GET BEYOND POLITICS? March 23, 2016
WHY CAN’T WE AMEND THE SECOND AMENDMENT? June 23, 2016
TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT GUNS FOR DONALD TRUMP May 24, 2017
HERE’S THE CHOICE THAT COMEY REALLY MADE May 4, 2017
THE BITTER PRICE WE PAY FOR XENOPHOBIA, Valley News November 10, 2018
WARTS AND ALL, JOE BIDEN IS THE DEMOCRATS BEST BET TO DEFEAT TRUMP May 18, 2019
HEALTH
HOW HEADSHOTS ARE HUMANIZING EBOLA HEALTHCARE WORKERS April 9, 2015
MEMO TO MICHAEL GRAHAM: WHY CAN’T WE BE ALLOWED TO LET YOU DIE? March 20, 2017
SINCE OBAMACARE CAN’T BE REPEALED, WHY CAN’T WE REPAIR IT? March 26, 2017
DO THE RISKS OF PSA TESTING REALLY OUTWEIGH THE RISKS OF SKIPPING IT? November 14, 2017
LITERATURE AND THE HUMANITIES
JUST WHAT IS A “GREAT BOOK”? (Here in Hanover Magazine 2007)
GETTING BOMBED AT DARTMOUTH, April 2013
TREACHEROUS HOSPITALITY IN THE “GAME OF THRONES”—AND WESTERN LIT July 8, 2014
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH AN INVITATION FROM THE MACBETHS? May 27, 2014
WHY WE NEED THE HUMANITIES October 30, 2021
DARTMOUTH PRESIDENT HANLON ABANDONED FREE SPEECH AND HISTORY September 1, 2017
All Content Copyright 2013 James A.W. Heffernan