Table of Contents
Cover Frontispiece Book Title Copyright Contents Foreword Introduction Editor’s Note “Trojan Thoughts,” July 1, 1948, volume 1, no. 2 “Trojan Thoughts,” July 15, 1948, volume 1, no. 4 “An Open Letter to Austin Lewis, State’s Attorney,” June 16, 1949 “‘Closed’ Houses of Prostitution Again Operating,” October 20, 1949 “The Illinois Legislature: A Study in Corruption,” by State Senator Paul Simon as told to Alfred Balik, Harper’s Magazine, September 1964 “Announcing P.S./Washington, a Weekly Column by Congressman Paul Simon, the 24th Congressional District of Illinois,” February 2–8, 1975 Editor’s Note “Defending the Constitution: A Constant Vigil,” P.S./Washington, June 28–July 4, 1987 “Simon on Flag Issue: Why I’ll Fight to Defend the Constitution,” P.S./Washington, June 24–30, 1990 “The Size of the Federal Government,” P.S./Washington, August 15–21, 1976 “Government Regulation,” P.S./Washington, February 18–24, 1979 “Air Bags and Government’s Role,” P.S./Washington, January 13–19, 1991 “Your Congressional Office,” P.S./Washington, April 20–26, 1975 “Congress: Reality Better Than Image,” P.S./Washington, October 9–15, 1977 “Travel More, Not Less,” P.S./Washington, April 27–May 3, 1980 “The Presidency: How Strong Should It Be?,” P.S./Washington, September 28–October 4, 1975 “Congress or the White House: Who Sets Foreign Policy?,” P.S./Washington, August 24–30, 1986 “The Supreme Court: An Easy Target,” P.S./Washington, July 10–16, 1977 “Advise and Consent: What Does It Mean?,” P.S./Washington, August 3–9, 1986 “No on Rehnquist, Yes on Scalia,” P.S./Washington, August 17–23, 1986 “Statement of Paul Simon: Senate Judiciary Committee,” September 4, 2001 “For an Open Meetings Act,” Sidelights from Springfield, by State Representative Paul Simon, February 17, 1955 “For Open Primaries,” Sidelights from Springfield, by State Representative Paul Simon, May 15, 1957 “Facing Reapportionment Problems,” Press Release from Illinois State Senator Paul Simon, January 17, 1965 “Ombudsman,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, February 10, 1969 “Income Disclosure: The Time Has Come,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, September 29, 1971 “A Threat from the Far Right,” P.S./Washington, July 26–August 1, 1981 “The Soaring Costs of U.S. Elections,” P.S./Washington, December 26, 1981–January 1, 1982 “Today’s Biggest Scandal,” P.S./Washington, November 17–23, 1985 “Campaign Finance Reform,” NPR Commentary, February 26, 2002 “Improving Statehouse Coverage,” ColumbiaJournalism Review, September–October 1973 “A Flawed System for Electing Presidents,” P.S./Washington, September 30–October 6, 1979 “Modern-Day Witch Hunting,” P.S./Washington, January 9–15, 1983 Editor’s Note “Where Government Can Help,” P.S./Washington, February 17–23, 1980 “Hot Topic on Town Meeting Circuit,” P.S./Washington, February 18–24, 1990 “Americans Back Basics of Clinton Health Plan,” P.S./Washington, May 1–7, 1994 “Americans Must Speak Out on Health Care Reform,” P.S./Washington, August 21–27, 1994 “Profiteers’ Victory over the Public in Health Reform May Be Short-Lived,” P.S./Washington, September 18–24, 1994 “Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve, and the U.S. Health Care Muddle,” P.S./Washington, January 28–February 3, 1996 “A Patient We Can Cure,” Commentary, Chicago Sun-Times, August 29, 2000 “Campus Disorders: What’s the Answer?,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, April 2, 1969 “Bad News on the Education Front,” P.S./Washington, February 7–13, 1982 “Good News from Oilton, Oklahoma,” P.S./Washington, May 2–8, 1982 “The Key to a Strong Industrial Base,” P.S./Washington, August 15–21, 1982 “Strength through Education,” P.S./Washington, February 18, 1985 “U.S. Rates ‘F’ in Literacy,” P.S./Washington, June 2–8, 1985 “From Guns to Butter and Blackboards,” P.S./Washington, May 21–27, 1989 “Longer School Days Would Boost U.S. Standard of Living,” P.S./Washington, October 9–15, 1994 “Appropriations for Literacy,” NPR Commentary, August 18, 1997 “Equal Treatment for Women,” P.S./Washington, July 6–12, 1975 “Wiretapping: A Basic Struggle Continues,” P.S./Washington, May 23–29, 1976 “The Fight for Human Rights,” P.S./Washington, August 7–13, 1977 “The Proper Role for Affirmative Action,” P.S./Washington, April 15–21, 1995 “America the Melting Pot,” P.S./Washington, January 11–17, 1987 “Immigration Law Isn’t a Cure-All,” P.S./Washington, April 5–11, 1987 “On Anti-immigration Sentiment,” NPR Commentary, September 17, 1997 “A Hungry World,” The Edge Magazine, May 1968 (based on an address to the Dallas/Seattle Luther League Convention, 1967) “Will a State Lottery Answer Our Problem?,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, March 19, 1969 “On Gambling,” NPR Commentary, January 21, 2003 “The NRA’s Irresponsible ‘Victory,’” P.S./Washington, September 25–October 1, 1988 “An Incomprehensible, Irresponsible, Baffling Boondoggle for the NRA,” P.S./Washington, July 14–20, 1996 “Gun Dealer Requirements,” NPR Commentary, December 17, 1997 “Gun Violence,” NPR Commentary, February 24, 1998 “On the NRA,” NPR Commentary, February 7, 2000 “The Oil Depletion Allowance,” P.S./Washington, March 16–22, 1975 “The Energy Crisis Is Real,” P.S./Washington, June 19–25, 1977 “An Energy Lesson from Cyprus,” P.S./Washington, September 4–10, 1977 “Reduce Reliance on Foreign Oil,” P.S./Washington, December 9–15, 1979 “Preserving Mother Nature’s Gifts,” P.S./Washington, August 31–September 6, 1986 “Preparing for the Next Energy Crisis,” P.S./Washington, January 18–24, 1987 “Amtrak Needs More Financial Support, Not Less,” Daily Herald, January 3, 2001 “A Treaty We May Be Violating: Declining Foreign Language Study,” P.S./Washington, March 13–19, 1977 “‘Official’ or Not, English Is Nation’s Language,” P.S./Washington, March 26–April 2, 1989 “Beef Up the Country’s Foreign Language Skills, ”Commentary, Washington Post, October 23, 2001 “Television Violence: Cause for Concern,” P.S./Washington, October 3–9, 1976 “Real Life Imitates TV Violence,” P.S./Washington, June 23, 1985 “Media Have to Take Some Responsibility for Violence,” Daily Herald, January 10, 2001 “Art Influences Behavior,” P.S./Washington, March 11–17, 1979 “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Again,” P.S./Washington, September 24–30, 1989 “Cultural Chasms That Divide Us,” P.S./Washington, January 29–February 4, 1995 “Superficiality Lingers While Substance Flees, ”Commentary, Chicago Sun-Times, September 19, 2000 “Seventy-Two Phone Books,” NPR Commentary, April 8, 2003 “Portraying a Positive Picture,” NPR Commentary, June 17, 2003 “Broken Bones—and Public Policy,” P.S./Washington, June 1–7, 1975 “A Mayor, an Aide, and a Congressman,” P.S./Washington, December 27, 1980–January 2, 1981 “Military Sales Mushroom,” P.S./Washington, March 9–15, 1975 “A Year of Service,” P.S./Washington, March 9–15, 1980 “Homosexuality and Military Service,” P.S./Washington, March 5–11, 1995 “Required Service,” NPR Commentary, November 6, 2001 “Missing Children,” P.S./Washington, July 18–24, 1982 “Practical Steps on Crime and Violence,” P.S./Washington, September 14–20, 1986 “On the Prison Population in the U.S.,” NPR Commentary, October 29, 2003 Editor’s Note “Israel: An Exciting Place These Days,” statement released by State Senator Paul Simon, September 21, 1967 “Two Mediterranean Trouble Spots,” P.S./Washington, August 21–27, 1977 “Middle East Problems Affect Us All,” P.S./Washington, December 4–10, 1977 “Passion and Self-Interest in Foreign Policy,” P.S./Washington, April 2–8, 1978 “Wanted: Another Sensible, Courageous Arab Leader,” P.S./Washington, April 1–7, 1979 “Understanding the Moslem World,” P.S./Washington, December 23–29, 1979 “Anwar Sadat,” P.S./Washington, October 11–17, 1981 “Peace: The Middle East’s Only Real Security,” P.S./Washington, May 28–June 3, 1989 “Remarks by Senator Paul Simon,” Amman, Jordan, July 16, 2001 “Remarks by Paul Simon,” Jewish National Fund, Chicago, April 30, 2002 “Water: The Next Crisis,” P.S./Washington, June 14–20, 1981 “Are We Running Dry?,” Parade Magazine, August 23, 1998 “Water Shortage a Real Problem Unless We Plan,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 6, 2000 “Water Problems Will Be the Cause of War in the Middle East,” Commentary, Chicago Tribune, October 9, 2001 “Afghanistan Is Not Nicaragua,” P.S./Washington, February 16–22, 1986 “Needed: A Clear, Firm, and Open Policy,” P.S./Washington, July 31–August 6, 1988 “Now the Really Tough Job: Winning the Peace,” P.S./Washington, March 10–16, 1991 “Iraq,” NPR Commentary, September 30, 2002 “The Prohibitive Costs of War against Iraq” (with former congressman Paul Findley), unpublished, February 2003 “Korea: We Need Patience and Firmness,” P.S./Washington, August 31–September 6, 1975 “Panama: The Panama Canal Treaty—It Makes Defense Sense,” P.S./Washington, August 28–September 3, 1977 “Communicating with Vietnam,” P.S./Washington, August 13–19, 1978 “South Africa ‘Miracle,’” P.S./Washington, May 29–June 4, 1994 “On the Cuban Embargo,” NPR Commentary, February 27, 2001 “Easing the Embargo Grudge against Cuba,” Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2001 “The U.N. Disarmament Conference,”P.S./Washington, May 28–June 3, 1978 “Peace Corps Volunteer Offers Help and Hope,” P.S./Washington, August 4–10, 1985 “The United Nations at Middle Age,” P.S./Washington, November 3–9, 1985 “Increasing Defense Spending Isn’t America’s Cure-All,” Commentary, Chicago Tribune, February 12, 2002 Editor’s Note “A Balanced Budget Amendment,” P.S./Washington, March 30–April 5, 1975 “Managing the Federal Debt,” P.S./Washington, January 30–February 5, 1977 “Economic Illness Requires Unpopular Cures,” P.S./Washington, April 16–22, 1978 “Cut Taxes or Reduce the Deficit?,” P.S./Washington, July 30–August 5, 1978 “Allied Underspending on Defense Means U.S. Overspending,” P.S./Washington, March 21–27, 1982 “Rescuing the Budget,” P.S./Washington, May 9–15, 1982 “Backbone in Budgeting,” P.S./Washington, July 25–31, 1982 “Bring Back Pay-as-You-Go Government,” P.S./Washington, August 19–25, 1984 “When the U.S. Was Debt-Free,” P.S./Washington, January 1985 “Bad Borrowing Too Often Makes Good Politics,” P.S./Washington, August 2–8, 1987 “Getting the Illinois Budget in Order: Principles and Dollars,” Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2003 “On a State Tax Increase,” Sidelights from Springfield, by State Representative Paul Simon, February 1, 1959 “A Dangerous Bond Issue Proposal,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, May 1, 1969 “Time to Stem Tax Bill Dance,” P.S./Washington, September 13–19, 1981 “Tax Cut Proposals Are Political Pandering,” P.S./Washington, August 18–24, 1996 “What to Do with the Budget Surplus,” NPR Commentary, January 13, 1998 “Tax Cuts and the Budget Surplus,” NPR Commentary, August 11, 1999 “Our Pension Dilemma,” Sidelights from Springfield, by State Senator Paul Simon, June 13, 1965 “Pension Systems Face Danger,” From the Statehouse, by Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, November 3, 1971 “Senior Citizens: Their Special Problems,”P.S./Washington, September 7–13, 1975 “Getting Public Pension Systems into Shape,” P.S./Washington, November 20–26, 1977 “Two Myths about Social Security,” P.S./Washington, June 8–14, 1986 “The Moral Test of a Society,” P.S./Washington, August 9–15, 1987 “On Social Security,” NPR Commentary, March 27, 2001 “Needed: Money to Create Jobs,” P.S./Washington, March 23–29, 1975 “The Causes of Crime,” P.S./Washington, September 5–11, 1976 “Jobs Can Begin at Home,” P.S./Washington, February 6–12, 1977 “Stimulating Youth Employment,” P.S./Washington, July 31–August 6, 1977 “Jobs Instead of Welfare,” P.S./Washington, February 22–28, 1981 “Merger Mania,” P.S./Washington, January 10–16, 1982 “Helping the Homeless,” P.S./Washington, March 29–April 4, 1987 Editor’s Note “Politics and Morality” (the first annual Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture, Unitarian Universalist Church, Urbana, Illinois, October 22, 1965), by State Senator Paul Simon, published in The Cresset, January 1967 “A Meaningless Rating,” P.S./Washington, May 11–17, 1980 “Prescription for Prayer Not the Answer,” P.S./Washington, June 20–26, 1982 “The Importance of Separating Church from State,” P.S./Washington, July 21–27, 1985 “Cloaking Politics in Religion,” P.S./Washington, July 6–12, 1986 “Religion and Public Life: Partnership of Convenience or Conviction?,” P.S./Washington, February 22–28, 1987 “Religious Zealotry Can Turn Good into Evil,” P.S./Washington, February 5–11, 1995 “Balancing Rites, Rights,” Commentary, Chicago Sun-Times, July 25, 2000 “An Old Book Teaches Some Lessons,” P.S./Washington, October 30–November 5, 1977 “Lessons from Holocaust,” P.S./Washington, April 23–29, 1978 “Lessons from the Durants,” P.S./Washington, December 6–12, 1981 “Can You Legislate Morality?,” P.S./Washington, August 28–September 3, 1983 “The Noble in Each of Us,” P.S./Washington, December 29, 1985–January 4, 1986 “Democracy Thrives on the Town Meeting Circuit,” P.S./Washington, January 5–11, 1986 “Making a Difference,” P.S./Washington, October 5–11, 1986 “From an Old Royal Typewriter: 40 Years and Counting,” P.S./Washington, June 19–24, 1988 “On Being a Senator,” P.S./Washington, January 22–28, 1989 “A Lesson from 50 Years Ago,” P.S./Washington, September 3–9, 1989 “Choosing Wisely in Matters of War: Some Lessons from History,” P.S./Washington, May 12–18, 1991 “On the Importance of Friendships in the Legislature,” Sidelights from Springfield, by State Representative Paul Simon, March 23, 1961 “A Grateful Nation Thanks President Ford,” P.S./Washington, January 16–22, 1977 “Tip o’ the Hat to Tip,” P.S./Washington, April 30, 1985 “Extreme Partisanship Fuels Cynicism,” P.S./Washington, September 3–9, 1995 “On the Death of Barry Goldwater,” NPR Commentary, June 8, 1998 “Bush Has a New Opportunity to Build Bipartisanship,” Daily Herald, January 24, 2001 “On Excessive Partisanship,” NPR Commentary, May 15, 2001 “Thebes—and National Policy,” P.S./Washington, June 6–12, 1976 “World Problems Affect Southern Illinois,” P.S./Washington, April 17–23, 1977 “Congressmen Who Served Southern Illinois,” P.S./Washington, May 21–27, 1978 “Marion Will Rise Again,” P.S./Washington, June 6–12, 1982 Editor’s Note “Fourth of July: The Good and the Bad,” P.S./Washington, July 18–24, 1976 “Lifting the National Spirit,” P.S./Washington, October 21–27, 1979 “What Is Popular May Not Be Right,” P.S./Washington, May 10–16, 1987 “Lincoln’s Words Still Ring True,” P.S./Washington, July 19–25, 1987 “Lee Atwater and Abraham Lincoln: Generous Spirits In Troubled Times,” P.S./Washington, February 3–9, 1991 “The Oklahoma Bombing and the Poison of Hatred,” P.S./Washington, April 30–May 6, 1995 “Major News Stories That You Have Not Seen,” P.S./Washington, February 25–March 2, 1996 “Public Opinion Shouldn’t Rule: Leaders Should,” Daily Herald, February 14, 2001 “Motives Are Generally Good,” P.S./Washington, January 18–24, 1976 “Compromise: Essential to Progress,” P.S./Washington, January 25–31, 1976 “Two Unpopular Votes,” P.S./Washington, June 26–July 2, 1977 “Is a Career in Public Service Worth It?,” P.S./Washington, December 3–10, 1994 “On Civility,” NPR Commentary, July 1, 1997 Essay on Lincoln’s Lyceum Speech, Illinois Heritage, published by the Illinois State Historical Society, September 3, 1997 “On September 11, 2001, Attacks,” NPR Commentary, September 12, 2001 “Remarks on President Harry Truman,” by Senator Paul Simon on receiving the annual Harry Truman Award, May 2, 2003, at the Truman Presidential Library, Independence, Missouri “Learning from Lessons of the Past,” NPR Commentary, July 22, 2003 “On Pandering,” written for The Lutheran, November 2003 Appendix: Annotated Bibliography of the Books of Paul Simon Bibliography Index Author Biogrpahy Back Cover
