Hi, I'm James Taranto, editor of OpinionJournal.com and author of the daily Best of the Web Today column. Here is a collection of my articles from the pages of The Wall Street Journal (and elsewhere).

2008

Bad Judgment (The American Spectator, September)
How the L.A. Times became a party to a vexatious litigant's smear campaign.

How a Young Lawyer Saved the Second Amendment (July 19)
One plaintiff was a gay man who had used his gun to stop a hate crime.

A Harsh Mistress (The American Spectator, July)
Will the media still love Barack Obama in the autumn?

Vast Company (The American Spectator, June)
Mrs. Clinton joins the right-wing conspiracy.

Attack of the Keller Tomatoes (The American Spectator, May)
The New York Times tries to "swift boat" McCain.

Fanfare for the Column Man, April 30)
A musical kerfuffle in Chattanooga.

We Stand Behind Our Stereotype (The American Spectator, April)
The New York Times embraces the "wacko vet" myth.

The Audacity of Hype (The American Spectator, March)
How Obama and Mrs. Clinton fell for their own good press.

US Has Moved Beyond Racist Past (Australian, Feb. 11)
Obama may lose, but not because he's black.

That '80s Show (The American Spectator, February)
The press remembers Reagan, not always fondly.

Poetic License (Jan. 25)
Republicans need not apply.

2007

The Second Time as Farce (The American Spectator, December/January)
Blasts from the past from Dan Rather and Anita Hill.

Legal Warrior (Nov. 24)
Can the lawyer who won Bush v. Gore win over social conservatives for Rudy Giuliani?

Unstatesmanlike Conduct (The American Spectator, November)
Larry Craig didn't cover himself in glory. Neither did the press.

Issues of Narrative (The American Spectator, October)
What journalists do when "the facts are wrong."

In Katrina's Wake (Sept. 8)
Louisiana's would-be governor says the state needs a sense of urgency.

Unaccountably Biased (The American Spectator, September)
Has the Associated Press given up on straight news?

'It Didn't Happen' (July 26)
Democrats go soft on crimes against humanity.

Ignorance of the Law (The American Spectator, July/August)
How journalists help politicize the Supreme Court.

The Truth About Guantanamo (June 26)
Proposals to treat detainees as criminal defendants make a mockery of international humanitarian law.

No News Is Good News (The American Spectator, June)
Reflexive pessimism and dubious "experts" in terror-war coverage.

Dealing With Iran (May 26)
Israel's former--and future?--prime minister talks about the threats to peace.

Disparate but Not Serious (May 18)
College is an expensive way of taking an IQ test.

Life in the Vast Lane (The American Spectator, May)
Journalists treat Mrs. Clinton with kid gloves. That may not last.

'Let's Just Say' (The American Spectator, April)
A global-warmist hysteric trivializes the horrors of Nazi Germany.

Who's Counting? (The American Spectator, March)
The media's "grim milestones" in Iraq further a political agenda.

Reckless Caution (Feb. 8)
Edwards vs. Clinton: Indecision 2008.

Tit for Tet (The American Spectator, February)
The media follow the Vietnam script in Iraq. Will the Democrats' victory change that?

2006

On Reflection, This Timely Honour's All Mine (Australian, Dec. 26)
It came as something of a surprise being named Time's Person of the Year.

Raging Bill (The American Spectator, December/January)
Why did Clinton blow up at Chris Wallace? Because he's used to sycophantic interviewers.

Lieberman Saves the Day for Hillary (Nov. 11)
Had Lamont won, she might have had to lurch left.

Read and Despair (The American Spectator, November)
Media myths about Guantanamo.

Boomer Terror (The American Spectator, October)
The New York Times struggles to make sense of the world.

Hicks Trial a Privilege Not a Right (Australian, Sept. 25)
The case against the Guantanamo detention camp rests on myths.

War Inside the Wire (Sept. 16)
You can handle the truth about Guantanamo Bay.

Where the Wild Things Are (Sept. 15)
Not everyone at Guantanamo is a terrorist.

Endangered Species? (Aug. 5)
A moderate Republican faces a liberal Democratic tide.

Getting to Yes (July 1)
For Chief Justice Roberts, it isn't easy.

Suicide Out of Spite (Australian Online, June 15)
Don't fret over the deaths of three irredeemable jihadists.

Kos Celeb (May 13)
Meet the man who's gunning for Joe Lieberman.

Brother From Another Party (April 8)
Can a black Republican win in a blue state?

Bad News Bearers (The American Spectator, February)
The media won't defeat America by fighting the last war.

A Strong Executive (Jan. 28)
Dick Cheney discusses presidential power and foreign policy.

A Waiting Period on Abortion (Jan. 23)
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

He Didn't Say Uncle (Jan. 20)
But Salvador Taranto lived to become one.

2005

Latter-day President? (Dec. 31)
A Mitt Romney candidacy would test the religious right.

Pro-Wife Extremism (Nov. 5)
Judge Alito was right on spousal notification.

Filibuster Bluster (Oct. 1)
Liberals threaten a fight over Justice O'Connor's replacement. Mr. President, call their bluff.

How's He Doing? (Sept. 12)
Bush is "average," but far from ordinary.

Myths of Hurricane Katrina (Australian, Sept. 8)
Like looters, the Angry Left seeks opportunity in disaster.

Kerry's Quagmire (The American Spectator, July/August)
How the liberal media helped re-elect George W. Bush.

The 'Roe Effect' (Society, July/August)
Abortion today results in fewer Democratic voters 18 years from now.

C Man in the Navy (June 8)
John Kerry turns out to have been an average student, just like President Bush.

Why I'm Rooting for the Religious Right (May 5)
Secular liberals show open contempt for traditionalists.

Cold Warriors Get Their Due (Australian, April 6)
Gorbachev's death is unlikely to draw the fanfare that greeted the demise of Reagan and the pope.

Who Will Remember Terri? (April 1)
Disabled Americans aren't eager to embrace the "right to die."

Hillary's Secret Weapon (Feb. 25)
Republican loathing may make her the next president.

How Privacy Went Public (Feb. 8)
Penumbras and emanations make strange bedfellows.

2004

Chief Justice Thomas (Dec. 31)
President Bush gets a free pass on replacing Rehnquist. Here's how he can make the most of it.

Be Careful What You Wish For (Dec. 7)
Overturning Roe v. Wade would be good for the Democrats.

Now Tell Me Who Won (Nov. 3)
The best and worst of the presidential race.

The Guy on the $10 Bill (Oct. 20)
Alexander Hamilton was much more.

Gloom Is Not a Plan (Sept. 30)
Is John Kerry's personality winning enough to win in Iraq?

The Democrats' Patriotism Problem (Aug. 30)
Whining about imagined attacks is not a winning approach.

With Trends Like These . . . (July 27)
No Republican has won the presidency without Ohio. So what?

What Makes a President Great? (June 10)
Scholars finally begin giving Reagan his due.

Touché! (OpinionJournal.com, March 29)
Our readers give a Frenchman a piece of their minds.

Why Do Dems Lose in the South? (March 8)
Don't blame civil rights.

2003

To Coin a Prez (Dec. 12)
Reagan was ahead of his dime.

Left Behind (Dec. 8)
Liberals imitate the retro-right.

Taking 'Cides (OpinionJournal.com, Aug. 11)
Fox News should drop the term "homicide bomber."

Politicians Go Online (Aug. 6)
They can run, but can they blog?

Handicapping the Democrats (OpinionJournal.com, June 30)
Howard Dean wins an online "primary." Will Al Gore regret having helped create the Internet?

Indian Summer (June 4)
In Jayson Blair's wake, newspapers inch away from political correctness.

No Distraction (OpinionJournal.com, March 6)
Why liberating Iraq is crucial to beating terrorism.

Poetry for the War (OpinionJournal.com, Feb. 12)
A whole new way to slam Saddam.

2002

Just What the Doctor Ordered (OpinionJournal.com, Nov. 25)
"Post-traumatic slavery disorder" is only the start.

Half Empty (OpinionJournal.com, Oct. 10)
How Stephen Glass might have covered the Stephen Glass scandal.

The New Red Scare (Aug. 14)
Is America in danger of "creeping totalitarianism"? No. There's no such thing.

Enronymy (OpinionJournal.com, March 4)
New names for a disgraced company.

The New Sue Review (OpinionJournal.com, Jan. 28)
Our readers' suggestions for trial lawyers--and "Simpsons" writers.

'My Camel Ate the Manifest' (OpinionJournal.com, Jan. 14)
Our readers explain it all to Colin Powell.

2001

A Squandered Opportunity to Give the Devil His Due (Australian, Dec. 28)
Why Osama bin Laden should have been Man of the Year.

Zero Tolerance for Duck Sauce (Aug. 27)
New Jersey throws the book at an innocent schoolboy.

In Praise of Online Journalism (June 27)
We helped bust Slate's hoax.

'Zero Tolerance' Makes Zero Sense (May 18)
School discipline goes mad.

A Newspaper Plays With Fire (Feb. 7)
Did a reporter go too far in pursuit of a hot story?

Marconi Goes Online (Jan. 12)
"Wireless" once meant radio. It may again.

We Have a Winner (OpinionJournal.com, Dec. 15)
Actually, 10 of them. The October Surprise contest is over at last.

The October Surprise: Readers Respond (Oct. 3)
How will Clinton try to influence the November election?

Got a Sense of Humor? (OpinionJournal.com, Aug. 28)
Rudy Giuliani is the butt of PETA's latest joke. Maybe the organization itself is just a prank.

Why Class Warfare May Work This Year (Aug. 24)
Al Gore has followed Bill Clinton's lead by abandoning the nonworking poor.

Recycling Shouldn't Be a Crime (July 11)
The Boston Globe is shocked, shocked to find that rewriting is going on.

Swiss Army Life (Wall Street Journal Europe, June 30)
The joys of armed neutrality.

Global Village Idiots (April 18)
Protest, 2000-style: you name it, someone's against it.

It's Noncensus (New York Press, March 15)
The Census Bureau discovers interracial marriage.

Next, Cyberbums (New York Press, March 1)
Urban blight comes to the Internet.

Havana's Hostages (Jan. 31)
Fidel Castro divides Cuban families.

Elian's Journey (Jan. 24)
An exclusive interview with the two adult survivors.

A Byte to Eat in the Kitchen of Tomorrow (Jan. 14)
Computers can organize recipes, but they still can't cook.

Extra! Extra! Journalists Gaze at Own Navels! (Dec. 31)
The L.A. Times screwed up. But do we need to read 35,000 words about it?

I, the Jury (New York Press, Dec. 8)
How I shirked my civic duty.

Ku Klux Klowns (Oct. 26)
Meet the face of the New Racism--if you can find it amid all the counterdemonstrators.

The Pastor vs. the Social Workers (Sept. 15)
A minister, charged with abuse for spanking his son, slaps the state with a lawsuit.

In Praise of Waffling (Aug. 31)
How Roe v. Wade distorts American politics.

Halfway Around the World--Ultimate Sun Block (Aug. 13)
A total eclipse of the sun, as seen from a small Turkish town.

Save the Bugs! A Touchy-Feely Utopia in 2000 (Jan. 15)
Silly liberals take on silly computer problem. Silliness ensues.

The Real Sexual McCarthyites Back Clinton (Dec. 22)
Larry Flynt and Betty Friedan aren't really such strange bedfellows.

An Adolescent View of Smoking (The American Enterprise, September/October)
Hey kid, Hillary Clinton says you shouldn't light up. What could be cooler?

Why Stereotypes Are So Hard to Eradicate (Aug. 12)
We can't help but make generalizations, and many of them are based on experience.

Who's a Hypocrite--and Who Cares? (Aug. 4)
Why shouldn't vice pay tribute to virtue once in awhile?

A Kiss Is Still a Kiss, but a Grope Can Be a Felony (March 19)
What if Bill Clinton were a lowly worker's compensation judge?

Why the Unabomber Must Die (Jan. 6)
He sought a soapbox. Execution is the only way to be sure he'll never have one.

Nader's Raiders Try to Storm Bill's Gates (Nov. 18)
A self-styled consumer advocate exposes Microsoft's plan for total world domination.

The Cigar Bar (March 27)
A smoker's quixotic quest for justice.

The Year 3000 Problem (Jan. 28)
Y2K is all hype. It's Y3K we should be worried about.

Tax Incentives I'd Like to See (Sept. 11)
The government should encourage people to quit annoying me.

Close Encounters of the Third-Party Kind (Aug. 13)
A bold experiment in American politics: a coalition between the wacky and the wacko.

Berlin Diarist: Still Divided (City Journal, Summer 1996)
Mental walls collapse more slowly than physical ones.

1990

The Avant-Garde Laughs--at Last (New York City Tribune, Dec. 11)
A hilarious send-up of the NEA controversy.

The Homeless Are Ill Served by Advocates (Nov. 14)
Let them sell the Daily News.

NEA Head John Frohnmayer: Caught in the Crossfire? (New York City Tribune, Nov. 2)
His top lawyer slanders a Christian conservative.

The Prurience and Prejudice of Holly Hughes (New York City Tribune, Oct. 8)
An evening with America's preeminent lesbian performance artist.

Let's Not Rush to Conclusions About Rock Music (New York City Tribune, Sept. 5)
Tunes for the traditionalist.

Daniel Ortega Plots a Sequel to 'Revenge of the Nerds' (New York City Tribune, Aug. 15)
Nicaragua's answer to Michael Dukakis.

These Marxist Hacks Are Hackers Too (New York City Tribune, Aug. 7)
Online pioneers of the kooky left.

Roseanne Barr: From Deification to Disgust (New York City Tribune, Aug. 1)
A heroine? A goddess? Or just a pig?

A Civics Lesson for the ACLU Chief (New York City Tribune, July 24)
A so-called civil libertarian takes an extreme antidemocratic position.

Just Give Me That Old Time Derision (New York City Tribune, July 24)
Karen Finley preaches to the choir at Lincoln Center.

Charting Controversial Art (New York City Tribune, July 17)
"Serious Fun!": Crotch-grabbing and shooting Sen. Helms.

College Campuses Crawling With Crazies (New York City Tribune, July 13)
A report on political correctness, back when it was still news.

1988

The Rooster Papers (The Quill, September)
A student's journalistic feathers are plucked.