FROM THE ARCHIVES.

15 YEARS AGO

February 2005

"If the Republicans started aggressively trying to overturn Roe v. Wade or to outlaw all legal protections for same-sex couples, it would likely alienate many moderates--particularly if national security became a less prominent issue, or a less advantageous one for the GOP. Meanwhile, a pro-choice, progay rights Republican in the Arnold Schwarzenegger mold would lose some 'values voters' who would either switch to a more conservative third-party candidate or stay home, but [such a candidate] would likely pick up a lot of votes from the more libertarian independents uneasy with the influence of the religious right."

CATHY YOUNG

"The 'Values' Panic"

"There are three good reasons to be skeptical that November 3 sounded the death knell for old-style political journalism. First, every presidential election since 1960, if not earlier, has been followed by increasingly louder whither-journalism sessions. It was only four years ago that the major networks and newspapers were vowing never again to get bamboozled by Election Day exit polls. Needless to say, such fretting does not always produce reforms."

MATT WELCH

"That Old, Tired Balancing Act"

20 YEARS AGO

February 2000

"David Sumpter... has received and served a criminal sentence for marijuana possession. The state of Indiana isn't through with him, though; it wants to punish him again for the same offense. Officially, the state is trying to collect a 'controlled substance excise tax,' under a law that the Indiana Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 1995."

STEPHEN HAYES

"Pot Stickers"

"Together these events signal a development that was bound to arrive sooner or later: America's high-tech industry is now officially under assault from America's other most successful industry, the litigation business. If we're lucky, Silicon Valley will now realize that it's in the same boat with conventional businesses that have come under courtroom attack--and perhaps begin to think about how best to unite in resistance."

WALTER OLSON

"Gold Bugs"

25 YEARS AGO

February 1995

"The cost of processing and conveying information will consume a steadily growing fraction of every budget, private and public, for the rest of our lives, and quite possibly for the rest of American history. Manufacturing, transportation, energy, finance, education, medical care--the prosperity of almost every sector of the economy will hinge on telecommunications and information processing. Growing the...