Articles By Mike Billips

Mike Billips was formerly a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper. Now he is a freelance writer.

Here we go again
Can't ANYTHING ever be handled through reasonable compromise?
2 May 2000

Hasta la Victoria Siempre, bubba
Howcum I never have the right T-shirt on?
27 April 2000

The Dinosaur Media Strikes Back
Washington Post coverage of global trade issues/protests is excellent
14 April 2000

You'll get my contribution when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers
Dirtbag Republican Tom Delay is prying his pesticide-stained fingers into the sacred privacy rights of gun owners.
13 April 2000

The IMF in Asia acted like the Fed in the '30s
Former World Bank chief economist explains how/why the IMF and the U.S. Treasury department screwed up world finance. Using tight money tactics to fix a contractionary economic situation is beyond stupid.
11 April 2000

It's the Rudy, stupid
Police brutality isn't on the rise; it's mainly a local problem in New York, caused by their jackass of a mayor.
6 April 2000

Mr. Atahualpa? Meet Mr. Smallpox
Jared Diamond explains world history in terms of geography, natural selection.
4 April 2000

Highminded devotion to a bad cause
Shelby Foote tells, and tells about the Civil War.
29 March 2000

Brand loyalty
Joan Crawford stuck by her brand(s).
16 March 2000

Standing up, being counted
Enumerating thoughts about the Census
16 March 2000

I'm not the NRA, but that bubba over there is
The national press needs to keep its opinions out of gun legislation coverage.
15 March 2000

Like we needed another Christian station
Atlanta's radio Voice of the Arts is fixing to die and be born again as some Christian crap.
12 March 2000

Brill's presentation
Steven Brill bores hungry press club, except when he proposes dumb ideas.
8 March 2000

Generation Sucks
New York writer laments being too old to boom, to young to X.
1 March 2000

Too right, save the kiwi
Exotic predators have just about wiped out the New Zealand national symbol. There's a solution, but it's going to take a lot of money and effort.
29 February 2000

Salon has my back
Expert on police brutality testified for Diallo cops because they were just following the (heinous) rules. It's the NYPD's fault, not the individual cops'.
28 February 2000

Too bad Sooners already claimed the best rocks
Web site sells "title" to Martian real estate, building a Brooklyn Bridge to the 21st century.
28 February 2000

Diallo family asks for calm
Little immediate reaction to Diallo verdict.
26 February 2000

Oh, so that's where I left that
Wonder where dead people are? Wonder no more.
25 February 2000

Primary ignition
Lefty pundits claim W is toast
23 February 2000

Clinton fatigue, my butt
The New Republic's Sean Wilentz puts paid to the conventional foolishness about "Clinton fatigue."
23 February 2000

OK, I give, the rat wins
The AJC profiles people who gave up high-dollar corporate jobs, either for more personally meaningful work, or just less of it.
22 February 2000

Now, this is a useful Web site
Instructions on constructing an aluminum beanie to thwart government mind-control rays. Camp humor or real risk? You decide!
10 February 2000

Seven Questions
Tom Mangan, SJose copy editor, interviews the obscure and semi-obscure.
9 February 2000

Dah-dit-dah-dit....dah-dah-dah...dah-dah-dah...dit-dah-dit-dit
There's a Web site to translate Morse code. Well, of course there is.
9 February 2000

Now, if we could only get them off TV
A University (sic) of Georgia study shows that (at least in Georgia), the rate of tort lawsuits is dropping, juries are less likely than judges to side with plaintiffs, and $1 million verdicts are extremely rare.
9 February 2000

Is this Easy, or What?
Review of "Blue Light" from the master of Afro-noir.
7 February 2000

Could somebody get the Lord out my inbox?
Our worldwide, high-tech communication web has allowed dimwitted fundamentalists to disseminate bad religious art. Hallelujah!
7 February 2000

Hey, Lileks does it. Sort of.
Billips attempts lame defense of self-plagiarism. Cites Lileks.
5 February 2000

Anyone for Trader Aid?
The Wall Street journal notes that since the feds are borrowing less, the boom in bond trading is over.
3 February 2000

Can I come, too, George?
The New Republic looks at Orrin Hatch's bizarre ex-candidacy.
1 February 2000

Psst, say, buddy, need an untraceable sniper rifle?
Some guy is selling antique "non-firearms" that can drop a deer (or a president) at 500 yards.
31 January 2000

Say, buddy, got train fare to Davos?
The New Republic does a take on Roger Milliken, the billionaire South Carolina textile magnate who provides funding to anti-free-trade groups.
31 January 2000

So, now what?
Musing on the census numbers.
31 January 2000

You sayin' we should spare the rod?
Observation gleaned from late night TV. Alabama bashing.
28 January 2000

Home Officers, relax
Wash Post article throws water on what had become a mini-cause celebre among some right wingers.
27 January 2000

Dan Savage licks Bauer's doorknob
Salon magazine article shows how point-of-view journalism is often more informative than the "objective" variety.
27 January 2000

Hmm, Socalist paradise?
A contrary opinion on the relative merits of young Elian's homeland.
21 January 2000

Clinton says Confederate flag should come down
South Carolinians have a peculiar definition of "Southerner."
19 January 2000

Once again, the Man is keepin' me down
A mini-rant about the lack of DSL coverage in my ethnically diverse neighborhood.
19 January 2000

The one thing I hate about Clinton
Salon.com casts light on our Prez's dirty little secret. No, not that one.
18 January 2000