Do not be taken in by 'insiderisms.' Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' Where they lede, do not follow.

Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.

The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.

Different regions may require different strategies, as President Bush has noted, but not different basic principles. It's either collective security or selective security.

The perfect Christmas gift for a sportscaster, as all fans of sports clichés know, is a scoreless tie.

Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity.

Avoid overuse of 'quotation “marks.”'