DailyOpEd.com

Children's and choppers - Chicago Tribune

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

This week the Illinois Department of Transportation hosts four hearings on a controversial question: Should medical helicopters be allowed to land atop the new Children's Memorial Hospital being built in the Streeterville neighborhood. IDOT officials, the safety of this densely populated patch of Chicago rests squarely with you.

The vote was greased - Chicago Tribune

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Just when we thought we couldn't stand to hear another word about Michael Jackson, along comes the melt-in-your-mouth controversy over whether Jacko's likeness, carved in butter, should be displayed at the Iowa State Fair.

The moon we forgot - Chicago Tribune

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Michael Crichton once wrote that if you had told a physicist in 1899 that within 100 years humankind would, among other wonders (nukes, commercial airlines), "travel to the moon, and then lose interest . . . the physicist would almost certainly pronounce you mad." In 2000, I quoted these lines expressing Crichton's incredulity at America's abandonment of the moon. It is now 2009, and the moon recedes ever further.

Republicans' double standard - Chicago Tribune

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Followers of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings were witness to a now-familiar phenomenon. Women are treated differently than men in such settings.

Our view on 'death with dignity': Physician-assisted suicide quietly gains ground - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:22:00 GMT

Our view on 'death with dignity': Physician-assisted suicide quietly gains ground Oregon’s successful decade-old law serves as a model for other states. Famed British conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife traveled to Switzerland this month and checked into an...

Opposing view: Oregon law strips dignity - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:21:00 GMT

Opposing view: Oregon law strips dignity Assisted suicide subverts trust in the patient-physician relationship. By William L. Toffler and Frank S. Rosenbloom Since the Oregon assisted-suicide law has been hailed by some as a model for other states, the results...

Et cetera - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:20:00 GMT

Et cetera Smart insights on the news of the day Thomas Friedman, column, The New York Times: "(Last) week I watched Greg Mortenson, the famed author of Three Cups of Tea, open one of his schools for girls in this...

What would you like to ask Nancy Pelosi? - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:18:00 GMT

What would you like to ask Nancy Pelosi? The speaker of the House will be meeting with USA TODAY's Editorial Board on Tuesday, July 21, and we'll pick three questions to ask her. Submit questions here. A video of her...

Evangelism 2.0 - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:16:00 GMT

Evangelism 2.0 Stereotypes simply don’t apply these days in Portland, Ore. A conservative Christian minister and an openly gay mayor of this progressive city provide a glimpse of what could be Christianity’s future. Welcome to “Jesus’ favorite city.” By Tom...

Clinton's foreign policy better than Republicans' - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:10:00 GMT

Clinton's foreign policy better than Republicans' Reba Shimansky - New York Forum writer Ralph Peters attacks the foreign policies of President Clinton and other Democratic presidents, while praising those of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush and withholding judgment on...

Sad but true: High schoolers don't know much about civics - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:09:00 GMT

Sad but true: High schoolers don't know much about civics Jean Hayworth - Breckenridge, Texas USA TODAY's editorial about "ignorant citizens" got my attention. The piece highlighted the low percentage of high school students who know enough to pass the...

Don't single out military for ban - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:08:00 GMT

Don't single out military for ban Gregory J. Magee Jr. - Pickerington, Ohio I am a U.S. Air Force officer (25 years), a non-smoker, a health and fitness fanatic, and I am in total opposition to banning tobacco use in...

Hope for equality - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:06:00 GMT

Hope for equality Randy Burrer - Iowa City The article "Iowa now a gay wedding draw" quotes Carolyn Jenison, head of the state's largest gay and lesbian advocacy group, as saying, "Iowans have such a great sense of community. We...

Conserve topsoil - USA Today

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:05:00 GMT

Conserve topsoil Benjamin Schultz - Bloomington, Ind. It's so sad to see the celebration of Mud Day in Westland, Mich. (Nationline, News, July 8). Much of our native topsoil has dried up and been blown away from centuries of tilling...

Why Taxing Health Benefits Would Hurt - Washington Post

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressional discussions over how to pay for health-care reform are being hindered by several myths that obscure the value of the employer-sponsored health plans covering more than 160 million Americans. Persistent misconceptions about the "tax-favored treatment" of employer-sponsored coverage are that it (1) leads to overconsumption of health services and (2) favors the wealthy.

President Obama, Democratic Congress's Squandered Stimulus - Washington Post

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

It's not surprising that the much-ballyhooed "economic stimulus" hasn't done much stimulating. President Obama and his aides argue that it's too early to expect startling results. They have a point. A $14 trillion economy won't revive in a nanosecond. But the defects of the $787 billion package go deeper and won't be cured by time. The program crafted by Obama and the Democratic Congress wasn't engineered to maximize its economic impact. It was mostly a political exercise, designed to claim credit for any recovery, shower benefits on favored constituencies and signal support for fashionable causes.

President Obama's Use of Power on Health Care and Other Issues - Washington Post

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

It was not the soaring rhetoric that is Barack Obama's signature, but he recently offered the sound bite that may define his presidency: "Don't bet against us."

The International Community Faces a Test in Somalia - Washington Post

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

NAIROBI -- When violence broke out in Somalia's battered capital this summer, cynics called it "business as usual." Once again, they claimed that the warring Somalis were embroiled in an incomprehensible clan struggle and that the international community should stay away and let them get on with it.

Obama Using Deadlines to Forge Foreign Policy - Washington Post

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

President Obama's surge in Afghanistan has a year to show that the increase in U.S. forces and aid can turn the tide there. It is not an open-ended commitment of American troops and money.

A Writer's Tale - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Mark Helprin doesn't think his words ought to be free.

Kenneth Scott and John Taylor: Why Toxic Assets Are So Hard to Clean Up - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Securitization was maddeningly complex. Mandated transparency is the only solution.

What's Up, Docs? - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

The AMA signs its members up to be civil servants.

O'Grady: The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Why would Hugo Chavez expect Obama to help him?

Europe Thumps U.S., Again - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

First lower taxes, now freer trade.

Inky Reveries - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

A lamentation for the lost world of raffish newspapering.

Icons Aren't What They Used to Be - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Journalists find another word to abuse.

Gay Marriage and the Constitution - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Why Ted Olson and I are working to overturn California's Proposition 8.

The Obama Agenda Bogs Down - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Democrats got what they wanted in the stimulus bill. The public knows it.

The New Old 'Card Check' - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:51:52 GMT

Labor's top priority isn't dead yet.

Best of the Web Today: Ethnic Etiquette - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:49:26 GMT

By James Taranto Confusion reigns over what's acceptable. Friday 4:42 p.m. ET

For the Apollo astronauts, a small world - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

For many, traveling to the moon forever changed the way they saw the Earth. 'We came all this way to the moon, and yet the most significant thing we're seeing is our own home planet ..." Forty years after the first moonwalk, NASA has chosen to lead its anniversary coverage with Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders' comment about the Earth. That fact alone shows how much the focus has changed since the first Space Age, when it seemed that everyone on Earth was looking outward into space. Ironically, what made the astronauts different was that they alone could look back home.

Voices of the drought - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Two growers and a processor from the Central Valley talk about the changes that water shortages have brought to their operations and their lives. Drought. Environmental regulations. Growing urban demand. It's all meant less water for California farmers. Times editorial writer Marjorie Miller Marjorie Miller spoke with growers and a processor from the Central Valley about how water shortages have affected them. These are edited transcripts of their comments.

Staring the past in the face - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

As I turn 65, I see my father -- and the world that he lived in -- in the mirror. On Monday, I turn 65, an age unimaginable to me when young. And I find the past and the future, my future, lurking all too close, all too fiercely, at hand. Sometimes these days, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror -- the bald head, the mustache that's gone silvery white, the bumps and discolorations of every sort -- I see my long-dead father staring back. Each time, it's a visceral shock, this vision of the past, developing like some snapshot, in my own face.

Obama and the Bush years - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Despite Obama's reluctance to confront possible misconduct in the Bush administration's war on terror, the outrage just won't go away. Whenever he's asked about the scandals of America's war on terror -- the torture, the wrongful detentions, the legal corners cut -- President Obama has responded with some version of this statement: "We have to focus on getting things right in the future as opposed to looking at what we got wrong in the past."

Line judges - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Cartoonists John Trever, Pat Bagley and Mike Lester take a look at the Sonia Sotomayor hearings and other news. Reams of "wise Latina" toons were filed this week. Wise guy John Trever suggested a look at the trial trail before pointing fingers. Pat Bagley's terrible troika did exactly that, dabbling in hands-on digital communication -- without even Tweeting! Finally, Mike Lester somberly suggested America may be over-informed and ill-served by jacked-up celebrity speculation and under-informed about the special sacrifices of the uniformed.

Fresno County, left in the dust - Los Angeles Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Drought, water politics and tough economic times have turned a once-vibrant region into California's Detroit. Acouple of years ago, were you to have swung by Westside Grocery in the town of Mendota on a Thursday or a Friday, you probably would have had to linger for a while in the sizzling Central Valley heat. The little store was so busy that the line of customers waiting to cash paychecks and make purchases would often spill out the door and halfway down 7th Street.

Op-Ed Columnist: Teacher, Can We Leave Now? No. - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:28:36 GMT

Watching the delight in the faces of Afghan girls crowded into a school waiting to learn put a new perspective on the war.

Op-Ed Columnist: His Maternal Instinct - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:27:58 GMT

How a Pakistani doctor’s devotion to the care of women is saving lives.

Op-Ed Contributor: One Giant Leap to Nowhere - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:27:29 GMT

Why the American space program died the moment the foot of Apollo 11’s Commander Neil Armstrong touched the surface of the Moon in 1969.

Op-Ed Columnist: Pharisees on the Potomac - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:26:53 GMT

Republicans are still practicing the ancient political art of Tartuffery, of course, just without their former aplomb.

The Public Editor: One Newspaper, Many Checkbooks - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:26:26 GMT

Philanthropists and the public pitch in on the cost of journalism.

Op-Ed Columnist: They Got Some ’Splainin’ to Do - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:26:07 GMT

The Sotomayor show reduced the antics of Washingtonâ€™s clueless ancien-régime to a spectacle as ridiculous as it was obsolescent.

Letters: Medical Coverage for All: Who Pays? - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:19:30 GMT

To the Editor:.

Letter: Instilling Healthy Habits - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:19:09 GMT

To the Editor:.

Letter: No Trials in Guantánamo - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:19:01 GMT

To the Editor:.

Editorial | The Rural Life: Daytime Lullaby - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:15:39 GMT

The animals on a farm sure get a lot of shut-eye, and the humans seem so sleep-deprived in comparison.

Editorial: Asylum for Battered Women - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:15:22 GMT

For advocates, allowing battered women asylum from countries where domestic violence is tolerated by society and government is long overdue.

Editorial: What’s That Got to Do With Mr. Murtha? - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:15:15 GMT

The John Murtha pay-to-play money trail is far from fully explored. Beyond a criminal investigation, an ethics inquiry should be pressed by the House.

Editorial: Trade and Climate - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:15:08 GMT

An international accord that includes trade-related enforcement measures must also include commitments on emission reductions.

Op-Ed Contributors: Puzzles: Space Case - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:06:34 GMT

A set of interconnected puzzles to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Obama Reaches a Critical Decision Point on Health Care Reform - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Sooner than anyone had anticipated, President Obama's drive for health reform has reached a crucial decision point -- one that may well determine the fate of his biggest domestic initiative.

The Republican Questioning of Judge Sonia Sotomayor - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Followers of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings were witness to a now-familiar phenomenon. Women are treated differently than men in such settings.

Obama Using Deadlines to Forge Foreign Policy - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

President Obama's surge in Afghanistan has a year to show that the increase in U.S. forces and aid can turn the tide there. It is not an open-ended commitment of American troops and money.

Topic A: The Furor Over the CIA's Assassination Program - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The Post asked intelligence and defense experts about the politics and policies of the CIA's assassination program. Below are contributions from Marc Thiessen, Silvestre Reyes, Jeffrey Smith, Mark Lowenthal, Kate Martin, Vicki Divoll and Lanny Davis.

President Obama and Black America's New Reality - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

President Obama's speech Thursday marking the 100th anniversary of the NAACP's founding was widely reported as a "tough love" message directed at black America. "I've noticed that when I talk about personal responsibility in the African American community, that gets highlighted," Obama said in an interview Friday. "But then the whole other half of the speech, where I talked about government's responsibility . . . that somehow doesn't make news."

Sizing Up President Obama's Foreign Policy After 6 Months - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Six months on, how is Barack Obama doing in foreign policy? Some leading experts give the new president high marks for improving America's battered image abroad, but they warn that the hard work is still ahead.

1959: A Year When Everything Changed - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Fifty years ago, on July 21, 1959, Grove Press won permission to publish D.H. Lawrence's novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Two days later, G.D. Searle, the pharmaceutical company, sought government approval for Enovid, the birth control pill. These two events, both welcome, were, however, pebbles that presaged the avalanche that swept away America's culture of restraint and reticence.

An Electronic Solution to Illegal Immigration - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

There comes a time when a nation has to bite the bullet. We have known since at least 1994, when the now-departed Barbara Jordan delivered a bipartisan immigration commission report to Congress, that the key to regain control over our broken immigration system is employer controls.

Remembering Walter Cronkite - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Walter Cronkite was born in Missouri, educated in Texas and grew up to become the most trusted man in America by a vote of his countrymen. He was a man with many sides: sailor, race-car driver, bon vivant, and, most of all, journalist and role model to so many of us who shared his profession.

Immigration Enforcement: A Sideshow to Broader Issues - Washington Post

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The Obama administration, moving gingerly toward what the president has said will be a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's broken immigration system, is trying to show at the outset that it is serious about enforcing existing laws.

Happy Days: Mad About It - New York Times

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:39:44 GMT

In responses to "Isn't It Outrageous?" readers consider the proper use of anger.

Letter: At a Soccer Match in Iraq - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:42:45 GMT

To the Editor:.

Letters: Geneticist’s Appointment - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:41:16 GMT

To the Editor:.

Domestic Disturbances: Pulp Future - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:48:13 GMT

An afternoon at a shooting range brings an unexpected plan for life after journalism.

Editorial: Secretary Clinton Goes to India - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:24:14 GMT

The United States and India can do a lot to deepen their relationship, but for that to happen India needs to take a more active roll in trade talks and stabilizing the region.

The Honduran coup that wasn't - Los Angeles Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Despite howls by organizations that should know better, the nation's president legally removed himself from office by trying to alter the Constitution. The military just helped him out the door. We have heard a lot about Honduras lately, but there is much more at issue than the nighttime removal of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 and its aftermath. The far bigger story is the disgrace of the world's major international political and economic organizations.

Jane Goodall - Los Angeles Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The renowned primatologist talks about chimps, and saving the planet. Chimpanzees and humans share about 95% of their DNA. If affinity and awareness count, Jane Goodall may have a smidge more. As the world's most renowned primatologist, her work has changed what we think of our primate brethren as thinking and feeling creatures, toolmakers, peacemakers and warmongers.

L.A.'s 'Ring' circus - Los Angeles Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Even if he was a vile anti-Semite, any 'Ring' festival has to feature Wagner -- and L.A.'s event is no exception. Next spring, the Los Angeles Opera will stage its first complete production of Richard Wagner's monumental four-opera cycle, "Der Ring des Nibelungen." In conjunction with those performances, more than 70 arts, cultural and educational institutions will produce a 10-week "Ring Festival," consisting of concerts, exhibitions, symposiums, lectures and other performances.

Dick Cavett: Who's Afraid of Richard Burton? - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:26:20 GMT

An archival episode of a conversation with Richard Burton, with accompanying backstage reminiscences.

Op-Ed Contributor: Lawlessness North of the Border - New York Times

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:44:21 GMT

Why are we executing Mexicans in violation of international rulings?

Op-Ed Contributor: The First Hundred (Dog) Days - New York Times

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:10:59 GMT

Bo, President Obama’s Portuguese water dog, reflects on his White House tenure.

The Conversation: Partisan Health Care Politics - New York Times

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:36:16 GMT

Can Democrats and Republicans ever see eye to eye on medical care?

On Sonia Sotomayor: Words from 'wise Latinas' - Los Angeles Times

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Several successful women assess Sonia Sotomayor and the treatment she's receiving at her Judicial Committee nomination hearing. 'Iwould hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Those words, delivered by Judge Sonia Sotomayor in a 2001 speech, have come up repeatedly as the Senate Judiciary Committee considers Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. It made us wonder: How were the questions playing with other "wise Latinas"? Times editorial writer Marjorie Miller asked several successful Latinas what the term means to them and how they have viewed the hearing. An edited transcript of their comments follows.

Editorial: Illegal, and Pointless - New York Times

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:52:55 GMT

A full investigation of the many laws that were evaded in the name of national security during the Bush administration is the only way to ensure these abuses don’t happen again.

Op-Ed Contributor: Too Late for Revenge - New York Times

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:02:09 GMT

The United Nations trial of an elderly Khmer Rouge leader will only stir more anger and misery and hate.

Editorial: A Strong Health Reform Bill - New York Times

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:46:38 GMT

Republicans may balk, but a bill proposed by the Democrats could solve the nation’s health care problems without driving up the deficit.

Outposts: Health Care's Historic Moment - New York Times

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:23:11 GMT

Personal experience will likely trump ideology in the battle for universal health care.

Editorial: Questioning Judge Sotomayor - New York Times

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:08:15 GMT

Questioning during the confirmation hearings should not be routine or easy. The senators should bore in on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s legal views, and she should answer substantively.

Op-Ed Contributor: Carter’s Speech Therapy - New York Times

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:59:20 GMT

How President Carter’s address to the nation on July 15, 1979, came to be known as “The Malaise Speech,” even 30 years later.

Editorial: Waiting Game - New York Times

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:19:48 GMT

President Obama may not want to focus on rising unemployment and foreclosures until health reform passes, but he should still lay the groundwork.

Op-Ed Contributor: A Flash of Memory - New York Times

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:53:36 GMT

As a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the clothing designer talks about his personal and moral responsibility to speak out against nuclear weapons.