Commentary: Health care system flaws highlighted during open enrollment period

This is the time of the year when workers covered by employer-sponsored health insurance select their coverage and find out how much their premiums will increase. Some reports indicate premiums will increase between 10-15 percent. We are in a health care crisis, yet the Democrats and Republicans are unwilling to find common ground in a bipartisan bill. That says a lot about how out of touch the parties are with most Americans, who want reasonable health care reform. | 11/04/09 12:17:12 By -

Commentary: Lessons can be learned from medical center's billing mistake

To its credit, UC Davis Medical Center has admitted its mistake. It should not have sent the parents of Scott Hawkins a bill for $29,186 just 10 days after the Sacramento State student was pronounced dead in the emergency room after a beating in his dormitory. | 11/04/09 12:04:20 By -

Commentary: A solution for the Honduras crisis

Under the prodding of U.S. diplomats, political leaders in Honduras have come up with a creative, albeit complicated, solution to help the country emerge from the paralyzing crisis arising from the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28. | 11/04/09 10:43:47 By -

Commentary: Goldman Sachs saga shows unregulated market is a jungle

So-called sophisticated investors. Purchase of favorable ratings on investments. Cayman Islands for escape from federal regulation. Bets on a housing collapse. Trolling for suckers. If anyone thinks our financial industry doesn't need tougher regulation, just check out the McClatchy newspaper series on the Goldman Sachs Group, a bank holding company. Here was an iconic Wall Street investment house, a heavyweight player with a history of Washington connections, misleading investors here and abroad, leaving ruin in its wake and tarnishing its own name. | 11/04/09 09:31:47 By -

Commentary: Problems won't be solved by focusing on executives' pay

Well, I'm glad that's settled. The agreed-upon media-pack narrative explaining last year's market mayhem? Brace yourself: The problem was lavish bonus plans at financial firms. Bank executives engaged in frenetic risk-taking in the hopes of a whopping short-term payoff. | 11/04/09 06:08:35 By - E. Thomas McClanahan

Commentary: A Latin American visa's time has come

What irony! While the 27-nation European Union has just approved creation of a common foreign service with embassies throughout the world, Latin American countries cannot even agree on a common visa for tourists from other parts of the world in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil. | 11/04/09 06:03:03 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Sanford as the disengaged governor

Gov. Mark Sanford no doubt hopes that the successful wooing of a Boeing jet assembly line by the state will bolster his image as a can-do governor. But it might be too late for that, and a recent review of the governor's calendar over his seven years in office presents a more complete and less flattering picture. | 11/03/09 13:52:32 By -

Commentary: No drilling in the Everglades

In search of money to help pay off Miami International Airport's expansion, officials want the county to consider drilling for oil and gas at an old jet port that's now part of the Big Cypress National Wildlife Preserve as one potential way to get money. | 11/03/09 12:40:50 By -

Commentary: Alaska needs to be less dependent on oil income

Alaskans have heard a lot of talk over the years about diversifying the state's economy so we are less dependent on gyrations of the world oil market. One place that can happen is in Southeast Alaska, which has to bring in large amounts of diesel fuel. The region's forests may be able to supply wood for fuel and offset diesel imports. | 11/03/09 11:47:29 By -

Commentary: Allen ran roughshod over Alaska politics

Bill Allen said what you expect from a man standing before a judge at sentencing. I made mistakes, I'm sorry, I know I will be punished. Remember the good I did. I followed Allen's public career for more than 20 years. He was driven by his appetite for money and power and played by his own rules, indifferent to public opinion. Hypocrisy was foreign to him; he was a man who never learned pretense. | 11/03/09 11:00:04 By - Michael Carey

Commentary: Anti-American rumors gain traction in Afghanistan

Protests are sweeping the country in the wake of allegations that American troops burned copies of the Quran during a patrol in a province near Kabul, a charge strongly denied by U.S. military officials. These latest incidents, coming as the insurgents are showing renewed strength across the country, demonstrates how quickly Afghans are willing to believe the worst about foreigner's behavior. | 11/03/09 10:26:51 By - Abdullah Obaidi

Commentary: There is beauty beyond 'Good Hair'

An open letter to African-American women:

It's about the need to be beautiful, I know. As goals go, that one is neither extraordinary nor gender-specific. But it's different for women, isn't it? A man's sense of self worth is seldom endangered by crow's feet. On him people will say they convey "character." On a woman, they convey wear. | 11/03/09 06:01:19 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Suggested revisions for Sarah Palin's 'Going Rogue'

Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiassen imagines some of the revisions the fact-checking department at Harper Collins may have suggested for Sarah Palin's 'Going Rogue' book. | 11/03/09 06:03:47 By - Carl Hiaasen

Commentary: Keeping Veterans Day alive

Two months ago, Jacksonville, Fla., was threatened with cancellation of its 2009 Veterans Day parade after the City Council cut the parade's funding. Only a firestorm of protests from the city's residents restored the parade. Veterans Day is in fact a peculiar holiday. Many public schools, colleges and universities remain open -- even with thousands of veterans sitting in their classrooms. Businesses operate normally. State and local governments are not required to close. | 11/03/09 10:26:51 By - Ed Hooper

Commentary: Cockpit distractions must be eliminated

To the many woes plaguing airline passengers — smaller seats, higher ticket prices, fewer flights, etc. — add one more: Piloting while distracted. | 11/02/09 13:30:17 By -

Commentary: U.S. health care is long overdue for a revamp

The public option in the proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system was considered a poison pill that would kill serious reform. Now a hybrid proposal has surfaced that merits attention. | 11/02/09 13:27:50 By -

Commentary: President Obama must choose carefully on Afghanistan

This month, the United States enters its ninth year of seemingly never-ending troop escalation in Afghanistan. In 2002, there were a mere 5,000 U.S. troops there. The number quadrupled in three years. When President Barack Obama came to office, some 37,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Afghanistan. He has steadily increased the U.S. presence — to 68,000 today. And now, some in the U.S. military are recommending a U.S. presence of 100,000 troops. | 11/02/09 12:40:03 By -

Commentary: D.C. legislation will help Alaska's Coast Guard

The Coast Guard plays a huge role in Alaska, so any time Congress works on a bill affecting the agency, there's a good chance Alaska has a big stake in the outcome. That's the case with the Coast Guard's 2010 authorization bill, which recently passed the House. Alaska Rep. Don Young helped get many useful directives included in the measure. Some of the good news for Alaska hasn't gotten much public attention. But residents and visitors in Juneau will surely notice, some day in the future, when the historic Coast Guard cutter Storis is berthed there as a maritime museum. Once the cutter is decommissioned, the bill says it will be donated to a Juneau maritime history group. | 11/02/09 12:13:54 By -

Commentary: Australian oil spill provides a cautionary tale

On Aug. 21 this year, a blowout ripped through an oil drilling rig operating in Australian water, more than 100 miles offshore. The rig had to be evacuated as the blowout sent crude oil spewing into the ocean. Two months later, the blowout was still raging, pumping 300 to 400 barrels of oil a day into the water. Three attempts to drill a relief well had failed and a fourth is still in progress. | 11/02/09 11:54:33 By -

Commentary: Peace with Jordan survives barely

In a world where so many claim to value peace above all else, a recent anniversary passed with less attention than it deserved. Oct. 26 marked 15 years since one of the great triumphs of peacemakers in a region where peace scores too few victories. In 1994, the leaders of Israel and Jordan came together at their shared Araba border crossing near the Red Sea and signed a treaty proclaiming, "Peace is hereby established between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." | 11/02/09 11:12:41 By - Frida Ghitis

Commentary: West must keep watching Iran

Iran appears ready to agree to ship its enriched uranium to France and Russia for processing into nuclear fuel. This would be a positive step; perhaps the first positive step since the Iranian nuclear program became public earlier this decade. The United States should embrace this Iranian concession. | 11/02/09 11:04:47 By -

Commentary: Why are hate-crime laws necessary?

The philosophical problem with hate-crime laws derives from their emphasis on motive. Essentially, the laws allow the federal government to prosecute offenders not only for what they do but also for what they are thinking at the time they do it. | 11/02/09 06:08:17 By - James Werrell

Commentary: Hate crimes law no threat to religious liberty

The clergy is nervous — the hellfire-and-brimstone cultural conservative clergy, anyway. Congress's recent vote to finally include sexual orientation in hate crimes legislation has caused near hysterics in some religious communities. Someone needs to remind these pious folks that in America, religious freedom is indeed a sacred, secure right. They remain free to demonize the immoral or ungodly, even as those lost souls are free to carry on their lives in peace as they see fit. | 11/02/09 06:04:40 By - Mary Sanchez

Commentary: How we can all help world's oppressed women

When asked about her aspirations for "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide," Sheryl WuDunn demurely mentions that the work speaks for itself and she hopes it will inspire people to action. Upon catching wind of a naysayer's opinion that efforts to free women from subjugation may cause more harm than good, though, she rises with unexpected sternness. | 11/02/09 06:17:07 By - John C. Bersia

Commentary: Plurality voting rule is the real election spoiler

The latest polls show Chris Daggett securing between 14 percent and 18 percent of the vote in his independent bid for governor of New Jersey. Daggett seeks to offer a new voice that does not echo the predictable ideologies of the two major parties, just as I did when challenging Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan for the presidency in 1980. But as with most independent candidates, Daggett faces accusations of "spoiling" the election. | 11/02/09 06:14:40 By - John B. Anderson

Commentary: Drawing ourselves into the lives of chimpanzees

I feel your pain. We've heard that phrase so often that it has become political shorthand for the human capacity for empathy. But human beings, it turns out, are hardly the only species capable of sharing another's emotions. | 11/02/09 11:12:41 By - Debra Durham

Commentary: Assistance must reach prisoner rape survivors

Twenty-five years ago this month, Congress passed the Victims of Crime Act, which did a lot of good. But it could do more good with one simple change. The Victims of Crime Act funds essential mental health and medical services to victims of sexual abuse. Thanks to the act, countless rape survivors get the help they need to address emotional scars and physical injuries in the aftermath of an assault. | 11/02/09 06:15:24 By - Lovisa Stannow

Commentary: Common ground means lasting solutions, not weakness

President Obama is currently being attacked by friend and foe alike for his willingness to seek common ground on issues ranging from health care to North Korea. There is a profound misunderstanding of what it means to search for common ground. Some imply that a president who does not lock himself into a pre-set, principled position is somehow showing weakness and will invariably settle for the lowest common denominator. | 11/02/09 11:12:41 By - John Marks and Susan Collins Marks

Commentary: Health bill won't insure us from mounting deficit

President Barack Obama's top economic adviser said Monday that health care reform is essential to gaining control of the nation's deficit. But Christina Romer was only able to applaud congressional attempts to keep from adding still more to the nation's overspending. | 11/01/09 06:50:24 By - Jim Landers

Commentary: The EPA wants to put a time bomb in America's gas tanks

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is considering requiring use of a blend of ethanol and gasoline known as "E15." This is a risky measure that threatens to damage our car engines and saddle car companies with soaring warranty costs. Corn-based ethanol, the type currently used in the United States, is a terrible transportation fuel whose production has serious environmental consequences and raises food prices for the world's poor while delivering few net environmental benefits. | 11/01/09 06:13:53 By - Andrew P. Morriss

Commentary: Texas would benefit in health care overhaul

It's obvious why Texas would benefit from health care reform: 1 in 4 residents is uninsured, a higher share than any state, and changes made in Washington will extend coverage to millions here.

The gains from a public option, the short name for a government-sponsored health plan, are less cut-and-dried. But they could be significant, because more Texans buy insurance on their own — and they're more likely to be charged an outrageous premium. | 11/01/09 06:22:16 By - Mitchell Schnurman

Commentary: Increasing ethanol use is key to attaining goal of a cleaner planet

America is increasingly committed to being a nation fueled by clean, renewable, domestic energy. And with good reason! This undertaking bolsters our nation's security, shields our economy from dependence on foreign energy sources, achieves long-term economic growth and creates a cleaner environment. Raising the fuel blend rate for home-grown ethanol from 10 percent to 15 percent is a positive step toward achieving these goals. | 11/01/09 06:04:40 By - Bob Stallman

Commentary: Puerto Rico status should be clearly decided

Puerto Ricans need to be allowed to vote on changing their political status. The status quo is untenable. With little fanfare, a bill is circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives that proposes an election that may ultimately decide the fate of Puerto Rico. The bill is needed now more than ever, for the island is gripped in a fiscal and political crisis that can no longer be ignored. | 11/01/09 06:40:52 By - Ed Morales

Commentary: What stalled the sweeping change Obama promised

On the night before the 2008 election, Barack Obama sounded a familiar mantra signaling the impending success of his once unlikely presidential bid. "We are one day away from changing America," he told a cheering Virginia crowd. | 10/31/09 06:40:52 By - Carl Leubsdorf

Commentary: Nation's 'pay czar' largely impotent

When President Obama named a "pay czar" in June, he raised hopes that the era of out-of-control executive pay may be over. Unfortunately, the pay czar's recently released rulings did little to alter a compensation system that was a key cause of the economic crisis. In fact, among historical czars, Kenneth Feinberg acted less like Peter the Great and more like Good King Wenceslas, doling out more goodies to Wall Street. | 10/31/09 06:29:01 By - Sarah Anderson

Commentary: Unhealthy time change

Although daylight-saving time was sold politically as an energy-conservation measure, it does no such thing. Studies conducted in Indiana prior to 2006, when that state operated under three different time regimes, show either no difference in energy consumption or a small increase in power usage during the months after clocks were moved one hour ahead. | 10/31/09 06:53:20 By - William F. Shughart II

Commentary: Secession has always been a bad idea

Far from tea-party protests and talk-show blather, nobody was joking about Texas secession Saturday at a tiny cemetery in Cooke County. The Clark family of North Texas knows all about secessionist bullies.

Great-granddaddy Nathaniel Clark was lynched for defying them. | 10/31/09 06:13:23 By - Bud Kennedy

Commentary: Frankenstein and Dracula — Happy birthday to Boo!

It probably was both dark and stormy the night the world's two favorite monsters were born. We know the place — Geneva, Switzerland — and the year — 1816. We even know the month — mid-June — though the exact date is uncertain, for who is to say when in the evolution from unformed fears to embodied gruesomeness a monster really can be said to come to life? | 10/31/09 06:17:07 By - Susan Tyler Hitchcock

Commentary: The great snake menace

Well, everything seems to be under control around here. Swine flu is getting good and vaccinated, at least among you chirpy, vivacious Younger People. Windows 7 is out, giving us Mac people another great many reasons to direct smug, self-important smirks at each other (try it, it's fun). The Balloon Boy's weird parents will soon be given over to torture, as they should be. Yep, everything would be pretty much as solid as could be expected, were it not for the small flotilla of behemoth Burmese pythons slithering their way from Florida to the Lowcountry to devour us all. | 10/30/09 15:00:39 By - Jeff Vrabel

Commentary: BCBS takes aim at N.C. Sen. Hagan over health care reform

Kay Hagan, the junior U.S. senator from North Carolina, is represented in a mailing from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C. with a flattering color photograph. And for the convenience of recipients, a postage-paid card is included to mail to Hagan. Just a friendly hello? Not hardly. BCBS wants folks to try to intimidate Hagan, a Democrat, into voting against health care reform, specifically the government-sponsored insurance plan that has reappeared in the Senate. | 10/30/09 14:36:18 By -

Commentary: Schwarzenegger's legacy may be determined in last months in office

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the least popular governors in California history. His relationships with the Democrats who control the Legislature are lousy, and his rapport with his fellow Republicans is probably worse. He is under constant attack from interest groups on the left and the right, and his policy agenda has been skunked in two special elections in the past four years. | 10/30/09 13:30:10 By - Daniel Weintraub

Commentary: EPA's shipping goals are worthy but more answers are needed

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed ambitious air pollution limits for U.S.-flagged oceangoing vessels — cruise ships, container ships, tankers — within 200 miles of any coast in most of North America, including a large swath of Alaska. It's a worthy effort aimed at cleaning up a long-ignored pollution source, but the agency is moving a little too fast into a complex legal and technical area. | 10/30/09 13:08:46 By -

Commentary: Fort Lewis knows the high price of war

For many Americans, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are far off in the distance, with little impact on their own lives. But here in the South Sound, they resonate as clearly as the sound of artillery during training exercises and as visibly as the transport planes that fly overhead. | 10/30/09 12:21:07 By -

Commentary: Cold War workers deserve a remembrance day

The Cold War was a long, tedious and scary time for the world at large and, particularly, inside the fence at Hanford. Today marks a special time of remembrance for nuclear workers of the Cold War era. | 10/30/09 11:56:56 By -

Commentary: All workers deserve the time to care for their loved ones

I know what can happen to workers who can't stay home and care for themselves or a loved one without losing a job. | 10/30/09 11:17:07 By - Eva Henry

Commentary: Was Vietnam a war without heroes? By Thunder,' no!

You know how a country views a war by its iconography. Among the visual icons of World War II — the unspotted "good war" — are, says historian Richard Botkin, the scorched Chinese orphan wailing in a Japanese-bombed rail yard, the USS Arizona ablaze at Pearl Harbor, and Joe Rosenthal's Marine/Corpsman flag-raising on Mount Suribachi — images that demonize the enemy, glorify the cause, or celebrate the patriotic warrior. The Vietnam War is as bereft of such images as a napalmed jungle is of songbirds. | 10/30/09 11:04:40 By - Paul Akers

Commentary: Today's leaders could learn from Lincoln on press relations

Among Abraham Lincoln's remarkable achievements you can count the emancipation of a people, the restoration of a nation and the delivery of one of the great speeches in American history. Given those accomplishments, it's easy to overlook another of Lincoln's distinguishing characteristics: his dealings with the press. | 10/30/09 06:14:52 By - Jackie Bueno Sousa

Commentary: Nothing noble in the act of killing George Tiller

Little David slew the mighty Goliath and held aloft the Philistine's severed head.

Rembrandt and Caravaggio painted the bloody scene from 1 Samuel. Now comes Scott Roeder, the man charged with killing George Tiller. Roeder recently submitted for auction an autographed copy of a cartoon depicting his own version of the story. | 10/30/09 06:04:45 By - Mike Hendricks

Commentary: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi — shaming or titillating his country

So Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is shaming his nation. That's what pundits and commentators worldwide are saying as the Italian courts pursue charges of bribery, corruption and tax evasion. But by far the most visible allegations revolve around his sexual escapades. But before we all clamber aboard that bandwagon, is it possible we misunderstand? After all, as the prime minister explained at a recent news conference, "to my male colleagues present here I say: Raise your hand and tell me you don't think it's nice to rest your eyes on pleasant and enjoyable feminine presences — rather than sitting at a table with people lacking aesthetic qualities." | 10/30/09 06:20:52 By - Joel Brinkley

Commentary: U.S. aiding the Taliban?

To a foreigner, the rumor sounds preposterous. But to the average Afghan, it's well within the range of the possible: Western military forces are using their helicopters to ferry Taliban fighters around the country. | 10/30/09 11:04:40 By - Ahmad Kawoosh

Commentary: Stop the vendetta against ACORN

Some of my best friends have worked for ACORN. They are honest, dedicated and moral individuals who appreciated the mission of this group, which has done so much good for some of our poorest citizens. So I take it personally when Congress reduces ACORN to an object lesson about the purported immorality of some community organizers. ACORN isn't perfect. Both its loose organizational supervision and occasional zealotry of its organizers have led to abuses. But Congress has been extremely hypocritical and biased in cutting off federal funds. | 10/30/09 11:29:01 By - John Buell

Commentary: Easley gives his side of things

It was a day for the books, maybe even the history books. In a meeting room at a downtown Raleigh hotel, the immediate past governor of North Carolina sat for nearly five hours to answer questions from members of the board that oversees state elections. Mike Easley has been a man of silent mystery for these past months, as the embarrassing stories about his perks and connections and campaign finances have swirled. | 10/29/09 14:32:05 By -

Commentary: No privacy

When it comes to scary invasions of privacy — or sensible uses of technology to combat crime, take your pick — North Carolina is First in Facial Recognition. The FBI and the state Division of Motor Vehicles have been going over millions of driver's license photos in Raleigh. Computerized facial-recognition technology scans the images and searches for matches — the same nose, mouth or chin — with various suspects. | 10/29/09 14:15:39 By -

Commentary: Life's good things were free for Easley

Free stuff. Lots of free stuff. North Carolina's former Gov. Mike Easley lived like a sweepstakes winner during his eight-year term, according to testimony in a hearing this week in Raleigh. He got all these freebies: plane trips, home repairs, a fishing trip to Florida. | 10/29/09 14:09:59 By - Mark Washburn

Commentary: American Airlines overhaul base closing is bad for Kansas City

The handwriting was on the wall last year, when American Airlines announced plans to move several hundred jobs at its Kansas City overhaul base to Tulsa, Okla. Yet Wednesday still brought a disheartening note of finality: Next September, the facility will close. | 10/29/09 13:46:20 By -

Commentary: Government must release full slurry spill report

It's been six months since Attorney General Eric Holder was applauded for loosening the Bush-era clamp on government information and telling federal agencies that their records should be presumed public. So why is a report about a coal-waste spill that happened nine years ago in Eastern Kentucky still top secret? | 10/29/09 13:11:37 By -

Commentary: Reining in credit card companies' greed

When Congress passed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights last May, we called it a long overdue response to the abuses of predatory credit-card issuers who have used every trick in the book to extract money from cardholders. As it turns out, we underestimated the greed and craftiness of the credit-card industry. | 10/29/09 12:44:25 By -

Commentary: Citizens deserve answer for Bay Bridge mishap

State highway officials say high winds and traffic vibrations caused a patch on the cantilevered section of the San Francisco Bay Bridge to fail. That's scary. High winds and traffic vibrations are hardly abnormal conditions for the Bay Bridge. | 10/29/09 12:22:36 By -

Commentary: Military spending bill good for Alaska, U.S.

The defense funding bill President Obama just signed will do some helpful things for the country as a whole and Alaskans in particular. It fixes the snafu that left two dozen WWII-era veterans of the Alaska Territorial Guard with lower retirement payments than they deserved. It took a lot of work by Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski to overcome perplexing resistance from the Obama administration on that one. | 10/29/09 11:48:16 By -

Commentary: Advance premiums for FDIC are worth banking on

Times are tough. Brethren are falling all around. Then the insurance company demands three years' worth of premiums — in advance. So why aren't banks up in arms now that just such a call has come from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.? Federal deposit insurance, even paid for years in advance, remains a pretty good deal for banks. Besides, the call could have been much worse, and bankers generally know it. | 10/29/09 11:13:32 By - Mark Davis

Commentary: When party politics come before country

You figure the White House is probably feeling pretty good about itself right now.

After spending much of the summer as a punching bag for conservatives, Team Obama has begun throwing punches of its own. It has unleashed its marquee figures to tee off on high profile GOP personalities and institutions in a coordinated effort to marginalize the opposition. | 10/29/09 06:06:33 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: When Kerry met Karzai: The senator showed that a polite, private push can work with the Afghan president

Whatever Afghanistan strategy President Obama chooses will hinge on whether U.S. officials can work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. | 10/29/09 14:50:24 By - Trudy Rubin

Commentary: Delay, confuse and backtrack is Iran's strategy

Here is a test for news junkies: On Oct. 21, Iranian nuclear negotiators left Vienna after negotiations with the United Nations, Russia, France and the United States. In their briefcases they carried a proposal requiring authorization from their government. The deadline for approval was Friday, Oct. 23. When the deadline came, what did Iran say? | 10/29/09 06:12:37 By - Frida Ghitis

Commentary: A public job program is the answer

Eighty years ago this week, the stock market crashed and ushered in the Great Depression. We need to apply the lessons from that era to our own to relieve the needless suffering of the Great Recession. In just two days, between Oct. 28 and 29, 1929, the stock market plummeted by 25 percent. Between September and November of that year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 40 percent of its value. By July of 1932, the Dow had lost nearly 90 percent of its value. | 10/29/09 06:15:20 By - Julianne Malveaux

Commentary: When pilots act unprofessionally

Maybe we should be glad they weren't texting while flying. But how comforting is it to learn that two Northwest Airlines pilots flew right by their destination last week because they were on their laptops messing with their schedules? Somehow, it seems this is not what flight attendants mean when they warn that electronic devices will interfere with communications. | 10/28/09 13:52:50 By -

Commentary: Haiti leaders are playing politics

A political maelstrom is brewing that could destroy the international effort to rebuild Haiti following a series of storms that ravaged the island last year. | 10/28/09 12:30:08 By -

Commentary: Smart grid is a smart idea

Florida's utility customers are poised to save money thanks to a new "smart grid" that will help homeowners and businesses monitor their use of electricity daily and change their consumption habits. | 10/28/09 12:13:32 By -

Commentary: WaMu's bad bet hurt customers

The spectacular train wreck that was Washington Mutual continues to be dissected a year after the 119-year-old institution became the nation's biggest bank failure. The latest study is The Seattle Times' two-part report this week that offers a case study of how fast greed can turn a good company bad. | 10/28/09 11:46:20 By -

Commentary: For some Afghans, one election is enough

Even before last week's announcement about a presidential election runoff, voters in this western province made it clear they were not interested in participating in another vote. "Nobody values my vote," said Shahab Aziz, 24, a shopkeeper in the Ghoreyan district of Herat province. "I cast my ballot in August, but I will certainly not do it again." Aziz and others say they have been disappointed by their experience with democracy. | 10/28/09 11:33:27 By - Mohammad Shafe Ferozi

Commentary: A race against time for Afghan election

With less than two weeks remaining before the scheduled runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah, many are asking if such a vote is even possible The first round of elections, held on Aug. 20, was plagued by massive fraud and widespread insecurity. Hundreds of rockets rained down on various cities, dozens of people lost their lives and several voters fell victim to insurgents who made good on threats to cut off ink- stained fingers indicating that a person had voted. | 10/28/09 11:27:37 By - Hafizullah Gardesh

Commentary: Ex-Veco CEO Allen deserves hard time

Bill Allen's attorneys are seeking a wrist-slap for their client. They argue that he deserves no more than six months in prison, claiming his crimes were an aberration in a law-abiding life full of kindness and charity. Did they make that argument with a straight face? To say that his corruption of Alaska's politics was an aberration is, to put it kindly, utter nonsense. | 10/28/09 11:14:17 By -

Commentary: More voters are souring on health 'reform'

No wonder the Obama administration wanted the House to finish work on its health care bill before the summer recess. The more people learn about the legislative blob slouching toward passage, the less they like it. | 10/28/09 06:14:33 By - E. Thomas McClanahan

Commentary: My broadband life

My life is not that different from most men in their early 40s. Weekends are hectic, filled with kids' games, events and errands — all while never straying too far from "work mode" as I am connected via BlackBerry and laptop seven days a week. Was life this crazy for my father when I was young? | 10/28/09 06:20:14 By - Doug Adams

Commentary: We have promises to keep in Afghanistan

In the media and in conversations anywhere people gather, all sorts of compelling arguments are being made against the United States deepening its military commitment in Afghanistan. But somehow they're not quite compelling enough. | 10/28/09 06:09:36 By - Mary Sanchez

Commentary: Obama shouldn't cave in to the far right on Honduras

President Obama needs to stand up for democracy in Honduras. As the original date for the Honduran elections, Nov. 29, approaches rapidly, it's clear that a free and fair election is impossible: The legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya, remains a near-captive in the Brazilian Embassy in the Honduran capital, military repression rages throughout the country and a leftist candidate, Carlos Reyes, is still recovering from a brutal beating by the coup government's minions. | 10/28/09 14:53:20 By - Dana Frank

Commentary: Are baby boomers turning into outsiders?

Not long ago, I was blithely driving along, listening to a public radio story on senior citizens and unemployment. I was expecting to hear something about say, the shrinking market for Wal-Mart greeters. Instead, what I got was a grim employment forecast for people over 50. Yikes. | 10/27/09 14:20:59 By - Bonnie Rubin

Commentary: Too soon for an Iraq exit

The toll from Sunday's bombings in Baghdad has climbed past 150 dead and 500 wounded, making one point very clear: A good U.S. exit from Iraq will be neither quick nor easy. | 10/27/09 14:06:53 By -

Commentary: Abortion opponents must speak out against extremist fringe

The murder of George Tiller was appalling on its own. But now Dennis Roeder, the man accused of shooting the physician point-blank in his church, is being embraced by a phalanx of fellow extremists. | 10/27/09 14:00:53 By -

Commentary: Gays need protection through hate crime laws

Gay people are society's most rejected minority. The most convincing proof is that many parents are capable of abhorring and abusing their gay child simply because that child was born that way. Thus, it should come as no surprise that hate crimes against gays receive the least attention. We have always been the last ones to receive protection from the law — if ever. | 10/27/09 12:52:22 By - Daniel Shoer-Roth

Commentary: Nestle water deal sets a bad precedent

Over the years, numerous bottling firms and breweries have set up shop in Sacramento. To date, none of these bottlers — from Alhambra to Coca-Cola — has triggered much opposition for the products they sell or the water rates they pay. Yet both of those issues have bubbled to the surface with the arrival of Nestle Waters to Sacramento. | 10/27/09 12:20:49 By -

Commentary: Here's why California is headed toward insolvency

June 30, 2009, was fiscal meltdown day for the state of California. The Legislature had not passed a budget, tax revenues were plummeting, the state controller was paying bills with IOUs and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was poised to announce a third furlough day each month for state workers. That very day the state Department of Transportation signed off on purchasing $1.7 million worth of new trucks and truck bodies. | 10/27/09 12:16:11 By -

Commentary: Alaska's inaction on subsistence hunting and fishing rules

Ten years ago the state Legislature was the pivotal player in determining the future of subsistence hunting and fishing management in Alaska. Now, as the Department of the Interior begins a swift, thorough review of subsistence law on Alaska's federal lands, the state can only comment and say that it looks forward participating. The state of Alaska isn't driving anymore. | 10/27/09 12:00:07 By -

Commentary: U.K. Supreme Court's ahead of its American cousin

Imagine if the U.S. Senate had a committee whose role were to "say what the law is." Might legal disputes ever get decided? And where would the judicial independence or checks and balances come in? You see, then, why it makes eminent sense for Great Britain to move its highest appellate judges out of Parliament, where they were a committee of the House of Lords, and into their very own court building. | 10/27/09 10:31:12 By -

Commentary: Balloon Boy saga and the price of fame

For hours, the fear was the boy would be found smashed to jelly somewhere, so my first emotion upon learning 6-year-old Falcon Heene was actually safe in his family's Fort Collins, Colo., attic, was relief. | 10/27/09 06:05:32 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Why net neutrality matters

The idea that "content is king" is a favorite slogan among media people, since it's comforting to think that the industry is ruled by its creative side. Comforting, but fictional. Who does rule the media kingdom? Not the content creators, but the people who control their physical access to the public, that's who. Sooner or later, channels trump content. | 10/27/09 06:15:21 By - Edward Wasserman

Commentary: Stinging wannabe terrorists before they strike

Claiming to be a supporter of al-Qaeda isn't a crime in this country. Neither is it a crime for undercover agents posing as members of a terrorist "sleeper cell" to agree that Osama bin Laden is the 21st-century equivalent of the bee's knees. But telling faux fanatics that you want to destroy the enemies of Islam before trying to detonate what you believe is a weapon of mass destruction in the parking garage of a 60-story office tower in downtown Dallas, well, that's a crime — even if the inert bomb was provided by federal agents posing as fanatics. | 10/27/09 10:31:12 By - J.R. Labbe

Commentary: Credit scoring is hurting insurance customers

If you have a few black marks on your credit history, you'll probably pay more to insure your home or car than your creditworthy neighbor even if you're a good driver or responsible homeowner. If this sounds unfair, it is. | 10/27/09 10:31:12 By -

Commentary: Subsidies not generous enough; penalties not tough enough

The health care reform bill about to hit the floor of the U.S. Senate promises to cover millions more Americans by subsidizing their purchase of insurance. The bill would force every American to be covered.

This mandate is borne of good intentions: Healthy, young people need to be a part of the insurance pool so that the costs of insuring everyone are spread fairly. But a mandate is only effective if it actually compels people to get coverage. The test is whether subsidies are generous enough and penalties for ducking the mandate tough enough to ensure compliance. | 10/27/09 10:31:12 By -

Commentary: Fed should stay out of executive pay dispute

People are justifiably mad as fire at Wall Street and other major financial institutions that have accepted significant public assistance to keep their doors open. And they're rightly furious that seven of the nation's major businesses have paid or proposed to pay ludicrously high bonuses and other compensation to their top execs. Yet, trying to fix these problems by empowering the U.S. government to dictate how much companies can pay their executives is an equally foolish practice. | 10/26/09 14:40:47 By -

Commentary: If GOP wants to win in 2012, it must reshape its primary process

The Republican presidential-primary process begins in 27 months. That sounds far removed, but the time for action is now if the GOP wants to nominate an electable candidate instead of one suitable for nomination but not a general-election victory. That there has been an exodus from the GOP cannot be denied. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released last week found that just 20 percent of respondents identified themselves as Republican — the lowest figure since 1983. | 10/26/09 14:19:36 By - Michael Smerconish

Commentary: Florida's Public Service Commission needs to improve energy efficiency standards

The easiest, cheapest way to save energy is to use less of it. Floridians get that, already. So if Floridians get the importance of reducing our energy footprint, why doesn't the staff at the Public Service Commission? | 10/26/09 12:27:46 By -

Commentary: Health care battle feels like deja vu

When he saw Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back-to-back home runs in the 1960s, New York Yankees Manager Yogi Berra said, "It's like deja vu all over again." Californians watching the health care fight unfold in Washington might have the same reaction. It looks a lot like the debate California had in 2007. | 10/26/09 12:07:29 By -

Commentary: Sacramento sheriff has interesting take on immigration

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel is not an immigration rights advocate. He supports maintaining strong borders. And he has no sympathy for undocumented felons. But based on nearly 30 years as a cop, Braziel believes that confusing immigration laws are hindering cops and helping criminals. | 10/26/09 11:59:48 By - Marcos Breton

Commentary: California students are being squeezed out of college

It's a difficult time for higher education in California because of the state budget crisis, which has meant more fee increases for students and pay cuts for professors and staff. That still hasn't closed the budget gap at California's public universities and they've had to limit admissions and reduce the number of classes they offer. | 10/26/09 11:38:31 By -

Commentary: War on drugs has no end game

Jackson County, Missouri has been financing the war on drugs with a quarter-cent sales tax since 1989, and voters are being asked to re-up for at least seven more years. I look at the drug war pretty much the same way as the conflict in Iraq. If you're engaged in hostilities, you want the good guys to be well equipped. So I intend to vote Nov. 3 in favor of renewing the Community Backed Anti-Drug Sales Tax, otherwise known in COMBAT.

But I question why we're in the war. | 10/26/09 06:05:06 By - Barbara Shelly

Commentary: Thanks to Perry, everything's better in Texas

Let's take a look at our government here in the so-called Great State of Texas: Texas wound up with about as many H1N1 vaccines in the first shipment as — Wisconsin? If you're poor and hungry, take a number. The wait just to see a state caseworker at the north Fort Worth office is 104 days. Did I mention that the state lost $19.5 million in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme?

So how's that secession idea looking these days? | 10/25/09 06:52:59 By - Bud Kennedy

Commentary: Spain takes a step back with Cuba policy shift

Spain's announcement that it will seek a major improvement in European ties with Cuba's dictatorship once it takes over the presidency of the 27-country European Union on Jan. 1 is bad news not only for pro-democracy activists on the island, but also for oppositionists in several other authoritarian-ruled Latin American countries. | 10/25/09 06:31:59 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Why is anyone still listening to Dick Cheney?

Why is anyone still listening to Dick Cheney?

Former President George W. Bush has had the good grace to go into seclusion and not stand on the sidelines second-guessing every move made by his successor. Cheney, by contrast, has taken it upon himself to serve as the chief critic of the Obama administration and chief defender of the Bush administration, even if it requires rewriting history. | 10/24/09 06:06:39 By - James Werrell

Commentary: Coal's hidden costs

The standard argument for America's continued heavy use of coal to generate electricity is that it's cheap and abundant. Yes, it contributes to air pollution and adds to the atmosphere's burden of greenhouse gases. But at least its wastes aren't highly radioactive for centuries. | 10/23/09 13:36:30 By -

Commentary: When a survey stunt backfires

State Sen. Phil Berger, the N.C. Senate Republican leader, is a genial fellow who enjoys a good relationship with the press. He and House Republican leader Skip Stam, R-Wake, often hold well-attended press conferences to comment on legislation and twit Democrats.

So it was that Berger, R-Rockingham, made a grand entrance the other day at the Legislative Building news conference room with a wheelbarrow full of thousands of political surveys. | 10/23/09 13:24:36 By -

Commentary: 'Widow's penalty' must go

With a 79-19 Senate vote, Congress has corrected one of the more draconian immigration policies to be visited upon foreign-born spouses of American citizens. Called the "widow's penalty" the policy allows immigration officials to annul spouses' applications for permanent residency when their American husbands or wives die before the marriage is two years old. | 10/23/09 12:37:06 By -

Commentary: Some things are unexplainable

The violence that broke out Wednesday in a Sacramento State dorm was shocking and horrific. It is also, at this point, inexplicable, adding to the anguish of a campus trying to comprehend it. According to police, a 19-year-old student beat another student to death with a bat before he was shot and wounded by police. | 10/23/09 12:27:16 By -

Commentary: Veco's Allen, Smith have avoided prison for long enough

Federal Judge John Sedwick will hand down sentences for former Veco chief Bill Allen and his lieutenant Rick Smith next week as scheduled. About time. | 10/23/09 12:07:41 By -

Commentary: A sensible change on medial marijuana

In 1998, Alaskans voted like adults on the issue of medical marijuana use. They passed an initiative allowing people with debilitating illnesses and a doctor's approval to use marijuana to help their conditions, and to shield themselves and up to two caregivers from prosecution. Now the federal government has caught up to that sensible and compassionate decision. | 10/23/09 11:50:39 By -

Commentary: Limbaugh reaps what he has sown

We are gathered here today in sympathy with our brother, Rush Limbaugh. As you are no doubt aware, these have been difficult days for Brother Limbaugh. There he was, happily revealing that he was part of an investment group that had submitted a bid to purchase the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. Next thing you know, Al Sharpton is on him like ugly on King Kong, urging the NFL to reject him. | 10/23/09 06:06:11 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: 'Don't ask, don't tell' must go

With the "don't ask, don't tell" law in place, forbidding homosexuals in the military from disclosing their sexual orientation, the U.S. has a national policy that codifies discrimination. It is a law that is out-of-step with the times and now with public opinion. | 10/22/09 13:59:07 By -

Commentary: Graham may help climate change debate

We could spend all day talking about how the idea of the minority party serving as "loyal opposition" fell out of favor, or how much blame Democrats share for the partisan divide that has prevented the legislative process from working as it should in this and so many other cases. Instead, we'd like to celebrate the possibility that the other legislation that is consuming the Congress this year might not suffer the same fate — in large part because of Sen. Lindsey Graham. | 10/22/09 13:47:00 By -

Commentary: Louisiana justice of the peace Bardwell should be tossed from office

Why does Keith Bardwell still have his job?

Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish Louisiana near New Orleans, found himself the object of controversy when he refused to perform a marriage ceremony for a biracial couple last week. Bardwell, claiming he is no racist, said he doesn't do interracial marriages "because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves. In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." | 10/22/09 13:33:30 By -

Commentary: The difference between just money and crazy money

There's just money, and then there's crazy money. Let's do crazy money first. Crazy money is what you get on a game show for knowing that mountain range in Bolivia. Crazy money is what goes to some NFL defensive ends. Crazy money is what happened in the final hours of the Merrill Lynch deal when Bank of America agreed to buy out the Wall Street brokerage. | 10/22/09 13:14:11 By - Mark Washburn

Commentary: Interracial marriage doesn't harm children

It has been a while since I last heard anyone use the future welfare of the progeny of mixed-race couples as an excuse to prohibit or block those couples' marriages. In fact, I thought having parents from different cultures or races had been proven to be no more an indicator of a child's success or failure than if those parents were Democrats or Republicans. But apparently, Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, La., knows something I don't know. | 10/22/09 11:48:44 By - Merlene Davis

Commentary: Army spares a treasured site

Anchorage's most endangered historic site has been pulled off death row, thanks to an agreement this summer between the U.S. Army, local preservation groups and other government agencies. The Nike missile site in Arctic Valley, taken out of service in 1979, has been ravaged by 30 years of weather and pillaging by souvenir seekers and vandals. From the Army's perspective, the simplest course of action was to demolish the entire complex of 26 buildings and be done with it. | 10/22/09 11:41:40 By -

Commentary: Sanford's car stop says a lot about S.C. law enforcement

The case of the governor's SLED agent/driver and the Highway Patrol trooper is worth lingering over, not because of what it tells us about Mark Sanford but because of what it tells us about law enforcement in South Carolina. | 10/21/09 14:11:26 By - Cindi Ross Scoppe

Commentary: Having bills available before voting is a grand idea

What are Nancy Pelosi and the other Democratic leaders in Congress afraid of? Do they think the public should not know what its own Congress is doing? Two representatives — a Democrat and a Republican — are pushing for the 72-hour rule. It would require that the text of major bills be posted online for 72 hours before the House votes. Congress and regular folks then would have a chance to read the bill. | 10/21/09 14:03:07 By -

Commentary: Time to rethink the death penalty

Kansas has a death penalty in theory. It does not have a death penalty in practice, although capital punishment has been back on the books in Kansas since 1994 and there currently are nine men on death row. Each complex phase of each case seems to churn up new legal questions, leading to more delays in realizing lawmakers' goal of making execution available for the "worst of the worst" criminals in Kansas. | 10/21/09 13:50:12 By -

Commentary: Defining celebrity in the age of YouTube

Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor under federal indictment for corruption and scheduled to go on trial next June for allegedly conspiring to sell now-President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, is slated for an appearance on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" reality TV show. | 10/21/09 13:06:19 By - Dusty Nix

Commentary: Hot heads won't help water deal

Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee pitched a tantrum last week, and it nearly killed a water package his colleagues have toiled over for years. Blakeslee claimed that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, was backpedaling on previous promises for how a water bond should be structured. | 10/21/09 12:15:16 By -

Commentary: A nuclear Brazil? Not likely

Latin America has long prided itself on being the world's most populated nuclear weapons-free region, but recent statements by top Brazilian and Venezuelan officials are making many of us wonder for how long that will be the case. | 10/21/09 06:02:08 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Does the NFL really have standards for owners?

What I admire about the National Football League is the constant pace of innovation. Instant replay. The zone blitz. The Wildcat offense. And now, at long last, standards for NFL owners. This last one was invented just last week, when the league pressured a group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams to drop conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh from its ranks for what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called "divisive" and "negative" commentary. | 10/21/09 06:10:24 By - Glenn Garvin

Commentary: Balloon boy's honesty deflates parents' tale

If Richard and Mayumi Heene wanted TV exposure, as authorities allege, they've certainly succeeded. But the family isn't experiencing the thrill of a reality show -- something the parents had reportedly been pursuing. | 10/20/09 14:14:14 By -

Commentary: Giving troops the tools they need

If Americans' collective Support The Troops ethos has anything resembling an outrage threshold, then reports that our men and women in combat zones might not be adequately equipped must surely be testing it. | 10/20/09 13:47:12 By -

Commentary: Ratings agencies went wrong

In the old days, if you wanted to buy a house, you went to a bank. The bank would assess your ability to repay the loan and collect a down payment to ensure that you had some "skin in the game." The bank typically held the loan, providing an incentive to ensure that a borrower wouldn't default. | 10/20/09 13:17:07 By -

Commentary: TSA is moving too fast with whole-body image scanners

Despite a U.S. House vote in June to limit their use, electronic strip searches are routine now at an increasing number of U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration is gearing up to use these invasive searches, which literally see through clothing to reveal the passenger's body, on every person who goes through security at U.S. airports. Whoa, tiger. | 10/20/09 12:50:46 By -

Commentary: Second Circuit Appeals Court openings need to be filled

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has vacancies in four of its thirteen authorized judgeships. Operating without nearly 25 percent of the tribunal's judicial complement frustrates expeditious, inexpensive and equitable disposition of appeals. Thus, President Obama should promptly nominate, and the Senate must swiftly confirm, outstanding judges to all four openings. | 10/20/09 11:35:35 By - Carl Tobias

Commentary: Life from Conservapedia's point of view

So we may soon have ourselves a conservative Bible. Besides Fox News, I mean. This new Bible is from Conservapedia, a website that bills itself as a conservative alternative to the perceived liberal bias of Wikipedia, the user-edited online reference. | 10/20/09 06:05:23 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Baucus bill is falling short

Health insurance for all: That's not too much to expect in the world's richest nation. Nor is it too much to expect of Congress, which desperately needs to shed its image of intransigence and incompetence. The bill that cleared the Senate Finance Committee last week would leave an estimated 17 million citizens and legal residents uninsured. Eight million illegal residents would also remain uninsured . | 10/19/09 13:31:40 By -

Commentary: Have we reached a turning point on health care reform?

The prolonged debate over reforming the nation's health care system reached a significant milestone last week when the bill cleared a major legislative obstacle in the Senate Finance Committee. With the aid of one lone Republican vote from Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, the committee approved a sweeping reform plan that would remake one-sixth of the nation's economy. | 10/19/09 12:51:49 By -

Commentary: Close loopholes on ammo purchases

There have long been laws on the books that require identity checks and waiting periods for purchasers of guns, but virtually no restrictions govern purchases of ammunition. It's a regulatory oversight that makes our communities less safe. | 10/19/09 12:38:30 By -

Commentary: Not all election law violations are equal

The organizations that have accused backers of the 2008 Clean Water Initiative of election law violations have their own case to wrangle with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Art Hackney, one of those accused by foes of the initiative, filed his own complaint against Alaskans Against the Mining Shutdown (AAMS), Council of Alaska Producers (CAP) and NANA Regional Corporation. | 10/19/09 12:20:24 By -

Commentary: Pursuing injustice in Texas

If you haven't heard, a major crime was committed five years ago.

Texas executed an innocent man. His name was Cameron Todd Willingham. He was accused of murdering his three daughters by burning down the family home. | 10/19/09 06:14:23 By - Isaac Bailey

Commentary: A debate over child exploitation vs. censorship in Mexico

If you look at the culture pages in Mexico's newspapers these days, there is little question about what's the talk of the town in literary circles -- old men having sex with young girls.

In addition to headlines about filmmaker Roman Polanski's recent arrest in Switzerland over 1970s U.S. charges that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl, Mexican intellectuals are embroiled in a bitter debate over whether a planned movie based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book Memories of my Melancholy Whores would glorify the sexual exploitation of children. | 10/18/09 06:45:50 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Obama could use Nobel Peace Prize to honor military

A groundswell is building for President Obama to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the U.S. military. Conservatives and liberals alike want the president to remind the world that it is largely because of our military that freedom and democracy -- peace -- exists in places they otherwise wouldn't. | 10/17/09 06:10:27 By - Isaac Bailey

Commentary: Now is not the time to increase seniors' benefits

With the economy still struggling, it's understandable many Social Security recipients are upset and worried by the news they won't get a cost-of-living-adjustment next year. President Obama wants to send $250 checks to tens of millions of seniors, disabled persons and others -- a new $13-billion-plus expense on the backs of already hard-pressed American taxpayers. | 10/16/09 13:11:39 By -

Commentary: Snitching is doing the right thing

I don't know Michael Brewer, but I can tell you that he is an upstanding kid because even though fearful, he did the right thing. Brewer, 15, was doused in rubbing alcohol Monday afternoon near his Deerfield Beach neighborhood by one classmate and then set ablaze by another -- both miscreants part of a group of five who allegedly surrounded Brewer during the immolation so he couldn't escape. Police say the accused wanted to punish Brewer because one of them was arrested after Brewer reported the attempted theft of his father's bike. | 10/16/09 12:27:36 By - James Burnett

Commentary: Learning a lesson from Capt. Sully

Working in the news business, I must admit there are stories I get tired of. And then there are the stories I can't get enough of. One such story is that of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenburger, the heroic pilot of US Airways flight 1549 who successfully landed on the Hudson River on Jan. 15 after a flock of geese caused both engines to fail. | 10/16/09 11:56:40 By - Harold Goodridge

Commentary: A good outcome for California dance team

Rio Americano High School made Fox News the other day in an unflattering way. To its credit, the Rio Americano High School community has not ignored the negative notoriety nor has it allowed itself to become a hapless victim of the culture wars. It's responded in a number of commendable ways. | 10/16/09 11:23:15 By -

Commentary: California government needs to compromise on renewable energy

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrats who control the Legislature have plenty to disagree about. So it's a shame they can't even get together on an important issue on which they say they agree. California has long been a leader in pushing the electricity industry to use renewable sources of energy to power the state's grid. Current law calls for the utilities to use renewables for 20 percent of their electricity production by 2010. | 10/16/09 11:06:16 By -

Commentary: It's time for us to be the better America

There has always been something rather bipolar about the United States of America. We have periodically seesawed between competing extremes. We've been the visionary and great-hearted America that declared life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness inalienable rights, that fed and rebuilt Europe after a world war, that went to the moon, that inspired the world through the force of its ideals. And we've been the paranoid, reactionary America too small for those same ideals, the xenophobic, fraidy-cat America that wire taps and witch hunts and sees Reds behind every lamp post, illegals on every street corner, terrorists at every bus stop. | 10/16/09 06:03:20 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Perry's actions with forensic panel raise concerns

Gov. Rick Perry's hatchet has fallen once again on what was a little-known state commission created to ensure the credibility of forensic science used in criminal investigations. The governor has now replaced all four of his appointees, including the chairman, to the nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission. His actions came as the commission was investigating its highest-profile case, involving the possibility that an innocent man was executed in 2004. | 10/15/09 14:17:36 By -

Commentary: Congress must keep moving on health care reform

The health care reform bill the U.S. Senate's Finance committee passed Tuesday needs some changes. Happily, changes are almost certain, since Senate leaders must reconcile that bill with one passed by another Senate committee. Afterward, whatever the Senate passes must be reconciled with the House version of the bill. | 10/15/09 13:42:44 By -

Commentary: The Southern politeness facade

Bless their hearts.

That's about all I can say to whoever came up with the idea in the new book "Miracle on the Hudson" -- the idea being that the passengers handled the crash with grace because most of them are Southerners. | 10/15/09 13:39:06 By - Tommy Tomlinson

Commentary: Diplomacy works better face-to-face

John F. Kennedy said that Oct. 23, 1956, is a day "that will live forever in the annals of free men and nations." He continued: "It was a day of courage, conscience and triumph. No other day since history began has shown more clearly the eternal unquenchability of man's desire to be free, whatever the odds against success, whatever the sacrifice required." | 10/15/09 12:57:25 By -

Commentary: Pythons, constrictors and anacondas -- Oh my!

On Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that five giant, nonnative species pose a "high risk" threat to the ecosystem, particularly here in South Florida, where they've found a home in the warm confines of the Everglades. | 10/15/09 11:53:34 By -

Commentary: Is it time to open up travel to Cuba for all?

Even if American tourists stay in gussied-up areas and few get to see the desperate situation that most Cubans are forced to live, these same tourists can leave a mark on Cubans. Americans, by their interactions with Cuban workers in hotels, restaurants and on the street, could help to erase the propaganda the Cuban regime has fed its people for five decades about the "evil imperialist monster to the North." | 10/15/09 11:16:21 By -

Commentary: Fighting Fred Phelps may be too costly

Albert Snyder, a salesman from Pennsylvania, is believed to be the only individual to sue Fred Phelps and his clan for the trauma they inflict by protesting the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Phelps' twisted world, the military losses are God's retribution for America's tolerance of homosexuality. Late last month, the Snyder victory crashed. An appeals court said it was free speech.

Now, Snyder has decided to pursue the case further, to the U.S. Supreme Court. At this point, the question is: At what cost? | 10/15/09 06:02:20 By - Mary Sanchez

Commentary: NASA's moon blast was a letdown

Was it really necessary for NASA to spend millions of dollars on moon probe?

NASA scientists say they had a valid reason for hurling two spacecraft into the moon Friday. We wonder, though, if they just felt like blowing something up. | 10/14/09 12:51:30 By -

Commentary: An innocent man has waited long enough to be free

Plenty of prison inmates are perfectly frank in admitting that they did the crime for which they're now doing the time. Others will say with a straight face, "It wasn't me!" Every once in a while, they're even telling the truth. The court system, for all its elaborate appeal mechanisms, isn't very well-suited to handle claims of innocence on the part of those already found guilty at trial. | 10/14/09 12:36:53 By -

Commentary: Goldstone report on Gaza incursion unfairly condemns Israel

Rarely has the United States had as much good reason to exercise its veto in the U.N. Security Council as it will have today when a controversial report condemning Israel for its campaign against Gaza terrorists is slated to come up for consideration. | 10/14/09 11:19:13 By -

Commentary: Schwarzenegger wisely backs away from veto threat

Californians may never know if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was bluffing last week when he threatened to veto most if not all of the hundreds of bills on his desk as a way to leverage legislative leaders into a deal on the state's water supply and the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. | 10/14/09 10:55:15 By -

Commentary: The end of Rush Limbaugh?

Here's a warning for 21 million Dittoheads: You don't want Rush Limbaugh getting a piece of the St. Louis Rams.

If America's most famous radio talk-show host gets his wish and becomes a National Football League owner, it will be the end of Limbaugh as you know him. | 10/14/09 06:12:46 By - Bill McEwen

Commentary: Is America 'the brand' making a comeback?

I was as surprised as everybody when I read on Friday that President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, but I was much more surprised a few days earlier when an international poll showed that the United States has suddenly become the most admired country in the world. | 10/14/09 06:04:28 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Obama critics try scoring cheap political points with Nobel Peace Prize

We'd rather have the world hating and despising us instead of extending olive branches. One week, critics of President Obama cheered and gloated that "the world rejected Obama" when we missed out on the 2016 summer Olympics. The next, the president is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the people who cheered "the world rejected Obama" are offended a prominent world body embraced him. | 10/13/09 14:19:54 By - Isaac Bailey

Commentary: N.C. learns hard lessons from Dell's departure

Here's one thing taxpayers have learned from Dell's decision to close its Forsyth County plant and lay off the last of its workers by January: The critics who warned against state and local governments approving $280 million in incentives for the computer maker were right: It wasn't that good a deal, the jobs didn't pay that much money and who's to say the company will even stay in North Carolina? | 10/13/09 14:02:57 By -

Commentary: Ethanol tax credits must end

Congress has tried to create a charmed life for ethanol and Midwestern corn growers in recent years. First came a hefty tax credit for producing the renewable fuel. And in late 2007 U.S. lawmakers passed a new standard that requires quadrupling the output of ethanol and other biofuels by 2022. | 10/13/09 13:32:43 By -

Commentary: Congress must quickly address ethics complaints

Reports that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York leases four rent-controlled apartments in his district and uses one of those units as a campaign office space first surfaced in July of last year. It was news because this is a possible violation of local housing rules. | 10/13/09 12:48:06 By -

Commentary: Getting serious about stopping medicare/medicaid fraud

Scarlet Duarte and Rechart Garcia face prison terms of five to 20 years for submitting almost $52 million in false claims for HIV infusion treatments that -- even if they had been used on AIDS patients -- are medically questionable at best. For health care reform to work, more money is needed to nab scam artists | 10/13/09 12:36:49 By -

Commentary: Our faulty detention system needs fixing

There's fresh evidence -- not that any was needed -- that the national immigration system is broken and desperately needs a complete overhaul. | 10/13/09 12:13:54 By -

Commentary: Health care town halls reflect California's political divide

To see the political polarization of our region, all you have to do is attend different congressional town hall meetings on health care reform. For example, at town hall meetings hosted by Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, in August, I saw largely skeptics who believe a health care overhaul in Congress is moving too far, too fast. They fear new, expanded government intrusion into the health care market. | 10/13/09 11:56:32 By -

Commentary: California government's comic opera is no laughing matter

As Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders were staging their comic opera showdown over water policy and the fate of 707 bills last week, the venerable Field Institute was conducting its latest poll on their standing among California voters. Not surprisingly, the governor and lawmakers failed to complete an agreement to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and create more reliability in water supply. | 10/13/09 11:52:48 By - Dan Walters

Commentary: Dole changes tune on health care

Fifteen years ago, Bob Dole decided it was better to kill health care reform than to hand a Democratic president a historic victory.

Since then, praise be, he's reformed his thinking. | 10/13/09 06:12:18 By - Barbara Shelly

Commentary: It's just a cross in the middle of nowhere

I'm only trying to tease out an opinion I can live with in a case the Court heard last week, about a cross in the Mojave Desert.

The original cross (it has been replaced a number of times over the years) was erected in 1934 as a tribute to the dead of World War I and sits in a remote corner of what is now the Mojave National Preserve. Its legal troubles began ten years ago with a former employee of the National Park Service who sued because he thought the cross an improper display on federal land in that it celebrated one faith over others. | 10/13/09 06:04:47 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Coal's real face? Death, poverty, pollution, low taxes and ruined roads

A new multi-state public relations campaign is called FACES of Coal. The acronym (for Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security) puts a human face on the people who mine and move coal and also on coal's benefits to the average Kentuckian. Chief among them: cheap electricity and the jobs it produces. For many Kentuckians, though, "faces of coal" conjures up something else, the faces of people and places ravaged by the industry. | 10/12/09 13:05:56 By -

Commentary: Obama's Nobel prize was a bit premature

President Barack Obama's selection for the Nobel Peace Prize is an honor for this country, yet the word premature springs to mind. Mr. Obama has made some eloquent speeches, most recently reaffirming a commitment to diplomatic engagement before the U.N. General Assembly. And he has done some good things, too, like ordering the eventual closing of the prison at Guantanamo and outlawing waterboarding. That's a good start, but no more than that. The Nobel Peace Prize should represent something more than a pat on the back for good intentions. | 10/12/09 12:07:43 By -

Commentary: California could take lead on energy efficient TVs

To hear some people tell it, the big bad regulators at the California Energy Commission are coming for your television. They're going to ban big-screen TVs and force you to shop on the black market if you want to see next year's Super Bowl in life-size high-def. Don't believe it. The Energy Commission, after a year of study, is close to adopting new regulations designed to make big-screen televisions as energy-efficient as washing machines, electric dryers and refrigerators. | 10/12/09 11:57:18 By -

Commentary: Even 'speech' that some find offensive deserves protection

A case before the U.S. Supreme Court court involving a Virginia man who sold gruesome videos of dog fights may turn out to be a crucial test of free speech rights. | 10/12/09 11:21:29 By -

Commentary: Gulf War veterans need support

Veterans of the 1990-91 war in Iraq continue to struggle with the government for proper attention to the mysterious illnesses known as "Gulf War syndrome." Evidence is strong that Gulf War illness is real. Let's stand by our vets and find out how to treat it. | 10/12/09 11:09:59 By -

Commentary: Congress must lead on climate change

Congress is currently engaged in one of the most complex policy debates of our time -- how best to mitigate climate change without harming the economy. | 10/12/09 10:55:38 By - Senator Lisa Murkowski

Commentary: A Nobel Peace Prize with eyes toward the future

The timing of Friday's Nobel Peace Prize award for President Barack Obama was indeed a shock. Even some of his admirers were calling it premature. | 10/12/09 10:45:11 By -

Commentary: I'll take your H1N1 shot

I'm not going to question the decisions being made by some parents and health care workers to forgo swine flu vaccinations. All I'd like to ask these Opt-Out Americans is this: Can I have your place in line? Being a baby boomer, I grew up loving immunizations. I was happy –- proud even –- to be a little soldier in the war on communicable disease. I helped take on polio one sugar cube at a time. | 10/12/09 10:28:43 By - Peter Callaghan

Commentary: Health care as a moral issue --Calling Dr. Salk

The next time you see an expensive ad for the latest pharmaceutical innovation, think of this conversation between famed broadcaster, Edward R. Murrow and Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine. Murrow asked, ‘"Who owns the patent on this vaccine?’" Salk answered, "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"

What? No considerations about market shares, billion dollar profits, high-profile media blitzes? Such naivete. | 10/12/09 06:15:51 By - William S. Meyer, MSW

Commentary: The costs and benefits of drug courts

The United States needs to take a new look at the way we deal with drugs and drug users. About 500,000 men and women are currently incarcerated for a drug offense, and they are disproportionately poor, minorities or immigrants. Substance abuse is really a medical, not a criminal justice, issue. | 10/12/09 06:05:36 By - Cynthia Orr

Commentary: Politcs are the root of Mexico's woes

Everything that could possibly go wrong seems to be going wrong for Mexico, Latin America's worst performing economy this year. But a new government idea could put this country back on the road to prosperity for decades to come -- if government officials really are serious about it. | 10/11/09 06:14:30 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Becoming a U.S. citizen

It was a journey of 4,440 days. That's the time it took me to become an American citizen after arriving to the United States as a student in the summer of 1997 to travel a new road.

For immigrants it's like climbing to the top of Everest. | 10/10/09 06:27:26 By - Daniel Shoer-Roth

Commentary: Why is the U.S. still subsidizing corn?

You may have seen the weird little TV ad where a sugar cube is being interrogated about why Americans are so obese. The sugar cube fingers high fructose corn syrup. But the interrogator doesn't buy it. He scolds the sugar cube, telling him that calories are the same, whether they come from sugar or corn syrup. This message, of course, is brought to you by friends of the corn industry. | 10/09/09 13:32:11 By - James Werrell

Commentary: With Dell, N.C. learns a tough lesson about financial incentives

In the end, it just didn't compute. Despite far-reaching financial incentives from the state -- at the time the most lavish tax breaks North Carolina had yet approved -- Dell turned out not to need the trophy plant that Winston-Salem and Forsyth County had worked so hard to land. The computer assembly business, the company claims, has changed too quickly for its four-year-old facility to keep up. On Wednesday, Dell said all 900-plus employees will lose their jobs by January. | 10/09/09 13:27:05 By -

Commentary: Charlotte must work to stop sex trafficking

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police can rightfully tout a decline in crime in this community over the past year. Through July, CMPD reported the number of serious crimes down 21 percent compared with the same six months last year. Property crime decreased 21 percent, and violent crime decreased 23 percent. But our mouths dropped at this: Charlotte has become a center for sex trafficking along the East Coast. What?! | 10/09/09 13:23:15 By -

Commentary: Guantanamo must close

Congressional Democrats are backing away from a total blockade on bringing Guantanamo detainees into the United States, at least for prosecution. It's about time. | 10/09/09 13:09:55 By -

Commentary: More focus should be placed on women's rights

The lack of women's rights in developing countries has come into the spotlight recently, and some are calling the struggle for gender equity the human rights cause of this century. It's about time. In addition to being a moral imperative, improving the rights and lives of women is key to reducing poverty and increasing economic development. | 10/09/09 12:45:22 By -

Commentary: Matsui finally listening to voters on health care overhaul

Better late than never, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, is holding a town hall meeting on health care reform legislation. | 10/09/09 11:38:21 By -

Commentary: Fresno, don't believe the Daily Beast's hype

Hello, idiots of Fresno. As you've probably heard by now, our fair city finished dead last on a list ranking the smartest cities in America released this week by The Daily Beast. For those who missed it, The Daily Beast ranked the 55 most populated cities in the country, by their collective brainpower. Fresno and its metro area finished at 55 with a collective IQ of 3. By contrast, smarty-pants winners Raleigh-Durham had a 170 IQ. | 10/09/09 11:25:05 By - Mike Osegueda

Commentary: Medicare Advantage provide no advantages to Alaskans

The dark side of Medicare Advantage is that the government spends about 14 percent more per senior citizen than for those enrolled in traditional Medicare, which is run directly by the federal government. That's a fairly recent development that should be reversed. A GAO study of 2007 Medicare Advantage plans found that most of the plans allocate less than 85 percent of revenues to medical expenses, with the rest going to administration, marketing, sales and profit. Shifting money out of Medicare Advantage is a nearly painless way to help pay for health care reform. For Alaskans it won't hurt a bit. | 10/09/09 11:15:02 By -

Commentary: Hey Gov. Perry, that's no way to treat a lady

If Gov. Rick Perry loses the 2010 Republican primary, it won't be because he executed too many men or made too much fun of the recession. No, if he loses, it'll be because he mocked a woman.

Six weeks into the campaign, the Cowboy Governor has forgotten the Code of the West: A cowboy treats a woman like a lady. | 10/09/09 06:20:36 By - Bud Kennedy

Commentary: Sacramento's ammunition ordinance should be widely adopted

You can't talk about controlling gun violence without getting shot down. Or threatened. Or dismissed as a liberal hater of the Second Amendment.

Yet there is an ammunition ordinance in the city of Sacramento that is working. The ordinance targets criminals, not law-abiding citizens. It doesn't take guns out of the hands of honest people. | 10/09/09 06:01:18 By - Marcos Breton

Commentary: Bob Dole makes good call on health care compromise

Bob Dole stepped into the fractious health care debate Wednesday with a welcome call for Congress to get a bill passed this session. Dole and two other former Senate leaders, Republican James Baker and Democrat Tom Daschle, are urging a bipartisan compromise on health care. They correctly support affordable health insurance without exceptions for past medical problems. And they want financial incentives based on outcomes instead of procedures. | 10/08/09 13:34:26 By -

Commentary: Obama has few decent options in Afghanistan

Barack Obama, the reluctant war president, spent part of Wednesday's eighth anniversary of the U.S. operation in Afghanistan discussing the difficult conflict with his national security team, a day after doing the same with bipartisan leaders of Congress. | 10/08/09 13:00:54 By -

Commentary: Parents were missing from Belleville bus meeting

Talk about short attention spans. Three weeks ago, people in the Belleville area were up in arms after seeing the video of a beating on a Belleville West school bus. But at a meeting Tuesday to address the problem, just 25 people showed up. | 10/08/09 12:56:52 By -

Commentary: Transparency needed for politcal ads

Floridians furious over well-financed and anonymous special interests launching last-minute political attack ads should pressure legislators to rewrite state campaign finance law. Without a new statute, the political environment promises to devolve even further in the next campaign. | 10/08/09 11:50:36 By -

Commentary: Medicare subsidy costs are indefensible

How to pay for it all? That remains a vexing challenge for Congress in expanding health care coverage to all Americans. A large part of the solution must involve wringing savings from within the existing system. And some cost savings can come from Medicare, the public insurance program for those over age 65. One fruitful area is to provide a level playing field between traditional Medicare and private plans that have participated in Medicare since 1985. | 10/08/09 11:31:44 By -

Commentary: Polanski's pals twist the truth about rape case

In our new era of teachable moments, nothing has been so educational to me as Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland last week for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Listening to the impassioned defenses by Polanski's supporters in Europe and Hollywood, I've learned so much that my head is just about to explode.

No doesn't always mean no after all. | 10/08/09 06:07:16 By - Glenn Garvin

Commentary: Polanski's fame doesn't mean he's above the law

Somebody please help me with this. Obviously, I'm missing something. In court, Roman Polanski admits to having sex with the child. He admits he knew she was 13. He is indicted on six charges. To spare the child the pain of testifying, the DA agrees to let him plead guilty on a single lesser charge. The man spends 42 days behind bars for pre-sentencing diagnostic tests. In 1978, on the eve of his actual sentencing, he flees the country and returns to his native France. He is finally arrested 31 years later.

And now he is the victim?! | 10/08/09 06:04:07 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Attitudes, prosecution over statuatory rape must change

Statutory rape is a heinous crime. The adults who commit it are violently abusing those too young to protect themselves. They are criminals stealing the innocence and childhoods of youngsters -- and often crippling the children's lives as adults, too. | 10/07/09 13:56:37 By -

Commentary: Reducing speed saves lives

Congestion once was an ugly word for traffic engineers. Even today, some of these engineers remain singularly focused on relieving congestion and increasing vehicle speeds. | 10/07/09 13:29:17 By -

Commentary: Overdraft fees costing consumers billions

Financial institutions call overdraft charges a convenience fee, but it's really a loan with an astronomical interest rate. On small overdrafts, the annual rate can run upwards of 400 percent or more -- higher than a pawnshop charges. Tighter disclosure rules on overdraft fees are needed to help consumers make better decisions. | 10/07/09 12:38:27 By -

Commentary: U.S. government must lift veil of secrecy

President Barack Obama came to office vowing to run an open and transparent government. By and large, he's kept that promise, strengthening enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act and making it easier for the public to find out who is visiting the White House to conduct business. But when it comes to the so-called "state secrets privilege," this administration has been too quick to embrace the policy of its predecessor. | 10/07/09 11:50:34 By -

Commentary: The Cuban health care hoax

Teresita died on my birthday almost five years ago. I didn't grow up with my older cousin -- she stayed behind in Havana after the revolution and my father, her uncle, was wise enough to leave.

My cousin died, as so many Cubans do, because the communist island's much-lauded health care system is an evil hoax. | 10/07/09 06:07:28 By - Myriam Marquez

Commentary: A few lessons about health care

It's no wonder people are frustrated by the debate over health care reform.

The issues are complex. None of the proposed solutions is perfect. And, more often than not, the arguments seem to dissolve into emotional oversimplification. | 10/07/09 06:10:59 By - Tom Eblen

Commentary: Humane sick leave is necessary in time of swine flu

Guess what happens when a global flu pandemic meets sick leave rules straight out of the world of Charles Dickens? Workers get sick. More workers get sick. Customers get sick. Bosses who thought they were making money by forcing sick employees to work wind up losing money instead. | 10/06/09 14:22:13 By -

Commentary: Sanford's dispute with ethics panel was unwarranted

Once again, the courts are being asked to settle what is essentially a dispute between Gov. Mark Sanford and the Legislature. This time, it's over the stated intention of the State Ethics Commission to turn over its preliminary investigative report of Mr. Sanford's travel and expenditures to the House, to use as part of an expected impeachment effort. | 10/06/09 13:36:39 By -

Commentary: U.S. is still too slow to adopt clean energy

Will the United States have the political courage to take a leadership role on climate change, especially by investing in clean renewable energies such as wind power? Under President George W. Bush and a mostly GOP-controlled Congress for eight desultory years, the answer was a resounding "no." | 10/06/09 12:54:34 By -

Commentary: Obama disappoints on media shield law

The Obama administration's efforts to impede Senate approval of a law designed to protect reporters from punishment if they refuse to divulge confidential sources are both surprising and utterly disappointing. Now that he's the decider, Mr. Obama has developed cold feet. Last week, he let lawmakers know that he wanted the bill changed in a way that would cripple key provisions on when and how to invoke protections for reporters and their sources. This would gut the essential provisions of the proposed law. | 10/06/09 11:33:59 By -

Commentary: Duvall controversy won't go away

Soon after it was revealed that Assemblyman Mike Duvall had boasted about having sex with lobbyists, Speaker Karen Bass called on the Assembly's ethics committee to investigate. Good move. | 10/06/09 11:06:23 By -

Commentary: Coast Guard inspections are vital in creating safer seas

Too many fishermen die on the job. The deaths of five more in the sinking of the Alaska Ranger in the Bering Sea in 2008 drove home that truth once again, and for the fourth time after a fatal accident, the National Transportation Safety Board has said Congress should give the Coast Guard the power to do mandatory inspections of commercial fishing vessels. | 10/06/09 10:33:55 By -

Commentary: Just another GOP echo chamber

Perhaps you are familiar with an old saying: Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I've found that maxim valuable as I wade through the recent hand-wringing and recrimination among journalists and their critics over the fact that most mainstream media were slow to pick up on the story of corruption at ACORN. | 10/06/09 06:05:15 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: A question of timing, tactics in latest terror cases

Last month, officials in the U.S. Department of Justice announced that its agents had foiled no less than three separate alleged terrorist plots in the country. On hearing that news, did you breathe a great sigh of relief or become more fearful that there are additional sinister conspirators lurking among us with the intent of blowing up buildings and public transit facilities?

Or, are you wondering, like me, if the government overreacted or perhaps acted too quickly — spoiling the plot or plots before all potential participants could be identified? | 10/06/09 06:01:32 By - Bob Ray Sanders

Commentary: Missouri lawmakers taking too much from lobbyists

When it comes to collecting largess from lobbyists, the brazenness of Missouri legislators knows no bounds. Over the years, they have invented any number of caucuses and special committees so that elected officials could be wined and dined without their names showing up on disclosure reports. | 10/05/09 14:27:11 By -

Commentary: Latin America is weathering economic storm

Amid the blizzard of speeches and declarations emerging from the Americas Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean, one theme emerged: The region has weathered the economic crisis better than most parts of the world and is poised for a robust recovery. | 10/05/09 13:24:02 By -

Commentary: Schwarzenegger needs to sign some bills

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until midnight Sunday, just six days from now, to act on hundreds of bills on his desk and either veto them, sign them or let them become law without his signature. He is showing ill will by holding those bills hostage on his desk and refusing to act on them. | 10/05/09 12:56:48 By -

Commentary: Medical marijuana — Still hazy after all these years

Thirteen years after California voters approved medical marijuana, we seem to be increasingly confused over how it should be sold — or if it is even legal. Until recently, medical marijuana dispensaries were rare. But two events triggered an explosion of outlets: state Attorney General Jerry Brown issued guidelines for sales of the drug last year, and the Obama administration said it wouldn't prosecute individuals complying with state medical marijuana laws. | 10/05/09 12:47:13 By - Bill McEwen

Commentary: Perdue makes smart move on gifts

Gov. Beverly Perdue kept it simple, as it should be. An order issued Thursday bans all employees in her administration from accepting food or gifts from companies doing business with the state. This policy should have been in place long ago, but give the governor credit for a quick response to embarrassing reports in The News & Observer about employees of the Division of Motor Vehicles bellying up to a trough provided by Verizon Business, which has a $51.5 million, no-bid contract to provide computers and services for the state's vehicle inspection program. | 10/05/09 11:27:41 By -

Commentary: Perry's move derails foresnics review

The integrity of the prosecution in a criminal case, and thus the public's faith in the justice system, can be severely eroded by news of mistakes, misconduct or sloppy investigations by those entrusted to ensure equal justice under the law. | 10/05/09 11:19:50 By -

Commentary: Russia-Georgia conflict and U.S. foreign policy from the hip

The lack of wisdom that tumbles out of the mouths of politicians is often immediately obvious. Sometimes, however, it does not become clear until months later. And even then, it can be missed if the collective focus of the media is elsewhere.

The conflict last year between Russia and Georgia provides an excellent case in point. | 10/04/09 06:30:44 By - Dennis Jett

Commentary: Another solution to Honduras crisis

There is a new possible solution to the Honduran crisis that is gaining traction in Washington and key Latin American capitals: Bypass the country's two presidents, and get leading presidential candidates to work out a deal that would give credibility to the Nov. 29 elections. | 10/03/09 06:40:51 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Sen. Roberts is out of touch on health care

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts has seen the future of health care and finds it ominous. Crippling costs for American families. Rationing of medical care. Daunting regulations.

According to Roberts, these ills and more will become the scary reality unless he and his fellow Republicans and a few brave Democrats beat down health care reform. | 10/03/09 06:32:12 By - Barbara Shelly

Commentary: Samoa tsunami felt across the globe

This is an anxious time for those in the South Sound's large, close-knit Samoan and Pacific Islander community. That won't change until they are able to make contact with friends and loved ones on islands devastated by Tuesday's killer tsunami. | 10/02/09 14:24:46 By -

Commentary: Can we please tone down the hate-filled rhetoric?

My gut has been telling me that the fulminations of the tea-baggers, the citizens' militia groups, the right-wing conspiracy theorists and all the other angry people shaking their fists at President Obama are more enraged, more misguided and more hate-filled than the opposition to George W. Bush was.

I decided to see if my brain told me the same thing. It's too easy to adopt a skewed view of the world as seen through a political prism. | 10/02/09 13:58:14 By - James Werrell

Commentary: Nothing funny about Obama poll on Facebook

Forgive me if I don't think talk of presidential assassinations is funny. Not even on Facebook. So I'm glad the U.S. Secret Service investigated the online survey that asked whether people thought President Obama should be assassinated. They've determined it was a juvenile mistake. But assassination threats against a president are serious business. Even those who promote it in jest need to learn that lesson. | 10/02/09 13:42:17 By - Fannie Flono

Commentary: So long Saturn

When the Saturn brand was launched, it quickly gained a following among motorists seeking a car that was both dependable and inexpensive. Customers who loathed the exercise of dickering over price also liked Saturn's no-haggle merchandising. But the small car once envisioned as a worthy competitor to Japanese imports appears destined for the General Motors scrap heap. | 10/02/09 13:25:31 By -

Commentary: Time to tame those bank fees

Having to pay a $35 bank fee for being overdrawn by a small amount, say $10 or less, has always seemed outrageous. Now, with the recession squeezing consumers' wallets, the outcry over abusive bank practices has finally reached Washington and lawmakers are threatening to restrict overdraft fees by law. It's about time. | 10/02/09 13:03:44 By -

Commentary: Time to tweak California's recycling program

California's beverage container recycling program the "bottle bill" is due for a tuneup. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, by signing two bills lawmakers sent to his desk, can improve and expand a successful program. | 10/02/09 12:47:59 By -

Commentary: Alaska vets deserve retirement pay

The Obama administration has said it doesn't want two dozen aging veterans of the Alaska Territorial Guard to have their World War II service count toward retirement pay. The reason? Such a qualification would set a bad precedent of granting federal benefits for state service. | 10/02/09 12:15:16 By -

Commentary: ESPN and exploitation under those Friday night lights

You might think of them as quaint symbols of traditional Americana: kids playing the game of football for their high school, classmates, parents, coaches, their town, even for the old codgers who misremember their own exploits on those playing fields.

You might think of them that way. ESPN thinks of them as cheap programming. | 10/02/09 06:06:01 By - Fred Grimm

Commentary: California's tax overhaul plan is doomed

A blue-ribbon commission appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to overhaul California's counterproductive tax system delivered its oft-delayed report Tuesday and, if adopted, it would improve predictability, fairness and simplicity.

That said, the report from the sharply divided commission is probably dead on arrival in a Capitol that can't agree on the time of day, much less anything as intellectually and politically challenging as long-term tax reform. | 10/02/09 06:12:08 By - Dan Walters

Commentary: Too much fuss made over Obama's Olympic assistance

Critics are carping that President Barack Obama's brief trip to Denmark to bolster Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games will detract from his abilities to deal with health care reform, wage war in Afghanistan and handle other crises. Much of this criticism comes from GOP leaders who, last time we checked, hate Obama's proposed health care changes. | 10/01/09 14:22:00 By -

Commentary: Everglades restoration finally showing some progress

The gridlock that has stalled Everglades restoration for so long may finally be easing. A wise appointment by the Obama White House and the first real infusion of federal money since Congress approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) in 2000 are combining with state efforts to move things forward. | 10/01/09 13:05:23 By -

Commentary: A public option is crucial for health care overhaul

Speaking in Grand Junction, Colo., in August, President Barack Obama said a "public option ... is not the entirety of health care reform. This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it." But it is the crucial sliver, the sliver that separates true health care reform from some modest reform of the health insurance industry. | 10/01/09 12:04:39 By -

Commentary: Saving California's state parks might fall to vehicle fees

For more than a year, critics have accused the California Department of Parks and Recreation of engaging in a "Washington Monument strategy" by threatening to close state parks in the face of budget cuts. | 10/01/09 11:49:50 By -

Commentary: World leaders should avoid Ahmadinejad's game

The Iranian president is no fool even though he acts like it sometimes. He is not stupid, and I don't for one minute think he believes that nonsense.

His anti-Jewish and anti-American rhetoric is designed to do just what a lot of American politicians' irrational statements are meant to do: appeal to those ideologues who compose that narrow base that keeps them in power. | 10/01/09 06:15:17 By - Bob Ray Sanders

Commentary: More hypocrisy from Sanford

Being a hypocrite is not (or at least should not be) an impeachable offense. And it almost seems like piling on to note that Gov. Mark Sanford has demonstrated himself to be a first-rate hypocrite. | 10/01/09 06:13:04 By -

Commentary: Lawsuit shows ACORN is failing to grasp reality

The issue for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now isn't a hidden camera sting. Rather, it is ACORN itself. If it is not the cabal of thugs some of its critics contend, it is an organization whose sloppiness and unreadiness for prime time become more manifest each passing day. | 10/01/09 06:02:48 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: A reminder to remain vigilant

What's up with all these alleged Islamic terror plots?

Nothing good, would be the quick answer. Authorities have made arrests in recent days in New York, Illinois and Texas. In July, the Raleigh area witnessed the arrest of seven men in what federal authorities called a "Triangle Terrorism Takedown." The U.S. Attorney's Office here claimed that the men, all but one of whom are American citizens, intended to travel abroad to kill themselves and others in the name of Islam. | 09/30/09 13:59:02 By -

Commentary: Time for N.C. to develop wind power

Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have concluded what many North Carolinians have long surmised: Strong winds in the coastal region mean there's a potential for large-scale wind energy generators — offshore and perhaps in part of eastern Pamlico Sound. | 09/30/09 13:43:15 By -

Commentary: Iran deserves strict sanctions

As long as other countries are willing to give Iran's nuclear program the benefit of the doubt, meaningful countermeasures will be elusive. But Iran is quickly removing all doubt with its provocative actions, as well as with its president's belligerent and unhinged statements about Israel. So when multilateral talks begin Thursday in Geneva, it will be Iran against the world. | 09/30/09 13:11:33 By -

Commentary: California, Congress and comprehensive judgeship legislation

This week, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on Senate Bill 1653 to authorize the establishment of 63 new appeals and trial court judgeships. Congress last enacted a thorough judgeships statute in 1990, and federal court dockets — especially in California — have dramatically increased since then. Thus, legislators must expeditiously pass the measure, so that the federal courts may promptly, economically and fairly resolve mounting caseloads. | 09/30/09 11:46:22 By - Carl Tobias

Commentary: Tort reform is an oversold solution to health care woes

Some Alaska doctors and politicians such as U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski contend tort reform — mainly capping damages allowed from medical malpractice suits — is a must to bring down health care costs. Others, including Sen. Mark Begich, have said that tort reform is a minor factor in health care costs. But in Alaska, so far, tort reform has not helped drop health care costs for consumers. | 09/30/09 11:21:04 By -

Commentary: By blocking Obama's Latin America nominees, DeMint plays detrimental politics

When former President Bill Clinton, Costa Rica President Oscar Arias and top officials from across the hemisphere attend the Americas Conference in Coral Gables on Tuesday, one of the issues that will surely come up is whether anybody is in charge of U.S. policy toward Latin America.

The Obama administration's nominee for top State Department official in charge of hemispheric affairs, Arturo Valenzuela, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. As a result, Latin America is the only State Department geographic regional office without an Obama administration appointee. | 09/30/09 06:07:36 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Separating H1N1 flu myths from facts

There is no way to change the minds of those who fear a government conspiracy to kill us all with the H1N1 vaccine, although I don't know why the government would want to get rid of taxpayers in these economic times. But the rest of us should make educated decisions about the issue and not fall for some of the myths and inaccuracies that are racing through our communities and the Internet. | 09/29/09 14:54:05 By - Merlene Davis

Commentary: McConnell jumps to Humana's defense

The health care debate sparked an uncharacteristic display of passion by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last week, according to national news accounts. Was the normally unruffled McConnell upset because 205,000 more Kentuckians lack health insurance now than in 1999? No. McConnell was steamed (to use the New York Times' phrase) because his hometown insurance giant, Humana, was ordered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to cease sending mailers to its Medicare customers warning of benefit cuts if Congress enacts proposed health care reforms. | 09/29/09 14:19:20 By -

Commentary: Web would benefit from less anonymity among users

Anonymous speech has a revered place in U.S. traditions. Among the most enduring documents of American political thought are the 1787 Federalist Papers urging ratification of the Constitution, which were written by luminaries using pseudonyms. News organizations will sometimes use anonymous sources that provide valuable information that they might never furnish unless they knew they'd be safe from reprisal. However, anonymous posters on Web sites are nothing like confidential sources and shouldn't be afford the same levels of protection. | 09/29/09 13:38:50 By - Edward Wasserman

Commentary: Iran's evasive tactics continue

The disclosure that Iran is building a secret nuclear enrichment plant inside a mountain near the city of Qom underlines the continuing treachery of a government with a long history of evasion. Iran's actions represent a brazen and indisputable violation of the international rules governing the development of nuclear power. | 09/29/09 13:22:21 By -

Commentary: California's state parks still aren't out of budget cut woods

For more than a year, critics have accused the California Department of Parks and Recreation of engaging in a "Washington Monument strategy" by threatening to close state parks in the face of budget cuts. | 09/29/09 12:13:15 By -

Commentary: Murkowski tries to stall EPA

Let's take U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski at her word about why she pushed a controversial proposal to limit EPA's work on new rules for carbon dioxide emissions from stationary sources, such as power plants and factories. She agrees the nation needs to act to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas pollution. But she says the existing Clean Air Act is ill-suited to deal with carbon dioxide emissions from anything other than vehicles. This is a job for Congress, not the federal bureaucracy, she says. Otherwise, she says, upwards of a million buildings in the country might have to be regulated for their CO2 emissions. | 09/29/09 11:26:29 By -

Commentary: Some people will always view Obama through lens of race

The issue of race will dog Barack Obama the entire time he occupies the White House. It's why former president Jimmy Carter was right to say, "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."

Loud denials have tried to shout down Carter's truth-telling, which exposed some folks' attempts to subvert, challenge and minimize Obama's authority. But racism is real, prodding some people to blast Obama on health care reform, his speaking to schoolchildren and his economic recovery efforts. | 09/29/09 06:13:00 By - Lewis Diuguid

Commentary: In praise of Tom DeLay's dance moves

In shaking his 62-year-old backside before an audience of millions, Tom DeLay struck a blow for every Elaine Benes that ever was, one that made you want to stand and shout, "Yes I can!" As one of the rhythmically impaired, I'm here to tell you: It was a brave and inspiring sight. | 09/29/09 06:02:52 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: MADD sending mixed signals with Virgin Drinks

The country's most recognizable advocacy group against underage drinking might want to rethink the message it's sending in the decision to market a line of nonalcoholic beverages called MADD Virgin Drinks. | 09/28/09 14:06:26 By -

Commentary: Choices would be welcome in health care

Most people in the United States get health insurance through a particular job with a particular company — except the elderly and the poor, who are covered by public insurance. No other industrialized country has an employer-based health insurance system like that. The deep, deep flaws of that system, both for individuals and for employers, are more apparent than ever. | 09/28/09 12:01:30 By -

Commentary: Lies will surface in Senate's global warming debate

So, have you enjoyed the debate over health care reform? Have you been impressed by the civility of the discussion and the intellectual honesty of reform opponents? If so, you'll love the next big debate: The fight over climate change. | 09/28/09 11:50:04 By -

Commentary: Taser incident needs continued dialogue

The Tasing of a man in a wheelchair by Merced Police Department officers was a frightening episode for all involved and raises many questions about training of police officers and the behavior of residents. | 09/28/09 11:40:45 By -

Commentary: Celebrate your right to read

If you're looking for a good book to read, you might consider going to a different source — the American Library Association's list of Frequently Challenged Books. After all, what better way to celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week, Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 this year? | 09/28/09 11:34:44 By -

Commentary: Masek is lucky to get only six-month prison term

We watched with a mixture of disgust and pity as five-term legislator Beverly Masek was sentenced to six months in a federal penitentiary on Thursday. Her crime? Selling the public trust for pocket change. | 09/28/09 11:27:19 By -

Commentary: Boycott won't tame Lou Dobbs' anti-immigrant rhetoric

I want to believe a boycott could shut Lou Dobbs up.

But I live in reality, not the land of wishful thinking that is behind a campaign called Drop Dobbs ( www.dropdobbs.com). | 09/26/09 06:46:53 By - Mary Sanchez

Commentary: We must all be vigilant against terrorism

The current nationwide terrorism warnings serve as a good reminder: International terrorism hasn't gone away, and won't go away. | 09/25/09 13:40:13 By -

Commentary: Zelaya's bad move

The latest antics by deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya bring to mind the line by comedian Arte Johnson on the old Laugh-In TV program: "Verrry interesting . . . but stupid." | 09/25/09 12:39:43 By -

Commentary: Background checks for ammunition purchases are needed

In 2008, the first year after the Sacramento City Council approved an ordinance requiring local gun dealers to record driver's license numbers and thumbprints of people who purchase ammunition, police were able to track 229 illegal ammunition purchases. Some 173 convicted felons were among prohibited purchasers, including two people who had been in prison for murder and seven who had active restraining orders against them for domestic violence. | 09/25/09 12:04:32 By -

Commentary: Prison overcrowding must be addressed

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his team continue to suffer from multiple-policy disorder on prison overcrowding. The latest proposal, turned into the court last Friday, is make-believe and won't fool anyone. The aim is supposed to be to get California's 33 prisons — designed for 80,000 prisoners — down to 137.5 percent of capacity over two years. That requires going from 150,000 today to 110,000 inmates by July 2011. | 09/25/09 11:26:17 By -

Commentary: GOP Rep. Myrick must stop false comments on health care

When Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., went on the radio Saturday to warn listeners against health care proposals before Congress, she referred to her own breast cancer experience. She surely left many listeners believing government-run health care was being proposed. That was deliberately misleading — or shamefully misinformed. | 09/25/09 06:10:07 By -

Commentary: Outcome of Honduras crisis may hang on riots

Diplomats see three possible outcomes of the bizarre political crisis in Honduras, a country with two leaders — one in control, the other powerless but recognized by the world community — since ousted President Manuel Zelaya's brazen return earlier this week. | 09/25/09 06:04:53 By - Andres Oppenheimer