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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Editorial: Gang tax? Council should put first things first

Define problem; determine effective response; then, if necessary, go to ballot

A competitive re-election contest sometimes drives incumbent politicians to pursue smart policies. And sometimes, alas, the opposite is true....(more)

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Editorial: Present in court

Zairon Frazier, who landed in California's foster care system because of neglect and abuse, can claim a major victory....(more)

Do the math: Algebra mandate's a formula for failure

California eighth-graders currently rank 44th among the states in math achievement. But despite this embarrassing showing, California has just become the first state to require every eighth-grader in public school to enroll in Algebra 1. While the goal is admirable, its application is flawed....(more)

David S. Broder: Luck favors Obama on overseas tour

WASHINGTON – It made no sense when Barack Obama left the country on his nine-day overseas tour for some of my fellow columnists to describe it as a high-risk venture....(more)

Tom Ricks: A ground invasion won't work in Iran

Army Maj. Bruce W. Terry, in a paper written last year at the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., explains why the United States doesn't have much of a ground military option for dealing with Iran: A full ground invasion and occupation of Iran is only marginally feasible, but it is not acceptable for the object of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, though the assurance of stopping Iran's nuclear development makes this COA (course of action) suitable....(more)

Cal Thomas: A view of the world vs. a worldview

I remember the first time my wife and I visited Europe and the Middle East. The trip resembled Sen. Obama's current version of speed travel, but without the entourage, security and network coverage....(more)

Cindy McCain's not-political way

KIGALI, Rwanda - Cindy McCain's first visit to this country in 1994 was during the high season of roadblocks and machetes and shallow graves....(more)

Nat Hentoff: A nominee for man of the century

With the United Nations continually and abysmally failing to stop monstrous heads of state around the world from committing atrocities against their own people, at least one man — Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court — has come forward to make all of us confront the genocidal end of civilization in the nation of Sudan....(more)

Leonard Pitts Jr.: Book details slavery by another name

This is how John Davis became a slave: He was walking one evening from the train depot in Goodwater, Ala., when a white man appeared in the road. "Nigger," he demanded, "have you got any money?" The white man, Robert Franklin, was a constable. He claimed Davis owed him. This was news to Davis....(more)

Letters: Delta smelt, idiots, RT

Re "Don't let the door hit you, smelt" (letter, July 19): While sparing the Delta smelt from extinction might not seem like a worthwhile investment of tax dollars, the commotion over the smelt is about more than just one small fish. The Delta smelt is thought to be an indicator of the health of the watershed that millions of Californians rely on....(more)

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

• Editorial: Say goodbye to seller-funded down payments

• Editorial: Bring down the curtain

• Daniel Weintraub: Tiny businesses becoming engine for new economy

• Ann Bauer: Where’s the support for autism?

• Marie Cocco: The next president and the economy

• Dick Polman: Democrats find it hard to whistle Dixie

• E.J. Dionne Jr.: Obama just needs to play it safe

• Letters: Facebook, cell-phone law, gangs, offshore drilling

• Trudy Rubin: Foreign policy trend seen to aid Obama

• Paul Greenberg: College wasn't always so sad

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

• Editorial: Time to waste

• Editorial: High gas prices are bad news for two reasons

• Peter Schrag: The dropout numbers: Who should take the rap?

• Joseph I. Lieberman: A lesson from D.C. schools

• Thomas L. Friedman: Bush failing U.S. on energy crisis

• James Tisch: Energy answer is blowing in the wind

• Andres Oppenheimer: Obama’s Latin policies in play

• Sebastian Mallaby: SEC throws honesty out the window

• Letters to the editor

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Monday, July 21, 2008

• Editorial: Time for state to take the lead on mortgages

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