Commentary: Trade trips must yield more than expense reports

Miami-Dade is an international hub for trade and tourism. So it's to be expected that the county's trade and tourism executives would be traveling abroad to pump up business here. What's inexplicable is why county commissioners get to go along for the ride — without any real accounting of the trade mission's success. | 11/19/09 13:27:00 By -

Commentary: New guidelines for mammograms are confusing

Reaction has been loud and swift to new recommendations regarding mammograms and breast self-exams, which came from a government-sponsored group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policymakers. | 11/19/09 13:06:00 By -

Commentary: Palin is a bellwether for celebrity culture

Sarah Palin, a one-time beauty queen, a mother of five, the Republican candidate for vice president in 2008, and the former governor of Alaska, has a new incarnation: author. But, as the country continues to be fascinated with Ms. Palin, here is what continues to fascinate Alaskans: how a woman who takes pride in calling herself a homemaker from Wasilla brought celebrity culture to the Last Frontier. Ms. Palin exposed Alaskans to a larger universe. We learned how celebrity is created through images, words, legends and, in a few cases, outright fabrication. | 11/19/09 11:55:27 By - Michael Carey

Commentary: Immigration reform, on again

The Obama administration has sent an important signal that it remains committed to overhauling the nation's immigration laws, an issue that has lost none of its urgency since Congress and President Bush tried and failed to enact substantial changes in 2007. | 11/19/09 10:49:47 By -

Commentary: What do a billion Muslims think?

What do one billion Muslims really think? This month, Washington and New York movie audiences were able to learn some answers to this question when they watched "Inside Islam," a groundbreaking film based on John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed's 2008 book, "Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think." The film premiered in Washington this summer and has been touring the country since. | 11/19/09 06:20:59 By - Sara Reef and Zeeshan Suhail

Commentary: Man who put Palin in spotlight becomes her punching bag

The man credited with giving Sarah Palin a national platform is lying low in Sacramento as Palin snipes at him from Oprah Winfrey's couch. Steve Schmidt is a Sacramento-based political operative who was the top strategist in Sen. John McCain's failed presidential bid last year — a campaign best known for tapping Palin as McCain's improbable running mate. Now he's Palin's punching bag. | 11/19/09 06:03:47 By - Marcos Breton

Commentary: Hip-hop and the images of black manhood

I'm not a fan of the images rap and hip-hop music embrace, specifically those of sagging pants, violence, misogyny and greed. Those images, however, have sometimes come to define black manhood.

Byron Hurt, a New York filmmaker, writer and activist, has explored those images in hip-hop culture and in society, and the definitions of masculinity those images foster. | 11/19/09 06:06:02 By - Merlene Davis

Commentary: 'Culturecide' is a word coined in Indian Country

On this sunny November morning I find myself thinking about that tough, old Lakota chief from Standing Rock because his life exemplifies the clash of cultures. On a day like today, Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) was sitting on a bench outside of his log home on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation conversing with his two wives when a Christian minister rode up to the house in his buckboard. | 11/19/09 06:15:59 By - Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji)

Commentary: Self-evident'? Americans' perceptions of liberty vary

We Americans live in a "land of liberty" where we may pursue happiness in our own ways, without a powerful state prescribing the routes we take. We may not get there in the end, for "happiness" is not specific. But as authors of our own stories we exult in the journey itself. The Declaration of Independence sets forth "self-evident" truths: "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness." | 11/19/09 14:44:30 By - Peter S. Onuf

Commentary: Holder made right decision on civil trials for 9-11 suspects

The federal courts in New York City have tried terrorists and delivered justice. These have been long, complicated trials, involving extraordinary security measures. But the proceedings have demonstrated that the American justice system can provide even the worst of U.S. enemies with full and fair process under our Constitution's framework. | 11/18/09 14:06:31 By -

Commentary: Hutchison needs to pick her fight

Based on the rhetoric coming from the senior senator from Texas over the past couple of weeks, you might think she was preparing to defend the Alamo itself. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in deciding to remain in the upper house of Congress while she runs for governor, has said she has to do what is best for Texas by fighting to the last stand against some pretty evil forces. The truth is Hutchison is in a high-stakes political game and is hedging her bets. | 11/18/09 14:02:56 By - Bob Ray Sanders

Commentary: Graham's willingness to compromise on climate change is admirable

While some of his congressional colleagues refuse to admit the planet faces environmental peril from global warming, Sen. Lindsey Graham is in the thick of the effort to do something about it. He has taken heat from some of his South Carolina constituents, but we applaud his willingness to seek a reasonable middle ground on this vital issue. | 11/18/09 13:51:20 By -

Commentary: S.C. AG McMasters is pandering with "I Believe" outrage

The ink was barely dry on a ruling by U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie saying the state's "I Believe" license plates are unconstitutional when state Attorney General Henry McMaster released a video decrying the ruling as the action of a liberal federal judiciary. | 11/18/09 13:48:35 By -

Commentary: Another missing child's story ends in heartbreak

Shaniya Davis was a cute, innocent child born into troubled circumstances not of her making. Now, in the awful end to a story that had Eastern North Carolina in its grip for days, with people who had never known or even heard of this 5-year-old girl praying for her, hoping against hope that she was alive and safe, the worst has come to pass. Her body was found Monday along the border of Lee and Harnett counties. | 11/18/09 13:36:04 By -

Commentary: Kansas congressmen fearmongering on health care reform

In the absence of formal legislation on health care for much of the year, members of Congress and others could itemize grievances about the reform effort freely, without regard to any facts. Yet critics, including Republicans in Kansas' congressional delegation, continue to claim things about the legislation that are contradicted by independent sources such as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. | 11/18/09 13:15:35 By -

Commentary: Census requires common sense

California, like other states, has been preparing for months to count everybody for the 2010 census. That count of the "whole number of persons in each State," required by the U.S. Constitution every 10 years, determines each state's representation in Congress. It also determines allocations of federal funds for schools, hospitals, roads and other programs. | 11/18/09 12:43:04 By -

Commentary: Trusts would protect taxpayers' investment

Historically, government has a lousy record of running businesses. The interests of politicians don't usually coincide with those of stockholders. That's why Washington's investment in General Motors, as well as other big enterprises saved during the credit panic, should be placed in an independent trust under rules that assure taxpayers that the bailout is temporary. | 11/18/09 11:10:55 By -

Commentary: Tales from my battle with a health insurance company

I joke that wrestling with the insurance company is my new part-time job, but it's no laughing matter. I wonder how others in the same predicament fare. Do they have the time and wherewithal to fight? Can they maneuver through the layers of red tape?

I suspect many patients give up, which is exactly what insurance companies want. But is it good medical practice for someone who hasn't examined you to determine what you need? | 11/18/09 06:13:45 By - Ana Veciana-Suarez

Commentary: Flaws in the health care overhaul plan

This may sound surprising, but Republicans don't have a monopoly on opposition to health care reform. Some Democrats also have doubts — if not on the merits of the plans before Congress, then on the decision to put health care ahead of reviving the economy. | 11/18/09 06:01:59 By - E. Thomas McClanahan

Commentary: Obama must put drug makers in their place

You have to admire the cunning of the pharmaceutical industry. Only weeks ago, President Barack Obama was hailing a White House deal with drugmakers to "save" the nation $8 billion a year in prescription drug costs. Now it turns out that Big Pharma has been quietly hiking wholesale prices of prescription drugs: Industry analysts say that the 9 percent increase this year will increase taxpayers' prescription drug bill by $10 billion. | 11/18/09 11:10:55 By -

Commentary: Sanford case is an opportunity for openness in ethics investigations

It would be a mistake to read the Supreme Court's refusal to hide the details of an ethics investigation of Gov. Mark Sanford as a sweeping victory for openness in government. But it also would be a mistake to overlook the potential it has to render ethics investigations just a little less secret than they always have been. | 11/17/09 14:00:58 By -

Commentary: 'Big Mac' is another hero in Fort Hood assault

For a bunch of people at Fort Hood, being shielded by Big Mac — U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford — was almost their last memory. Period. Lunsford shielded some fellow soldiers from one of their co-workers who turned on his own in a deadly massacre. | 11/17/09 13:44:38 By - Barry Saunders

Commentary: We're over the moon for water on the moon

So NASA found water on the moon. This, of course, is a huge breakthrough. Now we are closer than ever to achieving something mankind has dreamed of since we first peered at the stars: the ability to buy bottled Moon Water at Circle K. | 11/17/09 13:31:31 By - Tommy Tomlinson

Commentary: Veterans' meds dilemma finally solved

A dozen old veterans were getting a raw deal, so the state Pioneer Homes relented.

That means the vets will get their medications as they did before, from the Department of Veterans Affairs at little or no cost, and staff at the Pioneer Homes will give the pills as they come from the VA — and make sure the vets take them as they should. | 11/17/09 11:28:19 By -

Commentary: Fear of offending is a threat to us all

That the Fort Hood gunman had plenty of enablers is unmistakable. But the fact that a number of red flags were ignored by so many is perfectly understandable given the context. Here is the reality: Despite all the exhortations to report suspicious behavior in a post-9/11 world, we have seen the creation of a perilous climate in which the fear of offending has overtaken common sense even when lives are at stake. | 11/17/09 10:41:20 By - Michael Smerconish

Commentary: The nation's jobs conundrum

Unemployment is now at 10.2 percent, and if you count the people who have stopped looking for jobs, the rate is probably closer to 17 percent. The U.S. economy continues to shed jobs, making this the worst recession since World War II. No easy solutions or miracle policies will fix things. | 11/17/09 10:36:52 By -

Commentary: DC sniper's death and my mis-aligned convictions

I kept waiting to feel something when news came that John Allen Muhammad had been executed in Virginia. As a staunch opponent of capital punishment, I wanted some nugget of remorse at the knowledge that the government had taken his life.

So I could not manage remorse. Indeed, what I felt was an unsettling, appalling satisfaction that Muhammad is no longer in the world. | 11/17/09 06:02:51 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Treading too lightly around Fort Hood case

On the evening after Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan shot 43 people at the Fort Hood military base, CNN's Larry King Live invited the TV psychologist known chummily as Dr. Phil to help the audience understand what might have motivated Hasan to open fire, killing 12 of his fellow soldiers and one civilian and injuring 30 others. Dr Phil enlightened viewers with pseudo-scientific speculation about how war stress would cause someone to "snap." | 11/17/09 06:10:46 By - Frida Ghitis

Commentary: Confirming Judge Hamilton for the Seventh Circuit

When Barack Obama became President in January, the United States Courts of Appeals experienced openings in fourteen of their 179 judgeships. The new administration realized that swiftly filling these openings was critical and applied specific measures to facilitate appointments, vowing to end the "confirmation wars" that have plagued selection. Thus, President Obama exercised special care to insure that his first nominee, U.S. District Judge David Hamilton of Indiana, was extremely qualified. Despite these efforts, numerous Senate Republicans have opposed Judge Hamilton. It is crucial that the Senate confirm Judge Hamilton on Tuesday, as this date is the eight-month anniversary of his nomination. | 11/16/09 14:13:06 By - Carl Tobias

Commentary: U.S. legal system is capable of trying 9-11 suspects

The American system of justice has won an important vote of confidence from the Obama administration, signaling an overdue return to due process and the rule of law. By deciding to move the trials of five Guantanamo detainees accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to New York City for trial in a civilian court, the administration reaffirmed confidence in a system of justice that has repeatedly shown itself capable of handling terrorism cases. | 11/16/09 12:57:56 By -

Commentary: Immigration reform is long overdue

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has finally called for the immigration reform that President Barack Obama has been promising since he was campaigning for president. Napolitano said Friday that border security and immigration enforcement have improved, which Congress set as a condition for updating the nation's immigration system. | 11/16/09 12:45:35 By -

Commentary: Is a showdown brewing between Pelosi and Feinstein?

Two of California's most powerful politicians, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, appear headed for a showdown. The issue: Deficits and debt have been growing out of control since 2001. | 11/16/09 12:37:46 By -

Commentary: Was Alaska a bum deal for U.S.?

Talk about heresy — University of Iowa economist David Barker is disputing the notion that the federal government made a smart investment buying Alaska from Russia 142 years ago for $7.2 million. We cost Uncle Sam a bundle, but hey — we're worth it! | 11/16/09 12:10:02 By -

Commentary: President's visit to Alaska was a good one

During President Obama's refueling stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base on Thursday, he did what a wartime commander in chief needs to do: Pay honest, heartfelt tribute to the troops. He expressed profound gratitude and unequivocal commitment to the men and women in uniform and their families. He spoke as the commander in chief should, with clarity and heart. His audience responded in kind. | 11/16/09 11:36:53 By -

Commentary: Adding ballast to the U.S.-Russia relationship

As any old salt knows, too much sail and not enough ballast can lead to big trouble in bad weather. The U.S.-Russia relationship, in this sense, is much like a ship without enough draft to steer its way through political storms. The lack of shared interests between our two countries too often means that, like a top-heavy ship, we have been thrown off course by every ill wind that blows our way. Increasing the stakes we have in each other's economic prosperity would add ballast, giving us the ability to steer a straighter course through squalls and storms. | 11/16/09 10:43:14 By - Edward S. Verona

Commentary: Blair and Dobbs in a tale of two journalists

Are journalistic standards holding up under the stresses the profession is facing? Two recent events offer an opportunity for reflection. | 11/16/09 06:03:10 By - Mary Sanchez

Obama-Clinton efforts in Middle East are a disaster

Now we can say, with no real doubt, that the Obama administration has suffered its first major foreign policy failure, and it's hard to see a way to recover. | 11/16/09 06:01:07 By - By JOEL BRINKLEY

Commentary: Here's how the GOP plans to defeat health care reform

Something as sweeping as health care reform, we're being told, should have bipartisan support. Well, no kidding. Of course health care reform should have bipartisan support — just as so many of our Republican congressmen are insisting. As they work feverishly to keep any trace of bipartisanship from seeping into the vote counts. | 11/16/09 06:13:35 By - Barbara Shelly

Commentary: Karzai's government is reaching out to the insurgents with U.S. support

The big story here, underreported so far, is the emergence of coordinated American and Afghan efforts to bring Taliban leaders and fighters in from the cold. When Afghan President Hamid Karzai is inaugurated again next week, he will call for peace and reconciliation with Afghan insurgents. Popular pressure for such efforts is strong, as I have heard in many conversations with Afghan elders and local officials. | 11/15/09 06:52:46 By - Trudy Rubin

Commentary: Don't make a Faustian deal with Iran on nukes

The Obama administration rightly wants to find a peaceful way to stop what most Western countries are convinced is Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. But we should remain fully aware of the price of this policy. Obama was reluctant to speak out in support of democracy protesters when hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the street this summer, and he remains tight-lipped now. America is surrendering the moral high ground in pursuit of a deal with Tehran. | 11/15/09 06:30:22 By - Frida Ghitis

Commentary: Which wolf do you choose to feed?

There is a classic American Indian story about a grandfather who tells his grandson about the battle between two wolves inside us all — one full of angry, fearful energy and one full of compassionate, benevolent energy. When the boy asks, "Which wolf wins?" the grandfather replies, "The one you choose to feed."

With the recent Fort Hood shootings, Americans once again have a choice about which wolf within us to feed. Will we play the recording of "I told you so. Those Muslims are all violent and can't be trusted," as some pundits are doing, or will we take the opportunity this time to reach out in curiosity and compassion to our Muslim-American friends and seek greater understanding of the stresses some of them might feel living in this country? | 11/14/09 06:13:44 By - Louise Diamond

Commentary: 20 years after Jesuits' massacre, future more hopeful for El Salvador

We cannot afford to forget the brutal murders that occurred in El Salvador 20 years ago. On Nov. 16, 1989, the Salvadoran military carried out a savage and cowardly murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Some of the soldiers in the Atlacatl Battalion, which did the deed, had been trained at Fort Benning, Ga. | 11/14/09 06:00:39 By - Randy Jurado Ertll

Commentary: Shame on Joe Wilson

South Carolina Sen. Joe Wilson's behavior since "You lie" has been far more disturbing than the outburst itself.

I think the former was spontaneous; inexcusable, but spontaneous. The same is not true of the way Mr. Wilson has deliberately and systematically capitalized on his shameful behavior, in a campaign that at best has made a mockery of his apology. | 11/14/09 06:49:20 By - Cindi Ross Scoppe

Commentary: Perry's office must release Willingham clemecy report

The Texas Public Information Act contains straightforward procedures. When a member of the public requests public information from a public agency, the documents must be provided "promptly." If officials believe that the information is not public, the agency has 10 business days to ask the Texas attorney general whether it must be disclosed. | 11/13/09 14:55:02 By -

Commentary: Chavez's policies keep getting worse

It's come to this in Hugo Chavez's Venezuela: The president is pleading with people to save water by limiting their daily cleansing routine to a 3-minute "communist shower." | 11/13/09 13:44:05 By -

Commentary: How did troubled bank get TARP funds?

It is tempting to dismiss Friday's forced closure of United Commercial Bank of San Francisco as the isolated problem of one troubled institution. As The Bee's Andrew McIntosh reported in September, the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the bank after discovering it had hidden huge commercial real estate losses. | 11/13/09 13:30:50 By -

Commentary: Seniors should question ads warning of Medicare 'cuts'

The word "cut" is one of the most slippery and often-abused words in American political discourse. When there's talk about government budgets, "cut" is used to mean "any change that stops the rate of growth in whatever program we're talking about." So when the right-wing advocacy group The 60-Plus Association attacks the pending health reform by saying it will "cut" Medicare, it's not a blatant lie. Their attack ad, airing in Alaska and other states, is just a slippery propaganda tactic to scare seniors and get them to oppose health care reform. | 11/13/09 12:37:31 By -

Commentary: As a Muslim-American doctor, I am furious

As an American physician who is Muslim, I feel a profound sense of anger and betrayal. Anger that the alleged perpetrator of the heinous Fort Hood massacre was a Muslim. Anger that someone born and raised in this great land could do such a thing. And anger, above all, that a doctor reportedly did it — a man who had taken the solemn oath repeated by all of us upon graduation from medical school. | 11/13/09 11:56:40 By - Riad Z. Abdelkarim

Commentary: Congress must do more to curb medical costs

The comprehensive health care bill passed by the U.S. House is momentous because it grants nearly all American citizens access to health care. About 96 percent under the age of 65 would have insurance, and insurers could not discriminate against policyholders who have the misfortune of becoming seriously ill. | 11/13/09 11:41:54 By -

Commentary: Obama's overreaching will harm Afghan strategy

Tuesday, the voters began applying the brakes to the Obama administration's leftward joyride. If the Democrats are listening, they'll get the message. What we saw last week had an undeniable intensity. The voters are restive and fearful.

President Obama's pending decision on Afghanistan highlights the risks for a president who tries to do too much too fast. | 11/13/09 06:08:58 By - E. Thomas McClanahan

Commentary: Media guru Howard Kurtz has a conflict

I watch Howard Kurtz's "Reliable Sources" media-review show most Sunday mornings on CNN. That's partly because since Fox News scrapped its weekly "News Watch," it's the only regular program on national television that looks at the news media critically. That's also because Kurtz, The Washington Post's chief media writer, does a good job bringing in knowledgeable people to talk about the major traps the media fell into that week. | 11/13/09 06:17:59 By - Edward Wasserman

Commentary: Chavez might be 'The Headline Hunter'

Watching Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez call on his armed forces to "prepare for war" with Colombia, I couldn't help wondering whether he will end up like the late star of the TV series The Crocodile Hunter — a victim of his own addiction to headlines. | 11/13/09 06:03:52 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Building confidence between the U.S. and Pakistan

During her recent visit to Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphasized the need to foster a relationship of respect between the United States and Pakistan. Although Pakistan's civilian government and military establishment are closely allied with the United States in efforts to stop al-Qaeda, relations between the two countries are fraught with a lack of confidence and miscommunication, creating major obstacles to achieving shared goals. | 11/13/09 06:12:58 By - Saira Yamin and Lisa Schirch

Commentary: Two events symbolize U.S. shift toward Asia

Two events this week, half a globe apart, symbolize an important transformation in the focus of U.S. international relations. In Berlin on Monday, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the current leaders of Germany and other European nations, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the infamous Berlin Wall. | 11/12/09 14:44:31 By - Carl Leubsdorf

Commentary: Scott Roeder's 'defense' is indefensible

Scott Roeder dwells in the Sedgwick County Jail these days, awaiting trial early next year on charges that he gunned down George Tiller in a Wichita church in May. But judging from Roeder's unrepentant confessions to the murder this week in the media, Roeder also lives in some other world in which a cold-blooded killing can be justified by the cockamamie excuse of his choosing. | 11/12/09 14:21:23 By -

Commentary: Federal court vacancies must be filled

For nearly two decades, North Carolina Democrats and Republicans have clumsily mud-wrestled as each side tried to put its favorites on a vitally important federal court while blocking the other's picks. Only one nominee, Republican Allyson Duncan of Raleigh, garnered enough bipartisan support to claim a seat on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. | 11/12/09 14:03:56 By -

Commentary: Health care opt-out option makes no sense

There are a lot of ideas being floated as supporters look for a way to get health care legislation through the Senate — some good, some not so good. One is entirely unacceptable: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's state opt-out provision for the so-called public option. | 11/12/09 13:35:02 By -

Commentary: The evil of John Allen Muhammad

People may argue about the death penalty, but no one's likely to miss its latest recipient, John Allen Muhammad of Tacoma. | 11/12/09 13:10:37 By -

Commentary: California's debt binge must end

Days after lawmakers agreed to ask voters for $11.1 billion in debt for water projects, the state had to pay more than expected to sell its most recent bond issue. | 11/12/09 11:59:23 By -

Commentary: Life without parole for juveniles in non-fatal crimes is too extreme

Is it unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to send a juvenile to prison for life, with no possibility of parole, for a crime short of murder? That's the question the U.S. Supreme Court confronted Monday in two cases from Florida. | 11/12/09 11:12:10 By -

Commentary: We Muslims are looking inward after Fort Hood shooting

For American Muslims, the Fort Hood massacre is a crisis. There are open calls for a blanket investigation of Muslims in the military and even demands for a ban on Muslims serving in the armed forces. Within hours of the shooting, national Islamic organizations issued unequivocal condemnations of the attack. Whatever the twisted motivations of the shooter, they argued persuasively that nothing in Islam could condone such an atrocity. Muslim-Americans have struggled mightily over the past eight years to try to explain our faith to anyone who would listen. We do not want all of our efforts to go down the drain at the hands of a psychopathic murderer. | 11/12/09 10:17:09 By - Raeed N. Tayeh

Commentary: On gay marriage, empathy is a two-way street

Once again, state voters — this time in Maine, hardly a conservative stronghold — have voted down same-sex marriage. Leaving what she thought would be a victory party after last week's balloting, an emotional Cecelia Burnett said, "I don't understand what the fear is, why people are so afraid of this change." That's a big part of the gay marriage side's problem: They cannot imagine why, aside from bigotry, anyone would disagree with them. To be sure, anyone on the traditional marriage side who doesn't understand that denying marriage to same-sex couples imposes a serious burden on them is either willfully ignorant or hard-hearted. The thing is, empathy should go both ways. | 11/12/09 06:16:07 By - Rod Dreher

Commentary: Here's a hard truth for the hard right

Who is Dede Scozzafava? If you believe Rush Limbaugh, she's a "liberal woman." Columnist Michelle Malkin called her a "radical leftist." There's "nothing Republican" about her, according to the New York Post editorial board. Scozzafava was the Republican candidate for Congress in New York's 23d District. Under fire from the right, which was backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, Scozzafava quit the race just days before the election. She endorsed Democrat Bill Owens, who won Tuesday. | 11/12/09 06:18:17 By - Michael Smerconish

Commentary: Many Muslims have died in the service of America

Outbursts from message boards and bloggers can be traced to the actions of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist and American Muslim accused of shooting 13 people dead and wounding 29 others in a rampage last week at Fort Hood, Texas. At this writing, we know next to nothing of why he did it.

One wonders what the speak-first, think-later crowd would have to say about Cpl. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, U.S. Army, Muslim, American, killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Khan is just one of many Muslims killed in the service of his country. | 11/12/09 06:03:24 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: A disappointing vote against health care reform

Ours is the only industrialized nation that doesn't insure all its people, yet our health care costs are the world's highest by far. That tells us there will be no cure for runaway costs without universal coverage. | 11/11/09 13:48:09 By -

Commentary: Best way to honor veterans is by keeping promises

Last week's violence at Fort Hood set a shocking new standard for the potential risks faced by U.S. military personnel at stateside facilities. Yet the rampage, which left 13 dead and 29 wounded, also demonstrated why Americans can and should take tremendous pride in the courage and skill of their armed forces, on this Veterans Day and every day. | 11/11/09 13:36:17 By -

Commentary: Cruel and unusual punishment

It was a remarkable coincidence. While the U.S. Supreme Court this week was considering whether teenage criminals deserve to be sentenced to life in prison without parole in cases that do not involve homicide, three South Florida teens were charged as adults for setting fire to another teenager. | 11/11/09 12:33:04 By -

Commentary: A victory for abused women

Advocates for battered and abused women everywhere won an important victory when the Department of Homeland Security finally cleared the way for Rody Alvarado Pena of Guatemala to win political asylum in this country. | 11/11/09 12:26:25 By -

Commentary: Some myths about Afghanistan

As President Obama decides whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, we should remember that most of the conventional pessimism about Afghanistan is only half-truth. | 11/11/09 11:51:53 By - Victor Davis Hanson

Commentary: Once again, California's budget gimmicks backfire

California's budget nightmare shows no sign of ending. It merely drags on, year after tortured year, as state leaders fail in their basic task of balancing the books. | 11/11/09 11:39:22 By -

Commentary: Sen. Coburn single-handedly stops bill to help veterans

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich and two of his colleagues on Monday called on "Dr. No" to allow a Senate vote to help some of our seriously wounded veterans and their families. "Dr. No" is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a budget hawk who has exercised his senator's prerogative to place a hold on the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009. | 11/11/09 11:25:47 By -

Commentary: How to stop veteran suicides

This Veterans Day, let's do more to prevent our troops from taking their own lives. Community colleges can play a pivotal role in the life-saving process. Eighteen American war veterans kill themselves every day. One thousand former soldiers receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide every month. In January of this year, the Army reports, more of our active-duty soldiers killed themselves than died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. | 11/11/09 06:13:18 By - Aaron Glantz

Commentary: Advocates for veterans

On Wednesday, Americans come together to honor and thank those who have safeguarded our nation in both peace and in war. Veterans Day is a time to renew our national commitment to those who have "borne the battle," as President Lincoln acknowledged in his second inaugural address. Our character as a nation is revealed by the honors we accord them and measured by the respect with which we care for them. | 11/11/09 06:08:17 By - Eric K. Shinseki

Commentary: A sea change you could believe in

If you thought we saved the whales in the 1980s, think again. Although supposedly rescued by a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, they're still struck by ships, caught in discarded nets, poisoned by pollution and harassed by the booming noise of underwater oil and gas exploration. | 11/10/09 14:15:17 By - Karen Sack

Commentary: The truth frightens Castro

Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, who was on her way to the Friday demonstration when she and another blogger, Orlando Luis Pardo, were hauled into a car by three men, likely state security agents. The pair was dragged into the car, beaten black and blue in the head and chest before being dumped miles away from the demonstration as if they were trash. | 11/10/09 12:52:23 By -

Commentary: Pythons should be banned

Pythons and other nonnative species got a hearing in Washington last week, and none too soon. In response to real concerns about pythons and other exotics overrunning the Everglades and the Keys, the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security considered changes to the Lacy Act, which regulates what plants and animals can be imported into the United States. | 11/10/09 12:43:54 By -

Commentary: Tax credit for homeowners to move up is unnecessary

Attached to federal legislation that extends the first-time home buyer tax credit and unemployment benefits is a curious provision. It provides a $6,500 tax credit for home buyers who have lived in their current home at least five years. And this is a good idea because ... ? This credit for current homeowners, though, looks like a politically inspired giveaway. | 11/10/09 12:32:19 By -

Commentary: Fort Worth can't afford to avoid gay rights issues

The true measure of the Fort Worth City Council's response to recommendations from the Diversity Task Force won't be taken from what it does today. Tough as those decisions will be, they are only the relatively easy ones. | 11/10/09 12:15:54 By -

Commentary: Addicted veterans need treatment, not jail time

Drug court is one of the best ideas ever to hit Pierce County’s criminal justice system. It's just been joined by another great idea: veterans drug court. The county's drug court — one of the nation's first, in 1994 — operates on the premise that treating addicts instead of merely jailing them works better for everyone. | 11/10/09 12:01:43 By -

Commentary: Senate holds key to health reform

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a liberal lawmaker from San Francisco, faced some wrenching political choices going into Saturday's vote on a health care reform bill. Centrist "Blue Dog" Democrats were seeking concessions for their votes. The biggest one, sought by Roman Catholic bishops, would have blocked use of federal subsidies for health insurance that covers elective abortions. | 11/10/09 10:39:40 By -

Commentary: Honor killing is an appalling act of cowardice

Let me tell you a few things I believe: I believe that in most cases, I have no right to judge your culture by the standards of mine. I believe what seems exotic to me might be enlightened to you. I believe no culture has a monopoly on morality.

But I also believe you don't run down your daughter because she has a page on Facebook and won't marry the guy you choose. That is not honor. It is, in fact, the opposite — an act of appalling cowardice suggestive not simply of religious extremism, but of a people in fear of the sexuality and independence of women. | 11/10/09 06:05:22 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: One man's crusade against gay marriage

The most effective man fighting to deny the right of gay marriage in America is Frank Schubert of Sacramento. Schubert ran the successful Yes on Proposition 8 campaign last year, the initiative banning gay marriage in California. Last week, when Maine voted to repeal a new law allowing gay marriage, Schubert was again the pivotal organizer. | 11/10/09 06:09:28 By - Marcos Breton

Commentary: Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, time for reflection

As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it's time to take stock. The Berlin Wall was one of the shameful symbols of the Cold War and the dangerous division of the world into opposing blocks and spheres of influence. Many politicians of my generation sincerely believed that with the end of the Cold War, humankind could finally forget the absurdity of the arms race, dispense with dangerous regional conflicts, abandon sterile ideological disputes and enter a golden century of collective security. | 11/10/09 10:39:40 By - Mikhail Gorbachev

Commentary: How did Army miss so many clues on Hasan?

As we learn more about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused Fort Hood killer, what we discover is deeply disturbing - but not as disturbing as evidence piling up that military authorities knew for months, if not years, that he had displayed radical Islamic tendencies and did nothing about it. | 11/10/09 10:39:40 By -

Commentary: A year after Obama's election, America's racial rifts are deep and persistent

When Barack Obama was elected president, 70 percent of Americans were convinced that race relations would improve as a result. A year later, however, optimism about solving race problems in the United States has dropped to where it was nearly 50 years ago, according to a recent Gallup Poll. | 11/09/09 14:33:18 By - George E. Curry

Commentary: Fall of Berlin Wall lead to more complexities

When the Berlin Wall fell, it brought an end to a titanic struggle, one that terrified but also defined and shaped us. The Soviet Union and the United States were the ultimate hero/villain. On one of the most significant anniversaries of the last half century, it's worth celebrating the freedoms that opened to millions of East Germans. The fall of the wall led to once-unimaginable opportunities throughout the old Soviet world.

But it's also worth listening to how the end of one threat brought an unexpected new one to some. | 11/09/09 13:32:28 By -

Commentary: Florida is an elections battleground state again

As a political bellwether state, Florida's races always draw national attention. But the fight over the Republican nomination for an open seat in the U.S. Senate between Gov. Charlie Crist and former House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami is shaping up as epic struggle for the soul of the Republican Party, and that could be a mixed blessing. | 11/09/09 12:29:21 By -

Commentary: In spite of improved technology, fuel economy still lags

Here's a daunting thought in this age of rapid technological advancement. Fuel economy in the U.S. vehicle fleet has changed little since the days of the Ford Model T. | 11/09/09 12:15:37 By -

Commentary: Parole system failed to protect Jaycee Dugard

Though it contained little new information, the state inspector general's report on Phillip Garrido's parole supervision still is stunning. Incompetence in the oversight of the man who is accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard, and holding her captive for 18 years, defies belief. | 11/09/09 11:39:42 By -

Commentary: We must not jump to conclusions in Fort Hood tragedy

A tragedy as stunning as Thursday’s mass killings at Fort Hood evokes extreme emotions. Perspective is difficult — but absolutely necessary to understanding what happened and its implications. The rush of information after 13 people were shot to death at the U.S. Army base was at once extensive, incomplete and occasionally wrong. | 11/09/09 11:14:27 By -

Commentary: Fort Hood policewoman 'erased a lot of prejudice'

Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley has kicked open a new door. At 5-foot-2, Munley is now a heroic giant, one of the officers who confronted an Army psychiatrist Thursday, ending a bloodbath at Fort Hood. In doing so, Munley has 'erased a lot of prejudice' toward female officers. | 11/09/09 11:00:49 By - Bud Kennedy

Commentary: Warren Buffett's crystal ball

Whenever the legendary Oracle of Omaha tosses his considerable wealth behind an investment, the rest of us should also try to gaze over his shoulder into his crystal ball. Warren Buffett isn't known for placing many losing bets. | 11/09/09 10:24:41 By -

Commentary: The poor have a wealth of worldly wisdom

A certain wisdom comes with being poor. Be grateful if you can't lay claim to it.

Miss enough paychecks, fall behind on enough bills and people get savvy quick to the ways of making do. | 11/09/09 06:05:41 By - Mary Sanchez

Commentary: Latin America isn't high on Obama's priority list

One year after the election of President Barack Obama, it's time to ask whether his ambitious campaign promises about Latin America are being fulfilled, or whether, like others before him, he has placed the region at the bottom of his foreign policy priorities. | 11/08/09 06:14:24 By - Andres Oppenheimer

Commentary: Child hunger rates are appalling. Why aren't we doing more?

National figures announced Monday indicate that half of America's children will rely on food stamps at some time during their childhoods. One-fourth will need them for more than five years.

So what's the conservative solution to help these children? Ignore them, a Ron Paul supporter writes from Texas. | 11/07/09 06:08:26 By - Bud Kennedy

Commentary: After big bet on railroad, maybe Buffett can fix the job market

Feel better yet?

Last week, we learned that the recession had ended, and on Tuesday, Warren Buffett doubled down on America. They're two signs that better days are ahead. But until companies start hiring and paychecks get a bump, it won't feel like recovery in America. | 11/06/09 06:08:41 By - Mitchell Schnurman

Commentary: Recessions long-term repercussions on today's youth

All of us are keenly aware of the immediate struggles we face because of the current economic downturn. I'm sure many of your families are facing excruciating choices that, even a few years ago, would have been unimaginable. But what may be less appreciated is the long-term impact of this crisis — on our economy, on our fiscal situation and on our future. | 11/06/09 06:10:48 By - Peter Orszag

Commentary: Packaging shouldn't keep meds from veterans who need them

So military veterans at Alaska Pioneer Homes can't take advantage of their prescription benefits because of a difference in packaging? This is an example of when government really is the problem instead of the solution. | 11/05/09 14:00:21 By -

Commentary: Bringing Guantanamo detainees to U.S. is necessary

South Carolina politicians are rallying to prevent the federal government from sending suspected terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay detention center to the U.S. Navy brig in Charleston. However, U.S. prison officials are perfectly capable of managing the detainees. | 11/05/09 13:43:09 By -

Commentary: Keeping Sanford's ethics report secret erodes public trust

In documents files last week with the Supreme Court, Gov. Mark Sanford argued that the only way to maintain or restore (take your pick) public confidence in the governmental ethics process is by keeping the work of ethics investigators secret. | 11/05/09 13:35:09 By -

Commentary: Troop deployments and suicide rates

President Obama's decision on deploying more troops to Afghanistan has been complicated by an ugly reality: suicide. In recent years, the Army has struggled with growing numbers of soldiers who've taken their own lives. The numbers spell out the problem starkly. In 2005, the Army's suicide rate per 100,000 soldiers was 12.7. In 2006, it rose to 15.3. In 2007, 16.8. In 2008 it hit 20.2. | 11/05/09 12:37:28 By -

Commentary: Attorney's tactics against Medill's Innocence Project hint at intimidation

Anthony McKinney got a life sentence for running down a Chicago street. But the Medill Innocence Project, which gives journalism students at Northwestern University real world experience in investigative reporting, found evidence to prove him innocent in the murder of security guard Donald Lundahl. Meanwhile, not content with having two crimes (i.e., the apparently still-unsolved murder of Donald Lundahl and the railroading of Anthony McKinney) on her hands, a Chicago prosecutor is busy committing a third. She's trying to kill the messenger. | 11/05/09 06:05:50 By - Leonard Pitts Jr.

Commentary: Funny math and the Obama Administration

We used to hear quite a bit about the Bush administration's supposed "war on science." What about the Obama administration's war on mathematics? | 11/05/09 06:02:43 By - Glenn Garvin

Commentary: Partnership between doctors' group, Coca-Cola is troubling

Last year, a committee of experts published an alarming report on childhood obesity for a scholarly journal published by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The report recommended eliminating sweet drinks entirely or severely limiting their consumption. The American Academy of Family Physicians has set a poor example when it comes to resisting the lure of the soft drink industry. The academy has accepted a grant from Coca-Cola, reportedly in the neighborhood of $500,000. | 11/04/09 13:42:46 By -

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 -