Perspectives
They still don’t love us
If you thought America would quickly regain the world’s love, admiration and — most important — willingness to follow the U.S. lead once Barack Obama came to power, the news is disappointing. A useful guide to what has transpired comes from Venezuela’s president and ...
The consequences of a wildlife comeback
Amidst the horrors of fracking and climate change, America has a mostly unnoticed environmental success story. In his fascinating new book Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds, Jim Sterba — veteran reporter ...
Arizona’s immigration law
The Obama administration is considering suing Arizona to block implementation of its harsh new immigration enforcement measure, SB 1070. The Justice Department doesn’t have much time — barring a judicial stay, the law goes into effect July 29 — and a decision, to sue...
Obama, like past leaders, a slow starter
Happy first anniversary, Barack Obama. Although happy is probably the wrong word...
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ should end now
On Tuesday, the Defense Department unveiled its...
Single-payer health care is the answer
President Obama sold single-payer health care short in his speech to Congress. It's actually the only sensible solution to our health care crisis...
For kids’ health, Ronald McDonald and Joe Camel both deserve the...
As part of an effort to snuff out youth smoking, selling candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes is now illegal in the United States...
Danish is wrong on guns
In his op-ed “Repeal the 2nd Amendment? How about the First?” (Dec. 27), Paul Danish erroneously tries to equate my call to repeal the Second Amendment with censorship and then disingenuously suggests that if the Second Amendment is repealed then the First Amendment ...
Bowl a strike for reproductive freedom
Everybody knows abortion became legal for all women with the ‘Roe v. Wade’ Supreme Court decision in 1973. Fewer people know that in 1976, poor women lost that fundamental right to determine whether or when to have children. That is the year that the Hyde Amendment (...
Sometimes, the government comes in handy
Americans have a love/hate relationship with government, condemning those wasteful and corrupt government bureaucrats in the abstract while praising many public services in the concrete like the fire department, schools or parks...
The Democratic Party’s two faces
"The real struggle within the Democratic Party is where you stand on income inequality and whether the government needs to be a part of fixing that problem. The demographics that the Democratic Party must attract are the people who need responsive government.” —Rep. ...
Inspiring ideas missing in Palin’s book
The whole phenomenon of Sarah Palin, I admit, is a mystery to me...
