In today's pages: Online flames, Obama's pride
Writer Andrew Keen rethinks "the civic value of anonymous speech in the digital age":
Today, when cowardly anonymity is souring Internet discourse, it really is hard to understand how anonymous speech is vital to a free society.... it is the responsibility of all of us -- parents, citizens and lawmakers -- to ensure that contemporary Web users don't behave like antisocial canines. And one way to achieve this is by introducing more legislation to punish anonymous sadists whose online lies are intended to wreck the reputations and mental health of innocent Americans.
Also on the Op-Ed page, Tim Rutten calls Catholics the last true 'swing vote,' and Meghan Daum digs into Michelle (and Barack) Obama's post-baby-boomer past to explain why Michelle recently said, "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."
The editorial board wonders why L.A.'s award-winning tapwater still doesn't get any love, and urges state officials to take a broader look at the healthcare industry's suspect business practices. The board also tries to figure out how blowing up cell phone towers will help the Taliban gain popular support:
The question is, does the Taliban have to win hearts and minds to prevail in Afghanistan, or can it succeed simply by driving the foreigners out? If it cares about cultivating public support, then messing with people's beloved cellphones is a strategic mistake. But what if its strategy is to terrorize and intimidate the Afghan people, make Karzai and the West look impotent, sabotage progress and wear out Western patience? Will the Afghan people submit? Are their cellphones worth fighting for?
Readers react to Heather Mac Donald's Feb. 24 commentary, "What campus rape crisis?" Gemma Drouhard writes:
Although everyone is entitled to an opinion, and certainly the Opinion section is the place for this, newspapers have a responsibility to the dignity of human beings. If The Times believed this, it never would have printed Mac Donald's horrible article. Rape is never the fault of the victim, and it does no good to blame the women who must deal with this tragedy. In the future, think about who you are hurting before publishing such irresponsible journalism.
Yea yea yea Barack Hussein Obama SAYS that he """'WOULD HAVE""""" voted against the war.... So what - He continued to SUPPORT IT while he was in the Senate. Not one time did he vote to withhold funds or try to change the course of the war. He voted against the death penalty for gang members in illinois because "it was not fair to blacks or Latinos. ' I guess he would support it if it were WHITE gang members huh ??
He is all TALK TALK TALK and the Republicans will devour him with his lack fo any real experience !!!
Posted by: JIMBO | March 03, 2008 at 06:01 AM
If experience, wisdom and judgment may be relied upon to judge a presidential candidate's abilities to solve problems, then let's look at the records of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In the Illinois legislature, Barack Obama secured bipartisan support for health-care reform and passage of low-income tax credits and child care subsidies.
In 2002, Barack Obama cautioned that without clear rationale an invasion of Iraq would encourage the worst impluses of the Arab world and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda.
In the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama promoted a restoration of balance between work and wealth, criticized special interests for distorting U.S. tax codes and fought in a bipartisan effort to establish independent oversight of Senate ethics.
When did Hillary Clinton demonstrate her economic wisdom and foresight while Alan Greenspan was warning of irrational exuberance as the subprime housing loans were created and pandered during her husband's administration and her husband supported China's entry into the World Trade Organization without any conditions such as protecting the environment or labor and property rights to levels that are comparable to western standards?
Today China is not only a leading contributor to environmental pollution and global warming (thank you very much Mr. Nobel Laureate, Al Gore), it's also pushing up oil and other commodity prices, taking our jobs and stealing our intellectual property.
When did Hillary Clinton deliver health-care reform? In Hillary Clinton's eight (8) years in the Senate, the Congressional Record (www.thomas.gov) shows she "sponsored" only two (2) pieces of legislation that were presented to the president for signature. The first piece of legislation (S. 1241) was to establish a historic site in New York state, the second (S. 3613) was to name a U.S. Postal Service building.
At 3:00 AM who is Hillary Clinton gonna call in a national crisis? GHOSTBUSTERS?
Without any attachment to a position and no leadership qualities or principles to guide her in a time of national crisis, Hillary Clinton like her husband, would need to first conduct a poll to determine what is in her political interest before committing to any national decision.
It's refreshingly nice to see the better angels of America's character prevailing as voters reject the racial, religious and ethnic slurs being spewed by the divisive Clinton, Limbaugh and Hannity supporters.
As a Republican-leaning independent, I will vote for Barack Obama if he is the Democratic nominee running against John McCain but I will not vote for Hillary Clinton.
Posted by: John Patrick Smith | March 02, 2008 at 07:38 AM