Columnist Tim Rutten puts bluntly his opinion of the Los Angeles Unified School District:

Every day, the Los Angeles Unified School District fails its tens of thousands of ambitious students, dedicated teachers and hardworking principals in so many ways that it's difficult to imagine how its elephantine bureaucracy could shamble into some new outrage.

Difficult, but not impossible, because the LAUSD runs this city's schools about like the generals run Myanmar.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has a proposal for reviving King-Harbor Hospital. Dickinson College's Crispin Sartwell discusses the demographic tricks behind political polling. And 27-year-old Erica Sackin says tax rebates won't help her in-the-red generation.

The editorial board encourages Bush to veto a bill that would stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and wonders why Congress is allowing the banning of all flavored cigarettes except the most popular kind, menthols. The board also says environmentalists have more work to do to prevent sprawl on Tejon Ranch.

On the letters page, readers question Nick Turse's Op-Ed linking the purchase of consumer products like Krispy Kreme and Pepsi to supporting Iraq war profits. Thomas J. Weiss of Ft. Hood, Texas, says, "Nick Turse's Op-Ed article has to be one of the most ridiculously alarmist articles I've ever read."

Some recent mail, courtesy of these newfangled interwebs:

Our favorite letter in a long time comes from Pam Anderson (not that one, the one in Glendale), who uses a David Lazarus column as a departure point for a CAPS-HEAVY critique of sky-is-falling circular logic at the L.A. Times:

TOO MUCH LIBERAL WHINING

This letter is prompted by David Lazarus’ article last Sunday in the LA Times business section, " ‘Smart meters’ Aren’t Up to Speed", in which he whines that the utility meters to be installed by Edison, et al, aren’t broadband enabled.  These meters will cost the consumer about $100 he says; while broadband-enabled meters would cost "five times" as much.

We can be sure that if the utilities were forcing consumers to pay for the fancy ones, David Lazarus would whine that it was too costly for lower-income households, when the cheaper one would do the simple job required.

Which bring me to my main point:  there is WAY TOO MUCH liberal whining in this state in general, particularly by LA Times writers such as Steve Lopez, Sandy Banks and David Lazarus.

They whine when house prices are going up: "Poor people can’t afford them!"

They whine when house prices are going down: "A market FAILURE", said one Times writer breathlessly a couple of weeks ago.

They whine when house prices are stagnant: "Home values are not keeping up with inflation!"

They whine if a Wal-Mart is proposed in a small town: "It will drive mom-and-pop stores out of business!"

They whine while the Wal-Mart is being built: "What about the environmental impact!"

They whine while it is operating: "The big corporation doesn’t care about the workers!"

They whine when it’s shut down: "The loss of jobs, jobs, JOBS!"

They whine if it was never built in the first place: "Economic prosperity has passed the town by!"

They whine for socialized medicine:   "People can't afford medical care!"

They [rightly] whine about how bad Social Security, Medicare and government-run hospitals are [such as VA hospitals and County USC], not realizing that this is EXACTLY the way socialized medicine is going to be:   REALLY BAD!!!

STOP THE WHINING, and GROW UP!!

The purpose of government is not to take care of our every problem and stupid decision [like a surrogate parent.] There will always be poor people, rich people, smart people, dumb people, and people down on their luck. Studies have shown that if we took all the wealth and spread it around today, things would be back to the way they are in about five years, because some people are just better at making and keeping money than others.

Education is good, charities are good, but otherwise, you’re pretty much on your own. Grow up and deal with it. It’s better than having government meddling in every aspect of your life.

Pam Anderson
Glendale

So much for all-purpose shaming. Readers have also been weighing in on more specific topics as well. Our back-and-forth Blowback series on the AIDS vaccine continues to get people exercised:

Tomdispatch.com associate editor Nick Turse shows how consumer firms like Apple and Krispy Kreme profit from Iraq, and columnist Joel Stein scores some (prescription) marijuana:

Sometimes I can't believe how Californian California is. Women walk around half-naked, waiters call patrons "dude," and medical marijuana is legal. But I wondered just how legal. Could anyone buy it? Even me, who doesn't have cancer, AIDS, arthritis, glaucoma or even any previous pot-smoking experience?

Medical marijuana isn't really legal -- in 2005, the Supreme Court said federal anti-drug laws trump state laws -- but California and 11 other hippie states have been flipping off Washington for years.

The editorial board criticizes President Bush for failing to hold the Reading First program accountable, and says California's misuse of the recall process may be one reason the state is in such bad shape.

Readers discuss the election, and whether Hillary Clinton should quit. Palm Springs' Eleanor Jackson wonders, "It's difficult to understand how anyone, particularly a Democrat or independent voter, can dislike Clinton (or for that matter, Obama) so much that they would be willing to not vote or vote for John McCain. Do they not realize the consequences of a Republican victory this November?"

There's an information vacuum on autism, and where there's a vacuum, people tend to rush in with theories, wild or otherwise. No one knows why the numbers of autism cases have risen over the past two decades, and in the absence of well-researched theories, there's been plenty of space for the vaccination notion to grab attention.

But another thing that happened during this big increase was that diagnosis changed, as well as the definition of autism, which was expanded in ways that were certain to make the syndrome more "common." For example, in some of the most severe autism cases, there's also mental retardation. A generation ago, doctors would diagnose the retardation and ascribe social and communication problems to that. Doctors and researchers know this is a big part of the picture, but they suspect it's not the only one.

These days, there's also some purposeful misdiagnosis that tends to boost autism's numbers: Parents of children with severe developmental problems seek an autism diagnosis because, as a recognized disability, it's a ticket to social services. There's no doubt the kids need the services, but there are some skewed numbers here. One researcher said that when his institute re-examined children who had been diagnosed with autism, they found the condition had been overdiagnosed about 15% of the time.

It's also unclear whether autism rates have continued to climb since 2000, but they're at least holding steady.

Author Stefan Merrill Block remembers his home-school days:

When I tell people that I was home schooled, I frequently encounter an amalgam of awe, pity and curiosity. I can see the false images materializing behind their eyes -- a childhood spent idling in front of the TV in my pajamas, or spent subject to the fanciful whims of a flighty New Age mom, or spent imprisoned by my parents' ignorance and severity.

These myths have alternately amused and annoyed me, but now it seems they threaten the very survival of home schooling in California.

Hampshire College's Michael T. Klare says China and the U.S. would be wise to cooperate rather than compete for oil as the market heats up. And Bryan A. Liang of the San Diego Center for Patient Safety notes that drugs have to stay safe particularly as they grow more complex.

The Times endorses for district attorney and the Board of Supervisors, and asks the presidential candidates 10 serious questions.

Readers discuss proposals for converting carpool lanes into congestion-priced toll lanes. L.A.'s Samuel Gould says, "Charging anyone using special lanes at rush hour regardless of occupancy will merely give advantages to those who can pay and exclude those who cannot, selling convenience to the affluent."

Columnist Rosa Brooks plays Hillary Clinton:

Thank you, Pennsylvania! What an incredible margin of victory you gave me! Ten percentage points over Barack Obama. Count 'em! Ten!

All right, 9.2 points if you insist on actually counting. But they said I had to win by double digits to keep my campaign alive, and I think 9.2 points counts as double digits. And I am alive! And kicking! And punching and biting and kneeing my opponent in the groin!

Contributing editor Arianna Huffington says only a media filled with self-loathing could hire the likes of former Bush rep Tony Snow. USC emeritus professor Robert E. Tranquada argues for an independent authority to oversea L.A. county health services. And columnist Patt Morrison reveals what she and other Angelenos would do with the city budget if they had their way. (Coffee poured by the mayor at the Getty House Bed and Breakfast, anyone?)

The editorial board praises three African countries that stopped a Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe, looks to a 1983 report on education for present-day advice, and looks beyond the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania:

The Democratic race only seems interminable; there will be a winner, and he or she will reconcile with the loser and call for party unity. If Republicans can withstand the abrupt alliance of Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, why shouldn't Democrats be united by an enthusiastic endorsement of Clinton by Obama, or vice versa? After all, for all the attacks, the two Democrats aren't far apart on policy.

On the letters page, readers take on the race, as well. Valley Village's Larry Margo has this to say to Clinton-bashers: "Quick! Stop her! Force her out before she wins again!"

UCLA graduate student and Chow Digest senior editor C. Thi Nguyen bemoans L.A. County's requirement that taco trucks move after one hour, and New York attorney Scott Horton analyzes UC Berkeley professor John Yoo's role in the Bush administration's stance on torture. Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan hopes LAUSD will repair its relationship with charter schools, and Gregory Rodriguez scratches his head at Americans' insistence that politicians act like the average Joe:

Sure, high-ranking politicians of humble origins can lay at least some claim to being "common." But that's really a ruse. Because the best politicians wouldn't get as far as they do if they hadn't already successfully convinced large numbers of people that they were distinct from -- read: better than -- the rest of us.

And therein lies our dilemma. We hold to the belief that we are all equal, yet we yearn for distinctiveness for ourselves and those we choose to represent us. In a nation whose form of government exalts the illusion of uniformity among its citizens, we are collectively engaged in a struggle to be recognized as unique by our peers.

The editorial board publishes its endorsements for 17 seats on the Los Angeles Superior Court, and puts its money behind a House bill to force 401(k) managers to clarify the fees they charge "Jack and Jill Cubicle":

Unfortunately, as this newspaper detailed in a series of articles in 2006, many employees aren't being told how much of their nest egg is being frittered away on fees paid to the companies managing their 401(k)s. Buried in the fine print of incomprehensible forms or not disclosed at all, those fees can consume thousands of dollars over time. To address that problem, several lawmakers have introduced bills that would require mutual funds, insurers and other providers of retirement plans to make complete disclosures of their fees to employers and workers. 

Readers react to the Supreme Court's decision finding legal injections humane. Writes Joy Buckley, "State-sanctioned killing is barbaric, cruel and should be highly unusual. We should join the civilized countries of the world in eliminating it."

Psychologist Carol Tavris and oncologist Avrum Bluming put the latest breast cancer scare in perspective, and cartoonist J.D. Crowe comments on Hillary Clinton and John McCain's accusations of "elitism" against Barack Obama. Web editor Tim Cavanaugh wonders if the Vermont/Manchester project can survive the gentrification wars, and Patt Morrison searches between California's seat cushions for some spare change:

From Yreka to San Ysidro, official California is busted flat. We're so broke that Fabian Nuñez is probably drinking Two-Buck Chuck.

The temptations to make ends meet with corporate/civic deals are enormous. Budget Helper recipes can be a blessing for cities and states through the lean years, or they can become desperate sellouts that elected bodies can't scrape off their shoes once times turn good again.

The editorial board slams the state Legislature for neglecting the inmate medical system — and leaving California with a $7-billion bill — and sounds the alarm on world hunger as one of the greatest threats to international stability. The board also rolls its eyes at the New York Yankees' quest to dig a Red Sox jersey out of its new stadium:

... when somebody in the Yankees' front office ordered construction workers on Sunday to drill chunks out of the foundation — a five-hour job that cost a reported $50,000 — in order to remove the voodoo Fan Merchandise of Doom, it became clear that this incident was more than just a harmless sports prank. It was a reminder that for all of humanity's pretensions to modernity and reason, we are essentially just bald monkeys who wear shoes.

Readers provide some perspective on closing U.S. detention facilities at Guantanamo. Maria Matan writes:

Having just watched the better part of the "John Adams" series on HBO, and having a basic knowledge of the Constitution, it seems to me unlikely that our founding fathers would have stood behind the Bush administration's assumption that offshore detentions at Guantanamo can be justified without sufficient evidence to bring charges.

Author David K. Shipler explores how candidates' words can strike a nerve:

Whether by calculation or coincidence, Hillary Clinton and Republicans who have attacked Barack Obama for elitism have struck a chord in a long-standing symphony of racial codes. It is a rebuke that gets magnified by historic beliefs about what blacks are and what they have no right to be.

Clinton is no racist, and Obama has made some real missteps.... But when his opponents branded him an elitist and an outsider, his race made it easier to drive a wedge between him and the white, rural voters he has courted. As an African American, he was supposedly looking down from a place he didn't belong and looking in from a distance he could not cross.

Columnist Tim Rutten analyzes Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's State of the City address. Internist Albert Fuchs says the only way for a doctor to do a good job and make a living is to reject insurers. And contributing editor Gustavo Arellano notes that Fullerton's efforts to paint over murals is par for the Orange County course.

The editorial board maintains its anti-execution stance as the Supreme Court considers whether to allow the death penalty for rapists, and comments on the start of SAG negotiations. Editorial writer Lisa Richardson writes in from San Francisco, where Chevron Corp. faced off against a couple Ecuadorean environmentalists.

Readers discuss Irvine's Great Park. L.A.'s Danila Oder says, "The American 20th century experience was an anomaly and should be treated by governments and builders as such. The environmental factors that are assumed to underpin bonds for the Great Park project are no longer operative."

Both pages recall the death of Martin Luther King Jr., 40 years ago today. The editorial board imagines the U.S. if King had lived:

We don't need to canonize King to appreciate his many accomplishments, nor declare time-wasting moratoriums to mourn his passing. He was a complex man with messy personal affairs who unified people of all races on the issue of civil rights, while dividing many with his controversial stance on the Vietnam War.... In the final years of his short life, King became nearly as concerned about the war and the plight of the poor as he was about racial discrimination...if King were alive today (he would have turned 79 on Jan. 15), the fight against poverty would probably be higher on the national political agenda and the opposition to the Iraq war more focused.

Goergetown's Michael Eric Dyson examines King's increasingly angry stance after 1965:

King's skepticism and anger were often muted when he spoke to white America, but they routinely resonated in black sanctuaries and meeting halls across the land. Nothing highlights that split -- or white America's ignorance of it and the prophetic black church King inspired -- more than recalling King's post-1965 odyssey, as he grappled bravely with poverty, war and entrenched racism. That is the King who emerges as we recall the meaning of his death.

And the Op-Ed page features photography of the Lorraine Motel, where King was killed, by Steve Schapiro.

Columnist Joel Stein has learned one thing from the John McCain campaign -- that jokes about the elderly are just fine. And the editorial board praises the House for passing a generous foreign aid package for AIDS patients around the world, and reflects on the Bush Administration's declassified torture memos.

Readers discuss illegal immigration on the letters page. L.A.'s Frank Galvan says, "This article helped put a human face on a population that is too often only considered by many to be just a problem...." But Van Nuys' Phil Hyman retorts, "Pardon me if I"m not breaking down in tears.... Who made them decide to come here illegally in the first place?"

*Photo Steve Schapiro, courtesy Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

The editorial board today says no to nuclear power no matter what Gov. Schwarzenegger thinks, laments the long backlog that legal residents face when applying for citizenship, and explores what to do after the heparin fiasco:

After various scandals involving Chinese products -- pet food, toys, seafood -- many Americans already avoid products labeled "Made in China." But hospital patients have no way of knowing where a widely used pharmaceutical was manufactured or where its ingredients came from. They don't put such information on IV bags, as though stroke victims are in a position to check anyway.

It took a long line of regulatory failures and legal loopholes for a contaminated drug to reach U.S. hospitals.... Legislation in the House Energy and Commerce Committee would help, though it would not solve all the shortcomings.

Modern Art Notes editor Tyler Green reminds Angelenos not to forget about MOCA as they embrace the Grand Avenue project. Columnist Jonah Goldberg says America was talking about race long before Barack Obama's speech. Memoirist Peter Godwin says that Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has led his country to ruin:

I was one of those who gladly dismissed Rhodesia and became Zimbabwean. Upon the firm economic infrastructure he had inherited, Robert Mugabe, our first black leader, built a health and educational system that was the envy of Africa. Zimbabwe became the continent's most literate country, with its highest per capita income. Zimbabwe easily fed itself and had plenty left over to export to its famine-prone neighbors.... Fast forward to today, and the country is unrecognizable.

Readers react to Gov. Schwarzenegger's dismissal of Clint Eastwood and Bobby Shriver from a state commission. Laguna Niguel's Kurt Page says, "At least the governor defends his action with insight and wisdom when he says that the toll road 'has to go through somewhere'.... Brilliant stuff."

*Photo of Robert Mugabe courtesy Bishop Asare EPA

Columnist Gregory Rodriguez says Barack Obama's speech on race may have been brilliant, but it was the wrong move:

Throughout the campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton's surrogates repeatedly tried to bait Obama into talking about race; they worked to pigeonhole him (and marginalize him) as the "black candidate." But in the end, it was Obama's own alliances that tripped him up and obliged him to directly address a subject (one that he now says we "cannot afford to ignore") that he had so deftly avoided -- or as the Obamaphiles had it, transcended. For all the kudos the Illinois senator has received for his candor, the very act of delivering Tuesday's address was a defeat. Obama was a much more powerful force for racial progress when he so effortlessly symbolized it, rather than when he called on us to address "old wounds."

Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove) argues that SAT subject tests should stay, in part because they give recent immigrants a chance to show their strengths. Loyola Law Schools' Karl Manheim and Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court say health insurance mandates of the Clinton and Obama kind may not pass constitutional muster. And writer Joe Queenan wonders why Garth Brooks gets a spot in his kid's academic calendar.

The editorial board notes new Census numbers showing that California sprawl is slowing down, and looks at why double amputee Oscar Pistorius was barred from the Olympics for being too fast. The board also explores why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed fellow film icon Clint Eastwood and brother-in-law Bobby Shriver from a state commission.

Readers react to the violence in Tibet. Sherman Oaks' Elke Heitmyer says, "Tibet has been 'another Burma' for a long time already."

The makers of Airborne, the cold — sorry, it's NOT a cold treatment, no matter what the label led you to believe — have agreed to pay $23 million to people who bought the rem — sorry, it's NOT a remedy, no matter what you thought — since 2001, after the company was sued for false advertising. Actually, the company is offering to reimburse people who bought its product, so this is a pretty sweet settlement. It would be a strange customer  who kept all the receipts for the stuff.

The bright yellow box showed passengers on an airplane who look frightened out of their wits because another passenger sneezed. The wording directed people to use this on airplanes and in theaters and classrooms. "Take at the first sign of a cold," it said. Which, unless you're a label-lit major, might lead you to think the stuff could somehow ward off, shorten or ease the symptoms of colds.

A mix of vitamins and herbal  stuff, Airborne never had real science to back up any such belief. It later changed its claim to a softer one that said it provided support for the immune system. "Immune support" is a big thing these days, with just about every homeopathic or herbal remedy saying that's what it does, unless it offers "joint support." But food also provides immune support, up to a point. Starvation is notably bad for the immune system. Maybe this is something for Pringles to put on its label, if those actually qualify as food. Sleep is also immune supportive. Or watching "House." Surely, vicious laughter eases the stress that's so bad for the immune system. Exercise is good for immune support, but nobody can charge you a $17 to go for a walk.

It's the old story of food supplements that for the past 15 years have been able to bypass the sort of normal processes that most remedies have to achieve. You know, like standard dosing. Herbal remedies are all over the map in terms of how much of the active ingredient they have. Even Pringles couldn't get away with the kind of labeling herbals do. And it's a little strange that people who will challenge a doctor over any prescription — as they should — will take medical advice from the kid making $15 an hour at the organic store on which tincture to use for ear infections.

This will inevitably lead to the people who say, "Well, it certainly works for me. I swear by it." That's what any number of parents told me about over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for children. Except those aren't really remedies either. Study after study has shown they're no more effective than a placebo. It's placebos that are something of a miracle medicine, good for almost everything that ails you.

That's not to say herbals don't work. It's just that, in many cases, putting some sweetened red juice in a medicine dropper would work, too. But the pharmaceutical companies have to — to some extent, anyway — deal with the FDA on these issues. The herbal companies don't.

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.

And no, he's not running for president, people. But! He still has plenty to say about partisanship, rhetoric and business as usual. From today's NY Times:

Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans — and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is....

More of the same won’t do, on the economy or any other issue. We need innovative ideas, bold action and courageous leadership. That’s not just empty rhetoric, and the idea that we have the ability to solve our toughest problems isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream. In New York, working with leaders from both parties and mayors and governors from across the country, we’ve demonstrated that an independent approach really can produce progress on the most critical issues, including the economy, education, the environment, energy, infrastructure and crime.

I agree with Bloomberg, but it's a little anticlimatic. The title of his Op-Ed kind of says it all: "I'm Not Running for President, but ..." But what, yeronner? But we should still listen to what you have to say?

Granted, a Bloomberg presidential campaign wouldn't have garnered much support from either end of the political spectrum. Besides, there are plenty of people out there who aren't running (and some who aren't superdelegates, even) whose voices still seem to matter in the race. And since the independent mayor of New York has reserved the right to throw his support behind one the the candidates in the future, he could still play a role moving those key unaffiliated voters.

And perhaps removing himself from the contest does take the showboat factor out of the whole endeavor, so people (unlike me, apparently) may actually listen to what he has to say.

Not that he has any problem with third-party candidates, as he told AP a couple days ago:

This business of Ralph Nader being a spoiler — you know, in any three-way race, two of the three are going to be spoilers. Come on. Everybody's got a right to do it — you're not spoiling anything ... If people want to vote for you, let them vote for you, and why shouldn't they?

You tell 'em, Mike.

Author T.C. Boyle remembers his first trip to the soon-to-be-shuttered Dutton's Books in Brentwood:

It was like stumbling into a Borgesian reality in which everything was made of books -- the walls, the floors, the ceilings, even the employees. Before I could think, there was Scott Wannberg, one of the true literary zealots of our time, exploding from behind a cordillera of books to greet me. Within minutes, I'd signed the well-represented editions of my own titles, which were on permanent display right alongside those of all the authors I most admired, and then Scott was piling my arms high with books I absolutely just had to read. He had a sixth sense, knowing exactly what I wanted and needed, and from then on, though it was a bit of a haul from Woodland Hills, Dutton's was my bookshop.

Columnist Tim Rutten asks who'll stop L.A.'s gangs. Deputy U.S. Atty. Gen. Craig Morford says crack criminals should be kept in prison. And Claremont Review of Books associate editor Joseph Tartakovsky explains why writers love to booze.

The editorial board chastises the Bush administration for lying to Britain about its rendition flights. The board also offers an update on the situation in Kenya after mediation fell apart, and compares Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's star-studded schools team with the LAUSD's vacancy-riddled roster.

Readers react to the Health Net scandal. San Luis Obispo's M.J. Johnson says, "Health Net's dropping of Patsy Bates in the midst of chemotherapy proves that wrong. The fact is, healthcare and the corporate profit motive are incompatible."

Last Thursday's primary debate in Texas between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was supposed to provide Clinton a chance to find a chink in Obama's armor. Unfortunately for Clinton, she never really succeeded. And maybe that's why her campaign seems to have grown more aggressive, tossing strategy out the door in favor of shooting blind and hoping something makes a dent. (So far, it's mostly resulted in friendly fire.)

The New York Times calls it a "five-point attack." Politico calls it "highly improvisational". A Clinton aide christened it the "kitchen sink" method. If you want to judge for yourself, here are some gems from the past few days:

The xerox zinger: In the debate, Clinton defended her accusation that Obama plagiarized Massachussetts Gov. Deval Patrick. "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox," quipped the junior senator from the Empire State, who has never lifted a phrase in her life. That didn't go over so well with the audience, judging from all the boos.

Kiss and make up: Later in the same debate, Clinton practically sang an ode to Obama. "I am honored -- I am honored -- to be here with Barack Obama," she said, offering her hand to her opponent. Awww... But wait, there's more:

Whatever happens, we're going to be fine ... I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people. And that's what this election should be about.

A gesture of concession? Hardly. More likely it was a move to undo the damage wrought by the Xerox quote -- and to woo back key demographics, especially white women. That sugarcoated moment earned her a standing ovation.

Oh, oh, do the one of Barack, that's my favorite: The warm fuzzy feeling soon wore off, though -- instead of sticking to her "ready on day one" pitch at a Sunday rally in Rhode Island, Clinton did her best Obama impression (gesticulation included) for an appreciative crowd:

I could just stand up here and say ‘Let’s just get everybody together, let’s get unified.’ The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.

Straight out of "Karl Rove's playbook": At a rally in Ohio, a supporter handed Clinton pamphlets the Obama campaign was distributing on her healthcare plans -- information she called misleading. "Shame on you, Barack Obama," she scolded afterward, brandishing the offending fliers at reporters. (Who wants to bet that supporter was prompted?)

My best constituents are black! In a more passive-aggressive show of strength, Clinton was the only candidate to appear at the annual State of the Black Union in Louisiana last weekend (Obama offered to send his wife Michelle instead). There's nothing better than courting a reluctant demographic and kicking your rival under the table at the same time.

What's in a turban? Obama staffers wigged out at a Drudge report that Clinton campaign members had been circulating photos of the Illinois senator donning local dress in Kenya. It's not like he's the first public figure to don the local garb -- check out Calvin Coolidge in a Native American headdress. The campaign took hours to deny any role in their distribution, but given the long leash Clinton has given to overenthusiastic staffers (up until she fires them) it's hard to take them at their word.

How many kitchen appliances do you think she's got left for tonight's showdown? Post your thoughts below.

Writer Kishore Mahbubani hails the the rise of Asia as the dominant global force, and Ernest Freeberg criticizes the Oscar-nominated 'No Country for Old Men' for straying from its sociopolitical roots. Travel and business writer Eric Lucas sniffs at the ugly American behavior toward international tourists:

Overseas arrivals to the U.S. have declined 11% this decade, to 23 million in 2007 from 26 million in 2000. Travel is the world's largest industry, currently worth $5 trillion, and it is growing 6% a year. It employs almost a quarter of a billion people. And yet the U.S. is missing out on this wonderful human commerce....

Why? American arrogance. The United States is a crass, greedy and rude host.

To start, we treat foreigners as criminals until proved otherwise.

The editorial board slams Sen. McCain for voting against a ban on 'enhanced' interrogation, and raises the alarm over Los Angeles County's proposals to shutter many of its clinics. The board also sinks state legislators for not closing the 'sloophole':

Like the characters in some hippie-era pop song, many Republican lawmakers in Sacramento have decided to let this troubled world fend for itself while they sail away to some imaginary shore. On yachts. After dodging their taxes.

Readers weigh in on the mayor's plan to make parts of Pico and Olympic boulevards one-way. Terry Snyder writes:

The plan is flawed because anyone with an IQ higher than a rutabaga knows what happens when traffic corridors, be they freeways or surface streets, increase capacity -- improvement is nullified.

Writer Todd Balf wonders if race was a factor in the demonization of ex-Olympian Marion Jones, and cartoonist Nick Anderson takes a shot at Congress and its steroid-use hearings. Israeli novelist Amos Oz argues for a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza, and Ronald Brownstein gives a play-by-play of Obama's eight-contest sweep. Joel Stein discovers the Christian Oscars aren't so different from the nondenominational ones — except when they are:

Though the Christian Oscars looked just like any other awards show, there were some differences. The Oscars don't start with a prayer. And they don't have a letter in their program from President Bush wishing them a successful event. I stared at it for a long time, wondering if all his correspondence begins, "I send greetings." I got the feeling that Bush expected that, during his presidency, he'd get to meet aliens.

The editorial board gets tangled up in the tussle between free speech and campaign finance law, and wonders why Germany, the erstwhile "sick man of Europe," is beating the U.S. in export rates. The board also cheers on the University of Southern California's 25-year lease deal with the Coliseum Commission:

USC gets to stay at home. And there can be little doubt that the Coliseum is home. The university's consistent presence over the life of the stadium has protected the asset's value. Olympics -- two of them -- came and went, as did two NFL teams, but the Trojans have been a constant and deserve the long-term commitment that the commission has finally provided.

Readers respond to the board's take on charter schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District. "It's important that the charter schools not measure student achievement exclusively in terms of success on a college track," Joyce Wolfe points out, and Dain Olsen shoots back:

The Times is advocating the wholesale abandonment of the LAUSD's secondary schools to the charter movement. If this is not tantamount to a radical dismissal of the foundations of democracy, of equality and access to a free, high-quality education for all, I don't know what is.

Patt Morrison shares some tragic stories of readers whose loved ones suffer from mental illness, and Rosa Brooks bashes the Bush administration on its waterboarding policy. Amy Klein describes the perfect valentine, and Ben Wizner, lawyer for Khaled El-Masri, attacks the White House's abuse of the state secrets privilege:

El-Masri, a German citizen, was forcibly abducted while on holiday in Macedonia, detained incommunicado, handed over to the CIA, then beaten, drugged and transported to a secret prison in Afghanistan for harsh interrogation. Five months after his abduction -- long after the CIA realized its mistake -- El-Masri was deposited at night on a hill in Albania.

... when we brought suit against former CIA Director George Tenet and others seeking compensation for the brutal treatment of El-Masri, the administration insisted the case be dismissed because any litigation of the claims would reveal state secrets. The government's argument prevailed, and the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

The editorial board hides a grin at the greenest legal dispute in California, and calls out both the U.S. and Pakistani administrations for settling for a sham election. The board also warns superdelegates not to let all the attention from Barack, Hillary and company to get to their heads:

College student Jason Rae has become a Wisconsin celebrity. News reports have him fielding a call from ex-President Clinton and breakfasting with Chelsea. He also has chatted with Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, an Obama backer. Not bad for a 21-year-old who has never voted in a presidential election.

Readers lambast healthcare insurers' letter asking doctors to reveal patients' medical information. "These are the people our politicians want to turn our healthcare over to?" asks Steve Huffsteter. Olivia Bain writes:

Insurers ought to be scorned for their behavior. No one ought to be surprised that they had the audacity to ask doctors to breach patient confidentiality, but all should be disgusted. Alternatively, physicians who received such letters and refused ought to be lauded for their adherence to the Hippocratic oath and their commitment to the well-being and privacy of their patients. It is this sort of behavior on the part of insurance providers that drives home the need for some sort of government intervention in healthcare.

In a special send-off of the WGA strike, writers tell tales of picket lines, bad lines and even bread lines. From Kevin Levine, a writer for "MASH," "Cheers" and "Frasier":

The great American novel that I started four strikes ago is almost done. I figure one more strike, two at the most, and I'll be ready to send it to my editor (who I hope is still alive; I haven't heard from him since 1985). So I've got a target date of 2014, but I'm close. Really close. I can feel it.

Also on the Op-Ed page, Tim Rutten compliments reporter Joel Rubin's article on LAUSD's payroll problems, and clowns the district for its handling of the situation.

The editorial board dismisses the administration's latest attempt to help struggling homeowners, and awkwardly admits that disenfranchised voters aren't all that funny when they're not in Florida. The board also reacts to a report on LAPD use-of-force complaints, and wonders how far police reform has to go:

The real concern arises from the way the complaints about handcuffing or verbal abuse -- or even disturbing allegations about excessive use of force -- are handled. Too often, they are apparently being dismissed without genuine investigation.

For example, one complainant said an officer slammed his head against a bench after he tried to write down the officer's badge number. There was a witness who backed up his statement, and some grainy video footage -- but the complaint was dismissed as "unfounded."

Readers diagnose the failures of the nation's emergency rooms. Bill Serantoni asks,

Imagine an auto repair shop where people could bring broken cars and the proprietor had to repair the vehicles brought to him whether he was paid for the work or not. How could he run that business?

Until the question of payment for service is answered, the crisis will continue.

Patient-doctor confidentiality is practically inviolate. Even the most avid of paparazzi had to rely on Britney's parents, not her physician, for the scoop on the pop star's current health. But Blue Cross, according to today's L.A. Times, apparently has no problem tipping over that sacred cow:

The state's largest for-profit health insurer is asking California physicians to look for conditions it can use to cancel their new patients' medical coverage.

Blue Cross of California is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose "material medical history," including "pre-existing pregnancies."

Doctors are supposed to treat people, not serve as insurance companies' watchdogs for the bottom line. So here's what I don't understand: How exactly did Blue Cross of California think that this letter — which basically asks doctors to snitch on new patients — would play in the media?

It certainly didn't play well with doctors:

"We're outraged that they are asking doctors to violate the sacred trust of patients to rat them out for medical information that patients would expect their doctors to handle with the utmost secrecy and confidentiality," said Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the California Medical Assn.

Patients "will stop telling their doctors anything they think might be a problem for their insurance and they don't think matters for their current health situation," he said.

Insurance industry representatives claim that sending these letters out isn't a new practice, although prominent doctors told The Times they'd never seen anything like it. And given the controversy surrounding the practice, I can see Blue Cross arguing that this is one way of keeping the decisionmaking process up-front.

Maybe so. But there's probably a more practical reason that this letter is coming into sharp focus now. Sicko, Michael Moore's 2007 documentary on the evils of the healthcare industry, explored one particular corporate sin in detail — the practice of rescission, or cancelling coverage after treatment has been approved. This would happen once healthcare costs had skyrocketed — a company would go back and find some minor discrepancy or forgotten illness buried in patients' medical records, and use that as a justification to abandon them.

And according to American Medical News, the courts recently declared certain types of rescission illegal:

The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously said insurers have a responsibility to make sure patients' policy applications are complete and accurate before issuing coverage — not after expensive claims come in the door. Judges said plans cannot revoke patients' policies unless they fully investigate pre-enrollment forms up front or insurers show patients intentionally misled them.

When the courts say you can't pull the medical rug out from beneath patients, what's a down-and-out insurance company to do?

Ask the doctors for help, apparently.

In today's Financial Times, the wonderfully named Clive Crook acknowledges Hillary Clinton's edge over Barack Obama in political experience. He just wonders whether it's the kind of experience anybody should be bragging about:

Hillary Clinton, manager extraordinaire? It bears repeating that there is a single point of data to test this claim: her supervision of the healthcare task force set up by her husband during his first term. Opinions differ even now about that exercise – about whether Mrs Clinton was responsible for one of the most celebrated domestic-policy train wrecks in recent American history, a scapegoat for her husband’s misjudgments, or the hapless victim of organised special interests. What is undisputed is that the whole affair was an epic of hubris and mismanagement.

Yes, that was a regrettable episode, she now says – but she is the stronger for it, having learned from her mistakes. That is good to know, but since when was failure, unredeemed by subsequent success, a qualification for the top job? By all accounts, Mrs Clinton has been a fine senator, as has Mr Obama for a shorter time, but this is not an executive role. It is good political experience, to be sure, but (unlike having been the successful governor of a big state, for instance) it tells you little about fitness to manage, and less about fitness to be president.

Hillary, Hillary, the return of Stonehenge and more Hillary were your favorites this week. Sure, our old friends Max Boot, Jonathan Chait and Gregory Rodriguez, as well as another batch of Kennedys ('cause you can never get enough) did the actual writing, but it was Hillary's week in Opinion L.A. Without further ado:

1. Is the right right on the Clintons?, by Jonathan Chait
2. Kennedys for Clinton, by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy
3. Stonehenges all around us, by Craig Childs
4. This primary is secondary, by Ethan Rarick
5. When Bill Clinton attacks, by the editorial board
6. Why Clinton can count on Latinos, by Harry P. Pachon and Rodolfo O. de la Garza
7. Iraq's No. 1 problem, by Bing West and Max Boot
8. Clinton's Latino spin, by Gregory Rodriguez
9. Dust-Up: It's the stupid economy, by Steven Landsburg and Jason Furman
10. A bitter pill for Big Pharma, by Melody Petersen

Patt Morrison waggles a finger at mail-in voters who jumped the gun:

Now aren't you sorry?

Two or three weeks ago, maybe even earlier, you zipped through that absentee ballot, check check check, and hustled it off to the mailbox as if you were claiming a lottery prize.

And see what you missed? So much has happened since then that it's barely the same election it was on Jan. 7.

Also on the Op-Ed page, author David Callahan sees a sea change in U.S. businesses' attitudes toward their role in society, and David A. Lehrer and Joe R. Hicks of Community Advocates Inc. urge the state Senate to kill a bill that would require nonprofits to disclose employees' gender, race, ethnicity and orientation. Rosa Brooks proclaims her support for all things Obama, and cartoonist Matt Davies watches the Bush administration navigate the twin specters of war and recession.

The editorial board finds that the front-loaded primary schedule has been a surprisingly good deal for voters, and pokes fun at Huntington Beach for its trademark battle with a a Santa Cruz beachwear shop. On a more serious note, it condemns Sacramento for failing to pass a major healthcare reform bill:

Whatever direction the conversation takes, [Assembly Speaker Fabian] Nuñez and [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger should keep the focus on comprehensive reform and the notion of shared responsibility. Their great achievement was forging a broad coalition for change. Their greatest failure would be letting it disintegrate.

Readers rebuke Melody Petersen's Op-Ed on the pharmaceutical industry. "Petersen does a disservice, through bias, ignorance or her profit motive, to an industry that is heavily regulated," writes Angelo P. Calfo. "If she had her way, healthcare professionals would be spending their weekends digging herbs."

The editorial board says President Bush is right to scrutinize earmarks, but he might be using it as a way to extend executive power:

More scrutiny of earmarks is an undeniably good thing. Lawmakers' pet projects account for a slender slice of the federal budget -- about one-half of 1% -- yet they feed much of the cynicism that the public feels about Congress and its penchant for spending. Bush's stance, however, betrays more concern about executive branch power than about taxpayer dollars poured into questionable projects.

The board examines the crisis in Lebanon spurred by two bombings this month. The board also asks City Hall to be pragmatic with its plans to remake downtown's Broadway.

Columnist Tim Rutten takes a look at another would-be downtown makeover -- this one a developer's dystopian, "Blade Runner"-inspired vision. USC's Harry P. Pachon and Columbia University's Rodolfo O. de la Garza say Hillary Clinton can count on Latinos. Author Michael D'Antonio argues that Explorer may not have beaten Sputnik to space, but it did represent a greater scientific breakthrough. And state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas thinks the now-defeated ABX1 1 was California's best chance at healthcare reform.

Readers react to historian Sean Wilentz's argument that there's no comparing Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy. See why Los Angeles' Donald Cosentino says, "A scholar ought not to disguise such partisan rants as historical analyses."

Power tie alert! Editorial page editor Jim Newton sits down with the governor of California to talk budget, economy, health care reform and the immovable feast of Golden State politics at the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Full video and and transcript right here.

Columnist Joel Stein says Hollywood has already warmed America up for a black president:

Black presidents, in fact, have been our awesomest presidents ever: Morgan Freeman in "Deep Impact" and Dennis Haysbert in "24." And their approval ratings — box office grosses and Nielsen ratings, the only approval that matters in the U.S. — have been huge. The Freeman and Haysbert administrations, which endured Carter-level challenges such as a comet headed toward Earth and working with Kiefer Sutherland, have specifically prepared us for Obama. Like him, they confront without being confrontational. They're calm, earnest, utterly decent and way, way cooler than white presidents — which is what I'm sure Joe Biden was trying to say when he called Obama "articulate" and "clean." If only I had translated for him sooner.

Author and former Hollywood correspondent for the New York Times Sharon Waxman argues that the Golden Globes deserve to be off the air — unless some things change.

The editorial board criticizes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for addressing the budget shortfall. The board says Congress needs to smooth the way for states to make healthcare plans. Finally, the board looks to China, not San Francisco, for a model way to handle the plastic bag problem.

Readers react to Schwarzenegger's budget plan. Find out why Hermosa Beach's Steve Shor says, "Now all I can say is, recall Arnold."

The editorial board sees a post-Bhutto future as a chance for White House policy to "get on the right side of history," and writes an open letter to her son on his, and Pakistan's, future:

If you truly wish to struggle for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, you need to make your own way. Identify worthy candidates with the values, skills and experience you believe are needed to run Pakistan, and work for their election. Or start your own NGO. Or go to graduate school and decide for yourself which policies will help your country. Or run for parliament. In 2008, legitimacy cannot be inherited. It must be won with ballots.

Please learn to be the democratic and wise leader your country yearns for. Pakistan will need you — just not now, not in this role. We wish you luck.

The board also tells the city to mind its own business and stop meddling in private labor disputes.

On the Op-Ed page, historian Joseph J. Ellis waxes skeptical about presidential campaign promises, and Manhattan Institute fellow Tamar Jacoby warns that when it comes to anti-immigration sentiment, don't believe the hype. Author Eric Weiner kicks off the New Year by tossing out his self-help books:

Social scientists studying happiness (or subjective well-being, to use the academic term) have found that external factors — quality of government, social interactions and, to an extent, money — determine our happiness more than anything else. In other words, happiness does not reside inside of you. Happiness is out there.

Readers take sides on current state malpractice law. "To put it more bluntly," writes John Fortman, "we need the doctors more than we need the lawyers." Lisa Smock, who describes the fallout from her mother's botched surgery, points out, "to use a 1975 dollar amount for malpractice awards today is a disgrace to the ones who have put their trust in doctors but have been injured by them."

Here's what you were reading in the last full week of 2007. Our American Values series finally scored, as did our holiday Big Fix feature. The violent deaths of Timothy Johnson and Benazir Bhutto drew attention, but as always, Jesus, dogs and Jonah Goldberg were tops with readers.

1. The cancer drug by Diana Wagman
2. A life and death, raw by commenters
3. Aunt Benazir’s false promises by Fatima Bhutto
4. The common defense by the editorial board
5. Tracking the mild coyote by Meghan Daum
6. A little bit of heaven on Earth by Joel Stein
7. It’s a campaign, not a crusade by Charlotte Allen
8. Domestic tranquillity by the editorial board
9. Politics? We’ll take good cheer by Jonah Goldberg
10. Collar the dogs by Will Beall

Writer Amy Wilentz describes the Benazir Bhutto she knew:

I'd known her for years, on and off -- mostly off -- since we'd been in college together, and her brother, Mir Murtaza Bhutto, had been a good friend of mine there too. To be a Bhutto seemed -- to us outsiders -- the essence of glamorous progressivism. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, their father, was the democratically inclined president of Pakistan, and we thought of the Bhutto family as Pakistan's Kennedys. Benazir, in jeans and sweaters with her straight black hair, was a torrent of energy; she was garrulous and articulate, skinny as a rake, unfailingly present and engaged, intellectually curious and as ready as a teeny-bopper to chase after every little piece of life she could get.

"Those were fun days, nice days," she said to me this fall.

But these days: less fun, was the implication....

Also on the Op-Ed page, the Big Fix series continues, asking experts how to survive the housing bust.

The editorial page features the eighth installment of the American Values series, on 'the general welfare.'

Pro-dog readers defend their pets against Will Beall's Op-Ed. Pacific Palisades' Rita Burton says, "Before Beall has a doggy meltdown, perhaps someone should remind him about obnoxious parents and their equally obnoxious children in restaurants, theaters and shopping malls."

As we have examined the values and candidates in this election, we, the members of The Times’ editorial board, have not had a lot of praise for President Bush. We disagree with him on the war in Iraq, on Guantanamo, on abortion, on the right of gays to marry, on global warming… I could go on.

That trend continues with today's piece in our series, as we have our issues with the president in areas such as healthcare and school vouchers. Still, we do sometimes agree, and two places where we converge are aired in today’s editorial. As we note, President Bush has been an important educational advocate and leader, and he has done his best to devise and win approval for comprehensive immigration reform.

So, while we’re not likely to find ourselves missing President Bush much after he goes home to Crawford, we appreciate that he has done much to elevate the place of education in our national dialogue. No Child Left Behind isn’t perfect — not by a longshot — but Bush’s advocacy of it helped bring Republicans into the conversation and expand the sense of a president’s responsibility in an area traditionally left to the states. Bush deserves credit, and we’re happy to give it.

On immigration, he has less to show for his work, but there, we can only hope that the next president will build on what Bush tried to do and finally create a mechanism for those who are in the country illegally to stay and become citizens. That’s a worthy goal for Bush’s successor. Unfortunately, the candidates so far aren’t doing much to inspire confidence that they’ll take up that cause.

As those of you who have been reading know, these editorials all have been framed in terms of eternal American values, but examining those values in fresh light yields some reminders. Education, for instance, now dominate