07/19/2008

Ellen Goodman: Welcome to the do-it-yourself economy
I finally drew the line at a dinner invitation. My husband wanted to try a much-touted restaurant where they present you with a platter of raw foods and a hot pot. If I want to cook my own food, I answered rather testily, I'll eat at home.

Jonah Goldberg: K Street traffic runs both ways
The year was 2007. Hope, incandescent in its infancy, shared its warming glow. Britney Spears was heading for rehab, tainted pet food was killing cats, but in Washington the songbirds of spring sang their sweet, sweet songs of rebirth, even in the dead cold of January, to herald the return of truth and justice to our nation's capital.

Gail Collins: The Las Vegas of same-sex marriages
You'll remember that Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriages, thanks to a court ruling in 2004. Everyone was not thrilled. There were petitions and attempts to pass constitutional amendments. Mitt Romney, who was evolving from liberal Republican governor to desperate Republican presidential candidate, declared his determination to keep Massachusetts from becoming "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriages."

07/18/2008

Joy Strickland: Drug laws fertilize teen violence
As an advocate in the crusade to prevent teen violence, my starting point is that every child deserves a safe and supportive home, school and community. Prevention strategies such as mentoring and conflict resolution – not to mention personal responsibility – are key pieces of the strategies of Mothers Against Teen Violence and other groups committed to preventing violence in our communities.

Nicholas Kristof: Prosecuting Darfur genocide at long last
Many aid workers and diplomats suffered a panic attack when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant this week for the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for committing genocide. They feared that Mr. Bashir would retaliate by attacking peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.

Sara Darehshori: Ensuring the safety of relief workers in Sudan
"When will Bashir be tried?" Darfurian refugees on the Chad border asked me time and again last summer. "We are here because of Bashir," they said.

Balance of Opinion: Who has the Iraq advantage?
Dueling foreign-policy speeches by John McCain and Barack Obama, as well as Mr. Obama's not-so-secret plans to visit Iraq shortly, have ignited a vigorous debate over which of the two candidates holds the political advantage on the war front.

07/17/2008

Leonard Pitts: New Yorker cover shows we're beyond satire
"I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled."

Kathleen Parker: Cartoon elitists are the real yahoos in New Yorker mess
After political cartoonist Doug Marlette drew a cartoon featuring the prophet Muhammad a few years ago, tens of thousands of Muslims bellowed, blogged and clogged until servers collapsed with hate mail and death threats.

Carl Leubsdorf: Why Pelosi is pushing Chet Edwards for VP
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly floated the name of Rep. Chet Edwards as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee, just about everyone was surprised.

Maureen Dowd: We need to be able to mock Barack
Consider the kerfuffle – and Barack Obama's icy reaction – over this week's New Yorker cover parodying fears about the Obamas.

07/16/2008

Kate Harrington: From the trenches of nonprofit work
When I started my summer job, I thought that, although I didn't "know it all," I knew an awful lot about the nonprofit world. After all, my mother is in nonprofit work and has been most of my life. So as my mom and I are very close, I'm kind of a nonprofit "brat."

Glenn Carle: Separating jihadist fact and fiction
Sen. John McCain has repeatedly characterized the threat of "radical Islamic extremism" as "the absolute gravest threat ... that we're in against." Before we simply accept this, we need to examine the nature of the terrorist threat facing our country. If we do so, we will see how we have allowed the specter of that threat to distort our lives and take our treasure.

Mark Davis: Potential running mates for Obama
Before we begin to rank the best choices Barack Obama could make for a running mate, let's dispense with three names on the buzz list that stand a zero chance of being chosen.

07/15/2008

Sebastian Mallaby: Fannie and Freddie need to be nationalized - then dismantled
Capitalism has triumphed everywhere, but it's time to dust off an old socialist slogan. When it comes to housing finance, the commanding heights of the economy must be nationalized. The statement Sunday night from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was designed to look statesmanlike and measured, but it misses an opportunity.

Paul Krugman: Fannie and Freddie aren't responsible for our mess
And now we've reached the next stage of our seemingly never-ending financial crisis. This time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in line for a government rescue.

William McKenzie: Pentecostals could influence swing states
When Reunion Arena closed last month, most of us in Dallas focused on the end of an era for the basketball showcase. But the religious revival held at Reunion on the night of its last hurrah also had plenty to say about the future, politically speaking.

Balance of Opinion: Remembering Tony Snow
Though eulogies to newsman-turned-presidential press secretary Tony Snow so far aren't as numerous as those to Meet the Press host Tim Russert, the affection and admiration that pundits are expressing is no less profuse.

07/14/2008

Harold Meyerson: Labor cheaper than China's? Try Vietman.
Doing business in China is beginning to cost real money. Not that Chinese workers are buying second homes or anything like that: Their average wage is still a little short of a dollar an hour. But so many Chinese have now left their villages for the factories that the once bottomless pool of new young workers is beginning to run dry, and the wages of assembly-line employees are rising 10 percent a year.

Charles Krauthammer: Why it takes 'Hard power' to get the job done
On the day the Colombian military freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other long-held hostages, the Italian Parliament passed yet another resolution demanding her release. Europe had long ago adopted this French-Colombian politician as a cause celebre. France had made her an honorary citizen of Paris, passed numerous resolutions and held many vigils.

Donald Hooton: Taylor's Law shows steroid enforcement is working
This month marks the tragic fifth anniversary of the suicide of my son Taylor Hooton, caused by steroid-induced depression. Taylor was only 17. His passing has forever affected our family, but in the wake of the tragedy, I formed the Taylor Hooton Foundation to spotlight the effects of performance -enhancing drugs on our children.