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Opinion E-mail Letter to the Editor
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 The Biden pick In choosing Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Barack Obama gains a running mate with a wealth of foreign policy experience and a scrappy blue-collar appeal. Both qualities address chinks in Obama's armor: his thin résumé in confronting a dangerous world and his difficulty in connecting with a segment of the electorate critical to any Democratic presidential nominee. Biden, who has served in the Senate for 36 years, also brings the perspective of a Washington insider, insight useful for an administration that may find its aims at odds with Congress, even one controlled by Democrats.
Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Friday, August 22, 2008 Breathing a little easier Air quality in the Northern Shenandoah Valley has been pretty good this summer, and the air would be even cleaner if this year was last year. A strange statement, but true, in a way, because the feds moved the goal posts in March as to what it means to have a bad air day. The Environmental Protection Agency's new eight-hour standard for ozone pollution is 75 parts per billion, putting the northern Valley into "ozone exceedance" on two days so far this summer, July 17 and 29, with readings of 79 and 81 ppb, respectively, both under the old threshold of 84 ppb. Thursday, August 21, 2008 Kaine's huge budget bungle By Mark Obenshain Thursday, August 21, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Kaine's budget alarm Gov. Timothy M. Kaine warned Monday of even more painful budget cuts that some legislators say may reach $1.5 billion. While the governor, addressing General Assembly money committees, provided no details about the new round of spending cuts, he hinted that even "core" services, spared in previous budget trimming, may face the ax. Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Exit Musharraf With his popular support disintegrating and the army determined to remain on the sidelines, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday to avoid impeachment by a newly forceful legislature. His departure deprives the Bush administration of a key ally in its counterterrorism campaign. In the days after 9/11, Musharraf, whose government had supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, reversed course, under a virtual ultimatum from Washington. His about-face enabled the United States to strike at Al Qaeda targets in the nation's tribal areas and to work with Pakistani intelligence to arrest Qaeda operatives. Monday, August 18, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Saturday, August 16, 2008 'Buddy' diplomacy Russia's invasion of Georgia has jolted the Bush administration into reassessing its entire relationship with Moscow and raised the specter of a return to big power confrontation and regional spheres of influence. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of globalization were supposed to augur a new age, a post-Cold War era of international cooperation with one superpower, the United States. Saturday, August 16, 2008 'Father knows best' in Frederick County By D.S. Braden Saturday, August 16, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Thursday, August 14, 2008 Edwards' swift fall John Edwards' extramarital affair and supposed "love child" might well have remained in the tabloid realm and the blogosphere were it not for the approach of the Democratic convention, where vanquished presidential contenders usually have a speaking role. Barack Obama's campaign, aware of the underground buzz, was leery of scheduling Edwards, whose liaison with a campaign videographer had finally piqued the interest of major newspapers in North Carolina, his home state. Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Baiting the bear What began as Russian military moves to protect disputed ethnic enclaves in Georgia has mushroomed into a large-scale invasion that threatens to bisect that Western-leaning democracy in the Caucusus. The Russians and Georgians have had a prickly relationship for centuries, with Moscow usually holding the upper hand. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Georgia was its first component to declare independence. After a peaceful revolution vanquished Soviet-style leadership in 2003, Georgia, under its brash, sometimes reckless, president, Mikhail Saakashvili, has increasingly sought to align itself with the West. It welcomed U.S. aid for its military, sent troops to Iraq and wants to join NATO. Saturday, August 9, 2008 Locals and the park Our region is on one of those "10 best places to live" lists again, even if it's for a reason that doesn't really apply to many who already live here. U.S. News & World Report says in a July 31 report that Winchester is one of the "10 Best Outdoorsy Places to Retire." With still-active boomers bailing out of big-city work forces and looking for someplace scenic and easy on the wallet, we can now expect hordes of retirees to flock to the city. Friday, August 8, 2008 The anthrax case Confidently but belatedly the FBI blames Dr. Bruce E. Ivins, an anthrax researcher at the Army's biodefense lab, for the poisoned letters that killed five people, injured 17 and spooked the nation in the weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet its newly public conviction collides with justifiable skepticism spawned by a meandering seven-year investigation whose most prominent previous suspect won a $4.6 million settlement from the Justice Department for damaging his reputation. Moreover, Ivins cannot defend himself — he committed suicide last month after learning he faced murder indictment in the case. Thursday, August 7, 2008 A tribunal verdict The Bush administration's military tribunal system for trying Guantánamo detainees finally produced a verdict Wednesday, a split decision in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan. Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's driver in Afghanistan, had been at the center of the lengthy legal debate over the tribunals, established by the White House to pass judgment on prisoners snared in its antiterrorism campaign and deemed too dangerous or unworthy to be tried in the civilian court system. Thursday, August 7, 2008 Uninsured deserve health care By Jean Lee Thursday, August 7, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Justice perverted The perversion of the Justice Department for partisan political purposes is confirmed by its own watchdog and internal ethics office. Last week's report by the department's inspector general states that close aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales violated civil service laws by using political considerations in hiring for nonpolitical jobs. Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Make it easy, please By R.K. Bohm Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Letters Editor Northern Virginia Daily Monday, August 4, 2008 A welcome, with reservations Despite assurances from Shenandoah County school officials, reporters from area media outlets will probably exercise some wariness when they set foot on the grounds of Strasburg High School now that it's under the supervision of new principal Karen Spillman. Seven years ago, when Spillman was principal at Woodbridge High School in Prince William County, she had a reporter for the Potomac News carted off to jail and charged with trespassing after the reporter had the temerity to question her about the use of ducklings in a science experiment. We can understand school officials temporarily losing their cool over questions from the media, but this case actually went to court and resulted in the reporter, Kelly Campbell, being sentenced to 50 hours of community service after she declined to contest the charge because she was moving out of state. |
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