COLUMNISTS : How to win Afghanistan’s war

BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS SLATE MAGAZINE

Iused to know Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Her Majesty’s ambassador in Kabul, and I have no reason to doubt that he was quoted correctly in the leaked cable from the deputy French ambassador to Afghanistan that has since appeared in the Parisian press. I think that he is right in saying that while there cannot be a straightforward “military victory” for the Taliban and other fundamentalist and criminal forces, nonetheless there is a chance that a combination of these forces can make the country ungovernable by the NATO alliance. He may also be correct in his assertion that an increase of troops in the country might have unwelcome and unintended consequences, in that “it would identify us even more strongly as an occupation force and would multiply the targets” for the enemy. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

EDITORIALS : We can drive 55

When I drive that slow you know it’s hard to steer And I can’t get my car outta second gear. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

Buffet behavior

AFELLA we know was heading back to the serving line for another helping of Crab Rangoon when he saw the headline: “Overweight diners’ habits at Chinese buffets are revealing.” The headline was in USA Today, which was fitting. USA Today is something of a buffet line itself. Lots of tasty-looking items. Lots of empty calories, though filling enough in their own way. But it often leaves hungry consumers craving something more substantial—maybe more of an in-depth look at the news. But all those snack-y bits of information, um-umm, they can be hard to resist—even when you know better. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

John McCain’s dilemma

LOS ANGELES TIMES

John McCain boasts that he knows the difference between tactics and strategy, so he must recognize that the final weeks of his campaign against Barack Obama are plagued with difficulties in both realms. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

Oh, Please Dept.

The made-up controversy of the week has got to be John McCain’s use of the words That One during the latest debate. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

Nuts to lower drinking age

Mike Masterson

Remember the controversial Amethyst Initiative by some university leaders who were testing academic waters about dropping the nation’s drinking age from 21 to 18? - Saturday, October 11, 2008

LETTERS

Use good sense and hang up Many laws are created because many folks don’t use common sense. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

EDITORIALS : Terms unlimited

MORAL HAZARD is back with a vengeance, which is how it usually arrives, and it’s not just economists or your preacher who’s worried about it. Plenty of us are suddenly hip-deep in hazard. Especially if we’re consulting the (failing) health of our 401(k)s, company pensions, or other investments in the market. Everybody and anybody could suffer, except maybe the 535 folks who did a lot to cause this mess and not nearly enough to clear it up: the honorable members of Congress. (That’s a form of address, not a description.) With that many MCs, all the blame for the country’s problems can be sliced pretty thin. The problems are complex, meaning that deniability remains plausible even as the economy shudders to a halt. Naturally the list of incumbents who will escape criticism and “win” re-election this fall includes every member of Arkansas’ congressional delegation, none of whom faces serious opposition. - Friday, October 10, 2008

COLUMNISTS : Old ghost stories

BY JONAH GOLDBERG TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Avery old story is once again being retold, with a few of the characters’ names updated to besmirch the innocent. In this story, conservatives are to blame for an economic crisis because they allegedly believe there is no role for government in the economy, and all economic crises are due to lax regulation of markets. - Friday, October 10, 2008

The end of the affair

IT ALL seems like a strange and distant memory, like some episode from junior high or maybe something we saw on daytime TV. But it was only a few years ago, and very much in real life when the Razorback Nation set a new high for football drama. Or rather a new low. That’s when an over-overzealous fan came rushing to the legal defense, or maybe offense, of a freshman quarterback/savior by the name of Mitch Mustain—and of course made matters infinitely, nigh-endlessly worse. Lawsuits will do that. - Friday, October 10, 2008

Schlepping for John McCain

BY ANAT HAKIM SPECIAL TO THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Sarah Silverman’s “Great Schlep” video has been making the rounds among my friends. It encourages young Jews to visit old Jews in Florida to stop them from picking Senator John McCain and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin over Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden. - Friday, October 10, 2008

Avast, ye spokesman!

How’s this for life in the 21st Century? Even pirates have spokesmen. How else describe one Sugule Ali of the country of Somalia, which isn’t much of one. It seems Mr./Sahib/Pirate First Class Ali is available via satellite phone to any journalists interested in Somalia’s newest and hugely profitable industry, i.e., piracy. And like any good spokesman, Sugule Ali believes in spin. - Friday, October 10, 2008

On Death Row : Far from innocent

Dana D. Kelley

The death penalty case of convicted cop killer Troy Anthony Davis is big news right now. - Friday, October 10, 2008

Find a cheaper ‘hobby’

Meredith Oakley

This outrageous behavior has gone on long enough and it’s time that someone put a stop to it. There being no other volunteers, here goes. I have but one message for any political bullies in the audience, so they’d better listen and listen good: Stop twisting arms and putting guns to heads to compel people to do something they can ill afford to do. In short, stop forcing people to run for public office. - Friday, October 10, 2008

What’s on your mind, Northwest Arkansas?

The Democrat-Gazette welcomes your opinions, Northwest Arkansas. Unfortunately, not all letters received can be published in the space available. Clarity, brevity and originality are particularly valued. Send letters of preferably no more than 250 words to Voices, Democrat-Gazette, 515 Enterprise Drive, Suite 106, Lowell AR 72745, by FAX at 479-770-8484 or via an e-mail form found at our Web site, www2.arkansasonline.com/contact/voicesform/. - Friday, October 10, 2008

LETTERS

Well-paid judges should stop whining I was very distressed to read the news story by Charlie Frago recently about the judges’ pay scale. Poor Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber. She has to struggle by on just $139,821 a year. So noble of her to make the financial sacrifice to serve on the bench. - Friday, October 10, 2008

EDITORIALS : Q. and A.

EITHER presidential debates are getting more civilized, or our standards for them are falling. Tuesday night’s debate seemed a marked improvement over the first, three-way bicker among candidates and moderator. It sounded more reasonable, less rote. Practice may not make perfect, but perhaps it makes better. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

COLUMNISTS : The president and Iran

BY MICHAEL GERSON WASHINGTON POST

Aspecter is haunting the presidential race—and it is not just the economy. It is the specter of a nuclear Iran. Economic downturns are wrenching, but eventually cyclical. Nuclear proliferation is more difficult to reverse, creating the permanent prospect of massive miscalculation and tragedy. America’s next leader may be known to history as the president who had to deal with Iran. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

Sarah Palin’s patriotism

BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN NEW YORK TIMES

Criticizing Sarah Palin is truly shooting fish in a barrel. But given the huge attention she is getting, you can’t just ignore what she has to say. And there was one thing she said in the debate with Joe Biden that really sticks in my craw. It was when she turned to Biden and declared: “You recently said paying taxes is patriotic. In middle-class America, where I have been all my life, that is not considered patriotic.” What an awful statement. Palin defended the government’s $700 billion rescue plan. She defended the surge in Iraq, where her own son is now serving. She defended sending more troops to Afghanistan. And yet, at the same time, she declared that Americans who pay their fair share of taxes to support all those government-led endeavors should not be considered patriotic. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

LETTERS

Permanent war unsustainable Bradley Gitz, in “What Georgia tells us,” joins a long list of post-World War II Chicken Littles, e.g., James Forrestal, Paul Nitze and Paul Wolfowitz, who would have the country prepare for an apocalypse of their imagination rather than deal with the occasional acorn that drops from the sky. The Nitze doctrine called for the permanent militarization of U.S. policy. Nitze’s disciple, Wolfowitz, inspired the Bush doctrine that calls for permanent war and preemption to maintain America’s military hegemony. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

Return to (relative) health

Kane Webb

The Oxford American magazine has always been an oddball. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

Write to us, Northwest Arkansas

The Democrat-Gazette welcomes your opinions, Northwest Arkansas. - Thursday, October 9, 2008

EDITORIALS : This is an improvement?

IMAGINE our surprise when we saw the headline in the New York Almighty Times’ local news: “Teachers to be measured based on students’ standardized test scores” Oh, happy day! This age-old—and, in public education, new—phenomenon of holding employees accountable for their work has made it all the way to the New York City school system, union-clogged as it is. Visions of sugarplums and real education in the Big Apple danced in our heads. If New York City—good ol’ leftleaning, educanto-embracing New York City—gets in on the accountability action, then anything is possible in public education. And the opening paragraph of the story didn’t disappoint: “New York City is beginning to measure the performance of thousands of elementary and middle school teachers based on how much their students improve on annual state math and reading tests.” Honey, get us some smelling salts. We’re getting dizzy. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

To the Farm Bureau

HELLO THERE, Farm Bureau. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Can we get extra grease with that?

The rumor going around the newsroom the other day was that the state fair this year will offer something even better/worse than fried Twinkies. If that’s possible. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

COLUMNISTS : Letters galore

Paul Greenberg

The letters from readers keep coming, thank goodness. It’s the surest sign that folks keep reading. Snail mail has given way to e-mail over the years, but the substance of the letters remains basically unchanged: Most deal with politics, as one might expect in response to a columnist who mostly deals with politics. My valued correspondents agree with me, they disagree with me, or they do both in part. All are welcome; the cheers lift the spirits and the boos can teach. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Now it’s Europe’s turn

WASHINGTON POST

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped below 10,000 Monday for the first time in four years—and there will probably be worse news in the days ahead. One day’s results on Wall Street do not amount to a final verdict on the Treasury’s newly authorized Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). But certainly it will be some time before the $700 billion bailout is up and running. In the meantime, panic is spreading through the global financial system—and is manifest in a near-breakdown of lending among banks as well as in extremely tight conditions in the market for commercial paper, the short-term debt with which companies finance their operations. The Federal Reserve, its crisis-fighting capacities already stretched, announced Monday that it would begin paying interest on reserves that banks hold at the Fed, allowing it to pump more cash into the markets without yet cutting interest rates. The Fed also expanded its 28-day and 84-day Term Auction Facility—or TAF—to $150 billion each. Still, a sharp and possibly lo - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

LETTERS

‘Shock doctrine’ in play today Disaster capitalism is having one of its finest hours. The late economist Milton Friedman said that “only a crisis, actual or perceived, produces real change.” [This is the] “shock doctrine,” and disaster capitalism is robbery disguised as reconstruction. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

GOP’s latest ugly fable

Gene Lyons

If the economic situation weren’t so grim, it’d be darkly amusing watching conservatives hunting for a scapegoat other than Bush administration True Believers. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Write to us, Northwest Arkansas

The Democrat-Gazette welcomes your opinions, Northwest Arkansas. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008