EDITORIALS
The last thing we need
An executive for the Sierra Nevada Corp., a defense contractor based in Nevada, wanted to know why he should contribute $20,000 to Rep. Peter Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat. A colleague replied that Sierra Nevada was working with PMA, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, to curry favor with Visclosky, a key member of the subcommittee that funded defense projects.By Steve and Cokie Roberts , March 13, 2010
Bravos and a buffalo chip to hand out
The Jamestown Sun hands out these bravos and a buffalo chip this week:March 13, 2010
Rachel Corrie’s (posthumous) day in court
An unusual trial begins in Israel this week that people around the world will be watching closely. It involves the tragic death of a 23-year-old American student named Rachel Corrie. On March 16, 2003, she was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer.By Amy Goodman , March 12, 2010
Unprotected speech
The Supreme Court has decided to take a case that may change the boundaries for types of speech protected by the First Amendment. The case was brought by a Maryland man whose son’s 2006 funeral was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.By Cal Thomas , March 12, 2010
King Kandy and the gingerbread people
Skipping through the Candy Land of the health care bill, one is tempted to hum a few bars of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” What a deal. For deal-makers, that is. Not so much for American taxpayers, who have been misled into thinking that the sweetheart deals have been excised.By Kathleen Parker , March 11, 2010
Vermont no better than N.D.
Think Vermont, and you think green mountains, maple syrup and dairy cows. Think Minnesota, and you think Land of 10,000 Lakes. Think North Dakota and you think. what? Buffalo, the Badlands and sunflowers on a positive note. Forty below and flooding on a negative.By Grand Forks Herald , March 11, 2010
Europe gets it on fighting Islamization
When the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders recently addressed voters in Almere, a Dutch city of 200,000 where his party handily won elections this week, he told them what to expect as his once-tiny, anti-Islamization party started flexing its new political muscle. Aside from lower taxes and other political staples, his plans for this city not far from Amsterdam include a ban on Muslim headscarves.By Diana West, Washington Times , March 10, 2010
‘The last thing I want to do is kill kids’
As our air war against terrorists accelerates — with strikes by pilotless drone planes, helicopters, et al. — unintentional civilian deaths and serious injuries mount. A Feb. 22 Wall Street Journal report from Kabul begins: “U.S. Special Operations Forces (hunting down Taliban) ordered an air strike that killed at least 27 civilians, and the soldiers may not have satisfied rules of engagement designed to avoid the killing of innocents, Afghan and coalitions officials said.”By Nat Henthoff, First Amendment , March 10, 2010
Other views: Disclose all travel and who pays for it
It’s mind-boggling how our state leaders can sometimes miss the boat so completely when it comes to government transparency. What’s an essential trait of good government too often is characterized as inconvenient — or, worse, unnecessary. As a result, what seems so obvious to most of us apparently never occurs to those in leadership roles.By Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. , March 10, 2010
Score big partisan success with education reform
Congress has a chance — a narrowing one, given the calendar — to prove it can do something important on a bipartisan basis: recommit the country to school reform. Among all of President Barack Obama’s priorities, this may have the longest-term significance, holding the key (along with reducing the nation’s debt) to whether America can compete in the 21st century.By Morton Kondracke, Roll Call , March 09, 2010
Other views: Funding misfire unfortunate for DSU library
As much as starting the renovation of Stoxen Library on the Dickinson State University campus would be a great thing, doing it within the parameters set by the North Dakota Legislature is a must. Lawmakers during the 2009 session understood the need for work on the DSU library, and said if the state had $25 million in the bank on Dec. 31, 2009, then it would spend $8.8 million on the DSU library. It was not an unreasonable trigger.By Bismarck Tribune , March 09, 2010
Term limit idea riding wave of anger
The wave of anti-government anger sweeping the nation has spawned a petition in North Dakota to amend the state constitution to limit the terms of legislators and elected state officials to two 4-year terms. Petitioners are now at work getting the 26,000 signatures by August to get their measure on the fall ballot.By Lloyd Omdahl, columnist , March 08, 2010
Why Obama defies the public on health care
“There have been a lot of comments from every Republican about the polls,” President Obama said near the end of the Feb. 25 White House summit on health care reform. “What’s interesting is when you poll people about the individual elements in each of these bills, they’re all for them.”By Byron York, The Washington Examiner , March 08, 2010
Other views: Managing a watershed not likely
After the near-disaster of the flood of 2009, area officials talked seriously about the potential value of a basin-wide authority that would have the power to plan, build and fund elements of a comprehensive Red River Basin flood control program. It would straddle political subdivisions in three states and treat the watershed as, well, a watershed, not a collection of turf-protecting water districts, counties and states.By The Forum , March 08, 2010
Try using BRAC concept for spending
The budget outlook is truly dismal. The deficit for the current fiscal year could hit $1.6 trillion, and experts project a tsunami of red ink for many years to come.By Steve and Cokie Roberts , March 06, 2010
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