Blowback Archive

December 29, 2008

Blowback

Rick Warren is an unfortunate choice

I am a 55-year-old, gay, former Catholic priest now happily married (for the moment) to my husband of 12 years. My thanks to Katha Pollit for her Dec. 22 op-ed article on Rick Warren at the inauguration.

December 31, 2008

Blowback

Protect Good Samaritans, but with limits

The Good Samaritan in the Bible would have immunity under California law for binding up the robbery victim's wounds. But that's all the protection state lawmakers meant to provide volunteers who come to someone's aid. In the majority opinion in Van Horn vs. Watson, Justice Carlos Moreno found that the statute relied upon, Section 1799.102 of the state's Health and Safety Code, was intended to shield lay volunteers who provide first aid, not rescue or transportation. Before The Times' editorial board used the power of the pen Dec. 24 to call for an extension of the immunity shield (an extension not adopted by the Legislature when it enacted this statute), it should have taken a closer look at the consequence of blanket immunity.

December 30, 2008

Blowback

To Mars, at the right price

Some news coverage of NASA's Mars exploration program, including a report in The Times on Dec. 19, misled readers about cost increases for the Mars Science Laboratory project by comparing the current mission under development with an earlier proposal cited in a National Research Council report in 2003.

December 23, 2008

Blowback

Shoe thrower exposes Bush's arrogance

The Times' Dec. 16 editorial, "Bush’s shoe toss,” takes an appropriate and interesting look at the "history of footwear and politics" and the reactions by President Bush and the Iraqis immediately following the incident. The Times notes how deftly Bush ducked and made light of the "size 10" shoes hurled at him, and we read about how the shoe was "laced" with blame, insult and pent-up anger. We also read about how deeply insulting such a "shoe episode" is in the Arab world, especially when accompanied by the words "you dog."

December 22, 2008

Blowback

A disastrous pick for Labor secretary

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said he's "thrilled." SEIU President Andy Stern said he's "thrilled." Apparently, everyone who happens to run a labor organization feels that Christmas has come a little early this year with President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D- El Monte) for secretary of Labor. In his Dec. 19 Times Op-Ed article, "Labor’s fresh face," Harold Meyerson praises what he considers the numerous gutsy political moves made by Solis over her career.

December 16, 2008

Blowback

A real school reformer for Obama

Rather than recycle sound bites as evidence of one's credentials as an "education reformer," it would behoove The Times and other national media outlets to be a little more like Linda Darling-Hammond (President-elect Barack Obama's transition chief on education policy) and do their research.

December 15, 2008

Blowback

Zoos without elephants: a lesson in compassion

In his Dec. 9 column, "Zoos without elephants would be a loss for the children of L.A.,” Hector Tobar protests the possibility that Billy, a 23-year-old Malaysian elephant held captive at the Los Angeles Zoo for nearly two decades, might go to a sanctuary and the zoo's exhibit might be closed forever.

December 9, 2008

Blowback

Ganging up on biblical archaeology

Nina Burleigh ("Hoaxes from the Holy Land” Op-Ed article, Nov. 29) is unwilling to consider the possibility that the now-famous bone box inscribed "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" is authentic. This is despite the fact that the Jerusalem judge in the case, after listening to the state's witnesses for more than three years, is of the view that the government has failed to prove the inscription is a forgery and should consider dropping the case. Burleigh's view after the judge's pronouncement remains the same as in her book, "Unholy Business." Burleigh has only vitriol and nasty innuendo for anyone, including myself, who defends the authenticity of the inscription.

December 8, 2008

Blowback

Why we're mad at the Mormon church

Leading up to the Nov. 4 vote, the Courage Campaign Issues Committee bought time on cable television to air an advertisement against Proposition 8 entitled "Home Invasion." The hard-hitting ad depicted two arrogant Mormon missionaries invading the home of a lesbian couple, stripping them of their wedding rings and shredding their marriage license.

December 5, 2008

Blowback

MOCA's Grand Avenue dungeon

In the ongoing flurry of news articles and opinion pieces in The Times about the future of Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art, nobody seems willing to admit that the location MOCA is closing for at least six months -- the Geffen Contemporary near Little Tokyo -- is the wrong one.

December 3, 2008

Blowback

Making the world safe for multipolarity

America's unipolar moment is over. Now, shaping a multipolar global order is the crucial, overarching foreign policy challenge for President-elect Barack Obama. In his Nov. 23 Times Op-Ed article, "Obama’s multipolar moment," A. Wess Mitchell convincingly argues for a "fundamental break from the post-Cold War U.S. strategic playbook" and, in particular, the Bush administration's blind efforts at global power projection. So far, so good.

December 2, 2008

Blowback

Drug treatment advocates in a divided house

The Times' Nov. 10 article on lengthening drug-addiction treatment presents a thoughtful report on substance-abuse programs that extend past the 30-day norm. The article relies on studies and interviews with treatment providers who explain that longer-term programs result in fewer people relapsing than the shorter 30-day option.

December 1, 2008

Blowback

Why we need sexual harassment training

In a scene from the movie "Twilight," Edward the vampire enters a biology class and is seated next to the object of his desire, Bella. He then does what every red-blooded male vampire in love would do: He runs out of the classroom. Does he flee to resist the urge to do what vampires do? Or did he attend a sexual harassment training class?

November 28, 2008

Blowback

The human factors in LAX safety

I cannot agree more with the argument in The Times' Nov. 22 editorial, "What LAX really needs,” that improving safety should be the highest priority at Los Angeles International Airport. However, improving safety at LAX cannot simply be achieved, as The Times suggests, by "reconfiguring the north airfield, where parallel runways built for and earlier generation of aircraft are too close together for safety operations." The root cause of LAX's safety problems lies elsewhere.

November 17, 2008

Blowback

Georgia's shameful attack on South Ossetia

In recent days, there has been a remarkable change in Western opinion about the August war between Georgia and Russia over my homeland of South Ossetia. The New York Times, the BBC and Human Rights Watch have reported extensive evidence of U.S.-armed and trained Georgian troops attacking innocent civilians using cluster bombs and other banned weapons. The U.S. State Department, which initially backed Georgia strongly, now concedes that Georgia erred in launching its attack, while British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has condemned the Georgian government for its "reckless" attack. Officials of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have come forward to demolish Georgia's absurd and self-serving claims that it was fighting a defensive war.

November 13, 2008

Blowback

Fading L.A. arts scene is about priorities, not cash

The Times' Nov. 7 article, "Tight economy puts squeeze on arts organizations,” reveals that the troubles of the Pasadena Symphony, Opera Pacific and the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary represent but a few examples of artistic collateral damage in Los Angeles during an economic downturn. When the economy goes down, arts are often the first to get slashed from any budget. People simply cannot afford the arts, that muse who sits too lofty on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Or can they?

November 12, 2008

Blowback

An unfair attack on white gays

In all the post-election commentary about California's passage of Proposition 8, perhaps none was more offensive and wrong than Jasmyne A. Cannick's Times Op-Ed article, "No-on-8’s white bias.”

November 7, 2008

Blowback

Misusing biology to oppose same-sex marriage

If Maggie Gallagher is going to use biology to defend her opinion on same-sex marriage, as she did in a Nov. 1 Times Op-Ed article, it would be better if she knew a little something about biology. Her argument shows a common and disturbing ignorance about the actual biological roots of human behaviors as well as a remarkable ignorance about the biology of other species.

November 4, 2008

Blowback

ACORN: We're patriots, not frauds

More than 1.3 million voter registration applications: That's how many low-income people, persons of color and young people ACORN has helped register this election cycle, including almost 40,000 here in California. In a country in which one-third of the eligible voting-age population -- heavily concentrated in minority communities, urban areas and among young people -- is not registered, such a deeply patriotic act should be celebrated.

November 3, 2008

Blowback

Prop. 5 vs. the prison-industrial complex

If Proposition 5 goes down to defeat on Tuesday, the five governors who lined up to condemn it Thursday will have won a Pyrrhic victory. Not one has offered an alternative to Proposition 5 for dealing responsibly with California's prison overcrowding crisis, the exploding prison budget or the outlandish power of a union whose interests lie in incarcerating as many of their fellow citizens as possible.

October 29, 2008

Blowback

End-of-life bill empowers sick patients

Ben Mattlin's struggle against his disease is heartening, and his concerns about our healthcare system and its overworked personnel are real. However, his description of the just-enacted Terminal Patients' Right to Know End-of-Life Options Act in his Oct. 19 Opinion piece is misleading in many respects.

October 27, 2008

Blowback

America's valuable terrorism list

The formal removal this month of North Korea from the State Department's list of terrorism-sponsoring nations has touched off some controversy. These criticisms reveal a basic misunderstanding of the concept of this formal designation.

October 24, 2008

Blowback

Prop. 5 is no boon to violent offenders

As a law professor who teaches criminal law and procedure in California, I feel compelled to weigh in on the debate over Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act. I write not as a supporter of Proposition 5 but as a law professor concerned that voters are provided correct information. A poor interpretation of Proposition 5, promoted by some biased parties, has so taken hold that several large newspapers (including The Times) have come out against the measure based on this view. I will propose what, in my view, is an accurate reading of Proposition 5 and its likely effect on California's criminal justice system.

October 21, 2008

Blowback

Prop. 2 -- for animals and our humanity

Ten years ago, I received a brochure that included a picture of sows locked up in coffin-size crates. The brochure stated that the intelligent animals were confined that way for life. I remember my reaction: horror, then denial. That had to be illegal! I learned later that such confinement was standard industry practice in the United States.

October 20, 2008

Blowback

Don't judge a college endowment by its wealth

In their Oct. 12 Op-Ed articles, Sen. Charles E. Grassley ("Using college endowments") and Amherst College President Anthony W. Marx ("Defending college endowments") share genuine concern about the affordability of higher education. They disagree about the role college and university endowments should play in lowering tuition costs for students. From our point of view as researchers of the higher education industry, neither makes a good case for or against using money in college endowments to ease students' tuition burden.

October 6, 2008

Blowback

The new NBC Universal HQ is too big for a parking lot

In The Times' Sept. 28 article, "Battle rages over studio-office project near Universal Studios," you paint a picture of developer Jim Thomas as a misunderstood hero who is single-handedly trying to save the entertainment industry and revive our local economy, walking door to door to help a community understand that he has their best interest at heart as he tries desperately to build his greatly opposed project at an MTA parking lot near Universal Studios. Nothing could be further from the truth, and his recent door-to-door walk is just the latest effort in a continuing campaign to push a truly bad project down the throats of the community, the taxpayers (who own the MTA site) and City Hall.

October 2, 2008

Blowback

Victims deserve rights -- yes on Prop. 9

It shouldn't be a surprise to those of us who have been victims, lost loved ones through violent crime or advocated on behalf of crime victims that The Times opposes Proposition 9, also known as "Marsy's Law: The Crime Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008." Even the sub-headline -- "Prop. 9 constitutionally upends the criminal justice system by involving victims' families in prosecutions" -- equates victims' voices in the criminal justice process with pandemonium.

September 26, 2008

Blowback

Stopping same-sex unions protects no one

David Blankenhorn, who heads up a think tank in New York, writes in his Sept. 19 Times Op-Ed article that because marriage is historically a means to provide children with legitimacy, it must so always remain. I do not agree that this is the sole reason for the modern institution of marriage. Nonetheless, applying Blankenhorn's argument further, should we not -- in addition to eliminating the right to marry for gays and lesbians -- also deny heterosexual couples who choose not to have children the right to wed? What about heterosexual couples who are past their childbearing years? Blankenhorn presents his self-identification as a liberal democrat as his credentials to make this argument. More likely, his argument is simply a smoke screen to strip gays and lesbians in California of their rights.

September 25, 2008

Blowback

Prop. 10: Fueling a cleaner California

The Times' Sept. 19 editorial, "Reject Proposition 10,” misses the mark on what the ballot measure would do for California and why it is necessary. Proposition 10 would authorize the state to sell $5 billion in bonds to finance alternative-energy projects -- a move that would bolster California's reputation as the nation's leader in investigating ways to clean up the environment.

September 24, 2008

Blowback

Proposition 7: Clean energy for California

The Times' editorial board has long touted, much to my pleasure, the urgent need to transition to a renewable energy future. Although I often agree with The Times on energy issues, I strongly disagree with the editorial board's position on Proposition 7, the Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008. The Times recommends a no vote on this potentially ground-breaking measure. My organization has endorsed Proposition 7. We have received no compensation from the campaign, nor will we accept any compensation in the future. We are independent advocates.

September 23, 2008

Blowback

What Palin defenders see

In the last two weeks, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has seemingly attracted a level of hostility comparable to that which George W. Bush had to launch a foreign war to provoke. Running through the negative commentary contained in pieces such as Tim Rutten's Sept. 10 column are some themes that say more about her critics than about Palin herself.

September 19, 2008

Blowback

Bar exam dispute isn't about politics

The Times' Sept. 17 editorial, "Affirmative action and the bar exam," characterizes a UCLA law professor's request for the confidential data of state bar exam takers as a debate over affirmative action.

September 18, 2008

Blowback

A fair way to test special ed students

George Skelton provides a well-thought-out report of the challenges facing teachers and special education students in his Sept. 15 column, "Testing of special ed students should be re-examined." As a high school special education teacher, I have a deep concern for my students who take the California high school exit examination. I am not sure that another government study is in order or another piece of legislation needs to be passed to address this issue and open wider doors for our special-needs students to complete high school.

September 12, 2008

Blowback

Who wants a 'podcar'? Not me

In her Sept. 8 Op-Ed article, Catherine G. Burke, an associate professor at USC's School of Policy, Planning and Development, touts the "podcar" system as an able replacement for cars and roads. She says that such a system would provide "on-demand, private, nonstop travel." The electric-powered podcars would ride on infrastructure similar to a monorail or people mover.

September 10, 2008

Blowback

Separate and unequal military justice

The acquittal by a federal civilian court of former Marine Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, who was accused of killing unarmed detainees while on active duty in Fallouja, Iraq, has drawn much attention. The Times' Sept. 7 editorial, "Civil justice for an ex-Marine,” ignores serious due-process flaws in trying former service members in the federal civilian courts versus court-martial. In 2000, Congress passed the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, or MEJA. Amended in 2004, MEJA enables the government to try a former U.S. armed forces member in the federal civilian justice system for alleged crimes committed while on active duty, the system favored by The Times. But had Nazario been convicted under MEJA, he would have enjoyed greater access to the Supreme Court than someone on active duty who faces a court-martial.

September 5, 2008

Opinion

American automakers, American lives

I have served as immigration counsel to major automotive suppliers and to Chrysler since 1985. I believe The Times' conclusion in its editorial "Bail out the Big Three?” is incorrect, harsh and unfair. The Times finishes its editorial with, "When government intervenes, it tells businesses that they don't have to be smart, farsighted and nimble, they just have to be large."

September 3, 2008

Electoral College

Why we need the electoral college

Your Aug. 18 editorial "Sidestepping the electoral college" takes an overly simplistic view of the electoral college and offers very weak arguments about the need to get rid of it.

September 2, 2008

BLOWBACK

Smoking: an R-rated offense

The Times deserves credit for recognizing in its Aug. 23 editorial "Smoking in the movies" the tremendous impact smoking in movies has on our nation's youth. We disagree with its assertion, however, that giving movies that depict smoking an R rating amounts to censorship. The Motion Picture Assn. of America's rating system is not in place to control the content of films; rather, it allows parents to judge whether they want their children to see specific content such as drug use, violence or other risky behaviors. Because smoking kills more than 400,000 Americans each year and there is evidence (PDF) that more than 67% of adults agree that movies with cigarette smoking should be rated R unless they clearly depict the dangers of smoking, an R rating is simply a pragmatic approach to a public health epidemic.

August 26, 2008

BLOWBACK

The incredible plastic bag

In their Aug. 15 Blowback, L.A. County Supervisors Yvonne B. Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky argue that consumers should be charged a 25-cent tax for each plastic bag they use. The Times of London wrote in a March 8 editorial, "Many of those who have demonized plastic bags have enlisted scientific study to their cause. By exaggerating a grain of truth into a larger falsehood they spread misinformation, and abuse the trust of their unwitting audiences."

August 22, 2008

BLOWBAC

Don't blame Santa Monica shoppers

The Times editorial "It’s a two-way street” correctly pointed out earlier this month that traffic in areas of Mar Vista and West L.A. has been adversely affected by Santa Monica's nonstop development. Indeed, all one has to do is watch the influx of massive amounts of traffic coming into Santa Monica in the morning and the massive exodus in the early evening.

August 21, 2008

Blowback

The path to assisted suicide

Contrary to an Aug. 11 Times editorial, AB 2747 is a legally confused solution to non-existent problems that opens the way to doctor-assisted suicide. This legislation is not cut and dry; rather, it raises substantive policy questions relating to bioethics and health law.

August 20, 2008

BLOWBACK

Culture warriors and the Anglican Church

In its editorial following the Anglican Communion's recent decennial Lambeth Conference, The Times makes a statement that needs a little parsing. In our culture, it is easy to adopt the "culture war" language. In fact, it is often encouraged. In this case, I'm truly wondering what The Times is communicating (intentionally or not).

August 19, 2008

Blowback

What Jessica's Law demands

As a California psychologist in private practice, I have concerns about The Times' depiction of billing by evaluators of sex offenders in the article, "Jessica’s Law pays dividend for some.” I do not do these specific evaluations, but I feel the need to correct misapprehensions the public may have after reading the article. I do not wish to defend what may be predatory billing in some cases, but I do wish to clarify the several factors not mentioned in the article that may cause high billing amounts.

August 15, 2008

Blowback

Bagging an opportunity

California lost a tremendous opportunity last week when AB 2058 was quietly shelved in a state Senate committee. The bill would promote the use of reusable bags by placing a 25-cent fee on each plastic and paper bag consumers use at stores. Such a fee would encourage consumers to use their own reusable bags, which would save families money, protect our oceans and reduce global warming.

August 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

The wrong way on transit

Los Angeles County voters soon may decide whether to raise $40 billion in local sales tax revenue for public transportation over the next 30 years. And like never before, the list of transportation projects to be funded -- a list largely dictated by Sacramento and a few local politicians -- will be firmly cemented in place.

August 13, 2008

Blowback

A better day-labor market

The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to vote today on an ordinance that would help mitigate community concerns over men searching for work at large home improvement stores. This ordinance, which The Times opposed in an Aug. 10 editorial, deserves support as an example of creative and thoughtful local public policy. It is a way to make certain that home improvement stores are a part of the solution by engaging the private sector in a community partnership.

August 12, 2008

Blowback

Happy golden empire

Our Western reporters seem shocked, amused, even smug about discovering modern China's repressive practices. In her recent Op/Ed article, "Beijing reality show," Heather Havrilesky believes that because China oppresses its 1.3 billion people, the Olympics is a complete PR sham. However, it is the Chinese way to clamp down on protest and exercise self-control.

August 11, 2008

Drug war madness

She was a 13-year-old honor student. She may or may not have given her friend prescription-strength ibuprofen, though the girl certainly didn't have any on her. An assistant principal, acting on the word of a scared fellow student, brought the eighth-grade girl into his office and subjected her to a strip search. In the presence of the school nurse and the assistant principal's administrative assistant, this young woman was forced to strip off her clothes including her underwear, exposing first her breasts and then her pubic area, on the erroneous suspicion that she was hiding . . . ibuprofen. At this Arizona middle school, students are prohibited from carrying drugs -- even over-the-counter medication -- into school.

August 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

The murky math of calorie counting

In California and elsewhere, public health advocates are battling the restaurant industry over the passage of regulations requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menu boards. The restaurant industry's counter-arguments are crassly self-interested, particularly when they include torturous claims of 1st Amendment violations. Nonetheless, it is worth questioning whether posting calorie counts will in fact prompt people to avoid nutrient-poor, energy-dense foods.

BLOWBACK

Green Dot’s empty promise

In a matter of weeks, the Los Angeles Unified School District embarks on an unpredictable but carefully manipulated course as the charter school movement's golden boy, Steve Barr, and his handpicked, self-appointed Green Dot clique try to operate Locke High School during the regular school year. That idyllic summer school environment Steve Lopez described in his July 23 column won't be there come September.

August 6, 2008

HOLD

A boon for Pickens, not for America

At a time of economic decline and record-high gas prices, there is something refreshing in an oilman turning into one of the nation's leading advocates of renewable energy. This could explain why T. Boone Pickens' multibillion-dollar efforts to reduce America's oil dependence and develop clean energy have garnered so muchpublic attention.

August 5, 2008

BLOWBACK

Bangladesh's counter-terrorism credentials

Selig S. Harrison's July 2 Op-Ed article "Get a grip on Dhaka" asserted that Bangladesh is sheltering a growing hotbed of Islamist radicals.

August 4, 2008

BLOWBACK

Fast-food freeze is a good choice for South Los Angeles

criticizing the moratorium on fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles complained that the ban would mean fewer choices for the area's residents. In fact, the move will ultimately provide them with more.

August 1, 2008

BLOWBACK

Obama and McCain miss the mark on education

Although Barack Obama and John McCain try to offer solutions to help America break from conventional thinking on educational policy, both senators are missing key pieces to the puzzle of why our public schools are failing.

July 31, 2008

BLOWBACK

The MTA's sales-tax boondoggle

Led by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who penned an article recently in The Times, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is proposing a raid on transit riders and taxpayers to fund a network of rail projects and highway expansions. In doing so, the MTA will gut its most successful and cost-effective transit project -- the bus system. The MTA needs two-thirds of voters in November to approve a half-cent sales tax increase on L.A. County residents.

July 30, 2008

BLOWBACK

The better tanker didn't win

Retired Air Force Gen. Charles Horner, who recently penned the Blowback " Boeing’s tanker tantrum," had an outstanding career in service to our country. Boeing's employees, who provide our soldiers, sailors and airmen with the products and services they need to carry out their missions, salute him and all our men and women in the military. That is why, after his distinguished career, it is all the more mystifying why Horner would dispense so much misinformation about the U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker competition while carrying out his duty to his employers at Northrop Grumman.

July 29, 2008

BLOWBACK

A closer look at state spending

John G. Matsusaka's recent Op-Ed raised some critical questions about the state budget. State spending, he wrote, has seen a "whopping 40% increase" in the past four years. Where does that spending go? The Legislature has a proposal to raise $8 billion in tax revenue to ease the General Fund shortfall -- but why should residents approve higher taxes if they can't see any benefit from state spending?

July 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Justice is the key to peace in Darfur

The arrest of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic last week demonstrates that justice is possible. Far from being the political leader he styled himself as, Karadzic, who has been indicted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, is now just a criminal.

July 25, 2008

BLOWBACK

Higher prices, wider waistlines

The Times recently ran a story on the latest obesity survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- a survey that did not make the connection between obesity and the price of food.

July 24, 2008

BLOWBACK

Empty claims against calorie menu

In her Blowback, "Leave the calories off the menu,” Trice Whitefield criticized Sen. Alex Padilla for his menu-labeling bill, SB 1420, and lamented its "forced" nature and simple approach to nutrition. She even went so far as to accuse the bill of taking the "pleasure" out of dining.

July 23, 2008

BLOWBACK

Boeing's tanker tantrum

The yawns that greet stories about the Pentagon's process of selecting new equipment have, in recent months, been replaced by gasps as the fight over a particular acquisition has played out in the pages of and others. Specifically at issue is the selection of the next generation of aerial refueling tanker -- an intense, nasty political battle over competing aircraft offered by Chicago-based Boeing Co. and the team of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European parent of Airbus.

July 22, 2008

BLOWBACK

Leave calorie counts off the menu

Although The Times’ editorial was right that "laws that protect consumers from their own unhealthful habits have more than a whiff of the nanny state about them," its support for menu labeling is wrong.

July 21, 2008

BLOWBACK

Why algebra testing will work

California has taken a bold step to lead the nation by setting the highest expectations in the country for our eighth-grade students in mathematics. Earlier this month, the state Board of Education acted to make the Algebra I exam the standard for all eighth-graders and to do away with the current two-tiered system. Contrary to Paul H. Chatman's , "Algebra testing sets kids up to fail," requiring all eighth-grade students to take the exam raises the bar for California's overall mathematics standards and will lead to better preparation for all our students' futures.

July 18, 2008

BLOWBACK

Do more to stop gangs

I applaud The Times for running the editorial "." The first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem -- the second step is actually taking action to correct it. For the last three decades, I have headed the largest civilian anti-crime patrol in the world, the Guardian Angels. In that capacity, my fellow angels and I have spent many nights on the streets of Los Angeles and personally battled the criminals who stalk the streets. Over the last 20 years, I have advocated for a larger and stronger Los Angeles Police Department. Those calls still need to be answered.

July 17, 2008

BLOWBACK

Is America ready for Obama?

The cover of the New Yorker magazine this week drove home a stark reality that both columnist Tim Rutten and The Times editorial board missed: Although many Americans appear to be ready for an African American president, the question remains as to whether America itself is ready. The recent cover is the latest example of the willingness of the American media and thought leaders to openly demean African American leaders and play into the worst fears of some American people.

July 16, 2008

BLOWBACK

Algebra testing sets kids up to fail

The recent action by the State Board of Education, as reported by The Times in " California mandates testing every eighth-grader in algebra — ready or not,” is a disappointment for those involved at the front lines of California's educational system. The board's action is a classic example of a decision made in haste in response to a manufactured crisis, and it will result in a strain on the relationships between teachers, parents and students who are simply not ready for algebra in middle school.

July 15, 2008

BLOWBACK

Saving schools, one brownie at a time

As a tired California public school mother who receives no support from the New America Foundation and is not an Irvine senior fellow anywhere, perhaps Joe Mathews' wonky cover piece, "The Mystery of Prop. 98," was not meant for me. Still, Sunday morning, I fired up the coffee pot, set my daughters in front of their cartoons and heroically clawed my way through the piece -- because with "two dogs in the fight" (entering first and third grades), I want to know what the people who have time to read are reading.

July 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

Congress rolled over on FISA

Nancy Soderberg’s advice to the Senate -- to simply forgive and forget the telephone companies' crimes against the American people and the Constitution -- is sickening. Soderberg argued that voting for the FISA warrantless wiretapping legislation was pragmatic and just, even though it slammed the door on current lawsuits against AT&T and Verizon for these crimes.

July 11, 2008

BLOWBACK

Olympic gold, global power

Helene Elliott's column, “China is poised to win medal race at Olympics," is probably right. But why does it matter?

July 10, 2008

BLOWBACK

Porn isn't normal

In his Blowback, "What porn says about the man," John Wright suggests that porn is normal, and anyone who views it is normal, so there is nothing wrong with viewing it. John Stagliano made similar claims in his recent Dust-Up debate with Barry McDonald. But pornography is neither normal nor right.

July 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

Talking back to Alberto Gonzales

As a fellow Chicano, I read former Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales' recent Op-Ed article, "What Latinos want from their president,” with interest. I can assert with confidence that he remains hugely unpopular in our community. Latinos have called him everything from a token to a sellout to a "Pancho" -- a derogatory term for a Mexican American who exists only to serve a white man.

July 7, 2008

BLOWBACK

New rules for healthcare

In "Insurance ‘eggheads’ make women pay," Times columnist David Lazarus explains how insurance companies set different rates by gender. This leaves employers to use age and sex as the main criteria for predicting costs. Because older people tend to have more medical needs, and employees age, these models always predict a rise in annual medical costs. Recognizing that aging is immutable, employers are resigned to the fate that cost increases are inevitable.

July 3, 2008

BLOWBACK

The real gentrification story

The Times’ recent article on gentrification in Echo Park, like all of its kind, missed one fundamental truth: Gentrification starts, historically and consistently, when the original property owners -- regardless of ethnic origin -- realize that their property has appreciated (a lot) and freely choose to sell and get out of their quaint urban neighborhoods. Even when no real estate appreciation is involved, these homeowners flee to the safety and prestige of the suburbs or "posh" urban areas once they become financially successful.

July 2, 2008

BLOWBACK

Race, rivalries and turf

Reading Charlie Beck’s response to Sheriff Lee Baca's Op-Ed article, I had to wonder why an issue has to have two sides. Why does everything have to be subject to an opinion or a position? Law enforcement people are relatively consistent black-and-white thinkers. Right or wrong, guilty or not guilty, shoot or don't shoot. The reasoning is practical, efficient and, most important, it greatly simplifies the startling complexity of street policing, thus increasing the chances of staying alive.

June 27, 2008

Blowback

How does President Bush lie?

In the face of overwhelming evidence, it's astounding that people such as James Kirchick, in "Bush never lied to us about Iraq," continue to defend the president against accusations that he intentionally misled and outright lied to the American people in making the case for war with Iraq.

June 26, 2008

Blowback

The George Carlin I knew

I don't know the George Carlin being memorialized this week in pieces like "George Carlin, expert troublemaker."

June 25, 2008

BLOWBACK

Low test scores, high achievement?

In The Times’ story on his documentary film "Two Million Minutes," Bob Compton rightly points out a problem with our children's level of knowledge, but his diagnosis of what is wrong with America's schools does not follow.

June 24, 2008

BLOWBACK

UTLA needs to be progressive

As a former teacher at the school in question, I can attest that Matthew C. Taylor, who advocated in his Blowback that we should "stop cheering on charter schools," is definitely not an expert on what ails Locke High School.

June 23, 2008

BLOWBACK

Disagreeing on judicial discipline

In his response to my Blowback, which discussed the possibility of Judge Alex Kozinski facing discipline by a committee of judges for maintaining a website containing pornographic material, John Wright accuses me of joining the "Crucify Kozinski Brigade," labeling Kozinski a "hypocrite" and not "paying attention" to what Wright deems the real facts. According to Wright, The Times wrongly described the video involving a man and a donkey. This, Wright says, and other "inherent flaws" in the case against Kozinski were exposed in a subsequent Times editorial.

June 20, 2008

BLOWBACK

It's culture, not just class size

In his Blowback, "Stop cheering on charter schools," Mathew C. Taylor mentions California's high teacher-student ratios as problematic for the state. Other union leaders and Los Angeles school administrators also needle teachers with the ever-looming threat of increasing class size. Then someone who does "studies" declares that class size is not a factor in learning, and the arguments begin.

June 19, 2008

BLOWBACK

What porn says about the man

Alex Kozinski, the judge whose private file server was revealed to contain pornographic images, has been the subject of harsh criticism over the affair. In a Blowback, Lara A. Bazelon joins the "Crucify Kozinski" brigade, despite the inherent flaws in the case against the federal judge highlighted so well by a Times editorial that asked, "So what?" about the judge's possession of pornographic images. I was compelled to respond to Bazelon.

June 18, 2008

BLOWBACK

The 'wine snob' boogeyman

In his column "The language of wine snobbery," Joel Stein writes: "I miss the days when we made fun of wine snobs. ... Now wine snobs are too boring to make fun of." His argument appears to be hinged on the contention that something about "wine-speak" is inherently snobbish.

June 17, 2008

BLOWBACK

Kozinski disciplines himself

In its editorial, "Free country,” The Times asks, "so what?" about Judge Alex Kozinski's collecting of pornographic material while presiding over an obscenity trial. Well, here's what: Kozinski, who recused himself from the case and declared a mistrial, has been arguing for years for tighter restrictions on federal judges.

June 16, 2008

BLOWBACK

Stop cheering on charter schools

It's apparent from The Times editorial, "Hope for Locke High,” and two previous articles why this newspaper deserves its poor reputation among local educators and informed community members when it comes to public education. A runaway bureaucracy, top-down authoritarian school administrations and a decided lack of collaboration are the real issues. It's too bad that they remain hidden behind The Times' blame-the-bad-teacher cries and charter-school cheerleading.

June 13, 2008

BLOWBACK

Why not a professor of disco studies?

Those who promote a chair of conservative studies, as Crispin Sartwell does in his Op-Ed article, "The smog of academic consensus,” seem to misunderstand both academia and the meaning of the term "conservative studies." They claim there is a problem with academia because most of the professors are liberal. They cite two proofs of this assertion: that the vast majority of professors vote for the Democratic Party and that some professors seem to let a kind of political groupthink guide their research and teaching.

June 12, 2008

BLOWBACK

Let nonviolent prisoners out

The Times reported: "The overseer of healthcare in California state prisons asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to circumvent state lawmakers by using an emergency declaration to proceed with a $7-billion plan to build medical beds."

June 10, 2008

BLOWBACK

Ban Mylar balloons

In "What’s helium-filled, foil — and harmless?" Terri Adishian says it's unnecessary to ban helium-filled foil balloons.

June 9, 2008

BLOWBACK

Start small on climate change

In "Of greenhouse gases and greenbacks," The Times writes about the U.S. Senate debate on a proposal to impose pollution regulations, which has now stalled. This debate took place as California's attempt to set tougher emission standards for cars and trucks sold in the state remains blocked by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is important to know that in the interim, local governments can pursue other alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

June 5, 2008

BLOWBACK

Marriage ban is not a 'wedge issue'

In "Voters will decide on gay marriage,” California Democratic strategist Garry South describes the ballot measure to ban gay marriage as "part of a decades-old strategy by California conservatives to use a wedge issue to mobilize support during a presidential election."

June 4, 2008

BLOWBACK

Nuclear denial

In his Op-Ed, "The failed theology of arms control," Gabriel Schoenfeld is absolutely right not to mince words when criticizing Joseph Cirincione, but he is off-base in impugning the entire nuclear nonproliferation regime. For Schoenfeld to exploit the failings of one American nuclear arms control "expert" in order to impugn the broader integrity of the international nonproliferation regime, its shortcomings notwithstanding, is a disservice to global peace and security.

June 3, 2008

BLOWBACK

Proposition 13 works

Bill Stall calls for a "face-lift" of Proposition 13 on its 30th anniversary, but to most Californians, it looks very good just the way it is.

June 2, 2008

BLOWBACK

Paying suspended officers works

I'd like to respond to The Times' editorial, "Paying a punished LAPD officer."

May 30, 2008

BLOWBACK

A mixed healthcare mandate

The objections raised by Ronald Brownstein in his column, " Going Solo,” against individually purchased coverage are invalid.

May 27, 2008

BLOWBACK

Obama's delusional foreign policy

Reading J. Peter Scoblic's "Negotiation isn’t appeasement" reminded me of a seminar I took at San Diego State. The professor found my essay so compelling he gave me a big fat A. I wrote in my Bluebook final exam essay:

May 23, 2008

BLOWBACK

American's baggage fee folly

The Times reports in "American Airlines to charge for checked baggage" that American will soon begin charging passengers a $15 fee to check their first bag.

May 22, 2008

BLOWBACK

Rethinking aid by force

David Rieff pitched his May 18 piece, "Save us from the rescuers," as level-headed skepticism of the impulse to provide humanitarian assistance by force in Burma (renamed Myanmar by the military junta that usurped power) and beyond.

May 21, 2008

BLOWBACK

Black clergy on same-sex marriage

As The Times' story "Coming to grips with same-sex marriage ruling" shows, with the mainstream media, there seems to be no real interest in thinking outside the box that has been drawn for them by certain gay groups. That is why we see the same faces and hear the same voices on all things gay. The same organizations are looked to as the authoritative representation of the gay community similar to the way that Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson are looked to when blacks are upset.

May 20, 2008

BLOWBACK

What's in an education?

Esther Jantzen's article, "Literacy begins at home" provides an excellent explanation of what parents can't or won't do by themselves.

May 15, 2008

BLOWBACK

Literacy begins at home

In "Bush’s reading program doesn’t pass," The Times editorial board said that the Reading First program didn't work the way it was intended.

May 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

Defending Thabo Mbeki

James Kirchick has pounded out several Op-Ed articles on South Africa and Zimbabwe and gotten them published in major newspapers, like “South Africa’s unseemly alliance."

May 12, 2008

BLOWBACK

Terroir-izing California wine

So Alice Feiring, in her Op-Ed article, "California wine? Down the drain," on the Golden State's innovative and widely admired wine industry, thinks that "[d]ull, fruit-driven, alcoholic wines have become the incontrovertible wine identity of California." I was immediately reminded of a line from Whit Stillman's 1998 film, "The Last Days of Disco." Young people are bantering on the topic of "yuppies" and whether that's a desirable designation, when one of them says, "Young. Upwardly mobile. Professional. Those are good things, not bad things."

May 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

A new water strategy

The Times' recent story, "Water shortage worst in decades," illustrates an often forgotten fact. Southern California is really a semi-arid desert -- brought to life by water supplies from the Colorado River, the Owens Valley and the State Water Project to supplement our local supplies. Our reliance on this imported water to meet the region's future needs puts us at ever greater risk. Future water supply reliability will increasingly depend on local self-help measures such as conservation, reuse, more below-ground storage of surplus supplies and even desalination.

May 7, 2008

BLOWBACK

No more dialogue on race

This election is not about race. I repeat, this election is not about race.

May 6, 2008

BLOWBACK

Defending term limits

At some point, you would think that California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez would get the message: Golden State voters like legislative term limits just the way they are, thank you very much.

May 1, 2008

BLOWBACK

Immigrants strain our resources

As the crisis of dwindling long-term water supplies hangs over the American Southwest like vultures circling for dinner, everyone from academics to journalists is starting to pay attention.

April 30, 2008

BLOWBACK

Taking the 'free' out of freeway

In Tim Rutten's column "Diamond Lanes for the Rich," he writes about what is and will continue to be a very controversial decision by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Board of Directors. As a longtime resident, Rutten's thoughts are extremely valuable and certainly contribute positively to public discussion regarding the matter. The core of his argument seems to be the idea that congestion pricing unfairly affects those least unable to afford the additional cost of using what currently is a free service.

April 29, 2008

BLOWBACK

Judging fi-core writers

One of the most difficult aspects of writing fiction is trying to outdo the true stories of real life. As a fiction writer, I struggle, for example, to make sense of a newspaper with a decades-long open bias against unions solemnly telling a union how to conduct its own business, as The Times did in the editorial "Just deal with it." I struggle as well with what to make of the charge of unfair labor practices filed by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a group not yet known for its efforts to protect workers rights.

April 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Keeping state medical boards alive

The Times article "California disciplined fewer doctors in 2007" relies on data from the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Each year, such groups issue reports ranking medical boards by the number of "serious" disciplinary actions they've taken in the preceding year (such as license revocations, surrenders, suspensions and probations). Their goal is to affect change by drawing public scrutiny to medical boards they believe are performing poorly. While well-meaning, like many independent ranking reports, the methodology used by these groups can be less than scientific and even misleading. By limiting their reports to "serious" actions, these ranking reports miss the much larger picture of how medical boards protect the public.

April 25, 2008

BLOWBACK

No results? No research money.

The search for an AIDS vaccine has lost its scientific purpose and turned into a self-serving quest.

April 23, 2008

BLOWBACK

Strong feelings and special orders

I write in response to Earl Hutchinson's opinion piece, "Street Violence and Special Order 40." I take no stand on the order itself; Hutchinson makes a number of excellent points on the subject, both pro and con. I simply want to take exception to an emphasis he makes about feelings rather than facts, because strong feelings can make for weak reasons.

April 18, 2008

BLOWBACK

Don't put detainees at Ft. Leavenworth

The decision to close Guantanamo Bay's detention facilities should depend on whether we can improve conditions for detainees, improve America's image and improve American security. A story from The Times, "Guantanamo closure no simple prospect," suggested Ft. Leavenworth's Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas "could work" as a location for current and future detainees. Unfortunately, the facility cannot help achieve any of the goals associated with transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay.

April 17, 2008

BLOWBACK

Where are the salmon?

Though there has been much reporting on the salmon crisis, like The Times' recent "U.S. halts commercial salmon season” and the New York Times' "The trouble with salmon,” no one has yet pointed out that the high numbers in 2002 were actually anomalous or that the increasing variability in salmon, bird and plankton populations all point to climate change as the main driving factor.

April 16, 2008

BLOWBACK

From sea to tap

Mindy McIntyre of the Planning and Conservation League opines in an installment of a Dust-Up, "The SUV of water," that seawater desalination is impractical. It's 2008; innovation, technology and an evolving regulatory and environmental landscape render McIntyre's Model T-era assertion incredible and outdated.

April 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

Keep funding the AIDS vaccine

In his Blowback, "Stop AIDS vaccine research," Michael Weinstein suggested that U.S. government funding for AIDS vaccine research should stop and the money now being used to this end be redeployed to treatment. This very pessimistic view of the possibility of success in the vaccine quest is a misreading of the situation.

April 11, 2008

BLOWBACK

Stabilizing school funds

In response to Akifa Khan's Blowback, "Thank you, teachers," I'd like to stress that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger knows that education is a top priority for all Californians and that our future is only as strong as our schools. And he understands that the reduction he has proposed to total education spending, from $70.7 billion in the current year to $68.5 billion for the next budget year, hurts. Good teachers should not have to receive pink slips; school districts should not have to face this kind of budget uncertainty; and communities should not have to fear that the quality of education in their classrooms will decrease because of a broken budget system.

April 10, 2008

BLOWBACK

Families deserve more than a moratorium

Earl Ofari Hutchinson argued in favor of the notion of a 40-hour moratorium on murder in his Blowback, "Saving lives isn’t silliness." He and other activists who promoted it seem indignant that their concept, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and passed with revisions by the Los Angeles City Council, was dubbed "silliness" by its critics. Although it was wrapped in remembrances of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years ago and was an amorphous tribute to peace and nonviolence, the self-described symbolic measure was exactly what communities laboring under the weight of senseless violence did not need -- more feel-good, hollow gestures.

April 9, 2008

BLOWBACK

In libraries, privacy or common good?

In "Firing of library worker causes uproar," The Times explains the case of Brenda Biesterfeld, a California librarian who alerted police to a man allegedly viewing child pornography. It's another example of the tail wagging the dog on issues of values and common sense. Two days after the arrest of Donny Lynn Chrisler, Biesterfeld was dismissed from her position.

April 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

Saving lives isn't silliness

In its editorial, "A moment for Martin Luther King," The Times' board calls the county's 40-hour moratorium on homicide "silliness." Martin Luther King Jr. would have had an answer for the editors who think saving lives is silliness.

April 7, 2008

BLOWBACK

Filling a financial need

In "Payday scammers or saviors," the March 25 installment of "Dust-Up" by Paul Leonard and Christopher Thornberg, Leonard claims that payday loans prey on the vulnerable. Payday loans have advantages along with drawbacks, just as any other financial tool for consumers. What their harshest critics fail to understand is that, by and large, consumers use payday loans in a responsible manner for fast, hassle-free cash advances to make it from one paycheck to the next.

April 4, 2008

BLOWBACK

Stop AIDS vaccine research

As the catalyst for the call to halt U.S. government funding of AIDS vaccine research, I was somewhat dismayed by The Times' recent editorial, "Revamping AIDS vaccine research,” which took issue with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's position without fully understanding it.

April 3, 2008

BLOWBACK

Why the bond rating system works

In its March 11 editorial, "Rethinking state bond ratings," The Times editorial board suggested that because state and local governments default on their obligations less often than corporations do, all bonds issued by governmental entities should automatically receive high ratings from credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's (S&P). Several officials made the same suggestion at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee earlier this month. Such a "wholesale" upgrade would prevent ratings from doing the very thing they are designed to do -- reflect the individual credit risk associated with each bond.

April 2, 2008

BLOWBACK

The long history of 'loyalty oaths'

As Geoffrey R. Stone described in his March 11 Op-Ed article, "Loyalty oaths fail the test of democracy," Marianne Kearney-Brown, a California public school teacher and a Quaker, was fired over her objection to California's requirement that all public employees sign an oath affirming that they will "support and defend" the United States and California constitutions. Kearney-Brown, who was ultimately rehired, altered the written version of the oath she signed to include the word "nonviolently," ostensibly because of her religious beliefs.

April 1, 2008

BLOWBACK

Thank you, teachers

After reading "With jobs on the line, teachers explore their options," regarding layoff notices teachers are receiving, I wanted to say thank you to teachers who have stayed in the educational system, however bad it may be.

March 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Turkey's disintegrating democracy

Recently The Times published two very interesting articles, one by Soner Cagaptay, citing solid references, discussing the ruling Islamist party's impact on Turkey, and another by a member of that party, Egemen Bagis.

March 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Turkey's religious bent

In his Blowback, "My party is good for Turkey," Egemen Bagis does what can only be described as a hatchet job on Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Bagis, who is a foreign policy advisor to the Turkish prime minister, calls Cagaptay a "self-proclaimed Turkey expert," but this kind of language is nothing new to Bagis.

March 27, 2008

BLOWBACK

Generic drugs are just as good

Stories like The Times' "Generics: Just as good?" are a disservice to Americans trying to make the best healthcare decisions for themselves and their families.

March 26, 2008

BLOWBACK

Don't judge teachers by test scores

In her Op-Ed article, "Put teachers to the test," Camille Esch writes that "the old evaluation system that ignores student achievement and finds virtually all teachers 'satisfactory' simply sets the bar too low." Although I agree with her, and with all writers who feel that cynicism and ironclad backward thinking pervade public education, I also find that these essays, usually theoretical rather than practical, resonate with the same platitudes that have calcified the public school teaching profession. Evaluating teachers using punishing criteria helps no one.

March 24, 2008

BLOWBACK

My party is good for Turkey

In self-proclaimed Turkey expert Soner Cagaptay's "Turkey changes, by the numbers," distorted allegations about my party and my country only deserve the famous quote, "lies, damn lies and statistics."

March 20, 2008

BLOWBACK

Obama blew it

Tim Rutten's column, "Obama's Lincoln moment" and The Times editorial, "Obama on race" both miss the mark.

March 19, 2008

BLOWBACK

It's not all about Wurtzel

In her Op-Ed, "Bitter Ashes of Burned Brassieres" Elizabeth Wurtzel sounds a gloomy and despairing note about the state of contemporary feminism. Writing about the Geraldine Ferraro/Barack Obama tiff and the Eliot Spitzer resignation, Wurtzel wonders: "Am I the only one who feels that last week's news events prove that the women's movement has failed?"

March 18, 2008

BLOWBACK

Spitzer's not-so-biological urge

Psychologist David Barash's Op-Ed article "Want a man, or a worm?" uses a veneer of outdated science to rationalize personal opinions. Using Eliot Spitzer's sad sexual peccadilloes as a news peg, Barash makes the threadbare argument that men just can't help themselves, titillating his readers with the tattered news that male animals copulate with more than one mate -- an example of "extra pair copulations," or EPCs, as biologists call them.

March 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

Stop stealing developing world doctors

Contrary to Kerry Howley's Opinion Daily, raiding the meager healthcare resources of Third World nations is neither an ethical nor a sustainable option for meeting the chronic and increasingly serious shortfalls of medical personnel in the United States. The ongoing practice of raiding impoverished countries for their healthcare workers is typically accomplished by virtually shanghaiing their already painfully modest healthcare staffs.

March 12, 2008

BLOWBACK

The 1968 walkout didn't matter

The fantasies of Luis Torres 40 years ago that propelled him and others to empty classrooms and hit the streets have changed not one wit.

March 7, 2008

BLOWBACK

Tourists most welcome

I would hope that Eric Lucas' professional contributions to the Michelin Guides and Westways magazine are worthier than this article. He proclaims: "The United States is a crass, greedy and rude host ... we treat foreigners as criminals until proved otherwise." These assertions, presented without substantiation or context, are just the nonsensical ramblings of someone who happens to have access to the Opinion pages.

March 6, 2008

BLOWBACK

The Times' Joe McCarthy

In his Feb. 26 , Jonah Goldberg provides us with textbook examples of the logical fallacies employed to such good effect by Joseph McCarthy and his minions in the 1950s. I thought we had driven a stake through the heart of McCarthyism, and that Red-baiting had met its well-deserved end. But Goldberg, who is as slimy as Gollum, the cave-dwelling hobbit in "Lord of the Rings," has brought it back with a vengeance.

March 5, 2008

BLOWBACK

Who's afraid of women?

I am writing in response to Heather Mac Donald's , "What campus rape crisis?" Mac Donald cites statistics that indicate many young women are hesitant to report, or even characterize, unwanted sexual contact as rape. Is there any surprise there? Given the way our society, the media, other men and women (such as Mac Donald) examine and judge women's behavior in contexts from frat party to corporate board room, is it any surprise that women -- particularly college-aged women asserting their independence and self-determination for the first time -- are hesitant to speak truthfully about their discomfort, trauma, lack of memory, or downright embarrassment about being raped? Rape is dramatically underreported not because it does not happen, but because the response of law enforcement, counselors, teachers, fellow students and even parents all too often reaffirm what the victim already suspected -- that somehow the rape is her fault.

March 4, 2008

BLOWBACK

The right rape statistics

Much of what appeared in Heather Mac Donald's Op-Ed — "What campus rape crisis?" -- is damaging and demeaning. Admittedly, it is hard to look at our society and acknowledge that a problem of such magnitude exists. Mac Donald rationalizes her dismissal of the campus rape crisis with accusations of poor science, underutilization of resources and survivors' frequent unwillingness to report cases.

March 3, 2008

BLOWBACK

Take Oscars off TV

Last week, Patrick Goldstein wrote a lengthy critique of the Oscars in which he urged that the academy get real. Goldstein's complaints are completely valid as long as one assumes that the Academy Awards are first and foremost a TV show. He argues that the ceremonies should be revamped to make for better TV; I would argue that the only way to save the Academy Awards is to quit televising them altogether.

February 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Stand up for patients

Recently The Times disclosed that Blue Cross of California was asking physicians to report patient conditions that could be used to cancel medical coverage. Amid the furor of physicians all over California, the leadership of the California Medical Assn. responded with a letter to state regulators protesting this practice. Blue Cross has since halted its solicitation of physician policing.

February 27, 2008

BLOWBACK

Wrong on rape

I was appalled this Sunday to see the headline "What campus rape crisis?" pop up on my newsfeed, especially when I realized it came from a major news source. I am grateful to The Times for the opportunity to respond to Heather MacDonald's rehash of author Katie Roiphe's discredited attacks on studies of rape on college campuses, although I question why such an outdated and deliberately misleading piece was published in the first place.

February 26, 2008

BLOWBACK

Training for teen drivers

Mike Males suggest that California's graduated driver's license law may be at fault for increases in teens death and injury for those 18 to 20 years of age, even though fewer 16-year-olds have been dying since the 1998 law took effect.

February 25, 2008

BLOWBACK

No 4th Amendment for terrorists abroad

Andrew Napolitano's Op-Ed article arguing that foreign terrorists are entitled to protections under the 4th Amendment is riddled with false arguments and absurd comparisons. It is lucky for all of us that federal courts have rejected his wrong-headed, judicial-activist theories.

February 22, 2008

BLOWBACK

Scientology stands a chance

Skeptic Michael Shermer exposes hate speech against the Church of Scientology and strangely concludes that its "cult-like secrecy" and "hypocrisy" merit suspicion. He also calls it a "faux religion."

BLOWBACK

Popping the Pepfar bubble

With nary a mention of the multitude of criticisms aimed at the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar, Edmund Sanders' article, "New life for African AIDS patients," sounds more like a presidential news release than an objective analysis.

February 20, 2008

BLOWBACK

Copyright this

Jon Healey correctly points out that the debate over intellectual-property theft is complex because we are often dealing with "non-real properties." These properties cost nearly nothing to produce, and an infinite number of people can use the same property at the same time. And yet, we still want to treat them as if they were "real" property.

February 19, 2008

BLOWBACK

Give parents school choice

Lisa Snell and David Tokofsky briefly touched on the issue of school vouchers in their Dust-Up on problems facing the Los Angeles Unified School District. In all the controversy over how to improve education in America's failing public schools, one thing seems to be missing: the idea that schools and teachers should be accountable to parents, not to the government.

February 15, 2008

BLOWBACK

Open letter to Barack Obama

I'm enclosing my third donation to your campaign because I believe strongly in your candidacy. But please, before you cash my check, consider my concerns:

February 13, 2008

BLOWBACK

Charter schools: wrong questions, faux solutions

Informed dialogue about the proper role of charter schools and traditional public schools — and what each can and can't best offer — is a good thing. But last week's Op-Ed by Eli Broad and the response by Cal Poly Pomona professors Walter P. Coombs and Ralph E. Shaffer keep us stuck in our separate silos.

February 12, 2008

BLOWBACK

The myth of charter school success

Critics of public education have argued for years that throwing money at public schools doesn't solve the "education crisis." Now come Eli Broad (who revealed his formula for charter school "success" last week), Bill Gates, the Annenbergs, Hunts, Waltons and other billionaires who willingly pour vast sums of money into "public" education provided they can designate where it goes and how it will be used. Apparently, throwing money at the schools is acceptable if you get to call the shots.

February 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

Don’t trust, verify

The recent L.A. Times editorial "Trust, but verify," regarding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reform proposals now advancing through Congress, rightly notes that the term "foreign intelligence" casts too "wide a net to leave to the discretion of an administration, especially one that has shown we can't trust its judgment."

February 7, 2008

BLOWBACK

The Latino vote is pro-Clinton, not anti-Obama

The results of Tuesday's primaries brought a renewed and vigorous debate about the Latino vote and the "Latino gap" for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). States such as California, Illinois, New York, Arizona and New Mexico have very large Latino electorates and were very important battlegrounds. Raoul Contreras claims in his Blowback article "The Bradley effect is still in effect" that Latinos will not vote for a black candidate. The empirical evidence does not match his opinions, and the results from Super Tuesday and other important elections demonstrate Latino willingness to vote for African American candidates. Furthermore, the Latino vote in 2008 should be viewed as a pro-Clinton vote, not an anti-Obama or an anti-black vote, as Contreras and others have suggested.

February 5, 2008

Bradley Effect

The Bradley Effect is still in effect

Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez and University of Washington political scientist Matt Barreto step out to combat comments by Clinton staffer Sergio Bendixen about Latino voters not being overly friendly toward black candidates. They are wrong, Bendixen is right.

February 1, 2008

BLOWBACK

Merit pay problems

The notion of merit pay for teachers in public schools, which The Times advocates, is not a new one. It has persisted since the time of Socrates, who died of it. We must look with serious concentration upon the ways in which we support and reward what is considered to be the work of good teachers.

January 31, 2008

BLOWBACK

Firestone chief fires back

With regard to Dave Zirin's latest comments, let me respond directly and succinctly.

January 30, 2008

BLOWBACK

Rape in the U.S. military

Anne K. Ream's recent Op-Ed sheds much needed light on how the U.S. military continues to trivialize rape and sexual assault committed by members of the armed forces. Writing about whether a man who is convicted of rape in a civilian court should still be entitled to a traditional military funeral, Ream points out that although barring full honor burials in such a situation is largely a symbolic act, "the military policy of allowing honors burials for veterans convicted of rape sends a chilling message to victims: Even the most heinous sexual violence does not trump prior military service."

January 29, 2008

BLOWBACK

Firestone: Helping or hurting Liberians?

January 28, 2008

BLOWBACK

Our healthcare plan will work

Even though the healthcare reform bill passed by the Assembly was negotiated with a Republican governor, ABX1-1 is very much a Democratic proposal at heart— witness its significant expansion to cover 3.6 million uninsured Californians, including 800,000 children. It is more progressive and far-reaching than anything under serious consideration by other states, and it is a model for at least one of the Democratic presidential candidates.

January 24, 2008

BLOWBACK

Kenya's conflict isn't 'tribal'

I first started working in Kenya when conducting research for my master's degree in 1991 at the University of Nairobi. It was a time of great hope and excitement. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, we saw a resurgence of democracy's "third wave," and it seemed that all of Africa was preparing for elections. That year, then-President Daniel T. Arap Moi legalized multi-partyism. Surprisingly, the most common word wasn't "freedom" or even "participation" but rather "Majimboism." Moi used this Kiswahili word for tribalism as a rallying cry to spread fear that tribal identities would come to dominate the political party system. It was a self-fulfilling prophesy. As democratic competition increased throughout the 1990s, two things happened: The opposition split and re-split until it was untenable, and Moi successfully manipulated institutions and the electoral code so that he could win the Statehouse with a relatively small minority of the vote — twice.

January 23, 2008

BLOWBACK

Robert Gates’ glass house

Robert Gates, the U.S. Defense secretary, has been busy massaging wounded alliance sensibilities after telling The Times last week that NATO forces weren't up to the task of counterinsurgency. He and other officials complained that allied troops in southern Afghanistan were relying too much on heavy firepower while avoiding joint operations with the Afghan army. Though Gates has apologized effusively and made peace, at least with Canadians, his remarks have nonetheless scarred Canadian sensitivities-particularly as Canadians debate their ongoing involvement-and left Americans believing that their country's closest allies are not doing their fair share.

January 22, 2008

BLOWBACK

L.A. deserves rail

For the past 15 years I have been a transit rider, and I always take note of articles by James Moore of USC, particularly his opposition against expanding rail systems in Southern California. Moore, with Tom Rubin, is again striking out against rail, mostly over costs.

January 21, 2008

BLOWBACK

Defending the foreign press

As a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., I can tell you it gets tiring reading derogatory commentary on the group, as in Sharon Waxman's Op-Ed article. I feel compelled to put the record straight.

January 18, 2008

BLOWBACK

WGA, divide and conquer

While The Times' editorial last week took a reasoned look at the status of the writers strike, the view was far too limited. Indeed, it's worth noting that the impact of the strike is not "lamentable" — it's horrifying. There's $500 million lost already, and people painfully hurt. That's ghastly. All the while the Assn. of Motion Picture and Television Producers has walked away from the table, and instead negotiated with a guild not on strike. Go figure.

January 17, 2008

BLOWBACK

Real libertarianism

Michael Kinsley rightly marks libertarianism as being "useful and undervalued" in American political discourse — and this historian of the movement says thanks. However, Kinsley tries not to go too far. He thus misunderstands some of the reasons libertarians advocate what they advocate and the advantages of their line of thinking.

January 16, 2008

BLOWBACK

Beyond Benazir

The Pakistan Peoples Party's decision to elect Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as co-chairs of the party in the aftermath of her assassination is being criticized as representing dynastic politics that do not promote democracy.

January 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

Pay judges more

Scott Baker argues against increased compensation for federal judges because he finds no evidence that "lower pay means lousy judges." Baker recommends that Congress reconsider enactment of currently pending legislation that would increase federal judicial salaries.

January 14, 2008

BLOWBACK

John Ridley is wrong

When there were rumors of an A-list screenwriter going "financial core" from the Writers Guild of America, I was as surprised as John Ridley was to find out it was him. His resume is mostly pretty good television episodic writing, and he's made a good and well-deserved living doing that, as well as representing himself as the voice of Hollywood writers on the Huffington Post, NPR and in occasional Op-Ed articles here and there.

BLOWBACK

Israel’s true friends

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt are at it again, attempting to poison the well of American politics with their misleading depiction of an Israeli stranglehold on presidential candidates and elected officials like us. In their Op-Ed article, the two professors charge that the so-called Israel lobby, composed of pro-Israel Jews, Christians and their "friends in the media," manipulates American political leaders to act counter to American — and, in their view, Israeli — interests.

January 11, 2008

BLOWBACK

Drug prohibition doesn’t work

This week, The Times featured yet another story about a drug bust gone bad. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies detained 32 African American students and one Latino student at Los Angeles Trade Tech College in an attempted undercover raid. The sting operation was done on the Sheriff's Department's initiative, without the knowledge of campus officials. Criticisms of this action alleged racial profiling.

January 10, 2008

BLOWBACK

Israel’s ties that bind

Although John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt accuse the "Israel lobby" of bullying American politicians into a positive relationship with Israel, the truth is that the long-standing U.S.-Israel alliance exists because it is good for America.

January 9, 2008

BLOWBACK

Buying freedom of speech

I was deeply disturbed by The Times editorial on malls as free-speech zones, both for its content and for the clear conflict of interest.

January 8, 2008

BLOWBACK

John Ridley goes fi-core

Last week, when people started talking about an A-list writer going "financial core," I was surprised to find they were speaking of me. I don't work in day-to-day television anymore and have completed exactly one studio movie script in the last 24 months.

January 4, 2008

BLOWBACK

Huckabee highlights pro-life hypocrisy

In its editorial on "Life" values in the 2008 presidential campaign, the Los Angeles Times notes that Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee's position on abortion "has the value of consistency: If you believe abortion is murder, you have no choice but to fight it at all levels." Huckabee is an extremely likable guy. His personality, demeanor and ability to speak clearly and understandably about his views all resonate with many Republican voters. Huckabee has become the George W. Bush of the early part of the election cycle — a candidate most Americans can relate to. Unfortunately, he has followed in his predecessor's footsteps in one area that he should have avoided.

January 3, 2008

BLOWBACK

Moves from the Cigna playbook

Cigna HealthCare's refusal to cover leukemia patient Nataline Sarkisyan's liver transplant until it was too late is out of the insurance playbook. My patients suffer similar fates every day.

January 2, 2008

BLOWBACK

Starr hasn’t changed his stripes

In his glowing profile of Kenneth Starr, Jim Newton says:

January 1, 2008

BLOWBACK

Church still unreformed

Sister Sheila McNiff's recent Op-Ed article "Tallying church abuse" is nothing more than the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' latest attempt to have the laity and public simply trust that the church will protect children placed in its care. Sister Sheila opines that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' policies since the mid-1980s are the reason why fewer victims of abuse from the late 1980s, 1990s and early this decade have so far come forward.