Opinion: In today’s pages: Hollywood writers, preening parents
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Columnist Rosa Brooks says modern parents need to relax their insane expectations:
Intensive parenting is a relatively recent American invention, and the evidence suggests that it’s not one of our better contributions to humanity. That mad swirl of activities? You get burned-out kids incapable of entertaining themselves. That homework you and your first-grader struggle through? It has zero educational benefit. That superhuman effort you make to protect your kids from every conceivable danger? It’s not necessarily helpful if it means they never learn how to evaluate dangers for themselves. Someday, our kids will have to function without us.
City Journal senior editor Steven Malanga debunks the notion of the Latino voting bloc. Columnist Patt Morrison finds out what could keep you off a plane, from your choice of reading material to your union card to your miniskirt. Contributing editor and WGA member Rob Long says that striking writers not writing is pretty much business as usual.
The editorial board asks California Republicans to fall out of line with President Bush on SCHIP, and examines President Bush’s position that his home state should retry a death row inmate. Finally, the board explores the role of Internet revenue in the possible writers strike.
Letter writers aren’t pleased that NBC wants to replace Jay Leno with Conan O’Brien on the Tonight Show. West Hollywood’s Dee Dee Messina says, ‘if ‘The Tonight Show’ goes to O’Brien, I can finally get some sleep.’