Opinion: In today’s pages: Muslims, Mugabe, and a makeover for Condi
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Salam Al-Marayati and Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs of the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Intiative say the presidential candidates are shunning Muslims to win votes:
It appears that the political logic of the candidates and their handlers calls for winning Jewish American support at the expense of Muslim American voters. This takes the shape of aggressive outreach to the Jewish community while Muslims go ignored. That strategy may be politically expedient, but it is inherently flawed. Muslims see their exclusion as a betrayal of American values, and many Jews are alarmed by the parallels to their own historical political exclusion.
Columnist Rosa Brooks says there’s a new Condoleezza Rice in town, but nobody cares. Contributing editor Timothy Garton Ash wonders what can be done about Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe’s refusal to step down. And columnist Patt Morrison thinks it’s been a good week for schadenfreude in L.A.
The editorial board praises the Supreme Court for deciding against the death penalty for child rapists, urges Congress to end the double standard in radio royalty payments, and considers a state plan to cope with global warming:
The plan is only an outline, but it has enough specifics to make one thing abundantly clear: By the time all its regulatory structures are in place in 2012, it will affect nearly everyone in California.Over the next 10 years, it will probably change the kind of car you drive, the kind of fuel you put in it, the amount you pay for electricity, where that electricity comes from, the way you heat or cool your home and how you do business.
On the letters page, readers discuss John McCain’s energy plans. Woodland Hills’ James Dawson criticizes McCain’s intention to give a $300 million cash prize for the inventor of a energy-saving car battery: ‘McCain just told every inventor in America to wait five months before doing something that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut pollution and keep our economy from imploding any further. Thanks for nothing.’
*Cartoon by Jimmy Margulies