Opinion: In today’s pages: Gas taxes, abortion and DNA
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The Times editorial board is doing cartwheels over President Obama’s order that the Environmental Protection Agency reconsider allowing California to set tough auto emissions standards -- but still doesn’t think it goes far enough. What’s needed now, the board says, is higher gas taxes. On the same theme, we’re thrilled that Obama reversed President Bush’s ban on funding for foreign-aid groups that perform or even mention abortion, but think congressional action is still needed to ensure the next administration doesn’t change course again. And the board is appalled by the Supreme Court majority’s decision in an Alabama search-and-seizure case, which will only encourage sloppy record-keeping by police.
Over on the Op-Ed page, Gail Javitt and Kathy Hudson point out that what nearly happened to President Barack Obama during the campaign -- when breakfast leftovers containing traces of his DNA were offered for auction on eBay, meaning deeply private information might have been disclosed to the public -- is becoming an increasingly common problem even for the non-famous, thanks to improvements in DNA analysis technology and the absence of laws on seizure and disclosure of genetic information.
Jean Ross, head of the California Budget Project, decries a Republican proposal to avoid future state budget impasses by putting a hard cap on annual spending. Such caps don’t account for cost increases for services like health care or changes in demographics, and would result in permanent, draconian cuts in California services, Ross writes. And David Ambroz, a lawyer who was himself a foster child, is confused by ‘people who call themselves pro-family yet would prefer to see [foster] children bounce from home to home’ than allow them to be raised by gay couples. Several states, most recently Arkansas, ban unmarried couples from serving as foster parents, largely as a way of keeping gays and lesbians out of the system. ‘Kids shouldn’t become pawns in the nation’s culture wars,’ Ambroz concludes.
* Cartoon by Tom Toles / Washington Post