What They Are Saying: 11.09.09
| Fall of Berlin Wall’s 20th Anniversary
· Op-Classic, 1989: Freedom Danced Before My Eyes [New York Times] · The rusting and fall of the Iron Curtain: Today is the 20th anniversary of the event that proved the realists wrong. When joyous citizens breached the Berlin Wall with rock music and dancing instead of guns and tanks, the Cold War was over. [Boston Globe] · After the wall fell: Too many of the commemorations treat the past two decades as a foregone conclusion. [Washington Post] · Cold War nostalgia: In the former East, there is ostalgie. In the West, we too look back in longing: for the symbol of moral clarity and superiority the wall was to us. [LA Times] · After collapse, jubilation, fear, and uncertainty [Boston Globe] · Hungary was the first rip in Iron Curtain: Months before the Berlin Wall fell, Hungarians had marched to demand democracy. [LA Times]
A 2d chance at freedom for juvenile offenders: The United States stands apart from its European allies in sentencing minors to languish in prison until they die. [Boston Globe] Imprisoning a Child for Life: Sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole for a nonhomicide violates the Eighth amendment. [New York Times] Healthcare’s hurdles: Democrats in the House get their way, but what we need is real debate. If only the Republicans would oblige. [LA Times] Why is reforming health care so hard? Broad satisfaction and deep divides hinder change. [Philadelphia Inquirer] House-passed health plan mixes good ideas, deep flaws [USA Today] The next bubble? There’s a thin line between promoting recovery and the next crash. [Washington Post] Who’s afraid of the big, bad Fairness Doctrine? If Rush Limbaugh and his ilk were forced to engage in a reasonable debate, rather than ad hominems, they would forfeit the moral surety — and the seductive rage — that is the central appeal of all demagogues. [Boston Globe] Climate change bill is in trouble: Political tactics tie up the Senate version, and efforts to salvage it may be too little too late. [LA Times] Government-haters lose: Apparently some voters think government is necessary — and good. [Washington Post] Mickey goes rogue [Chicago Tribune] Disney: The mouse that bored – In some ways, the effort to revitalize Mickey seems sad and desperate [Boston Globe] Paranoia Strikes Deep: If the G.O.P. essentially shrinks down to a rump party across America, the country could become ungovernable in the idst of a continuing economic disaster. [New York Times] Letting big money in: Supreme Court watchers are growing anxious about an imminent legal ruling that could open the floodgates of money in politics like never before. [Philadelphia Inquirer] Red flags at Fort Hood [USA Today] Voters thinking about jobs, not Obama [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] The smell test: Canine witnesses need tighter judicial leashes [Houston Chronicle] Guinness got it: The company’s 250-year legacy of God-inspired good provides myriad lessons for today. Among them: A benevolent corporate vision is good for business, for its employees and for the world. [USA Today] |
