AnnotatedOpinions.com

The National Rifle Association has long fulminated in the gun control debate in Washington like the Great Oz in the Emerald City. Now along comes Frank Luntz, a conservative Republican pollster who, Toto-like, has snatched back Oz’s curtain to reveal that gun owners favor much more reasonable gun controls than the gun lobby would ever allow the public to imagine.  

Mr. Luntz queried 832 gun owners, including 401 card-carrying N.R.A. members, in a survey commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the alliance of hundreds of executives seeking stronger gun laws. In flat rebuttal of N.R.A. propaganda, the findings showed that 69 percent of N.R.A. members supported closing the notorious gun-show loophole that invites laissez-faire arms dealing outside registration requirements. . .  

Imagine, the dreaded M-word — moderates — surfacing in a political constituency that the N.R.A. portrays as fully locked and loaded for marching orders. . .  

[AO: This story is an illustration of what scientists, pollsters and, generally, those who are involved in polling have always known: survey questions can be phrased or otherwise limited to elicit the answers the pollster wants. Moreover, it also illustrates why no political group should cede the voice of non-members to its opponent.  

Left to survey gun owners and amplify their voice, the NRA has no doubt focused on questions that it deems most beneficial to its purpose. This is not to say that the NRA has been cooking the books. Instead, the NRA has simply been doing what, in a way, it should do: focusing on its goals. But in doing so, it fails to represent the entirety of gun owners’ voice. That is, significant numbers of gun owners, as exemplified by the story, have beliefs, goals, etc. regarding gun control that are not exactly the same as the NRA. As a result, these gun owners need another entity to help them amplify that aspect of their voice. They need the Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other organizations like it that will design a variety of questions that allow the complexity of their voice to be heard.  

The lessons that ought to be learned from this study include not only what gun owners are willing to accept but the realization that large segments of the population should not be left to pooling by only one entity that has a vested interest in the outcome. This message is relevant no matter the cause.]

Reform or Else: Those concerned with fiscal responsibility should be worried about what will happen if proposed health care legislation doesn’t pass. [New York Times]

With reforms pending, recent drug-industry price hikes raise suspicions [Houston Chronicle]

Good News on Premiums: The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis shows that tens of millions of uninsured Americans can be covered without driving up costs for everyone else. [New York Times]

If a war’s worth fighting, isn’t it worth paying for? Congress has raised taxes to fund most of our fighting, but since 9/11 the war bills have been piling up. The Share the Sacrifice Act would change that. [LA Times]

The Analytic Mode: We should embrace the analytical governing style of President Obama, and learn to live without the passion and clarity of his presidential campaign. [New York Times]

GOP folds its big tent: The focus of the Republican “unity” movement seems less ideological than personal: a blind animus toward Obama and all who would cooperate with him. [Boston Globe]

The NFL’s head case [Chicago Tribune]

Dangerous Work: Congress should fix holes in legislation intended to protect whistle-blowers at public companies from being penalized for reporting wrongdoing. [New York Times]

A bad omen in Dubai: The lack of alarm is alarming. [Washington Post]

Xenophobia: Switzerland vs. minarets – An odd ban in Switzerland on an expression of Islamic architecture shows the need for enlightened politicians around the world to defend the principle of pluralism. [Boston Globe]

Needed for Mideast peace: a sense of urgency: Arab and Israeli leaders are convinced that President Obama is in more of a hurry than they are, so they are content to have him do the heavy lifting. [LA Times]

A new momentum for Afghanistan: This is an alliance effort, and the strategy is clear, says the secretary general of NATO. [Washington Post]

Veterans and gun safety: Legislation to loosen restrictions on buying guns by mentally unstable veterans is misguided. [LA Times]

Hispanic farmers deserve justice, too [USA Today]

Facts and figures, myths and mantras: “Truthiness” has exploded alongside a new media that is decidedly not mainstream. It’s now possible to find a group somewhere in Googleland that will agree with anything. [Boston Globe]  

Celebrity affairs: Whose marital transgressions would really surprise you? [Chicago Tribune]

Can Comcast connect? In buying NBC Universal, it must find new ways to court consumers who have many media choices. [LA Times]

Why? Because it’s up there: Missions to the moon and beyond cost little compared with often- intangible benefits. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

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Editorial Note: This feature, “What They Are Saying” will be discontinued on Monday, December 7, 2009 so that we can bring you more annotated opinions.

Targeting gun shows: An N.Y. probe exposes loopholes that let criminals buy firearms — and the need for greater regulation. [LA Times]

Don’t water down climate bill: John Kerry and Barbara Boxer must resist industry pressure to water down their bill before passage in the Senate. [Boston Globe]

10,000: Then and Now: As the Dow passed the 10,000 milestone again, it was impossible to ignore the yawning chasm between the index’s performance and the dismal state of the American economy. [New York Times]  

Love him, hate him: Your reaction? Getting past all the ‘pundifying’ that some would call serious debate [Chicago Tribune]

Hunger breeds violence: Peacemaking strategies must include denying extremists recruits from a hungry population by providing food to alleviate the suffering. [LA Times]  

Seeding a Green Revolution: How Bill Gates is planning to take a bite out of hunger and malnutrition in Africa. [Washington Post]

A Hatchet Job So Bad It’s Good: The report released by the lobbying organization America’s Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, was dismissed by experts as a hatchet job, but it may have led to a better bill. [New York Times]

Nobels prove Larry Summers’ 2005 comment about women wrong [Houston Chronicle]  

A few seconds for science: The medicine Nobel gives Americans a chance to reconsider their priorities. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Kim Jong Il is no lame duck: North Korea’s leader no longer seems lame, which opens the door to further talks that could have beneficial — if not conclusive — results. [LA Times]

Contaminated Fuel Stock? There may be more time on the Iranian nuclear clock than some analysts had feared. [Washington Post]

Dobbs does CNN no favors with Latinos [USA Today]

Limbaugh: Socialism on the 50 yard line – The noted conservative commentator was actually spared the indignity of being part of one of the great socialist experiments in American life — the NFL, where draft order is determined in a way that rewards losers and punishes successful teams. [Boston Globe]

NFL Sacks Limbaugh: His Loudness was most unwelcome.  Washington
Post]  

Should comment board posts be anonymous? [Chicago Tribune]

Zero common sense: Delaware’s largest school district did well to ease its zero-tolerance weapons policy after a first-grader was suspended 45 days for possession of a three-in-one eating utensil. [Philadelphia Inquirer]  

Back Where He Belongs: While it is heartening that a Delaware school district has allowed Zachary Christie back to school, too many communities are hurting students with overzealous disciplinary measures. [New York Times]

Not Your ‘Bud’ or Ours: A report adds to the evidence that a measure should be passed to require background checks for all sales at gun shows. [New York Times]

Afghanistan – the proxy war [Boston Globe]

Counterintuitive counterinsurgency: An illegitimate election in Afghanistan does not mean legitimate American military and political goals can’t be met. [LA Times]

What failure in Afghanistan? We’ve been largely successful at preventing al-Qaeda from regrouping. [Washington Post]

War and peace, Pakistani edition [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Free speech and kitten stompers [Chicago Tribune]

Misguided Monetary Mentalities: Some of the bad ideas that helped cause the Great Depression have, alas, proved all too durable. [New York Times]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is feeling the heat: The business group’s stand on climate legislation has cost it members and credibility. [LA Times]

Angry White Men: Obama hatred isn’t just about racism or status anxiety. [Washington Post]

Roman Polanski: Case shows we’re talking about rape differently [Chicago Tribune]

Wrong Paths to Immigration Reform: Immigration programs must not rest on the dishonest premise that illegal immigrants are a vast criminal threat. [New York Times]

Children are being left behind: Obama’s $4.3-billion ‘Race to the Top’ program needs to be paired with reforms to mandated education targets from the Bush era. [LA Times]

Once again, a child is killed: The brutal videotaped beating death of a Chicago student sparked outrage, but it is a sad reminder of how much violence exists around many urban school districts, including Philadelphia. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Just Say No: India should resist developing nuclear weapons and stay focused on economic growth and expanding global cooperation. [New York Times]

George Gershwin

Rhapsody in Beach Boys: The news that former Beach Boy Brian Wilson will complete some unfinished works by composer George Gershwin caught many Gershwin fans off guard. But the two musicians have more in common than immediately meets the eye. [Boston Globe]

Think About the Grandkids: The share of resources devoted to the old versus the young is a function of their relative political clout. But children could do with more help too. [New York Times]

‘A Lot to Like,’ Indeed: He voted against it, but even Max Baucus likes the public option. Here’s why he should. [Washington Post]

Abortion and Health Care Reform: There should be no restrictions on abortion coverage in the new insurance exchanges that would be created by pending health care reform bills. [New York Times]

California’s ill-fated healthcare reform: If Democrats in D.C. hope to keep their plans alive, they would do well to study the experience of Arnold Schwarzenegger. [LA Times]

Alcohol Tax for Health Reform: Discouraging unhealthy drinking and raising money. [Washington Post]

Conservatives waste money on abstinence-only ed [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Defusing Iran: There’s no simple solution to dealing with Tehran’s  nuclear plans. But diplomacy is the best bet. [LA Times]

Obama’s opportunity in Iran: The Obama administration faces a daunting set of barriers to diplomatic progress today as the United States holds the first serious talks between Washington and Tehran in 30 years. [Boston Globe]

Let real estate credit expire: The success of the first-time home buyer tax credits depends on the perception that the credit wouldn’t be offered forever. Extending it would carry considerable costs. [Boston Globe]

Easing up on Cuba [Chicago Tribune]

Human rights: Don’t go wobbly on Burma’s junta The Obama administration says it will pursue engagement with the junta. That’s fine — unless dialogue leads to the lifting of sanctions while Burma’s soldiers and officers go on raping the minority women in the country. [Boston Globe]

Polanski’s pain isn’t penance: Some argue that the director at the center of the controversial sex/extradition case has suffered enough. But personal ordeals are not the same as justice. [LA Times]

Seven Years After the Sniper: Thanks to Congress’s timidity before the gun lobby, most federal efforts to crack down on negligent — or corrupt — gun dealers remain largely toothless. [New York Times]

Handguns: A target on Chicago [Chicago Tribune]

Limiting state secrets: In a dozen or more legal challenges dating from the Bush era, the U.S. government’s defense against allegations of torture or spying on American citizens has been to claim that litigation would jeopardize national security by revealing state secrets. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Keep doctors independent; ban fees from drug makers – The danger posed by speakers’ fees is serious: Research shows that getting money from the drug industry can cloud doctors’ judgment when evaluating studies and side effects, as well as when they are prescribing medication. [Boston Globe]

Chicago Hope: There’s good reason to cheer President Obama’s pitch for the 2016 Summer Olympics. [Washington Post]

Upholding Olympic values: Drug abuse and doping have no place in the games [Chicago Tribune]

Wonderful Copenhagen: President Obama’s trip to Denmark to lobby for Chicago’s Olympic bid for the 2016 Games will last only a few hours, yet the opposition wants to complain. [New York Times]

Flight to Waziristan: An up-close look at the challenge Pakistan faces in tackling a Taliban stronghold. [Washington Post]

It’s dum 2 txt while u drive [USA Today] 

Town Hall Jackboots: Want to rant and rave at the town halls? Fine. But can you please leave the guns home? [Washington Post]

Abandon bipartisanship, all ye who enter here [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Town halls: Barney Frank unbound: Kudos to Congressman Barney Frank for putting in their place big-mouthed protesters at a town hall in Dartmouth, Mass. [Boston Globe]

An odd silence on gay marriage [Chicago Tribune]

Health Reform Charade: Why bother to negotiate with a GOP retreating to a white southern bastion? [Washington Post]

Debit Card Trap: If federal regulators don’t act quickly to enforce new overdraft rules that could provide more transparency, Congress should step in. [New York Times]

Paging Dr. Cortese, Stat! Let the head of the Mayo Clinic show us a way out of the health reform quagmire. [Washington Post]

Karzai and the friends he keeps: As Afghans vote today, the United States faces the likelihood that Karzai will emerge from this balloting or a second round as the nation’s leader. US officials will have to do their best to get him to limit the influence of despised warlords he has brought onto his team to ensure electoral success. [Boston Globe]

The Afghans Vote: It won’t be pretty, but it’s progress. [Washington Post]

Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons? It’s time for a re-evaluation of the criminal justice system to determine how squandered money could be better spent. [New York Times]

Boycott Israel: An Israeli comes to the painful conclusion that it’s the only way to save his country. [LA Times]

The House and Global Warming: The House should pass a bill that puts a price on carbon emissions, the first step toward averting the worst damage from climate change. [New York Times]

Putting a price on carbon: Defeat of the climate bill before the House of Representatives today would leave US negotiators with empty hands in December talks for a new international treaty on climate change. [Boston Globe]

A big step against climate change: The energy and climate bill up for a vote today in the House raises unanswered questions, but it’s an important first step toward addressing the very real problem of climate change. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

The prescience of protest: The West should listen to the dissidents in Iran craving freedom — they can feel the future. [LA Times]

Iran? It’s the nukes [Chicago Tribune]

An Unreasonable Search: A Supreme Court decision will rightly discourage schools from conducting unconstitutional strip searches of
their students. [New York Times]

The Greenland example: Post-colonial conflict zones could learn something from the pacific way that Greenlanders pursued self-determination — and the reasonable way that Denmark relinquished its hold over another people. [Boston Globe]

When to Ration Health: Less isn’t necessarily worse, but the ‘threat’ of rationing could kill Obamacare. [Washington Post]

Can Obama still talk to Iran? [Chicago Tribune]

Now nobody cares about low-key NOW: Last weekend NOW (National Organization for Women) held its annual meeting in Indianapolis and elected a new leader. The news media hardly noticed, and nobody  seemed to care. [USA Today]

The farm lobby vs. the global warming bill: The agriculture lobby’s fingerprints are all over a crucial bill aimed at fighting global warming. [LA Times]

The Fast-Draw-but-Don’t-Drink Law: Politicians continue to cave in to the gun lobby’s agenda that insists there is no place that should
be off limits to guns. [New York Times]

Poisonous Poultry: Why do our chicken, our water and our air contain arsenic? [Washington Post]

Journalism in the era of Twitter: I am not going to call the situation in Iran the Twitter Revolution. That’s far too cute a handle for the dramatic and dangerous uprising. [Boston Globe]

A vote for D.C.: Ridiculous wrangling over a gun-control amendment is keeping residents of the District of Columbia from getting a vote in Congress. [LA Times]

Metro: A Bill Comes Due: Among the issues for crash probers should be the price of insufficient revenue. [Washington Post]

Unraveling debate on health care [Chicago Tribune]

Health insurance for all U.S. children would be a bargain, study finds [Houston Chronicle]

Health-Care Deja Vu? There are some reasons for hoping we can avoid the Clintons’ 1993 debacle. [Washington Post]

Voting act lives, for now: The Supreme Court’s decision not to strike down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act was both a surprise and the best outcome possible. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Followers of Neda: A martyred woman symbolizes Iran’s first wave of change and pathway to revolution. [Washington Post]

Court muddies water act [USA Today]

Graduation Dreams: The Dream Act, a bill that would offer citizenship to undocumented high school graduates who completed two years of
college or military service, has languished in Congress for too long. [New York Times]

Saving our forests will reduce global warming [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Obama is right to not saber-rattle on Iran [Chicago Tribune]

Obama’s hitting the exact right note on Iran: Calling for regime change would probably backfire, but condemning the crackdown encourages dissidents while not interfering with internal politics. [LA Times]

A new North Korea strategy: With China’s hand — and U.S. support — Pyongyang could be brought to its knees and given a choice: Watch your economy collapse or give up your nuclear weapons. [USA
Today]

Real Consumer Protection: The Obama administration’s proposal to create a new agency that focuses directly on protecting consumers
from deceptive mortgage practices deserves support in Congress. [New York Times]

Tyranny’s new nightmare: Twitter: As new media spreads its Web worldwide, authoritarians like those in Iran will have a difficult time
maintaining absolute control in the face of the technology’s chaotic
democracy. [LA Times]

Religious freedom unkept vow in U.S. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Paycheck Fairness: President Obama should help push through a bill stalled in Congress aimed at combating gender-based wage discrimination. [New York Times]

New life for fisheries in New England [Boston Globe]

California has to lean harder on Obama: Why aren’t the state’s leaders fighting for real help from the feds? [LA Times]

Half-Baked Alaska: Sarah Palin still isn’t ready for the Big Game Hunt of national politics. [Washington Post]

A legal shootout over the right to own a gun: Conflicting court opinions gun may result in linking the 2nd Amendment with the 14th. [LA Times]

The Ban on Gays in the Military: Washington needs to move forward on eliminating the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that is unfair to gay men and women, as well as damaging to the military. [New York Times]

Humane Capitalism: Is Obama going against a global tide by pushing social democratic capitalism? [Washington Post]

Bill puts tobacco under FDA supervision: Although not perfect, the legislation would subject the industry to the regulatory control of the Food and Drug Administration. [LA Times]

Air crash connections: At first glance, three recent airline accidents appear to have little in common. [USA Today]

Truth in Teaching: Education reform will go nowhere until the states are forced to revamp corrupt teacher evaluation systems. [New York Times]

No Quota Queen: Sotomayor didn’t just choose sides based on race in the firefighters’ case. [Washington Post]

Pawns of Pyongyang: North Korea’s imprisonment of two American journalists poses a diplomatic challenge for the U.S. [LA Times]

Pay Pals: Senator Christopher Dodd should go after, not cozy up to, the payday-loan industry for its egregious exploitation of people’s desperation. [New York Times]

In Kenya, A marvelous story of perseverance [Chicago Tribune]