AnnotatedOpinions.com

Maj. Gen. Anthony A. Cucolo 3d issued a general order in November that prohibited soldiers under his command from becoming pregnant or impregnating another soldier. . .  

“I consider the male soldier as responsible for taking a soldier out of the fight,” said Cucolo. But critics still accused him of being insensitive to women, perhaps even pushing some toward abortion. . . [AO: May I suggest a difference between male and female soldiers? Female soldiers under Maj. Gen. Anthony A. Cucolo’s command can never eliminate the potential for “making a soldier pregnant” when they engage in sexual intercourse whereas the male soldiers can ensure this by fraternizing with non-soldiers. See the difference? It’s an order that effectively bars female soldiers from engaging in sexual intercourse but allows male soldiers to do so.]  

Gen. Raymond Odierno, commanding general in Iraq, has since issued a superseding general order that does not list pregnancy as a punishable offense. . .  

The general’s ham-handed effort to attack fraternization in a war zone has become grist for comedians. But the seriousness of the topic goes beyond pregnancy to the rapes and other sexual assaults that also have become more prevalent with today’s male and female soldiers working and living in closer proximity. [AO: Right. because, according to the Inquirer, the way to put an end to rapes and sexual assaults is to bar people from becoming pregnant. Good luck with that.]  

Still, the number of [rape and sexual assault] cases going to courts-martial did increase last year to 38 percent of the 832 investigated cases that were brought before commanders. That compares with 30 percent of 600 investigated cases in fiscal 2007. The difference between the number of allegations and court cases shows that the military has the same difficulty as civilian authorities with sexual assault charges, especially when it’s a case of “he said, she said.” [AO:
Perhaps if civilians were bared from becoming pregnant that would address the problem of rape and sexual assault in the civilian population. Ok, maybe not. But the Philadelphia Inquirer’s logic would suggest as much. Might I suggest then that there is a problem with the editorial board’s logic?]

Myths and mammograms: Why you don’t need to fear the new screening guidelines. [Washington Post]

Testing our patients: The aim of medicine is, above all else, to do no harm. But one must wonder if that will be the case with a new medical recommendation on the detection of breast cancer. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Breast cancer debate must strike a balance: My parents are complete opposites. My father is deeply rational, a chemist by trade and a man of science. My mother is more emotional, artistic and swayed by the power of one. She is whom advertisers had in mind when they invented the testimonial. [USA Today]

We can deliver health reform: The bills under discussion will put us on a path to a high-quality, low-cost system. [Washington Post]

Holder’s reasonable decision: Some of the prominent criticisms are exaggerated. [Washington Post]

Terrorism’s war of ideas: The concept of justice is a key battlefield and a way to show we practice what we preach. [Washington Post]

Iran’s iron fist [Chicago Tribune]

Cuba’s isolation begets abuses: Congress should heed those who have argued that free movement between the United States and Cuba offers the best chance of spreading democratic values and emboldening dissidents in the island nation. [Boston Globe]

Paper money that works for the blind [Chicago Tribune]

The end of sprawl: The phenomenon of sprawl has passed into history [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

GOP now the Party of `Noooooooooo!’ [Chicago Tribune]

Iraq’s Election Law Morass: American officials need to help resolve the impasse over election laws in Iraq, and Iraqis must learn how to forge reliable compromises. [New York Times]

Lipstick on a rogue: Even women who are profoundly tired of the fact that we have to be overqualified to win are turned off by a celebrity pol who still will not admit she was wildly underqualified. [Boston Globe]

Sarah Palin doesn’t fit the ‘Rogue’ title [USA Today]

Fixing the music royalties system: Songwriters get royalties but not recording artists. Bills now being considered should pay performers fairly, protect against abuses by powerful industry players and promote the availability of music. [LA Times]

A Gift to Credit Card Companies: A Senate bill to move up the effective date of the law protecting consumers from predatory actions by the credit card industry should have become law already. [New York Times]

Clipping Bernanke’s wings: Why the Fed needs its independence from Congress. [Washington Post]

Homophobia and AIDS funding can’t coexist: The U.S. sends millions of dollars in relief money to Uganda, which is considering a draconian law aimed at homosexuals. [LA Times]

Choosing the public they school: Charters exclude the unlucky students whose parents can’t be bothered. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

WOMEN MUST always fight to make sure they are not thrown under the political bus. The latest example is health care reform. . .

Now, a government panel is telling women in their 40s that they don’t need routine mammograms. According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, the benefits of screening are supposedly outweighed by the potential for unnecessary tests and procedures and the anxiety they might cause. . .  

Yes, these are simply guidelines . . . On their face, they don’t stop any woman who wants a mammogram from getting one at any age.  

As women are finding out, every aspect of health care reform won’t be win-win for everyone. Cost control is a necessary part of the reform equation. But no one has yet cut treatment for erectile dysfunction. Why are women the first losers out of the reform box?  

It’s all about the greater good, the argument goes. The first headlines out of Washington show that women should pay close attention to what they are being asked to give up in the name of health care reform.  

[AO: I agree with the writer. Women should pay close attention to what they are being asked to give up in the name of healthcare reform. Indeed, everyone should pay close attention: women, men, younger people, low income individuals, you name it. After all, depending on the final form of the legislation, healthy low-income individuals could end up funding healthcare for more wealthy individuals when they can’t themselves afford treatments. Moreover, the entire plan is premised on younger, healthier people funding healthcare for older, likely less healthy individuals. Put another way, 20 and 30 year old women could be among those funding the cost of mammograms for women in the 40s.  

But that’s all simply in the vein of being mindful of what ends up in a final reform bill.  

Another, more important point deserves clarification though. Recommending yearly screening later in life is not the same as recommending no treatment. Allow me to put this another way: screening guidelines apply to the few people who are sick and the vast majority of those who are not. Treatment guidelines apply to people who are actually sick. So, one cannot compare a recommendation for yearly screenings to begin later in life with cutting treatment for anything, including erectile dysfunction as the writer does. A more apt comparison would be recommending that men wait 10 years longer before starting regular colon cancer screening.  

Moreover, recommending yearly screening start later in life doesn’t mean that no screening will occur before the yearly screenings begin. Current screening guidelines which call for annual mammograms starting at age 40 also call for three-year clinical breast exams for women starting in their 20s.  

So, yes. We should all be mindful of the healthcare bill that comes out of congress. But equating screening with treatment? No, they are not the same. Ultimately, as the Chicago Tribune, quoting Dr. Diana Petti, reported: 

"No one is saying that women should not be screened in their 40s," says Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the task force. "We're saying there needs to be a discussion between women and their doctors." ]

Two hot buttons: Senate and House bills limit coverage for illegal immigrants and abortion. But critics aren’t satisfied. [LA Times]

The Republican Health Plan: The Republican House bill is not reform: it does little to reduce the number of uninsured, and much of the savings on premiums comes from reduced coverage. [New York Times]

As medical costs take over government, Dems duck … [USA Today]

Italy got it right: CIA renditions are wrong – The conviction of 23 Americans in the abduction of Muslim cleric Abu Omar may be largely symbolic, but it sends an important message to the Obama administration. [LA Times]

A Bad Way to Spend Money: Extending the home buyer’s tax credit is wasteful; instead, Congress should help people avoid foreclosure. [New York Times]

A Honduras hijacked by ideology: How Senate Republicans could throw the country into chaos. [Washington Post]

Afghanistan’s forgotten class: After the fall of the Taliban, many Afghan women shed their burqas, opened schools, entered Parliament. [Boston Globe]

Beyond the Spin: Hope didn’t heal the divide: A year after Obama’s election, America’s racial rifts are deep and persistent. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

The vaccine screw-up [Chicago Tribune]

Corzine can blame himself: By Gabriel Gardner There seems to be a consensus developing in the media that this week’s election results suggest a national GOP resurgence. This fails to recognize that the result in New Jersey was actually due to Gov. Corzine’s shortcomings in office. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

GOP at war with itself: Re-education camps with Sarah Palin and Glen Beck? [Washington Post]

What Reagan was really trying to do at the Berlin Wall [LA Times]

Mistrial by Google: Increasingly, courts have had to warn jurors that blogging or searching the Web during trial jeopardizes the very foundations of the judicial system. [Boston Globe]

Tribal Chiefs and the President: President Obama has taken important steps to address the economic and social problems facing American Indians. [New York Times]

Here’s what’s wrong with World Series: It’s still our greatest sports spectacular. But the World Series needs some fixing. So do the American and National League playoffs that lead up to it. [USA Today]

Our heroes, this day and the year-round [USA Today]

A referendum on Obama? Not likely [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Getting a handle on elections [Chicago Tribune]

The Off-Off-Year Elections: If there were broad messages in the grab bag of contests, they were for both parties. [New York Times]

Voters send cautionary messages to both parties [USA Today]

Time for equal rights for gays is now: Progress is occurring, but Tuesday’s rejection of a same-sex marriage law in Maine shows there’s still a lot of work to be done. [LA Times]

Who ended the Cold War? The fall of the Berlin Wall is as much Gorbachev’s unheralded achievement as it is Reagan’s. [Boston Globe]

1989 was a very good year: The end of the Cold War brought change that sent ripples around the world. [LA Times]

Berlin Wall’s lessons for today: The oxygen of a free society is accurate and trustworthy information. Yet even today, regimes around the world are intent on cutting off the supply. [USA Today]

Deteriorating relationships? The United States only seems to be more polarized [Chicago Tribune]

Welcome sign: U.S. ends a misguided HIV policy [Houston Chronicle]

Women and health care [Washington Post]

Fixing healthcare: Primary care is job No. 1 – Effective reform requires spending for front-line doctors, those who screen for preventable diseases and are a patient’s advocate. [LA Times]

A Powerful Idea on Youth Violence: A Chicago plan that will put high-risk youth on the road to productive lives deserves full support. [New York Times]

Airline safety: I say Obama, you say O’Bama – New requirements by the Transportation Security Administration that names on plane boarding classes exactly match those on personal identifications could present major headaches. [Boston Globe]

Cyclists and motorists on collision course: A physician’s conviction in a bicycle crash case reveals a noxious form of road rage. [LA Times]

For university presidents, a pay cut is in order: Presidents at the top research universities should be embarrassed by 2008 average salary increases of more than 15 percent. [Boston Globe]

The Facebook grave site [Chicago Tribune]

Take the Shot: The most vulnerable people and those in critical jobs should take the swine flu vaccine. [New York Times]

One mom’s rapid conversion to swine flu vaccine believer [USA Today]

Obama must stand firm on Honduras crisis: A U.S.-brokered deal to return ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to office is unraveling, and the Obama administration seems to be wavering. [LA Times]

Iran’s abuse goes on: The problem is not limited to Tehran’s illicit nuclear activities. [Washington Post]

The House Health Reform Bill: The bill unveiled Thursday would greatly expand coverage of the uninsured while reducing budget deficits. It deserves to be approved. [New York Times] 

Preferred option: Public option should be part of health care reform Crunch time is coming on health care reform. At ground zero is the hotly debated public option, a device backers say is necessary to offer competition with private health insurers. [Houston Chronicle]  

The Defining Moment: The health care legislation on the table isn’t perfect, but it’s as good as anyone could reasonably have expected. It is time for everyone to decide which side they’re on. [New York Times]

Reid’s desperate scheme: No one should be denied health care by virtue of their place of birth. [Washington Post]

Close Gitmo and give detainees their day in court: New legislation may make it easier for the Obama administration to keep its word and close the infamous detention center. Whether the detainees are to be tried in federal courts or military commissions would remain unresolved. [LA Times]

The Commander’s Duty Done: President Obama’s visit to Dover Air Force Base to pay tribute to the returning war dead was entirely appropriate as he faces the decision of what comes next in Afghanistan. [New York Times]

It’s Pakistan’s war too: As a car-bomb attack in Peshawar tragically demonstrates, Pakistanis and the U.S. have a common enemy in Islamist extremists. [LA Times]

Mrs. Clinton in Pakistan: To enlist Pakistan as a reliable ally, Washington and Islamabad leaders need to do a much better job of explaining themselves to the Pakistani people. [New York Times]

On the war’s front lines: Evidence from my trip to Afghanistan suggests Obama should send more troops. [Washington Post]

Development success in Afghanistan: We have seen real, measurable progress, says the president of the World Bank. [Washington Post]

Ethics probes may be least of Congress’ problems [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Women, if you’re happy and you know it … Feminism made me happy? Not, I assure you, in a permanent state of good cheer. It opened doors. It opened our eyes — to everything including what still needs to be done. [Boston Globe]  

Bashing Human Rights Watch: Devastating accusations by one of the group’s founder over criticisms of Israel are unfair, unfounded and dampen open discussion of solutions to Mideast violence. [LA Times]

Teaching the teachers: As aging baby boomers retire from the classroom, there should be plenty of newly trained teachers coming up to replace them. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Barriers to abortion rise [Boston Globe]

For stimulus, think cities: Metropolitan areas are the best places to spend federal money and spur growth. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Reality TV exposes parents exploiting kids: These days, Americans are quite familiar with the newest breed of disgraced celebrities: reality TV parents. From the unending tabloid drama of the Gosselin family to the bizarre chronicles of Nadya “Octomom” Suleman to the spectacle of Balloon Boy, never has more attention been lavished on such unabashed displays of bad parenting. [USA Today]

Don’t keep TV audiences in the dark: The risks associated with marketing drugs and other products in television storylines. [Washington Post]  

Swill or culture? Your choice: Groovin’ to ‘Monster Mash’ or listening to Bach’s cello suites [Chicago Tribune]

The Leo Frank case isn’t dead: The class warfare behind the story of his 1915 lynching keeps it tragically relevant. [LA Times]

Afterglow: NASA has detected a gamma-ray burst that is the oldest and most distant object discovered in our universe — an invitation for all of us to unfetter our imaginations. [New York Times]

Baseball’s long, long season: In the past, only war or terrorism has kept baseball’s world championship from being decided in October. Now we can add greedy networks and baseball owners to the list. [USA
Today]

Privacy and the Patriot Act: In the aftermath of 9/11, legislators cut legal corners to protect the nation. Congress should amend that now by revising certain expiring provisions of the law. [LA Times]  

Government helps keep consumers safe [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]  

Cheney: Whatever possessed him? The former vice president’s comments only help Obama politically — so much so that one wonders what’s inside Cheney’s head. [Boston Globe]  

Smoking out e-cigarettes: Forget industry protests; the FDA should be regulating the new product. [LA Times]  

The Cover-Up Continues: To ensure that the abuses of the Bush years are never repeated, the Obama administration should stop covering up the painful truths. [New York Times]  

The ticking time bomb on warming: The blur of details and fog of ideological attacks can obscure the truly essential in the current congressional debate about legislation to confront global warming while building a green economy: the stark need for immediate action. [Boston Globe]  

Trading in ‘cap and trade’: Focusing on specific industries rather than capping overall emissions work better for modernizing nations, although it may result in higher greenhouse gas levels in developed countries. [LA Times]  

Any malpractice reforms should put patients first [USA Today]  

After Reform Passes: If the Massachusetts experience is any guide, health care reform will have broad public support once it’s in place. [New York Times]  

Public plan danger: Will Obama allow Congress to use it as an excuse to dodge harder reforms? [Washington Post]  

Hospitals wage war against patient falls: The effort is laudable, as increasing public awareness of these events — and denying payment of related care in some cases — will help reduce them. [Boston Globe]  

Torching the Big Tent: The division of party support for a moderate Republican candidate says much about the Republicans’ glaring misunderstanding of American voters. [New York Times]  

Obama outs Fox, but reveals a big flaw [Chicago Tribune]  

Oklahoma vs. Women: A restraining order granted by an Oklahoma judge that blocks a new flanking maneuver on abortion from going into effect is a victory for reproductive freedom. [New York Times]  

‘Baby Einstein’ flunks the test [USA Today]  

As Baucus bill skimps, health reform suffers: Many young, healthy people will forego insurance and pay the penalty, leaving their families unprotected and depriving the insurance industry of the younger, healthier people it needs in order to accept those with preexisting conditions. It’s a flawed bill that needs to be improved on the Senate floor. [Boston Globe]

Insurers push back: Lawmakers will have to address the issues of policy affordability and penalties for not buying coverage. [LA Times]

Fix Baucus’ health reform Rx: Three big changes Democrats must make for the bill to work [New York Daily News]

Fight obesity by taxing calories: It’s time to fight back against the corn peddlers who are making our children fat. [USA Today]

When in doubt, move fast against terror suspects: The New York police are getting heat for arresting a prominent terrorism suspect before the FBI could unravel all the strands of his plot. But the evidence suggests the police were right to move quickly. [Boston Globe]

Ohio’s botched executions: Lethal injection proves, in several cases, to cross the line into cruel and unusual punishment. [LA Times]

That Promised Financial Reform: For lawmakers to deliver robust financial reform to protect the American public, they must resist the lobbying power of the banking industry. [New York Times]

Who’ll Curb Wall Street? The folks who keep the profits and give us the risk are winning a battle against reform. [Washington Post]

Keeping the aircraft carrier fleet afloat: Before recommending the Navy reduce the number of carriers, the Pentagon should consider the unique contributions they make to national security. [Boston Globe]

President Barack Obama has to decide whether gays and lesbians will be allowed to serve openly in the military. [Chicago Tribune]

Give them a break: Larger VA problems persist [Houston Chronicle]

A Clearer Look at Drilling: The Obama administration must further its promise to take a sensible approach to energy exploration by protecting the Arctic. [New York Times]

Petulance and Peace Prize [Chicago Tribune]

Are women unhappier? Don’t make me laugh: A study says women have become steadily more miserable since 1972, causing some to point a finger at feminism. But the research doesn’t pass the giggle test. [LA Times]

Enough With the Firsts: Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel in economics reminds us how many ceilings have yet to be cracked. [Washington Post]

One Protection for Prisoners: To shackle female prisoners while they give birth is barbaric and may be unconstitutional. [New York Times]

Why too thin isn’t ‘in’ [USA Today]

Author’s pen is mightier than China’s sword: Nurmuhemmet Yasin’s “The Wild Pigeon” is clearly a political allegory, a short story about dignity, integrity, and pride in the face of cultural and territorial erasure. Those who love stories and poems and plays and essays, should urge China to free him. [Boston Globe]

My mother and sister, prisoners of China’s Communist Party: The U.S. must put pressure on Beijing to end its brutal persecution of Falun Gong adherents. [LA Times]

That Karzai conundrum – We’re likely stuck with the Afghan president, but perhaps we can change his behavior: Sometime this week, we may learn who the president of Afghanistan is. Or we may not. Imagine: As President Obama wrestles with whether to send more troops to fight the Afghan Taliban, it’s still unclear whether the sitting president, Hamid Karzai, won the majority required to avoid a runoff. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Politics as religion in America: Conservatism has been converted into a religious belief, and now compromise doesn’t have a prayer. [LA Times]

The Wizard of Beck: There is no power behind the media curtain for talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. They claim to represent a hidden majority but, in fact, represent a mere niche. [New York Times]

A question of health and women’s equality: The question for Congress is still whether the ‘reform’ that is supposed to increase coverage will instead reduce it. Will women who now have coverage for abortion in their private plans end up losing it? [Boston Globe]

Who is looking out for women’s health? [USA Today]

How the Swiss reformed healthcare: The challenges were similar to those in the U.S., and the outcome appears favorable. [LA Times]

‘Bending the Curve’ on Health Costs: The small Annapolis regulatory agency that could. [Washington Post]

Green China: Chinese may be leaving their polluting ways behind. Is America up to the challenge? [Houston Chronicle]

Mission Not Accomplished: Unless the government does much more than is currently planned to help the economy recover, the job market will remain terrible for years to come. [New York Times]

May the GDP R.I.P.: The GDP doesn’t consider the effects of income inequality, just income growth or decline. Wars, crime, environmental degradation, even natural disasters can be counted as net positives for GDP because they stimulate economic growth. [Boston Globe]

Saturn’s ride: The ‘different’ car company deserved a better end than it is getting [Houston Chronicle]

Lessons from Saturn’s fall: If General Motors had a corporate theme song these days, it might be Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust. [USA Today]

Chevron’s shifty shifting of venue: The oil giant, facing a $27-billion damage claim in a pollution case brought by natives in Ecuador, shops the case to The Hague in a bid to escape liability. [LA Times]

One Way or Another: The message from Washington to major emitters of greenhouse gases in this country is increasingly clear that emissions are coming down. [New York Times]

The Klamath River lessons: Forget winner-take-all; everyone compromised on a water plan. [LA Times]

The Courts and Privacy: The Supreme Court may have to rule on just how free the majority is to impose its morality through the law. [New York Times]

Grounded by politics: The Air Force is asking for new bids on a $40 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers, and taxpayers can only hope the decision this time isn’t hijacked by political considerations. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Hollywood’s Shame: On Polanski, movie stars’ moral bankruptcy. [Washington Post]

That Nasty Little War: A report on last year’s war between Russia and Georgia is an anatomy of a post-Soviet mess that festered for too long — and could erupt again unless all sides show a lot more sense. [New York
Times]

Speechless [Chicago Tribune]

America’s maddening paranoia: Suspiciousness and conspiracy fears have been part of our politics for decades, but the attacks on Obama’s back-to-school speech are especially depressing. [LA Times]

Source: Boston Globe

Obama’s pep talk: Since when is a back-to-school speech urging the country’s children to work hard and get good grades fodder for a controversy? [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Stop Fussing Over Obama: The president’s speech urging kids to work hard set off a ridiculous protest. [Washington Post]

American zombies: How silly were the protests against Obama’s schools speech? This silly: [NY Daily News]

Mr. President, ignore the polls and pass health care reform [Atlanta
Journal-Constitution]

Obama needs the speech he just gave [LA Times]

Cheney’s Disdain For The Law Is Appalling [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Health care fear factor: Roughly one in six Americans lacks health insurance. Millions more could lose theirs in a flash. Costs are rising so fast that in a decade, premiums for a family policy will approach $25,000 a year. And yet time and again, the system proves impervious to reform, mostly for one reason: fear. [USA Today]

Less Spocky, More Rocky: President Obama is so wrapped up in his desire to be a different, more conciliatory, beer-summit kind of leader, he ignores some verities. [New York Times]

Keep ban on contributions: The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear a case with enormous implications on political campaigns: whether to overturn the ban on corporate money in federal elections. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Van Jones and the witch hunters [Chicago Tribune]

Green jobs: New messenger, same message: The work Van Jones was doing was important. Obama should find a replacement as committed to the goal of bringing green jobs to inner cities. [Boston Globe]

Sudan’s indecent misogyny: The arrest for indecency of a female journalist and UN official in Sudan because she wore pants puts a spotlight on human rights violations in a country that turns its courts over to religious authority. [Boston Globe]

The Crisis, a Year Later: Without full disclosure from the banks about how they are using their bailout dollars, it’s impossible to assess the plans’ efficacy. [New York Times]

Abortion Fear-Mongering: Misleading statements from the GOP do a disservice to a complex policy issue. [Washington Post]

How to restore consumer confidence: A cheap, simple and powerful solution for much of America’s consumer confidence problem rests in a consumer financial protection regulator. [Boston Globe]

Think you can hide? Think again [Chicago Tribune]

‘Freeze! Put your hands up!’ Oh, sorry: At home, watching TV — then an erroneous 911 call leads to a brief, tense encounter with the LAPD. [LA Times]

Shackled Democracy in Burma: The military regime’s planned election is a mockery, says a former political prisoner. [Washington Post]

‘Convincing Evidence of Fraud’: Afghan authorities should refrain from declaring a formal winner of the presidential election until the recount is finished and the Electoral Complaints Commission rules. [New York Times]