A Manifesto For the Next President
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1504.html
By David Ignatius
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A15
Zbigniew Brzezinski has written a new book that might be a foreign
policy manifesto for Barack Obama. Its message is that America can
recover from what Brzezinski calls the "catastrophic" mistakes of the
Bush administration, but only if the next president makes a clean
break from those policies and aligns the country with a world in
transformation.
The former national security adviser says he hasn't yet picked the
candidate who could deliver on his book's title of a " Second Chance"
for America to reverse its decline as a superpower. But by stressing
the need for a foreign policy makeover, his prescriptions seem tailor-
made for a certain junior senator from Illinois. In his every word and
gesture, the young, transracial Obama would say to an angry world:
Take a new look. I represent a country that is different from the one
you think you know.
Bigotry That Hurts Our Military
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1507.html
By Alan K. Simpson
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A15
As a lifelong Republican who served in the Army in Germany, I believe
it is critical that we review -- and overturn -- the ban on gay
service in the military. I voted for "don't ask, don't tell." But much
has changed since 1993.
My thinking shifted when I read that the military was firing
translators because they are gay. According to the Government
Accountability Office, more than 300 language experts have been fired
under "don't ask, don't tell," including more than 50 who are fluent
in Arabic. This when even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently
acknowledged the nation's "foreign language deficit" and how much our
government needs Farsi and Arabic speakers. Is there a "straight" way
to translate Arabic? Is there a "gay" Farsi? My God, we'd better start
talking sense before it is too late. We need every able-bodied, smart
patriot to help us win this war.
Time to Go, Mr. Gonzales
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1509.html
By Ruth Marcus
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A15
"I believe in accountability," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
proclaimed yesterday at a news conference that was a self-serving
masterpiece of passive voice and unpersuasive platitudes. "Like every
CEO of a major organization, I am responsible for what happens at the
Department of Justice. I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I
accept that responsibility. And my pledge to the American people is to
find out what went wrong here, to access accountability and to make
improvements so that the mistakes that occurred in this instance do
not occur again in the future."
Is there anyone left -- seriously, is there a Republican member of the
Senate Judiciary Committee -- who has confidence in Gonzales's
capacity to fix this mess? Is there anyone who accepts Gonzales's CEO
analogy -- and thinks that a sentient board of directors wouldn't have
fired him long ago?
The (Necessarily Messy) Way Out
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1505.html
By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A15
No one has ever described David Obey as phlegmatic. The Wisconsin
Democrat, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, combines long-
standing liberal passions with a keen sense for the deals that must be
cut to turn those passions into law. And on occasion, people who don't
share Obey's assessment of where, and whether, the deal should be cut
have been subjected to an Obey outburst.
Last week, as he was working to build support for amendments that
would impose a 2008 deadline on U.S. combat activities in Iraq, Obey
was accosted by Tina Richards, an antiwar activist and mother of a
Marine. With YouTube immortalizing the encounter, Richards asked Obey
why he was supporting the supplemental war appropriations bill to
which the amendments would be attached and why Congress couldn't just
defund the war and bring the troops home now.
A Well-Regulated Right to Bear Arms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1508.html
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A15
In striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban last week, a
federal appeals court raised the crucial constitutional question: What
should be the degree of judicial deference to government regulation of
firearms? The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit interpreted the Second Amendment as bestowing on individuals a
right to have guns. But even if this reasoning is accepted, and it is
very much disputed, the Court of Appeals still should have upheld the
law as being a reasonable way of achieving the government's legitimate
goal of decreasing gun violence.
There is a major debate among scholars and judges involving two
competing views of the Second Amendment. One approach, adopted by the
Supreme Court in 1939 and by most federal courts of appeals, sees the
Second Amendment as preventing Congress from regulating firearms in a
manner that would keep states from adequately protecting themselves.
A Story Unravels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1527.html
A hollow promise of 'accountability' in the firing of U.S. attorneys
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A14
"PREPARE TO Withstand Political Upheaval," the attorney general's now-
ousted chief of staff wrote in an e-mail to the White House as the
administration prepared to fire a number of U.S. attorneys last year.
About that, at least, D. Kyle Sampson was right. Attorney General
Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure in office has served only to deepen
our conviction that he should never have been confirmed, has dismissed
the firings as an "overblown personnel matter" and assured lawmakers
that "I would never, ever make a change in a U.S. attorney position
for political reasons." It's become clear, most recently and pointedly
with the release of e-mails between Mr. Sampson and former White House
counsel Harriet E. Miers, that Mr. Gonzales's assurances can't be
trusted. The stench of politics surrounding the firings grows daily:
from the original, harebrained idea of the hapless Ms. Miers to can
all 93 U.S. attorneys; to the involvement of the president's chief
political adviser, Karl Rove; to the improper intervention of
lawmakers and a senior congressional aide; to the misleading -- at
best -- accounts from Mr. Gonzales and other top Justice Department
officials.
The Right to Serve
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1526.html
Gen. Peter Pace denounces gays and lesbians who are busy defending
their country.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A14
GEN. PETER PACE, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, yesterday
refused to apologize for saying that homosexual acts are "immoral,"
explaining that he was expressing his "personal moral views." He's
entitled to his opinions, of course. But when it comes to shaping
public policy, he's obligated to reach a bit higher -- to consider
facts and evidence and the impact of his public expressions of
intolerance on the men and women he commands.
In response to a question on his views about the "don't ask, don't
tell" policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military,
but not as openly gay or lesbian, Gen. Pace told the Chicago Tribune
on Monday, "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are
immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe
the United States is well served by a policy that says it is okay to
be immoral in any way."
Gonzales: 'Mistakes Were Made'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
0776_pf.html
But Attorney General Defends Firings of Eight U.S. Attorneys
By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A01
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales took responsibility yesterday for
"mistakes" related to the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year but
rejected calls for his resignation from Democrats who accuse him of
misleading Congress.
"I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I accept that
responsibility," Gonzales said. He said he did not know the details of
the plan to fire the prosecutors, but he defended the dismissals: "I
stand by the decision, and I think it was a right decision."
Mortgage Report Rattles Markets
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
0505.html
Dow Down 2% On a Big Rise In Delinquencies
By David Cho and Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A01
A national survey showing that a soaring number of homeowners failed
to make their mortgage payments in the last quarter of 2006 rattled
lawmakers in Washington and the markets in New York yesterday, as the
Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 2 percent, or nearly 243
points.
The report, which sent every major stock market indicator tumbling
when it was released at noon, revealed that the problems in the market
for "subprime" mortgages -- loans made to home buyers with blemished
credit histories -- might be spilling over to the broader mortgage
industry, analysts said.
White House Finds Trouble Harder to Shrug Off
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1839.html
By Peter Baker and Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A01
MERIDA, Mexico, March 13 -- As President Bush toured ancient Mayan
ruins and exchanged toasts with the new Mexican president Tuesday, his
aides furiously worked the telephones back to Washington. Another
administration official was out, and the attorney general was
deflecting calls for his own ouster as well.
The cascade of controversies that followed Bush to Latin America has
left a president familiar with weathering crises in uncharted
territory. For the first time since taking office, Bush confronts
political furors on multiple fronts and an opposition Congress armed
with the subpoena power to investigate them.
Linking Ancient and Modern, A Worldwide Web of Worship
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1840_pf.html
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A01
TIRUCHIRAPALLI, India -- Balaji, a Hindu priest, stood before the
reclining god and offered a plate of coconut and bananas. His chest
bare and his face adorned with red and yellow sacred paste, he set the
food at the foot of a statue that Hindus regard as an embodiment of
the powerful god Vishnu.
Following ancient tradition deep inside one of India's oldest and
holiest temples, he chanted Vishnu's names 108 times to beseech
health, wealth and good fortune -- not for himself, but for an Indian
emigrant living in London who had purchased the prayer with her credit
card on a Hindu Web site.
'No Child' Target Is Called Out of Reach
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1781_pf.html
Goal of 100% Proficiency Debated as Congress Weighs Renewal
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A01
No Child Left Behind, the landmark federal education law, sets a lofty
standard: that all students tested in reading and math will reach
grade level by 2014. Even when the law was enacted five years ago,
almost no one believed that standard was realistic.
But now, as Congress begins to debate renewing the law, lawmakers and
education officials are confronting the reality of the approaching
deadline and the difficult political choice between sticking with the
vision of universal proficiency or backing away from it.
Seas Yield Surprising Catch of Unknown Genes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1738.html
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A01
It took some mighty fine nets, but scientists who spent two years
trawling the world's oceans for bacteria and viruses have completed
the most thorough census ever of marine microbial life, revealing an
astonishingly diverse and bizarre microscopic menagerie.
Countering a long-held assumption that ocean waters are not rich with
microbial life, the new report, released yesterday, reveals an
otherworldly world of organismal ferment, including thousands of novel
life forms that could help speed the development of new antibiotics
and alternative energy sources and clarify the ocean's role in climate
change.
The Grand Elusion
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1515.html
By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A02
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced the cameras for all of nine
minutes yesterday, but he managed to contradict himself at least four
times as he fought off calls to resign over the firing of U.S.
attorneys.
"Mistakes were made," he said in fluent scandalese, but "I think it
was the right decision."
Sharp Drop in Gays Discharged From Military Tied to War Need
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1174.html
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A03
The number of homosexuals discharged from the U.S. military under the
"don't ask, don't tell" policy dropped significantly in 2006,
according to Pentagon figures released yesterday -- continuing a sharp
decline since the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts began and leading
critics to charge that the military is retaining gay men and lesbians
because it needs them in a time of war.
According to preliminary Pentagon data, 612 homosexuals were
discharged in fiscal 2006, fewer than half the 1,227 discharged in
2001. On average, more than 1,000 service members were discharged each
year from 1997 to 2001 -- but in the past five years the average has
fallen below 730. The data were provided to The Washington Post in
response to a request.
Iraq Debate Will Test GOP Senators' Unity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1548_pf.html
Siding With Bush Instead of American Public on War Could Damage Party
at Polls
By Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A04
With the Senate poised for a showdown on Iraq today, Republicans along
the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill appear trapped between their
loyalty to President Bush and growing fears about the war's impact on
the party's political fortunes.
As Democrats have vigorously and sometimes angrily debated the war
among themselves, Republicans have marched in near lock step behind
Bush. GOP officials acknowledge that the paucity of dissent, in the
face of deep public discontent, could jeopardize their chances of
holding the White House and regaining majorities in the House and
Senate in 2008.
Senate Passes Bill Containing Proposals of 9/11 Panel
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1550.html
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A04
The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation yesterday to implement
many of the remaining reforms suggested by the Sept. 11 commission,
answering its three-year-old call for better emergency communications;
more money for cities at high risk of terrorist attacks; and tighter
security for air cargo, ports, chemical plants and rail systems.
In a sign of how far the politics of homeland security have shifted
since the Democrats seized Congress, senators voted 60 to 38 -- with
10 Republicans and no Democrats crossing ranks -- to force a fresh
national security confrontation with President Bush, who has
threatened to veto the bill over a provision to expand the labor
rights of 45,000 airport screeners.
The Vast Conspiracy Rides Again
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1549.html
By Chris Cillizza
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A04
The vast right-wing conspiracy that dogged her husband's presidency
remains alive and well, according to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Speaking to the National League of Cities yesterday, Clinton said the
2002 phone-jamming scandal in New Hampshire, in which two Republicans
pleaded guilty to seeking to block Democratic get-out-the-vote calls
on Election Day, was yet more evidence of a coordinated national
effort by GOPers to influence elections by any means necessary.
White House Cites Lax Voter-Fraud Investigations in U.S. Attorneys'
Firings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1725.html
By Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A06
White House officials, in providing new explanations of how and why
several U.S. attorneys were fired in December, have said that
President Bush mentioned to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in
October that he had heard complaints from Congress that some federal
prosecutors were lax in pursuing voter fraud.
In attributing the firings at least partly to an inattentiveness to
voter fraud, the White House is invoking a contention that has gained
prominence in Republican circles starting with the 2000 presidential
election, as both political parties have become aggressive in trying
to leverage election law into Election Day victories.
Black Caucus Seeks Federal Action on Cherokee Vote
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
2132.html
Associated Press
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A07
Black leaders in Congress asked the federal government yesterday to
weigh in on the legality of a vote by the Cherokee Nation earlier this
month to revoke citizenship from descendants of former tribal slaves.
Saying they were "shocked and outraged," more than two dozen members
of the Congressional Black Caucus signed a letter to the Interior
Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs questioning the "validity,
legality, as well as the morality" of the March 3 vote.
Maliki, Petraeus Visit Insurgent Hotbed in Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1724_pf.html
Premier's First Official Trip to Ramadi Urged by Top U.S. Commander in
Iraq
By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A09
RAMADI, Iraq, March 13 -- For months in this battered city, Sunni
Muslim militants took over mosques and used their loudspeakers to
broadcast propaganda. So a few weeks ago, U.S. soldiers went to the
local market, bought speakers and placed them on a tall, white tower
inside their base.
Then they began trying to woo the population with messages from the
mayor and local sheiks. The Americans spliced in verses from the
Koran, the Iraqi national anthem and the news, and even threw in the
latest European scores in soccer, a sport loved by most Iraqis.
Arrests Energize Zimbabwe Opposition
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1730.html
Leader of Fractured Movement Finds Stature Boosted Following Beating
By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A09
JOHANNESBURG, March 13 -- Two harrowing days in police custody have
left Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai with serious
physical injuries but also renewed standing as head of an anti-
government movement that is showing more energy than it has in years.
Tsvangirai's failure to mount protests after several tainted elections
had fueled criticism that he lacked the strategic savvy -- and perhaps
even the physical courage -- to lead a final push against President
Robert Mugabe. As recently as Friday, speaking before journalists in
Johannesburg, Tsvangirai played down the need for demonstrations,
saying: "Going in the streets is only one of the strategies. . . . A
struggle has various stages."
Iraq Intensifies Efforts to Expel Iranian Group
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1782_pf.html
Though Labeled Terrorist, MEK Has Updated U.S. on Tehran's Nuclear
Program
By Ernesto Londo=F1o and Saad al-Izzi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A10
BAGHDAD -- For three years, thousands of members of a militant group
dedicated to overthrowing Iran's theocracy have lived in a sprawling
compound north of Baghdad under the protection of the U.S. military.
American soldiers chauffeur top leaders of the group, known as the
Mujaheddin-e Khalq, or MEK, to and from their compound, where they
have hosted dozens of visitors in an energetic campaign to persuade
the State Department to stop designating the group as a terrorist
organization.
Sudan Backs Away From U.N. Plan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703130=
1837.html
Bashir Reneging on November Agreement; Sanctions, 'No-Fly' Zone
Possible
By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A12
UNITED NATIONS, March 13 -- Sudan's president has rejected the core
elements of a plan to send U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur to help protect
civilians from a government-backed campaign of violence.
The move set the stage for a renewed push by the United States and
Britain to impose U.N. sanctions on Sudan. Britain's U.N. ambassador,
Emyr Jones Parry, said Tuesday that he would introduce a draft
resolution to the Security Council as early as next week.
Politics, Pure and Cynical
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/opinion/14wed1.html
The firing of eight United States attorneys looks like a political
purge, and President Bush and his White House are in the thick of it.
The Right to Ban Arms
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/opinion/14wed2.html
A federal appeals court panel decision imperils needed gun controls in
jurisdictions around the country at a time when violent crime in many
places is once again on the rise.
When Warriors Come Limping Home
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/opinion/14wed3.html
President Bush has a clear responsibility to the nation's wounded
soldiers to fix a shamefully broken system.
The Purse Isn't Congress's Only Weapon
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/opinion/14dellinger.html
By WALTER DELLINGER and CHRISTOPHER SCHROEDER
Whatever limits there are on Congressional power to determine
particular tactical questions, decisions about the scope and goals of
military action are easily within its authority.
Pig Out
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/opinion/14niman.html
By NICOLETTE HAHN NIMAN
Because we ask the ultimate sacrifice of the animals we eat, it is
incumbent on us to ensure that they have decent lives.
Whaling: A Japanese Obsession With American Roots
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/asia/14whaling.html?ref=3Dworld&pag=
ewanted=3Dall
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
For Japan, whaling is intricately tied to the country's relations with
the West, especially the United States.
Answering Latin Left, Bush Pledges to Help Poor
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/americas/14latin.html?ref=3Dworld&p=
agewanted=3Dall
By JIM RUTENBERG and LARRY ROHTER
The president's Latin American tour represented an attempt to stave
off growing anti-American sentiment.
Bangladesh Military Government Holds 40 in Graft Sweep
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/asia/14bangla.html?ref=3Dworld&page=
wanted=3Dall
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
A widening corruption investigation opened by the new government has
resulted in the jailing of prominent public officials and business
figures.
Brazilian Government Invests in Culture of Hip-Hop
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/arts/music/14gil.html?ref=3Damericas&page=
wanted=3Dall
By LARRY ROHTER
Through small grants, Culture Points, the fruit of an official
government program, is helping to spread hip-hop culture across a vast
nation while tapping the creativity of the poor.
From Mexico Also, the Message to Bush Is Immigration
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/americas/14prexy.html?ref=3Damericas
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Mexico's president warned President Bush that the only way to stem
illegal migration and ensure regional security was to raise his
country's standard of living.
Ballyhoo of Broadway Shuffles Off to ... China
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/theater/14nede.html?ref=3Dasia
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
The Nederlanders, one of the big three Broadway theater owners, plan
to present and market tours and live entertainment in China.
Treasury Reportedly Set to Act to Free North Korean Money
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14bank.html?ref=3Dasia
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
American officials see the step by the Treasury as a crucial part of
the recent deal to disarm North Korea's nuclear program.
Scrutiny Increases for a Group Advocating for Muslims in U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14cair.html?ref=3Dus&pagewante=
d=3Dall
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
A debate rages in Washington about the financing and motives of the
Council on American- Islamic Relations.
Renewing a Call to Act Against Climate Change
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/science/14mckibben.html?ref=3Dus&pagewant=
ed=3Dall
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Bill McKibben, who was one of the first laymen to warn of global
warming, is now the philosopher-impresario of the program of climate-
change rallies called Step It Up.
Colorado Has Song in Its Heart, and Not Drugs on Its Mind
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/us/14song.html?ref=3Dus
By KIRK JOHNSON
State officials insist that the new state song is not about the high
you get from illegal drugs.
Texas House Rejects Order by Governor on Vaccines
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/us/14vaccine.html?ref=3Dus
By DAN FROSCH
State legislators moved to nullify an executive order that required
girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that
causes cervical cancer.
Top General Explains Remarks on Gays
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14pace.html?ref=3Dus
By THOM SHANKER
Gen. Peter Pace had said that he believed homosexual conduct was
immoral and akin to adultery.
Teenager's Science Project Wins $100,000 Scholarship
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/science/14science.html?ref=3Dus
By LAKIESHA R. CARR
Mary Masterman, a senior at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City,
won the top prize of a $100,000 scholarship in the Intel Science
Talent Search by building a spectrograph for $300.
At a Harlem Reunion, a Rancher From Missouri Meets His 'DNA Cousins'
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/arts/14reun.html?ref=3Dus&pagewanted=3Dall
By COREY KILGANNON
A genetic test brings about an unlikely pairing of two cousins - one
from a cattle ranch in the Midwest, the other from the stages and
church choirs of the Northeast.
Obama: Washington Has Its Own Fires
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/obama-washington-has-its-own-=
fires/
The Illinois Democrat praises the work of firefighters.
Clinton and Obama Court Jewish Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/us/14aipac.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By PATRICK HEALY
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is courting Jewish support by
supporting Israel while Senator Barack Obama is trying a more delicate
strategy.
Top Democrats Propose Expanding Health Insurance for Children
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14health.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By ROBERT PEAR
The bill will be the basis for House efforts to reshape the Children's
Health Insurance Program, which expires Sept. 30, and will be a
building block of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential
campaign platform.
Senator Edwards and the War
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/us/politics/14brfs-SENATOREDWAR_BRF.html?=
ref=3Dpolitics
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
As a senator, John Edwards was skeptical about voting for the Iraq war
resolution and advisers looking out for his future pushed him into it,
a memoir will say.
'Loyalty' to Bush and Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors' Firings, E-
Mail Shows
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14justice.html?ref=3Dwashingto=
n&pagewanted=3Dall
By DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC LIPTON
In judging which prosecutors to fire, the chief of staff to Attorney
General Alberto R. Gonzales factored in whether they "exhibited
loyalty to the president and attorney general," documents show.
Senate Passes Bill on Steps Advised by Sept. 11 Panel
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14homeland.html?ref=3Dwashingt=
on
By MICHAEL LUO
The bill faces the threat of a White House veto because it offers
expanded union rights to airport screeners.
Familiar Fallback for Officials: 'Mistakes Were Made'
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14mistakes.html?ref=3Dwashingt=
on
By JOHN M. BRODER
"Mistakes were made" sounds like a confession of error or even
contrition, but it is not quite either one.
Asian Stocks Plunge on Fears Over U.S. Economy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/business/worldbusiness/15asiacnd3.html?re=
f=3Dbusiness
By HEATHER TIMMONS and JULIA WERDIGIER
Most markets in Asia fell by between 2 and 3 percent today as Wall
Street fluctuates.
Decaf Being Joined by De-Heartburn
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/business/14coffee.html?ref=3Dbusiness
By ANDREW MARTIN
Folgers has opened a new flank in the coffee war: a "stomach friendly"
coffee for Americans who think they can no longer handle the hard
stuff.
A U.S. Alliance to Update the Light Bulb
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/business/14light.html?ref=3Dbusiness
By MATTHEW L. WALD
A coalition of industrialists, environmentalists and energy
specialists is banding together to try to eliminate the incandescent
light bulb in about 10 years.
Rediscovering America
Harold Evans
March 14, 2007 8:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/harold_evans/2007/03/harold_evans_1.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
March 31 2008: Reversing custom, Al Gore celebrated his 60th birthday
by giving presents to other people, in fact to everyone in the world.
He announced he would run again to be president of the United States.
Forces of good
Sasha Abramsky
March 14, 2007 8:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sasha_abramsky/2007/03/sasha_abramsky.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Cliches and remote possibilities aside, given current realities,
here's what I most hope for in 2007:
The health of a nation
Ian Williams
March 14, 2007 8:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_williams/2007/03/ian_williams.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Last year, because of a missed invoice, I was without health insurance
for a month. We hardly dared let the three-year-old out of the door.
After all, medical bills are the biggest cause of personal
bankruptcies in the US and most of them were people who lost their
insurance when their illness cost them their jobs. Health insurance in
the US almost invariably comes from employers.
Nothing but the truth
Michael Tomasky
March 14, 2007 7:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_tomasky/2007/03/michael_tomasky=
..html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Finally, the whole truth: by this time next year, I want to have
learned the whole truth about how we went to war in Iraq. The
importance of the recent conviction of Scooter Libby in Washington is
that it gave Democrats both the momentum and incentive to use their
majority control of Congress - and the subpoena power that comes with
it - to get people like Doug Feith, David Wurmser, John Hannah, Paul
Wolfowitz, and of course ***** Cheney up to the Hill to testify. There
is undoubtedly, somewhere in the catacombs of the presidential
bureaucracy, someone who knows something the rest of us don't.
Impeach Ahmadinejad
Hossein Derakhshan
March 14, 2007 7:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hossein_derakhshan/2007/03/impeach_ahma=
dinejad.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I hope that by this time next year Iran's incompetent president,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will have been impeached by the parliament and
replaced, at least, with a moderate conservative.
Drivers, take a hike
Paul MacInnes
March 14, 2007 7:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/paul_macinnes/2007/03/paul_mcinnes.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
In 12 months' time I would like to see a draconian system of road
pricing.
The kids aren't alright
Mary Riddell
March 14, 2007 6:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mary_riddell/2007/03/childrens_rights_h=
old_for_anni.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I would like to see the government get serious about children's
rights. That means developing a proper action plan to meet our
obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We
signed up to the charter 15 years ago and have failed ever since to
meet its terms. Compliance should not be difficult. Yet, in a
(moderately) halcyon age of human rights, ministers think it perverse
that children should be included.
Time to pay our dues
Jim Giles
March 14, 2007 6:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jim_giles/2007/03/jim_giles_1.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Carbon costs, but we don't pay for it. We need to be made to do so and
it would be fantastic if this could start to happen in the next year.
Make the break
Stephen Bates
March 14, 2007 6:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/stephen_bates/2007/03/one_year_on.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I would like to see the division of the worldwide Anglican communion.
Despite his prolonged and selfless efforts to keep it together over
the last few years, Archbishop Rowan Williams ought to fail, because
the communion has become irreconcilably divided over the issue of
homosexuality. It would be better for the two factions to move apart,
so that they can stop sniping at each other and start focusing on
other issues.
A new agreement
Martin Kettle
March 14, 2007 5:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/martin_kettle/2007/03/martin_kettle.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I would like to discover in spring 2008 that the German chancellor,
Angela Merkel, playing her rightful role as first among European
equals, had persuaded the new French president, the next British prime
minister and other EU leaders to sign up for a practical mini-treaty
on EU governance and that this mini-treaty had been briskly adopted by
European national parliaments without the need for any national
referendums.
Bird watching
Yvonne Roberts
March 14, 2007 5:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/yvonne_roberts/2007/03/yvonne_roberts.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Admittedly it can, at times, behave like a cross between Alien and an
Asbo veteran. It steals the food of other birds, destroys nests and
ejects the young - but a year from now, it would be good to have the
sparrow back.
Rest is better than a change
Daniel Davies
March 14, 2007 5:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/daniel_davies/2007/03/what_would_you_ch=
ange.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
No news would be great news.
Renew our rights
Shami Chakrabarti
March 14, 2007 4:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/shami_chakrabarti/2007/03/shami_chakrab=
arti.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Recent legislative hyperactivity has left us with a statute book
bursting with umpteen dangerously broad offences which, among other
things, have had a chilling impact on our right to free speech.
A multi-polar world
Dilip Hiro
March 14, 2007 4:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dilip_hiro/2007/03/dilip_hiro.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I would like to see a slow emergence of a multi-polar world. The
trends are already discernible. China is acquiring a military muscle
consummate with its economic might. With more than $1 trillion in its
foreign reserves, Beijing is poised to enter the international
financial markets with gusto.
An end to gender
Julie Bindel
March 14, 2007 4:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/julie_bindel/2007/03/julie_bindel.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Among some Guardian readers I am considered a man-hater. Nothing could
be further from the truth. I only despise men who abuse women and
children, or who allow that abuse to happen. I would not be a feminist
if I did not think men have the potential to grow up as decent, non-
violent individuals.
Give the spooks a pay rise
Crispin Black
March 14, 2007 3:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/crispin_black/2007/03/crispin_black.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
We should stop pretending that MI5 is like any other government
department. It is not. The security service is an elite but its people
are paid according to standard civil service pay scales. This works up
to a point for our overseas spooks in MI6 who enjoy the diplomatic
lifestyle and keep generous diplomatic allowances (full private school
fees, etc) even when they are based in the UK. MI5 has no such perks
and privileges.
Trust the people
Saira Khan
March 14, 2007 3:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/saira_khan/2007/03/saira_khan.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Democracy needs to catch up with 21st century Britain. In today's
world, transformed by social, economic and technological progress, we
make complex decisions over every aspect of our lives. Except one:
politics.
Drinks all round
Ben Hammersley
March 14, 2007 3:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ben_hammersley/2007/03/ben_hammersley.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
My wish is to see the reintroduction of cocktail hour. As a civilising
force, a meditation on the day and a reinvigoration of the soul, the
loss of the golden time before dinner has been a tragedy for all. It
is time to bring it back. The children need it.
A time to talk
Anne Karpf
March 14, 2007 2:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anne_karpf/2007/03/anne_karpf.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
A tantalising question, but I had no hesitation in nominating the
opening of genuine dialogue in the Middle East.
Green is the colour
Jackie Ashley
March 14, 2007 2:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/03/jackie_ashley.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
This year's colour is undoubtedly green and so the one thing I'd like
to see next year is the national political debate becoming even
brighter green. I'm delighted that at last the major politicians are
engaged in a "Who's greenest?" contest and hope they continue to egg
each other on.
A silenced songster
Tom Robinson
March 14, 2007 2:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/tom_robinson/2007/03/tom_robinson.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
The one thing I'd most like to see happen by this time next year? The
end of Blair's lunatic plan to renew Trid ... oh no, hold on - the
political heavyweights will all be covering that. Likewise Iraq, Aids,
fair trade, clean water, Israel/Palestine, US carbon emissions, UK
public transport, faith schools, prison overcrowding and the bloody
motoring lobby ...
Labour's dream ticket
Anna Coote
March 14, 2007 1:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anna_coote/2007/03/anna_coote.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Once in No 10 Gordon Brown reveals that he is not, as many feared, a
hapless giant, stripped of his potential by an agonising wait, but a
brilliant strategist with radical intent. Having appointed his newly-
elected deputy leader as party chairman, he makes David Miliband
deputy prime minister, forming a "dream ticket" for the next
election.
Painting the town
Marcel Berlins
March 14, 2007 1:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/marcel_berlins/2007/03/marcel_berlins.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Few sounds are as dispiriting as that of a busker singing out of tune;
few sights are as irritating as badly-sprayed graffiti. Obversely, a
vividly coloured and inventively drawn graffito lifts the visual
senses; a busker of mellifluous voice or instrumental virtuosity
heightens the spirit.
Disestablish the church
Theo Hobson
March 14, 2007 1:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/theo_hobson/2007/03/cif_anniversary_pie=
ce.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
I would like to see, within the coming year, the disestablishment of
the Church of England, and therefore the creation of an explicitly
secular state in which no religious organisation has official
political privileges. The removal of bishops from the House of Lords
will be a major step toward this, but there must also be legislation
ending the monarch's "supreme governorship" of the church. There are
countless lesser ties that will gradually be broken in consequence of
these two big ones.
Europhobes, take a bath
Denis MacShane
March 14, 2007 12:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/denis_macshane/2007/03/europhobes_take_=
a_bath.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
My wish for the next 12 months is that there will be agreement on a
new rule-book for Europe so that the Europhobes take a bath and leave
us in peace to try and make the next 50 years of Europe as successful
as the last half-century.
Bring back The Smiths
Tim Footman
March 14, 2007 12:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/tim_footman/2007/03/why_pamper_lifes_co=
mplexity_th.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Be careful what you wish for, said some smug smartarse. I know the
omens are not good. Blondie; The Police; Duran Duran; many of the
chart behemoths of my youth have reunited in recent years, most of
them with embarrassing results.
Put Blair in the dock
Frank Fisher
March 14, 2007 12:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/frank_fisher/2007/03/out_of_the_past_an=
niversary_pi.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Being asked what you'd like to see, 12 months hence, is the kind of
question Miss World contestants used to struggle with. World peace
used to be the standard reply, and y'know, funnily enough my
suggestion is similarly directed. I fall far short of Miss World
standards on every measure I can think of, and my anniversary wish
falls short too - not world peace, just a small step on the way. I'd
like to see Tony Blair in the dock.
Prepare for the post-oil era
AC Grayling
March 14, 2007 11:40 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ac_grayling/2007/03/by_this_time_next_y=
ear.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
From a long wish-list of practical ways to make the world a less
angry, troubled and polluted place, I choose this: by the spring of
2008 I'd like to see genuinely serious initiatives to end dependence
on fossil fuels.
Relegation - at last
Dave Hill
March 14, 2007 11:20 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dave_hill/2007/03/what_id_change.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Welcome to Fantasy Football News ...
Mothers: rise up!
Melissa Benn
March 14, 2007 11:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/melissa_benn/2007/03/melissa_benn.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
An end to the war in Iraq, obviously. And less obviously, the
beginning of some new movement, some gentle revolution among British
mothers, rather like the Moms Rising groups gathering force over in
the States.
Off with their heads
Agnes Poirier
March 14, 2007 10:40 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/agnes_poirier/2007/03/agnes_poirier.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Easy. It is not a global resolution on climate change, the end of the
Iraq war, the improvement of British public services, not even the
renaissance of France as the beacon of civilisation, no. The one thing
I would most like to see happen is the abolition of the British
monarchy.
Blasts from the past
John Harris
March 14, 2007 10:20 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_harris/2007/03/a_quick_note_for_re=
aders.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
A quick note for readers overseas, to start. Des Browne is the UK's
defence secretary. In the age of endless war and military overstretch,
he seems like the right man for the job: so grim-faced as to make John
Reid look like a children's balloon-modeller, and apparently prepared
to make topsy-turvy arguments with nary a flicker of unease.
Mobile madness
Brian Whitaker
March 14, 2007 10:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2007/03/mobile_madness.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Just because we happen to be sharing a train carriage, it doesn't mean
we all want to hear about the problems you're having with a router on
the office network and the time it's taking your IT department to get
it fixed.
A brush with the censor
M=E1irt=EDn =D3 Muilleoir
March 14, 2007 9:40 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mirtn_muilleoir/2007/03/mairtin_o_muill=
eoir_1.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
Let's show peace has taken root in Ireland by this time next year by
honouring those censored artists brave enough to stand up for peace
during the war.
A new age of radicalism
George Galloway
March 14, 2007 9:20 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/george_galloway/2007/03/george_galloway=
..html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
George Bush's "We Care" truncated tour of Latin America illustrates a
process I fervently hope intensifies over the coming year.
Break down the Euro-barriers
Jakob Illeborg
March 14, 2007 9:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jakob_illeborg/2007/03/better_european_=
coverage_and_u.html
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
We are not very good at learning from each other.
Take my job away
Seth Freedman
March 14, 2007 8:40 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/seth_freedman/2007/03/seth_freedman_1.h=
tml
QUESTION: What is the one thing you would most like to see happen by
this time next year?
This time next year, I want to be out of a job - free to kick back in
the sun, unconcerned with what to write about next, and when to submit
it to Comment is free.
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