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    <title>Editorials for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
    <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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        <title>Editorials for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
        <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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    <description></description>
    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>Richmond Times-Dispatch</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights>Copyright 2009</dc:rights>
    <dc:date>2009-07-09T18:50:48-05:00</dc:date>

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          <title>The Greatest?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RFED09_20090708-175201/278798/</link>
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Last weekend Roger Federer won the men&#8217;s title at Wimbledon. His victory moved him past Pete Sampras in all-time wins in &#8220;grand slam&#8221; tournaments. Does that make him the greatest male tennis player ever? Maybe. Maybe not. For many years professionals could not play in the four tournaments composing the grand slam. The tourneys at Wimbledon and Forest Hills, for instance, were for amateurs only. When excellent competitors such as Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, and Ken Rosewall went pro, they no longer qualified for the grand slams. There is no telling how many slams certain players would have won if they had not turned professional, often during the peaks of their careers.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Anonymous Juries? No</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-JURY09_20090708-175003/278794/</link>
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Allowing judges in criminal trials to hide the identities of jurors in rare and specific cases, and for good cause&#8212;as authorized by legislation the General Assembly passed last year&#8212;makes sense on balance. From time to time, circumstances might warrant such an extraordinary step. But neither specific circumstances nor general principles can justify keeping jury-members&#8217; identities secret as a matter of routine.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Drop Dead?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DROP09_20090708-175003/278793/</link>
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In 1975, New York City careened toward municipal bankruptcy. Political officials and labor bosses not only asked for a federal bailout but demanded one. In October of that year, President Gerald Ford delivered a major speech in which he rejected the city&#8217;s pleas. A headline in The Daily News roared, &#8220;Ford to City: Drop Dead,&#8220; and entered newspaper lore. Although Ford would have been an underdog in New York during the 1976 election under any circumstances, the headline ensured his defeat there.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>What&#8217;s Your Number?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SSNS08_20090707-180204/278546/</link>
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Researchers using publicly available data have shown that it is possible to guess a person&#8217;s Social Security Number. Although federal officials are working to randomize the assigning of those numbers, the de facto ID code for most people was assigned according to a formula that includes geographic area and numerical sequence. Granted, the researchers at Carnegie Mellon had to do a lot of legwork&#8212;and even then, their success rate was less than stellar: They could identify all nine digits for less than 9 percent of the people born after 1988, in fewer than 1,000 tries. But for individuals born in smaller states, the researchers sometimes were able to guess the exact SSN in fewer than 10 tries.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>The Coup</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HOND08_20090707-180204/278544/</link>
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Manuel Zelaya admires Hugo Chavez. He intended to install in Honduras what Chavez has installed in Venezuela&#8212;the rule of the strong man, a jefe who manipulates institutions to expand and prolong his power while crushing dissent. Zelaya planned to hold a so-called plebiscite to allow him to extend his tenure as president. The Honduras supreme court ruled the vote (widely expected to be rigged) unconstitutional. Zelaya ignored the decision, whereupon the military arrested him and sent him packing&#8212;and installed the leader of the Honduran congress (a member of Zelaya&#8217;s party) in his stead. Elections will occur later this year as scheduled.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Checks, Balances</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-COUN08_20090707-180204/278541/</link>
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Military strategists are always in danger of fighting the last war. The same could hold true of constitutional strategists. FDR&#8217;s string of presidential victories encouraged Republican support of the 22nd Amendment&#8212;whose two-term limit fell first on the popular Dwight Eisenhower. Richmond therefore faced the peril of embracing changes to its charter most relevant to a situation no longer in effect: the mayoral administration of Doug Wilder. His tempestuous term roiled city government as he wrestled with the City Council and the School Board over issues great and small. It would have been easy for the city&#8217;s charter-review commission to let that experience so color its deliberations that it went overboard trying to correct the mistakes of the past.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Robert McNamara: Rest in Peace</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RMAC07_20090706-174403/278345/</link>
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Robert McNamara died yesterday; his obituaries belong to the realms of tragedy and heartbreaking farce. A promising life presided over great wrong. &#8220;How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!&#8220; &#8220;She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks.&#8220; &#8220;All her gates are desolate.&#8220; The Vietnam War either should not have been fought or was fought in a self-defeating way. As secretary of defense during the conflict&#8217;s escalating stages, McNamara bears direct personal responsibility for the consequences. The war opened great wounds. Time has not proved a balm.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:01:43 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Drunk Driving: Locked</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LAWS07_20090706-174403/278343/</link>
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Virginia&#8217;s new laws generally go into effect on July 1. This year&#8217;s crop includes a welcome strengthening of laws against drunk driving. Two new laws relate to ignition interlock&#8212;i.e., devices that block the key from starting the engine if the driver flunks an in-car breathalyzer test. One would require individuals convicted of DUI twice in 10 years to be subject to interlocks for at least six months. A second would stipulate that persons required to use interlocks but who later are found guilty of driving cars without them be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor, whose penalties could include loss of license.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:01:26 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Sarah Palin; Holy Cow</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PALIN07_20090706-174403/278344/</link>
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A June editorial regarding rumors that Sarah Palin would not run for re-election next year said that if the GOP&#8217;s 2008 vice presidential nominee had national ambitions, she best would promote them by winning re-election and governing effectively. To say she did not take our advice is to set a record for understatement. Her departure from Alaska&#8217;s governorship proved as dramatic as her introduction as John McCain&#8217;s running mate. If this marks a permanent withdrawal from electoral politics, then Palin&#8217;s career will have its own chapter in &#8220;Believe It or Not.&#8220; If it is a first step in a presidential run, then it rates as one of the greatest gambles ever. She may be a genius, or inept. Her competitors&#8212;Republican and Democrat alike&#8212;would blast her for walking away from a tough job, for betraying constituents who entrusted her with a four-year term. It is not as though she is leaving to join a presidential Cabinet or to accept a diplomatic position, either.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:01:20 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Guns: Shooting Straight</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GUNS06_20090705-165603/278184/</link>
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Today&#8217;s touch&#233; comes from a reader who raises a question about guns. The Virginia Citizens Defense League recently handed out stickers at the Richmond Coliseum prior to an appearance by talk-show sensation Glenn Beck; &#8220;Guns Save Lives,&#8220; the stickers read. Coliseum personnel asked the VCDLers to stop handing them out&#8212;an affront to the First Amendment if ever there was one.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:01:48 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>War on Drugs: Militarize the Border?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BORD06_20090705-165603/278182/</link>
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A turf fight has broken out in Washington between the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, and the secretary of defense, Robert Gates, over sending National Guard troops to help fight drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border. But if you think Gates is muscling in on DHS territory, think again. In fact, it&#8217;s Napolitano&#8212;a former governor of Arizona&#8212;who would like to see 1,500 troops sent to border areas to help fight drug smuggling. She has the support of governors in border states, such as California&#8217;s Arnold Schwarzenegger and Texas&#8217; Rick Perry. Gates disagrees, contending that the job properly lies with border-control and law-enforcement agencies and that such tasks fall outside the job description of America&#8217;s military forces.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:01:39 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Utilities: Smart Billing</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-STORM06_20090705-165603/278188/</link>
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A little more than a year ago, the Wilder administration and the City Council backed off a proposed stormwater fee to underwrite infrastructure projects, many of which the council killed off for financial reasons. This year the council decided it could put matters off no longer, and adopted a budget that included a stormwater fee. City residents have received brochures. In a few weeks, they&#8217;ll receive the bills, which typically will run in the neigbhorhood of $50 for the year. Businesses will have to shell out, too.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:01:05 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>On The Waterfront: Karl Malden</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-KARL06_20090705-165603/278185/</link>
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It isn&#8217;t just Brando. The &#8220;I could have been a contender&#8221; scene ranks among Hollywood&#8217;s finest, but there are many reasons &#8220;On the Waterfront&#8221; stakes a compelling claim to status as the greatest movie ever. In addition to Marlon Brando&#8217;s performance, the list includes the acting of Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee J. Cobb&#8212;plus the script by Budd Schulberg, the score by Leonard Bernstein, and the direction of Elia Kazan.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:01:02 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Runaway Reform</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HEAL05_20090703-201406/277891/</link>
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The nation is embroiled in a feverish debate about how to fix our health care system&#8212;and fix it now! Never mind that much of the system works well or that its weaknesses are largely the product of decades of well-intentioned but poorly conceived tax laws, insurance regulations, and government programs that have weakened both providers and patients. Never mind that the economics of health care have befuddled our best minds for years, or that the industry consumes at least one in six dollars spent in this country.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:01:44 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Oldest Profession: Don&#8217;t Stop</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PROS03_20090702-182004/277677/</link>
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As its reputation suggests, the world&#8217;s oldest profession figures to be with us for a while. Reports that arrests for prostitution in Central Virginia have not wiped out the practice do not surprise. The relatively steady incidence of arrests does not argue for relaxation of the law or its enforcement, either. Activity along certain notorious corridors would be far greater if police did not routinely patrol the areas and launch undercover operations. Enforcement makes a difference. Prostitution belongs to the category of vice that moves around. Some years ago, blocks on West Grace resembled New York&#8217;s infamous Minnesota Strip. They are quieter now. That the trade has moved elsewhere does not mean the sweeps should not have occurred. Residents and businesses are happy they did. (The Minnesota Strip has been cleaned up, too.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Sacred, Profane: Icons</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ICON03_20090702-182004/277676/</link>
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Obituaries identified Michael Jackson as an icon. Stories called a certain poster of Farrah Fawcett iconic. What is an icon, pray tell? In the popular sense, icon refers to just about everything a baby boomer liked during youth and arrested adolescence. The New York Times seemingly cites icons several hundred times a day. We have had iconic burgers, iconic commercials, iconic sodas, iconic movies, iconic cartoons, iconic television series, iconic songs, iconic jingles, and on and on.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Richmond Baseball: Scorecard</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BALL03_20090702-182004/277672/</link>
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You can&#8217;t tell the players without a scorecard? Heck, in Richmond you can&#8217;t tell the stadium proposals without one. An RT-D First appearing in yesterday&#8217;s editions reported that a property-owner is &#8220;pitching&#8221; Manchester as a site for a new ballpark. The area has visual appeal. Fans would be able to look across the James and see Richmond&#8217;s skyline, which is seen to its best advantage from the south.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Information Technologies: Investigate</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VITA02_20090701-180204/277377/</link>
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A definitive judgment regarding the state&#8217;s information technology program must await the completion of a thorough report. We have confidence in the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. When Lemuel Stewart was ousted as head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), we endorsed an investigation to clear the air. Stewart had raised questions regarding Northrop Grumman, the private company contracted to operate the state government&#8217;s information system. If the circumstances of Stewart&#8217;s departure did not necessarily flunk the smell test, then they did not necessarily pass it, either. A test is warranted.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Baseball Books: Two Homers</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BASE02_20090701-180204/277372/</link>
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The Braves play in Gwinnett, but this is no lament. A recent Times-Dispatch Public Square focused on a stadium in Shockoe Bottom. Today this space discusses baseball books. We endorse two new ones.   Michael D&#8217;Antonio&#8217;s Forever Blue relates &#8220;the true story of Walter O&#8217;Malley, baseball&#8217;s most controversial owner, and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles.&#8220; Revisionism is not limited to the histories of nations or to political biography. Forever Blue corrects the image of O&#8217;Malley as the villain who betrayed Brooklyn, the city&#8217;s most romanticized borough. Although O&#8217;Malley was not a victim by any means, he tried to stay but Robert Moses&#8212;New York&#8217;s controversial parks director&#8212;thwarted his plans.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Tweet Nothings</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TWEE01_20090630-181805/277216/</link>
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A lot of gushy talk has washed over the falls about the powerful effect of social media on the situation in Iran. Major cable networks&#8212;and millions of individuals&#8212;have followed developments there through the micro-blogging site Twitter. Certainly, no one should underestimate the value of Twitter and similar services. They are powerful tools, and their utility in the rapid dissemination of news reaffirms the oft-repeated statement that information wants to be free.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Public, Private</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRAV01_20090630-181805/277215/</link>
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Public officials have private lives. The public itself should respect that privacy. Private activities are not necessarily created equal, however. Attendance at a child&#8217;s spelling bee or soccer match is one thing. Attendance at a partisan fundraiser is another. Tim Kaine&#8217;s day job (governor of Virginia) and his night job (chairman of the Democratic National Committee) share a significant public component. The party chairmanship has implications for policy and for politics that would not exist if Kaine served as chairman of a Bugle Corps and Chowder Society. Kaine has said his duties as chairman create contacts with the potential to benefit the commonwealth&#8212;which means the job involves the state&#8217;s business, which means travels and meetings involving the DNC belong on the official schedule.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>New Haven Firefighters: Content Wins</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NEWH01_20090630-181805/277214/</link>
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The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, has sided with time-honored American values of merit and equal protection. The high-profile case, Ricci v. Destefano, involved New Haven firefighters who, after earning high scores on a promotion exam, saw the city throw out the results because of the color of their skin. Because only whites and Hispanics (and no blacks) scored high enough on the test to be promoted, the city opted for the politically correct route and refused to certify the results. While New Haven&#8217;s efforts to promote more diversity in its fire department were admirable, good intentions do not excuse the city&#8217;s blatantly race-based decision.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Sins of Emmission</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRADE30_20090629-191803/277059/</link>
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might or might not fancy herself an admirer of Thomas Jefferson, but she clearly does not share his belief that great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities. Despite strenuous efforts on behalf of a cause she fervently advocates, she could barely muster enough votes to ram through the Waxman-Markey energy bill&#8212;a 1,200-page leviathan of ludicrous complexity and scope.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Crime: Credit and Blame</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CRIME29_20090628-165403/276912/</link>
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One thing seems clear from the thrust of comments by public officials and others in a recent news article about a crime spike in Richmond: It&#8217;s not their fault. Blame lies squarely with the desperation arising out of hard economic times. Drugs and the economy are the problem. Maybe so. Still, that&#8217;s a different tune than you hear when crime is going down. Just a few months ago, one local law-enforcement leader boasted that &#8220;through a lot of regional cooperation and good police work we were able to keep . . . crime lower.&#8220; Last year, officials quoted in an article about the downward trend in city homicides cited tougher prosecutions, the mayor&#8217;s campaign against blight, and a willingness to testify among citizens who had grown weary of bloodshed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:01:53 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>The President: Mr. Modest</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MODESTY29_20090628-165403/276917/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
In the first six months of his presidency, President Obama has essentially nationalized two major American car companies, promised to revolutionize the energy sector, and launched the largest overhaul of health care in a generation or more. Arguing for his economic stimulus proposals earlier this year, the president warned that the failure to pass them could bring about economic catastrophe. Yet when he appeared before the American Medical Association the other day, Obama called those who aren&#8217;t quite ready to embrace his ideas for health care &#8220;fear-mongers&#8221; who use &#8220;fear tactics.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:01:43 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Hating the West &#45; No Joke</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-JOKE29_20090628-165403/276915/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
While watching CNN coverage of an anti-Ahmadinejad demonstration in Iran, we saw a protestor waving a poster whose message screamed, &#8220;Down With Britain.&#8220; While direct criticism of Ahmadinejad and the religious powers behind him might put a person at risk of prison or execution, blaming John Bull for Iran&#8217;s dubious elections seems something of a stretch.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:01:41 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Iran: A Start?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-IRAN29_20090628-165403/276914/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Iranian regime probably will survive; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad probably will remain president. But something big may have begun. The consequences might not grow apparent for many years. Analyses of international media suggest that newspapers and television stations in Islamic countries have not given massive coverage to Iran&#8217;s election and its aftermath. A story that has commanded space and time in the United States has received relatively little of either in the Arab press.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:01:13 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Side Effects</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SOLS28_20090626-215805/276634/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Side Effects Virginia legislators are understandably concerned about a recent, and now repudiated, proposal to do away with the history portion of the Standards of Learning for the third grade. (Earlier editorials discussed the particulars at length. Elswhere in today&#8217;s Commentary section we reprint a letter from former gov. George Allen on the subject.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:01:48 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Good Friends</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HUGO28_20090626-215805/276630/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
During an April meeting of leaders from various countries in the Americas, President Barack Obama warmly, and very visibly, shook the hand of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela&#8217;s supremo for life, or for as long as he wants to be. Chavez gave Obama a book of anti-U.S. rants. The White House cautioned the administration did not expect gestures such as handshakes to change Chavez&#8217;s hostile attitudes and behavior. Nevertheless, critics argued that the high-profile nature of the Obama-Chavez exchange elevated Chavez&#8217;s international image.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:01:41 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>RIGHTING A WRONG</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-JACK28_20090626-215805/276631/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Jack Johnson won the heavyweight championship in 1908, and promptly became not a hero but the most hated man in the United States. Johnson was an African-American, you see, and he had the temerity to defeat a white boxer in the land of self-evident truths and inalienable rights. His victory prompted race riots, as whites waded into black neighborhoods, attacking anyone who happened in their way. Many Americans associate race riots with visions of ghettos in flames. The first race rights featured whites falling upon blacks.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:01:19 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WKEND27_20090626-175602/276565/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
WEEK&#8217;S END  Will the last potential GOP contender for 2012 to commit adultery please turn out the lights?&nbsp; The fellow at the next desk quips that, at this rate, Sarah Palin will win the 2012 presidential nomination by default, because all the Republican men have girlfriends . . . .Unless, of course, it turns out that she does, too. On Thursday a bunch of folks&#8212;including some from Richmond&#8212;rallied in D.C. to demand government health care. Noticeably absent from news coverage of the event was the insinuation, frequently leveled at April&#8217;s Tax Day Tea Parties, that the whole supposedly grassroots shebang was mere agitprop whipped up by powerful interests in Washington.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Pet Fall Pratfall</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FALLS27_20090626-175602/276560/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Science: Pet Fall Pratfall This just in, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control: People trip over their pets. About 86,000 Americans go to the emergency room each year because their pets or their pets&#8217; paraphernalia caused them to fall down, the CDC reports. About a third of the falls cause a broken bone, a quarter cause bruising, and a fifth cause cuts.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>City Audits: Fiction and Fact</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-AUDIT27_20090626-175602/276558/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Here&#8217;s a headline we&#8217;d dearly love to see: &#8220;Auditor Praises City Operations; &#8216;Absolutely Flawless,&#8216; Review Concludes.&#8220; Unfortunately, ongoing scrutiny of Richmond governance continues to find much in need of redress. The latest audit, of the school system&#8217;s human resources and payroll operations, has produced dismaying but far-from-surprising results: overpayments, poor bookkeeping, goldbricking, and so on.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Rebirth</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PARK26_20090625-174402/276366/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The rains came. In 2006, Tropical Storm Ernesto pounded Central Virginia. Waters rose. Battery Park in North Richmond suffered extreme damage. An urban oasis was transformed into an eyesore that attracted snakes and rats. The neighborhood lost a source of recreation and pride. Yet despite its frustration with the restoration process, the community never stopped fighting for its cause.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Examples</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MEMS26_20090625-174402/276364/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Dick Cheney has signed a million-dollar contract to write his memoirs. The blogs are having fun. Bill Clinton wrote his memoirs. Hillary Clinton wrote her memoirs. Although George H.W. Bush has not written formal memoirs, he has written books about policy and his role in making it. Ronald Reagan wrote his memoirs. Jimmy Carter has written several books, some with a subject best described as himself. Richard Nixon wrote several memoirs, and rates as the finest presidential memoirist of the lot.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Economy: Post Hoc</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ECONOMY26_20090625-174402/276363/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s too soon for laymen to say whether that light at the end of the tunnel is daylight or an oncoming freight train. But at least some economists&#8212;including Richmond Fed chairman Jeffrey Lacker&#8212;are coming around to the view that the recession is easing. If the economy does bounce back quickly, look out. Washington is bound to take the credit&#8212;and to draw dangerous conclusions.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Governor&#8217;s Travels: Let&#8217;s See</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FOIA25_20090624-181005/276089/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Tim Kaine holds down two high-profile posts. He serves not only as governor of Virginia but as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. When he accepted President Obama&#8217;s invitation to head the DNC, Kaine said he would not let his second job interfere with his first. Jim Gilmore attempted a similar balancing act when he became chairman of the Republican National Committee while still in the governorship. His RNC gig ended unhappily.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Election 2012: Already</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEX25_20090624-181005/276088/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The next presidential election will not occur until 2012, but potential candidates already are committing consequential news. Republicans have lost two potential contenders, for instance. The admission of an affair dooms Nevada Sen. John Ensign. The news that he had been sweating around with an associate (who was the wife of an aide) broke soon after he had made one of those toe-dipping trips to a state with an early date on the nomination calendar. Support for Ensign in Nevada immediately collapsed. Although politicians have recovered from scandal before, Ensign&#8217;s career lies in ruins.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Voting Rights: A Conservative Ruling</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VOTE24_20090623-180404/275812/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling on a key component of the Voting Rights Act shows how judicial conservatism can redound to the benefit of political liberalism. The case concerned a challenge to an extension of the requirement that various states and localities submit election-law changes to the federal government for review. The requirement means, for instance, that any time a locality in Virginia wants to move a polling place, it has to ask permission first. &#8220;Preclearance,&#8220; as it is called, explains why Richmond&#8217;s switch to a strongmayor system did not adopt a simple majority vote, but rather demands that a candidate win a majority in five of the city&#8217;s nine councilmanic districts. At the time, it was thought that a citywide, at-large system would not win Justice Department approval.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Liberty Bells: Let Freedom Ring!</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BELL24_20090623-180404/275808/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Founders anticipated that their countrymen and their descendants could commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence with reverence and enthusiasm. The Fourth of July stands as the nation&#8217;s most important, and beloved, secular holiday. From time to time good citizens fear the Fourth might be losing its luster. In 1950, the secretary of the Treasury ordered that replicas of the Liberty Bell be cast and distributed to the states. The bell designated for Virginia followed a circuitous path before ending up at a Charlottesville firehouse, where it remains, a noble symbol of self-evident truths.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Extra Innings</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BALL24_20090623-180404/275807/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The process started while the Richmond Braves remained in town. Boosters would visit our offices to promote plans for a new baseball stadium. Architectural renderings would depict friendly confines in Shockoe Bottom. Everything looked and sounded so good, but the final questions never seemed to be answered. And the Braves left. Stadium talk persisted. Sites were proposed, and hooted down. A sports-entertainment complex along the Boulevard always seemed a natural. Eyes turned elsewhere. An ambitious project for the Bottom returned and received the most attention. Again, the drawings looked great. Yet despite impressive swings in the on-deck circle, backers never drove home the winning run. They failed to generate confidence. Yesterday they withdrew their development plans. They made the right call. By the way, Mayor Dwight Jones has managed the city&#8217;s role in this with the skills associated with Tony LaRussa.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>On the Roads</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ROAD23_20090622-175804/275442/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The days of the world&#8217;s longest washboard may be numbered. The Commonwealth Transportation Board recently voted to repave I-64 from I-95 to Parham Road, a stretch that has been a disgrace for many years. Repair work will complicate traffic, but the results will be worth the inconvenience. The repavement joins other welcome transportation projects in Central Virginia, which emerged from the latest allocation of highway funds in relatively good shape. The stress falls on &#8220;relatively,&#8220; as the recession and other factors have savaged the state&#8217;s overall transportation budget.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Thank You</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PERK23_20090622-175804/275441/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
What can we say of Baxter Perkinson? His many gifts and talents make him someone to admire&#8212;and perhaps to envy. Perkinson has built an acclaimed dental practice. As a dentist, he ranks among the best of the best. His peers hold him in great esteem. His philanthropy gives gladness to the world. And he paints. His watercolors not only decorate his offices but hang in the homes of collectors. The guy is good. If he took up conducting, he probably would end up leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Stand Tall</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-IRAN23_20090622-175804/275439/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union held summits. Presidents visited the USSR; commissars visited the United States. The two sides negotiated arms treaties and engaged in cultural exchanges. They also blistered each other in speeches. They waged ideological war. Throughout the struggle, the U.S. made clear its sympathies lay with dissidents. Various players debated the best way to promote those who challenged the nomenklatura from the inside, but few doubted where America stood.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Tobacco: Obama the Quitter?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SMOKE22_20090621-165802/275184/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
&#8220;Quitting smoking is easy,&#8220; goes an old joke. &#8220;I&#8217;ve done it hundreds of times.&#8220; So&#8212;perhaps&#8212;has President Obama, who recently congratulated Congress on passage of a tobacco regulation bill. Does Obama still smoke, despite campaign assurances he had quit? According to a news account the other day, &#8220;White House press secretary Robert Gibbs would not say . . . .&#8220; You can take that as a probable yes. If Obama did not, Gibbs would have answered the question.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:01:17 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Chesterfield: Growing Pains</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GROW22_20090621-170003/275187/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Leaders in Chesterfield have known for a long time that the county needs to adjust how it grows. To a greater extent than nearby localities, Chesterfield is a bedroom community. It has a higher than optimal ratio of residential-to-commercial development. That might sound like a snooze-inducing issue, but it matters a great deal. For one thing, it increases the demand for services and reduces the revenue to pay for them. In an effort to address that problem, the county has jacked up its proffers to $18,080 per home&#8212;the highest level in the region. Another problem, given the county&#8217;s size, is sprawl&#8212;with its attendant increase in infrastructure costs. The county has been noodling over that, too.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:01:08 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Human Rights In China: Defending Pelosi</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEI22_20090621-170003/275188/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Our editorial, &#8220;Ghosts,&#8220; discussed the 20th anniversary of the People&#8217;s Liberation Army&#8217;s crackdown in Tiananmen Square. We lamented a declining interest in human rights, and noted that while in China, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preferred to talk about climate change. Wei Jingshen is a hero of China&#8217;s Democracy Wall Movement and spent many years in Communist prisons. His Courage to Act Alone records his struggles. After The Wall Street Journal criticized Pelosi for not pressing human rights in China, Wei wrote in defense of the speaker. We believe our readers should see his letter, which appears here:           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:01:04 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>History Standards: To the Test</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TEST21_20090619-202603/274841/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Two Sundays ago we explained our opposition to dropping the third-grade history/social science test in the Standards of Learning program. Last week Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright withdrew the proposal. We welcome her decision. Influential legislators had expressed their reservations. Republican Del. Kirk Cox, a teacher, said the test should stay. Democratic Del. Kenneth Alexander, chairman of the black caucus, urged the Board of Education to keep the test. E.D. Hirsch, dean of the standards movement and champion of cultural literacy, joined the debate with a letter that said, &#8220;My view is that what is not tested is often not taught. If we want to be sure that civics is taught in the early grades, we emphatically need to test for historical and civic knowledge&#8212;even in the third grade.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Baseball&#8217;s Shame: Knuckleheads</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SOSA21_20090619-202603/274840/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
In 1998, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire chased Roger Maris&#8217; record for most home runs in a season. The duel rejuvenated Major League Baseball, which had been in decline since a strike had wounded the game. Sosa&#8217;s enthusiasm captivated fandom. When Sosa retired in 2007, he ranked sixth on the all-time homers list. The former Chicago Cub now joins a list of a different sort. The New York Times reports that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Energy: Drill, Baby</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GAS21_20090619-202603/274836/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
America&#8217;s supply of natural gas is considerably greater than commonly thought, thanks to advances in recovery technology that now allow for drilling in shale rock. The nation&#8217;s recoverable reserves stand at more than 2,000 trillion cubic feet. At current rates of consumption, that means the U.S. will not run out until roughly 2100&#8212;all other things being equal.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEKS20_20090619-182404/274816/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
WEEK&#8217;S END We applaud yesterday&#8217;s decision to withdraw a proposal to drop the third-grade SOL test in history and social science. An editorial in tomorrow&#8217;s Commentary will discuss the issue in depth.&nbsp; The Cavaliers did not take the crown, but the University of Virginia&#8217;s baseball team won cheers as it advanced to the College World Series.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>University of Virginia: A Farewell</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-UVAP20_20090619-182404/274815/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
In 1962, Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to cadets at the United States Military Academy. He opened, &#8220;As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, &#8216;Where are you bound for, General?&#8216; and when I replied, &#8216;West Point,&#8216; he remarked, &#8216;Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?&#8216;&#8220; We can envision a similar scene in which John Casteen leaves a Charlottesville hotel and tells the doorman he is on his way to the University of Virginia.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Covering the Flank</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TEDK19_20090618-182203/274612/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Progressives who have been dismayed by the Obama administration&#8217;s incrementalist approach to health care reform will be happy to know Ted Kennedy has their back. Kennedy hasn&#8217;t proposed the holy grail&#8212;a European-style single-payer system&#8212;but he has proposed the next-best thing: a program so sweeping that it would subsidize insurance for families making up to 500 percent of the poverty level; require insurers to pay out a certain percentage of their premium revenue; and establish a federal mandates board to draw up a set of essential benefits all health insurers must cover. The bill also expands Medicaid, creates a host of new bureaucracies, and creates a government plan to compete with the private sector, or what&#8217;s left of it.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Real Problem Is Simply That Americans Want to Be Coddled</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LEVINOP19_20090618-182203/274609/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Bart Hinkle wrote a well-reasoned column recently that laid out unfortunate commonalities between health care and education. He argued that spending has increased in both domains and that nationally there is no obvious relationship between the money invested and the quality of service. Further, he noted that both domains are getting more expensive for taxpayers. I can&#8217;t quarrel with his line of argument. However, he missed the elephant in the room, the most important commonality between health care and education&#8212;that we pay the greatest attention to the least important variables.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>What to Do?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-IRAN19_20090618-182203/274608/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Scenes of Iranian protests against the dubious re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad truly inspire. This takes real courage. Iran has not seen opposition demonstrations of this dimension since the Islamic Revolution brought down the Shah. As we said in an editorial following the election, the ayatollahs run the show. The New York Times reports that a power struggle could be occurring among the mullahs. The machinations are not easy for outsiders to fathom.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Golden Leaf</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FDAT19_20090618-182203/274606/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
After years of wrangling, tobacco is officially becoming an FDA-regulated industry. All in all, we believe the Food and Drug Administration&#8217;s new oversight will probably prove to be the year&#8217;s least injurious intrusion of federal power into private affairs. Cigarettes, after all, rank already among the most highly taxed and regulated products in the country. The new FDA role should remove some uncertainty from the business and could facilitate more honest communications about the relative risks of various types of tobacco products. It might even create modest public health benefits by opening the door for less dangerous ways to partake of the golden leaf&#8212;and by amplifying the well-known risks associated with all tobacco consumption. (Sunday&#8217;s Commentary section will feature columns from two tobacco companies with strong local ties&#8212;and different perspectives on the regulation bill.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>American Genius</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-EXTR18_20090617-175803/274361/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The late historian Daniel Boorstin identified a relative absence of ideology as the &#8220;genius&#8221; of America politics. Americans may be partisans, but they are not ideologues to the degree seen in Europe. In Virginia, for instance, the parties are center-right and center-left, not right-center or left-center. The center dominates. Damon Linker reiterates Boorstin&#8217;s point in The New Republic:           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Still at It</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HAMA18_20090617-175602/274359/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Jimmy Carter wants the U.S. to drop Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations. His persistent scolding of Israel suggests he would prefer that the Jewish state be added to it. The Camp David Accords, which provided the framework for the peace between Israel and Egypt, stand as Carter&#8217;s signal accomplishment in foreign policy. Carter shares credit for the happy outcome, but the negotiations between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat commenced in large part because of a Carter mistake. In Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East, Dennis Ross and David Makovsky explain:           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Civic Spirit</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ARTS18_20090617-175602/274357/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
We love baseball, and hope Central Virginia eventually resolves questions regarding a stadium. We also find much of the debate dispiriting, particularly the implication that the region&#8217;s image depends on the construction of a ballpark for a minor-league franchise. A stadium should not be seen as a leading indicator of cooperation and pride, either. The jousting regarding the stadium tempts Richmonders to forget the excellent institutions and events already here, as well as the cultural enhancements to come.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Rewriting History</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GIPP17_20090616-174804/274182/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
While surfing the radio dial recently, we happened upon a rant (we took our pick among about 30 rants, to be precise). The host railed against so-called moderate Republicans, whom he basically ran out of the party with good riddance. He explained that Ronald Reagan never compromised his conservative principles. Oh? Reagan certainly knew how to compromise, and he recognized that political compromises could promote philosophical principles. Throughout his career, he also did things that would draw censure from today&#8217;s purists. As governor of California, he raised taxes and signed legislation to institute the withholding of state income taxes, which he had promised never to do. He also signed a bill that legalized abortion before Roe v. Wade.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>We Love It</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BLOG17_20090616-174804/274181/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The other day The Nation&#8217;s Web site carried an item about Virginia&#8217;s Democratic primary. The writer explained that Creigh Deeds benefited hugely from bitter exchanges between Terry McAuliffe and Jim Moran. The legislator from Bath came off as the nice guy. Postings from readers proved enlightening. Several discussed Virginia politics, but after a while we detected increasingly bizarre references to topics as diverse as socialism in Muslim countries and Teapot Dome.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Clear the Air</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VITA17_20090616-174602/274179/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
There might be a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation as to why Lemuel Stewart Jr. was sacked from his position as head of the Virginia Information Technology Agency&#8212;mere hours after he questioned whether $2.3 billion IT contractor Northrop Grumman is meeting the terms of its contract&#8212;and replaced by Secretary of Techonology Len Pomata, who reportedly disputed Stewart&#8217;s take on Northrop Grumman. But it still looks fishy.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Good Grief</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DAVE17_20090616-174602/274175/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
At least Lenny Bruce could be funny. David Letterman&#8217;s infamous quip about one of Sarah Palin&#8217;s daughters was merely vulgar. To be more accurate, it reflected not only vulgarity but ignorance. Children are off-limits, as any person of discretion should know. Palin&#8217;s acceptance of Letterman&#8217;s apology had more grace than the apology&#8217;s delivery.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Iran: Hopes Dashed</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-IRAN16_20090615-191403/274029/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Hopes soared. NPR, for instance, aired reports of eager campaign crowds rooting for the election of Mir Hossein Mousavi as Iran&#8217;s new president. Mousavi rated as a relative moderate who promised reform and who enjoyed the support of the young. A Mousavi-led Iran presumably would be more open to the West and would allow for the liberation of social mores, particularly regarding women.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:01:17 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Campaign Rhetoric: Mud Pies</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MUDP16_20090615-191403/274030/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Mud Pies We have already noted that while the state&#8217;s gubernatorial contenders&#8212;Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell&#8212;are gentlemen who would run a clean campaign if it were up to them, other political actors aren&#8217;t so high-minded. Party leaders have wasted no time in proving the point. In his &#8220;Chairman&#8217;s Weekly Update,&#8220; Virginia GOP leader Pat Mullins recently said this: &#8220;Creigh Deeds, his Democrat supporters, and the liberal media are going to try and convince us that Deeds is a moderate. The truth is that over the past four years . . . Deeds has sharply veered to the left . . . .Rest assured he is not a moderate . . . .Deeds is just another liberal Democrat trying to hide in moderate clothing.&#8220; The chairman promised that &#8220;in the days ahead we will be fully discussing his voting record over the past four years and his sharp veer to the left . . . .&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:01:09 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>History Makers: Nominations</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HIST16_20090615-191403/274028/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
History does not just happen. Men and women make it. Even events that seem to result from chance enter history in large part because of the human response to them. Hurricane Katrina has become part of the national memory not just because it resembled a perfect storm but because of the preparation and the aftermath. Katrina symbolizes not nature&#8217;s fickle fury but collective and individual failure.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:35 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Seeds of Destruction</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PAY15_20090614-170403/273870/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Pay for executives, especially in the financial industry, that offered huge bonuses for high-risk strategies but little accountability when things turned sour was no doubt one of many causes of the current economic difficulties. To listen to some media reports, one might assume that greedy executives are the main reason the U.S. economy fell into recession. We&#8217;ll leave the simplistic, politicized explanations to others. And we&#8217;ll agree that companies that accept billions of dollars in federal largesse&#8212;General Motors, AIG, and Citigroup, among others&#8212;must accept unusual levels of government oversight as long as they&#8217;re on the dole.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:01:54 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Just Say No?</title>
          <link>http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/slideshows/opinion/20090615alter/index.html</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Can Republicans oppose the president&#8217;s health-care agenda without offering an alternative proposal of their own?
           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:01:50 EDT</pubDate>
<guid>http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/slideshows/opinion/20090615alter/index.html#When:04:01:50Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>Being There</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PALIN15_20090614-170403/273869/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Congressional Republicans recently held a wingding to raise money. Controversy preceded the festivities. Would Sarah Palin attend, or wouldn&#8217;t she? We confess to confusion regarding the circumstances and the timeline, but things appear to have gone something like this: Palin wanted to attend, was invited, said yes, but upon learning she would not have a formal speaking role, said no, whereupon sponors said pretty please, and she decided to go after all.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:01:24 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Judging Judges</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MASSEY15_20090614-170403/273868/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Donald Blankenship, the chairman of Richmond-based Massey Energy, probably did not intend to produce a Supreme Court case when he shelled out $3 million to help elect a judge. But that was the result. After Brent Benjamin was elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals with Blankenship&#8217;s help, he twice joined a 3-2 majority in overturning a $50 million judgment against Massey. A jury had awarded the money to the owner of a competing company who alleged Massey had used fradulent business practices to drive the company into oblivion. The company, Harman Mining, had asked Benjamin to recuse himself. He refused.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:59 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Holocaust Memorial &#45; Hallowed Ground</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HOLO14_20090612-204805/273539/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Only days after murder haunted a church in Wichita, shots rang out in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. A brave guard fell. The attack filled visitors and staff with terror. The alleged assailant was wounded, apprehended, and taken to a hospital for care. Reports describe the Washington gunman as a white supremacist. His behavior and the behavior of those like him disproves their point.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:01:52 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>ELECTION 2009 &#45; A Repeat?</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEX14_20090612-204805/273537/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Four years ago Bob McDonnell defeated Creigh Deeds in the race for attorney general. Almost 2 million Virginians cast ballots in the contest. Fewer than 400 votes separated the candidates. McDonnell can say he defeated Deeds once. Deeds can say he held McDonnell to a statistical tie. McDonnell can counter that he bucked Virginia&#8217;s movement from red to purple&#8212;and so on. The 2009 campaign once again finds McDonnell and Deeds on the ballot, this time on the gubernatorial line. Will Virginia see a repeat of the 2005 race between the two?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:01:45 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>ENERGY: Go Nukes</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NUKES13_20090612-203804/273525/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The energy proposal released by congressional Republicans the other day doesn&#8217;t have a snowball&#8217;s chance of passage. But that very fact has liberated the GOP from having to muddy the waters with compromise and horse-trading. Unlike the ridiculously complex and regulation-heavy Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, or the pie-in-the-sky fantasies of the Obama administration, the GOP proposal contains realistic, practical ideas for improving the nation&#8217;s production of energy. It would increase oil and gas production offshore, where vast reserves may lie. It would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling that would do no more harm than drilling has done in Prudhoe Bay. And&#8212;most important&#8212;it would spur the construction of a hundred new nuclear power plants over the next two decades.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:01:40 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEKS13_20090612-203804/273526/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
An item initially appearing on Wednesday&#8217;s TimesDispatch.com reported that officials had rushed to investigate a woman&#8217;s dead body found on Kensington Avenue. The first 15 or 16 postings from readers made snarky comments about whether the paper was right or wrong to identify the neighborhood as &#8220;West End.&#8220; A woman lay dead, and her fellow citizens responded with mindless chatter.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:01:03 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Road Blocks</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-POSTROADS00_20090611-184806/273287/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Democrats have nominated their statewide ticket, but a pre-primary Washington Post story about the candidates&#8217; stand on a transportation question in Northern Virginia will continue to have implications for the entire state. The issue involves congestion in general and I-66 in particular. Various proposals to ease traffic include widening the interstate that enters Washington from the west. Communities in Beltwayland seem split. Those lying farther afield support adding lanes; those lying within the Beltway tend to oppose such designs. Arlington vigorously rejects a new lane running through the county and into the District of Columbia. Arlington does not want to make commuting easier for the outer counties.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Good Night</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LENO12_20090611-184806/273286/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Jay Leno had a tough act to follow. Johnny Carson almost defined late-night television and served as host of &#8220;The Tonight Show&#8221; for 30 years. &#8220;He-e-e-re&#8217;s Johnny!&#8220; earned a place in the national conscience, as did Carson&#8217;s post-monologue golf swing. Leno succeeded Carson and recently left the show after 17 years. He had a good run. He will be moving to prime time, or so we hear. His late-night tenure ended without the fanfare accorded his predecessor for the simple reason that times have changed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
<guid>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LENO12_20090611-184806/273286/#When:04:01:00Z</guid>
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         <item>
          <title>EDUCATION: Unchartered</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CHARTER12_20090611-184806/273283/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Obama administration has a message for Virginia: If you want to be eligible for certain stimulus money, embrace charter schools. Education Secretary Arne Duncan didn&#8217;t single out the Old Dominion the other day when he said, &#8220;States that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top Fund.&#8220; And it&#8217;s not clear whether &#8220;artificial caps&#8221; refers to statutory funding ceilings, or merely to laws that impede charter schools from growing at their natural rate.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Mostess</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MOST11_20090610-180602/273018/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Upon the nomination of the GOP&#8217;s statewide ticket, Virginia Democrats denounced the slate as &#8220;the most divisive&#8221; ever. Certain conservatives labeled Sonia Sotomayor the most liberal jurist ever nominated to the Supreme Court. One blowhard called Sotomayor&#8217;s infamous reference to a &#8220;wise Latina woman&#8221; the most racist comment he had ever heard.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Gentlemen</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WRAP11_20090610-180402/273017/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Wow. We wish we had bet the mortgage on Creigh Deeds. The payout from his landslide win in the Democratic gubernatorial primary would have allowed us a sweet week in, say, Bermuda or perhaps even Moose Jaw. Deeds won for two essential reasons: He ran the superior campaign and he offered the most reasonable platform. Deeds finished first just about everywhere. He husbanded his resources until late in the race and did not squander a fortune on early, and futile, television buys. The frugality of his operation, dictated in part by circumstance, says something positive about his approach to government. Of the three candidates, Deeds stood closest to the center in a party that is center-left. His planks likely put him a little to the left in a state that is simply center, but during the contest he appeared less inclined to push the ideological buttons. Brian Moran doomed himself by lurching too far. Terry McAuliffe recalled all the worst aspects of the Clinton era. It may be that he never was the serious contender commentators, ourselves included, considered him to be.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Congratulations</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LOCALS11_20090610-180402/273015/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Central Virginia saw three significant local primaries. We congratulate the winners, and thank their competitors for the civic-mindedness most candidacies imply. As expected, C.T. Woody won the nomination to run as a Democrat for another term as Richmond&#8217;s sheriff. Woody cuts a commanding presence, and claimed a commanding victory over Antoinette Irving, a talented challenger who really had no chance against a civic institution.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Transportation: Movement</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRANSPO10_20090609-174403/272804/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
There seems to be movement on the transportation front (relax, this editorial includes no more groaners, or at least no intentional ones).   A recent transportation summit at Randolph-Macon, sponsored by the Greater Richmond Chamber, featured a keynote address in which Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman spoke of high-speed rail. He also cautioned that progress regarding passenger trains will come incrementally. Boardman is a man who loves trains; his enthusiasm generates confidence in Amtrak, a system that often suffers from a bum rap. The summit also included a presentation in which GRTC head John Lewis described plans for a centralized mass transit center in Shockoe Bottom.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Abortion Wars: Street Speech</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-STIFLING10_20090609-174403/272803/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Remember the &#8220;stifling of dissent&#8221;? During the Bush years, that was the term applied to any instance in which liberal speech was met by conservative reproach. Criticizing the administration was the highest form of patriotism, while criticizing the criticism was tantamount to censorship. Very little genuine censorship occurs in the U.S., thanks to the First Amendment. But there is the ever-present &#8220;chilling effect&#8221; to worry about. A new law in New York will provide an interesting test case.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Iran&#8217;s Election: Getting Rial</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-IRAN10_20090609-174403/272801/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
On Friday, Iran will hold a presidential election. Will voters grant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad four more years? Reports from the scene suggest Mir Mossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, has a chance. Although not a liberal in the Scandinavian sense, he represents the forces of reform. Iran&#8217;s economy is a mess. Mousavi&#8217;s more moderate image (he has criticized Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust) likely would elevate Iran&#8217;s international standing, thereby opening opportunities for investment and trade. Mousavi would govern with a lighter hand, too, although ultimate power in Iran rests not with the president and legislative bodies but with the grand ayatollah. The country remains an Islamic republic.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>States, Rights</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GUNS09_20090608-183806/272623/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Sonia Sotomayor and several conservative judges agree: The Heller decision recognizing an individual right to keep and bear arms does not apply to states and localities until the Supreme Court says it does. Conservatives traditionally have embraced such an approach. Sotomayor has taken flak from gun-rights advocates who object to a ruling she joined regarding a case concerning nunchaku, or martial-arts flails. The other day 7th Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook said much the same regarding Chicago&#8217;s ban on pistols. He was joined by Richard Posner, a jurist often liked by conservatives despite his curious view that the Constitution&#8217;s meaning depends on economic cost-benefit calculations.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Cleanup</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CLEAN09_20090608-183806/272622/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Anyone who has wandered the shores of the James probably has been dismayed by the amount of trash that lines its banks. Soda bottles, food wrappers, dirty socks and diapers, old tires, chunks of styrofoam, and less recognizable rubbish foul the water. This Saturday volunteers will spread out to pick up the mess others have left behind. The 10th annual James River Regional Cleanup takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If this year&#8217;s event is anything like those in years past, then it will fill hundreds of trash bags with small garbage and produce a mound of other human detritus too big to fit in bags, from sofa cushions to old computers.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>The Primary</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PRIMARY09_20090608-183602/272618/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Today Virginians will trickle to the polls. Democrats will nominate candidates for governor and lieutenant governor in a statewide contest. Both parties will nominate candidates for the House of Delegates in selected districts. Officials anticipate low turnout. Chesterfield does not expect to run out of ballots. The Times-Dispatch does not make endorsements in primaries except in those instances when nomination translates into certain election. Virginia enjoys robust two-party competition. The state&#8217;s transformation from red to purple and possibly to blue intensifies electoral conflict. Voters will be treated (or subjected) to a vigorous gubernatorial campaign in the fall.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Cheney, Progressive</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CHENEY08_20090607-165803/272459/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney don&#8217;t see eye to eye on much. And although the current occupant of the Oval Office has come around to Cheney&#8217;s viewpoint on certain subjects, such as extraordinary rendition, he still hasn&#8217;t caught up to Cheney&#8217;s progressive stance on gay marriage. The other day Cheney&#8212;whose youngest daughter is in a committed same-sex relationship&#8212;reiterated that stance. He said that &#8220;people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>As the World Turns</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BBALL_20090607-165803/272458/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Professional sports is like a soap opera for men. Individual characters come and go, but the roles remain the same. Plot lines vary, but never too much. Each season builds to a crescendo&#8212;then it all starts up again in a few months. The saga of baseball in Richmond is turning into a soap opera, too&#8212;full of fickleness and betrayal, on-again/off-again relationships, speculation and intrigue. The latest news says the owner of the Connecticut Defenders has asked permission to explore the possibility of moving the team to Richmond, after a group here failed to scrape up the dough to buy the club.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Ringing Words</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-OBAMA08_20090607-165601/272455/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
President Barack Obama rates as the finest presidential orator since Ronald Reagan. His body language invites. The pitch of his voice captivates. His expression warms. The Cairo speech was promoted as an event, and so it proved. Its intended audience included the Muslims of the world. Much of the wording sounded familiar. As Michael Crowley wrote for The New Republic: &#8220;Most of his main arguments have been made before&#8212;not just by Obama himself, but by his predecessor. &#8216;Today I&#8217;d like to speak directly to the people across the broader Middle East,&#8216; George W. Bush said at the United Nations on Sept. 16, 2006. Like Obama, Bush explained that the United States is not at war with Islam. Like Obama, Bush said that America respects the history and traditions of the Muslim world. Like Obama, Bush deplored the Sept. 11 attacks and vowed to fight the tiny minority of Islamic extremists. Bush also assured his audience that &#8216;freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed. It must be chosen&#8217;; Obama said that &#8216;no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.&#8216; Bush lamented the &#8216;daily humiliation of occupation&#8217; suffered by the Palestinians; Obama said the Palestinians &#8216;endure the daily humiliations . . . that come with occupation.&#8216; Bush assured Iran that he did not oppose their use of peaceful nuclear power; so did Obama.&#8220; Crowley also noted that Obama enjoys more credibility with the intended audience than did Bush. We believe both presidents meant what they said and that both gave worthy addresses.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Testing, Testing</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SOLS07_20090605-203406/272115/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia&#8217;s Standards of Learning for history and social science set national standards. The process leading to their adoption and implementation sparked contentious debate. Officials successfully managed the situation. The SOLs have become part of the fabric of education in Virginia. One purpose of the SOLs is to ensure that certain subject matter is taught. History occasionally falls victim to so-called hobby teaching, in which even the best of teachers stress their favorite topics at the expense of others. Thus, in a course on the Civil War and its aftermath, a devotee of Robert E. Lee might spend inordinate time on the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia, while slighting turning points in Tennessee and along the Mississippi. The practice is not nefarious; it just reflects human nature. The SOLs rose in part because of concerns that American students simply were not learning enough about the history and culture not only of their own country but of the world. Citizenship depends on shared knowledge.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:01:34 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Verdict</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VERDICT07_20090605-203406/272117/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
&#8220;The brutality and senselessness defy understanding,&#8220; we said of Tahliek Taliaferro&#8217;s killing last year. So, to many, did the verdict returned by the jury&#8212;involuntary manslaughter, despite the use of a firearm, which is not an involuntary act. The fact that the defendants were white and the victim black fed suspicions. If two black males had killed a white student, would they have received the same seeming leniency? Such concerns have prompted protests and an inquiry by the FBI.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:01:23 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>D&#45;DAY: Generations</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DDAY06_20090605-190803/272077/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Sixty-five years ago today the greatest armada ever filled the English Channel as ships and boats of all description carried the troops that would hit the beaches of Normandy. That day and for many days to come, uncommon courage became a common virtue. The dead buried in northern France inhabit sacred soil and live forever in the memories not only of their families and countrymen but of all those who love liberty.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:01:21 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEKS06_20090605-190803/272083/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
We recently learned from saverichmond.com that the authority responsible for the Triple-A stadium in Memphis has defaulted on its bonds. The item on the local blog sent us to the Web site of the Memphis newspaper, where we read of the financial difficulties of a ballpark often cited as a smashing success. The team and its stadium are up for sale, yet buyers are deterred not only by the economic environment but by the revenue shortfall. Despite drawing strong crowds, the stadium has not produced the predicted bounty.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:01:11 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>What a Gift</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SINGLE06_20090605-190803/272082/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Richmond rallied. When they learned of the burned playground at George Mason Elementary School, citizens began to ask how they could help. Every offer came from the heart. And how does the community thank W.E. Singleton? The local philanthropist called the Richmond schools with a pledge to cover the entire cost (about $70,000) of repairing the playground. He made the gift in honor of his mother, &#8220;Mrs. Recreation,&#8220; who spent her career with the city&#8217;s department of parks and recreation.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:01:07 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Voter Suppression: People Power</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TERRY05_20090604-185602/271832/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
People Power While stumping for GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell earlier this year, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a chuckling audience that it had two jobs: &#8220;One, get all those people who are going to vote for Bob out to the polls and vote. If they&#8217;re not going to vote for Bob, you have another job. Let the air out of their tires and do not let them out of their driveway on Election Day. Keep&#8217;em home. Do the Lord&#8217;s work, my friend . . . .&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:01:39 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Let Sisyphus Rest</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRIBES05_20090604-185602/271833/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia&#8217;s Indian tribes must feel like Sisyphus, the figure from Greek mythology who was eternally condemned to roll a boulder uphill only to see it roll down again. They have been pursuing federal recognition for years. At times they have come tantalizingly close, only to see the effort collapse in the end. This year might be different. The House of Representatives has passed legislation granting them the recognition they deserve. Virginia Sen. Jim Webb has introduced companion legislation in the Senate, where the effort stalled last year.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Golden Opportunity</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PLAY05_20090604-185602/271831/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
According to the &#8220;broken windows&#8221; theory of crime, broken windows, graffiti, trash-strewn lots, and their like invite crime. Dilapidation reflects social breakdown and cultural collapse. This community cannot take care of itself, the eyesores say. The landscape invites mischief. A charred playground is a broken window writ large. A fire, allegedly set by an arsonist, destroyed the playground at George Mason Elementary School. A place of innocence and joy now resembles a battlefield after the armies have left. As depicted in a photograph in yesterday&#8217;s           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>JUDICIAL SELECTION: To the Manner</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-KEENANO4_20090603-181003/271563/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Barbara Keenan must have been born in robes. The General Assembly appointed her to a judgeship on a General District Court before she turned 30. She subsequently served as a Circuit Court judge and on the Virginia Court of Appeals. She currently sits on the Virginia Supreme Court. On Tuesday, Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb recommended her for nomination to the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Her r&#233;sum&#233; suggests she is qualified for the post.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>Tiananmen Square: Ghosts</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CHINA04_20090603-181003/271561/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Twenty years ago the world watched transfixed. The People&#8217;s Liberation Army descended upon Tiananmen Square to crush pro-democracy demonstrators gathered there. Tension had been building for weeks, as Chinese from all classes and regions called not only for the capitalism as practiced by the Communist Party but for political freedom. They erected a Statue of Liberty to identify their cause. The tanks came.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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          <title>One Yardstick</title>
          <link>http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/EDSTANDARDS_20090602-180604/271376/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia is joining 45 other states and the District of Columbia in an effort to create unified standards of learning for the nation&#8217;s schoolchildren. The state-level effort likely grows out of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires states to make progress in student performance across the board. But states with more rigorous standards&#8212;such as Virginia&#8212;end up suffering in national comparisons. They get penalized for not clearing a high bar with the same speed at which other states clear lower ones. Uniform standards would help clarify which states are truly teaching the children&#8212;and, therefore, how best to do so.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:01:00 EDT</pubDate>
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