No Substitute for Parental Responsibility- July 16, 2008 In response to the death of a baby in Herndon who was forgotten in a hot car for hours Metro, July 10, a July 12 letter suggested that vehicles should come equipped with a buzzer or some other warning device to indicate there is a child in the back seat.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502638.html?nav=r... Welcoming Refugees, Blocking Terrorists- July 16, 2008 The July 6 front-page article "Post-911 Dragnet Turns Up Surprises" correctly noted that the departments of Homeland Security and Defense have been cooperating to conduct background checks on Iraqis who have applied for refugee settlement in the United States. Unfortunately, the article misstated the results of that cooperation.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502641.html?nav=r... Truth-Telling on the Campaign Trail- July 16, 2008 Former senator Phil Gramm, a top economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was right on the money when he said that Americans have become a "nation of whiners" "Gramm Remark Adds to McCain's Difficulty Addressing the Economy," front page, July 11.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502639.html?nav=r... Old-Fashioned Bigotry- July 16, 2008 Regarding Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s July 11 op-ed about DNA pioneer James Watson, "Is He a Racist":http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502640.html?nav=r... Who Decides Whether We Go to War- July 15, 2008 Columnist David S. Broder seems a little confused about who has the authority to initiate a war "Fixing How We Go to War," op-ed, July 10. Call me crazy, but I've always thought the Constitution was fairly clear: Congress has the power to raise armies, regulate the military and declare war, while the president is responsible for commanding the armed forces.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402065.html?nav=r... The Ultimate Forest Predator- July 15, 2008 The story of random and senseless violence along the Appalachian Trail "Lonely, Dark and Deep," Style, July 8 and 9 struck home with me as a lifelong camper and hiker who has logged hundreds of miles on that beautiful trail.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402071.html?nav=r... The Redundant SAT- July 15, 2008 Laurence Bunin of the College Board inadvertently gave the game away in his letter defending the SAT "Why the SAT Matters -- and Flourishes," July 10. He wrote: "Recent data compiled by the College Board show that the SAT . . . is almost precisely as predictive of college success as are four full years of high school." In other words, the SAT is redundant with grades and useless. As long as you've got the high school record, you don't need the SAT.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402064.html?nav=r... The Toll of 'Hard Power'- July 15, 2008 Charles Krauthammer can contrive a "war is peace, freedom is slavery" Orwellian spin of the facts, but the Colombian military's liberation of Ingrid Betancourt and her fellow hostages relied far more on soft power than hard "How Hostages, and Nations, Get Liberated," op-ed, July 11.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402070.html?nav=r... Good Reason for a Guard- July 15, 2008 I have questioned why the presumptive presidential nominees needed around-the-clock Secret Service protection. Now I understand that such protection is necessary -- to thwart threats such as that of the Rev. Jesse Jackson "Rev. Jackson Apologizes to Obama; Crude Comment Disparaged Senator," news story, July 10.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402068.html?nav=r... Misreading Russia- July 15, 2008 In his July 8 op-ed, "Finding Common Ground with Russia," Henry A. Kissinger made two questionable points.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402069.html?nav=r... |