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NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (3+)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/opinion/27sun1.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

The Next Step on Health Reform

“Senators – especially self-styled moderates – will have to forswear the posturing that weakened and almost derailed their bill. It is time to put the public interest first, because there are valuable features in each bill that warrant inclusion in the final product.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/opinion/27lafolley.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

To Save the Planet, Save the Seas, by Dan Laffoley

“Ocean habitats, like forests, can help lessen climate change.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/opinion/27bios.html?ref=opinion

The Decade We Had (various)

“As the 2000s fade to memory, what moments and events will be remembered as the portents of America’s future? Op-Ed editors asked 10 noted writers to answer that question, one year at a time.”

 

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 27th, 2009 at 10:00 AM and filed under Economics, Environment, Health, History, Human Interest, Politics. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.

2 Responses to “NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (3+)”

  1. Ian Alterman said:

    I sent the following letter in response to the brief op-ed on 2001:

    To The Editor:

    I agree that the courage and selflessness shown by many New Yorkers – both first responders and ordinary civilians alike – in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the twin towers is worthy of high praise (Op-Ed, Dec. 27), not least because many are suffering the ultimate price: at least two first responders have died as a result of health problems directly connected to breathing the air at the site, and dozens of other people are currently in increasingly failing health for the same reason.

    However, the comment that “The government played a role, but primarily by maintaining a perimeter around the site, and resisting the urge to intervene” is incorrect.

    The entire World Trade Center complex was a crime scene, no less than the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. And the latter was treated as such: crime scene tape was immediately placed around the perimeter; civilians were not permitted on the site; and a months-long, in-depth investigation was carried out before any materials were removed. At the WTC, the government not only did not “resist the urge to intervene,” but pushed to have the site “urgently” cleaned up without regard to its status as a crime scene. As a result, the 9/11 Commission did not have “all the evidence” it needed to arrive at a fully informed conclusion regarding many aspects of the attacks. This was made clear by 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton in their book, Without Precedent, in which they state that the Commission was “set up to fail,” including being “stonewalled” by the White House and “lied to” by officials from the C.I.A., F.B.I., F.A.A., Pentagon and other government agencies.

    Since 2004, a variety of both local and national polls have shown that an increasing number of Americans do not believe that the investigation was thorough, and that there are still many, many unanswered questions. This includes survivors, family members, first responders, and a growing number of engineers, architects, scientists and well-respected members of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement communities.

    If there is a “portent of America’s future” here, it is that our government got away with stymieing a truly thorough, non-political, non-partisan investigation into the most heinous crime in U.S. history, and then “used” that crime to push through a radically conservative (and anti-civil liberties) agenda at home, and justify two wars abroad.

    Rev. Ian Alterman
    New York City

    Note: The writer is a member of Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth

    Posted on 27-Dec-09 at 10:48 am | Permalink
  2. Michael Butler said:

    Such dis-belief will continue until there is more transparency. So many government sponsored investigations are suspect that one has a problem believing anything from Washington. mb

    Posted on 27-Dec-09 at 11:49 am | Permalink

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