The Opinion Blog

Politicians Play on Fear

Thursday’s editorial points out leaders of an Illinois town that would gladly take prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, unlike S.C. politicians.

A tiny town in Illinois seems to have pulled the rug from under some S.C. politicians grandstanding to the point of demagoguing on the possibility of terrorism suspects being transferred to a military prison at the Naval Weapons Station Charleston.

Thomson is a village of 500 people in northwestern Illinois and the site of a nearly empty state prison, the Thomson Correctional Center. The village president (mayor), Jerry Hebeler, says moving prisoners from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be terrific news for his town. Why? Because having the terrorism suspects in Thomson Correctional Center would be an economic boon for his little neck of the woods. He's thinking about new jobs for corrections officers and other staff to run the facility and their salaries and the benefit to the town and surrounding area.

McCain's economic 'magic bullets' flop with voters

Ripped from the wires ... Veteran political commentator Jules Witcover notes that John McCain's bids for voter attention have cost him dearly:

By Jules Witcover

WASHINGTON -- As Wall Street has seen a freefall in stock prices over the last week, the tone of the presidential campaign has crashed along with it, to the further detriment of underdog John McCain.

His campaign was already showing signs of panic when, on the eve of his first debate with Barack Obama, he broke off campaigning and raced to Washington in a failed attempt to make himself the savior of the financial crisis.

Being the global economic hub is no longer fun

Ripped from the wires ... David Brooks explains how traders and economists sucked the humanity out of the global economic system until human behavior caused the system to sputter and crash:

By DAVID BROOKS

Every few years, the world seems to face a new testing time. After Sept. 11, leaders had to figure out how to respond to Islamic extremism. Now we face another test. Today, leaders around the world have to figure out how to stabilize economies amid volatile global capital flows.

Slavery didn't really end until the mid-20th century

Ripped from the wires ... Some of you have asked why some of our black friends don't feel fully integrated (socially, not just legally) into mainstream society. In this piece, Leonard Pitts provides a far better answer than I ever could:

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

This is how John Davis became a slave:

He was walking one evening from the train depot in Goodwater, Ala., when a white man appeared in the road. "Nigger,'' he demanded, "have you got any money?''
The white man, Robert Franklin, was a constable. He claimed Davis owed him. This was news to Davis.

"I don't owe you anything,'' he said.

Republicans should worry about themselves, not Obama

Ripped from the wires ... Maureen Down argues that Rovian tactics won't sink Barack Obama -- but might sink the GOP:

By MAUREEN DOWD

Karl Rove was impressed with Barack Obama when he first met him. But now he sees him as a "coolly arrogant'' elitist. This was Rove's take on Obama to Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club Monday, according to Christianne Klein of ABC News:

"Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.''

Actually, that sounds more like W.

Fear of terrorism makes us do stupid things

Ripped from the wires ... Remember conservative wild woman Michelle Malkin's scathing attack on Rachel Ray of the Food Network for wearing what Malkin called a kaffiyeh in a donut ad? It appeared last week on Opinion Blog. In this piece, columnist Leonard Pitts offers his rebuttal -- and more:

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

You've seen this gag in a hundred old cartoons: Cat turns to flee angry dog, steps on a rake instead, knocks himself silly. It's not sophisticated humor, but it is a visceral illustration of an abiding truth: panic can make you hurt yourself.

Some of us, I think, need reminding. Consider the case of Rachael Ray and the scarf that made people scream. Ray, of couse, is the preternaturally perky host of cooking shows on the Food Network -- and a spokeswoman for Dunkin' Donuts.