Letter: Consequences of strikes need more consideration
The United States should not get involved in Syria. Our president says he wants to "take a shot across Syria's bow" for its use of chemical weapons. The main motivation for that is for President Obama...
View ArticleLetter: U.S. actions against Syria will be inadequate
It looks like we are headed to the Middle East once again. President Obama announced his intent to intervene in Syria. Sure, our intentions might be noble, but our actions have historically been...
View ArticleNotable quotes
"President Obama hasn't been elected by the American people in order to be pleasant to Russia. And your humble servant hasn't been elected by the people of Russia to be pleasant to someone...
View ArticleCommentary: Albany's 2020 Vision
Monday is the first day of school in the City School District of Albany. In many ways, it also is the start of a new era.I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I know our entire...
View ArticleEditorial: Try a better tax solution
THE ISSUE:Talk of state tax cuts is in the air.THE STAKES:Why not truly change a system so many people hate? Once again, there's talk at the state Capitol about taxes. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
View ArticleJames M. McGrath, 1957-2013
This page will look mostly the way it always does next week, and the weeks after that. But in one way, it will never be the same. We lost one of our own on Wednesday. Jim McGrath, the Times Union's...
View ArticleCommentary: Overall, dress codes distract
Hey kids, what are you going to wear to school today?A miniskirt? How short? "Sagging" pants: Is that kosher? What about a do-rag? Fishnet tights? Or hoodies, tattoos, sweat pants, frayed jeans, an...
View ArticleViewpoint: No longer swearing by cursive writing
The following is from a Los Angeles Times editorial:For all the new things that schools will be called on to teach under the Common Core curriculum standards, it's a skill that has been omitted that...
View ArticleDowd: President in a battle — with himself
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize had been up late pleading for war.The president looked exhausted as he met the press in St. Petersburg on Friday. The man elected because of his magical powers of...
View ArticleFriedman: The difficult shift from Saddam to Jefferson
Say, did you see the news from Libya — the last country we bombed because its leader crossed a red line or was about to? Here's a dispatch from Libya in the Sept. 3 British newspaper, The...
View ArticleA rough ride on the rails
THE ISSUE:Railroads want to delay till 2020 a safety system that Congress mandated be in place in two years.THE STAKES:Avoidable train crashes, like the one in Fonda in June, will continue to happen...
View ArticleCharity isn't part of health care
Supposedly, the young and healthy feel that it is wrong for the government to force them to buy health insurance. Insurance is based on the idea that all buy it and those who need it use it. Without...
View ArticleFix what's wrong in classrooms
After a long and stressful year for teachers, administrators, parents and especially students preparing for the new elementary state exams, we finally have the results. State Education Commissioner...
View ArticleSafeguard our basic protections
Speaking on the ubiquitous threat of the National Security Agency in 1975, the late Democratic Sen. Frank Church was prophetic in proclaiming: "The National Security Agency's capability at any time...
View ArticleThe Internet's neutrality rules are worth preserving
The following is from a Los Angeles Times editorial:The battle over federal "net neutrality" rules resumes Monday when a federal appeals court takes up the challenge filed by one of the country's...
View ArticlePublic debate a good fiscal step
Albany is in a dangerous and worsening fiscal condition and no one's talking about it, said your correspondent two weeks ago.I was wrong.Not about the dangerous and worsening fiscal condition. But...
View ArticleMask policy gives people a choice
Should people working in the health care field be required to get vaccinated against the flu? New York has struggled with this question for the past few years. Recently, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a...
View ArticleOur war on drugs never ends
It made for a disturbing and unfortunate juxtaposition.The week that the U.S. government decided to essentially legalize the use of marijuana, four died from ingesting another drug, Molly, a variant...
View ArticleDumbing down of Republicans
On Saturday, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming delivered the weekly Republican address. He ignored Syria, presumably because his party is deeply conflicted on the issue (so am I). Instead, he demanded...
View ArticleAction, inaction is painful
After two weeks of furious debate about whether the United States should attack Syria, the arguments on both sides are now clear.Haven't been paying attention? Still undecided? Here are the most...
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