Get a second opinion on latest statins recommendation
The following appeared in an editorial in the Los Angeles Times:According to two respected medical organizations, up to twice as many of us — nearly a third of all adults — should be taking statins to...
View ArticleLetter: Carbon tax would help environment
Professor Natalie Mahowald, who contributed to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, says, "We should focus on what potential solutions to climate change would improve our lives...
View ArticleLetter: Shield democracy from corporations
We all know that, in the scope of our western civilization, our form of American democracy is in its infancy. Currently, it seems to be evolving in a very sad and counterproductive direction. This...
View ArticleCommentary: Looking up down on the farm
Growing, processing and selling food has traditionally formed the foundation of all economies, and New York's is no different. The state's 30,000 farms generate over $5 billion in economic activity...
View ArticleEditorial: Student data has value
THE ISSUE:Some question New York's collection of vast amounts of data on schoolchildren.THE STAKES:Security concerns are legitimate, but such data can also help us understand and fix the problems in...
View ArticleKrauthammer: Making, breaking the laws
WashingtonFor all the gnashing of teeth over the lack of comity and civility in Washington, the real problem is not etiquette but the breakdown of constitutional norms.Such as the one just blown up in...
View ArticleA ban on polystyrene foam makes environmental sense
The following is from an editorial in The New York Times:Every year, New York City residents throw away about 20,000 tons of plastic foam containers or, worse, the peanut-shaped packaging filler that...
View ArticleEditorial: Health care's uphill road
THE ISSUE:The Obama administration says healthcare.gov is working now.THE STAKES:There's still a long way to go before America achieves the goal of universal health coverage. Much of the framework of...
View ArticleBrooks: Politics can't rule our lives
In an act of amazing public service, I have not written a column in three months. In the course of that time, I've stepped back from politics, a bit, and thought about other things. That naturally...
View ArticleSave state forestland from deer
New York's forests generate billions of dollars in economic value each year, from timber to tourism. They also generate billions more by providing clean drinking water, preventing flooding and...
View ArticleKeeping troops in Afghanistan doesn't make much sense
The following is from an editorial in the Seattle Times:If Afghan President Hamid Karzai is having second thoughts about a 10-year security pact with the United States, think how Americans feel. Doubt...
View ArticleEditorial: A referendum on reform
THE ISSUE:A commission report describes a political system that nurtures corruption.THE STAKES:It's not just a few bad apples; the basket they're tossed into encourages spoilage. A trade association...
View ArticleDowd: Mommy, the drone made a delivery
The novelty of flying cars never materialized. But flying novels are right around the corner.If you aren't nervous enough reading about 3-D printers spitting out handguns or Google robots with Android...
View ArticleReligious freedom is focus of the health care challenge
The following is from an editorial in The New York Times:More than a year after it upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has set the stage for a showdown over the...
View ArticleFirms not holier than thou
"Corporations are people, my friend," presidential candidate Mitt Romney famously declared during an Iowa State Fair visit in 2011 after a heckler challenged him to support raising corporate taxes....
View ArticleEditorial: Poor answers from EPA
THE ISSUE:Residents near the contaminated Dewey Loeffel dump again have been denied a fuller accounting of possible health effects.THE STAKES:Is peace of mind for a relative few really too much to ask...
View ArticleGraphic warnings on cigarettes packs could save lives
The following is from an editorial in The New York Times:A new study has suggested the Food and Drug Administration greatly underestimated how much graphic warning labels on cigarette packs reduced...
View ArticleObscure, crucial war hero
One reason the true stories of the Civil War are so compelling 150 years later is that they are mostly about ordinary people who rose to extraordinary heights. Ulysses S. Grant, for example, was a...
View ArticleFriedman: Two who can remake the Mideast
Could Bibi Netanyahu and Barack Obama share the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize?The thought sounds ludicrous, I know. The two do not like each other and have different views. But as much as they keep trying to...
View ArticleEditorial: No delay on rail safety
THE ISSUE:A deadly commuter train crash reminds us technology could lessen, even avert, such tragedy.THE STAKES:Lives hang in the balance as Congress considers allowing the railroad further delay. It...
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