Commentary Poverty in America George Mason Univ. by Walter Williams

"Most middle class Americans, including black Americans, are no more than one, two or three generations out of poverty. How did they manage this feat; what's the secret for avoiding poverty? I think it's a no-brainer. Finish high school and take a job, any kind of a job. Today, but not when I graduated in 1954, if a person graduates from high school, with even a C average, there is a college or some kind of skills training program somewhere for him and often financial assistance to boot." (02/24/03)

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/03/povamerica.html

Commentary Clearing out the hacks at Boston Municipal Court Boston Herald by Howie Carr

"Hey, Mitt Romney, good luck getting rid of the Boston Municipal Court. The BMC is the Somerset Club for payroll patriots, the al-Qaeda of the hackerama. Get rid of the BMC? It's like Tony Blair getting rid of the House of Lords. It's like abolishing purgatory, or maybe limbo." (02/21/03)

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/carr02212003.htm

Commentary Gunslingers bring SASS to shooting Salt Lake Tribune by Skip Knowles

"The new firepower in the gun-rights movement may not come from zealots defending cop-killer bullets or assault rifles, but folks who like fake badges, curly mustaches and spaghetti-western aliases. Joan 'Arizona Rose' Bailey of South Jordan gets admiring looks from the gentlemen for her choice in late winter fashion: a dark purple velvet dress and black leather boots. Bailey is part of a growing cowboy-style shooting craze taking hold at gun shows across the country." (02/21/03)

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Feb/02202003/utah/31156.asp

Commentary Trasportation choice: politics vs morality Independence Institute by Dennis Polhill

"Government monopoly of transportation is failing. The sooner this failure is recognized, the sooner leaders can implement innovative systems to increase mobility, job growth, and commercial viability. Those who seek to diminish mobility, strive for the impossible and the undesirable. " (02/19/03)

http://www.i2i.org/Publications/Op-Eds/Transportation/transpols21903.htm

Commentary Chemical brothers Moscow Times by Chris Floyd

"Six million marched for peace last week, but the Bush Regime and the Blair Regency were unmoved by this outburst from the ignorant rabble. Instead, the righteous leaders of the 'Coalition of the Willing' (or COW) declared that no power on earth will halt their holy quest to rid the world of Saddam Hussein and his chemical weapons. Strange, then, to see one of COW's biggest bovines -- Pentagon warlord Donald "Squinty" Rumsfeld -- informing the dazed and docile rubber stamps of Congress of his intention to assault Iraq with, er, chemical weapons." (02/21/03)

http://www.tmtmetropolis.ru/stories/2003/02/21/120.html

Commentary Killing Amos King Counter Punch by Jeffrey St. Clair

"The case of Amos King encapsulates nearly everything that is wrong with the death penalty: he is a black man in a southern state accused of raping and killing a white woman; he is poor; he was represented by a shoddy lawyer appointed by the court; cops lied on the stand and manufactured evidence; the forensic analysis and autopsy were both botched; the judge kow-towed to the prosecution; the judge, the prosecutor, the public defender and the jury were all white; he is likely innocent of the crime." (02/21/03)

http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair02212003.html

News 'Boondocks' creator spares no one in IU speech
Hoosier Herald Times

"Aaron McGruder handed out equal-opportunity insults Thursday as the keynote speaker for Indiana University's Black History Month activities. Republicans, the 28-year-old cartoonist said, are power-hungry killers. Yes, literally. Democrats are losers. Punks. And the Green Party? They're so naive they ran a brainy, awkward nerd for president. He didn't spare the several hundred people who came to hear him speak, either. 'Americans have completely and totally lost control of their government,' he said, and they clapped. 'You're applauding as if that ain't your fault,' he added." (02/21/03)

http://www.hoosiertimes.com/stories/2003/02/21/news.030221_HT_A1_JLR05336.sto

News US military planes banned from Swiss airspace AP

"Switzerland banned U.S. military planes Friday from using its airspace unless they are on humanitarian missions or providing support for U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq. The decision, which came at a special meeting of the federal cabinet, further complicates U.S. flights between the Persian Gulf and U.S. air bases in Germany and Britain. Austria adopted a similar ban last week." (02/21/03)

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGADXXWEGCD.html

News Seniors face sharp hike in drug prices Boston Globe

"Faced with a $10 million budget cut, the state's model prescription drug program for seniors is about to double charges for its 65,000 low-income members -- and will probably be eliminated next year unless the state gets federal money to help pay for it .... The program has served as a model for other states because it is open to all seniors, regardless of income, although higher-income members pay higher fees." (02/21/03)

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/052/metro/Seniors_face_sharp_hike_in_drug_costs+.shtml

News Alleged robber attacks judge with pair of slippers Ananova

"A man appearing in court in India on a robbery charge has attacked the judge with a pair of slippers ... while the first slipper missed its intended target, the second one hit District Sessions Judge Bhagwan Sharda in the face." (02/22/03)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_753485.html

News Doctor told to use spoon in operation Australian

"Hospital managers gave a surgeon a dessert spoon to use in a hip replacement operation, prompting him to spend £150 ($405) of his own money to buy the proper instrument, a tribunal has heard. Dr Godfrey Charnley later quit his job and is suing the public agency that runs Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, south-western England, for allegedly forcing him out. The hospital says he threw the dessert spoon at a nurse and threatened to retaliate if the matter was investigated." (02/21/03)

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6017863%5E13762,00.html

News Burdick proposes legislation to strengthen gun control The Oregonian

" Facing uphill odds, the Legislature's leading gun-control advocate is proposing legislation to make gun owners responsible if their children use the weapons, outlaw handguns on school property and force law enforcement agencies to create a policy on gun storage." (02/20/03)

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/10457461479941.xml

Commentary Closer to a National ID plan? CNet by Declan McCullough


"A little-known company called EagleCheck is hoping to provide a standardized identity check technique that governments and corporations will use to verify that you are who you claim to be. EagleCheck, a privately held firm in Cleveland, proposes that whenever someone uses a driver's license or a passport for identity verification, the ID's authenticity will be checked through EagleCheck's network, which is tied to state motor vehicle and federal databases. The databases will respond by saying whether the ID is valid." (02/17/03)


http://news.com.com/2010-1071-984792.html


Commentary Terrorism not likely cause of laundromat fire The Onion by staff


"'We can say with a high degree of certainty that this fire was not masterminded by Osama bin Laden or any other such figure,' Ridge said. 'There were no intercepted communications between suspected terrorists regarding this laundromat, and no sign of chemical, biological, or radiological weapons was found after a thorough search of all washers, dryers, folding tables, and snack machines.'
Added Ridge: 'I would, however, urge the public to remain extra-vigilant in these times of heightened alert and be sure to report any unusual or suspicious activities they witness at laundromats or any other public place.'" (satire)(02/19/03)


http://www.theonion.com/onion3906/terrorism_not_likely.html


Commentary Bards not bombs: anti-war poets Village Voice by Joy Press


"When the White House canceled its 'Poetry and the American Voice' symposium for fear of anti-warmongering, a wave of activist energy shot through the poetry community. Sam Hamill, the poet (and Copper Canyon Press editor) who started the controversy by exhorting other invited poets to 'speak up for the conscience of our country,' immediately suggested a 'Day of Poetry Against the War.' At 1 p.m. on February 12, at the very moment the White House event should have taken place, writers across the U.S. read poems and spoke of opposition. (Hamill maintains a Web site: poetsagainstthewar.org, with updated lists of readings and poems.)" (02/19/03)


http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0308/press2.php


Commentary Is it so hard to believe? IFeminists by Nicki Fellenzer


"Historically, the actions of our government have been rife with totalitarian measures to secure cooperation and stifle public dissent for the actions of power-hungry would-be dictators. Why, then are we so shocked that our elected officials sailed through the PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act with relative ease?" (02/18/03)


http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2003/0218fell.html


Commentary When a jury should just say no San Francisco Chronicle by Judith Appel, Alexandra Cox


"Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction ... if exercising their judgment with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction the charge of the court is wrong. It is a long-standing precept that juries act as the collective 'conscience of the community' -- hearing the facts of a case and applying them to laws developed through the democratic process. Serving on a jury is a fundamental civic duty -- right up there with voting -- and as such sits at the heart of our democracy." (02/19/03)


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/19/ED209091.DTL


Commentary 'Gun Nuts' need to separate themselves from zealots Federal Observer by Mark and Tina Terry


"Aside from the clear wording of the Second Amendment, which says nothing whatsoever about hunting, but which does reference 'the security of a free state,' you obviously haven't grasped that guns of all kinds -- including the handguns you would like Big Brother to ban -- help stop literally millions of crimes per year in the United States." (02/19/03)


http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=5240

Commentary America: You can do your part! Village Voice by Mark Fiore

Ever wonder what you can do to help? Cartoon by Mark Fiore

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0308/fiore.php

Commentary Why the march was banned Village Voice by Wayne Barrett

"Mike Bloomberg was 61 years old on February 14, Valentine's Day. Maybe that's why he's often such a sweetheart. But in all his years, by his own account, he's never participated in a demonstration. Maybe that's why he was such a stinker on February 15. He allowed the NYPD, for the first time in modern history, to stop a massive march in its tracks. For a mayor whose openness changed the tenor of the town overnight, it was a perplexing miscalculation." (02/19/03)

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0308/barrett.php


Commentary Why the British Right should opppose the war on Iraq Liberty Forum by Randal

"Now is the time to stand back from support for the US project, while there may still be time to restrain it and promote the creation of a European rival. This means leaving NATO, and politely expelling all US military forces from our territory, just as it means resisting any further efforts to integrate Britain into a European state. We must stand neutral between the two and support the inviolability of national sovereignty at every opportunity, for the complete global victory of any state would be the end of Britain and a disaster for the world. " (02/18/03)

http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news_international&Number=452735#Post452735

Commentary Slow frying the taxpayer Laissez Faire Times by George F. Smith

"Not only is the relevant tax machinery entrenched, most taxpayers take withholding for granted and don't think to question it. But give withholding a year's holiday and see how many taxpayers like the bill they get." (02/19/03)

http://freedom.orlingrabbe.com/lfetimes/tax_slowfry.htm

Commentary What about uncivil liberties? Strike the Root by Tristan Petersen

"There are no forms of liberty. There is only liberty, or not. For to imply that one has 'civil' liberties implies that one has some liberties, but not others." (02/17/03)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/petersen/petersen1.html

Commentary Fanning the flames of fear Counter Punch by Michael Ladah

"While diplomacy and coalition-building is taking place at the highest levels of government, the prospect of war hangs in the balance and our government comes to the US public with talk of duct tape and plastic sheets. What they've really given us is smoke and mirrors, and as they prepare to pull a rabbit from their hat, we should all be on-guard and prepared to distinguish doublethink and newspeak from reality." (02/18/03)

http://www.counterpunch.org/ladah02182003.html

Commentary Godfather government, meet yer maker Independence Institute by Jon Caldara

"The city has a goal to make 10 percent of all the homes here 'permanently affordable,' their clever term for homes forced to be sold under market value. What they mean to say, in their own tribute to Orwellian doublespeak, is they have a goal of 10-percent subsidized homes .... But they are not spreading the cost among all of us equally through taxes. They're getting the subsidy from developers, a relatively small group that's easy to hate. The city is forcing developers to sell 20 percent of new homes at a discount with compensation." (02/16/03)

http://www.i2i.org/Caldara/camera/2003/021603.htm

Commentary Human Dignity and the Organ Supply The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity by Gregory Rutecki

"In 2001, 6400 people in need of a transplant died before an organ became available. It is clear that the supply side presents the 'rub' for organ transplantation. The proposed answers to the question of how to obtain more viable organs, appropriately called 'scarce non-renewable resources,' include several innovations that deserve significant reflection.: (02/11/03)

http://www.cbhd.org/resources/aps/rutecki_03-02-11.htm


Commentary What anarchism means to me Strike the Root by Cat Farmer

"Anarchism is my declaration of peace with you. It is a repudiation of the use of coercive power to achieve my own ends, or to abet the domination of any man by his fellows, or over his fellows. It is a renunciation of the use and support of structures that function to create discord and disparity among men and between nations, and peddle mayhem and mischief under the aegis of security and protection, and carnage as an acceptable cost -- not of survival, but of satiety." (02/14/03)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/farmer/farmer1.html

Commentary Colorizing terroristism Strike the Root by Joe Bommarito

"Note: The following memorandum was leaked to me by a prominent, highly-placed government official who, while he was sweeping up one night, found it crumpled up into a ball and tossed into a waste basket." (satire) (02/14/03)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/bommarito/bommarito2.html

Commentary Ernie, Bernie and me The Libertarian Enterprise by Jim Lesczynski

"How did the ultra-liberal New York City politicians and media turn squirt guns into a racial issue, you ask? First you have to understand that a New York City politician will call a ham sandwich racist, if there's a chance it will result in an extra vote. In this particular instance, the politicians and media collaborated to create a pernicious, cynical myth that was the rationalization for the toy gun ban." (02/17/03)

http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/libe211-20030217-03.html

Commentary Speak out Counter Punch by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"And a vast paranoia sweeps across the land
And America turns the attack on its Twin Towers
Into the beginning of the Third World War
The war with the Third World
And the terrorists in Washington
Are drafting all the young men
And no one speaks ..."
(poem) (02/15/03)

http://www.counterpunch.org/ferlinghetti02152003.html

Commentary Don't worry, the government is in charge Las Vegas Review Journal by Vin Suprynowicz

"Does anyone notice a particular, common household tool not mentioned in the above list -- the one tool they're going to need if Americans finally wise up and do start 'taking some personal responsibility for protecting themselves'? Are Gov. Ridge and the other 'ranking officials at the Department of Homeland Security' saying we ought to carry our guns and ammo with us into these 'safe rooms'?" (02/16/03)

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Feb-16-Sun-2003/opinion/20691796.html