Blowback archive

In its April 23 editorial, “A college bargain for Californians,” The Times ponders what the state might do with “an extra billion dollars a year.”

In his April 8 Op-Ed article on the individual mandate, the aspect of the federal healthcare reform law that requires everyone to have coverage, William Voegeli advances a false dichotomy.

The Times’ April 3 article “Mayor Villaraigosa defends L.A. anti-gang program” mischaracterizes the findings of a study last year by the Urban Institute.

Art Kellermann, a doctor and a vice president at Rand Health, a division of the Rand Corp., responds to Christopher J.

A bill to tax plastic bags in California could end recycling programs that have seen great success lately.

Far more pressing to American servicemen and women are the rhetorical manipulations used by our leaders to justify going to war.

The Southern California congresswoman says a recent Times article mischaracterized her record.

The progressive radio station is committed to democracy and inclusiveness, both in its programming and management.

The Palestinian Authority canceled a ceremony for Dalal Mughrabi, yet in 2006, Israelis honored the terrorists who killed 92 people in the 1948 King David Hotel bombing.

The nontraditional public schools give poor families the educational choices once reserved to wealthier students.

Empowering parents, giving administrators more control over teacher assignments and other reform proposals sound good. But when teachers ask for details, they usually come away empty.

An electronics problem isn’t to blame for the sudden acceleration, say the carmaker’s engineers. That’s nearly impossible to conclusively determine through laboratory tests.

One in eight American children lives in California, where the budget crisis has already hit public schools hard and resulted in teacher layoffs.

The Brady Campaign is asking the chain to prioritize customer and employee safety, not take a position in America’s gun debate.

The focus should be on developing intra-urban rail networks, not connecting far-flung regions of the state.

Its recent editorial critical of increasing fines on cellphone scofflaw motorists ignores the gains in safety on California’s roads.

The disproportionate backlash against students who disrupted a speech by the Israeli ambassador could have a chilling effect on free expression at UC Irvine.

Columnist Tim Rutten implores L.A. firefighters -- and city residents, as a consequence -- to make sacrifices, as if they haven’t already accepted deep cuts.

Palestinians in Israel have protested the piecemeal destruction of Jerusalem’s Mamilla Cemetery over the decades. It’s just that their complaints have fallen upon deaf ears.

Failure to divert available funds to avoid layoffs and closures would have catastrophic effects on our economy.

A recent Times headline misleadingly said that county child welfare officials will abandon their focus on preserving families.

A former theater company director says the city did almost nothing to keep her group afloat before it shut down in 2003.

Handing over L.A. schools to outside operators will turn out to be yet another failed attempt at reform. Expanding vocational education holds more promise.

Taxing and regulating has worked with cigarettes and alcohol. Why not try it with marijuana?

Sorry, Los Angeles, but New York just isn’t that into you.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s plan for managing the American mustang population repeats past failures.

Legalizing and taxing marijuana, as a state bill would do, is smart policy -- and there’s little Washington can do to stop us.

The Senate majority leader’s comments about Obama’s race reflect some truth about white Americans’ relationship with African Americans.

Only after multiple assaults was the motorist in the Mandeville Canyon incident finally punished. It should never have gone that far.

Capping executive pay is impractical. A new ‘excessive compensation’ tax bracket -- with the highest rate around 90% -- is the best solution.

In defense of religious and spiritual diversity in America.

The government’s limit on long taxi times and dismissal of industry concerns show how little it understands about the airline business.

A U.S. representative who accused Tehran of sponsoring terrorism has a track record of supporting terrorists herself.

A recent Times Op-Ed article got it wrong: The Fourth Geneva convention explicitly prohibits colonizing occupied territories.

They face multiple layers of accountability that put them on equal footing with normal school districts.

The South American nation should not be rewarded for demonstrating its hostility to U.S. interests and the rule of law, says a Chevron official.

Both sides of the debate stifle constructive action on safety by arguing only the extremes, writes a former gun lobbyist.

Comparing humans’ sexual behavior to that of animals ignores the fact that we are an extraordinary species.

A Times editorial perpetuates the myths that nuclear power plants are uniquely dangerous and too cost-prohibitive to build.

The Times and state regulators perpetuate the myth that fish populations off Southern California’s coast are dangerously low.

The important question is what community stakeholders will do for residents once they claim a neighborhood.

A recent Times Op-Ed article wrongly says violent extremism is rooted mostly in a ‘perverted political ideology.’

A Times Op-Ed article wrongly characterizes the mayor’s first term as merely upping the ante on his predecessor’s agenda.

California may well need one, but two voter initiatives proposed by Repair California raise several legal questions that must be considered.

A Times story on the victim’s testimony uses the kind of language that absolves the self-exiled film director of his real crime.

The Department of Public Health director defends the county’s H1N1 inoculation program, which The Times criticized for neglecting schools.

Allowing Turkey to continue its denial of the 1915-1918 genocide is too high a price for Armenia to pay for normalized relations.

The U.S. must put pressure on Beijing to end its brutal persecution of Falun Gong adherents.

Metrolink safety is a problem, but the deeper issue is Southern California’s hodgepodge of agencies that do not coordinate with each other.

Students and staff are asked to sacrifice more while the university system’s top earners continue to receive pay raises.

The county’s Department of Children and Family Services has plenty of problems, but removing too many kids from their homes isn’t one of them.

Southern California Edison’s CEO says the proposal has merit but would require a massive investment over too short a period of time.

Enforcement of marijuana laws disproportionately affects young African Americans -- even though their usage rates are lower than whites’.

Merging the state Senate and Assembly would make it easier for legislators to fly under the radar and pass bad bills.

The Supreme Court’s sweeping 1973 decision on abortion turned nonpolitical evangelicals into a powerful anti-government force that could kill healthcare reform.

Focusing on a few gun-toting protesters allows supporters of Obama’s plan to dodge real questions.

The former House speaker’s arguments against reform shouldn’t distract Americans from the basic truth that our healthcare system is sick.

All teachers are different, but we must still identify the link between what they do in the classroom and their students’ performance.

A massive education campaign for parents and children must be launched to fight inhalant abuse.

A Times editorial exaggerates an accreditor’s recommendations on program review.

The mismanagement at the state Board of Registered Nursing is a microcosm of a much broader issue.

The governor’s obsession with ‘waste’ in public services distracts lawmakers from dealing with the state’s crippling budget crisis.

Landlords who profited from the housing bubble should bear some responsibility for helping tenants who can no longer afford high rents.

Against the backdrop of a recession, the L.A. mayor’s approval ratings should be the envy of leaders across the nation.