Every promoter knows the formula for a sell-out. Book a hall or an arena too small for the crowd you expect. Customers fighting for a seat is a great advertisement for whatever you're selling, and when you call it a sell-out no one can argue. Published December 9, 2018
Low-fat milk vs. refined or "whole" grains ("School lunch rules OK refined grains, low-fat chocolate milk," Web, Dec. 6)? Here we have a distinction without a difference, and that is the point. You just keep the public confused and you can keep the big bucks rolling in. It is laughable that the American Heart Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are splitting hairs over whole vs. processed grains. What do they think of the processed (chocolate) milk? Few people know that the USDA food pyramid is nutritionally deficient. Published December 9, 2018
For the Pearl Harbor attack, the 77th anniversary of which we marked last week, the Japanese forged a strategic weapon of six heavy carriers for a coordinated attack by 360 planes on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. Never before had any country executed and/or planned a raid by more than two carriers on any naval or land target. No inkling existed within allied operational or intelligence communities of a capability beyond the 21-torpedo bombers a British carrier had used to attack the Italian navy at Taranto. Pearl Harbor presented the opportunity for a strategic victory achieving control over much of the Pacific Ocean. Published December 9, 2018
I applaud the demise of the "conservative" political magazine The Weekly Standard ("Weekly Standard on the brink: 'I don't expect it to exist' in 2019, report says," Web, Dec. 4). The folks who manage the magazine have for years stood in the way of creating better lives and circumstances for all Americans and have been most vocal since President Trump was elected. Published December 6, 2018
The Democrats did moderately well in the midterm elections, but not as well as they expected, and they lost the three big races they really wanted to win, the governorships in Florida and Georgia and the U.S. Senate seat in Texas. Winning any one of them would have been impressive, particularly given the generally conservative voting record of those states. Such a result would have cheered the Democratic base, and given momentum to the party for 2020. The Democratic media would have put that winner in the winners bracket in the presidential sweepstakes. Published December 6, 2018
"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declares climate change 'the civil rights movement of our generation'" (Web, Dec. 3) underscores the planet's urgent need to halt, or at least slow, the dire effects of climate change. The point was similarly laid bare by both the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Yet the Paris Climate Accord is not off the hook, either. Published December 6, 2018
Friends don't let friends go to the clink. The conclusion that the nation is currently running on a dual justice system — a gentler, privileged system for Hillary Clinton and her cronies, and a harsh and unforgiving system for everyone else — is coming evident to everyone. Published December 5, 2018
Lots of people do not like Facebook because of privacy concerns or because they think it is a social media monopoly. But there are currently no alternatives out there. The short answer regarding the fix is this: Congress would pass a law stating that everyone owns their own Facebook name and information, and Facebook (or any other new company) has to provide a network connection to allow other companies to import/export that information into the platform of your choice. Published December 5, 2018
Rick Berman, who represents a front group that supports practices that harm animals and the environment, starts off his op-ed about antibiotics with a tale about romaine lettuce and E. coli ("How animal activists threaten animal welfare," Web, Dec. 3). He neglects to mention that leafy greens don't naturally harbor E. coli bacteria. It lives in the intestinal tracts and feces of warm-blooded animals. When cow, pig or chicken manure is used to fertilize crops or leaks into waterways, fruits and vegetables can become contaminated. Published December 5, 2018
San Juan Mayor Carmin Yulin Cruz Soto is name-calling, prevaricating and showboating again. Puerto Rico's media love her, but she's lying and making liars out of them. Published December 4, 2018
Omniscience has always been regarded as the sole province of God, but now Google thinks it's big enough to depose Him. Aping the Almighty is the hubris that inevitably carries a price. The technology giant that bestrides the world of information is under assault on numerous fronts for getting a little too abusive of free speech. But if Google and the other giants of Silicon Valley are going to be true to their vow to "do the right thing," they will need help. Published December 4, 2018
"Reforming our bureaucracy should be on Congress' agenda" (Web, Dec. 3) was a very good political commentary piece by John York on reforming the U.S. government. I would like to add another avenue that such a reformation effort could travel. In the 1980s the Department of Defense initiated the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort. The president named a nine-person committee known as the BRAC Committee. These nine people met, held hearings to get outside input and then submitted to the president a list of installations they thought should be closed or realigned. Published December 4, 2018
They clearly don't make 'em like George H.W. Bush any more. There's no longer much of a market for presidents dedicated to decency, dignity, and unabashed service to God and country. Published December 3, 2018
Can California be saved? The Golden State, as it calls itself, grows ever more tarnished by the silly, the fatuous and the childish. And you thought gold doesn't tarnish. Published December 3, 2018
The "yellow jacket" riots in Paris over French President Emmanuel Macron's added gas tax demonstrate that many French who favor socialism, which results in monstrous government debt and high unemployment, are learning that the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's observation about socialism (it is fine until you run out of other people's money), is indeed a truism, not a quip ("'Yellow jackets will triumph': 133 injured, 412 arrested in Paris protest riot," Web, Dec. 2). Published December 3, 2018
Your editorial "Misery in the midst of plenty" (Web, Dec. 2) thoughtfully juxtaposes the vibrant American economy with our not-so-vibrant "connectedness to community." Is this not the irony of ironies: that what sociologists call the "crisis of connection" grows in tandem with the explosive popularity of online social media? Published December 3, 2018
Donald Trump's economic optimism bemused the economists (and irritated Democrats) when he remarked during the 2016 presidential campaign that America would soon produce too much abundance. "We'll have so much prosperity you'll say it's too much." Published December 2, 2018
The Founders intended for people to have "the right to keep and bear arms" in order to fend off a tyrannical government. However, they could not have anticipated the advances of technology (i.e., semi- and automatic weapons and beyond). Even if the latter type of weapons falls under Second Amendment rights, I would argue that future weapons of much greater damage potential would need government regulation. For example, a small nuclear or laser device that could destroy a city block (or a whole city) would be too dangerous for purchase by the average citizen. Published December 2, 2018
After listening to an interview given by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia saying that President Trump will be abusing his power if he pardons Michael Cohen, a former business partner, I couldn't help but think there is a double standard regarding violation of our laws. Published December 2, 2018
Who knew a freshperson congressperson could so shake the foundations of the republic, and rattle the world beyond. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won a seat in the Bronx last month, sees her victory as "a watershed moment in world history akin to landing on the moon." Published December 2, 2018
