Opinion news

Tenacity paying off

The miners whose photographs appear in Ray Chapman's "History of Idaho's Silver Valley" do not smile easily for the camera. Their work clothes are gritty, their faces dusty and weary. The mines themselves don't look any prettier.

End doesn't justify torture

Ah, yes, those torture confessions have proved so useful. That, at least, was the claim of our president in justifying one of the most egregious assaults ever on this nation's commitment to the rule of law. But now comes news that charges have been dropped against the so-called Sept. 11 attack's 20th hijacker, one of dozens so identified, because the "evidence" he supplied under torture and later recanted is not credible enough to go to trial.

Children underplayed

Can you forgive her?In March, Lenore Skenazy, a New York City mother, gave her 9-year-old son, Izzy, a MetroCard, a subway map, a $20 bill and some quarters for pay phones. Then she let him make his own way home from Bloomingdale's department store – by subway and bus.

Real leadership isn't superficial

Nothing has been quite as exciting and as disappointing or even disgusting as the grand drama of this Democratic contest for the presidential nomination.

Racehorses need human advocates

The news of Eight Belles' demise after the filly's second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby darkened that weekend. It had been a gallant run for a young filly in a colt's world — a run that ended once she crumpled to the ground immediately after the race had ended.

Letters

Lyons a modern-day patriot
Spokane's "citizens" have debated the lack of citizen oversight over the city's uniformed enforcers. Meanwhile, one July 4 dissident, arrested that day for "trespassing" and "failure to disperse" at Riverfront Park, stood the very same moral ground of America's patriot founders and refused to capitulate to the glowering, combined weight of the Spokane Police Department, the city prosecutor's office and our City Hall.

Our view: Fighter for justice

Megha Satyanarayana : Join the civic service

Kathleen Parker: The value of American-made

Froma Harrop: Economic sobriety has its upside

Lynn Swanbom: Be prepared to meet the definite article

Letters

Our view: It's about students

Cal Thomas: Fuel costs not going away

Susan Estrich: Friends in low places

David Reinhard: Toll of the broken family

Daoud Kuttab: Israel owes Palestinians right of return

Letters

Our view: A Wild Sky ride

Jim Shea: Bombs to bellhops

Michael Barone: Iraq behind the scenes

Fred Hiatt: United Nations shirks responsibility

David M. Walker: Stump speeches lack real fiscal solutions

Letters

In their words

Stanley Crouch: Obama a threat to defeatism

Our view: Seeing aquifer builds appreciation for water supply

Cal Thomas: Strange definition of 'influence"

Our View: Admit ethanol defeat

Our view: Investment in image

Leonard Pitts Jr.: The uniform states of America

Amy Goodman: Treatment of journalists shameful

Ombudsman: Editorial decisions focus on readers

Letters

Our view: Case closed

Kathleen Parker: Help veterans and mothers

Maria Elena Salinas : Politics gums up trade deal

Smart bombs: Don't look back

Gregory K. Fritz: Kids' mental health care access limited

Letters

Outside views: Calls for concession

Our view: Case for ombudsman

Trudy Rubin: Demography threatens Israel

Lionel Beehner: Name-mangling an American sport

Letters

Our view: Small cost for safety

George McGovern and Bob Dole: Resource distribution

David S. Broder: Victor rising in drag-out fight

Susan Estrich: Video violence squanders potential

Richard Holbrooke: Showdown preceded support for Israel

Accuracy Watch

Our view: Spokane's treasures

Civic Elder: David Rodgers reflects

Paul Mulshine: McCain driving erratically

Froma Harrop: This Jeremiah's a lesser prophet

Kenneth C. Brill: Intelligence reform paying big dividends

Our view: A public matter

Jonathan A. Parker: Give the economy a shot

Kathleen Parker: 'Bad Dads' a bad TV idea

Robyn Blumner: Christian soldiers march over rights

Arlen Specter: Shield law wouldn't sacrifice security

Letters

Our view: Higher ed 'famine'

Leonard Pitts Jr.: Where's justice for blacks?

David Sarasohn: Hope for accountable government

In their words

Our view: Focus must continue

Our view: Yes for mass transit

David S. Broder: Clinton's winning strategy

Rebecca Nappi: Sisters' stories part of Spokane's

Jamie Tobias Neely: Journalist-warriors tell the untold stories

Letters

Our view: Job needs strength

Our view: Step up for children

Trudy Rubin: Making friends to fight jihadis

DeWayne Wickham: States ask too much for voter ID

Smart bombs

Dan Lips: Local control is education's best hope

Letters

Our view: Holiday from reason

Guest opinion: STA lacks accountability

Thomas Sowell: Obama offers change for worse

Susan Estrich: Village let these children down

Guest opinion: Existing revenues should cover upgrades

Letters

Our View: Truth from VA key step toward suicide prevention

Wayne Williams: Buses help business

Trudy Rubin: Carter talks yield little progress

Jill Labbe: Protocol calls for hands on hearts

Guest opinion: Emergency systems upgrade can't wait

Letters

Our view: A sensible decision

Kathleen Parker: The wrongs of Rev. Wright

Outside view: Voting law discriminates

Froma Harrop: Smoking gamblers deserve break

Guest opinion: License proposal taps river's beauty, power

Letters

Dannel Malloy, Robert Duffy, Mark Mallory: Earmarks hit home

Leonard Pitts Jr.: We should be America's team

Elizabeth Sullivan: Spin campaign hurts military, U.S.

Our view: Face the music

Rachel Dissell: Violence prevention a public health issue

Letters

Our view: They never learn

David Reinhard: Don't write off Obama

Joel Stein: Blogs trafficking in trivialities

In their words

Our View: Caring adults a positive force for struggling families

Our view: VA problems run deeper than the leadership

Leonard Pitts Jr.: James Lawson is out of step with modern Christianity

David S. Broder: Republicans need fresh message

Ben Lieberman: Energy future hinges on natural gas

Letters

Our view: Respect the river

Robert Scheer: Hillary keeps sinking lower

Barbara Shelley: From Missouri, a global perspective

Smart bombs

Joel Brinkley: U.N. flounders again on human rights

Letters

Our view: The duh defense

Froma Harrop: The wake-up call of death

Kathleen Parker: Parsing the white male voter

Elizabeth Sullivan: Still life at Guantanamo Bay

Kevin O'Brien: Cult reveals that tolerance has its limits

Letters

Outside view: Chasing a dream

Our view: Vaccinations work

David S. Broder: Democratic race still a mess

Rekha Basu: Spending priorities need revision

Guest opinion: Free-flowing falls are best fit for city

Letters

Our View: Civic jobs should pay more

Trudy Rubin: We need a strategy, not a fight

Sebastian Malloy: Smart fixes in the works for homeowners

Mary Alice Haddad: Election is just start of change

Guest Opinion: Don't forget cops' constitutional rights

Letters

Our view: Water-use revolution

Leonard Pitts Jr.: A black embarrassment

Richard Read: Peace still his maxim

Harold Meyerson: Victory more elusive as war evolves

Guest opinion: Abolish sex-offense statutes of limitation

Letters

Our view: Secession digression

Cal Thomas: Politics no place for God talk

David Sarasohn: Food riots serve as a warning

In their words

Our View: On the right path

Our View: Wrong timing

Kathleen Parker: Pope's adamance comforting

Rebecca Nappi: If you want to help, lend an ear

Guest opinion: Powerless oversight is worse than none

Letters

Our view: Well-deserved fine

Our view: Fuelish behavior

Robert Scheer: McCain support is baffling

John C. Bersia: Candidates should address slavery

Smart bombs

William McKenzie: Bush should hold out for fresher farm bill

Letters

Our view: Judging the courts

Trudy Rubin: Obama on right track on Iran

Froma Harrop: McCain schizophrenic on economy

Dick Polman: Clinton's words laughable

Letters

Our view: Math problem

David S. Broder: Before primary, few are sure

Jonah Goldberg: Obama revives the '80s

Leonard Pitts Jr.: The ugly pursuit of easy fame

Lynn Swanbom: April snow warms up letters debate

Letters

Our view: Right move for Idaho

Outside views: FAA should do its job

Kathleen Parker: Sound elitist? Maybe he is

DeWayne Wickham: Bush jargon obscures war debate

Letters