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The graphic designer Sol Sender talks about the logo he created for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what the United States has failed to scrutinize is how much of the chemical has pervaded our own food system.

A variable fuel tax could pay for a sound transportation policy agenda beyond the bailout.

Speculation about Obama's favorite for the job of chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

The next administration will be a valedictocracy — rule by those who graduated first in their high school classes. If an enemy attacks the United States during a Harvard-Yale game, we’re in trouble.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak In the swirl from rumor to hardening assumption that President-elect Barack Obama is about to name Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of State, one person with a unique vantage point on the decision is Los Angeles' own Warren Christopher, who served as secretary of State in the first Bill Clinton administration. Friday, he was peppered with questions about the possibility of a Clinton occupying his old office. Here is Secretary Christopher's response:Senator Clinton is a naturally gifted diplomat and would be an inspired choice, if she is chosen by President-elect…

I can't ever remember an economy so dismal that Los Angeles' police and fire departments were told to cut their budgets -- but they were today. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also ordered the rest of the city's departments to hand over new, skinnier budgets by December 1, budgets that have to chop out another three percent from their already emaciated funds. LA is $110 million in the red and it could only get worse. At the same time, there's a big money-making opportunity sitting right under our noses. Thousands of imported cars -- pretty, shiny new models from Japan and Germany -- are piling up…

Scott Lilly, who has served in numerous posts for members of Congress and the Democratic Party and participated in last week's Dust-Up on Barack Obama's transition to power, e-mailed me his thoughts on the president-elect's Cabinet picks so far. Lilly is more pleased than David Weigel (Lilly's Dust-Up partner who sent in his thoughts yesterday) with Obama's decision-making, arguing that choosing Cabinet members with a wealth of experience in government is the best way for the president-elect to fulfill his promise of change. Lilly begins:News reports indicate that President-elect Obama has…

So many conferences, so little time. But this one, I kinda wish I hadn't missed. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Red Scare was terrorizing Hollywood and purging some of its brightest talents. Less well known is that the Red Scare was scaring hundreds of Los Angeles teachers out of their jobs. On Thursday evening, United Teachers Los Angeles organized -- ''organized'' being a suspect word 60 years ago -- a forum to revisit that era, featuring teachers who had been singled out, and a video used by the Teacher Defense Committee. The next-best thing to being there for me was to take a…

In Friday's Letters to the editor, readers sound off on the new -- er, make that old -- faces in the Democratic party as it prepares to take the reins in Washington. Kim Gullo, of Corona Del Mar, thinks letting Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman keep his committee chairmanship was the right move for the party:Lieberman had the courage to stand up to groupthink and support the candidacy of a tested colleague he believed in... Men like Lieberman keep our democracy healthy and vital, and we marginalize them at our peril.  Barack Obama seems to realize this -- why don't others in the Democratic…

A Democrat shakes up Washington's failed public schools.

There's a lot of loose talk about 'systemic' risk.

Coverage with limits is better than no coverage at all.

Its cash will help fuel our recovery.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are obstructing military ties.

Carmakers' arrogance hurts their case for assistance A good bit of humble pie is being consumed on Wall Street these days. The investment banking industry as we knew it 12 months ago no longer exists. Several top banks have collapsed...

Our view on reproductive rights: Abortion foes take new tack By seeking common ground, they can make procedure less common. Realism seems to have struck some ardent foes of abortion. After 35 years of trying to outlaw the procedure nationally...

Opposing view: Compromise equals betrayal By Joseph M. Scheidler Some "pro-life" organizations are proposing to begin working with groups that support abortion. Their concept is to accept as fact that we cannot outlaw abortion any time soon, and so we...

Big 3 get mixed reviews on bailout Robert J. Samuelson, contributing editor, Newsweek: "So it's come to this: General Motors, once the world's mightiest industrial enterprise, is now flirting with bankruptcy. Ford and Chrysler may not be far behind. …...

Why bail out bosses who messed it up? Plain Talk By Al Neuharth, USA TODAY Founder This week's debates over whether public money should be used to rescue the Big Three automakers missed this key point: Why should any bosses...

"SEVEN YEARS . . . is enough." With those words yesterday, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ordered the release of five Algerians held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since January 2002. A conservative appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Leon also delivered a forceful indictment of the administration's detention decisions and provided indisputable proof of the importance of allowing federal judges to evaluate the secret evidence the government used to justify detentions.

PLAINCLOTHES Ugandan police officers descended yesterday on the newsroom of the weekly newsmagazine the Independent, seizing computer documents and attempting to deliver an arrest warrant to managing editor Andrew M. Mwenda. "Unluckily, I was out of Uganda," Mr. Mwenda told us. Unluckily? "Yes. I do not want them to think I am running away."

THE ECONOMIC downturn has helped drag down a bill that would steer Prince George's County toward responsible development. The County Council postponed land-preservation legislation Tuesday that would require developers to purchase a certain number of transferable development rights (TDR) credits, which help preserve land in rural parts of the county, in exchange for the right to build projects of higher density. Critics of the bill, including developers, some council members and County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), argue that it is unwise for the county to put up any barriers to development…

AFTER TWO DAYS of congressional testimony from the heads of the Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers, the prospects for federal aid are anything but certain, and a big part of the reason is that Detroit is still in denial. Yes, the auto industry has cut costs and improved products more than its critics may recognize. But the companies and union must stop insisting that the financial crisis alone is responsible for their current predicament -- and that federal aid should therefore not hinge on more restructuring.

IF TAPPED as attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr. would bring years of experience and top-notch credentials as a prosecutor, judge, lawyer in private practice and former top official in the Justice Department. The predominant features of his record are independence, integrity and effectiveness. But there is one stain on his record that Senate confirmation hearings should examine.

Enact Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act.

Failing to act amounts to a hidden future tax on Minnesotans.

Innovative Minneapolis center is a model for affordable living.

Same-day voter rules have served Minnesota well since 1973.

But Congress needs to act in the short term to save jobs.

The Lindbergh MARTA station in Atlanta was shut down for nearly a half hour Friday evening as police investigated what was considered a suspicious vehicle.

A Republican-generated effort to get out the vote for the Dec. 2 runoff election has hit a snag as thousands of requests for absentee ballots have been denied because the applications were not signed.

Wal-Mart announced a surprise change in leadership Friday, naming a Georgia Tech grad as its new CEO.

When Phil Prebor's aircraft mechanic job flew away for the fifth time, he decided he had had enough.

A 19-year-old man faces aggravated assault and possibly other charges in the shooting of a fellow student Friday on the campus of Savannah State University, police said.

Sal DiMasi is one shrewd pol. By calling for an increase in the state gas tax as an alternative to an other toll hike, the embattled House speaker has rearranged the political dynamic on Beacon Hill.

Cambridge Health Alliance and Boston Medical Center have a major funding problem that isn't going away.

KUDOS TO the Globe for the story about the passing of firefighter John Clasby (" Hull firefighter injured 9 years ago dies ," Metro, Nov. 18).

Boston City Hall was just named one of the ugliest buildings in the world by a travel website. But that's an unfair designation for a building that caught the spirit of innovation responsible for the revival of downtown Boston.

IN YOUR editorial " No concessions? No bailout ," you showed an arrogance beyond imagination. What evidence do you offer that any of the financial issues facing the US auto industry are the fault of its workers? Did you ignore the reporting the Globe has done over the years of the myriad givebacks the United Auto Workers negotiated with the ...

Former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin said it hit home how far reaching an issue the brutal immigrant slaying in Patchogue had become when he heard Steve Levy's name in a report on National Public Radio during his morning commute.

Some Democrats describe it delicately as the "Johnson detente."

After 14 years on the bench - four of them as an appellate division judge - Republican State Supreme Court Justice Robert Lifson admits he is a huge underdog for re-election this presidential year.

Two respected environmental groups came out swinging last week in Long Island's most hotly contested State Senate race, where Brookhaven Democratic Supervisor Brian Foley is trying to unseat 35-year Republican incumbent Caesar Trunzo.

Presiding Officer William Lindsay said he was taken aback last week when County Executive Steve Levy said at a news conference he needed just six lawmakers to block those seeking to stop him from closing the county nursing home.

Despite recent attempts to burnish the image of President George W. Bush, here's the truth: He has overseen a government of legendary intellectual incoherence, where ideology is valued above competence, accountability is valued not at all and one is daily dared to believe the evidence of one's lying eyes.

Barack Obama's weekly addresses (being carried on YouTube), combined and strengthened by "social networking" through his motivated Internet-linked network, might be the right combination for the times — presidential leadership combined with community organizing, mobilizing us to act on the most pressing 21st-century challenges.

Given the options for stimulating the present recessionary economy, infrastructure needs should be given top billing. If state and local political leaders can act with dispatch, there are legitimate ways to increase employment using public funds.

The personnel decisions made by Barack Obama and his transition team have been superb. He's off to a start that nearly justifies the hype.

Developments at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue last week pointed up the urgency of the nation's health-care problem and the prospects for seeing significant action early in Barack Obama's presidency.

The Economist: Cushioning America's downturn will demand fiscal boldness, but that does not mean eschewing simple, speedy solutions. Quick and plentiful aid to the states is one of the best.

While nobody wants Detroit to fail, the Big Three do not have their act together. They went in one week from talking merger to seeking a bailout. Congress will revisit the issue after Thanksgiving. What happens is up to Detroit.

Decriminalization of prostitution could be the gold rush Seattle needs to boost our economy and feed the black hole of the state deficit. In 30 years we could be talking about the Sex Bubble of 2010, and Sex Workers Bailout Bill of 2015.

An Election Day story with a happy ending has received little coverage in this part of the state. It deserves more.

Chevrolet once marketed itself as the "heartbeat of America." Today, the heartbeat of the American auto industry is weak — but at least it still has a pulse.

Once, what was good for General Motors was good for the United States. This week, the chief executive of General Motors — along with his counterparts at Ford and Chrysler — tried to convince Congress that the saying still holds true.

When a man or a woman shatters a racial, ethnic or gender barrier, the "pioneer" or "groundbreaker" or shatterer of "glass ceilings" inherits the weight of great expectations.

Local arts organizations are scrambling, if not teetering, and no wonder.

It's difficult to believe that there are about two months left before Barack Obama takes office as the 44th president of the United States.

What could be more important than saving a human life? That is why the cause of suicide prevention is so important, because this cause of death is preventable.

Everybody knows that The Players Championship brings the world's best professional golfers to Florida's First Coast every year.

A s Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Good news at the pump must not halt efforts to end our oil addiction and shift to alternative energy B ad news about the financial and economic crises just keeps coming, but in recent weeks there's been rare good news: a major drop in gasoline prices. In the short to medium term, it is true that falling oil prices are good for the economy. Everything from buying California grapefruits to operating school buses becomes cheaper when the price of gas goes down. Consumer confidence increases; people spend money; the economy is boosted.

Did you miss this in the post-election news? Sen. Robert C. Byrd, 91, Democrat of West Virginia, announced that he will give up the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee to Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, 84, Democrat of Hawaii. The torch has passed to a new generation.

Democracy suffers when the news media ignore long-shot candidates and the ideas they espouse W hile the news media did an effective job this year of covering the presidential campaign between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, the press still has a major blind spot when it comes to writing about third-party contenders.

What now for California? In May, its Supreme Court announced a right to same-sex marriage. Gays and lesbians rushed to take advantage of the opportunity; by early November, 18,000 such marriages had been performed. But on Nov. 5, they stopped. By a 52 percent to 47 percent margin, California voters approved Proposition 8, an amendment to the state constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage.

JERUSALEM -- On Tuesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were secretly summoned to the palace of Jordanian King Abdullah in Amman. The king implored his guests not to launch a military operation in Gaza. Reportedly, the king was concerned that such an operation might stir emotions in the West Bank, which might as well spill over to Jordan, which consists of more than 60 percent of Palestinians.

I will never forget how I felt two weeks ago when I watched Barack Obama celebrating with more than a hundred thousand in Chicago, tens of millions across our nation, and millions more around the world. Now, Congress has to ensure that we live up to the possibility of that day, and the promise of this moment in history.

`I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America does not torture, and I'm going to make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.''

In Broward County, minority judges are the minority. There are just 12 Hispanic or black circuit judges in Broward among a sea of male, white judges. In January, that number drops to 11 because one Hispanic judge lost his election bid.

According to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, religion was a "significant but not overriding storyline" in the coverage of the contest between Sens. John McCain and Barack...

Joan Carlin gives this update on The Oregonian's flag contest. The response to the flag contest redesign has floored us. I quit counting more than a week ago when we already had 1,000 entries. Now, in the final days...

Faith Cathcart/The OregonianIt is 7:09 p.m. when Amelia Calderon and her mother hit the checkout at Winco. Their cart is full. Lesli Calderon has gotten the act of calculating her transportation requirements down to a science. Staff writer Paige Parker's...

Bruce Ely/The OregonianPinot noir grapes hang from the vine. FOODday has been producing guides to the special Oregon winetasting weekends -- at Thanksgiving and Memorial Day -- for 10 years. This year, we decided to make a significant change by...

Longtime public editor assistant Helen Shum has moved upstairs to handle Letters to the Editor after the departure of Giselle Price Williams. Shum says she once calculated that in the span of time she worked on the public editors's desk,...

Don't expect quick resolution of a labor dispute between the Port Authority and its unionized employees on the agenda Sunday when members meet with their union leaders.

During the bitter presidential campaign, it wasn't uncommon to hear frightened conservatives refer to Barack Obama as an "Arab."

When we last left U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate was playing the turncoat, campaigning for his friend, Sen. John McCain ...

On Nov. 13, we learned that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center plans to open 25 foreign cancer centers.

Once again, the Bush administration has chosen to ignore the experts and go with its gut in implementing new regulations.

And more on politics, the economy and latter-day pirates

Letters to the editor for Nov. 21, 2008

His and other's efforts are likely to cause more harm than warming itself

Sheriff, who wants to tighten permit process, heard from many affected

FDA drags out drug approvals in name of safety while endangering public

If presidents are like football coaches, Barack Obama and his new team will be taking over in January on fourth and long. Unless they are ready, they could be buried under the rush of problems awaiting them, starting with the financial meltdown at home and two wars abroad.

Sometimes in politics, a flip-flop is a good thing.

How low can they go? That seems to be the only suspense surrounding the official forecast of Florida tax revenues due Friday.

The attempt by some Winter Park commissioners last week to weaken that city's commitment to commuter rail might leave you wondering: Does it signal growing dissent among elected officials along the 61-mile route?

Orlando has set aside $30,000 for legal fees as it contemplates appealing a case that overturned the city's restrictions on feeding homeless people at Lake Eola.

Heather Fargo has already written three chapters of her political life. She started as a neighborhood activist, was elected to the City Council and then became mayor. Now, amid tributes and the psychic scars of losing a re-election bid, the exiting mayor will write the fourth chapter of her civic story. It could well be an intriguing read. Fargo's undisputed asset is her attention to detail. Since she joined the City Council, she has pored over reports and agenda items, flagging problems and inconsistencies that eluded less attentive leaders. If she saw a tree limb in the street while driving…

As tens of thousands of state workers brace for possible pay cuts and layoffs, a lucky few retired state workers can look forward to bonuses in their pension checks. Anyone wondering who is responsible need look no further than the Legislature and former Gov. Gray Davis. In 2002, California legislators included 3,200 state employees in more than 90 classifications – among them milk testers, billboard inspectors, barbering examiners and deputy directors of the Department of Real Estate – in the universe of state employees who qualify for safety retirement benefits. Such benefits had…

It lacks the excitement of police or fire protection, but garbage collection is one of the most basic city services. While the city of Sacramento has been spending a lot of time lately looking into an exotic new process – plasma-arc gasification – to dispose of its garbage, its current method of disposal needs urgent attention. For a decade now, Sacramento has been trucking its garbage to the deserts of Nevada for disposal. Some two dozen trucks travel 284 miles round trip every night. The cost and the pollution associated with long-haul disposal are unacceptable. The city sends…

Families in Sacramento City Unified schools have more educational choices than ever, a good thing. Part of this array of choices is a host of public charter schools – six operated directly by the school district and six operated by nonprofits. But there's a major flaw in the setup. The district does not provide information to parents about all the public school choices within its boundaries. The school board is considering some changes to remedy this major defect in district policy. While the sentiment to make fixes is good, the details are terrible. The board on Thursday will receive…

The California Supreme Court could decide as early as today two huge legal issues related to Proposition 8. That's the ballot initiative with which a majority of voters changed the California Constitution to eliminate same-sex marriage. California Attorney General Jerry Brown has set the right tone in his recommendation to the justices. He's written briefs saying that the high court should resolve issues promptly and should not punt by refusing to take the cases or by dumping them on lower courts. • First, should the high court take up the issue of whether Proposition 8 creates…

Flooding long has been a problem in North Texas, and Fort Worth has not been spared from the devastating effects of torrential downpours. Seventeen people have drowned in Fort Worth since 1986 as a result of floodwaters sweeping cars off roads, according to Greg Simmons, acting director of the city Transportation and Public Works Department.Flooding also contributes to heavy runoff that can send harmful pollutants such as fertilizer into lakes and streams; extensive damage to homes and businesses; and soil erosion that deteriorates roads, drainage channels, sidewalks and other…

Arlington school district residents should know this: Tonight the school board will be talking about taxes.The agenda says board members will be talking about block scheduling in high schools and team teaching in junior highs. But really they’re talking about taxes.The board has to dip into reserve funds for $16.8 million to balance this year’s budget. At that rate, the reserves will be gone in three years, so board members are talking about saving money in the future by revising or eliminating block scheduling ($7.5 million) and/or team teaching ($4.5 million).If they don’t…

On Nov. 27 — Thanksgiving Day — the Editorial Board would like to turn over our space to the readers.With financial markets in meltdown, major companies seeking government assistance, a two-front war and growing unemployment, it is easy to be gloomy. That is exactly the climate Thanksgiving Day exists to counteract.Encyclopedia Smithsonian reminds us that the event to which we trace our traditional celebration occurred on June 30, 1623, when the Pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation, Mass., held a day of thanksgiving."As a drought was destroying their crops, colonists prayed and fasted…

What’s the scariest food in your kitchen? Fish.Or so said the results of an Ipsos/McClatchy poll last month in which folks were asked what food they’re most concerned about when it comes to safety. Nearly 1 in 4 of those polled online, or 24 percent, listed fish and seafood.In that same poll, 79 percent of respondents said imported consumables were the main cause of worry rather than domestically produced food. Those percentages would undoubtedly change if Americans knew the truth — that the federal government is doing little to belie their concerns.In fact, recent actions…

The Baylor University administration has concluded that the rope wasn’t a noose but the remnants of a makeshift rope swing, and that it wasn’t campaign signs burning in a barbecue pit but computer boxes.Maybe there were some misunderstandings unintentionally generated at the Waco campus on an emotional Election Night. But the slurs and racial tensions apparently were real. And enough people were disturbed by the events to set in motion necessary attempts to quiet fears and bring about more understanding.Baylor wasn’t the only place that got unwelcome notoriety for racially…

“Earlier this year, French commandoes used night-vision goggles and helicopters in operations that killed or captured several pirates, who are now standing trial in Paris.” —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, November 18, 2008

For more than 16 years now, American voters have had to deal with the Clintons’ two-for-theprice-of-one offer. First, in 1992, the offer was, if you take Bill you also get Hillary. Now in the latest speculation, it’s turned around—if Barack Obama takes Hillary as his secretary of state, he also gets Bill.

While America’s auto manufacturers and other companies are begging Washington for bailouts, the liberal-derided Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is making money hand over fist, providing the nation with more jobs than any other employer and doing something else very, very positive: serving the poor.

Recently, “NBC Nightly News” aired a short account about the “Highway of Heroes” in Canada. Every time a dead Canadian soldier is returned to Canada from Afghanistan, people crowd onto the overpasses in firetrucks, police cars, pickups and sedans—moms, dads, the elderly and kids—to wave flags, salute and honor the fallen soldiers as they make that final trip home.

THEY SAY a policeman puts his life on the line every time he puts on a uniform. Just walking into a convenience store for a cuppa joe could mean walking into the middle of a stickup, or worse.

Why the urgency to weaken U.S. environmental safeguards? Because for President Bush's crew, time is winding down.

Here's to India's navy. While much of the maritime world wrings its hands over the annoying pirates of Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, an Indian frigate takes decisive action.

Videotapes from Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro confirm shoddy treatment, and worse, in a mentally ill patient's death.

For those who believe in the rule of law -- and what good American doesn't? -- there has to be satisfaction in seeing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes identified and given the heave-ho back to where they came from.

A police officer's lot, if not always a happy one, has its rewards -- mainly in the fulfillment that comes from serving and protecting the public. And there can be adventure, sometimes veering over the line into real danger.

A presidential panel took aim last week at one of the primary instigators of the national credit crisis, and while its actions thus far may be insufficient to the problem, it is at least hopeful that Washington is attacking in the right place.

It would be encouraging, if not for the current painful state of affairs, that the state is taking another, serious look at the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. That measure started out as a recycling incentive and a boost for the environment, but it now has new life as one of the few revenue-generating measures that Gov. David A. Paterson has proposed for the next budget.

The question of who might inherit Hillary Clinton's seat in the U. S. Senate has been worth thinking about for more than two years, ever since she made her presidential candidacy official. The speculation has come back in a whirl now that Clinton is being rumored as President-elect Barack Obama's first choice for secretary of state.

Some officials of the federal government are consumed with the question of whether the big automakers are too big to fail. Some other government employees should be concerned with the question of whether some components in the gasoline supply chain are too big to compete.

It might have been too much to hope that Tuesday's special Legislature session or last weekend's private meeting between Gov. David A. Paterson and Legislature leaders would produce agreement on how to balance the state's tottering budget.

Voter Turnout • Big, but less than forecast Before the Nov. 4 presidential election, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz had predicted that 90 percent of registered voters in Connecticut would go to the polls. Like election officials elsewhere in the nation who anticipated prodigious participation, Ms. Bysiewicz was off the mark. The turnout in Connecticut was "only" 80.5 percent — but that's nothing to cry about.

Charter Oak • Rell reaches out to critics to make it work Gov. M. Jodi Rell has made critics of her Charter Oak Health Care plan an offer they shouldn't refuse: Work with me to make it work.

Hillary Clinton • Could it be simply that's she's qualified? The chattering class is dismissing some of the people who have already been picked for high positions by President-elect Barack Obama (or whose names have been floated) as somehow not unusual enough to suit his grand "change" rhetoric in the campaign or as retreads from the Bill Clinton administration, as if by definition that were a bad thing.

Joe Lieberman • Connecticut senator owes much to President-Elect Obama Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's Democratic colleagues may still be mad at him for bad-mouthing Barack Obama, supporting John McCain for president and backing a few Republican Senate candidates during the recent campaign. But they're a pragmatic bunch. In the end, the need for reconciliation trumped the urge for retribution when the Senate Democratic caucus met Tuesday to assess Mr. Lieberman's political heresy and decide his fate.

Democratic Advocate • Connecticut's politics are the better for Mary Barrett Sullivan Last week, an important voice for Connecticut politics was silenced. Mary Barrett Sullivan of Greenwich died Nov. 12 at the age of 89. She had fought to air the state's smoke-filled rooms by opening the political process to the party's rank and file.

Some social programs are so powerful that they deserve to grow even through the coming recession. One of them is the collaboration of San Jose and Santa Clara County to — seriously — end homelessness.

When it comes to records that would reveal how decisions have been made or are being made, the city administration strongly resists new rules that go beyond what's required in the California Public Records Act.

Had supporters of gay marriage shown as much fervor for their cause before the Nov. 4 election as they have since, they probably would have defeated Proposition 8. But they will surely fail in their campaign to repeal the ban if threats and coercion continue to be among their tactics.

The Santa Clara County Supervisors also have stoked the backlash against gay marriage advocates by voting in closed session — the day before the election — to join other cities in a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 if it passed.

When times are bad and communities have less, they need to contribute more to the charities that weave the safety net no longer maintained by government.

It's never easy to say goodbye to a tried and true friend. Memphis finds itself in that position with Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s announcement this week that it is closing its Memphis corporate office and data center and relocating the operations to its Las Vegas headquarters.

As the number of foreclosures in Shelby County has been rising, local officials have wondered if there's anything they could do to address the problem. Turns out, maybe there is.

He has been running toward it for years, maybe his whole adult life, and suddenly he has arrived. And what he discovers is that inside his new cocoon of Secret Service protection, the presidency of the United States is a very lonely job.

WASHINGTON -- The truth is that the chief executives of the Big Three automakers could have hitchhiked to Washington to beg for alms and still would have been raked over the coals. But the fact that they came in their corporate jets was a bit much.

This city is about 200 officers short of what it needs to police its streets and neighborhoods properly, so it is ludicrous that the Memphis City Council voted down a proposal that would have allowed new police officers to live within 20 miles of the Shelby County line (Nov. 19 article).

Leadership Palm Beach County has the right motive but a misguided method. In an effort to improve the county's image following several political and/or sex scandals, the organization wants nearly everyone in the county to sign an ethics pledge. That's virtually impossible, and it's naïve.

Once again, Palm Beach County commissioners are bringing Big Brother to Palm Beach County.

Call-outs are the new shout- outs.

Florida Power & Light finally acknowledged reality without giving state regulators the chance to do so.

Port St. Lucie and Palm Beach County are among the areas getting federal help in cleaning up the foreclosure mess. Even better would be more help in preventing foreclosures.

SACRAMENTO - California's unemployment rate jumped to 8.2 percent in October, the highest rate in 14 years, just as a state fund that pays unemployment benefits was about to run out of money.

THE CLOSING BELL -- UP 494: Wall Street is ending a volatile week with an unexpected jolt of confidence following reports that President-elect Barack Obama plans to name New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary. NYSE, NASDAQ

California's unemployment rate jumped to 8.2 percent in October from 7.7 percent in September, while joblessness in Los Angeles County rose from 8.2 to 8.4 percent, state officials said today.

The Los Angeles Auto Show begins its 10-day run today at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Ford and foreign automakers are introducing new models.

After pushing steep discounts throughout November that are usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving, retailers from Kohl's to Toys "R" Us are offering even bigger cuts and promotions for Black Friday in a frantic bid to pull in shoppers.

Payday lenders seem to be on every corner in Fresno, and an independent report reminds us of what a truly bad deal payday loans are for borrowers. This is especially true for those who end up in a vicious cycle of one loan after another. Consumers must understand the cost of this "easy money." Read comments

As thousands of state workers brace for possible pay cuts and layoffs, a lucky few retired state workers can look forward to bonuses, thanks to the Legislature and former Gov. Gray Davis. Read comments

The investigation into whether the grade of a star football player at Edison High School was changed has concluded, and Superintendent Michael Hanson says the mathematics teacher who raised the issue actually changed the grade and not someone "higher up." Read comments

It's unfortunate, but politically predictable, that the U.S. Senate has decided to postpone action on a public lands bill that includes funding to restore the San Joaquin River. The river issue has been dragging on far too long, and its status must be resolved. Read comments

California has taken the lead on efforts to reduce greenhouse gases as part of a climate change strategy. We are a state that's vulnerable to floods and drought, and we must be ready to adapt if a warming world adds to those problems. Read comments

If Gov. Janet Napolitano is offered and accepts a position in the Obama administration, the tenor of Arizona politics would change. Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer would step in as governor for at least the last two years of Democrat Napolitano's term.

Reward family's perseverance

We love Thanksgiving and wanted a knock-your-socks-off idea to share that sentiment with readers. Thursday afternoon an idea plopped into the e-mail inbox from Gayle Beck, editorial page editor of The Repository in Canton, Ohio.

The David Fitzsimmons 2009 calendar includes local events and features the Star's editorial cartoonist. It sells for $6.50, or $5 apiece when multiple calendars are purchased.

Gloria Wright/The Post-Standard THE SYRACUSE COMMUNITY Residential Center on Salina Street, one of two youth centers in Syracuse recommended for closure by Gov. Paterson and OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion. Cutting state programs is not easy, as evidenced by the state...

Congratulations to those in the Democratic caucus who voted to replace Rep. John D. Dingell of Michigan with Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California as the top member of the Energy Committee Thursday. The move should increase transparency and independence...

In their latest fevered message to the world, al-Qaida leaders showed a nuanced familiarity with American racial history -- and a clanging tin ear on what might influence world opinion. Ayman al-Zawahri, a deputy in the terrorist organization, released a...

Jennifer Meyers/The Post-StandardSYRACUSE UNIVERSITY student Joe Raymond smokes a cinnamon ice cream flavored hookah while at Hollywood Hookah in Syracuse Saturday evening. With Raymond are J.P. Placella (center) and Jake Boyajian, both of Long Island. New waterpipe smoking business carries...

By Diane C. Bonacci I detected a great deal of anger in Brian Solomon's Nov. 17 letter, "Columbus monument should go." The Columbus monument has been in the same location, facing the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, since 1934. Supporters...

Two misinformed contributors to a recent Readers' Forum said they won't buy American vehicles because they're too expensive because of the unions' quest for higher pay. The fact is that wages and benefits only comprise of 8 percent of the cost of a vehicle. Come and work a production line for a week. After the exhaustion from being on your feet all day, following the line as it crawls along, doing the same repetitive task 400 times a day, and the mental strain that comes from the monotony of all that repetition, $20-$25 per hour will look like a slap in the face. One writer said assembly line…

A BAILOUT or a bridge to the future. No matter what it's called, government help for struggling domestic automakers has broad economic benefits that some of the plan's detractors appear willing to ignore, putting regional and political interests ahead of what's best for the nation. Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.) is one of the proposal's most ardent opponents, calling the U.S. auto industry a "dinosaur" Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press and saying that federal loans would only be "postponing the inevitable." On Wednesday he told the hosts of CBS's The Early Show that he doesn't believe the Big…

AS A SUPERPOWER, America's reach and responsibilities encompass the globe. As a nation of immigrants, Americans have inherited the genes of the planet. Yet U.S. citizens at home have not been noted for their curiosity about foreign cultures, and their image abroad has owed a lot to naive government policymakers or obnoxious tourists. Move over stereotypes, there's good news about Americans' changing attitudes. According to the annual "Open Doors" report by the Institute of International Education, U.S. students in record numbers are recognizing the importance of an international education in…

I have a real, not a tongue-in-cheek, suggestion to assist the City of Toledo in raising money to help alleviate the 2008 and the 2009 budget shortfalls. As an outside salesman, I drive all over the Toledo metro area five days a week. During my travels I have yet to encounter a flashing yellow light indicating an in-force 20 miles per hour school zone speed limit in which at least one car has not passed me well in excess of the speed limit. I don't know what the fines are for exceeding the speed limit in an active school zone, but based on the number of violations observed and the large…

Despite dire predictions that this could be the bleakest holiday season in decades, Congress reacted warily today to a bailout request from Santa Claus.

It's that time of year again. After an insignificant amount of snow Tuesday, a local TV station's weather report talks about "snow watches," "advisories" and "warnings". The words "Wintry Blast" in bold letters fill the screen.

Laurel: To Arnold Palmer Regional Airport officials. They have been working on the resumption of flights to Pittsburgh International Airport, which could be in the offing if a pilot program gets off the ground.

Ralph Reiland's column about Barack Obama's lack of any mandate was excellent.