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 Editorials | Opinions
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Iraq: Seven Years of Occupation
 Raed Jarrar
On April 9, 2003, exactly seven years ago, Baghdad fell under the US-led occupation. Baghdad did not fall in 21 days, though; it fell after 13 years of wars, bombings and economic sanctions.
Governor Candidate Stewart Alexander: Proposition 14 is a Trick on Voters
 Peace and Freedom Party 2010
Alexander has compared Proposition 14 to the election tactics during the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Alexander is asking voters throughout California to defeat Proposition 14 and its undemocratic effect against working class people.
Mexico is Gridlocked by Do-Nothing Partisan Politicians
 Patrick Corcoran
On March 17, Enrique Peña Nieto, the State of Mexico governor and overwhelming early front-runner for the 2012 presidency, authored a column in Mexico City's most influential daily paper, El Universal. The piece sparked interest as it addressed a major problem facing Mexico's political system.
Rethinking John the Baptist: Reflections on Agron Belica's Recent Research
 Dr. Jay R. Crook
Perhaps the strangest person in the New Testament is John the Baptist. Agron Belica's recent research focuses upon the Biblical and Quranic material about John and his relationship with Jesus, and then ventures new interpretations and visions of their respective roles in the events leading to the climactic scene of the crucifixion.
Relax, We’ll Be Fine
 David Brooks
According to recent polls, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is dysfunctional. A fiscal crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be gloomy. But if you want to read about them, stop right here.
Is Baseball a Fading Allegory for the Fading American Way of Life?
 Robert Lipsyte
Here in the first post-American century, sports fans, it's a brand-new ballgame - and I'm not sure how to watch it. In this opening season of the Post-Steroid Era, I feel like a betrayed spouse determined to make the relationship work, struggling to balance experience against hope. Are my guys really clean now? If not, can I live with it?
US-Mexico 'War on Drugs' a Failure
 Charles Bowden
No matter how many die in Juarez, no matter how low the pay in the American factories, the U.S. government insists the War on Drugs is being won and that NAFTA is a big success. The Mexican War on Drugs is not lost: it never seriously began.
Dr. King's Economic Dream Deferred
 Bill Moyers & Michael Winship
Forty-two years ago, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee. To those of us who were alive then, the images are etched in painful memory.
Will Legalized Marijuana Keep California in the Green?
 Sam Kornell
While a legalized marijuana crop wouldn't solve all of California's agricultural woes, it might still keep the state in the green.
In Mexico, Security is in the Planning
 Joe Sharkey
History shows that it takes a lot to sink the indomitable Mexican spirit, but a year’s worth of drug-war mayhem (and the resulting publicity) in the towns on the border with the United States has certainly has done a good job of it.
Our Turn?
 James Howard Kunstler
Nations go crazy. It's terrifying when it happens, especially to a major nation with the ability to project its craziness outward.
 Helen Thomas on Her One Question for Obama
 The Real News Network
In this interview with Helen Thomas, longest-serving member of the White House Press Corps, Paul Jay asks her about her first question for President Obama.
Mexico's Drug-Related Violence Isn't Widespread Across the Country
 Andres Oppenheimer
Mexico is a huge country. To say that it's unsafe to travel to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta or Cancún - or that you wouldn't allow your children to spend spring break in that country - is as irresponsible as saying that it's unsafe to travel to some of the biggest U.S. cities.
U.S. Dollars Alone Will Not End the Drug War in Mexico
 Jerry Brewer
Mexican authorities have asked Washington for help, citing the flow of weapons and bulk cash smuggled from the U.S. to fuel the flames. Is Mexico losing this war? Certainly not.
Should TV 'Narco-Novelas' be Banned in Latin America?
 Patrick Corcoran
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli opened up a minor controversy earlier this year when he criticized the popular Colombian soap operas for glamorizing the life of a drug lord.
Izzy Award Winner Jeremy Scahill: "We're At a Ground Zero Moment to Save Real Journalism"
 Byard Duncan
The winner of the second annual Izzy Award, named after muckraking journalist I.F. Stone, discusses independent media and this critical moment in journalism.
Let’s Get Real About Prohibitions Against Doctor Assisted Euthanasia
 Hal Brown
I stopped posting regular columns in November when my wife of forty years, Betty, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Her condition deteriorated rapidly despite the best treatment in the world at the highest rated cancer center in New England. She was hospitalized twice in Boston but never left the hospital the second time.
Mexico's War on Drugs is a Disaster
 Jorge Castaneda
President Calderon’s war on drugs has claimed nearly 18,000 lives, cost a small fortune in military expenditures, and brought enormous damage to the country’s image abroad. Obama must help Mexico adopt a new strategy.
Have a Nice World War, Folks
 John Pilger
"War is fun," the helmets in Vietnam used to say with bleakest irony, meaning that if a war is revealed as having no purpose other than to justify voracious power in the cause of lucrative fanaticisms, such as the weapons industry, the danger of truth beckons.
The Long Game
 Dan Rosenheck
The drug war was not, contrary to the way it has been portrayed, launched as a war of choice in the same way Iraq was: organized crime was a genuine threat to Mexican public health and safety.
Is Mass Violence Justified if it Brings About a Better World?
 Peter Y. Paik
From Utopia to Apocalypse is a study of political upheaval and revolutionary change, as they are portrayed in works of speculative and science fiction. It is my contention that science fiction and speculative narratives, by virtue of their fantastic character, enable us to imagine in vivid terms the experience of sweeping political change and social transformation.
US Health Care Reform? Sort of, but at What Cost?
Doug Thompson
The rude, crude route to health care “reform” in this country may serve as a textbook case on how and why the American system of government collapsed under the weight of bitter partisan politics.
GOP Self-Destruction Imminent
 Keith Olbermann
Finally as promised, a Special Comment in the wake of the passage of Health Care Reform and it's a first step, there's a lot wrong with it, but the penalty for not paying the fine for not buying the mandatory insurance has been reduced to nothing.
Are Mexican Citizens’ Deaths Any Less Deserving of Sadness and Outrage?
 Patrick Osio
According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been 10,031 killings in Mexico since 2007 related to the war against organized drug cartels, which at no time has brought signs of sadness or outrage from the White House, be it from Obama or his predecessor. Are Mexican citizens’ deaths any less deserving of sadness and outrage?
Governor Candidate Alexander: California Governor’s Seat Could Cost $200 Million
 Peace and Freedom Party 2010
The office of California Governor pays an annual salary of $173,987; however, the three top Republican and Democrat contenders, hoping to be the next governor of California will more than likely spend over $200 million for the governor’s seat.
Establishments that Do Not Respect Local Residents
 Mark de Leon
As some Vallarta residents may know there are many restaurants and bars that do not value the local residents return visits.
Oil? We’re Here for the Heroin! (at $19,923,200 per barrel!)
 Kevin Hayden
The recent article about Russia criticizing US and NATO forces struck a chord with me because just a few weeks ago, I discussed how and why I believed US and NATO forces to be the world’s largest drug cartel.
Michael Moore on The Dylan Ratigan Show
 PVNN
"Until we remove money from politics... we're doomed. Once it's removed, though, the playing field is level." - Michael Moore
Minorities Giving Up Affirmative Action
 Sherwood Ross
Minorities increasingly are going to have to push harder for their own advancement without affirmative action, says the cofounder of a law school purposefully dedicated to the education of minority, immigrant, and low-income students.
Video Virility (ramblings)
 Sebastian Kolendo
The goal of any viral video is to inject life into the audience. If it plays by the rules, the audience will be limited. If it relies on expected tropes and conceits, then it will appear fake. Honest and amateur will trump fake and professional.
Stop Mistreating Working Women!
Dick Meister
Although the global recession has had a serious impact on working men and women alike, two new reports make clear that women in the United States and throughout the world have suffered most because of long-standing discrimination.
Drug Cartels Don't Die; They Relocate
Andrés Oppenheimer
Watching as the drug cartels penetrate the highest levels of government in some Central American countries, I can't help but ask myself if the United States' war against drugs has only served to push the front lines of battle first from Colombia to Mexico, and now from Mexico to Central America.
US Victims: New Low in Mexico's War
 Ralph Peters
The bloodbath on our border's going to get a worse before it gets better. Death is on our doorstep - and no country's more important to our security, society and economy than Mexico. What are we thinking?
Mexican Drug Wars Rage On
 Tom Ford
At Puerto Vallarta's international airport, a tall gangling soldier in a helmet and camouflage uniform stares at me, the lower part of his face masked to protect his identity, his rifle on his shoulder. I'm not sure what the soldier is thinking. I'm thinking Mexican airports have changed a hell of a lot since I started coming here 30 years ago.
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