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    <title>Editorials for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
    <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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        <title>Editorials for Richmond Times-Dispatch</title>
        <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/</link>
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    <description></description>
    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>Richmond Times-Dispatch</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights>Copyright 2009</dc:rights>
    <dc:date>2009-11-07T19:34:02-05:00</dc:date>

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          <title>Fort Hood: Routine</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HOOD07_20091106-192404/304103/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Hannah Arendt wrote of the banality of evil. Good God almighty, mass murder threatens to become routine. The initial dispatches from Fort Hood were as chaotic as the scene itself. Reports of multiple gunmen proved false. The name of the alleged assailant confirmed the assumptions of many and the fears of others. An individual committed the enormity, yet Muslim Americans collectively anticipate a state of siege. The Fort Hood bloodshed was followed by yesterday&#8217;s shootings in Orlando. More will come.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:52 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Weekly Review</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK07_20091106-192404/304109/</link>
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No one seems to have followed our advice. Although we warned that the temptation is to read too much into elections rather than too little, national experts of all inclinations have discerned transcendental meaning in Virginia&#8217;s 2009 results. Although the outcome represented a major triumph for Bob McDonnell and the GOP, low-turnout elections tend not to be watersheds. Although the turnout&#8212;the worst in a gubernatorial election since the rise of two-party politics in Virginia&#8212;may have serious implications for future races, it seems unlikely to indicate partisan or ideological realignment.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:30 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Health Care: Where Are They?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MAND07_20091106-192404/304106/</link>
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The other day a reporter asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about where the Constitution grants Congress the power to require Americans to buy health insurance. It&#8217;s a fair question; even the Congressional Budget Office has said an individual mandate &#8220;would be an unprecedented form of federal action.&#8220; Yet Pelosi seemed dumbfounded: &#8220;Are you serious?&#8220; she replied. Apparently the idea that the Constitution might not permit Congress to do anything it wants is foreign to her.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:24 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Showtime!</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-UPNY06_20091105-183403/303892/</link>
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New York&#8217;s 23rd Congressional District borders on Canada. It has elected Republicans since the times of the late Rutherford B. Hayes and has attracted scant national attention during that glad span. This year its special election made headlines. The rumpus started when Barack Obama named John McHugh, the 23rd&#8217;s Republican incumbent, to serve as secretary of the Army. The move created an open seat. Republican sachems nominated Dede Scozzafava, a state legislator with a record that crossed the line separating moderate from liberal. Democrats nominated Bill Owens, an earnest businessman. The Conservative Party&#8212;a New York fixture for many decades&#8212;nominated Douglas Hoffman.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Taxing Questions</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MEDI06_20091105-183403/303890/</link>
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Among the vast array of mandates, taxes, fees, and directives in Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s health-care bill is a 2.5-percent tax on the makers of medical devices. That works out to a $2-billion-a-year drain on innovation. The price tag is only the explicit cost. There could be an implicit cost: the pain and suffering of individuals who might go without new treatments they would have benefited from, if medical-device manufacturers had been able to use the money for research and development instead of paying off Uncle Sam.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Lodging Beefs</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HOTL06_20091105-183201/303887/</link>
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Two national groups have weighed in on the contentious question of a new hotel at Fort Lee. The National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association have written a letter expressing dismay that &#8220;a hotel of this magnitude will usurp business from local lodging and restaurant businesses which have spent years investing in the local community . . . .&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Videotorial: Pelosi&#8217;s Folly</title>
          <link>http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/slideshows/opinion/20091105health/index.html</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The House Speaker&#8217;s health-care bill is a bureaucratic monstrosity.            ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:59:14 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Snack Attack</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VEND05_20091104-175608/303628/</link>
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Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s gargantuan health care bill&#8212;it includes 111 new boards, commissions, bureaucracies, and programs&#8212;has not overlooked the menace behind the glass panels of vending machines. Section 2572 would require vending-machine operators to post the nutritional content of snack foods on the outside of machines, so munchers can review the info before making a purchase.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Parks in Drive</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PARK05_20091104-175608/303626/</link>
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Richmond government has taken a lot of hits for poor management (and less savory characteristics). So it&#8217;s worth highlighting one of the city&#8217;s accomplishments: the restoration of Forest Hill lake, an urban gem that had grown choked and fetid from neglect. The restoration is good news. What makes it even better: Project overseers finished the work early and under budget. Metropolitan Environmental Services, the Ohio firm that did the spade work, gets much of the credit. But city officials merit praise for putting the project in motion and making sure it got done well.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Coloring Book</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEC05_20091104-175403/303623/</link>
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Bob McDonnell won nine of the state&#8217;s 11 congressional districts; only the 3rd and the 8th went for Creigh Deeds, and they are Democratic bastions. The GOP ticket prevailed from top to bottom. Bill Bolling easily won re-election as lieutenant governor. If one year ago an expert had predicted Ken Cuccinelli would be elected attorney general in a landslide, he would have lost his license to practice punditry.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>McDonnell Wins: Message Politics</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEX04_20091103-215004/303478/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
One word applies to yesterday&#8217;s election in numerous ways: message. Bob McDonnell stuck with his; Creigh Deeds did not have one; the results send several. But first, a primal wow: One year after going blue at the presidential level for the first time since 1964, Virginia produced its reddest election in more than a decade. Last night Virginia Democrats learned again that glory is fleeting. Giddy Republicans would be wise to remember.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:01:49 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>The Departed</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SOUL03_20091102-181203/303212/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The human interest stories on National Public Radio&#8217;s Morning Edition remain unsurpassed in broadcast journalism. The episodes inform and delight, often most vividly when the topic focuses on customs overseas. Yesterday, for instance, NPR reported that while Americans were trick-or-treating, the French&#8212;of all people, presumably&#8212;were going to cemeteries to honor their dead. Visitors to graveyards paid their respects not only to buried family members but to interred greats.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Grotesque</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CARE03_20091102-181203/303207/</link>
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There is poetic irony in the fact that Congress will be debating Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s hyperstatist vision of health care in America while Germany celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As Paul Hollander, a sociology professor emeritus, recently observed, the fall of Communism &#8220;confirms that humans motivated by lofty ideals are capable of inflicting great suffering with a clear conscience.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>What&#8217;s Your Plan?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PLAN02_20091101-170402/303023/</link>
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GOP opposition to Democratic health care proposals, says a recent news account, exposes Republicans to the charge that they are &#8220;political obstructionists with no policy agenda of their own.&#8220; The charge is false&#8212;the GOP has advanced several ideas, of varying degrees of merit, about how to improve the delivery of medical care. (For example, Republicans have suggested allowing buyers of health insurance to purchase policies across state lines, just as buyers can do with car and life insurance, in order to foster genuine competition in the health insurance marketplace.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:01:29 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>GOP Challenges</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GOPS02_20091101-170402/303020/</link>
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Although tomorrow may prove a banner day for Republicans, the GOP still confronts long-term challenges. Trends do not look good. Follow us: In 1980, Ronald Reagan won 55 percent of the white vote and won the presidential election decisively. In 2008, John McCain won 55 percent of the white vote and lost decisively. The different outcomes reflect the changing face of the citizenry and of the electorate. Diversity is not a politically correct word or concept but a reality. Demography translates into destiny.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:59 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Readership: Food for Thought</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MAGS01_20091030-203609/302658/</link>
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The trials and tribulations of the newspaper industry have been well documented&#8212;typically by print journalism itself. Other mediums have been less forthcoming regarding their travails. Even among print products, newspapers are not alone. Serious magazines have fallen under stress. Newsweek is trying to reinvent itself. U.S. News &amp; World Report exists primarily as a college ratings guide (which has deleterious influences, by the way). Fortune recently announced a reduction in publication frequency. The New Republic previously forfeited its status as a weekly.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:01:34 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>2009 Election: Traditional Value</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEC01_20091030-203609/302656/</link>
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In what is certainly one of the oldest traditions in the Western Hemisphere, Virginians will go to the polls on Tuesday to elect their leaders. Not everyone will be pleased with the results, but even the disappointed can be comforted by the knowledge that the process was free, fair, and open to all who chose to participate. That is a more recent tradition&#8212;and one worth celebrating.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:01:23 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK31_20091030-194403/302635/</link>
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WEEK&#8217;S END This week Chesterfield let die a proposal for rental-property inspections. The idea&#8212;which would have allowed county officials to inspect the exterior and interior of rental properties, and to charge a fee for the courtesy&#8212;raised questions regarding property rights and privacy. The Board of Supervisors made the right call.&nbsp; Midlothian Supervisor Dan Gecker asked good questions about another topic. Bow-hunting is one way to thin a rapidly growing deer population. Gecker wants to see if &#8220;the safety statistics&#8221; justify restricting the practice in certain residential neighborhoods. We agree with him. If facts indicate that restrictions would be wise, then enact restrictions. But if facts say problems with safety do not exist, then leave things as they are.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Election 2009: Post It</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-POST31_20091030-194403/302634/</link>
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An endorsement from The Washington Post played a crucial role in Creigh Deeds&#8217; victory in the Democratic primary. Many observers say it played the crucial role and propelled Deeds to the win. Support from The Post clearly legitimized Deeds, especially in Northern Virginia. The newspaper&#8217;s backing reminded voters they had an alternative to the bickering duo of Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran. The editorial&#8217;s preference for a rural candidate over two Northern Virginia swanks enhanced its credibility.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Ticked Off</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TECH30_20091029-194811/302405/</link>
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Last night Virginia Tech&#8217;s Hokies played North Carolina&#8217;s Tar Heels. Thursday kickoffs at Tech and other schools tick off various professors and perhaps even a few young scholars. Academics often come to a halt early on game days. Although Tech does not formally cancel afternoon or evening classes for Thursday night football games, yesterday&#8217;s Washington Post reported that professors say they feel implicit pressure to shut their classrooms. Fans covet parking spaces, you see; students do not mind free passes to attend tailgate parties, we suspect.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Extra, Extra</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NEWS30_20091029-194811/302403/</link>
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The news is in the news.   This week The Times-Dispatch&#8217;s Wes Hester reported that two student journalists at James Madison University face school charges for entering a dorm in search of comments for a news story for publication in The Breeze, the campus newspaper. Tim Chapman and Katie Hibson sought to interview students regarding allegations of a peeping Tom. The school claims the two violated regulations applying to residence halls. Chapman and Hibson say they followed proper procedures.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Evil Empire</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CHIN30_20091029-194811/302402/</link>
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Here&#8217;s a thought experiment: Find an empty room and go sit in it for an hour. While doing so, try to imagine not coming out for the next 10 years&#8212;while your children grow, your friends age, and the world moves on. Now imagine being locked up for 10 years for no greater crime than supporting democracy. To Americans, the idea seems nearly inconceivable. But that is the fate of Guo Quan, a former professor and judge in China who has been sentenced to hard time because he founded a political party and challenged the authority of the Communist Party&#8217;s regnant goons. Guo was convicted of &#8220;subversion of state power&#8221; simply because he advocated letting his fellow citizens have a say in who will rule them.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Don&#8217;t Seek</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BUSI29_20091028-191006/302121/</link>
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The Virginia Chamber of Commerce&#8217;s 2009 Conference on Virginia&#8217;s Future heard a ringing defense of free markets. Publisher Tom Silvestri described the event in Sunday&#8217;s Commentary section. Unfettered markets remain not only generators of prosperity but guarantors of liberty. Although pure laissez-faire does not exist, an economic and political system that keeps state intervention to a minimum is a system most likely to produce happiness.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Obama in Norfolk</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BAMA29_20091028-191006/302120/</link>
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Last year Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Virginia since Lyndon Johnson won the state in 1964. On Tuesday, he led a Norfolk rally to boost the flagging gubernatorial campaign of Creigh Deeds. Deeds confronts a curse that has seen Virginia elect a governor from the party opposite the president in every election since 1977. It has not elected a Democratic governor when a Democrat occupied the White House since 1965. Yet even at this late hour, fate might side with Deeds. Consider the LBJ precedent. The polls show Deeds losing ground, nevertheless.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>The Night Game</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BALL29_20091028-191006/302119/</link>
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The World Series was slated to start last night. On paper, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies offer a compelling match-up. Both teams have pitching and hitting&#8212;and stars. The Yankees are loved by many, hated by more. Despite decades of futility, the Phillies never achieved the cult status enjoyed by the Red Sox and the Cubs, teams either jinxed or cursed or, more likely, year in and year out simply not good enough. The Phillies won their first World Series in 1980 (and waited 28 years for their second). The Yankees win a Series every week or so. The title of a history of the Phillies earns the National Book Award for integrity: Occasional Glory. The Yankees erect monuments.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Election 2009: Down Ticket</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-AGLG28_20091027-180804/301904/</link>
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Candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general struggle for attention in a scene dominated by the gubernatorial race. The down-ticket nominees run as members of a team yet manage their own campaigns. The frustration is compounded by the point that neither the lieutenant governor nor the attorney general ought to be subject to direct popular vote.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Knock, Knock</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-INSP27_20091026-183603/301723/</link>
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The ACLU is rightfully skeptical of a plan by Chesterfield to begin a rental-inspection program of single-family homes. The program seems needlessly intrusive&#8212;and needlessly punitive. It would establish a once-a-year interior inspection that homeowners would have to arrange, at an out-of-pocket cost of $100. Owners could refuse&#8212;but then they could face a fine of up to $2,500.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:52 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Hannity&#8217;s Spin: Even He</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SEAN27_20091026-183603/301727/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The other day Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) criticized the Obama administration&#8217;s reliance on &#8220;czars.&#8220; Sean Hannity seemed to consider the news a big deal. He bellowed that &#8220;even Russ Feingold is turning on President Obama and his &#8216;czars.&#8216;&#8220; And: &#8220;You know things are going bad for Barack Obama when even Russ Feingold is out to get him.&#8220; Hannity does not do nuance or subtlety or, for that matter, intelligent discourse, but &#8220;even&#8221; he ought to understand that disagreement does not necessarily correspond to &#8220;out to get him.&#8220; Feingold also has expressed reservations regarding Obama&#8217;s approach to the war against jihad. Feingold remains a supporter, we suspect. He certainly will vote for Obama against a Republican challenger in 2012.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:47 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>What&#8217;s the Charge?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-COST27_20091026-183603/301719/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginians with health insurance who review their statements often look at the bottom line and ask, &#8220;How much?&#8220; The fact that they ask that question so often after receiving treatment largely reflects the fact that they do not bother to ask it beforehand. Many simply have no incentive to: When the employer-provided health plan is picking up the tab, why bother? Even high deductibles don&#8217;t create much of an incentive. Once a patient has shelled out the first $400 or so, it doesn&#8217;t matter&#8212;to him&#8212;whether the final bill is $800 or $8,000. His out-of-pocket cost remains the same.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:11 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Election 2009: For the House</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DELE26_20091025-171003/301546/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Central Virginia covers about 15 districts in the House of Delegates. Over the years, few have proved competitive. Republicans and Democrats enjoy electoral locks in constituencies designed to suit the interests not of citizens but of politicians. The parties seldom challenge each other. When races occur, the general election results are not close. Nomination in the spring usually translates into victory in the fall.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:01:11 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Endorsement: Why Virginia Needs Bob McDonnell</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ELEX25_20091023-210409/301245/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia&#8217;s roads are clogged. Health care costs are climbing, as are expenses at colleges and universities. Too many public schools fail too many students. Unemployment continues to rise, and&#8212;complicating each of these challenges&#8212;the state budget almost certainly will require more cuts. The results of this year&#8217;s election for governor will have consequences&#8212;for the next four years. Voters face a heightened civic responsibility to elect a gifted leader who is also an able manager.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:01:12 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Week in Review</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK24_20091023-181004/301224/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
There is no silver lining to news that International Paper will close its plant in Franklin. The mill employed about 1,100 workers. As the company explains, the closure has nothing to do with the quality and dedication of the work force but is a consequence of market conditions. Situations such as this inflict pain wherever they occur; they prove particularly devastating for communities such as Franklin and Isle of Wight. The IP mill forms a cornerstone of the local economy. The lost jobs will not be readily replaced. Businesses that depend on the patronage of International Paper&#8217;s employees will suffer.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Righting Wrongs</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRIB24_20091023-181004/301223/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The news that Congress is moving toward official federal recognition of Virginia&#8217;s Indian tribes is welcome, albeit woefully overdue. Rep. Jim Moran and Sen. Jim Webb deserve credit for carrying the measures and shepherding them toward passage. The federal failure to recognize the tribes compounded historical injustices and was itself the result of another injustice, Virginia&#8217;s attempt in the past century to expunge American Indians from the state&#8217;s vital records.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Election 2009: Chicago Style</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DEED24_20091023-181004/301220/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Although The Washington Post endorsed Creigh Deeds for governor last Sunday, yesterday&#8217;s editions did not report happy news for the Democratic nominee. According to a Page One story, White House insiders already are blaming the Deeds operation for what they see as an inevitable defeat. The goal is to shift blame from the Obama administration to the Deeds team, which, the high-hat schemers assert, did not follow advice from the Obama apparatus or, for that matter, from Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee who moonlights as governor of Virginia. The unnamed sources cowered behind anonymity.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Out of Towners</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TOUR23_20091022-181806/301021/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The weekly Travel section of The New York Times typically includes a page detailing 36 hours in, say, Capri, Novosibirsk, Fez, Saskatoon, Hong Kong, Belo Horizonte, or some other world-class destination. After consuming the advice, imaginative globetrotters head for recommended spots&#8212;only to find, at the next table, not a rustic or a Bollywood star but a former broker with Bear Stearns.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Going to Pot</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MPOT23_20091022-181806/301019/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Obama administration deserves credit for backing away from one of the Bush administration&#8217;s more ill-considered policies: the pursuit of medical-marijuana sellers. A number of states have passed laws permitting the medicinal use of pot. But the Bush administration would have none of it. It zealously used federal law to go after dispensaries&#8212;in contravention of common sense, right reason, and the principles of federalism conservatives generally hold dear.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Dropping In</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DROP23_20091022-181806/301016/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Richmond&#8217;s public-school system has developed a new program aimed at reducing the dropout rate. That&#8217;s a commendable step, made all the more commendable for being taken with no extra money in hard economic times. The big question is whether it will work. We certainly hope so. But area residents should bear in mind the uphill climb the school system faces. Dropouts are, almost by definition, the most difficult kids to reach.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Bill Wasson: Beat Reporter</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WASS22_20091021-191007/300773/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
In many ways, Bill Wasson was a walking caricature. He was gruff and cynical and big-hearted. He was a sloppy dresser but as fussy as a schoolmarm when it came to tight writing and accurate reporting. Wasson&#8217;s dry, piercing wit masked his compassion for the underdog. He was a born storyteller and an old-fashioned reporter in the very best sense&#8212;someone who pursued facts, worked his beat, cultivated sources, and wrote straight. Good luck finding any clich&#233;s in the thousands of stories he wrote during nearly 40 years as a reporter for The News Leader and           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:01:24 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Gardasil for Boys?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GARD22_20091021-191007/300770/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Three years ago a hefty lobbying campaign by Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, led some states&#8212;including Virginia&#8212;to require Gardasil vaccinations for girls and young women. Gardasil can help prevent the spread of HPV, a sexually transmitted pathogen that causes cervical cancer. Social conservatives objected to a costly mandate that is based on the presumption a teenager will be promiscuous, but even in Virginia their objections carried little weight against the counsel of prudence: Talking about what people ought to do, said vaccination advocates, was fine in theory, but less relevant in the real world. The commonwealth approved a Gardasil requirement in early 2007. (Parents have the ability to opt out if they do not want their daughters vaccinated.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>After the Fox</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FOXN22_20091021-191007/300769/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Obama administration&#8217;s strident assault on Fox News seems not only strange but unpresidential&#8212;and counterproductive. Politicians often have lashed out against the press, but seldom with such specificity and such public bile. The late William Safire, for instance, made his name and launched what would prove a lucrative career by writing words emitted by Spiro Agnew. As vociferously vivid as &#8220;nattering nabobs of negativism&#8221; may have been, however, Safire did not cite networks or anchors by name. He knew better. (Richard Nixon did not, as his enemies list suggests.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Chesterfield: Means and Ends</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NETB21_20091020-195606/300500/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Technology is a marvelous thing, and the world would be much poorer without it. Chesterfield&#8217;s intention to spend $13 million on faculty and administration netbooks, an electronic portal, and similar whiz-bangery probably will usher in a number of benefits, planned and unplanned. It probably also will usher in a number of headaches, many of them unforeseen. Henrico&#8217;s experience with iBooks proved a double-edged sword.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:51 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Health Care Reform: Wise Words</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-REGI21_20091020-195606/300503/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Last month the Commentary section published a guest column by Regina Herzlinger, the first female professor to receive tenure at the Harvard Business School. The piece discussed consumer-driven health care and appeared on the eve of The Times-Dispatch Public Square in which Reps. Eric Cantor (R-7th) and Bobby Scott (D-3rd) addressed health care reform.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:22 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The New Reality: Balloon Boy</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BBOY21_20091020-195606/300496/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The story seemed made for cable &#8220;news&#8221;&#8212;and indeed it was. A Colorado family reported that an errant balloon with their small son aboard had disappeared into the vastness of the skies. CNN and its peers gave the incident coverage worthy not only of presidential inaugurations but of missing blonde syndrome. The reports proved bogus, of course. The police had misgivings almost from the start, but played along until they could establish what was really going on. It now appears the family staged a stunt to win a coveted appearance on reality TV. Every philosopher laying claim to the mantle of Thales spoke of the ironic (or whatever) connection between the fake and the real. Once again distinctions were blurred, lines were breached.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:10 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>City Traffic: Circular Questions</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CIRC21_20091020-195606/300497/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The City of Richmond is considering whether to create an additional four roundabouts at various traffic choke points in the city. Such traffic circles make good sense as a general rule. They are not appropriate everywhere. Roundabouts tend to be much safer than four-way perpendicular intersections and old-fashioned traffic circles. Roundabouts involve one-fourth as many vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points, and one-third as many vehicle-to-pedestrian conflict points, as four-way intersections. Because they require slowing down and yielding to enter the flow of traffic, they are safer than the old-fashioned traffic circles such as the Lee Circle on Monument Avenue. Roundabouts tend to reduce congestion as well.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:01:04 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Neda of Iran</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NOBE20_20091019-171405/300289/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
As it had done with various previous prizes, the Nobel committee recognized aspiration when it awarded the 2009 peace prize to President Barack Obama. The circumstances continue to generate mild controversy. As The Washington Post says, the award seemingly has conferred more embarrassment than honor. The Post gently considers the recognition premature.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:01:56 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Rush to Judge</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RUSH20_20091019-171405/300290/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Rush Limbaugh should not be surprised. As someone who stokes controversy&#8212;often via personal ridicule&#8212;surely he expected the reaction to reports he belonged to a group interested in buying football&#8217;s St. Louis Rams. He should not be surprised by the outcome, either. The affair qualified as farce from the get-go. Given the cast of characters, how could it not? Limbaugh probably will receive a ratings boost.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:01:32 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Voting Wrongs</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-VOTING20_20091019-171405/300293/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The failure on the part of state election officials to mail absentee ballots to overseas servicemen and residents in a sufficiently timely fashion violated federal law. District Court Judge Richard Williams has correctly insisted that the votes be counted. They will make no difference to last years&#8217; presidential outcome, but that is beside the point. The votes should be counted to uphold the rights of the citizens abroad and to ensure the integrity of the electoral system.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:01:08 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Under&#45;Tow</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TOWING19_20091018-165603/300120/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Richmond City Council may raise the rate towing companies can charge for hauling off improperly parked vehicles, as well as the daily rate for storing vehicles in an impound lot. That&#8217;s a good idea. The rates haven&#8217;t been changed in a decade; they&#8217;re due for a hike. The city&#8217;s proposal would raise the towing fee from $65 to $125, the maximum allowed by state law.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Old Switcheroo</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SWITCH19_20091018-165603/300119/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Whether Bob McDonnell still believes everything he wrote in his 1989 thesis is a fair question. So is this one: Should Creigh Deeds be the one to ask it? As The Washington Post noted in a recent profile, Deeds often calls himself a &#8220;work in progress.&#8220; And indeed, he is notorious for switching positions on several hot-button issues, from gay marriage to the gun-show loophole.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Public Options</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PUBLICOP19_20091018-165603/300117/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
According to the clich&#233;s of political discourse, the Obama administration is trying to &#8220;move the country forward&#8221; by, for example, overhauling the health care system. The president&#8217;s agenda includes a &#8220;public option&#8221; for health insurance, the purpose of which is to &#8220;keep the industry honest&#8221; and hold down costs. Is that idea as progressive as progressives believe? Perhaps not.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Guantanamo Cases</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GUANT19_20091018-165603/300115/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Many Americans likely were surprised, and perhaps even outraged, to learn of the comfortable conditions in which the enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay are kept. As a recent news article reported: &#8220;For up to four hours a day, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, can sit outside in the Caribbean sun and chat through a chain-link fence with the detainee in the neighboring exercise yard at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed can also use that time to visit a media room to watch movies of his choice, read newspapers and books, or play handheld electronic games. He and other detainees have access to elliptical machines and stationary bikes . . . .&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Make It Work</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GRUM18_20091016-203809/299801/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
When stories of troubles involving the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman first broke, we suspended judgment. We preferred to wait until the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission investigated the situation and issued a report. Last week JLARC released findings. The partnership is not living up to expectations. Although responsibility for the glitches (and worse) is shared, Northrop Grumman bears the greater burden.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:51 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Popularity, Security</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DIPLO18_20091016-203809/299799/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
&#8220;Barrels of Good Will for Obama, but Few Foreign Policy Benefits,&#8220; read a recent New York Times headline. Polls show that foreigners generally feel better about the U.S. since the change in administration. Obama&#8217;s Nobel reinforces the impression. But this has not translated into tangible diplomatic gains. There are two reasons for that. The first: Governments&#8212;even democratic ones, and many are not democratic&#8212;are not mere mechanisms for translating popular opinion into official action. The second: With few if any exceptions, nations have interests, not friends.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:30 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Smarts</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MULTI18_20091016-203809/299805/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Intellectuals, Bill Cosby once said, are those who study what people do naturally. Here is proof that he is right. Researchers at Stanford University have been studying multitaskers. The researchers&#8212;who had originally been trying to find the &#8220;unusual cognitive gifts&#8221; that made multitaskers &#8220;so successful at multitasking&#8221;&#8212;found out that, in fact, multitaskers actually do worse on a variety of tasks than non-multitaskers. Concentrating on one thing at a time, it turns out, improves performance. Who knew?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:20 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Road Worriers</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-INFRAST17_20091016-190204/299773/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
According to an organization whose members make money from building public-infrastructure projects, Virginia needs to spend a lot more money on public-infrastructure projects. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives Virginia a grade of D+ for the condition of its roads, bridges, dams, water systems, schools, and so on. That puts Virginia slightly ahead of the national curve, which gets a D from the organization. It wants to see a five-year investment of $2.2 trillion.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:44 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Power&#45;Hungry</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TVS17_20091016-190204/299776/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
California appears poised to ban energy-sucking big-screen plasma TVs, despite vigorous lobbying by the Arlington, Va.-based Consumer Electronics Association. The ban will be imposed by executive fiat, courtesy of the state&#8217;s energy commission. The reason for banning the big boob tubes is the same as the one behind the push to switch from incandescent to compact fluorescent light bulbs: It&#8217;s good for the environment.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:26 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>WEEK&#8217;S END</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK17_20091016-190204/299777/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The incidents dismay. This week vandals disfigured Henrico&#8217;s Three Lakes Park with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti. This was Central Virginia&#8217;s fifth such occurrence in recent weeks; three of the crimes have happened at parks, presumed places of joy. This does not represent a resurgence of hate groups such as the KKK, yet it reflects the mean streak in certain human hearts. If the offenders are caught, punishment ought to include more than &#8220;public service&#8221; stints of washing graffiti off public and private property.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:05 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Paying for Roads</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ROADS16_20091015-180603/299551/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
&#8220;The administration has inherited a system that can no longer pay for itself,&#8220; according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He was talking about an expected shortfall in the federal highway trust fund&#8212;a problem the administration has actively been seeking to make worse. The trust fund gathers revenue principally from gasoline taxes. Like Virginia&#8217;s own gasoline tax, the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is not pegged to inflation, so it has lost purchasing power over time. If it had kept pace with prices generally it now would stand between 25 and 30 cents per gallon.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Pres. Xerox</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PATRIOT16_20091015-180603/299550/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Extraordinary rendition. Guantanamo. Warrantless wiretapping. State-secrets privilege. Military commissions. Indefinite detention without trial. For a president who promised heaping helpings of change, Barack Obama seems remarkably devoted to carrying forward the policies of his predecessor. Comes now word that the administration has signified in favor of extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act: the power to access business records, to track &#8220;lone wolf&#8221; terrorists, and to conduct roving wiretaps. (The first of those provisions is the one that authorizes Uncle Sam to find out what books you&#8217;ve been checking out of the local library.)           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Go, Squirrels!</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TEAM16_20091015-180409/299547/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Well, so much for that. Richmond&#8217;s new ball team will officially be known not as the Generals, the Ravens, or any of the other spiffy monikers suggested by area residents. They are now the Flying Squirrels. That name might not strike anyone outside the franchise as ideal, but&#8212;as we noted yesterday&#8212;on the bright side, they could have done a lot worse.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>He Must Go</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RANG15_20091014-173804/299314/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
When he defeated the legendary Adam Clayton Powell in a 1970 primary, Charles Rangel ran as something of a reformer. Voters weary of Powell&#8217;s flamboyant indiscretions rallied to him. Rangel rose in the House and proved himself to be an effective legislator. His rhetoric occasionally takes sharp turns, but he makes friends easily and appears to be a personal delight. Although McSorley&#8217;s lies outside his district, we happily would stand him a round. His family has Virginia roots.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Today&#8217;s the Day</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HUSH15_20091014-173804/299312/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Far be it from us to second-guess the philosophers who chose the name &#8220;Hush Puppies&#8221; as a finalist from among the thousands of suggestions for Richmond&#8217;s new ball club that poured in to CNBC. We certainly would not want to question the intelligence of the popinjays who rejected the scads of entries that actually made sense, such as the Generals or the Ravens. No doubt they had their reasons, and we are in no position to critique them.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Deserving Credit</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CRED15_20091014-173804/299310/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
You wouldn&#8217;t expect former Virginia Democratic Party chairman Paul Goldman and former GOP governor and senator George Allen to team up on too many projects. But then few might have expected Goldman and former GOP Rep. Tom Bliley to make common cause, either. Yet the Bliley-Goldman combo (with a big assist from Doug Wilder) helped shepherd Richmond&#8217;s new mayoral system to passage.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Censorship: New Craven, Conn.</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-YALE14_20091013-174202/299111/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Four years ago a Danish newspaper published cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad. The newspaper did so to push back against a growing tendency toward censorship and self-censorship of material offensive to tender Islamist sensibilities. As the newspaper&#8217;s cultural editor, Flemming Rose, explained before and after publication: &#8220;The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. [This] is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech&#8221;&#8212;and &#8220;The cartoonists treated Islam the same way they treat Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. And by treating Muslims in Denmark as equals they made a point: We are integrating you into the Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not strangers . . . .&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Virginia Transportation: One Word</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WORD14_20091013-174202/299110/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Transportation plays a central role in the gubernatorial campaign. In Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads it may prove decisive. Stories about the state&#8217;s transportation dilemmas and the candidates&#8217; responses to them often cite the 1986 transportation package proposed by Gov. Gerald Baliles as the last comprehensive approach to the problem. The program included the last hike in the state gasoline tax as well.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Mount Olympus: It Never Stops</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DANH14_20091013-174202/299108/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Chicago&#8217;s defeat in the Olympics sweepstakes has prompted great silliness. Conservatives mock the presentations made by the Obamas (which were, as George Will noted, preposterous). Liberals blast George Bush for alienating the universe. We think Rio won because it made the best bid and because South America never has hosted an Olympics and the time has come. Blame it on the bossa nova, in other words.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Virginia Budget: Just Wait</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-STIM13_20091012-180004/298955/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Two headlines from the spring describe the challenges that will await the governor Virginia will elect in November:   &#8220;Stimulus Package Being Felt in Va./Study Says $9 Billion Has Closed 37 Percent of State&#8217;s Budget Gap.&#8220;   &#8220;Education Money Reaches Va./The Stimulus Funds Will Be Used to Help Make Up for Budget Cuts and to Save Jobs.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Health Care: Tort Retort</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MALP13_20091012-180004/298954/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Democrats have been dismissive toward one of the GOP suggestions for health care: legal reforms to reduce medical-malpractice lawsuits. Republicans contend such lawsuits drive up the cost of health care by making malpractice insurance crushingly expensive, and by encouraging defensive medicine. Defensive medicine occurs when a doctor is 99.9 percent sure you have a case of the sniffles, not a brain tumor, but she orders up an MRI anyway so that, if you ever decide to sue her, she will have proof that she did everything humanly possible to keep you healthy.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Obama at Church: Old, Old Story</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-JOHN13_20091012-180004/298953/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
On Sunday, President Barack Obama and his family worshipped at St. John&#8217;s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square. The lovely edifice lies just a short stroll from the White House. Every president since James Monroe has attended services there. The Obamas have not settled on a permanent church home in the nation&#8217;s capital&#8212;and might not. Although the Obamas are not Episcopalians, St. John&#8217;s offers much. It is not only convenient but it knows how to take presidential appearances in stride. We decline to make a sectarian pitch.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>The Absentee Guv</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TIMK12_20091011-170804/298782/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
According to records released by his office, Gov. Tim Kaine was out of state for all or part of 12 days in September. His peregrinations included Texas, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont&#8212;and, of course, D.C. A spokesman says the absenteeism is owing to &#8220;a combination of state work, work in his role as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and personal time.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Late Arrivals</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RICS12_20091011-170804/298779/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
News regarding on-time arrivals at Richmond International Airport dismays but does not surprise. The data also corresponds to the experience of this office&#8217;s Phileas Fogg. The Times-Dispatch&#8217;s Peter Bacqu&#233; reports that according to the Brookings Institution, RIC &#8220;ranked the 13th worst among the nation&#8217;s 100 largest metropolitan-area airports for on-time airliner arrivals.&#8220; The ranking may represent inconvenience for passengers traveling to Richmond, but it does not translate into a bad grade for the airport. The on-time problems originate elsewhere&#8212;principally at the crowded hubs through which most flights to and from Richmond pass. A flight that leaves JFK late, for instance, seldom will arrive at RIC on time.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Carbon Tax: Simple Solutions</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CARB12_20091011-170804/298775/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Although the health care debate has sucked nearly every ounce of air out of other policy debates, it&#8217;s important for Americans to remember another piece of legislation being pushed by the Obama administration: cap and trade. The House narrowly passed a bloated, 1,000-plus-page behemoth loaded with corporate welfare, pork, and perverse incentives (making it more than a little like the stimulus bill, in that respect). The Senate has yet to act on the bill, and there are doubts it can make it through, even with the Democrats holding a filibuster-proof majority in the upper chamber.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Gag Order</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-HUMA11_20091009-213206/298469/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
National Review&#8217;s Jonah Goldberg&#8217;s best-selling book Liberal Fascism carries a title designed to provoke. You&#8217;d think liberals would try to prove him wrong&#8212;but some seem intent on proving him right. Take the gag order that the Obama administration recently slapped on insurance company Humana, which had sent information to policyholders warning that health care proposals being debated in Congress could lead to cuts in Medicare Advantage.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:01:48 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Going Positive</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-DEED11_20091009-213206/298465/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Gov. Tim Kaine, Rep. Jim Moran, former DNC head Terry McAuliffe, Doug Wilder&#8212;and no doubt many other influential Democrats&#8212;have a message for Creigh Deeds: Tell Virginia what you&#8217;re for, not just what you&#8217;re against. A Washington Post poll shows Deeds trailing badly. If he is to win, something must change. It may be too late. Deeds&#8217; negativism may have been the campaign&#8217;s crucial hinge.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:01:16 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Parlez&#45;Moi D&#8217;Amour</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FREN11_20091009-213206/298467/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
File this under &#8220;Only in France&#8221;: France apparently operates Europe&#8217;s nastiest prisons. The places are overcrowded and are deteriorating dramatically. Gangs form. We know what you are thinking: that this sounds a lot like the U.S., like the Richmond City Jail, for instance. Here&#8217;s la diff&#233;rence: The Fleury-M&#233;rogis prison dates to 1969 and was designed by a modernist architect famous once upon a time. Although the place lies among fields, it resembles those mass estates intended to remake the urban landscape. For several decades planners erected buildings for housing, business, worship, the arts, and, as we see, prisons that conformed to lofty social theories. The results often pleased critics and the granters of awards but infuriated those destined to live or work (or serve time) in them.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:01:04 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Nobel Prize: The Surprise</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BAMA10_20091009-181812/298422/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The news that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize inspired almost universal incredulity. Even his most loyal supporters responded with a &#8220;what?&#8220; Nobel Prizes often are seen as capstones to careers, recognition of a singular accomplishment, or encouragement for a transformational cause. Many observers describe Obama&#8217;s Nobel as a reward not for achievement but for aspiration. Yesterday Obama agreed with the assessment and said he will take the award as a &#8220;call to action.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:38 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Week&#8217;s End</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK10_20091009-181812/298427/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
This weekend Richmond may set its all-time record for festivals. In addition to the Richmond Folk Festival, Central Virginia will celebrate the Festival of India, the Richmond Italian Street Festival, and several we probably have omitted. The region reports sufficient supplies of Bromo-Seltzer and Tums.&nbsp; The comedy surrounding the naming of Richmond&#8217;s new baseball team makes something of a point. The proliferation of franchises has exhausted the availability of good names. Indeed, purists would say the art of naming teams has gone into serious decline since &#8220;Dodgers&#8221; set a mark that cannot be surpassed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:29 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>City Government: Buried</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-AUDS09_20091008-181608/298199/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Embarrassing as many of the audits produced by Richmond Auditor Umesh Dalal have been, at least the city has had the courage to give them a full airing&#8212;until now. But recently the City Council&#8217;s office stopped issuing press releases about Dalal&#8217;s findings. Council president Kathy Graziano notes that other localities don&#8217;t air their laundry in public, either. Council chief of staff Daisy Weaver says doing so is &#8220;not necessary.&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:51 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Politics, Culture: Inferno</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-ROCK09_20091008-181608/298204/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson pointed at President Barack Obama, sneered, and shouted, &#8220;You lie!&#8220;&#8212;and promptly became a conservative &#8220;rock star,&#8220; and a target of liberal contempt. While speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, Florida Democrat Alan Grayson said Republican health care policy boiled down to &#8220;don&#8217;t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly&#8221;&#8212;and promptly became a hero to the left and a villain to the right.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:41 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Campaign 2009: Thesitis</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-THES09_20091008-181608/298205/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
A friend passes along the following&#8212;apparently accurate&#8212;diagnosis of a newly discovered malady: &#8220;Thesitis&#8212;an obsessive-compulsive disorder affecting campaign-impaired, idea-deprived candidates; onset is typically triggered when an irrelevant but tantalizing issue drops into your lap through no fault of your own in the middle of an acute period of campaign disorientation and listlessness. Symptoms are distracted repetition of the same words, tending toward babbling, and extreme receptiveness to suggestion, even if suicidal (e.g., large newspaper tells candidate to propose billion-dollar tax increase during a recession, one month before election).&#8220;           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:08 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Folk Festival: Ante Up</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FOLK09_20091008-181608/298200/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Richmond&#8217;s successful staging of the National Folk Festival led to the locally produced Richmond Folk Festival. This evening at 6 the celebration begins. To many, &#8220;folk music&#8221; implies Joan Baez, Bob Dylan (during the best phase of his career), the Limelighters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, the Weavers, Pete Seeger, Taj Mahal, Buffy Sainte-Marie, as well as Peter, Paul, and Mary (may Mary Travers rest in peace). As the Folk Festival&#8217;s lineup suggests, the genre includes those and much more. Folk music embraces national and ethnic traditions and styles.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:01:06 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>2016 Olympics: Blame It on Rio</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-OLYS08_20091007-180605/297964/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Spain&#8217;s king and prime minister went to Copenhagen to press Madrid&#8217;s bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics. Japan&#8217;s prime minister spoke on behalf of Tokyo. Brazil&#8217;s president made the case for Rio de Janeiro. Barack Obama probably could not have won. If he had not made a personal appeal on behalf of Chicago, the peanut gallery would have blamed Chicago&#8217;s failure on his absence. Because he and Michelle Obama made a pitch for the Windy City, the loss is said by some to symbolize his geopolitical impotence.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:01:45 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Education: Merit Pay for Kids?</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-KIDS08_20091007-180605/297962/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The progress Petersburg has made in improving its schools is heartening. The city faces great challenges, but it has proven that even daunting obstacles can be overcome. Much of the credit goes to superintendent James Victory, whose name carries a poetically appropriate connotation. Educators in other parts of the state might want to study how Petersburg has improved.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:01:33 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Press Shield: Mighty Fortress</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PRES08_20091007-180605/297965/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The First Amendment recognizes freedom of the press as an inalienable right. Rights require protection, for even in countries as dedicated to liberty as the United States, individual and corporate rights can fall under siege. A flourishing press&#8212;a press that fulfills its watchdog role, for example&#8212;relies on confidential sources. Although we remain wary of stories that cite so-called anonymous sources, we recognize that journalists can receive tips that lead them to crucial information. Whistleblowers concerned about retaliation need assurances that their identities will not be revealed. The relationship between reporter and source can be abused, but there will be instances in which confidentiality remains key to the development of a major story.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:01:18 EST</pubDate>
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         <item>
          <title>Richmond Life: Street Scenes</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-MAIN07_20091006-181002/297784/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Speaking of Richmond night life (and day life, for that matter), a robust street scene occurs on the blocks near Lombardy and Main. The attractions include galleries displaying art from some of Richmond&#8217;s finest painters, as well as places to eat, drink, meet, trade stories, and do all the things social beings do. We visited the neighborhood last Friday and enjoyed the festive air. And when we mentioned the experience to friends, we often discovered that they, too, had frequented the zone and already had favorite spots. This weekend we might return for a beer and an argument about the baseball playoffs.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:01:38 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Downtown Scene: Last Friday</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-FRID07_20091006-180802/297782/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The First Fridays Art Walk is one of the few splendid success stories to come out of downtown Richmond in many years. The cultural affair, which now draws visitors in the thousands, is all the more wonderful for having arisen on its own. It is an authentic grassroots endeavor that has grown organically, on the strength of its genuine appeal. City officials should be doing everything they can not to impede its flourishing.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:01:27 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Behaving Badly: Old Smokey</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-OLDS07_20091006-180802/297783/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
David Letterman used his late-night comedy show to apologize for his indiscretions, thereby heaping additional humiliation on those he betrayed. The public apology has become an American ritual, and an empty one at that. Letterman has added his name to a list that includes such lofty personages as Sen. John Ensign, Gov. Mark Sanford, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Sen. David Vitter, and, pre-eminent in the pantheon, John Edwards, a former senator, former vice presidential nominee, and would-be tribune of the proletariat.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>The Dalai Lama: A Snub</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-LAMA06_20091005-184003/297606/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
The Dalai Lama transcends his religion and his nationality. He symbolizes a universal desire for liberty and decency and shares stature with the likes of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi. The Dalai Lama is visiting Washington this week, and for the first time in his 10 trips since 1991 to the nation&#8217;s capital he will not be meeting with the president of the United States. A news story reports:           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Stimulus: Make Haste Slowly</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-STIM06_20091005-183808/297603/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Far be it from skeptics of the federal government&#8217;s massive stimulus bill to fault the commonwealth of Virginia for not cutting in line to grab a slice of the pork. That Virginia has &#8220;fallen far behind other states in putting to work&#8221; stimulus money for road construction, as Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar noted recently, is not the end of the world.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Media Bias: Perception Problem</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-BIAS06_20091005-183808/297600/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Perhaps we are reading too much into a brief remark. But recently, Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander asked whether political bias partly explains why the mainstream media miss, underplay, and are slow to pick up on big news stories such as the ACORN and Van Jones affairs. He wondered whether they should be paying more attention to conservative news outlets to keep up with the zeitgeist.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Gouging Law: Spike It</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-GOUG05_20091004-170001/297414/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Gov. Tim Kaine&#8217;s administration is seeking ways to close a persistent budget gap. While the prospect of further layoffs and program cuts is an unhappy one, it might have a silver lining. May we suggest, both as a cost-cutting measure and a sound policy decision, that the attorney general&#8217;s office reassign those staffers who chase down price-gouging allegations?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:01:23 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>400 Years Ago: Nieuw Amsterdam</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-NEWY05_20091004-170204/297418/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Two years ago the nation joined Virginia in celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Elizabeth II came to pay her respects to an experiment whose consequences included independence from the Mother Country. Four hundred years ago, Henry Hudson, on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, sailed into what now is known as New York.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:01:08 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Attorney General&#8217;s Race: Down Ticket</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-AGER04_20091002-195603/297040/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Virginia&#8217;s undercard races do not receive much attention, which is too bad. Although the office of lieutenant governor is rarely consequential (as we noted in a recent editorial), many lieutenant governors do go on to run for governor. So do many attorneys general. There is a case to be made for the candidates of each party running as a ticket. (In the AG&#8217;s case, there also is a case to be made for gubernatorial appointment rather than general election.) This year the GOP seems to be running a more unified campaign than the Democrats. Bob McDonnell has held joint appearances and rolled out joint policy proposals with both Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and AG candidate Ken Cuccinelli. The Democrats have done little of that sort of thing. Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner, and Steve Shannon might be coordinating their efforts behind the scenes, but to all public appearances one would think none of them had ever heard of the other two.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:01:46 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Unions: Americans Say No</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CARD04_20091002-195603/297041/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
There is a disconnect between the ferocity with which unions are pressing for the Employee Free Choice Act&#8212;better known as card check&#8212;and their representation of the bill. If, as they assert, it does not do away with the secret ballot and would make no radical changes to existing labor law, then why are they so desperate for its passage?           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:01:29 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Week In Review</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-WEEK03_20091002-182602/297016/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
WEEK&#8217;S END The Second Street Festival celebrates the rich cultural history of Jackson Ward. The party occurs today and tomorrow and is not to be missed. We intend to wear our &#8220;spectators.&#8220; Those in the know will know what we mean.&nbsp; A reader who just returned from Venice reports he enjoyed touring the Palladian Villas and recalled that the buildings inspired Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson considered architecture more than designs for buildings. Monticello, the Virginia Capitol, and UVa&#8217;s Rotunda reflect philosophical ideas and civic virtues. Jefferson&#8217;s architecture is &#8220;political&#8221; in the best sense of the word. Literature, music, history, and other aspects of the liberal arts affect politics as well&#8212;or should. Our friend proposes that all candidates for elected office be required to take a &#8220;civilization test.&#8220; We agree.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>The Streak</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-CURS03_20091002-182602/297013/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Democrat Jimmy Carter won the 1976 presidential election. In 1977, Virginia elected Republican John Dalton governor. In every election since, Virginia has elected a governor from the party opposing the White House. Whether blessing or curse, the streak has endured. Is the record a coincidence or a reliable reminder that Virginians consider themselves contrarians? Most of the time the Virginia results have lacked national implications, yet twice they served as precursors. George Allen&#8217;s come-from-behind win in 1993 set the stage for the GOP&#8217;s congressional sweep in the 1994 midterms; similarly, Tim Kaine&#8217;s 2005 victory suggested the trends that resulted in Democratic routs in 2006 and 2008.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Economics: Energy Futures</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-PRED02_20091001-182408/296778/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Global-warming skeptics frequently argue that the computer models used to predict climate change cannot begin to account for the complexity of the real world. Yet when it comes to the economic consequences of cap-and-trade legislation supported by liberals who want to mitigate climate change, conservative skeptics can be very precise indeed.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:01:39 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Terror: Still Out There</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TERR02_20091001-182408/296781/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
It has been some time since Americans took note of color-coded threat levels or loaded up on plastic sheeting and duct tape in the event of a biochemical attack. But the recent arrest of Najibullah Zazi, a would-be terrorist who planned to carry out bombings on New York on the anniversary of 9/11; the capture of a man who parked what he thought was a truck bomb near a Dallas skyscraper; the arrest of a man who tried the same thing near a federal courthouse in Illinois; and details about the arrest of several men planning to attack Quantico Marine Corps base, offer a sobering reminder that the terrorist threat has not disappeared.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:01:23 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Passenger Rail: Drill, Baby</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-RAIL02_20091001-182408/296779/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
Yesterday Virginia launched its first state-funded city-to-city passenger trains. The three-year, taxpayer-subsidized pilot program&#8212;making runs to Washington from Lynchburg and Richmond&#8212;will measure the feasibility of intercity rail. Virginia will shell out several million dollars a year to subsidize the operational side of the endeavor, on top of more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:01:05 EST</pubDate>
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          <title>Obama, India: Nightmare</title>
          <link>http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-INDI01_20090930-230002/296695/</link>
          <description><![CDATA[
During the 1970s, Daniel Patrick Moynihan served as U.S. ambassador to India. When Indira Gandhi imposed martial law, Moynihan called Washington to offer congratulations to his colleagues as the U.S. had just become the world&#8217;s most populous democracy. Democracy has returned to India, a country with more than 1.1 billion citizens. Although India suffers from sectarian strife and confronts challenges relating to poverty and other social ills, it remains one of the freest nations in an often unruly neighborhood. More than one Muslim has lamented that his co-religionists enjoy more freedom in India, where Hindus form the majority, than in Pakistan, which considers itself an Islamic state. India boasts robust elections and has a thriving, diverse press.           ]]></description>
          <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST</pubDate>
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