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Blowback Archive
Blowback is an online forum for full-length responses to our articles, editorials and Op-Eds. Click here to read more about Blowback.
For Blowbacks published before 2008, click here.
For Blowbacks published before 2008, click here.
Blowback
In it's 'no' endorsement of Proposition 9, The Times displays a callous disregard for the suffering endured by victims and their families.
Blowback
A recent Times Op-Ed article supporting Prop. 8 claims to advocate for children. In reality, denying equal marriage rights harms everyone.
Blowback
The Times should support programs that would put cleaner-burning fuel in the cars and trucks on our roads.
Blowback
Under close scrutiny, almost all of the objections raised by The Times and other opponents melt away.
Blowback
The attacks that filter up from the left-wing blogosphere to the mainstream media betray a shallow, distorted view of conservative Americans.
Blowback
Opposition to a researcher's request for test takers' data is about privacy, not affirmative action.
Blowback
The learning-disabled shouldn't have to achieve the same scores as everyone else to pass the state exit exam.
Blowback
There's no need to build new infrastructure when we can make relatively simple technological improvements to existing roads and cars.
Blowback
The Times editorial board favors a system that cheats active-duty service members of their full due-process protections.
Opinion
If The Times had its way, millions of Americans would be out of work thanks to unfair foreign competition.
Blowback
The Times is wrong to support a national scheme that could disenfranchise California voters.
BLOWBACK
Contrary to The Times' position, it isn't censorship to inform parents when a movie depicts lighting up.
BLOWBACK
An Op-Ed article by Supervisors Burke and Yaroslavsky exaggerated the harm they cause the environment.
BLOWBAC
The Times was wrong to say that the city's retail development exacerbates West L.A.'s traffic problems.
Blowback
A state bill would muddle laws on end-of-life care and establish a dangerous precedent.
BLOWBACK
The Times incorrectly casts bishops opposed to progress on gay rights as victims of Western encroachment.
Blowback
State law requires psychiatrists and psychologists to carefully evaluate sex offenders -- and that costs a lot of money.
Blowback
Sacramento was wrong to delay a law that would impose a fee on disposable bags.
BLOWBACK
Backroom dealing is no way to set L.A. County's long-term transportation priorities.
Blowback
Councilman Parks' ordinance would improve conditions for neighborhoods and those who seek work outside home-improvement stores.
Blowback
China's upbeat conformity may look strange to us, but it's part of a powerful tradition.
Federal courts took far too long to rule that it's wrong to strip-search a 13-year-old girl suspected of carrying ibuprofen.
BLOWBACK
Posting caloric content to menus may be helpful -- but not if it causes consumers to ignore their own senses.
BLOWBACK
Despite its claims, the organization’s plans to run Locke High School won’t empower students or offer more local control.
HOLD
T. Boone Pickens' proposals to wean the country off foreign oil could provide more benefit to Iran than to the U.S.
BLOWBACK
A recent Op-Ed article unfairly characterized the country's government and efforts to combat radicalism within its borders.
BLOWBACK
The moratorium on new restaurants will ultimately mean more options for residents.
BLOWBACK
Neither candidate's proposed solution can address underlying issues with the K-12 system.
BLOWBACK
L.A.'s transit authority already has enough of our money to improve its most crucial network -- the bus system.
BLOWBACK
Northrop unfairly manipulated the Air Force away from the Boeing plane, which is a better fit for our military.
BLOWBACK
Impenetrable though the state budget may seem, every extra dollar spent on Californians provides both tangible and societal benefits.
BLOWBACK
Although some fear that prosecuting Sudan's president could halt progress in the region, it is the only way to secure lasting stability.
BLOWBACK
Unless the cost of food is reined in, expect to see obesity levels continue to climb.
BLOWBACK
The menu-labeling bill would help California fight the obesity crisis, opponents' arguments notwithstanding.
BLOWBACK
The company insists its refueling craft is best, but the Air Force should stick with Northrop-EADS.
BLOWBACK
Nutrition is more complex than a few figures can convey. And who wants to count while they're eating?
BLOWBACK
California students have met seemingly unattainable standards before.
BLOWBACK
L.A. needs to stop trumpeting rosy statistics and get tougher on crime and illegal immigrants.
BLOWBACK
Maybe not, if the recent New Yorker cover is any indication.
BLOWBACK
With budget cuts too deep to fund sound instruction, schools won't be able to teach algebra properly.
BLOWBACK
Sandra Tsing Loh would have more to say about a recent Prop. 98 Op-Ed, but she has to get back to baking.
BLOWBACK
The key figure behind California's Telephone Privacy Act says the new legislation shatters the rule of law.
BLOWBACK
What China's success at the Summer Games would mean for American athletic and global leadership.
BLOWBACK
Rebutting John Stagliano and John Wright.
BLOWBACK
A fellow Latino attorney addresses the former attorney general's recent Op-Ed article.
BLOWBACK
A focus on chronic disease would mean lower costs and easier access.
BLOWBACK
People -- no matter their ethnicity -- move freely when they have the money to do it.
BLOWBACK
It's not the gangs, it's the cops. L.A.'s law enforcement agencies should stop the playground antics.
Blowback
Let Cy Bolton count the memos.
Blowback
His collaborator on the PBS children's show 'Shining Time Station' looks back.
BLOWBACK
America ranked second to last in a 1964 test of students worldwide. Those students went on to transform the American economy.
BLOWBACK
Locke High School tried to reform under union and district leadership, but the obstacles were too great.
BLOWBACK
A back-and-forth on Judge Alex Kozinski's stash.
BLOWBACK
A body count doesn't capture the atmosphere of a classroom.
BLOWBACK
Alex Kozinski isn't a hypocrite or a disgrace to the judicial bench. He's normal.
BLOWBACK
Wine aficionados and their fancy words are just like sports fans and their stats.
BLOWBACK
The misconduct standards the porn-collecting judge advocated might now be used against him.
BLOWBACK
The movement to privatize education has a friend in The Times.
BLOWBACK
Creating a chair of conservative studies makes a discipline out of a political fad.
BLOWBACK
Building beds for the mentally ill is a fine goal, but why not reduce overcrowding first?
BLOWBACK
They cause blackouts that lose California businesses and utilities tens of millions of dollars a year.
BLOWBACK
Without federal or state-level rules, it's up to local governments to take on greenhouse gas emissions.
BLOWBACK
It's the right response to lawsuits that seek to define marriage contrary to many Americans' beliefs.
BLOWBACK
Politicizing nuclear policymaking could have devastating results.
BLOWBACK
Thirty years later, it's still giving the state and taxpayers what they want -- predictability.
BLOWBACK
The policy protects the public by meting discipline while maintaining law enforcement morale.
BLOWBACK
A former Kaiser board member suggests universal coverage for the most vulnerable, and individual accounts for routine care.
BLOWBACK
The primitive mind isn't all bad, and sometimes it's essential.
BLOWBACK
President Bush was right to call it appeasement.
BLOWBACK
Charging $15 for a checked bag isn't going to win the hearts of consumers who like their freebies free.
BLOWBACK
The problem with nonconsensual aid to the Burmese isn't about numbers or neo-imperialism, it's about logistics.
BLOWBACK
Many black religious leaders support gays and lesbians, but they don't show up in media coverage.
BLOWBACK
It's about how to think, not about how to do.
BLOWBACK
School programs like Reading First can't do the job until parents do theirs.
BLOWBACK
The South African president is a diplomat, not an appeaser of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
BLOWBACK
East Coast snobs with Old World sympathies take cheap shots at a great product.
BLOWBACK
Without one, the entire California economy is at risk.
BLOWBACK
Enough about Obama and Wright. This election is about Bush.
BLOWBACK
By pushing to dismantle them, Fabian Nuñez is defying the will of California voters.
BLOWBACK
Our future depends on advocating sustainable population growth, however politically incorrect.
BLOWBACK
Congestion pricing more accurately reflects the cost of commuting.
BLOWBACK
The Writers Guild has an obligation to judge the actions of members who worked during the strike.
BLOWBACK
Don't just tally how many doctors were disciplined. Boards need adequate funding and staffing to investigate physician competency.
BLOWBACK
When even scientists acknowledge that 25 years of research haven't born any fruit, it's time to stop searching for an AIDS vaccine.
BLOWBACK
Policymakers should respond to fact, not fear, on Special Order 40.
BLOWBACK
If the Guantanamo Bay prison does close, Ft. Leavenworth isn't the place to house them.
BLOWBACK
Looking at long-term trends, the ocean, and climate change for clues.
BLOWBACK
Conservation alone won't cut it -- California needs desalination.
BLOWBACK
A brief letter from David Baltimore and Seth Berkley
BLOWBACK
Creating a reliable funding stream would save schools from budget cuts.
BLOWBACK
Debates over symbolic gestures rob those who are victims of gang violence and their families.
BLOWBACK
A California librarian did the right thing by calling the police on a patron reportedly viewing child porn.
BLOWBACK
What Martin Luther King might have said in response to a Times editorial ridiculing a murder moratorium.
BLOWBACK
Outlawing payday lenders limits consumer choice.
BLOWBACK
The U.S. should focus its funds on providing treatment to people in need.
BLOWBACK
An S & P managing director explains.
BLOWBACK
Oaths aren't mere McCarthy-era tools of oppression -- they've been around for centuries.
BLOWBACK
An L.A. Unified grad gives some gratitude during a hard time for schools.
BLOWBACK
A Turkish American takes Justice and Development Party leaders to task.
BLOWBACK
The ruling party is corrupting the country's secular character.
BLOWBACK
Rigorous standards ensure their high quality, but misapprehension about generics remains.
BLOWBACK
Thoughtful evaluations would do better job of measuring teacher success.
BLOWBACK
A member of the Justice and Development Party says his country deserves advanced democracy.
BLOWBACK
What the candidate should have said about race.
BLOWBACK
Feminism is going strong even though the 'Bitch' author has left the spotlight.
BLOWBACK
Claiming that male infidelity has roots in nature ignores important findings about the females of the species.
BLOWBACK
More medical training for Americans would mean better care here, and around the world.
BLOWBACK
A court ruling is right to examine the seemingly elitist and illiberal practice.
BLOWBACK
Mexican American war vets and Eastside teachers did more for Mexican Americans than a small protest.
BLOWBACK
Travel to the U.S. has nearly recovered to its pre-9/11 level.
BLOWBACK
Jonah Goldberg resurrects Red-baiting techniques against Obama and Clinton, says a reader.
BLOWBACK
Blaming rape survivors for their clothes or habits betrays a fear of female independence.
BLOWBACK
A University of Virginia student explains why campus assault is underreported and rarely prosecuted.
BLOWBACK
The awards don’t play well on the small screen, so make them an industry-only event again.
BLOWBACK
When patient health is at risk, doctors would do well to follow the example of their California peers.
BLOWBACK
A student activist reacts to an Op-Ed claiming that there is no campus rape crisis.
BLOWBACK
The graduated driver license law isn’t the only thing to blame for higher fatalities.
BLOWBACK
Foreign intelligence gathering requires different tools from criminal investigations.
BLOWBACK
The vilified church is no stranger than many a long-established religion.
BLOWBACK
A Times article neglected to mention key criticisms of the president’s AIDS program.
BLOWBACK
Intellectual property’s social value may trump copyright law.
BLOWBACK
Public schools should be accountable to parents rather than to the government.
BLOWBACK
A former Chicago constituent asks her candidate of choice to start talking real politics.
BLOWBACK
There’s much yet to learn about privately operated public schools; we needn’t be so polarized about them.
BLOWBACK
Philanthropists say their donations help create a winning system; two professors say the game is rigged.
BLOWBACK
A weak secret court is to blame for abuses of foreign surveillance.
BLOWBACK
It’s not racism that’s been making the difference, it’s a 16-year head start.
BLOWBACK
A San Diego columnist disputes Gregory Rodriguez’s claims on blacks, Latinos and voting.
BLOWBACK
It’s a fair idea, but it could sow discord among teachers.
BLOWBACK
The last word on the company’s Liberian operation.
BLOWBACK
How a fraternal culture and a habit of blaming the victim leave sexual violence unexamined and unpunished.
BLOWBACK
A Firestone executive and an author square off over the company's role in this troubled nation.
BLOWBACK
Critics haven’t offered a viable alternative to the reality-based, progressive AB X1-1.
BLOWBACK
Contrary to The Times’ descriptions, violence in Kenya has many roots.
BLOWBACK
A Canadian military officer explains why the U.S. Defense secretary’s comments upset allies.
BLOWBACK
Why not give commuters the pleasure of an easier trip?
BLOWBACK
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s VP strikes out at ugly American journalists.
BLOWBACK
A screenwriter explains the strategy behind separate agreements.
BLOWBACK
Reason magazine’s Brian Doherty responds to Michael Kinsley.
BLOWBACK
The Pakistan Peoples Party is right to keep her family in charge.
BLOWBACK
Public salaries should rival private ones to attract a diverse and talented bench.
BLOWBACK
A former Writers Guild president explains.
BLOWBACK
Two supporters of Israel in Congress say it isn’t about the lobby.
BLOWBACK
A raid at L.A. Trade Tech is the latest proof.
BLOWBACK
Shared history and values, not the lobby, unite Israel and the U.S.
BLOWBACK
Why should mall shop owners have more rights than employees or shoppers?
BLOWBACK
The “Undercover Brother” screenwriter defends his move to return to work.
BLOWBACK
The Times should have highlighted the inconsistencies in the presidential candidate's positions.
BLOWBACK
Denying potentially life-saving transplants is an insurer M.O.
BLOWBACK
The Times’ L.A. Visions profile of the Clinton-era prosecutor was too friendly by half.
BLOWBACK
Plaintiff’s attorney says don’t trust stats on clergy abuse.