Your 12 hourly digest for Opinions: Washington Post Opinion, Editorial, Op Ed, Politics Editorials - The Washington Post

Opinions: Washington Post Opinion, Editorial, Op Ed, Politics Editorials - The Washington Post The Washington Post Opinions section features opinion articles,newspaper editorials and letters to the editor on the issues of the day. Offerings include the Post Partisan blog by Washington Post opinion writers, as well as political cartoons and political cartoon animations by editorial cartoonists Tom Toles and Ann Telnaes.

Editorial Board: Obama 2.0 Jan 19th 2013, 23:28 PRESIDENT OBAMA took office in 2009 with a soaring message of inclusiveness and optimism that proved overly ambitious in the bleak economy he inherited. As he swears his oath for a second time, the nightmarish collapse is a memory, thanks in part to his leadership, and the potential for growth and renewal very real. We hope, given the opportunity, he will rededicate himself to being a president who is bigger than party and above partisan squabbling. Read full article >> Editorial Board: A bummer crop of subsidies Jan 19th 2013, 23:26 THE DROUGHT that struck the United States in 2012 affected about 80 percent of agricultural land, making it the most extensive such weather event since the 1950s, according to the Agriculture Department (USDA). Consumers will feel the impact of last year's smaller harvests in the form of higher grocery prices this year. Yet the increases will be relatively modest — a half-percentage-point increase in food price inflation, according to USDA economic projections. Read full article >> Editorial Board: Galvanizing Prince George's schools Jan 19th 2013, 23:23 THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS in Prince George's County are in trouble. Despite gains in test scores, student performance continues to lag that of other local, suburban school systems. About 1,000 students per year, on average, have been leaving, some because of shifting demographics, others because of the schools' poor reputation. That has shrunk the system by more than 5 percent since 2006 (to about 125,000 students), even as the county's population has grown. Meanwhile, the numbers of students from low-income and immigrant households are climbing. Read full article >> The costs of an underfunded military Jan 19th 2013, 22:46 On Jan. 15, Walter Pincus's Fine Print column, "The unaffordability of the all-volunteer military," railed about the high cost of defense personnel programs, while Mr. Pincus's Post colleague Ernesto Londoño cited the record suicide rate among military personnel in 2012 ["More U.S. troops lost to suicide than combat in 2012"]. The significant rise in suicide rates "underscores the toll a decade of wars has taken on the all-volunteer force," Mr. Londoño reported. Read full article >> It's not pot, it's the law Jan 19th 2013, 22:45 Bennett Minton [letters, Jan. 15] noted that lighting a marijuana "nightcap" causes harm to "collateral victims" through the "violence and waste" that result. But choosing an alcoholic nightcap also causes collateral damage by funding violent mobsters such as Al Capone. Oh, wait — that was only true during Prohibition. So maybe it's the drug law, not the drug, that causes most of the collateral harm. Read full article >> A street risk to the blind Jan 19th 2013, 22:43 The mother of Gerry Ridgeway [letters, Jan. 15] did teach him correctly on how to cross a street: You do look both ways. That is, unless you are blind. Having volunteered with organizations for the blind, I know that the blind decide when it is safe to cross a street by listening. Even people who have guide dogs listen and then give their dogs the command to proceed. Silent cars are dangerous to the blind. Read full article >> Another war lost Jan 19th 2013, 22:32 The mission in Afghanistan has evolved into the same mission we eventually had in Vietnam: gradual acceptance of defeat ["Mission shrink in Afghanistan," editorial, Jan. 15]. The lesson of the Afghanistan war is the same as the lesson of the Vietnam War, which we did not learn that time around: The United States should not engage in any war that we as a people do not have the fortitude to win. Read full article >> Republicans are their own demagogues Jan 19th 2013, 22:30 In his Jan. 15 op-ed column, "Short-term battles, long-term costs," Michael Gerson mangled language and logic to blame President Obama for the political predicament of congressional Republicans. Mr. Gerson interpreted Mr. Obama's opposition to Republican policies as payback: Humiliated by defeat in the 2010 elections, the president now wants to humiliate Republicans. He knows, Mr. Gerson said, that Republicans "are forced by the momentum of their ideology to take positions on spending that he can easily demagogue." Read full article >>

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