Albany Herald

Opinion

Romney’s gloom unappealing to voters

What do Rick Santorum and Clint Eastwood have in common? Sorry Rick, you haven’t made it yet as an Eastwood-style make-my-day cultural icon. But in different ways, Santorum and Eastwood have demonstrated the limits of both an entirely negative slant on politics and a pessimistic take on America’s future.

Jobless rate doesn’t tell whole story

The Obama administration is touting the latest unemployment numbers released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor as proof its policies are working. But a closer look at the actual number of able-bodied people who are willing to work, but are not, reveals a different picture.

Santorum worthy challenger for Romney

Is this any way to pick a president? Absolutely. It works. It winnows. And it has produced, after just one contest, an admirably worthy conservative alternative to Romney.

Supercommittee's 'failure' actually a success

Here is a surefire way to cut $7.1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade. Do nothing.

Five myths about ... the G-20

Another drama of our financial-crisis era is coming up this week: a G-20 summit, where world leaders will gather to develop and debate solutions to the global economic turmoil. But for all their pomp, what do these meetings really accomplish? As President Obama and other heads of government travel to Cannes, France, let’s set straight some misconceptions surrounding these high-level gatherings.

Five myths about ... social media

The ever-expanding universe of social-media technologies — including video-sharing, mobile phones, and networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter that allow individuals to share and connect — is as ubiquitous as it is misunderstood. Apostles hail its power to oust dictators and bring us together; skeptics worry that it homogenizes our thinking and trivializes our relationships. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

Failure teaches us more than success

By the time Steve Jobs' Wikipedia page had been adjusted to past tense, eulogists had added a footnote to his biography of success. Failure.

Family issue needs addressing

Lost in the hubbub over Herman Cain's love affair with the number nine during last week's Republican debate were some compelling observations by Rick Santorum about "the breakdown of the American family" and its relationship to poverty.

Why Islam can let a church die

I am looking at a reproduction of an old engraving of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is in Bat Ye'or's book "The Dhimmi," which collects primary documents from history to chronicle the impact of Islamic law on non-Muslims through the centuries.

Scapegoat strategy sadly works

What do you do if you can’t run on your record — on 9 percent unemployment, stagnant growth and ruinous deficits as far as the eye can see? How to run when you are asked whether Americans are better off than they were four years ago and you are compelled to answer no?

It’s a presidential, not ideological, race

Rather than worrying about whether Mormons worship the right God in the right way, Republicans should insist that only Mormons run for president.

GOP: Don’t do something, stand there

So let’s see: The solution to large-scale abuses of the financial system, a breakdown of the private sector, extreme economic inequality and the failure of companies and individuals to invest and create jobs is — well, to give even more money and power to very wealthy people, to disable government and to trust those who got us into the mess to get us out of it.

Showdown happens at intensity gap

Barack Obama clearly faces an “intensity gap.” His poll numbers hover in the low 40s, and a tangible sense of disappointment muffles the enthusiasm of even his loyal supporters. Hope and change have been replaced by a far less compelling slogan: Hang On. Don’t Change.

In veepstakes, does Rubio’s ‘no’ mean ‘no’?

Do Republicans believe Marco Rubio? While much of the political world has been obsessing over decisions by Chris Christie and Sarah Palin not to run for president, the freshman senator from Florida has been making a series of increasingly Shermanesque vows to turn down any offer to join a Republican ticket as a vice presidential candidate.

Death leaves innovation deficit

The death of one of the great innovators of our time, or any time — Steve Jobs — brings a question asked by Pete Seeger in another context. To paraphrase: Where have all the (creative) people gone; long time passing? Jobs and fellow computer innovator Bill Gates represent if not a vanishing breed, then at least one that might be classified, were it an exotic animal, as endangered.

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Letters to the Editor

HOPE Ball raises record amount
Valentine’s Day dance brightened up center 1 comment
Administrators should see life in classroom 1 comment
Women move closer to combat trenches
Urban forest creates beauty and benefits
Obama turning U.S. into socialist state 7 comments
Group raising heart health awareness
‘Funny’ political email is full of venom 6 comments
Not every secret needs to be shared 1 comment
Three writers stand up for what's right

Columnists

It's (liberal) Black History Month
Rich males shouldn't decide abortion 7 comments
Nice ‘thank you’ a day brightener 3 comments
Peanut research pays dividends for region
Serendipity something to relish
Civility is golden in modern society
Ideological hypocrites causing problem
Women to the front on contraception
Empowerment through wrong is still wrong 12 comments
Ranting mom far from cute 5 comments

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