Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials

The Associated Press

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

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Sept. 8

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, on World Health Organization hurting:

Were it not for horribly misguided Islamic religious fanatics in northern Nigeria and tribal Pakistan, the World Health Organization might have been able to eradicate polio this year. And in fact the organization and its health care allies have succeeded in eliminating rinderpest, a disease affecting cattle that is deadly serious if you live in rural parts of the world where your existence depends on cattle.

Thus, in a world grown comfortable with the World Health Organization’s track record of containing infectious diseases, the widespread assumption was that it would quickly be on top of the spreading Ebola outbreak. But because of severe budget cuts, First World complacency and Third World inability to implement World Health Organization guidelines, the Ebola outbreak in Africa has spread out of control and reached epidemic status.

The New York Times, in a story on a diminished organization’s inability to cope, asked, “If WHO, the main United Nations health agency, could not quickly muster an army of experts and health workers to combat an outbreak overtaking some of the world’s poorest countries, then what entity in the world would do it?”

The immediate answer is that there is none, the heroic efforts of aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the Carter Center notwithstanding. The World Health Organization has been so hollowed out that its director general, Dr. Margaret Chan, told the Times it was a fantasy to think of her agency as a first responder ready to lead the fight against deadly outbreaks around the world.

Cruelly, the most effective way of combating an unexpected epidemic is to have it occur in a relatively prosperous country. Once the Chinese government owned up to the existence of the deadly pneumonia known as SARS, the disease was contained within a year thanks to hundreds of millions donated by wealthy individuals concerned about the welfare of their workforces. But as Dr. Jim Yong Kim, head of the World Bank and former head of the World Health Organization, told the Times, as soon as SARS burned out, “Those guys disappeared, and we forgot very quickly.”

Ebola is a reminder of why “those guys” and the rest of us should not forget. Having created a strong, effective health agency doing vital and humane work, we have a moral obligation to keep it that way.

Online:

http://www.commercialappeal.com

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Sept. 9

Miami Herald on immigration:

On June 30, President Obama ordered Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to recommend actions he could take “within my existing legal authorities” to fix immigration: “I expect their recommendations before the end of summer and I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay.”

No mincing words there. But over the weekend Obama said, in effect, “Never mind.” The bold deadline he proclaimed — “end of summer” — was set aside so the president could have time to explain his plans to the American people. Politics, he solemnly declared, had nothing to do with it.

That strains credulity. With control of the Senate in the balance, the pleas of Democrats in hotly contested races to postpone unilateral action on immigration until after the November election probably played a big role in the president’s decision. Political calculation apparently trumped Obama’s earlier boldness.

His caution may be understandable, up to a point. Losing the Senate to Republicans would further cripple his ability to govern. But he should never have set a deadline unless he was prepared to follow through. Obama’s paralyzing second thoughts following bold pronouncements is becoming a habit that disappoints supporters and lends credence to critics who call him weak. In this case, it once again disheartens Latino voters.

They have reason to be discouraged. Credited with providing a critical edge for the winner of the last two presidential elections, they have time and again been disappointed by the president’s failure to deliver on promises of immigration reform.

Obama said the executive actions he would contemplate must fall “within my existing legal authorities.” Critics deliberately choose to ignore his words and claim he plans to go beyond what the law allows. But there is plenty Obama can do to ease the immigration crisis.

Presidents have wide latitude in this area. That includes giving relief to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, exercising more discretion in deciding who gets a waiver for deportations — and halting all or most deportations of non-criminals for the time being, the boldest step of all. Sooner or later, Obama must act. Advocates of reform who have relied on his promises have been disappointed one time too many.

Online:

http://www.miamiherald.com

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Sept. 8

Kansas City Star on NFL needing to fire Commissioner Roger Goodell:

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote his own pink slip with his inexcusable handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case.

NFL owners should fire Goodell for how poorly he served their multibillion-dollar industry. His actions betrayed the faith that NFL fans — especially women — have in the league and in Goodell’s running of it.

A stunning series of events on Monday made it clear that Goodell, who drew a $44 million paycheck in 2012, has no credibility left when it comes to violence against women by the league’s players.

A celebrity news website posted shocking video that showed Rice last February knocking out his future wife in an elevator. The Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract Monday afternoon, and the NFL indefinitely suspended him.

The Ravens and NFL acted correctly, but far too late. And that’s largely Goodell’s fault.

He already had been assailed, and properly so, by women’s groups and others for handing out only a two-game suspension to Rice after the February incident. At the time, the available videotape showed Rice dragging the woman out of the elevator. Goodell said he was satisfied with Rice’s contriteness.

It’s troubling that the Ravens as well as many NFL teams’ executives did not challenge Goodell’s decision. Of course, in the cash-centered world of the NFL, they all understood it was aimed at getting a star player back on the field.

In August, months later, Goodell apologized for his stance on the Rice suspension and announced tougher penalties in domestic violence cases.

However, as security tape from the elevator emerged, that ramped up especially troubling questions about Goodell’s character and his job performance regarding the Rice case.

Goodell has helped build the NFL into an economic juggernaut. The good-old-boy owners will be tempted to keep the reins in his hands.

Instead, they must show America that the league means business when it says domestic violence and other assaults by players will not be tolerated. Those who don’t fully embrace that message — including the commissioner — should not be part of the NFL.

Online:

http://www.kansascity.com

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Sept. 8

Los Angeles Times on Ebola:

The United Nations warns that the intensive global medical effort needed to contain the Ebola virus sweeping through parts of West Africa could cost as much as $600 million. Ebola has killed 1,900 people so far — about half of those who have become infected — and has recently crossed from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone into two more nations. U.N. officials estimate that 20,000 people could die in the next six months, and that the situation could worsen after that without a prompt and generous international response of money, equipment and skilled personnel.

But deep budget cuts have crippled the ability of the World Health Organization, the U.N. agency that should be leading the response to the outbreak, to handle these kinds of emergencies. As the Montreal-based Center for Research on Globalization reported last week, “Since the financial collapse of 2008, the WHO budget has been slashed by at least $1 billion, leading to layoffs of veteran medical staff and a 35% reduction of the agency’s emergency response staff.”

With the undermining of WHO’s ability to be the first responder in global medical crises, the United Nations should have quickly figured out a new scenario — perhaps one under which nations agreed to apportion donations of staff, medicines and other resources, while WHO’s role was limited to organizing the international response. It did not do so. The respected nonprofit Doctors Without Borders also has been swamped by the crisis. The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that the epidemic was “spiraling out of control.”

The United States has moved swiftly and generously to help. The Obama administration has asked Congress to allocate $58 million toward research and production of an experimental drug that was used on two U.S. missionaries who were infected in Africa. They survived, but it’s not known whether the medication, ZMapp, was the reason. The money also would be used for testing two promising experimental vaccines. In addition, the U.S. Agency for International Development has committed to spending nearly $100 million on protective suits for medical personnel, beds for patients and food aid; the U.S. will also recruit U.S. medical staff and employ the military to help on the ground.

At this point, the U.S. appears to be in a better position to organize and lead the international response than WHO, perhaps in coordination with that agency. But the U.S. shouldn’t have to pick up most of the $600 million tab itself. Doctors Without Borders last week criticized what it perceived to be a lackluster global response and called on governments around the world to mobilize military and civilian biological disaster teams. Developed nations should be answering the call, right away. And once WHO has been helped through this humanitarian crisis, the United Nations must determine a workable new plan for WHO’s role in future international medical disasters.

Online:

http://www.latimes.com

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Sept. 9

Boston Herald on a presidential punt:

“It makes no sense. It’s not on the level. It’s just politics. Plain and simple.”

When he uttered those words just nine weeks ago President Obama was not (for a change) talking about himself. He was referring to Republican “obstruction” in Congress on the issue of immigration reform.

The president said in that June speech delivered in the Rose Garden that persistent GOP inaction would inspire him to take executive action by summer’s end to address the status of millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. But even that misguided pledge has now gone poof, with the announcement that the White House will delay such action until after the midterm elections.

Now, Obama still plans to wave his presidential wand and likely render millions of illegal immigrants legal residents of the United States. But he and his party have woken up to the immediate political risk of doing so without congressional input — particularly after the administration’s disastrous handling of the crisis of unaccompanied minors who flooded the U.S. border over the summer.

But instead of putting his shoulder to the wheel to build bipartisan support for comprehensive reform and a path to citizenship for those living here illegally — the only way out of this mess — the president is insulting the collective American intelligence.

He claims the reason for the delay is because he wants to “make sure that the t’s are crossed and the i’s dotted” on his unilateral action. Meanwhile his staff is whispering to reporters that it is, in fact, very much about the midterms.

The president’s team is also expressing concern that taking unilateral action could dampen the prospects of comprehensive reform — as if they have any intention of engaging in meaningful negotiations once the president takes action on his own — and as if Republicans in Congress could trust them even if they did.

“It makes no sense. It’s not on the level. It’s just politics. Plain and simple.”

We couldn’t have put it any better than the president put it himself.

Online:

http://bostonherald.com

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Sept. 9

Arizona Republic on President Obama on ISIS:

Odd as it may sound, the last thing President Barack Obama should be divulging in his national address on dealing with the ISIS terrorist army, scheduled for this evening, is strategy.

Obama set critics howling last Thursday when he acknowledged in an off-handed way that “we don’t have a strategy yet” on containing the terrorists, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The admission, if that is what it was, set off alarm bells among those who saw it as further confirmation of the Obama administration’s determination to withdraw the U.S. from a leadership role in foreign affairs.

Obama’s speech, scheduled for prime time, should counter some of that criticism. The White House says the president intends to lay out a “game plan” for contending with this new terror threat and to try winning over congressional support for its efforts, both militarily and diplomatically, going forward.

Beyond the broad strategic outlines that already are becoming clear, the president would be best served simply by outlining why it is that U.S. interests are threatened by ISIS. Obama already has convened a “core coalition” of 10 countries to confront ISIS. He has indicated U.S. troops on the ground will be limited to advisers working with Kurdish and Iraqi troops. And even now, he has authorized more airstrikes against ISIS advances in Iraq.

So, generally, the anti-ISIS “strategy” already is on the table. What U.S. citizens need now more than tactical details is a clear understanding of how Obama views this new terror threat.

Is ISIS a much more dangerous direct threat to the U.S. than al-Qaida? Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Attorney General Eric Holder all have characterized the ISIS threat to this country in nearly apocalyptic terms.

The president presumably sees ISIS as a greater threat than when he dismissed the group early this year as a terrorist “jayvee team.” But how great a threat? And how substantial will the U.S. response to that threat be?

Obama has gone to great lengths since before the 2012 elections to depict worldwide terrorism, especially al-Qaida, as degraded, rudderless and all but defeated. The very existence of ISIS argues otherwise.

Tonight’s address should tell us if Obama now recognizes that his characterizations of the end of the war on terror were premature. This speech should be about how he intends to lead his country in a new direction.

Online:

http://www.azcentral.com

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Sept. 3

Toronto Star on Ray Rice:

The video is sickening. Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocks his fiancée — now wife — out cold in an Atlantic City hotel elevator, drags her into the hall, and steps aside.

He doesn’t reach down to see if Janay Palmer is OK after the full-out punch to her head, or attend to her. It takes others who come upon the appalling scene — her crumpled on the floor, unconscious, her skirt up — to show concern.

When the video was released Monday by TMZ Sports, generating a riptide of public disgust, it soon galvanized the National Football League and the Baltimore Ravens into action. The NFL suspended Rice indefinitely (as did the Canadian Football League) and the Ravens fired him.

But too late. The damage was done. This sorry episode has shamed the Ravens, the NFL and the authorities who handled the case. Because there is nothing in the video that the team, league and police didn’t know before its public release. But they were clearly more eager to explain away Rice’s violence, and to get a sports icon back into the $10 billion game, than to make an example of him.

The assault happened in February when the Ravens knew from the police summons that Rice had caused “bodily injury to Janay Palmer, specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious.” She could have suffered far worse. That was the moment heavy sanctions should have been imposed. But they failed to take it as seriously as it warranted.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided in his wisdom that a mere two-game suspension and a fine — for Rice who still stood to earn $4 million this season — was a sufficiently strong message on domestic violence to send out, even as the league promotes the game to female viewers. This from a league that suspends players for a year for puffing dope. The Ravens, meanwhile, were content to parade a contrite Rice before the cameras. And the American justice system thought a “diversion” program was punishment enough for a man initially indicted for aggravated assault, which could have put him in prison for years.

What are the 1.3 million women in the U.S. who will face domestic violence this year to make of this? What is society in general? That celebrity violence gets a pass, unless it can’t be ignored?

Rice himself has said his actions were “inexcusable.” Yet the league had to be shamed by a display of his raw brutality and callous indifference into treating his violence seriously. This was a wretched, squandered opportunity to stand up for victims of abuse.

Online:

http://www.thestar.com/

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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