The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Running Against Extremes

THE INDEPENDENCE being demonstrated all over the political spectrum these days by Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman and Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, both in tough reelection battles, and by Republican Sens. John McCain and John Warner has its roots in American history. When they ran for the presidential nomination, Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy defied the preferences of their parties' power brokers. And earlier, Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln did the same thing.

Your Views

Wyckoff open space should be preserved I disagree with those who believe Wyckoff's open space initiative is a sneaky way for residents in the Wyckoff's Ravine area to get others to pay for preservation of their backyard views.

Don't Suppress Voting ; House Bill Is an Attack On Minorities, Not Fraud

The House members who have passed a bill requiring Americans to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls claim they're trying to reduce fraud by non-citizens. But the real effect of the ID measure would be to suppress voting by minorities, the poor and the elderly. It would weaken our democracy. The nation's electoral system is in trouble.

Campaign Reality Is Creeping Into 'the Colbert Report'

THE COLBERT REPORT" is brilliant comedy. Stephen Colbert's faux right-wing pundit is a great comic invention. He is not imitation Bill O'Reilly; he is a three-dimensional neo-conservative whose liberal bias is as easy to read as a Fox News ad on the side of a bus. As funny as Colbert is, his "Better Know a District" is going down a rocky road. Don't get me wrong, Colbert's interview with Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, was hilarious. However, Colbert's 434- part series isn't even close to com...

Zazzali: Watchdog for the 'Little Guy'

THE TITLE of chief justice of New Jersey is a fitting capstone for the extraordinary career of an extraordinary public servant, James R. Zazzali. Jim Zazzali has spent his entire professional career representing either the general public as a government lawyer or the underdog as a lawyer for working people and their trade unions. As a public citizen, he was the honorary chair of the 1980 New Jersey Committee for a Nuclear Arms Freeze, which successfully promoted an advisory referendum on the ...

If You Don't Have Kids, You Don't Know Torture

I HAVE BEEN following with interest the fight between the White House and John McCain, et al., about torture during interrogation of war criminals. We are hearing about sleep deprivation, cold rooms, yelling, and humiliation. Sounds like motherhood to me. We all know that parenting is hard, but until recently I didn't realize how hard. I have been experiencing coercive interrogation for the past nine years. And my kids aren't even teenagers yet!