In the News
Vicious messages must be silenced on Web site
Mark Rosman
      I work in a profession that values the freedom of people to express their views on a variety of topics. Every week in our news articles, guest columns and letters to the editor we invite members of the public to comment on the issues and personalities of the day. Everything is fair game, including the managing editor of this newspaper.
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Are We There Yet?
She's got an encroacher in her very own family
Lori Clinch
      After giving birth to a house full of them, I've learned that the male of the species thinks about one thing and one thing only - sports. They live them, breathe them, and when push comes to shove on the football field of life, they call a penalty, move the ball back five yards and repeat third down.
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Don't sign on dotted line
      The Oath of Confidentiality that was signed by some members of the Manal-apan Township Committee in the waning days of 2006 strikes us as hokey. The document consists of two paragraphs wherein by signing, the governing body member affirms that he or she will not divulge any confidential or privileged information "...
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Guest Column
Helping Darfur a cause to hope for in new year
Erin Stattel
      Aziza is only 17 years old and as she went out to gather firewood in the bush with other women of her village in Darfur three Sudanese militia men rode up on horseback and caught her. One man raped her and bit her arm and neck so everyone would know what had happened to her. She was told that she has no place in Darfur because she is black.
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Coda
A somber toast for the coming year (redux)
Greg Bean
      This column first appeared Jan. 4, 2006. I think it's even more appropriate today than it was then. Things haven't gotten better in the last year. They've gotten worse, and our president is talking about sending even more young soldiers into harm's way. I hope you'll pardon the repetition, but I plan to run it every new year until our troops come home.
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Around Town
Communication goes to places never imagined
Amy Rosen
      My son recently found our family's original car phone from the 1980s in the basement. It was a full-size portable phone in a bag with a rechargeable battery that could be plugged into the cigarette lighter - an amazing invention at the time, like something out of a James Bond movie or "Get Smart" (minus the shoe). My son called it a "dinosaur.
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