Closing Arguments: Open Adoption Records?

July 17, 2008 11:23 PM

Of course, the issues around adoption are not just emotional and intensely personal, they are also legal. Adoption laws vary widely across the country. How easy or hard should it be for adopted people to seek out their biological origins?  Only seven states -- Maine will become the eighth in January -- currently have laws that make it simple to find out who one's biological parents are. In some places, it's as easy as filling out a form. Do you think other states should follow suit?  Or do you think such records should remain sealed, as they still are in many places? 

July 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (88) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Talking with the Enemy?

July 16, 2008 9:53 PM

The Bush administration announced today that it will send William Burns, a high-ranking diplomat, to meet with an Iranian negotiator this weekend in Geneva. It's part of discussions about halting Tehran's nuclear enrichment program and appears to be a change for the Bush administration, which once referred to Iran as part of the Axis of Evil. For two years, the Bush administration has stuck firmly to its policy of not directly engaging with Iran, unless enrichment ceases.

So is this a real change in policy for the Bush Administration? And should the American government be sitting down with the Iranian government?

July 16, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)

DC's Chancellor Rhee -- Taking No Prisoners

July 15, 2008 11:25 AM

Michelle Rhee has a very tough job – repairing the failed D.C. public school system, which has some of the lowest performing schools in the country despite spending more money per student than any other district nationwide.  Her methods have been controversial and her confidence, often seen as arrogance, has rubbed many the wrong way.

Rhee's decision to take the chancellor job was a brave one.  Just 38 years old, Rhee is the youngest person to ever head the DC school system.  She has never been a school administrator before and only teaching experience was for three years in a Baltimore elementary school.  Korean-American Rhee has the additional challenge of being the first non-black chancellor in DC in forty years. 

In her first year as chancellor, Rhee has started her revolution by closing 23 schools primarily because of under enrollment.  She has also made a slew of firings including 100 central office employees, two dozen principals, and 23 assistant principals.  She even fired the principal of her two daughters' elementary school.

Her take no prisoners approach has met with a lot of resistance from the Teachers Union and parents alike. A local Washington blog even superimposed Rhee's face over a photo of Donald Trump, the mogul now famous for his catchphrase, "You're fired!"

Maria Jones is one of dozens of parents who protested outside of Rhee's office earlier this year. "She has no academic plan," says Jones. "I can't see anything but cuts happening."

Rhee is nonplussed by the shouting and picket signs.  "This is not about being liked," she says.  The children are her focus. "We are going to totally transform this district and in doing so the learning outcomes and the life chances... of every kid in this city."

Chancellor Rhee acknowledges change will not come overnight, but this year's standardized test scores are cause for optimism.   Preliminary results of the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) released last week show gains in math and reading for both elementary and secondary schools. Washington's Mayor Adrian Fenty gives Rhee much of the credit for those improvements.

While there have been six different chancellors in the last 10 years, Rhee has vowed to see her reforms to the end. Rhee says it may take up to eight years to see a significant difference in student achievement, and she recently told the Washington Post that she plans to stay in her role for that long.

July 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Politics of Fear

July 14, 2008 9:47 PM

At the heart of tonight's Closing Argument--a cartoon. But it's one many are not finding funny. The latest issue of "New Yorker" magazine has this drawing as its cover. Entitled " Politics of Fear" it has Barack Obama and his wife Michelle doing a fist tap in the Oval Office. He's in Muslim clothing and she's armed and in camouflage. Above the mantle piece is a portrait of Osama Bin Laden. In the fireplace is a burning American flag. The magazine's editor says they were trying to satirize the rumors about Senator Obama and his wife. Others do not see it that way. The campaign of Senator Obama called the cover "tasteless and offensive." His GOP counterpart, Senator John McCain, publicly agreed calling the drawing "inappropriate."

So what do you think about all this? Is it satire or smear?

July 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (246) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Is "Black National Anthem" Artistic Freedom or An Outrage?

July 02, 2008 10:38 PM

A major controversy is swirling over yesterday's State of the City event in Denver, Colorado. Rene Marie, an admired jazz singer, was slated to perform the national anthem and instead, she sang the so-called "Black National Anthem," "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner. Marie hadn't told anyone before hand and many are furious. But she says she didn't mean any harm -- she just wanted to express how it felt to be a black woman in America. So what do you think? Was this a moving expression, a display of artistic freedom? Or was it an outrage, and was she utterly out of line?

July 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (811) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Will China Clean Up Its Act?

July 01, 2008 10:56 PM

Algae -- the tiny water-borne bacteria, the little blue-green guys that turn up on top of your pool -- well they're turning into a really big problem for China. In the port city of Qingdao, soon to host the Olympic sailing events, huge swaths of the stuff are choking the waterways -- with just a month to go before the events. It's not the only concern facing the organizers of the Beijing Olympics. The city's infamous air pollution is also a concern for runners. So what do you think? Will China clean up its act in time for the Summer Games?

July 1, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Should You Be Allowed To Protect Property With Lethal Force?

June 30, 2008 11:06 PM

We recently brought you the story of Joe Horn, a 62-year-old Texas man who killed two men he says were robbing his neighbor's house. Under the so-called Castle Law, Texas residents are granted broad protections to protect their property -- even with lethal force. And today a grand jury declined to indict Joe Horn. But what do you think? Should it be legal to protect your property, or your neighbor's property, with lethal force?

June 30, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (213) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Did the Court Get It Right?

June 27, 2008 11:13 PM

The District of Columbia versus Heller was arguably the most controversial case the United States Supreme Court has decided this year. For the first time in 70 years the high court issued a definitive reading of the Second Amendment and the majority argued that indeed the amendment does grant Americans the individual right to own firearms. The Court's ruling struck down Washington, DC's total ban on handguns -- and may put many other local gun-control laws in jeopardy. But does it make Americans safer or less safe? Did the Court get it right?

June 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (183) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Does Win Make the Celtics the Best Sports Franchise Ever?

June 18, 2008 12:44 AM

Tonight the Boston Celtics did what no other team in NBA history has ever done: clinched its 17th title, with a stunning 39 point victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. So does this cement the Celtics' place as the greatest sports franchise of all time? Even better than the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, or the the Detroit Red Wings?

June 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: How Will Bush's Disapproval Ratings Affect McCain's Chances?

June 16, 2008 11:18 PM

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll highlights a discouraging situation for President Bush and possibly for the Republican party. According to the new figures, George W. Bush's disapproval ratings have reached a record for any president since 1938. 68% of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing. That tops Truman's 67% and Nixon's 66%. How do you think President Bush's disapproval ratings will affect John McCain's chances in November's general election?

June 16, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (75) | TrackBack (0)