A round up of recent commentary by assorted voices who either attempt to strike a balanced note on heated debates and controversial issues, or improve our ability to find our own sense of balance by exposing us to new information and different points-of-view.
Andrew Sullivan is wary of the hate-speech police. (Earlier in the week, he considered a reader’s caveat-ed defense of “The Decider.”)
Joe Tobacco revisits and offers a “final word” on the Scott Beauchamp affair. Money quote:
“Beauchamp has wiped his slate clean with his actions since the Army’s investigation of the “Shock Troopers†diaries. Let’s give him a chance to fill it with something good, and clean, and honorable during whatever time he has left in Iraq, and in the Army. God knows the kid wouldn’t be the first soldier to have royally screwed the pooch, only to turn out right as rain in the end.”
Jon Henke — whom I would consider a generally right-leaning moderate — reiterates the case against using declining fatality stats as an indicator of progress in Iraq.
In the U.S. House, it appears both sides of the aisle would benefit from a healthy dose of balance (read: “compromise”) when it comes to the latest iteration of the S-CHIP bill. On a semi-related note, and worth considering in the larger context of health-care reform, Dave Schuler (a self-described “Sam Nunn Democrat”) offers a round up of comparative data on “the administrative costs of various national healthcare systems.”
Editor’s Note: Starting next week, CoA will be returning to a Tuesday-Thursday (rather than Monday-Wednesday-Friday) schedule.