http://www.philly.com/r?19=960&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F Editorial and commentary from the Inquirer en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 05:32:35 GMT 2013-05-22T05:32:35Z en-us http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208417901&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130522_Letters_to_the_Editor.html All on the road must obey rules Driving alongside bicyclists has become a dangerous activity in Philadelphia. Cyclists ignore stop signs and red lights while weaving in and out of car lanes, making left turns across lanes of cars and straying far from bike lanes where they exist. Wed, 22 May 2013 05:32:35 GMT 3b181a5e3d3e6ed371da8f214d84cd29 2013-05-22T05:32:35Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208417911&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130522__Inquirer_com.html Read Trudy Rubin's blog at www.inquirer.com/ worldview Wed, 22 May 2013 05:21:36 GMT 4dad9c45627524767cddd83abdef1097 2013-05-22T05:21:36Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208417881&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130522_Fix_bloated_welfare_system.html By Gary D. Alexander Seventeen years ago this August, President Bill Clinton signed into law Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), an antipoverty initiative involving "block grants" to the states that replaced the nation's formerly open-ended cash-welfare program. Hailed as a breakthrough, the 1996 legislation contained a provision that disqualified noncitizens from program eligibility unless they had lived in the United States for at least five years. Wed, 22 May 2013 05:19:24 GMT da8ada2d6403b85e821ec0161da4281e 2013-05-22T05:19:24Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208417891&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130522_Difficult_road_to_independence.html By Sebastian Barajas Graduates are a lot like cicadas. For the first 17 years of life, they are parasites, neither capable nor deserving of doing anything but lying underground, sucking on a tree root. Then comes graduation. They emerge from the Earth, climb from their exoskeleton, and fly off into the sunset. Wed, 22 May 2013 05:19:24 GMT c42b4a88970ad89284b0c2a125a8cbc5 2013-05-22T05:19:24Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208237711&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130521__Inquirer_com.html Read Trudy Rubin's blog at www.inquirer.com/ worldview Tue, 21 May 2013 05:51:13 GMT b822a5586d3d12b40595937d33129c3a 2013-05-21T05:51:13Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208237701&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130521_Letters_to_the_Editor.html Bench crackdown? Take a seat Some things never change in Philadelphia because we don't demand it, as I was reminded by the Streets Department's plan to remove illegal billboard benches ("Phila. to remove unauthorized ad benches," May 11.) That's old news, literally. Tue, 21 May 2013 05:32:04 GMT b1cf0bafce7df75d176acf5530812a2f 2013-05-21T05:32:04Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208237751&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130521_Treating_youth_and_trauma.html By Cathy M. Weiss and Timene Farlow When Latanya was 12, she stole a bike that was left near a neighborhood store. She was adjudicated delinquent and, nearly four years later, is still a part of the juvenile-justice system. She has been shuttled back and forth among detention centers, residential programs, and a few community-based programs. And, like 95 percent of the youth across the country who are confined in residential facilities, she did not commit a violent crime. Tue, 21 May 2013 05:18:43 GMT ab9acc72da6c1056feddb7065f4287e0 2013-05-21T05:18:43Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208085111&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130520_Charters_ready_to_work_with_district.html By Lawrence F. Jones Jr. A flurry of media activity has swept the city in the wake of the School District of Philadelphia's fiscal crisis. This activity has produced some misinformation regarding charter schools. It's time to set the record straight. Mon, 20 May 2013 12:09:58 GMT 112c2ddb992f199b6690ae3d348e358b 2013-05-20T12:09:58Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208085141&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130520_Letters_to_the_Editor.html Dogs work in humans' interest With all the indifference and negative publicity attending the incarcerated, the New Leash on Life program brings out the back story, and thus the humanity, of each of the inmates involved. Oddly, there's more human interest by adding the dogs - the idea that two lives are being saved. Mon, 20 May 2013 05:19:58 GMT 4cf5db959b3cb58a17927f2538376353 2013-05-20T05:19:58Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166881&44=208085121&32=3796&7=195517&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fopinion%2F20130520_Charles_Krauthammer__Try_the_truth_on_Benghazi.html Note to GOP re Benghazi: Stop calling it Watergate, Iran-contra, bigger than both, etc. First, it might well be, but we don't know. History will judge. Second, overhyping will only diminish the importance of the scandal if it doesn't meet presidency-breaking standards. Third, focusing on the political effects simply plays into the hands of Democrats desperately claiming that this is nothing but partisan politics. Mon, 20 May 2013 05:17:56 GMT c064d9031d2ef02daa6b12caf2013e93 2013-05-20T05:17:56Z