The Opinion Pages

Today is the 38th anniversary of the first Earth Day, a media event created in the United States with the sponsorship of a senator, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. In other countries around the world, Earth Days coincide with the vernal equinox, around March 20, but in this country it’s been April 22 since it started. (The DAR once spread the scurrilous rumor that the date was chosen because April 22, 1969, was the centennial of Lenin’s birth.) -more-

Most of us hold an unshakable belief that an informed citizenry is the very heart of democracy. Motivated by this belief, our citizens group is drafting a Sunshine Ordinance intended to make the workings of our local government transparent. Similar ordinances have already been adopted by several Bay Area cities, but the effort has been repeatedly delayed here. Who in Berkeley could possibly oppose this idea? Not surprisingly, officials who benefit from keeping the public ill-informed have for years resisted shedding light on City business. Now, however, these sunshine-obstructionists, led by Mayor Bates, have sprung into action; they are promoting a weak, so-called “Sunshine Ordinance” in an effort to preempt our proposal. -more-

Chelsea Clinton recently forwarded me an article by New York feminist Robin Morgan in support of her mother’s candidacy. Though Chelsea and I have never met, I somehow ended up on one of her thousands of listserves. Morgan’s piece listed contemptible misogynistic behaviors practiced in various locations around the world and in different periods of history. By way of somewhat questionable logic, she bundled them all together as proof that Hillary is the best candidate, and angrily denouncing naysayers, fired it off. -more-

Dear Christopher Edley Jr., Dean of UC Berkeley Law School: -more-

House Democrats’ decision to delay consideration of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the next administration represents a move to protect the rights of the Colombian indigenous communities and U.S. national security interests. The decision comes after President Bush sent the controversial trade agreement to the House, which under presidential “fast track authority” requires an up or down legislative vote after ninety days. “Free trade” has most recently been a thorny topic, especially among Democrats, with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent dismissal of a top advisor, Mark Penn, for his work on the Colombia deal. Although the White House claims that the trade pact will “enhance national security” by “strengthening a key democratic ally” in the region and “bring economic gains to both sides,” the reality of the situation is quite another matter. -more-