Agency's mental health plan still in draft form

More than any other war in U.S. history, the conflict in Iraq has provoked a surge of concern for soldiers returning home bearing the psychological burdens of battle.

Inventory. Which is more remarkable: The mainstream corporate media's current state of disarray or the mainstream corporate media's cluelessness of their own precipitous decline?

"Reverend Moon is the most remarkable person I've ever met"

On Valentine's Day, Republican state Sen. Mark Boitano, who represents part of Albuquerque's Northeast Heights, joined opponents of gay marriage in a press conference to promote "pro-family" legislation. The Albuquerque Journal photo showed a tense Boitano surrounded by gay rights activists. What the story did not mention is that for 30 years Boitano has been a follower of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who calls gays "dung eating dogs" to be "eliminated" or "burned."

Jeff Drew

What has happened to the principle that American democracy should be accessible and transparent?

"Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." –George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

Singeli Agnew

The Feb. 23 Council meeting featured a packed audience but a shortage of councilors with Debbie O'Malley and Tina Cummins sick, Sally Mayer late, and Eric Griego and Miguel Gomez leaving early. Councilor Michael Cadigan postponed his bill fast-tracking Montaño restriping until O'Malley could present her opposing bill. Councilor Martin Heinrich's bill encouraging community participation in Nob Hill planning passed. And Mayer's bill restricting vehicle weight on San Pedro in her District 7 passed after Council President Brad Winter expanded the San Pedro restrictions into his District 4.

Republicans can cut taxes. They just can't stop spending.

During any given election you can count on Republican candidates to campaign against government spending, bureaucratic waste and increased taxes. Consider some direct quotes from the state legislative campaign of one of my GOP colleagues we'll call "Justin" in order to keep my life within the Republican caucus realtively hassle-free.

A single organism of optimistic energy

Have you seen an adolescent smile lately?

When the Launchpad's lights are dim and the crowd is thick with sweaty kids from all ages, I see the teens smile. Their eyes light up. They grin, all teeth, an endless throng of pearly incisors and cuspids. On stage, the band pacifies this restless mass with music imitating the raw passion of youth. Discontented misfits transform into human beings devoid of teenage angst, purified by noise.

Scott Rickson

Dateline: New York—A disco-era icon is about to go up for sale on eBay. The multicolored dance floor where John Travolta struck his famous Saturday Night Fever pose will be auctioned off on the website the first week of April. The 24-foot by 16-foot dance floor was rescued from a soon-to-be-demolished nightclub. Bar owner Jay Rizzo, who saved the floor, told the New York Post, “It has literally been the heartbeat of this club.” The club, where the floor had been a fixture since the 1977 film was made, closed last month after being sold to a real estate investment company. The plastic floor, covered in more than 300 multicolored lights, is expected to sell for some $80,000.

Letters

Hunter S. Thompson Remembered

I blame this sentimental blathering on the swift and concise suicide of Dr. Hunter S Thompson. He once told me he thought he'd die quickly from something akin to an unexpected breeze wafting in through a back door ... “Poof” gone; something fast, almost clean, but not quite. Suicide by gun to head is never that clean, but it wasn't a shotgun.