Commentary by Froma Harrop

Fight Heroin With Marijuana by Froma Harrop

A plague of heroin addiction is upon us. Another plague. Heroin was the crisis that prompted Richard Nixon to launch the war on drugs in 1971.

Time marched on. Cocaine and then crack cocaine and then methamphetamine overtook heroin as the drugs of the moment. Now heroin is back -- and badder than ever.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CREATORS.COM

Don't Privatize the Veterans Hospitals by Froma Harrop

President Obama can do himself a big political favor this month by saying simply this: "I will not privatize the VA hospitals."

Other Paths to Better Pay by Froma Harrop

Did you read about investors in Chipotle Mexican Grill rejecting the outlandish pay package the fast-food chain's two CEOs had cooked up for themselves? Stockholders overwhelmingly booed the mega-million payout, which would have come on top of the $300 million the duo have harvested in recent years.

Fox News and GOP Are Not in the Same Business By Froma Harrop

The curtain has dropped on the tale of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher famous for refusing to pay grazing fees for use of public land. He became a hero to anti-government zealots who oddly failed to see this second helping of taxpayer largesse (the modest fees he didn't pay already reflected a government subsidy) as the action of a taker, not a maker.

Monica Lewinsky, Grace in Humiliation By Froma Harrop

How refreshing to hear Monica Lewinsky recount the depth of her shame. When it was revealed in 1998 that she had provided then-President Clinton with oral sex, Lewinsky now writes in Vanity Fair, she "was arguably the most humiliated person in the world."

Victims of Campus Rape Should Be Dialing 911 By Froma Harrop

If a 19-year-old high-school dropout raped by her ex-boyfriend wants justice, she calls the police. The same should apply to a 19-year-old college freshman similarly attacked by another student.  

In Drought, Fortunes Are Made By Froma Harrop

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- This summer, even drinking water may be hard to find in some central California towns. This region is in its third year of drought, among the worst in recorded history.

Yet agribusinesses are planting huge new groves of thirsty almond and pistachio trees. Bear in mind, these are permanent plantings. A quick crop such as alfalfa can be plowed under during a water crisis. Trees and vines, on the other hand, need years to mature. An acre could be a $3 million investment.

Americans Tire of Solving Everyone's Problems By Froma Harrop

Americans want a smaller role in global affairs than the stage-hogging part we command today. Nearly half say the U.S. should be less active minding the world's business, and only 19 percent say more so, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests.

Who can blame them? Our roads are shabby, the rail system Third World. We're told America can't afford the social niceties that nations we defend take for granted.

Mail Today, Gone Tomorrow By Froma Harrop

VENICE, Calif. -- This beach community is LA's latest magnet for hip, cool and gentrification. Modest cottages currently sell for an immodest $2 million, even as homeless people, sprawled on nearby lawns, holler for handouts.

Not everyone here agrees on what constitutes change for the better, but there's a certain unity of anger over the sale of Venice's historic post office to producer Joel Silver ("The Matrix").

Why Not Jeb? Also, Why? By Froma Harrop

As the 2016 presidential campaign starts to gather steam, prominent Republican names are rushing to the fore. One is that of Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush.

The thinking is that as painful memories of W's administration fade (to recap, two unfunded wars, soaring deficits and, as a grand finale, economic collapse), the public may feel more open to the idea of another Bush in the White House.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CREATORS.COM

Better Care Can Also Cost Less By Froma Harrop

Almost everyone has known or will know the helplessness of caring for -- or overseeing the care of -- a sick loved one. That such situations are often mired in chaos raises the anxiety level for both the patient and others trying to do the right thing.

Ask Not What Your Cat Can Do for You by Froma Harrop

A big-selling book, "Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet," helps cat lovers understand what is going on in the hearts and brains of their kitties. Sadly, not nearly so much as they thought and hoped.

Lessons Not Learned in Boston Bombing By Froma Harrop

Airport gift shops throughout New England are piling "Boston Strong" T-shirts in vivid colors. "Boston Strong" became a rallying cry of solidarity after the terrorist bombing last year at the Boston Marathon.

As the anniversary of the attack -- and the next race on April 21 -- approaches, emotional coverage of the event and aftermath is reaching feverish levels. A multipage spread in The Washington Post, "How Boston Stayed Strong," heaves with charged language: "harrowing," "carnage," "horrific."

So it's really odd to see these pained reminiscences alternating with rebukes of a National Security Agency surveillance program designed to prevent such assaults. Actually, the disconnect is something to behold.

Let There Be Light on Health Spending By Froma Harrop

Foes of Obamacare often frame such health reforms as "redistribution" schemes. They take money from hardworking Americans and give it to the presumably undeserving.

US and Canada: Together at Last? By Froma Harrop

What country do Americans overwhelmingly like the most? Canada.   

All Sheldon Adelson Wants By Froma Harrop

There is something truly spectacular about Sheldon Adelson. Witness the parade of Republican supplicants paying tribute in his Las Vegas lair. They would include Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Dems Shouldn't Run Away From Obamacare By Froma Harrop

The ruckus around the Affordable Care Act rollout has been loud, and Republicans are beefing up the amp to rally voters this November. Democrats, meanwhile, are reverting to bad old habits by using the wind machine as an accurate gauge of public feelings. They fight the wind rather than turn the machine around. And, of course, that's how they lose.

Timidity is a standard operating practice for Democrats fearful of sounding too liberal in what is described as a "right-of-center" country. If Democrats spend more time promising to save Obamacare than trumpeting what's good about it, what they dread will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they don't honor the program, why should the voters

Two-Track Minds on Security and Privacy By Froma Harrop

The first shocking headlines after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared revealed that two men had boarded with stolen passports. "Stark evidence of security gap," blared The Christian Science Monitor.

It appears that illegal immigration, not terrorism, was the two Iranians' intention. But media and governments across the globe shook their heads wildly that an airport security system had failed to check an international database for stolen passports.

The Impossible Case of Sandoval-Perez By Froma Harrop

The story of Josue Noe Sandoval-Perez, an illegal immigrant recently deported back to his native Mexico, perfectly captures the chaos of our broken immigration system -- and for all sides of the debate. Settled in this country for 16 years, Sandoval-Perez appears to have been the good father and hard worker his champions portray. But his dilemma does not offer an argument for ignoring the country's immigration laws.

Yawning at Anonymous Posts By Froma Harrop

Beats me how new apps like "Secret" and "Whisper" are going to make big money. Presumably, that is the objective of their Silicon Valley creators.