The Opinion Outpost features opinions and commentary on the latest hot topics from national news sources. As much as you love hearing from The Universe, we thought you might like to hear from journalists around the nation.
Attacks on police
It should go without saying that there is no legal or moral justification for a police officer to willfully abuse anyone, just as there is no legal or moral justification for a deadly attack against a police officer.
But even more than the life of the officer is at stake in such situations. Even if you feel you have reason to resent the police — and there are some people in some communities that have such reason — understand that an attack on an officer is an attack on you and your community.
Cedric L. Alexander
CNN.com
Darren Goforth’s murder was the latest in a wave of police shootings, several fatal, across the south, now joined by another murder near Chicago. In an emotional press conference on Saturday, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said he was concerned about the increasing amount of, “…dangerous national rhetoric” and how law officers everywhere are impacted by such negative speech. “When the rhetoric ramps up to the point where calculated, cold-blooded assassinations of police officers happen, this rhetoric has gotten out of control. We’ve heard, ‘Black lives matter; All lives matter.’ Well, cops’ lives matter, too. So why don’t we just drop the qualifier and just say, ‘Lives matter,’ and take that to the bank?” said Sheriff Hickman.
Ron Hosko
USA Today
Los Angeles Olympics 2024
The revenue projections that Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Olympic negotiating team made in its bid proposal (known as the “bid book”) count on more than $1 billion of investment and cooperation from outside sources, including USC, NBC Universal and private developers. But closer inspection shows that these contributions are based on little more than assumptions and extrapolations, not rock-solid promises.
The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, has pushed for a shift toward less expensive Games in response to widespread public resentment in recent years when hosts like Beijing and Sochi, Russia, poured billions of dollars into their Olympics. Los Angeles, in some ways, has emerged as an economically sensible option for 2024.
Ian Lovett
NY Times
Refugees
Hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis and others have embarked this summer on dangerous voyages across the Mediterranean or arduous treks through southeastern Europe in the hope that rich, democratic nations will grant them safe harbor, in keeping with international law and their own commitments. To a shocking degree, they have been met with indifference, disregard or the cold hostility of razor wire and racism.
We have failed many children in history, as we have failed Aylan, and the call to “do something” isn’t enough if all everyone does is repeat those words while the slaughter in Syria continues.
As we read about Aylan’s father holding his wife and two young sons in the water after the boat capsized, then feeling them slip away, we have to know it’s long past time to care; it’s time to act.
Karol Markowicz
NY Post
Uncontrolled migration in Europe and illegal immigration in the United States spell an eventual death knell for both countries, which is, no doubt, the intent of ISIS, which is reportedly backing this flood of humanity. Will those flooding Europe eventually embrace European values, or when their numbers grow to the point where they form a significant percentage of the population, will the migrants demand that their values and religion dominate?
Cal Thomas
Fox News
Deflategate
The Patriots were fined $1 million and lost two draft picks over the scandal, but the real losers here are the game and its fans.
This wasn’t some playground dust-up over whether the blue team’s player laid both hands on the red team’s player in two-hand touch, after all. This was about which NFL team would advance to Super Bowl XLIX. The team with the underinflated balls won, 45-7.
Having proceeded down this destructive path, Goodell has left the NFL open to years of litigation and untold millions in liability for disparaging the character of one of his league’s most marketable players. No one wins. I would call that a failure of leadership. For $44 million, the NFL can and should do better.
E.M. Swift
WBUR
