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ABCDE Smart growth


ANINDEPENDENTNEWSPAPER EDITORIALS


Some credit for the District’s population gain must go to mayors with vision.


— some said laughable — goal for a city whose population had been declining and whose govern- menthadbecome anationalpunchline. Last week’s announcement of the District’s first


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population increase in two generations, to more than 600,000, is validation ofMr.Williams’s vision. It’s also testament to thework of his successor,who ably continued the city’s progress. When Mayor AdrianM. Fenty (D) leaves office in a few days, the population growth will be part of his legacy and testament to the accomplishments of his adminis- tration. TheU.S.CensusBureauannouncedTuesday that the District gained almost 30,000 people since


Nicaragua declared a candidate for U.S. aid.


army and evenmining the country’s harbors.Now the Central American state is veering back toward dictatorship under the same leader,DanielOrtega, andit recently sent troops toseizedisputedterrito- ry fromneighboringCostaRica.The reactionfrom Washington?Aninvitationto apply for foreignaid. Mr.Ortegalostpowerina1990electionandwent


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ontolosethreemore;hehasneverwonthesupport of even 40 percent of Nicaraguans. But corrupt manipulation of the country’sCongress and courts allowedhimtoreturntothepresidencyfollowinga 2006election,andsincethenhehasbeensystemat- icallydismantlingdemocraticchecksandbalances. An illegitimate Supreme Court composed entirely ofhis appointeeshas ruledthathe is eligible to run for reelection as president next year even though the constitutionexpressly forbids it. Thewould-bepresident for lifehasnowhitupon


away to rally public support: invading other coun- tries. InOctoberMr.Ortega launchedanoperation to divert the course of the San Juan River, which runs between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and de- ployed troops to occupy an island on Costa Rican territory. TheOrganization ofAmerican States has twice voted by a lopsided margin for resolutions calling on Nicaragua to withdraw;Mr. Ortega has refused.CostaRica,whichabolisheditsarmyhalfa centuryago,haslittlerecourseotherthananappeal to the InternationalCourt of Justice. It’s tempting to imaginehowtheReaganadmin-


istrationmighthave reactedhadMr.Ortegapulled this stunt in themid-1980s.WouldU.S.Marines be spendingChristmas inManagua?Not thatwefavor that: Military measures against Mr. Ortega are unjustified and unnecessary. Still, it’s remarkable how far the policy pendulum has swung. The Obama administration, which has treated Latin


QUARTER-CENTURY ago the United States went to extraordinary lengths to prevent consolidationofaleftistdictator- ship in Nicaragua, funding an opposition


Invade a neighbor — and be Soft on


NTHONY A. WILLIAMS (D) took the oath of office for his second term as the District’s mayor in 2003 with a vow to attract, within a decade, 100,000 new residents to the city. Itwas an ambitious


2000,whenthepopulationwas572,059.Thegainof 5.2percent is the first increase since 1950.Nodoubt a variety of factors — from a national back-to-the cities movement to the lure of more jobs with an expanded post-Sept. 11 government—contributed to the District’s growth. Butmore than third of the city’s new residents moved here in the past two years; that is a vote of confidence in the Fenty administration’s efforts to make the District more livable. Mr. Williams helped usher in an era of fiscal


competence and improved city services.New hous- ing helped lure residents, many of whom were single professionals.Mr. Fenty took office knowing these improvements needed to be sustained and expanded. He understood that the hard work of making neighborhoods safer and fixing schools couldn’t be put off if the city ever hoped to hold on to, much less attract, people who would want to


raise families here. School reform was Mr. Fenty’s focus, but by picking can-do managers willing to take risks with new ideas, he also helped bring about improvements in public safety, transporta- tion, economicdevelopment andother areas. Some of the accomplishments that contributed


to the city’s success helped to undermineMr. Fenty politically. The city’s changing demography un- nerved some longtime residents, as never-healed divisions of race, class andgeography reemerged. CouncilChairmanVincentC.Gray (D)was elect-


ed mayor with the laudable idea that change can attractnewresidentswithoutmaking existing ones feel unwelcome. He has committed to continuing progress in schools, safety and other areaswithout as much upheaval. His appointments thus far — based on competency, not connections, and made with efficiency and little drama—have put himon the right track towardthat ambitious goal.


TOMTOLES


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2010


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR dletters@washpost.com


In line with Jackie Onassis Having worked at Doubleday in the early 1980s, I


enjoyed the Dec. 21 review of two new biographies of the estimable Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as a book editor. I stillvividlyrecallmyshock(anddelight)while waiting in line at the company copy center: There, rightbehindme, stoodthegorgeousJackie, impossibly thin and elegant in black slacks and a turtleneck sweater. Iwas22,andall Icouldthinktodowastimidly smile at her. She nodded and smiled politely, as we stood together waiting to reach the attendant operat- ing theXeroxmachine.No underlingwas present; she stoodinline just like any other employee. Nothing else impressed me more than that, not


eventhekindnote she later sentme inthanks for some jacket copy I had produced for one of her titles. The note I immediatelymailed tomymother; thememory of Jackiewaiting inthat line is allmine. LisaKenigsberg,Potomac


Beyond shelter dogs and cats Betsy Karasik’s Dec. 18 op-ed, “Think before you


buy that puppy,” wrongly blamed purebred pet owners for the death of thousands of dogs and cats each year. The scores of animals in our shelters are mainly the result of irresponsible owners who fail to spay or neuter, train, confine, license or otherwise properly care for their animals. All potential pet owners should carefully research their options and candidly assess their situations before acquiring an animal. There are many valid reasons for choosing a purebred — which are most definitely not “narcissistic” ormorally and ethically questionable — just as there are good reasons for choosing to adopt a pet froma shelter. As a breeder and exhibitor of purebred dogs


myself, I can tell you that regardless of the organization or breeder fromwhich the purchase is made (yes, purchase — some shelters charge quite substantial fees), “caveat emptor” always applies. There are good and bad shelters and rescue groups and good and bad breeders. Educate yourself to know the difference, and do your due diligence. Avoid an impulsive, emotional decision and under- stand that you are buying a living being and that there are never any guarantees. ChristineMiller, Lovettsville l


To Betsy Karasik’s fine op-ed, which encouraged


people to visit shelters to find suitable companion animals, I can only add that the perfect companion for youmay well be neither canine nor feline. Most municipal shelters have ferrets, rabbits,


guinea pigs, fancy rats, hamsters and other small rodents, as well as reptiles such as iguanas that, unbeknownst to most people, make surprisingly devoted and interactive companions for the right person.An apartment dwellerwho is not allowed to have a dog or a catmay find a guinea pig—an ideal first pet for children — eminently suitable. There are also many specialty rescue groups devoted to each of these species in most states, and several in the Washington area. Most municipal shelter resources are rightly applied to caring for homeless dogs and cats, but there is always a variety of other animals in need of rescuing, too. To paraphrase Ms. Karasik, they are equally


adept at rescuing you right back. David Gaines, Rockville


America’s anti-democratic leftwith benign neglect, has not condemned the Nicaraguan land grab. In fact, the State Department has yet to say anything about thematter—evenas thepresidentofPanama has riskedMr.Ortega’s irebysidingwithCostaRica. Meanwhile Robert Callahan, the U.S. ambassa-


dor to Nicaragua, announced not long after the invasion that Nicaragua had been designated as eligible for aid from the Millennium Challenge Account, which is supposed to be reserved for countries that respect democratic principles. He added that he hoped Nicaragua would apply. A Millennium Challenge grant for Nicaragua was suspended in 2008 because ofMr. Ortega’s abuses. But theMillenniumChallenge Corp. has neverthe-


less deemed Nicaragua as a candidate for a new compact, according to criteria that include “rule of law” and“political rights.” The corporation’s board, which includes several


senior Obama administration officials, will decide next month whether Nicaragua actually will be considered for aid. It should make clear that Mr. Ortega has ruined his country’s chances. To be fair, Mr.Callahan,anticipatingthat judgment,mayhave been trying to embarrass Mr. Ortega, since U.S. development programs are popular in Nicaragua. Still, the United States has raised the prospect of aiding a government that has just violated its own constitution and invaded a democratic neighbor. It’shardto findtheprinciple inthatpolicy.


The new detainee dilemma A prospective executive order would not cover future captives in the war on terror.


no legal framework exists to challenge prolonged detentionsafterafederal courthasweighedinonce, leading to the possibility that a suspect could be handed a de facto life sentence without benefit of trial or further review. ThePost’sPeterFinnandAnneE.Kornblut report


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that the Obama administration is preparing an executive order that would create intra-agency boards to reassess periodically the validity of pro- longed detentions. Detainees would have the right to bring challenges and be entitled to representa- tion. They would also be allowed access to some of the informationagainst them. The proposal is laudable for introducing a mea- sure of fairness into the process, but it is shortsight-


LL DETAINEES at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have the right to challenge their detentions in a U.S. court, thanks toa2008SupremeCourt ruling.But


edbecause itwouldapplyonly tothe48detainees at Guantanamo who the administration says are too dangerous to release but who cannot be tried in a federal court or military commission. What about thenext 48? The proposal makes no provision for the likely


capture of future suspects who may fit the same description. Removing lawful detention as an op- tion could lock the administration into untenable andpotentiallydangerous situations. Take, for example, the prospect of U.S. raids into


Waziristantocaptureal-QaedaandTalibanfighters, which the New York Times reports are being con- templated. Would captives be detained — wrongly, in our opinion—under the Geneva Conventions as prisoners of war, even though they were captured outside of a recognized war zone? Federal prosecu- tions are out of the question nowthat Congress has forbidden the transfer of detainees into the United


States; what if military commissions were also off limits because of a lack of admissible evidence? Wouldtheadministrationsimply let the captivesgo, even though intelligence reports indicate that they pose a threat?Orwouldit take thepathroundly and rightly criticized by civil libertarians and hold these newdetainees beyondthe rule of law? The administrationis concernedthat adetention


measure embedded into lawcould bewrongly used for offenses having no connection to terrorism. It worries that political opponents on Capitol Hill could insert odious provisions that the administra- tion would be powerless to block. These are not trivial concerns, but they should be addressed by narrowlytailoringthelawanddisplayingthelevelof leadershipdemandedinsuchmatters.Theadminis- tration should propose legislation, and its bill should cover future detainees as well as current inmates.


3Join the debate at washingtonpost.com/localopinions The flawed policies behind the region’s sharply rising rents Regarding the Dec. 21 front-page article


LOCAL OPINIONS


“Region’s tenants caught in a clamp”: A major reason for the 22 percent jump in


rents (inflation-adjusted) over the past decade in this area is the serious imbalance of jobs and housing units. That imbalance is long-standing, worsening and strongly related to government policies. A proper balance generally is one housing unit for every 1.5 jobs in thecommunity, asdeterminedbytheAmericanPlanningAssoci- ation. Yet local governments still seek growth that would produce an even greater disparity between jobs and available housing. For example, Fairfax County has had among


the largest jobs/housing imbalances in the region.Yet, lastsummerits Board of Supervisors approved plans for a greatly expanded Tysons Corner, with approximately four jobs per house-


hold. The other communities along the new Metrorail corridor, all the way to the Loudoun County line, are projected to have even greater jobs and housing imbalances, according to George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. Most other area governments pursue similar


policies, which can increase local government revenue. But they cause increased poverty, homelessness, suburban sprawl, extreme com- mutes, clogged highways, fuel consumption and environmental problems, as well as housing market instability. Area governments should consistently promote a proper jobs/housing balance in the community. Thomas A. Loftus, Vienna


The writer is president of the Equitable Housing Institute.


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ROGER ANDELIN....................................................................................Technology BENJAMIN C. BRADLEE...............................................................................At Large USHA CHAUDHARY .............................................................Finance & Admin/CFO JAMES W. COLEY JR............................................................................... Production L. WAYNE CONNELL ..................................................................Human Resources LEONARD DOWNIE JR. ...............................................................................At Large WENDY EVANS ......................................................................................Advertising GREGG J. FERNANDES ..........................................................................Circulation JOHN B. KENNEDY ........................................................................................Labor ERIC N. LIEBERMAN....................................................................................Counsel CHRISTOPHER MA..............................................................................Development STEVE STUP.................................................................................Digital Advertising


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The writer is a member of the legal and legislative af- fairs committee of the American Ferret Association.


The pressure that Egypt needs Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner is


right that next year’s presidential elections represent “A chance for democracy in Egypt” [op-ed, Dec. 18]. Unfortunately, thelikelihoodthatEgyptianPresident HosniMubarakwill changehisways after 30 years of intransigence on political reformwithout significant andsustainedpressuremustbe regardedas extreme- ly low. Mr. Posner mapped out some concrete steps the


Egyptian government could take, such as lifting its emergency lawsandadmittinginternational election monitors, but only a concerted effort from the U.S. government will have a chance of persuading the Egyptian government to move forward with long- promised reforms. If the administration believes political reform in Egypt to be “essential,” that mes- sagemust be deliveredwithmuchmore urgency and consistency from senior levels of the government, including the president and the secretary of state, thanithas beentodate.


NeilHicks,NewYork


Thewriter is the international policy adviser forHuman Rights First.


Reining in debt and spending The Dec. 20 editorial “Enough conversation”


correctly creditedmy former colleagues, Sens.Mark Warner and SaxbyChambliss, with forming a strong bipartisan group to tackle debt reduction. The plan that the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt


Reduction Task Force devised to get America’s debt stabilized at a sustainable level by 2020 would demand not only short-term stimulus to get this anemic economy recovery energized; it would at the same time require the beginning of a real debt reduction effort. Such a two-pronged effort remains the most important structural work that the federal budget requires. Tax reform, in and of itself, will not suffice. Nor


will huge cuts in discretionary appropriations, which make up less than 17 percent of the federal budget. Neither, finally, will draconian spending cuts in entitlements, though phased-in tough re- straints onMedicare,Medicaid, Social Security and other pensions form the core of any practical plan. To ignore an increase of almost 45 millionMedicare beneficiaries in the next twodecades, for example, is to blind ourselves to reality. Our own tax component in the plan recognized


that tax reform, although desperately necessary, would not raise enough revenue to stabilize our growing indebtedness. Thus, we advocated for a debt reduction sales tax to close the gap between spending cuts, tax reform, entitlement restraint and debt stabilization. Soon the nation will face a breach of the federal


debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion. I hope that President Obama and others will take the bold step of combining such a debt ceiling increase with a comprehensive plan similar to the one that we have proposed.


Pete V. Domenici, Washington


The writer is a senior fellow and co-chair of the Debt Re- duction Task Force at the Bipartisan Policy Center.


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