Opponents of Mr. Bush’s policies on prisoners have long argued that it is immoral, dangerous and counterproductive to abuse and torture prisoners. We do not hold out much hope that the president will heed our last, urgent plea not to veto this bill.

We urge him to read the Army Field Manual, which says: “Use of torture by U.S. personnel would bring discredit upon the U.S. and its armed forces while undermining domestic and international support for the war effort. It could also place U.S. and allied personnel in enemy hands at greater risk of abuse.”

"How would the rest of nature respond if it were suddenly relieved of the relentless pressures we heap on it and our fellow organisms? How soon would, or could, the climate return to where it was before we fired up all our engines? How long would it take to recover lost ground and restore Eden to the way it must have gleamed and smelled the day before Adam, or homo habilis, appeared? Could nature ever obliterate all our traces?"

Not surprisingly, it's pretty clear that the Earth can take everything we throw at it. But there's a disquieting flip side: If we keep on going as we are now, the Earth may physically survive, but we won't. And even if we survive, the world as we know it will no longer exist.

There is too much to recommend this indoor smoking ban to entertain any thought of repealing or modifying it.
Years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared secondhand smoke a class A carcinogen -- the highest cancer risk category. Exposure to it increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. The link between secondhand smoke and heart attacks is especially concerning. The American Heart Association has estimated that 35,000 nonsmokers die each year from the effects of secondhand smoke on the heart.

Sixty-three percent of Washington voters decided two years ago that nonsmokers shouldn't be subjected to the health risks associated with secondhand smoke. It was the right decision, in our view, and should stand.