Opinion

Sept. 20, 2011 — Good old-fashioned debate is the way grownups clear the air.

So this week I am going to finish telling the rest of the story.

News editor Sam Williams and I are opposite sides of the political spectrum on many issues, but we respect each other and I for one have learned things from him.

First issue of concern is the number of fatalities on our state roads.

Sept. 20, 2011 — Oh, me, oh, my — woe is me.

The biggest political ping-pong balls getting knocked across the fruited plain these days are “entitlements” and “unfunded liabilities.”

Ah, yes, from the most fervent Taxed Enough Already Partier to the staunchest conservative Republican — and now even from a few Democrats — come the cries to cut two terrible, disgusting, socialist programs that are draining the American economy and absolutely destroying our utopian, American, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps way of life.

The state Assembly and Senate have been dragging their feet about releasing records of their members’ spending.

The body usually releases once-a-year figures in November for the previous year.

Under pressure, the Legislature has released some up-to-date figures, but not others.