Debates

The Supreme Court debated today whether the government can maintain a cross in a national preserve to honor fallen soldiers or whether an official display of this Christian symbol violates the 1st Amendment's ban on an establishment of religion. But the justices spent most of the hour mired in a side dispute over whether Congress solved the constitutional problem by transferring the land under the cross to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. At issue was cross that sits atop Sunrise Rock in a remote part of the Mojave National Preserve in California, not far from the border with Nevada.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday abruptly pulled out of a joint appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles after growing unhappy with the way the event was being promoted. Earlier this week, the two called off an upcoming appearance in New York City. "We canceled the event because of a violation of contract and a promoter who insisted on billing it as something it wasn't," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Clinton. David Sherzer, a spokesman for Bush, confirmed the event was off. McKenna said the forum was never intended to be a clash between the 42nd and 43rd presidents -- "the hottest ticket in political history," a news released called it -- but rather a moderated panel discussion.

The verdict from critics Friday was quick and unsparing: Comedian Jon Stewart trounced CNBC pundit Jim Cramer in their televised encounter Thursday night. Forgoing his typically caustic humor, a serious and at times angry Stewart eviscerated Cramer for jocularly discussing how to manipulate the stock market and slammed CNBC as an ineffective watchdog of Wall Street.

Crowds of Lincoln High School students flooded the sidewalks along Broadway recently as another school day came to an end. But 16-year-old Tania Navarro wasn't in the crowd. She sat inside one of the school's bungalow classrooms, tapping her pencil against the sheet of paper in front of her. "I love to argue," she said. But her penchant for verbal confrontation hadn't landed her in detention hall.

It's a sentiment bubbling just below the surface of a lively and charged televised debate over whether to trust Iran not to build a nuclear weapon. But it isn't until the last few minutes of the freewheeling and at times revealing hourlong discussion that a member of the studio audience finally drops the bomb. "Why in the first place should Iran seek the trust of anyone?" he says. "Iran is an independent, sovereign country, and it has every single right to defend itself. If it wants a bomb, definitely it should have one."

Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton acknowledged Sunday that he had experimented with marijuana while a 22-year-old student in England in the late 1960s, an admission that could raise doubts about his past candor in answering questions about his personal conduct. For five years, the 45-year-old Clinton has answered questions about whether he had ever used drugs by saying he had never broken a U.S. law. During a televised debate here with Democratic presidential rival Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.

Marissa Nuncio is passionate about your pet. "Fighting for animal rights is as important as fighting for other social justice issues," said Nuncio, a second-year student at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "It's literally fighting for the underdog." Nuncio and two of her like-minded classmates were preparing for a trip to Boston this weekend, where they will debate animal rights issues in a national moot court competition.

IMAGINE a presidential debate in which John McCain answers Hillary Clinton's arguments by stripping down to his underwear or breaking into a rap song. Strange as it might sound, such tactics are gaining cachet -- and victories -- in a top breeding ground for future politicians: America's college debate circuit.

President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry both face intensifying challenges to their credibility on Iraq as they approach Thursday's potentially pivotal debate on foreign policy. Bush and his allies are barraging Kerry with accusations that his escalating criticism of the administration's strategy in Iraq contradicts his earlier support for confronting Saddam Hussein's regime. "How can John Kerry protect us, when he doesn't even know where he stands?" the Bush campaign charges in a new ad.

Embracing the Internet in all its brashness and irreverence, eight Democratic presidential hopefuls differed over Iraq, Darfur, same-sex marriage and more offbeat issues in a lively Monday-night debate driven by dozens of amateur inquisitors. A mix of serious policy talk and sophomoric humor, the session sponsored by CNN and YouTube broke ground in style and content.

It was one of a series of government-run public debates aimed at defining the values that constitute French national identity. But in this middle-class suburb west of Paris, the discussion last week quickly turned into a cacophony of hot-tempered accusations. Rather than give his version of what it means to be French, an invited speaker, historian Jean-Yves Mollier, attacked his host (who sat stone-still a few feet in front of him) for supporting the national dialogue. Mollier said the ongoing debates represent none other than Vichy-style propaganda attempting to "stigmatize" those who don't fall into France's ruling native caste, in this case mostly French Muslims of immigrant origin.

When it opened four years ago, Santee Education Complex became known more for its violent beginnings than for its students' forensic skill. In its first week, shots were fired in front of the campus. One day later, a student was arrested outside school with an AK-47. Yet students from the troubled campus, operated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, now have a reputation to uphold: Santee has been among the winners of the United Nations Foundation Global Debates contest two years running, earning a three-day trip each year to the U.N. in New York City.

It's a sentiment bubbling just below the surface of a lively and charged televised debate over whether to trust Iran not to build a nuclear weapon. But it isn't until the last few minutes of the freewheeling and at times revealing hourlong discussion that a member of the studio audience finally drops the bomb. "Why in the first place should Iran seek the trust of anyone?" he says. "Iran is an independent, sovereign country, and it has every single right to defend itself. If it wants a bomb, definitely it should have one."

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday abruptly pulled out of a joint appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles after growing unhappy with the way the event was being promoted. Earlier this week, the two called off an upcoming appearance in New York City. "We canceled the event because of a violation of contract and a promoter who insisted on billing it as something it wasn't," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Clinton. David Sherzer, a spokesman for Bush, confirmed the event was off. McKenna said the forum was never intended to be a clash between the 42nd and 43rd presidents -- "the hottest ticket in political history," a news released called it -- but rather a moderated panel discussion.

The Supreme Court debated today whether the government can maintain a cross in a national preserve to honor fallen soldiers or whether an official display of this Christian symbol violates the 1st Amendment's ban on an establishment of religion. But the justices spent most of the hour mired in a side dispute over whether Congress solved the constitutional problem by transferring the land under the cross to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. At issue was cross that sits atop Sunrise Rock in a remote part of the Mojave National Preserve in California, not far from the border with Nevada.

Alien life forms agitating, human life forms agitating back, secret scientific experiments, ethical dilemmas everywhere you turn -- that is the sweeping intellectual force field of "District 9," a great place to muck around whether you're a sci-fi fan or not. Though you'd never guess given its swagging confidence and inventive style, but this clever thriller is director Neill Blomkamp's first feature. That it is set in South Africa, with much of the action taking place in the poverty and grime of a shantytown just outside Johannesburg, only adds to the rich texture of the film.

The verdict from critics Friday was quick and unsparing: Comedian Jon Stewart trounced CNBC pundit Jim Cramer in their televised encounter Thursday night. Forgoing his typically caustic humor, a serious and at times angry Stewart eviscerated Cramer for jocularly discussing how to manipulate the stock market and slammed CNBC as an ineffective watchdog of Wall Street.

Crowds of Lincoln High School students flooded the sidewalks along Broadway recently as another school day came to an end. But 16-year-old Tania Navarro wasn't in the crowd. She sat inside one of the school's bungalow classrooms, tapping her pencil against the sheet of paper in front of her. "I love to argue," she said. But her penchant for verbal confrontation hadn't landed her in detention hall.

Re "And now a word from ...," editorial, Oct. 27 "Cheesy"? "Infomercial"? Barack Obama is letting those of us in states where the outcome is considered certain hear him rather than the talking heads. Would that John McCain could do the same! The airwaves belong to the people. Airtime should not be so expensive. Regular blocks of time should be given to candidates to present their ideas cogently. Debates limit the candidates to answering specific questions, not allowing them to present coherent positions.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, embroiled in an adultery scandal, skipped a debate because organizers wouldn't ban television cameras, leaving his opponent to debate an empty chair. Mahoney's campaign also signaled that he may give up public appearances entirely as he struggles to overcome reports of two affairs. Republican challenger Tom Rooney took questions during the luncheon in West Palm Beach. Voters chose Mahoney in 2006 when he ran on a family values platform to replace Mark Foley, a Republican who resigned amid revelations that he sent lurid messages to teenage male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill.