Research Politics

George H. Gallup, an inventor of modern opinion polling, idealistically believed that surveys of the public would enhance democracy by providing leaders with a true picture of peoples' attitudes and concerns. Sixty years have gone by, and polls are now as common as Big Macs on the American landscape. But their effect remains dubious at best, as does the effect of the burgeoning number of studies of all types that are now part of every public policy debate.

Herbert McClosky, 89, a UC Berkeley political science professor emeritus who performed pioneering research into political beliefs, attitudes and ideologies, died Monday of pneumonia and complications of Parkinson's disease in Oakland.

THE MYTH OF HETEROSEXUAL AIDS by Michael Fumento Basic Books/A New Republic Book $22.95; 411 pages If you're straight and you don't shoot up, Michael Fumento has some good news about AIDS in his new book, "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS": You're more likely to be struck by lightning than by AIDS. But those who suffer from AIDS, those who care for victims of it and those who struggle to prevent and cure AIDS will almost certainly see Fumento and his book as bad news indeed.

The sleeper issue of stem cell research leapt into the center of the presidential race Monday as Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign attacked President Bush with renewed vigor for limiting the scope of the work and the White House launched a multifront drive to show that the president supported using the science to find cures for debilitating diseases.

Herbert McClosky, 89, a UC Berkeley political science professor emeritus who performed pioneering research into political beliefs, attitudes and ideologies, died Monday of pneumonia and complications of Parkinson's disease in Oakland.

Anticipating the entry of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell into the Republican presidential race, leading GOP candidates quietly have begun compiling research on Powell's public record and private life in hopes of discovering ammunition to use to deny him the nomination. The most aggressive anti-Powell preparations are being conducted by the campaigns of Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, campaign aides said.

Former President Richard Nixon joined his onetime White House colleagues Thursday to recall the achievements of the Nixon Administration and to launch a new policy research center that they hope will continue the work they started 25 years ago.

As the president of a Massachusetts biotechnology firm announced ambitious plans Tuesday to use human cloning in disease research, seven senators said the controversial work should remain legal. The House and some Senate Republicans have moved to bar human cloning for any purpose. Six of the senators, by contrast, said they would back legislation to outlaw cloning as a method to produce children while leaving scientists free to use it in the search for cures for disease. Sen.

Former Assemblyman Mike Roos donated his political papers to the Center for the Study of Los Angeles on Monday, dramatically swelling the archives at Loyola Marymount University's year-old policy institute. The papers--notes, appointment books and pending legislation files collected over Roos' 14-year tenure with the Assembly--have been held for the last 5 1/2 years in a far less glamorous rental storage facility.

To understand the future of American politics, look closely at Dana Point and at Orange County, a Stanford University professor says, and keep in mind that in a few years whites will cease to be the majority in California. Around the year 2000, the state estimates, whites will make up less than half of California's more than 31 million people.

As the president of a Massachusetts biotechnology firm announced ambitious plans Tuesday to use human cloning in disease research, seven senators said the controversial work should remain legal. The House and some Senate Republicans have moved to bar human cloning for any purpose. Six of the senators, by contrast, said they would back legislation to outlaw cloning as a method to produce children while leaving scientists free to use it in the search for cures for disease. Sen.

To understand the future of American politics, look closely at Dana Point and at Orange County, a Stanford University professor says, and keep in mind that in a few years whites will cease to be the majority in California. Around the year 2000, the state estimates, whites will make up less than half of California's more than 31 million people.

Former Assemblyman Mike Roos donated his political papers to the Center for the Study of Los Angeles on Monday, dramatically swelling the archives at Loyola Marymount University's year-old policy institute. The papers--notes, appointment books and pending legislation files collected over Roos' 14-year tenure with the Assembly--have been held for the last 5 1/2 years in a far less glamorous rental storage facility.

Anticipating the entry of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell into the Republican presidential race, leading GOP candidates quietly have begun compiling research on Powell's public record and private life in hopes of discovering ammunition to use to deny him the nomination. The most aggressive anti-Powell preparations are being conducted by the campaigns of Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, campaign aides said.

George H. Gallup, an inventor of modern opinion polling, idealistically believed that surveys of the public would enhance democracy by providing leaders with a true picture of peoples' attitudes and concerns. Sixty years have gone by, and polls are now as common as Big Macs on the American landscape. But their effect remains dubious at best, as does the effect of the burgeoning number of studies of all types that are now part of every public policy debate.

Former President Richard Nixon joined his onetime White House colleagues Thursday to recall the achievements of the Nixon Administration and to launch a new policy research center that they hope will continue the work they started 25 years ago.

The sleeper issue of stem cell research leapt into the center of the presidential race Monday as Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign attacked President Bush with renewed vigor for limiting the scope of the work and the White House launched a multifront drive to show that the president supported using the science to find cures for debilitating diseases.

Editor's note: This edition of Blowback offers four responses to the package of three Op-Eds about bilingual education that The Times ran on July 11. The opinion pieces — "The Spanish road to English" by Bruce Fuller, "A skill, not a weakness" by Laurie Olsen and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, and "Quality Counts" by Alice Callaghan — generated a lot of feedback from readers, and much of the "Letters to the editor" section on...

THE MYTH OF HETEROSEXUAL AIDS by Michael Fumento Basic Books/A New Republic Book $22.95; 411 pages If you're straight and you don't shoot up, Michael Fumento has some good news about AIDS in his new book, "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS": You're more likely to be struck by lightning than by AIDS. But those who suffer from AIDS, those who care for victims of it and those who struggle to prevent and cure AIDS will almost certainly see Fumento and his book as bad news indeed.