Inside the editorial page
Inside the editorial page

This blog is designed to give readers a glimpse of our editorial-page operation and how we make our decisions. We’ll let you know who we’re meeting with, what they’re telling us, what events and issues we’re looking at. We’ll also pass on information and observations that may not make our print editions. In addition to the editorial board members who post on this blog, the board includes Publisher David Zeeck, Executive Editor Karen Peterson and Managing Editor Dale Phelps.

Editorial board bloggers

Editorial page editor Patrick O’Callahan oversees the online and printed opinion sections of The News Tribune. He came to The News Tribune in 1987 and has worked at Washington newspapers since 1979. E-mail him at patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com

Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, in addition to writing commentary, manages the daily production of the editorial and op-ed pages and edits letters to the editor. She began her journalism career in 1974 at a Virginia newspaper and came to The News Tribune in 1978. E-mail her at cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com.

Editorial writer Kim Bradford manages the online opinion section of The News Tribune and writes commentary. She joined The News Tribune in 2005 after working 11 years at newspapers in Washington and Maryland. E-mail her at kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com.

Guest bloggers

Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in 2008 after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.

Richard Davis’ column on state politics frequently runs in the print edition of The News Tribune. He was president of the Washington Research Council, a statewide think tank, from 1986 through 2006. Currently, as a principal with The Simeon Partnership, Inc. he coordinates the activities of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, a business coalition founded by the Research Council, the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable.

Karen Irwin of University Place, a mother of four, has been a frequent contributor to The News Tribune's print editions. She has also written for Seattle's Child, Puget Sound Parent, the Tacoma Weekly, the Fayetteville Observer Times and the political blog Right Meets Left. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a degree in English literature and is currently working toward a history degree.

Michael Allen, professor of history at the University of Washington Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1969-70. He has written five books, including the prize-winning "Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus' Great Discovery to the War on Terror," "Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination" and "Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse." Allen lives in Tacoma and Ellensburg and has three children.

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What's on the minds of Tacoma News Tribune editorial writers
Monday, September 29th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 02:50:48 pm

Book recommendation: "The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers and the Great Credit Crash" by Charles Morris.

This was published early this year, but it presents the whole cast of villains and idiots behind the present Wall Street disaster: Pirates, swindlers, shills, evil geniuses, sophisticated dupes, predatory mathematicians.

A great line: "As a general rule, only the very smartest people can make truly catastrophic mistakes."

Categories: Taking notice
Posted by Cheryl Tucker @ 12:22:45 pm

. . . Barack Obama in a landslide.

We've gotten some criticism from Republicans for running more pro-Obama letters than ones for John McCain. But this morning's e-mail shows why that sometimes happens.

Naturally, we want to run some letters Tuesday about the Friday night debate. But of the 14 debate-related letters we've received, not a single one was pro-McCain.

We'll run a few of the pro-Obama letters Tuesday, but if we ran all 14, we'd catch all sorts of heat from McCain supporters.

As it is, we'll probably get some calls complaining that we didn't run any pro-McCain letters. But we can't run 'em if we don't get 'em.

Categories: How we work, Election
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 09:25:44 am

The new bailout compromise looks a lot better than Henry Paulson’s origianl proposal. For one thing, there’s real oversight of Treasury’s actions, and the public has some chance of getting much of its money back when the “illiquid assets” can finally be sold down the road.

Churches have every right to endorse candidates; they just don’t have any right to both endorse candidates and enjoy tax exempt status. The tax exemption applies across the board to nonprofits, religious or not, on condition they not act like taxpayer-subsidized political action groups. Letting churches be the exception would raise separation issues.

If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Categories: What's coming