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Editorial voices from elsewhere

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Editorial voices from newspapers around the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:

We are not among those who view fracking as an unmitigated horror. The practice has produced an abundant supply of cheap energy, increased U.S. oil to near record highs and is helping make the nation energy self-sufficient. And because the natural gas it produces burns cleaner than oil, it even helped reduced the United States’ carbon emissions.

Nevertheless, Floridians should be alarmed by fracking legislation that would rob local elected officials of any say over whether the practice could take place in their communities.

It is a typical Tallahassee ploy: seize control of such decisions at the urging of industry lobbyists, who know they are unlikely to get their way with the local elected officials who would have to live with the consequences.

The Florida League of Cities opposes the measure because it strips local governments of the ability to protect residents. As Tom Shelly, a Belleair, Fla. commissioner, said, “We would lose our authority over land decisions. We couldn’t stop fracking even it was planned next to a school.”

If lawmakers do anything, they should adopt minimum safety standards. But local governments should retain the authority to adopt whatever regulations they deem necessary, or to prohibit fracking altogether.

On Dec. 9, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved an overhaul of No Child Left Behind, echoing the House and sending the measure to the White House, where President Obama quickly added his signature. The bill dramatically scales back the role of the federal government in public education.

No Child Left Behind has proved flawed. The amount of high-stakes testing is part of the problem. So are the ill-conceived consequences and the impractical objective of having all students proficient in reading and math by 2014, especially in view of the inadequate resources committed.

For those who argue the federal government has been “micromanaging” the education system, this amounts to an advance. What should trouble is the record of too many states, including Ohio. Before and after No Child Left Behind, they have backed away from the politically unpopular and difficult task of holding schools to higher standards, not to mention investing adequately to help raise the level of academic performance.

So, as much as No Child Left Behind needed repair work, this legislation risks the country taking a step back. It risks exacerbating the problems that afflicted public education before Congress acted 13 years ago.

Hillary Clinton takes political correctness too far when she refuses to characterize the fight against terrorism as a battle to defeat “radical Islam.” To use that term, she has argued, “sounds like we are declaring war against a religion.”

Such linguistic sensitivity may be well intentioned – especially given Donald Trump’s grotesque call to bar Muslims from entering the United States. But it does a disservice to the tens of millions of moderate, peaceful Muslims who abhor the extremism and violence of radical Islamists, and who want to highlight, not downplay, their rejection of the jihadists.

“If we are to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies,” President Obama rightly stressed in his Oval Office address Dec. 6. “That does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some Muslim communities. It’s a real problem that Muslims must confront without excuse.”

Many Muslims would enthusiastically agree.

It is a great mistake to blame the evils committed by jihadi extremists on the Muslim religion. Radical Islam – not Islam itself – is the menace that must be defeated.

Ultimately, that defeat can only be administered by Muslims passionately committed to moderation and tolerance. Those moderate Muslims need all the support we can give them as they battle for the soul of their faith.

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