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Sunday, we'll editorialize on a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers highlighting flagrant violations of defendants' constitutional rights to an adquate defense in misdemeanor courts across the land. "Minor crimes, massive waste" cites as a major contributing factor the country's overcriminalization of nonviolent, petty offenses. Cash-strapped states looking to root out waste and abuse as they trim budgets should look at the impact of misdemeanor laws on the courts, not to mention on the basic concept of "innocent until proven guilty."

In a Tuesday editorial, the conservative Washington Times made the case that Barack Obama's approval ratings at 100 days are the second worst of any president in recent history:

According to Gallup's April survey, Americans have a lower approval of Mr. Obama at this point than all but one president since Gallup began tracking this in 1969. The only new president less popular was Bill Clinton, who got off to a notoriously bad start after trying to force homosexuals on the military and a federal raid in Waco, Texas, that killed 86. Mr. Obama's current approval rating of 56 percent is only one tick higher than the 55-percent approval Mr. Clinton had during those crises.

As the attached chart shows, five presidents rated higher than Mr. Obama after 100 days in office. Ronald Reagan topped the charts in April 1981 with 67 percent approval. Following the Gipper, in order of popularity, were: Jimmy Carter with 63 percent in 1977; George W. Bush with 62 percent in 2001; Richard Nixon with 61 percent in 1969; and George H.W. Bush with 58 percent in 1989.

There's one problem with that analysis: It is completely unsupported by the facts.

Obama's 63 percent average approval rating over his first 100 days puts him comfortably in the middle of presidents since Eisenhower. Clinton had the lowest at 55 percent. Kennedy had the highest at 74 percent. Of the nine presidents since Eisenhower, only three had a higher first-quarter approval rating than Obama. The weekly average for this week put Obama at a 65 percent approval rating. As one of our blog commenters suggested when someone quoted this editorial, perhaps the Times got the numbers transposed.

Rather than paint a picture of Obama as the "second-least popular president in 40 years" as the Times suggests, Gallup instead found, "The new president's approval rating at the 100-day mark is notable in that nearly all major demographic categories of Americans are pleased with his job performance, as evidenced by approval ratings above the majority level."

As Emily Litella might say, "Never mind."

Exploring a new dream

The defunct Explore Park's would-be developer unveiled part of his plans for 'Blue Ridge Virginia.' It has a familiar, though not unpleasing, ring.

A worrisome comparison

John Long
Long, a Roanoke Times columnist, is director of the Salem Museum and teaches history at Roanoke College.

The swine flu has hit the headlines again. As I write this, ground zero seems to be Mexico City, where perhaps 150 have died and where even President Obama may have been exposed. In the U.S., one death has been reported, and cases are appearing in multiple states. By the time you read this on Thursday, the numbers will doubtlessly be worse. Of course, it is too early for undue alarm. At this point we really don't know much. But caution and vigilance are certainly in order, especially since virologists are again openly mentioning 1918. For non-history buffs, that may not mean much. But as a professor of 20th century history and a local historian, hearing "flu" and "1918" in the same sentence is portentous. What happened in 1918-19 was a disaster of global proportions, yet it remains largely an untold story.
Read more.

RU didn't get faculty input on changes

Fred Singer and Moira P. Baker
Singer is in the biology department and Baker is in the English department at Radford University.

Though controversy buffets Radford University at the moment, many faculty members wish to assure our students and the public that Radford remains a vibrant institution, offering superb opportunities to students. Recent administrative actions of the Academic Affairs Division at RU, however, threaten to undermine our excellence by diminishing the essential role that a university faculty must play in governance and in shaping the curriculum.
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Radford controversy is perplexing

By Thomas Fraim and Nancy Artis | Fraim, of Norfolk, is rector of the Radford University Board of Visitors. Artis, of Pagosa Springs, Colo., is vice rector.

After all the rhetoric and protests and open forums and blogging, this is what the review of 29 academic programs at Radford University boils down to: one certificate -- a post-baccalaureate certificate in Appalachian Studies -- that averages only three students a year. As rector and vice rector of the Radford University board of visitors, we are not academics but are proud RU alumni. While we're delighted at the passion displayed by RU students over their academic curriculum, we admit to being a bit perplexed by the controversy that this review process has aroused.
Read more.

Read Thursday's letters to the editor.

"I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

What are you doing with your time today?

If you didn't make it up to The Lyric in Blacksburg for the Democratic gubernatorial debate, you can check out the event. It was, on the whole, an entertaining debate. Be sure to check out the heated exchange between Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe. It's flagged at about the 1:36 point. I loved that Deeds just took a few steps back from the shooting.

Kudos to the Collegiate Times for organizing the event.

Some of you might have caught "The Stand" quote in today's open thread. With all the talk of the swine flu and the potential of a pandemic, it seemed oddly appropriate.

If there are any Stand fans out there, you might be interested in Mother Abigail's Twitter page. She's getting ready, just in case.

I have long entertained the notion that one of the defining differences between liberals and conservatives is that liberals have a much better sense of humor. It's an idea that warrants further study, I think, but I've never had time to pursue it.

Thank goodness for researchers at Ohio State University.

We found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of [Stephen] Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism.

In other words, Conservatives tend not to get the joke. Does anyone have access to this study?  I'd like to read the whole thing, but don't think I'm going to drop $1/page for the privlege.

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For Thursday we are planning to write about Pennsylvania Sen. Alren Specter's shift from Republican to the Democrat and what this means for the Republican party.

The Virginia GOP should pay attention.

Developer Larry Vander Maten finally gave the public a peek at what he has in mind to transform Explore Park into "Blue Ridge America," a major family vacation destination on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Though he didn't reveal all elements of his plan in presentations before Roanoke County and recreational authority officials Tuesday, what he did show makes it clear he has kept his pledge not to bring roller coasters to the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge. If he can raise the money to realize his vision, it would be in line with what local movers and shakers originally wanted Explore Park to be. We'll talk about the plan in an editorial Thursday.