Opinion: In today’s pages: Iran, Cirque du Soleil and clunkers

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Iran’s show trial last weekend of at least 100 reformist politicians, journalists and foot soldiers is part of an ugly trend that will not only weaken the position of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it could derail talks with the United States concerning Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to today’s lead editorial.

The Times also weighs in on a proposal for the city of Los Angeles to approve a $30-million loan to renovate the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood so it can accommodate performances by acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil. The city’s projections that a 10-year run of the popular attraction would generate 858 jobs seems more based on federal loan requirements than reality; the city should reject the loan.

And Times editorial writer Karin Klein relates her own experience with the ‘cash for clunkers’ law, which has stirred up a feeding frenzy at local car dealerships: ‘At Hyundai, we watched a family leap into an Accent for a test drive after two other cars were snatched out from under them. We never did find a salesman.’

Speaking of which, columnist Jonah Goldberg thinks the whole federal car-buying subsidy program is a clunker. Washington’s notion that paying people who already own working cars so that they can buy new ones and junk the old is reminiscent of French economist Frederic Bastiat’s ‘broken windows’ fallacy, Goldberg says: Though it might benefit bankers and car makers, it doesn’t take into account the economic stimulus that would have resulted if the car buyers had instead spent their money on more useful things.

And just when you thought it was safe to get out of Iraq, political science professor Barbara F. Walter asserts that it isn’t. History shows that countries that have fought civil wars are likely to do it again, and that countries that end their civil wars with compromise settlements often return to fighting unless there is a third party present to enforce the peace. Most experts believe the U.S. would have to remain in Iraq for five to 10 years past the current 2011 withdrawal deadline to avert another outbreak of hostilities among Iraq’s competing factions.

Finally, constitutional law professor Ryan Coonerty thinks the problem with California’s government isn’t an excess of democracy, but too little. Coonerty favors doubling the size of the Legislature, which could be accomplished without excessive spending by cutting lawmakers’ current salaries ($116,000 a year) in half. Smaller districts would allow the people to hold their representatives more accountable, he argues.

Illustration credit: Paul Tong / TMS