http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/index.html http://media.miamiherald.com/images/logos/rss_sitelogo.gif http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/index.html 140 25 News, sports and entertainment from MiamiHerald.com en-us Copyright 2009 MiamiHerald.com Issues & Ideas 60 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:06:22 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys miamifeedback@miamiherald.com http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344555.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344555.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Sarah Palin has a talent for reinvention. Since her first campaign in 1992, she's gone through a wardrobe full of political personas. Study her career and you count no less than five identities: Sarah the culture warrior, Sarah the watchdog, Sarah the reformer, Sarah the veep and now, Sarah the celebrity. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344550.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344550.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Our company, J.P. Morgan Chase, employs more than 220,000 people, serves well over 100 million customers, lends hundreds of millions of dollars each day and has operations in nearly 100 countries. And if some unforeseen circumstance should put this firm at risk of collapse, I believe we should be allowed to fail. The term ``too big to fail'' must be excised from our vocabulary. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344564.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344564.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:00 EST When Jack Dolan and Matthew Haggman reported the taxpayer funded travels of some Miami-Dade commissioners to bolster business abroad -- $217,000 for nine trips that yielded virtually nothing in exchange -- we received hundreds of emails and online comments. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344554.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344554.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Even as we wade through the wreckage of the housing collapse, Americans remain a staunchly house-proud people. And our government is apparently determined to encourage us: This month, President Obama signed into law an extension and expansion of the popular homebuyer tax credit, which had been scheduled to expire at the end of November. But before you rush out to claim your extra cash, take a moment to make sure you're not in the housing market for the wrong reasons. We've found that several of our most cherished beliefs about the value of a home don't hold true: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344517.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1344517.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:09 EST Miami-Dade Commission budget cuts are affecting more than the bottom line. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329858.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329858.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Michael Sallah is investigations editor and author of ''Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War'' (2006: Little, Brown and Company). He posed this question to Doug Stanton, author of ''Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan'' (Scribner, $28). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1332364.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1332364.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Ralph Nader, 75, has been an outsized figure in American political and civic life for more than four decades. Consumer advocate, lawyer, citizen activist and former presidential candidate -- perhaps most notably in 2000, when as a candidate for the Green party, he received nearly 3 percent of the vote -- he has also written or co-authored 34 books. Among them: the influential ``Unsafe At Any Speed,'' the 1965 best-selling indictment of the auto industry and its lax safety standards. In his latest book, ``Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!'' (Seven Stories Press, $27.50), Nader envisions what could happen if some of the country's richest people pooled their resources and led a drive to get many changes Nader has long sought -- curbs on corporate power and big insurance companies, for instance, and third-party victories. In the novel, characters based on real people such as Warren Buffett and Ted Turner in fictional roles mobilize the people for fairness and justice. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329855.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329855.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Ronnie Greene, The Herald's urban affairs editor, is author of ''Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, And Margie Richard's Fight To Save Her Town'' (HarperCollins/Amistad, 2008), honored as a Harry Chapin Award finalist. He asked this of John Dufresne, the acclaimed Dania Beach author of seven books, including ''Requiem, Mass.'' (Norton, $24.95; $13.95 paperback). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329889.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329889.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST David Diaz is a copy editor for The Miami Herald. He asked this of Gerald Martin, who has written ''Gabriel García Márquez: A Life'' (Random House, $37.50). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329895.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329895.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Jonathan Dubin, a page designer and copy editor for The Miami Herald, asked this of Aryeh Rubin, the editor of ''Jewish Sages of Today'' (Devora Publishing, $16.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329998.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329998.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Diana Moskovitz is a staff writer for The Miami Herald. She asked this of Norman Podhoretz, who has written ''Why Are Jews Liberals?'' (Doubleday, $27). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330043.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330043.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Adam H. Beasley writes about sports and breaking news for The Miami Herald. He asked these questions of S.L. Price, author of ''Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America'' (HarperCollins, $24.99), about a minor-league coach killed when a batted ball struck him in the neck during a game. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330089.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330089.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST William McGee is a veteran copy editor on The Miami Herald's universal desk. He asked this of Melvin Van Peebles, the novelist, musician and father of actor Mario Van Peebles, who has written ''Confessions Of A Ex-Doofus Itchy-Footed Mutha'' (Akashic, $17.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329857.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329857.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Fabiola Santiago, visual arts writer for The Miami Herald, is the author of ''Siempre París'' (Simon & Schuster, $15), a novel set in contemporary Cuban Miami. She asked this question of Gina Montaner, author of ''La mala fama'' (Plaza & Janés, $16.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329890.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329890.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Trenton Daniel is a staff writer for The Miami Herald. He asked this of Benjamin Moser, author of ''Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector'' (Oxford University Press, $29.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329919.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329919.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Jeff Kleinman is night news editor at The Miami Herald and blogs on family issues for MomsMiami.com. He asked this question of David Wolman, author of ''Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling'' (HarperCollins, $24.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329999.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329999.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Cory Nightingale is a copy editor on The Miami Herald's sports desk. He asked this of Peter Golenbock, who wrote ''George -- The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire'' (Wiley, $26.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330067.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1330067.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Kathleen McGrory is an education reporter for The Miami Herald. She asked this of Carolina De Robertis, who has written ''The Invisible Mountain'' (Knopf, $24.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329891.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329891.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Jaweed Kaleem is a religion and general assignment reporter for the Miami Herald. He asked this question Joe Starita, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a former Miami Herald investigative reporter, who has has written ''I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice'' (St. Martin's Press, $26.95). http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329982.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/issues_ideas/story/1329982.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00 EST Business Monday editor Brenda Krebs was a soloist with the Kansas City Ballet before completing a Ph.D in Spanish literature. Her interest in dance, literature and the media inspired her to ask this question of Zeida Cecilia-Mendez, co-author of ''Fernando Bujones: An Autobiography '' (Higher Education and Technology Consultants, $35).