MiamiHerald.com: Issues & Ideas

South Florida vets cope with wounds not always visible

Sun, 27 May 2012 16:55 EDT

Sgt. David Aguirre, 36, of Doral, who served multiple tours in Iraq, is lucky to be alive. The same can be said of Cpl. Christopher Alban, 22, of Tamarac, an Afghanistan veteran.

A West Point grad on the meaning of Memorial Day

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:18 EDT

A recent West Point grad from Miami Shores reflects on service to the nation and the significance of Memorial Day

The Silver Knights: 54 years of excellence, selflessness

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:31 EDT

Winners of the Silver Knight awards embody the best of South Florida.

Mariel memories: The boatlift that changed everything

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:38 EDT

A reporter recounts the high drama and danger of the Mariel Boatlift and reflects on how that event changed South Florida’s cultural landscape.

My mom, the sneaky motivator

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:59 EDT

I will not say my mother was a modern day Ma Barker. I won’t even say she was conniving. But I will grant that she reminds me a little bit of Jeff Van Gundy, coach of the New York Knicks in the 1990’s, for the way he would concoct conspiracy theories to motivate his team. Oh, and she is short like Van Gundy, too.

How the assassination of JFK put Fidel Castro in a delicate spot

Sat, 12 May 2012 15:35 EDT

The Cuban leader’s protestations that he knew nothing about Lee Harvey Oswald ring hollow.

The death of a Cuban spymaster

Sat, 05 May 2012 20:13 EDT

Fidel Castro’s young intelligence officers were skilled and relentless — even when they were turned against their own bosses. In the last of three excerpts from his new book ‘Castro’s Secrets: The CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine,’ retired CIA analyst Brian Latell discloses the lethal secret behind the apparently natural death of one of Castro’s senior advisers.

Compressed NBA season puts heat on Herald’s beat writer

Sat, 05 May 2012 19:45 EDT

The 66-game regular-season sprint has been a challenge, but a good one, says Goodman.

The Cuban killer who fooled the CIA

Tue, 01 May 2012 18:11 EDT

To CIA, Rolando Cubela seemed the perfect prospect to assassinate Fidel Castro. Young and fit, a battle-tested conspirator, he had killed in cold blood before. Unlike most Cuban officials who toiled under the suspicious gaze of the security services, he was allowed to travel abroad freely where illicit meetings with his Agency handlers were easy to arrange. He used a beach house adjacent to one reserved for Fidel at Varadero, a resort a couple of hours east of Havana. There it could be a simple hit, on the sand or in the surf where the Cuban leader and his security would least expect it.

The hit teams that carried out Castro’s vendettas

Tue, 01 May 2012 18:13 EDT

Brian Latell a retired CIA agent now with the University of Miami, discloses how a Cuban intelligence defector named Florentino “Tiny” Aspillaga revealed one of Fidel Castro’s darkest secrets: a team of assassins under his personal control.

Who’s the teacher promoting Gov. Rick Scott’s education?

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:25 EDT

So is it a public school teacher now shilling for Gov. Rick Scott in his latest television ad? Or is it an actor?

A welcome affirmation of The Herald’s work

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:20 EDT

The ALF series that helped reform a troubled industry was a finalist for journalism’s top prize.

Does wanting to tax millionaires more help re-elect Obama?

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:46 EDT

The White House and congressional Democrats think they have the ideal issue to use against Republicans all year — that the GOP is eager to give tax breaks to the rich.

My decades as a crazed, out-of-control gambler

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:05 EDT

It began with pitching pennies for money and ended many years later in utter depravity. Then I got help.

Marco Rubio, the GOP and the DREAM Act

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:52 EDT

The U.S. senator from Florida offers an alternative to the DREAM Act that could help his party win back some Hispanic voters.

Grassroots ‘Mission Houses’ are spreading the faith in Cuba

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:27 EDT

How the Catholic Church is spreading the word in Cuba, which not that long ago was officially atheist.

Covering the Trayvon Martin story: Readers take sides; The Herald can’t

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:18 EDT

On stories like the death of Trayvon Martin, we must redouble our efforts to be neutral arbiters.

Myth and reality of ‘stand your ground’

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:38 EDT

“Since Florida passed the ‘stand your ground’ law in 2005, deaths due to self-defense have jumped over 250 percent.”

Opinion: Welcome to Florida. Beware of gunmen standing their ground

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:30 EDT

In its zeal to champion property owners and the gun lobby, the state of Florida has created an outrageous legal loophole.

In macho Mexico, a woman aims for the presidency

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:35 EDT

Josefina Vazquez Mota hopes to join other women presidents in the region.