MiamiHerald.com: Opinion

Robbing public schools

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:53 EST

OUR OPINION: Drop charter school construction funding, focus on repairing dilapidated traditional schools

No more Nubias

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

OUR OPINION: Tougher child-protection laws should be the priority

Get to the bottom of it

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:47 EST

OUR OPINION: Broward Medical Examiner’s Office a mess

Gathering storm over insurance bill

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:23 EST

OUR OPINION: Don’t let unregulated insurers into Florida

Another loony ‘jobs’ bill

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:13 EST

OUR OPINION: Out-of-state Internet companies should collect Florida sales tax but why a “freebie” tax holiday?

Not so fast

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:58 EST

OUR OPINION: Miami Beach needs to do its due diligence before approving tow-company increase

Indecision roulette

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:32 EST

OUR OPINION: Future of gambling in the Sunshine State remains unsettled

Florida’s simpleton rankings

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

OUR OPINION: New state rankings of school districts do nothing to promote reform

Is there a hero in the House?

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

OUR OPINION: Gov. Scott, state Senate need missing House support to crack down on bad ALFs

Break the cycle of violence

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:10 EST

OUR OPINION: End physical and emotional abuse during teen dating by speaking up

Dictators must be held accountable

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Two men whose brutal dictatorships ended in the 1980s are in the news because courts in the countries they once ruled are considering whether to bring them to trial for their crimes while they held power. This continues an important trend of the past two decades in which more than 60 heads of government have been prosecuted by international and national courts, either for corruption or human rights abuses, or for a combination of these crimes.

Mitt Romney and the power of losing

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Mitt Romney’s recent losses to Rick Santorum in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota revealed a truism that Romney might want to study — but not too much!

It’s 2012, and we’re still arguing about birth control

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Oh, dear, what is that baying? It sounds like the religious right has let slip the dogs of culture war.

No casinos for now, what then?

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

It may be more of a suspension than surrender, but at least for now the proposal for mega casinos in Florida is off the table.

Don’t let BP fines paid for spill disappear into federal black hole

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Barrels of bile were spilled in weeks leading up to the Florida primary. But that’s just a clean-up on aisle three compared to the epic five million barrels of crude oil that paralyzed the Gulf Coast states a couple of years ago.

What we lose when we ‘stand our ground’

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

On March 18, 2010, Quentin Rashad Wyche and Kendall Berry, two FIU football players, argued about a girl. Boys arguing about girls may be a universal feature of university life, but this argument ended tragically when Wyche stabbed Berry in the heart with a pair of scissors.

Progress in ending AIDS, TB, malaria but now funding is threatened

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:49 EST

Poverty and disease leave little to celebrate, but an important milestone in the new millennium just passed — the 10th anniversary of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Jan. 28 was a historic date to be celebrated, and one that calls for urgent political action.

Republicans knocking on immigration’s door

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:52 EST

Historically, when economic times are tough the topic of illegal immigration gains prominence in the nation’s political discourse. This election is no different. Immigration has become a cornerstone in all of the candidates’ stump speeches and a mainstay issue in the GOP primary debates. Unfortunately, too often the contributions of Hispanic-Americans get lost in the xenophobic vitriol over illegal immigration.

Focus on health

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:57 EST

Upon learning that Jackson Memorial South would no longer allow the yoga/exercise class to take place in their heated pool, I was quite upset. I joined toward the end of the last session and its effect on my arthritic knees and hips was immediate and so beneficial.

The death knell

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:00 EST

Re the Feb. 11 article, Power Shifting: Changing boundaries in South Florida: The U.S. democratic form of government is taking another hit from a group of Republican legislators that would rather see themselves re-elected to push their own ideology than allow a changing electorate’s will to be carried out. Constant gerrymandering by legislators together with the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to buy their way into our government’s decision making are certain to be the death knell of our democratic system.

Another Ponzi scheme?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:03 EST

Once again, our government shows this country how the large financial institutions can get away with fraud that pales in comparison with some of the Ponzi schemes carried out by individuals in this county. The $25 billion deal recently worked with the nation’s largest banks is equivalent to them giving Bernie Madoff a deal to leave prison by paying back his victims 3.5 percent of what he stole. This mockery lets the banks walk away from the death and destruction they caused in this country for what amounts to pennies on the dollar.

Redesign needed

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:06 EST

Re the Feb. 11 article, New Designs Make A Grand Entrance: The Arquitectonica ugly monstrosity should be redesigned. It blocks the skyline views of downtown Miami and Miami Beach as well as the night views of the sky over the ocean and bay. The billboard companies must be licking their chops at the potential opportunity to display advertising space on the McArthur Causeway. That behemoth must be lowered to causeway level!

History repeats

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:08 EST

Re the Feb. 12 editorial, Rescuing American Airlines: Those who have lived and worked in South Florida over the decades remember the demise of Pan American Airlines. Just like American is doing now, Pan Am asked its employees to relinquish their pensions in order to save the airline.

American’s bankruptcy hurts middle class

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

In its Dec. 4 editorial, Up in the air, The Miami Herald said that American Airlines will restructure and come out of bankruptcy stronger. But it neglected to state that 9,000 local families who directly work for American and thousands more indirectly will be devastated financially. And our local economy gets a direct hit with personal bankruptcies, foreclosures, car repossessions and unaffordable healthcare. Not to mention the unemployment benefits and food assistance as other workers from around the country come to Miami and displace local workers sending money earned here to other states where they reside.

Inspiring views

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Kudos to The Miami Herald for an inspiring and meaningful series of opinion pages from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. The week began with an inspirational column by Leonard Abess Jr. tracing the history of integration at the University of Miami. It included personal memories of growing up in a segregated Miami.

Shame on Russia, China

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Pictures of tanks and field artillery bombing civilians in major cities of Syria are made worse by the fact that it is their own government that is killing them. Three thoughts came to mind in the last few days when seeing these pictures:

Santorum, Republicans in Congress want to replay Cold War in Latin America

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Rick Santorum’s recent electoral victories aren’t welcome news in most of Latin America. Nor is the increasingly hostile rhetoric coming out of Republicans in Congress.

Stop Super Pacs with a fair-elections amendment

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

The 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case is fast becoming as explosive as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) or Roe v. Wade (1973). It took almost 60 years before the Supreme Court reversed the Plessy endorsement of “separate but equal” treatment of the races in Brown v. Board of Education, and opponents of abortion are still waiting (probably in vain) for Roe to go.

Gay-marriage ruling a memo to Justice Kennedy

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:12 EST

What’s in a name? In 2008, supporters of a state ballot measure convinced a majority of California voters that there was a meaningful difference between extending full domestic partnership rights to gay couples and calling their relationships marriage.

Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, and all that

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:13 EST

The first Queen Elizabeth was standing under an English oak tree when she learned that she had become queen.

Federal ban on snakes lacks bite

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:12 EST

Recently, a powerful lobby spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat a bill that would have enhanced public safety, safeguarded the environment and curtailed cruelty to animals. Who is this giant wielding such influence? BP? The NRA? Halliburton? Nope, it’s none other than the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers, which fought a bill that would have made some species of dangerous snakes illegal to import and sell. The group griped and hyped for three years until the list was gutted by more than half — four species have been banned rather than nine.

Military preparedness does not come cheap

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:01 EST

Here’s something for critics of the country’s defense budget to ponder: After I was confirmed as secretary of the Navy in May 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked me and the other service secretaries to work with Congress to gain approval for a pending supplemental appropriation to the defense budget. This was not a war supplemental; it was still four months before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Pentagon was simply running out of money.

For Planned Parenthood, backlash pays off

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:31 EST

Last spring, Cecile Richards’s BlackBerry buzzed with an unexpected text message. It was from her son Daniel, a college student in Pennsylvania. He was heading off to Toledo, having organized a bus trip of friends to attend a rally supporting Planned Parenthood. The message came as Congress was debating ending the group’s nearly $100 million in federal funding.

Bullying women

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

You’d think the political process had turned into one big, sexy GoDaddy Super Bowl ad, with all the focus on breasts, bellies and even butts this week.

Dream candidate? Only for Democrats

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:40 EST

If you’re a Democrat, here’s what you’re thinking two days before the Florida’s Republican primary:

Those big snakes are here to stay

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:24 EST

Now that federal regulators have outlawed the importation of humongous, gator-eating pythons, all Floridians can breathe a grateful sigh of relief. Finally we are saved from this insidious reptilian plague!

Haiti: Not trendy, not chic, just real news

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:29 EST

The news of the day is burning with big questions:

Mitt wins … unless he blows it

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:26 EST

Florida is being overrun by pundits and pollsters in advance of the upcoming Republican presidential primary.

Why some lawmakers are in panic

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:21 EST

An absolutely true news item: Having passed a law allowing gun owners to bring their weapons inside the state Capitol building, the Florida Senate has hastily installed panic buttons on the office phone of every senator and staff member.

Only in Miami: Indicted, but on the payroll

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:59 EST

More proof that Miami is the worst-run city in America:

Taxpayers harpooned on stadium

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:47 EST

The new Miami Marlins stadium is rising to completion in Little Havana, and rising with it is the blood pressure of taxpayers who are learning how much the new ballpark will really cost.

In casino fight, all bets are off

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:54 EST

An international resort company wants to build a huge casino on the shore of Biscayne Bay, where this newspaper now stands.

Obama’s hypocrisy on super PACs out of necessity

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

One of the worries we have obviously in the next campaign is that there are so many of these so-called super PACs, these independent expenditures that are gonna be out there, there is gonna be just a lot of money floating around and I guarantee a bunch of it’s gonna be negative.” — President Obama in an interview Super Bowl Sunday.

Tim Tebow’s prayers on field: the personal versus public consumption

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:42 EST

Really? Seriously?

And the winners are . . .

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:49 EST

In a recent column, I announced a giveaway of 50 copies of The New Crow by Michelle Alexander. Twelve thousand entries later, the winners have been chosen. Here’s the list. If you are a winner, the book should be in your mailbox shortly.

Don Cornelius created show that helped black kids come of age

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:20 EST

This was for us.

Looking for morning in America

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

A picture, the saying goes, is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, we have only about 550 with which to appraise a picture that has raised eyebrows across the country: In it, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is seen wagging her finger in President Obama’s face during his visit to her state last week.

Rep. Giffords’ departure a blow to democracy

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:18 EST

In a democracy, nothing is supposed to matter more than the will of the people.

Practicing the politics of racial resentment

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:01 EST

I got my first job when I was 12. The deacons at my church paid me $2 a week to keep it swept and mopped.

Strip club’s ‘I Have a dream bash’ hardens the heart

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:00 EST

You might call this a requiem for reverence.

Newt, Mitt and our next ambassador to the moon

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:52 EST

To paraphrase Jackie Gleason’s legendary TV character Ralph Kramden, “To the moon, Newt!”

‘Run for Roots’ moves the conversation on Cuba fast forward

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:41 EST

Carmen Pelaez, a playwright and actress who grew up in Miami and made a name for herself nationally with her one-woman show, Rum and Coke, was running around New York, training for a marathon, when she experienced The Moment.

On education, money counts

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:02 EST

Money can’t buy you love, and maybe it can’t buy you happiness, but can it buy a top-notch education?

Latest budget fight in Miami-Dade a tragic comedy of political manipulation

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:26 EST

There were moments of deep sadness in the midst of raw political maneuvering. The families of two slain officers were begging for commissioners to back the police union and deliver a budget that wouldn’t hurt those officers still living — as if a 5 percent contribution from their salary to the healthcare fund would be a travesty compared to the alterative, layoffs.

Santa’s gifts for South Florida’s movers and shakers

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:16 EST

This year Santa delivered special gifts to all the good boys and girls in South Florida, but it almost didn’t happen. At the height of production, Santa’s elves disappeared, muttering something about poor pay and a busted pension at a melting North Pole.

The art of eating our own

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:49 EST

Ask Pepe Croqueta — Miami’s Everyman — about some guy named Jorge Perez donating $35 million in cash and art to a public museum that will bear Perez’s name, and Pepe will say, “But this guy is a Perez cualquiera,” a popular Cuban saying when one has a common surname.

The profound lies of Deep Throat

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Kids say the darndest things. Speaking to a college journalism class last week, I learned the students had recently seen the All The President’s Men, the film noir tale of the Washington Post’s pursuit of the Watergate scandal. When I asked what they thought of it, one young woman said she was pretty surprised by that Deep Throat fellow, the mysterious Post secret supersource who skulked about darkened parking garages for pre-dawn meetings. “I thought it was kind of amazing that they just believed anything he told them,” she told me with a quizzical look that suggested I would be able to explain it.

Stop bothering the Fed, you peasant taxpayers!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:10 EST

Breaking news: When it came to the collapse of the bubble that touched off the 2008 meltdown of the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve was a placid herd of clueless blockheads. Less than two years before the housing market turned kamikaze, Fed officials were gathering around conference rooms congratulating one another on what a genius job they were doing managing the economy.

Does the GOP really want a return to the buggy-whip economy?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:44 EST

George Wallace, when he made a third-party run for the presidency in 1968, acidly observed that there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. And as everyone can tell you, a dime ain’t what it used to be. The way Mitt Romney’s Republican rivals savaged him last week proves that the difference is something under two cents.

Correction

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:42 EST

A column by Glenn Garvin on Dec. 20 stated that the National Science Foundation “funded a study on Jell-o wrestling at the South Pole.” That is incorrect. The event took place during off-duty hours without NSF permission and did not involve taxpayer funds.

Great moments in history? Not so much

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:55 EST

I knew 2011 was going to be one of those years when I wrote a column saying that $80 billion of proposed federal bailout money to the U.S. Postal Service was a useless subsidy to “a dying ink-on-paper technology in an electronic world.” I got more than 100 bitter complaints from postal workers . . . every single one of them delivered by e-mail.

In war on drugs, dissent ‘unpatriotic’

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:09 EST

I owe Kyle Vogt an apology. A former military policeman, he’s now a member of a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a group of former cops, prosecutors and judges that supports ending the war on drugs.

Giving bullies a veto on the First Amendment

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:22 EST

Imagine five Jewish kids go to school one day wearing their yarmulkes. The school’s numerous skinhead students are furious. At lunch they mill around in the school yard, muttering threats and complaining to the assistant principal that that their political beliefs have been insulted. The assistant principal responds by calling the Jewish kids into his office and ordering them to take off their yarmulkes or go home.

Block grants have improved Liberty City

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:15 EST

I was very troubled while reading Michael Putney’s Feb. 27 Other Views column, More wasted money in Liberty City.

It’s working

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:54 EST

Five straight months of the unemployment rate dropping, back to the level it was when President Obama took office; three consecutive months of jobs added to the economy at a clip of more than 200,000 per month. Note to all Republican candidates for president, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, all of whom are calling for a radical change of direction: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Focus on health

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:57 EST

The death knell

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:00 EST

Another Ponzi scheme?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:03 EST

Buffett Rule Charity Flops When Put to Money Test

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:39 EST

Santorum, Republicans in Congress want to replay Cold War in Latin America

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Rick Santorum’s recent electoral victories aren’t welcome news in most of Latin America. Nor is the increasingly hostile rhetoric coming out of Republicans in Congress.

The profound lies of Deep Throat

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

On the Web, No One Cares If You Write Like a Dog

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:04 EST

Nothing had prepared me for the dazzling brilliance of Felix Salmon’s recent blog item about the quality of writing on the Internet. It’s bad, he says, much of it, but that’s good. Well, maybe not actually good, but not bad.

That den of iniquity, the faculty lounge

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:02 EST

It was the morning after the Florida primary and a clip from Mitt Romney’s victory speech came floating out of the car radio.

2/14/12

Monday, February 13