MiamiHerald.com: Opinion

Seething over bailouts

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The people of Iceland have just shouted a message that demands close attention from the rest of the world: They are angry -- furious -- at the way governments have handled the irresponsible behavior of banks. They profoundly resent having to pay for the mistakes of wealthy, unrepentant financiers. They are not alone.

Old allies must rebuild trust

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The tension between the U.S. administration and the government of Israel over the decision of the latter to authorize 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem obscures the fact that recently, the more important dialogue between the United States and Israel wasn't over settlements and Israeli-Palestinian relations, but on an entirely different issue: Iran.

Cuba's brutality

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

In a democracy, people can disagree. They can march to protest their government, they can chastise their elected officials in public forums, they can walk down the street carrying placards voicing their opinions.

Good riddance to a bad bill

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

After using his clout to ram a bill banning public release of 911 calls through a House committee, Speaker Larry Cretul had second thoughts and wisely pulled it -- ironically just after attending the annual open government luncheon.

Time to vote on healthcare reform

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

By now, every voice in the debate over healthcare reform has been heard from. The only thing left to do is pass the reform bill.

The Daily ?

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:03 EDT

Making ends meet in Tallahassee

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Sell off buildings, bid out contracts that now get special exemptions, seek discounts from vendors, stop building prisons and dive into state workers' pensions and healthcare benefits so that they pay more and taxpayers have to cover less.

Toughen Miami-Dade's ethics laws

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

A good measure of the state of the body politic is how well elected officials are willing to police themselves. The Miami-Dade County Commission faces such a test Tuesday when it will decide whether to approve on first reading several needed proposals to strengthen its ethics laws. The commission should say Yes to all of them.

Cuba: No more

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

With a few outstanding exceptions like Václav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia, Europe's leaders have a deploraple history of painting a smiley face on Cuba's police state.

Speak up, keep Florida in the sunshine

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

During a marathon 12-hour budget meeting, while a packed house of residents waited anxiously to each make a two-minute pitch on what not to cut or where to save, Miami-Dade County commissioners took turns, too, to make deals on the budget with county staff -- in private.

Local perspectives

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

BROWARD COUNTYSHOWING BANKS WHO'S BOSS Bank bailout? Not in Broward County. Incensed that Bank of America is among the big lenders foot-dragging on dealing with troubled mortgages, Broward County Commissioners this week nixed the megabank's share in underwriting $208 million in bonds to help finance replacement of the central section of the main courthouse.

Saving Jackson Health System

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

As the Jackson Health System grapples with its financial mess, Miami-Dade's world-renowned teaching hospital and its suburban annexes are losing paying patients. Daily.

Break up ES&S

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

The acquisition of one company by another for the relatively small sum of $5 million doesn't usually set off alarms. But the September 2009 acquisition of Premier Diebold Solutions by Election Systems & Software means that one firm controls more than 70 percent of the voting machines used in the United States. No matter how well-intentioned this merger, it is not good for U.S. voters.

Extend U.S. Sugar deal deadline

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

Like everything involving the Everglades, the state's agreement to purchase 72,800 acres of U.S. Sugar Corp. land for $536 million has its share of champions and critics. But though it's less than perfect, the deal is worth doing.

District 5 sees trouble, few results

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

It's almost an urban legend in Miami. The ``black seat'' on the City Commission is cursed, its occupant subject to special scrutiny. The belief that something is rotten in lawless-land is so common that one celebrity friend of Michelle Spence-Jones recently wrote in a local newspaper that ``you have to be the pope'' to hold the seat.

Stepping from bishops' shadow

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

One of the tragedies of the viciously politicized battle over healthcare reform is the defection of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops from a cause they have championed for decades. Indifferent to political fashions, bishops were the strongest voices in support of universal health coverage, a position rooted in Catholic social thought calling for special solicitude toward the poor. Yet on the make-or-break roll call that will determine the fate of healthcare reform, bishops are urging that the bill be voted down. They are doing so on the basis of a highly tendentious reading of the abortion provisions in the Senate measure. If health reform is defeated, the bishops will have played a major role in its demise.

Make the OAS relevant

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Last month, when even our key Latin American allies supported the creation of an alternative to the Organization of American States that included Cuba but excluded the United States and Canada, alarm bells went off in Washington -- and rightfully so.

They can't say what we can't accept

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Three little words. That's what keeps bringing us back to this intersection of low comedy and pathos. Three words, none longer than three letters -- and yet, some of us still find them nearly impossible to say.

A bottom-up transformation

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

In August 2008, while working in Haiti's upper Artibonite region, I visited the village of Rivye Blanch as the deputy director of the Lambi Fund of Haiti, which supports the community's sustainable economic development and reforestation projects. The people of Rivye Blanch, represented by their leader, requested that I convey their message of support to then candidate Barack Obama.

A spiritually corrupt family

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The Supreme Court has decided to take a case that may change the boundaries for types of speech protected by the First Amendment.

Unions stepped up to meet crisis

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Balancing a budget is one of the easiest things to do. Miami-Dade County lives by the same rule as our families and local businesses: We only spend what we earn, and we spend less when times are hard.

Squandering Brazil's future

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

To Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Cuban political prisoners are delinquents similar to the worst criminals imprisoned in his country. Lula has cruelly adopted the point of view of his friend Fidel Castro.

State Rep. Saunders is a `man of honor'

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The March 3 story Florida House Democratic leader accused of double-dipping assails the character of state Rep. Ron Saunders. I want to level the playing field and offer a counterpoint.

Governing by crisis

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Governing by crisisMaybe it's always been this way, but it seems that these days those who govern do so under the twin precepts of crisis and conflict. Our supposed leaders make panicked, 11-hour decisions ranging from Jackson Health System's financial meltdown to a vote on national healthcare reform.

Not up to the job

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

While the head of JESCA, a social-service agency that had to file for bankruptcy, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle engaged in a chronic pattern of bouncing checks and other gross financial mismanagement. It stands to reason then that he is the County Commission's representative to address Jackson Health System's biggest crisis ever.

Assure our national security by helping others

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Former Air Force Sgt. Will Bennett's March 16 online article, U.S. must invest in vulnerable regions of world, rightly spotlights a motivation for fighting global poverty that you don't always hear:

Buy U.S. Sugar land

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Buy U.S. Sugar land The U.S. Sugar deal is a bargain. The stars aligned so we could get hold of this land and have the chance to put the Everglades back together again. Pass on this deal, and we'll surely have a desert where the Everglades used to be. But take it and we might just get a second chance to make it right.

Questions for lawmakers on teachers' pay overhaul

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

In response to the March 15 Teachers' pay faces big overhaul article on teacher evaluations and teacher pay, here are some issues I hope to raise with my elected representatives in the Florida Legislature:

People everywhere are helping Haiti

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The horror, magnitude and destruction in Haiti has somewhat of a silver lining. People of good will all over the world have rushed to help Haitians, led by the very generous support of the United States.

Miami was first

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

I read the interesting Feb. 14 Black History Month article by Sabine Louissaint recognizing the accomplishments of retired Miami-Dade County Assistant Fire Chief Oscar Brennan. The article stated that Brennan was the first black firefighter hired in Miami-Dade County and listed many black promotional firsts achieved by him. Brennan is known for his professionalism and deserves to be recognized for his many years of outstanding leadership and service, but the information in the article is incorrect. All of the firsts listed were first achieved by Miami Firefighters.

In fight over settlements, who are Israel's real friends?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:17 EDT

When Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on March 8, seeking to smooth U.S. ties with the Netanyahu government and jump-start peace talks, he began by reaffirming America's ``absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel's security.'' The nearly simultaneous announcement by Israel that it plans to build another 1,600 homes in disputed East Jerusalem was not the warm embrace he was expecting.

I lost my seat; and I'm not sorry

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:02 EDT

Dear wavering House Democrats, I feel your pain. Eighteen years ago, I was elected on the coattails of a popular young Democratic president who promised a post-partisan Washington. A year later, with partisan gridlock capturing the Capitol, there was a razor-thin vote on the House floor over legislation that Democrats said would remake the country and Republicans promised would bankrupt it.

March Madness: What's the academic effect?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:27 EDT

With the recent hysteria about kids missing school because of snow, it seems appropriate to look at the effect March Madness has on academics at the 65 colleges invited to the basketball tournament and others where students are equally obsessed.

The Postal Service: Mend it, don't end it

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:27 EDT

The Washington Post editorial board's casual discussion of privatizing the U.S. Postal Service may seem penny-wise, but it is pound-foolish. It would be a grave error to break up a service that instead should be remade.

U.S. aid for foreign development crucial to our future

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:07 EDT

Earlier this month, President Obama presented his annual budget request to Congress. This marks the start of an important process that will ultimately decide how federal dollars are spent and directed in Fiscal Year 2011, including funding for critical foreign-policy needs.

The al Qaeda Seven served justice

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:02 EST

Marc Thiessen argued on this blog that Justice Department lawyers who worked in private practice on behalf of terrorism suspects were not ``doing what John Adams did'' in defending British soldiers incriminated in the Boston Massacre -- ``representing accused criminals already in the judicial system.'' ``Rather,'' he argued, ``they have reached outside the judicial systems and dragged the terrorists in.'' These lawyers, Thiessen concluded, were not noble, and their values are thus suspect and legitimately subject to examination.

A female football coach? So what?

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:07 EST

This has been an astounding time for massive social change in our nation's capital. We saw our first African-American president move into the White House last year; same-sex couples were finally able to legally marry in D.C. last week; and this week we might see the biggest shocker of them all: a woman will become the head coach of a high school football program.

A case for Legal Aid at Wal-Mart

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:27 EST

The United States stands largely alone in advanced-market democracies in drastically restricting where and how people can get help with their legal problems. In all states, under rules created by bar associations and state supreme courts, only people with law degrees and who are admitted to the state bar can provide legal advice and services of any kind.

Everglades needs sugar deal done right

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:00 EST

The new battle to save the Everglades depends on money and compromise even more than science.

GOP offer even a liberal couldn't refuse

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00 EST

It must be like a bad dream for Marco Rubio. He goes to bed as the golden boy of the New Right, and wakes up as just another phony with a $134 haircut.

`All the free speech big money can buy'

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:00 EST

Despite the public's epidemic disgust with politicians, now would be a splendid time to run for office in this country.

Uncomfortable spotlight now on Rubio

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:00 EST

Marco Rubio's campaign to win the Republican Senate primary revolves around the now-famous hug that Gov. Charlie Crist shared with Barack Obama during a presidential visit to Fort Myers last year.

Fast trains are cool . . . and very expensive

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

Of all the ways Florida could blow through $1.25 billion in federal recovery funds, a bullet train is certainly the flashiest.

Don't let Haiti's tragedy fade away

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

After the terrible earthquake, a man named Steve Driscoll food and and water; the injured are desperate for medical care.

Robertson again blaming the victims

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

It's no secret that the Rev. Pat Robertson is a yammering fool, but last week he hit a new low.

Raindrops keep falling on NFL dunderheads

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

As Super Bowl XLIV approaches, the National investment. We are told that the 2007 Super Bowl brought $463 million to South Florida -- an outlandish estimate.

They can't say what we can't accept

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Jihad Jane's adventures in colorblind evil

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:00 EST

Evil is not a color. It has no particular religion with Middle Eastern accents and exotic head gear, they said, and leave the rest of us alone.

Playing the same old game

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

Fear again. Not hope, nor patriotism, nor progress, nor any of the nobler emotions and impulses by which human beings are driven. Nope. None of those.

A purpose to build homes, lift spirits

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00 EST

NEW ORLEANS -- Warren Buffett leads a troop of officials, reporters, and a guy with a boom mike into the just-finished new apartment.

A cognitive disconnect

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

`At some point, you have to use the word `crazy.' '' It will not surprise you to hear that the speaker is referring to extremists within the tea party movement. What might surprise you is that the speaker is Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState, a prominent conservative blog.

Tea party fears a matter of race and more

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:00 EST

A few words on the meaning of tea. They are occasioned by a recent commentary from Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. The commentary -- you can find it on YouTube -- scores the tea party movement as the outcry of people who haven't yet made peace with the fact that their president is black.

Look who took money from Toyota

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:00 EST

We the people. Those are, of course, the first words of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. ``We the people of the United States . . .''

Facts no longer mean what they once did

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:00 EST

Igot an email the other day that depressed me. It concerned a piece I recently did that mentioned Henry Johnson, who was awarded the French Croix de Guerre in World War I for singlehandedly fighting off a company of Germans (some accounts say there were 14, some say almost 30, the ones I find most authoritative say there were about two dozen) who threatened to overrun his post. Johnson managed this despite the fact that he was only 5'4'' and 130 pounds, despite the fact that his gun had jammed, despite the fact that he was wounded 21 times.

As contest nears the end, I get tips from a Loser

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

We've reached End Times with The Miami Herald Fitness Challenge. With just a few days left in our three-month contest to lose weight, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder. Andrew Richards wears a knowing grin -- he's a few pounds ahead of me in weight loss -- and I don't believe for a minute that Lisett Araujo brought that machete to work so that she could cut the grass in front of the building.

Big fantasies weigh on our heroes

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:00 EST

Every night I wake from the dream screaming, ''doctor,'' and ''you've got to help me.'' It's always the same: Jennifer Aniston is curled up on a couch across the room, wearing a slithery cobalt-blue peignoir, and as I approach her my brain is tingling with desire streaked with confusion about the fact that I even know what a peignoir is, much less how to spell it, and then I'm at the couch, on my knees, my moist hands reaching out for . . . a pizza on the coffee table. And that's when I wake up, bathed in clammy sweat, shrieking, WHERE'S THE PEPPERONI?

Review | 'Voodoo Histories' goes behind the lies

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:00 EST

David Aaronovitch and I are reporters, born the same year, but it seems he was a lot luckier than I for the first 30 years or so of his career. His first exposure to the world's wing-nut conspiracy theorists came only in 2002, when one of his cameramen earnestly explained to the dumbfounded Aaronovitch that the 1969 moon landing was faked by NASA for reasons unknown but doubtless sinister.

Why don't the Miami Dolphins' owners pay for stadium upgrades?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

Emilio Estefan has just published an autobiography, The Rhythm of Success: How an Immigrant Produced his own American Dream.

Diet secret revealed!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

Forget 2012! A new world dawns today! For centuries, a cabal of nutritionists, gym instructors and bulimic celebrity authors has withheld from us the simple secret to losing weight fast. But after two weeks on the Miami Herald Fitness Challenge, I have pierced the veil of secrecy -- and though it may cost me my life, I'm ready to tell. It is . . .

Fitness contestants are off -- to a queasy start

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:00 EST

I win! I win! A week into the Miami Herald Fitness Challenge, and I'm the only one who hasn't thrown up after a workout. I merely feel like I've been worked over with a sledgehammer. Some victory!

Left's been out for blood, too

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:14 EDT

For one, brief shining moment last week, I thought Nancy Pelosi must be the bravest American politician of the century, standing up to her own nutball constituency in the interest of American political politesse. After all, when she tearfully told a press conference that the partisan bombast should be dialed down several notches lest it turn bloody -- ``I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco, this kind of rhetoric . . . it created an environment in which violence took place'' -- she had to be talking about left-wing violence, right?

China's nervous autocrats

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:27 EDT

The latest U.S.-China spat is all the more extraordinary because it is unnecessary. For years, Chinese economists have advocated liberalizing the exchange rate and allowing it to rise, weaning the country off its addiction to exports. But when President Obama suggested that last week, China's leadership reacted with a furious snarl. The central bank's vice governor accused Obama of ``politicizing'' the currency issue; never mind that his own boss had hinted at liberalization a week earlier. Then China's premier, Wen Jiabao, weighed in. Clearly referring to Obama's unremarkable remarks, Wen growled, ``This is a type of trade protectionism.''

Buy land for 'Glades

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

Buy land for 'Glades Buying land in the Everglades Agricultural Area has long been identified by scientists as critical to storing, cleaning and restoring the flow of water through the Everglades.

Healthcare reform: The good, the bad

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00 EDT

The Democrats want to pass their healthcare plan no matter what, including the stark reality that it will drive us into bankruptcy. But this is just a part of their grand scheme to turn us into a socialistic welfare state.

3/19/10

Friday, March 19