Opinion: Editorials - The Independent Florida Alligator

Opinion

Joke’s on Us: Prank call raises questions about journalism

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 23, 2011

Sure, Ian Murphy, the editor of the Buffalo Beast, got some interesting information out of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The problem is most journalism organizations don’t qualify prank calls as a method of gaining information. Murphy’s call wasn’t exactly the grown-up version of “Is your refrigerator running?” He impersonated one of the governor’s top financial supporters, billionaire David Koch. From his 20-minute conversation, he fished out information on how Gov. Walker was planning to bring the Democrats back into the state.

Opinion

Raving Mad: Libyan leader’s crimes difficult to punish

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 22, 2011

Sorry, Bahrain. While your protestors have a righteous cause in overthrowing one of the few absolute monarchies left in the world, you can’t beat crazy.

Opinion

Weighty Issue

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 22, 2011

You hit below the belt, Rush. Well, actually right at the waistline.

Opinion

American Lit 3-D: Film gimmick has no place in some films

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 21, 2011

We’ve already established that we’re a little old-school with our love for physical books. While we learn to slowly embrace the digital reading revolution, we’ve overlooked another change. The influx of 3-D movies has been well-documented and discussed, but for the most part we haven’t worried about the reasoning behind the fad. If filmmakers want us to feel like those action-movie explosions are happening in our faces, so be it.

Opinion

Cheeseheads United

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 21, 2011

The Wisconsin union crisis took us by surprise.

Opinion

Darts and Laurels

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 17, 2011

Forgive us if we’re not as chipper as usual.

Opinion

Closed Borders: Digital books can’t replace tangible pages

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 16, 2011

If you’re a bibliophile, you’ve probably heard the news that Borders declared bankruptcy. While the story may appear to be just another sign of an ailing economy, it’s also an indicator that we stand on the edge of a new era.

Opinion

Gleeful Usurpers

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 16, 2011

Two decades of musical breakthroughs have been overshadowed by kids shrieking annoying mashups.

Opinion

Falling on Deaf Ears

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 15, 2011

Comic book villains aren’t the only ones who can be two-faced. Actually, politicians could teach them a thing or two.

Opinion

Walk of Blame: Amblers don’t mean you any harm

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 15, 2011

Apparently, people rage while they walk. And we don’t mean in a fun way.

Opinion

Pick Our Poison: Federal budget debate involves financial aid

Feb. 14, 2011

As our leaders in Washington know, something’s got to give when it comes to higher education. Both sides of the aisle have marched their preferred program up the steps to the guillotine, and we’re waiting to see which one gets a nice shave.

Opinion

Seeking a Spectacle

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 13, 2011

The game’s over, and our team won.

Opinion

Penney Pincher: Search engine abuse skews results

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 13, 2011

Think for a moment about how much trust we put into Internet search engines like Google. They are our springboards to the otherwise nearly impenetrable expanse of information available online.

Opinion

Darts and Laurels

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 10, 2011

Love is in the air — or is it those droplets of water that can’t decide if they’re rain or fog? Either way, Valentine’s Day is Monday.

Opinion

On the Table: Budget tests Scott’s bargaining skills

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 9, 2011

Looks like it’s time for our favorite dead-eyed, Voldemort-impersonating governor to backtrack.

Opinion

State of Depression

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 9, 2011

Quantifying misery sounds unscientific at best, but we were still interested to see Forbes rank the 20 most miserable cities in America.

Opinion

Evolving Opinion: Educators dodge origin of life issue

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 8, 2011

A recent survey of public high school biology teachers showed they aren’t sticking to the National Research Council’s recommendations on evolution. With 28 percent of the teachers focusing only on evolution and 13 percent advocating creationism within the classroom, we’re left with 60 percent quiet and not wanting to stir up controversy by endorsing one theory over another. Let’s recap: educators are shying away from supporting the principles they’re trying to teach simply because they are dealing with a touchy subject.

Opinion

Unpatriotic Act

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 8, 2011

Maybe House Republicans weren’t counting on their own turning their backs on the party. In a miscalculation, they brought a bill to renew components of the Patriot Act to the floor faster but required a two-thirds majority to pass. The yeas to renew outnumbered the nays, but the difference wasn’t large enough.

Opinion

Long Division

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 7, 2011

It seems counterintuitive that a school board would vote to undo a policy which led to better schools all over the district.

Opinion

Star-mangled banner: Super mistake forgivable

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 7, 2011

Christina Aguilera’s mistakes while singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl made our stomachs sink.