Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Religion debate won’t make progress

By Ryan Spencer | Apr. 4, 2010

On Tuesday, Gainesville will get a glimpse of the increasingly popular God-concentrated argumentative cavalcade appearing in many of the auditoriums across the country and the world, the local showcase the Accent speaker’s bureau has dubbed The Great Religion Debate. These loosely related, independently organized events have made celebrities out of their dialectical pugilists, among them Richard Dawkins, William Lane Craig and Shmuley Boteach, although I must admit it seems the notoriety gained from these debates is severely biased toward the atheistic side of the podium. Is it infamy more than fame, the relative lameness of their theist counterparts or simply their writing of more entertaining books? I’m sure we’ll find out.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Catholic Church targeted by media

By PAUL MURTY | Apr. 1, 2010

There’s been yet another scandal in the Catholic Church. It seems that every few years, there’s something else that comes out about a number of priests involved in pedophilic relations and a subsequent Church cover-up. Of course, the national media eats this up and has something to talk about for another week.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Monday release of iPad talk of town

By Will Penman | Apr. 1, 2010

In 2007, lines stretched for blocks so people could buy the Jesus phone. Now on Saturday, while Jesus waits for colorful streamers and the Easter bunny, Apple will release iPad, its tablet computer.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Protestors should move on

By Matt Powers | Mar. 31, 2010

Amidst all the discussion about health care reform, infamous Bush-bashing organization Answer (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) held its annual war protest recently in Washington, D.C., to mark the seventh anniversary of the United States’ congress-approved invasion of Iraq.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Columnist starts anti-Google cult

Mar. 31, 2010

As Google and China continue their convoluted Mexican standoff across the South China Sea and our country slogs through divisive political struggles and rampant joblessness, I decided to do something proactive and start a cult.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Current wars challenge our generation

By Joshua Lee | Mar. 30, 2010

No matter your politics, as a citizen of the world and a product of history, you must recognize that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are pivotal moments in our age that will have repercussions for decades to come.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Suicides should inspire compassion

Mar. 29, 2010

Six Cornell University students have committed suicide since the start of the school year. Two of the six took their lives earlier this month.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Student Government president blows golden political moment

Mar. 28, 2010

In the game of politics, Double J just rolled a double zero.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Current events bring sense of deja vu

By Ryan Spencer | Mar. 28, 2010

Rarely is this question posed: Have I unknowingly been in the hot tub time machine or has the past week or so been a really wicked case of déjà vu? I have recently been asking myself this as a series of seemingly long-exhausted events came to an incredibly startling — OK, slightly entertaining — temporal intersection.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Band’s evolution reflects columnist’s

By PAUL MURTY | Mar. 25, 2010

Music is a very important tool to measure what kind of mood you are in over an extended period of time. It can be difficult when your favorite band seems to betray all of its previous values in pursuit of a more mainstream sound, making it more aesthetically pleasing to the masses.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Health care bill targets tattoos with tax

Mar. 24, 2010

One of the best parts of the latest fad in American federal legislating is how the actual content of our billion-dollar bills remain completely secret until after they are signed into law. It’s like a scratch-off lottery ticket, and who doesn’t love the excitement and anticipation of scratch-offs?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Democrats stayed true to convictions

By Matt Christ | Mar. 23, 2010

Yes they did.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Conservatives: Move On

By Will Penman | Mar. 23, 2010

In response to the health care bill passing in the House of Representatives Sunday night, I noticed a friend’s Facebook status that was something like this: “Here comes the downfall of America.” I expanded the comments to join in on the sarcastic follow-ups. “The health care bill is going to kill us all!” was my best candidate for something to add. Then I saw that they were all serious. America really was doomed in their eyes. Welcome to the end of the world, I guess.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We should appreciate ephemerality

Mar. 22, 2010

I dug out my high school yearbook from senior year during the end of Spring Break. It was a combination of impending graduation wistfulness coupled with a “what’s past is prologue!”-induced search for anything that can assuage just how freaked out I am about that impending graduation. And then I discovered something: I was really, really terrible at predicting with whom I’d still be friends after high school.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Frat boys should wear longer shorts, less Guy Harvey

Mar. 21, 2010

There are three things that — no matter how you spin it — are never good for your eyesight: Call of Duty marathon sessions, “2 girls 1 cup” and the springtime.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Lawyers in 9/11 case embody America

By Ryan Spencer | Mar. 21, 2010

The class-action lawsuit against the city of New York concerning the ground zero response and cleanup effort suffered another setback last week. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein handed down a decision stating the lawsuit’s roughly $600 million settlement, filed on behalf of about more than 10,000 ailing first responders and workers who searched for survivors and cleared the wreckage after the Sept. 11 attacks, would be inadequate. He went further to delineate the settlement’s convoluted compensation allotment system and grossly excessive attorney fees as reasons for his recommendation to restructure the settlement. Hellerstein maintained the compensation paled in comparison to the effort displayed, hazardous conditions endured and compensation truly deserved by the plaintiffs, whom he made a point to refer to as heroes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

People’s voice must be heard on immigration crisis

By JAIME GONZALEZ | Mar. 18, 2010

My parents are Americans. They are citizens of this great country, which they are proud to call home. They are also immigrants.

OPINION | COLUMNS

God given too much credit in sports

Mar. 18, 2010

He’s all-knowing. He’s all-loving, and He’s all powerful.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Columnist ties basketball to politics

Mar. 17, 2010

Today roughly marks the one-year anniversary of the unquestioned pinnacle of Barack Obama’s presidency – the bracket he filled out for last year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Mired in the muck of a massively unsatisfying and restive term as the leader of the free world, President Obama now must re-calibrate his approach and perhaps use the basketball acumen of his inner circle to a decided political advantage.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Alligator weighs group’s demands

By Jared Misner | Mar. 16, 2010

Following the controversial shooting of Ghanian graduate assistant Kofi Adu-Brempong by University Police, Students for a Democratic Society presented a list of demands to Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin. Listed below are these demands followed by the Editorial Board’s recommendations.