Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama charts middle ground on deficit

By Chad Mohammed | Apr. 13, 2011

On the heels of an 11th-hour deal late Friday night that averted a government shutdown, the real debate has only now begun. Debate over the debt ceiling will be heating up; if we stay on the current course, the U.S. will reach the maximum borrowing limit of $14.31 trillion by mid-May. Additionally, the fiscal budget for 2011-2012 will be taking place. The reality of the situation is that the only remedy would be major cuts, coupled with tax increases. However, many on the right say we only have a spending problem and not a revenue problem, and many on the left refuse to cut spending in favor of only raising taxes.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Lesson in Slavery

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 13, 2011

Teachers get put into some tough positions, and we’re not even talking about questions about unions or budget cuts.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Warping Time; China’s stance on TV time travel ridiculous

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 13, 2011

Picture our television shows and movies swept clean of any element that “disrespects history.” According the Chinese government, which apparently is trying to make historical scholars out of its populace, shows and movies shouldn’t include elements of time travel lest they change the look of history.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Abortion came as relief from pregnancy

By Whitney Mutch | Apr. 13, 2011

I’d like to thank the Alligator for the coverage of the abortion speakout sponsored by the Gainesville chapter of National Women’s Liberation.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Important Anniversaries

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 12, 2011

Tuesday was a landmark day as both the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight and the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stepping out of comfort zone rewarding

By Wesley Campbell | Apr. 12, 2011

Let me just say it: Wakeboarding is hard. In a series of events that were largely out of my control due to misinformation being fed to me by a friend, I ended up at Wakefest ’11. Wakefest is an event organized and run by the Gator Wakeboard Club, and it took place this past Sunday on Lake Wauburg.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Twittering Twits: Scott’s social media war pits him against press

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 11, 2011

In the same way our everyday conversations and arguments have fundamentally changed with the rise of social media, it is transforming the government’s relationship to the press.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Columnist hits nail on the head

By Marilyn Murphy | Apr. 11, 2011

While captive in the passenger seat on a jaunt to Chiefland, I came upon Bob Minchin’s Friday column “Obama and his never-ending campaign.” It was a wonderful read, and I was kind of amazed to see such a quality work in this little college paper. I can see that there are still a few unmuddled intellects left.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Distance shouldn’t limit relationships

By Laura Ellermeyer | Apr. 11, 2011

As the horrific years of high school finally come to a long-anticipated close, many lovebirds find themselves debating the future of their coveted young romances. Sweethearts around the country gaze longingly into each others’ eyes and mourn the impending split caused by age, different schools or any variety of other reasons. Many couples, fearing their young love is not strong enough glue to hold them together over distance, find themselves pining out car windows in a cinematic way as they drive off to college toward untold adventures. However, for folks such as myself, the distance is not enough of a deterrent to constitute a break up, and freshmen find themselves thrust into a whirlwind of constant texting, hour-long Skype sessions and (hopefully) frequent weekend visits.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Government crisis averted for now

By Zack Smith | Apr. 10, 2011

It was 11:59 p.m., and only one minute remained until the U.S. federal government was set to shut down.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama and his never-ending campaign

By Bob Minchin | Apr. 7, 2011

It’s official. On Monday, President Obama released a Web video that formally kicked off his re-election campaign for 2012. Four years ago, Obama launched the campaign that took the nation by storm — a campaign that used words and branding to stir up a kind of hysteria that launched an unknown Illinois senator into rock star status and, ultimately, the White House.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts and Laurels

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 7, 2011

Is that “The Final Countdown” we hear playing?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Accent drops ball on school speakers this year

By Alex Kaufman | Apr. 7, 2011

Accent has a fantastic history of bringing good speakers to UF. A look through past speakers on Accent’s website has names of historic figures who have shaped history and taken their time (and UF’s money) to speak in this middle-of-nowhere place of Gainesville. The self-stated goal of Accent is to bring “prominent, controversial and influential speakers” to UF. Since I have been here, the likes of Jack Kevorkian, John Kerry (see tazing incident in school history), the Mythbusters, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Mike Rowe and John Legend have all made appearances. I can tell people I’ve heard Dr. Jack speak his crazy-ass mind after he got out of jail for euthanizing all those people or that I was there when that Meyer kid made a national storm by being a fool.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Alligator apology disingenuous

By Anthony Garcia | Apr. 7, 2011

Inaccuracies and all, Tuesday’s feature about a certain math whiz did not bother me. As a daily reader, I have come to expect a certain level of flawed reporting, sensationalism and biases from your crack team at the Alligator. That, coupled with the already innocuous nature of a story about a smart student attending a university, shocking as that may be, elicited little more than a shrug from me.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Local elections important for students

By Chad Mohammed | Apr. 6, 2011

“All politics are local.” This time-tested adage never has been truer. On Tuesday, the runoff elections for Districts 2 and 3 will take place. Running in District 2, which encompasses the northwest section of the city, is incumbent Lauren Poe. Running in District 3 is Susan Bottcher. District 3 spans the southwestern sector of the city from the western half of campus all the way to I-75.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

OutFoxed

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 6, 2011

Somewhere, Jon Stewart is mourning the death of an impression.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Grinding Halt: Shutdown consequences can teach a lesson

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 6, 2011

The cogs on the machine that is the federal government are about to grind to a halt. The shutdown is nearly at hand, and we have seen nothing to convince us that the two parties are willing to compromise on their views of the budget. So what is going to be put on hold?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Criticism of Coach Butler’s methods without merit

By Gene Ryan | Apr. 6, 2011

Regarding the recent articles in the Alligator which, on balance, could only be considered as highly critical of your coaching job done by Lady Gators basketball coach Amanda Butler, my wife and I are longtime Gator fans, members of the Boosters Club and never miss a home game.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Vouching For It; Budget proposal won’t solve Medicare problems

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 5, 2011

Threatening the sacred cow carries dire consequences for politicians.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Sounding the Alarm

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 5, 2011

We realized years ago that constant noise affects our mental health. It was only recently, however, that the World Health Organization published a report on the physical fallout of living in a loud atmosphere. This goes beyond hearing implications; WHO even went as far as to point to heart problems that may derive from coping with noises our bodies weren’t meant to handle.