Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Second Amendment is here to stay

By Nelson Anderson | Feb. 3, 2011

In response to Wednesday’s letter, “Second Amendment needs another look,” I feel like re-examining the Second Amendment is old hat. Grundy stated the age-old anti-gun activists argument of the “conditional clause.” Sir, the Second Amendment has had another look. In fact, the Supreme Court has directly ruled “no” on it fewer than five times, plus four indirect rulings. Each word has been broken down and clearly defined. I’m happy to say that the Supreme Court has not taken the same view as you. I think the issue was settled a long time ago.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bill of Rights doesn’t know party lines

By Bob Minchin | Feb. 3, 2011

Conservative thinkers could see this coming before President Obama was even elected.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 3, 2011

Our friends up north may be buried in feet of snow, but we’ve got avalanches of a different sort on our hands. February brings with it a cascade of papers, exams and projects designed to clog our rooms with a blizzard of notes and handouts. As we dig ourselves out, we bring you the we’re-shaking-because-of-our-caffeine-dependency-not-the-weather edition of...Darts & Laurels.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Timing isn’t everything

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 2, 2011

Some states and cities are considering allowing the sale of liquor on Sundays for the sake of higher tax revenue.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

New Paper; Future uncertain for News Corp iPad app

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 2, 2011

We have a loyal readership, but our newspaper is one of few thriving in paper form. As sharing information online becomes more popular, journalists continue scratching their heads and wondering how their organizations can survive in a world with free instant information. Some have websites readers subscribe to for a fee, but the results have varied.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bombs more important than our brains

By Chad Mohammed | Feb. 2, 2011

In 107 days, the federal government spent as much money on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as it did on education. Granted, a large share of education funding comes from state and local sources, but if the Republicans have their way, even less money will go towards education.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Cats more appropriate pets while in college

By Wesley Campbell | Feb. 1, 2011

Are you a cat or dog person?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Players don’t deserve special treatment

By Daniel E. Colley | Feb. 1, 2011

Janoris Jenkins has again been arrested. On this occasion, he is charged with possession of marijuana. During 2009, he was arrested and charged with affray and resisting arrest without violence. Affray, in case you are wondering, translates to fighting and is a charge used by law enforcement officials reserved for UF football players and other celebrities that they don’t want to charge with assault or battery.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Two to Tango: Both sides of abortion debate face trouble

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 1, 2011

As if either side needed to garner any more controversy, Planned Parenthood is getting ready for battle with the anti-abortion group Live Action over sting operations in several clinics across the country.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Anachronisms 101

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Feb. 1, 2011

An Abraham Lincoln researcher attempted to literally rewrite history when he changed a date on a presidential pardon from April 14, 1864, to April 14, 1865.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Students aren’t obligated to take fliers

By Victoria Shelley | Feb. 1, 2011

I’d like to address the UF Student Body in response to Laura Ellermeyer’s column on fliers yesterday. If you don’t want a flier, don’t take one. Period. As someone who’s passed out fliers before, I can tell you that I will not be offended by a “No, thank you” if you don’t want my flier. In fact, if you’re just going to throw it away, please don’t take one. We don’t want paper wasted any more than you do because it’s costing us money, and we might not have enough for the people who are actually interested.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Distributing fliers annoying, wasteful

By Laura Ellermeyer | Jan. 31, 2011

As Patches O’Houlihan from the movie “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” wisely declared, “You’ve got to learn the five D’s of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.” I never thought these words would assist me at UF.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Rights Fight: Judge calls health care reform into question

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Jan. 31, 2011

The recent health care reform may be due to tumble like a row of dominoes.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Stubborn politicians self-serving

By Charles Dahan | Jan. 31, 2011

Zack Smith makes a fundamental mistake in his Jan. 31 column, “Compromise DeLay-ing the Inevitable.” In it, Smith argues that Tom DeLay demonstrated ideological consistency by refusing to compromise with Democrats. Yet partisanship, as Smith writes, is not a “philosophy [that] may have intellectual teeth.” Instead, it is a methodology for attaining one’s political — or ideological — goals.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Government work rewarding for students of all backgrounds

Jan. 30, 2011

It’s that time of year again. If you are an underclassman like I am, the economy is still looking down, and you could use a well-paying internship or job to get you through the summer. For those UF seniors about to enter the “real world,” the job market is terrifying.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Balancing Act: Obama caught between the ideal and the real

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Jan. 30, 2011

Whether we admit it or not, stability drives most of our decisions. It’s why we prize houses, steady jobs and reliable transportation. We might say we tire of routine, but without it, civilization as we know it would not exist.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Compromise DeLay-ing the inevitable

By Zack Smith | Jan. 30, 2011

Hobbes. Locke. Montesquieu. Tom DeLay?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama selling image through address

By Bob Minchin | Jan. 27, 2011

So, who watched the State of the Union show this week? Did anyone really think that Snooki would actually lay off the booze?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Corporate model a detriment to academia

By Joseph Dillon Ford | Jan. 27, 2011

I read with dismay the article “Students band together to save professor’s job” in your Jan. 25 issue. I do not know lecturer David Small, who, after 11 years, is being unaccountably dismissed from his post in UF’s department of computer and information science and engineering. Evidence suggests he is an excellent educator who is much appreciated by his students.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Conspiracy theorists ruin discussion at Accent event

By Justin Eastridge | Jan. 27, 2011

The 9/11 truthers at the Valerie Plame event should be ashamed of how they conducted themselves.