Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Remember the 5th of November

By Daniel Rood | Nov. 4, 2009

Four hundred and four years ago today the infamous Gunpowder Plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament was foiled, and co-conspirator Guy Fawkes was consequently executed. Though I do not condone acts of violence, this event serves as an important reminder for us all to stay vigilant in the face of tyranny. During the pre-revolutionary era in America, colonists celebrated Nov. 5 to express their anger toward the authoritarian government back in England, providing the foundation for the American Revolution. Today it is celebrated to express opposition to an increasingly belligerent government that not only puts our liberties at risk but also undermines the very principles this country was founded on.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UPD officer responded well to stolen wallet

By Tina Reddick | Nov. 4, 2009

I would like to thank University Police Department Officer R. Howard for his assistance after my daughter's wallet was stolen. The most important item missing from it was her UF-Georgia ticket. He called the ticket office, and she was able to purchase another ticket. Many thanks from both of us.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Students should vote to bring Weezer to UF

By Elliot Morgan | Nov. 4, 2009

Students should vote to bring Weezer to UF

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column doesn’t present all facts

By Benjamin Camenker | Nov. 3, 2009

Paul Murty's Monday column was so shamefully dishonest that I felt I had to respond. He claims the Republicans are not listening to voters, when it is the Democrats in Congress who have pushed through multiple 1,000-plus page bills they haven't read (and have broken campaign promises by not giving the public time to read them, either). The latest Pew poll shows only 34 percent support for the new congressional health plan, with an opposition of 47 percent. And the opposition is growing. Mr. Murty, it is not the Republicans who are ignoring the will of the people.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Israel not being held accountable for actions

By Alex Salam | Nov. 3, 2009

Israel has repeatedly defied United Nations resolutions. What other developed country in the world would be allowed this lawless refusal to abide by UN resolutions? Moreover, since its occupation of the Palestinian Territories in 1967, Israel has not implemented one single resolution stipulating its withdrawal from the occupied territories and refraining from all activities in these territories.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Machen responded well to rusting bicycle problem

By James N. Beeler Jr. | Nov. 3, 2009

This letter is to commend President Bernie Machen for an extremely prompt response to an e-mail I wrote to him regarding the rusting hulks of bicycles that have dotted campus since I arrived in fall 2008 as a graduate student. I wrote this e-mail Monday afternoon expressing my dismay at having to constantly dodge the rusty carcases of abandoned bikes, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal response that evening. Further, a phone call came from the appropriate person at UPD the next morning, with a pledge that the issue would be handled immediately. When I arrived at ARCH today, the worst of the problem was gone. Kudos to President Machen for making the time to care about the small problems.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Murty’s statements about Republicans biased

By James G. | Nov. 3, 2009

This is in response to Paul Murty's article on Monday that could only be described as a "slaughter of logic." Paul, your article was nothing short of a biased attempt to prove that the Republicans are all evil, racist Halliburton employees who rape women. I am not kidding. At one point in your article, you somehow deduce that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson was a racist for saying "you lie" to Obama.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Library patron should be commended for reporting lewd behavior

By Kenny Picciano | Nov. 3, 2009

I am writing to give my full support behind Tuesday's Alligator editorial, "Public Porn." Reading that a brave patron of Library West had the courage to turn in this "jerking-class hero," Christopher Wallace, did nothing short of erect a smile on my face.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Good riddance to judge who refused to marry interracial couple

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Nov. 3, 2009

Last month, an interracial couple seeking a marriage license was turned away by a Louisiana justice of the peace on the grounds that their marriage was "mixed." The refusal was met with an eruption of criticism from civil rights groups and public officials, including Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal.

OPINION | COLUMNS

IM language doesn’t make literature

Nov. 3, 2009

I don't know when we, as a culture, got this idea that reading in any form is better for kids than watching TV or playing video games.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

RTS must act to make crossing streets safer

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Nov. 3, 2009

The death of Erin Pelton Monday night is a tragedy to say the least. A 2008 UF graduate with an animal biology degree, she aspired to become a veterinarian, and friends say she had a promising future.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Social media emphasize individuality

Nov. 2, 2009

Do you remember LiveJournal?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Public Porn: Students should report lewd behavior

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Nov. 2, 2009

In September, UF spent about $3,500 to install hand sanitizers on campus. Hopefully Library West is well stocked, because they're about to experience a sharp increase in demand.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Death Beds: Tanning beds not worth the health risk

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Nov. 2, 2009

With winter approaching, sunny skies give way to pale thighs for some UF students. But many trying to hold on to that elusive summer tan take excessive risks to retain it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Congress Republicans must listen through the shouting

By PAUL MURTY | Nov. 2, 2009

Attention Republicans in Congress:

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Senate should not vote on resolution

By JUSTIN WOOTEN | Nov. 2, 2009

The Resolution Affirming Support for the State of Israel that Senate will be voting on tonight is a travesty. Every word of it represents the extremist pro-Israel position, from the first Whereas clauses that subtly try to deny any right of Palestinians to the land and which gloss over the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that took place during the founding of Israel, to quotes from president Ahmadinejad of dubious authenticity and support for sanctions against Iran (not unlike the ones that killed 500,000 Iraqi children in the 1990s), to trying to cover up the slaughter of over 1,300 innocent civilians by Israel in Gaza this December and January.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SG should adopt resolution denouncing Goldstone report

By Jordan Greenberg | Nov. 2, 2009

Of many issues to be presented at the Student Senate meeting tonight, one is a resolution calling for the Student Senate to denounce the Goldstone report. The Goldstone report is a UN document ratified by 25 of the 47 nations involved in the UN. It was written after a fact-finding mission by Richard Goldstone, the former chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Coverage should have included police reactions at similar parties

By SKEET SURRENCY | Nov. 2, 2009

In regards to your article covering Sunday morning's violent incident involving Fest goers and local police, I find it extremely interesting that the only perspective on the incident was from the police.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

UF should think before expanding student union

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Nov. 1, 2009

As planning begins for the renovation and possible expansion of the Reitz Union, UF administrators and the Student Government must take care not to alienate students and faculty who are facing tough times.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Margaret Sanger unfairly represented

By Desiree Orofino | Nov. 1, 2009

I was alarmed by the one-sided discussion of Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger in Thursday's Alligator article. Margaret Sanger was not a eugenist, a racist or an anti-Semite and was in no way affiliated with Nazi ideology. In fact, Sanger's books were of the first to be burned by the Nazis, as they contradicted their anti-family-planning agenda. Additionally, Sanger consistently stated that family planning decisions should be made on an individual basis, not on a social or cultural basis, which of course directly contradicts core eugenics ideology.