Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Obama likable but not a leader

By Lawrence Mackey | Mar. 26, 2008

People like Barack Obama. He connects with the people, seems honest, gives moving speeches and he represents the United States favorably on the world stage. All these factors make Obama a great politician, but those won't make him a great U.S. president. I have seen nothing from Obama that leads me to believe he could make tough decisions. I haven't seen enough from Obama that shows he could lead America in such a turbulent time (a tough time thanks to some other great politician who wasn't capable of being president). He needs to be more assertive and needs to push his ideas more. For example, Obama consistently says that he is anti-gun and shares his beliefs openly. However, when faced with a bill that mandated punishment for firing a gun near or on school grounds, he wouldn't vote yes or no - he voted "present."

OPINION | COLUMNS

For Democrats to have a chance, Clinton must drop out now

By DANIEL TIPPIN | Mar. 26, 2008

Last Friday, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Cosmetic surgery not worth risks

Mar. 26, 2008

What would you be willing to risk for a slimmer nose? A bustier chest?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Executive order tries to shield history

Mar. 25, 2008

It has been said that the winners write the history books. If Executive Order 13233 isn't repealed, the mediocre and incompetent will get their chance.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Homeless crime records used to justify stereotypes

By the Editorial Board | Mar. 25, 2008

With the recent shuffling of the proposed one-stop homeless service center's location, it is clear that many Gainesville residents will do much to decry the homeless problem, but very little to help move toward a solution - especially if that solution happens to be in their own backyards.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tibet column was misinformed, biased

By Jie Wang | Mar. 25, 2008

Obviously the author of Monday's guest column knew little about the history and current status of Tibet, and it also seems she did not do any research about the subject.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

U.S. cannot impose will on Iraqi people

By Daniel Watstein | Mar. 25, 2008

Tuesday's guest column on the Iraq war argues with a distinctly twisted premise. The author assumes that we have some right or duty to spread democracy to other countries and that Iraq was a good target. That's ludicrous. Other countries have the right to choose different forms of government.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Gator Party shuts out CLAS representation

By Mark McShera | Mar. 25, 2008

On Sunday night, the Student Senate Replacement and Agenda Committee voted on its recommendations for committee appointments. It rejected all four members of the Orange and Blue Party who applied. As Orange and Blue swept the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences last month, this leaves the 12,000 students of CLAS without representation on any of the Senate's five committees.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Statistics do not reveal the whole story

By GERALD LILES | Mar. 24, 2008

Thomas Mortenson, senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, raised the alarm in gender bias across campuses recently.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bush administration's original intentions for Iraq were noble

By MATTHEW YOUNG | Mar. 24, 2008

It is fair to say that nothing in Iraq has gone as the United States planned or intended, but the war was hardly built on lies or oil. Mistakes were made, and the Bush administration is to blame, but its plan was bold and its intentions were noble.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Breaches affect many, not just candidates

By the Editorial Board | Mar. 24, 2008

When news broke last week that the passport files of presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain were illegally accessed by employees at the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice quickly issued a public apology.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

UF should postpone CLAS dean search

By the Editorial Board | Mar. 23, 2008

And then there were two.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Cattle-roping contest was public cruelty

By Jamie Klapholz | Mar. 23, 2008

After hearing about Saturday's cattle-roping contest, which was sponsored by a UF class, I was overcome with shame because as a UF student I am part of an organization that condones animal cruelty.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Petition asks for affordable birth control

By Laura Moore | Mar. 23, 2008

These past few months, I have noticed many of my friends recalculating their monthly budgets because of the new costs incurred by their birth control.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Number of deaths is the real offense

By VINCENT MASSARO | Mar. 23, 2008

The war in Iraq is completely f-ing absurd. Four short of 4,000 Americans have died - f-ing horrible. This war is f-ing useless.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Library parking needs to be changed

Mar. 19, 2008

It's the first day of spring. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and your car is being towed from the side of Library West.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Obama's approach can change campaign tone

By the Editorial Board | Mar. 19, 2008

If you didn't get the chance to catch Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race Tuesday in Philadelphia, it wouldn't hurt to head over to YouTube to watch it.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Concealed carry debate exploits tragedy

By Nathan Juster | Mar. 19, 2008

While I am not one to disagree with anyone's right to conceal or carry a weapon in public, I think that this issue has been blown out of proportion by the recent in-school violence.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Delegates should not be rationed

By Eric Conrad | Mar. 19, 2008

When Democrats voted Jan. 29 in Florida's primary, they did so with hopes that while their candidate might not get their delegates in the end, it would be a public show of support and expression of their political opinion.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Obama's speech ignored Muslims

By David Reznik | Mar. 19, 2008

I, like many across the country, was deeply moved by Sen. Barack Obama's speech yesterday. However, despite all of the media hoopla, I am distressed that there has not been any public debate about problems with the speech.