Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Monroe gay marriage denial shows importance of the vote

July 21, 2014

For a brief moment at the end of last week, it seemed that Florida would claim a victory in the fight for gay rights. On Thursday, Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia overturned Florida’s 2008 ban on gay marriage and ordered that the two men who appealed for a marriage license, along with all other gay couples, be allowed to wed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Mouthing off to oral sex stereotypes

July 21, 2014

Call me a traditionalist, but I don’t normally take sex advice from Greek life-inspired websites.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Americans should show more compassion to immigrant children

July 21, 2014

“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 19:14.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Is it possible to categorize the right?

July 21, 2014

Because the political right is full of an interesting bunch of characters, many in the media struggle to properly identify and categorize its different ideological camps. The right is said to be made up of mainstream, business-friendly, Tea Party, libertarian, neoconservative, religious-minded or simply extremist groups.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the editor: Hobby Lobby decision

July 16, 2014

Let’s not be distracted by the hype. At the heart of the recent Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision, the issue was solely about power. The majority decision, delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, and even the oral arguments from Hobby Lobby, instead tried to cloak the corporation’s discriminatory, anti-woman, anti-family practice of denying to cover certain birth control methods under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Since corporations are currently granted “personhood” under the law, the rights of corporations now officially seem to outweigh those of women.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Israel should not be criticized for defending itself

July 16, 2014

Tuesday’s Alligator column voiced misconceptions regarding the situation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The real problem is not Israel, but Hamas.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels 7/17/14

July 16, 2014

We hate to start Darts & Laurels off on a bad note, but animal cruelty is something this editorial board passionately stands against. Two Clay County girls are being investigated by Florida law enforcement officers after they posted a video of themselves burning a Gopher tortoise and torturing it to death. The Gopher tortoise, which is an endangered species in Florida, was lit on fire several times as the girls filmed it and said things like: “Burn baby, burn baby,” and “Now you’re scared of us, huh?” The girls also repeatedly threw it against the concrete and stomped on it, crushing its shell.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Florida and Georgia’s commonality: Lousy governors

July 16, 2014

Florida and Georgia are rivals on a sizable scale. The annual football game between UF and the University of Georgia in Jacksonville can resemble preparations for a large war between two enemies, but it seems that the two rivals have more in common than we think.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

University of Miami sells forest land, soul to Wal-Mart

July 14, 2014

It’s easy to forget, what with daily strange Gawker headlines and a certain highly anticipated magical theme park opening, that Florida wildlife is in danger. From rising sea levels threatening the southern coast to black bears ransacking neighborhood trash as a result of overdevelopment to Big Oil drilling in the Everglades, Florida’s natural resources are under attack.

OPINION | COLUMNS

How to do the walk of shame — minus the shame

July 14, 2014

It’s 8:37 a.m. when you wake up and look around, thinking, “Wait, that Southern Tide poster isn’t mine. Whose room is this?”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Republicans can’t ignore Palin and D’Souza’s siren song

July 14, 2014

In “The Odyssey,” Odysseus must avoid the mythical sirens who lure sailors to their doom on the rocky shoreline of their island. Though the songstresses are enticing, Odysseus and his crew, with the assistance of some beeswax with which they filled their ears, force themselves to ignore the dangerous distraction in order to preserve their best interest.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Speaking out against Israeli attacks

July 14, 2014

The situation in Palestine that has taken place over the past four weeks has brought us to speak out against the unjust collective punishment being levied on the Palestinians by the state of Israel.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels 7/9/14

July 9, 2014

If you’re reading this, congratulations: You haven’t been struck by lightning! But then again, the summer is young, and many more sudden thunderstorms are waiting to ruin your shoes/hair/day.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Truck drivers need a chimney sweep

July 9, 2014

A bizarre and nearly inexplicable trend is spreading across the country, and it’s destined to deal a blow to progressives and environmentalists throughout the U.S. It’s known as rolling coal, and it might the dumbest protest movement in the history of our great nation.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Drivers: Share the road with cyclists — it’s the law

July 7, 2014

On June 29, an older man in a red Jeep laid on his horn behind a Jimmy John’s bicycle deliverer on University Avenue.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Texting while driving is a social problem

July 7, 2014

In 2006, Florida voters showed overwhelming support for Article X, a state constitutional amendment that granted funding for a comprehensive tobacco education and prevention program. Article X would later birth Tobacco Free Florida, a hugely successful anti-tobacco campaign whose ads continue to make us cringe. If you haven’t seen the TV spots or billboards, the campaign uses graphic imagery — a girl drinking a beaker of formaldehyde, another girl peeling the skin from her cheek as payment for a pack of cigarettes and testimonials from cancer-stricken adults who were lifelong smokers — to drive home the message that a small action like smoking can harm yourself and others.

OPINION | COLUMNS

NSA needs overhaul, culpability check

July 7, 2014

Two months ago, PBS’s “Frontline” chronicled the conception of the National Security Agency and how the institution continues to affect our daily lives in a must-see documentary called “United States of Secrets.” While watching this special, one automatically envisions the Orwellian future illustrated in “1984.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Language, power and the politics of gay slurs

July 7, 2014

Words have power. This power is the reason “f**k” needs to be censored. It’s the reason being called a “whore” hurts. It’s why phrases like “That’s so gay,” and “Don’t be such a f****t,” are offensive.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Suing Obama: Symptom of DC insanity

July 2, 2014

In an effort to save American democracy from the evil tyrant, “King Obama the First,” Speaker of the House John Boehner revealed that he plans to sue the president for overstepping his constitutional authority.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels 7/3/14

July 2, 2014

It’s Summer B 2014, and freshmen desperation is in the air: You can find them moving in herds of 50 across Midtown, clogging the Starbucks on campus and wearing head-to-toe orange and blue. This isn’t a dig, though, class of 2018. We were in your (brand-new) shoes at one point, and we’re imparting some wisdom to you: Nobody is too cool for an umbrella. Carry an umbrella. And call your mom once a while.