Guest Author, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorNovember 11, 2015

I’m not much of a crier, but when a colleague critiqued a draft of my dissertation years ago, I cried like a baby. I was progressing through my dissertation process when I asked a friend to read it and tell me his thoughts. I was in the market for a nice review with a few […]

Guest AuthorNovember 10, 2015

Imagine your loved ones unable to remember who you are or what you mean to them: Years of memories suddenly lost. Perhaps you no longer recognize the person now living inside a familiar body, the result of major personality shifts that cause sudden and unpredictable mood changes. That’s what my family and I experienced with […]

Guest AuthorNovember 9, 2015

It’s Veterans Day on Wednesday and I’m even more excited than usual. In researching this column, I learned that as a Vietnam veteran I may be eligible to collect VA disability benefits because I have diabetes – even though I’m sure my tedious year at Phu Cat Air Force Base has nothing to do with […]

Guest AuthorNovember 8, 2015

It’s Veterans Day on Wednesday and I’m even more excited than usual. In researching this column, I learned that as a Vietnam veteran I may be eligible to collect VA disability benefits because I have diabetes – even though I’m sure my tedious year at Phu Cat Air Force Base has nothing to do with […]

Guest AuthorNovember 6, 2015

Talk about having a flighty state of emotions. When I first read Florida Board of Governors’ (FLBOG) member Alan Levine’s op-ed published in the Tallahassee Democrat, I went from “Hmm” to “Ugh” to “Hell nah!” Everyone likely believes that the battle for Middle Earth – err, FAMU (geek moment!) has been won. Those who attempted […]

Guest AuthorNovember 5, 2015

Talk about having a flighty state of emotions. When I first read Florida Board of Governors’ (FLBOG) member Alan Levine’s op-ed published in the Tallahassee Democrat, I went from “Hmm” to “Ugh” to “Hell nah!” Everyone likely believes that the battle for Middle Earth – err, FAMU (geek moment!) has been won. Those who attempted […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2015

Lately I’ve been imagining the creation of a new office in the executive branch: a Therapist General to advise the president and the nation about psychological problems affecting U.S. citizens, groups and institutions. The person assuming the role could issue an annual report about the state of the nation’s mental health, investigate and report on […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2015

The exciting energy frontier that hydraulic fracturing represents is one of the best-kept secrets in Florida. The process consists of blasting a water, chemical, and proppant solution under high pressure to create fissures in rocks, which then allows the release of the oil and hydrocarbons locked within. Current dialogue, unfortunately, ignores the tremendous benefits offered […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2015

Do you remember where you were Nov. 6, 1986? I do. I walked into Chamberlain High School, in North Tampa, and over to my friend’s locker to wish her a happy birthday. I don’t remember the friend, she is one of those faceless, nameless acquaintances we meet in high school and soon forget. But I […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2015

I was doing research about Florida’s astonishingly efficient bear hunt and I came across an equally astonishing analogy. The chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrote this about hunting: “Think of it as nature’s Whole Foods.” In fairness to Brian Yablonski, here’s that nugget in context: “Hunting is the first and original […]

Guest Author

Michael Preston: Criticism — We hate it the most but it makes us the strongest

Carol Berkowitz: Alzheimer’s Awareness Month a time for difficult conversations

Tom O’Hara: Don’t thank me for my service, just send my disability check

Tom O’Hara: Don’t thank me for my service, just send my disability check

Chris Timmons: Just who is FAMU’s biggest critic?

Chris Timmons: Just who is FAMU’s biggest critic?

Barry Mauer: The United States could use a Therapist General

Sarah Maricle Ayers: Weigh facts on fracking before banning its benefits

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Thank you, Governor Scott, for signing this man’s death warrant

Tom O’Hara: They don’t sell bear meat at Whole Foods