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

Guest AuthorJuly 30, 2014

Florida has a long-standing rivalry with the other Sunshine State, California. As a proud Floridian myself, I have to say that this Eastside-Westside beef almost always comes down in favor of the East. And as the campaign manager for United for Care — the organization advocating for medical marijuana and the passage of Amendment 2 […]

Guest AuthorJuly 30, 2014

On July 12 Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip and began their operation to stop Hamas from attempting to destroy the Jewish state one rocket at a time and there’s no indication that the fighting will end soon. As each day passes, Israel’s “Operation Defensive Edge” is becoming a bloody, devastating war. The result is […]

Guest AuthorJuly 29, 2014

Among the country’s lower 48, Florida was a land of almost unequaled promise. Surrounded by navigable waters, the peninsula’s unique geography and pristine natural beauty beckoned all to visit and emigrate–and thrive. Mother Nature shined on the state, along with women like Marjory Stoneman Douglas (who saved the Everglades) and Barbara Capitman (who saved South […]

Guest AuthorJuly 29, 2014

Proponents have argued that Amendment 2 is about providing compassionate care for people who have debilitating symptoms, pain, or are dying. But if compassionate care were what the amendment is only about, then the authors would have specifically cited non-euphoric medical weed in the amendment’s language. That’s why this amendment is a fraud. It’s a […]

Guest AuthorJuly 29, 2014

It’s a sweltering summer Sunday night in El Paso, Texas, at the city’s new downtown baseball stadium, where the local Triple-A team, the Chihuahuas, is leading the visiting Tacoma Rainiers at the seventh-inning stretch. As the hammerlock of the day’s 102-degree heat begins to release its grip, a sellout crowd of 8,607 fans rise to […]

Guest AuthorJuly 28, 2014

Earlier this month, Tallahassee was rocked by the high-profile shooting of a Florida State law professor. Dan Markel was gunned down in his own house on the nice side of town. As news of the killing spread, the Tallahassee Police Department moved quickly to reassure the residents of Markel’s neighborhood: He wasn’t the victim of […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2014

There are three types of politicians: The first works mostly on behalf of the people they serve, by far the rarest of the lot; the second works chiefly on behalf of their own interests, by far the vast majority. The third tries to impose an ideology on others, an aggressive minority. Florida Attorney General Pam […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2014

About 20 years ago, when I was a graduate student in Tucson, Arizona, I befriended two neighbors who worked as traveling nurses taking short-term jobs at hospitals in interesting places around the country. John and Sue had met a few years earlier when they served together in a busy metropolitan hospital, an often stressful environment. […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2014

On New Year’s Eve 1949, a rickety Greek fishing boat deposited my mother and me on the shore of Haifa, Israel. With us were 400 other refugees, the floating debris of the Jewish people. I was 12, my mother 48 and Israel 7 months old. (In this story, numbers have an astounding symmetry.) Israel’s population […]

Guest AuthorJuly 25, 2014

Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced he is placing a contingent of the Texas National Guard along his state’s border with Mexico, due to the inability of the federal government to respond adequately to the border crisis. I am not really sure what these troops plan on doing, but it is good to see at least […]

Guest Author

Ben Pollara: Florida can show other states how to regulate medical marijuana

Steve Kurlander: Israeli offensive in Gaza is justified warfare against terrorism

Stephen Goldstein: 17 sensible initiatives to make Florida world-class

Barney Bishop: Amendment 2 isn’t about medical marijuana; it’s about getting high

Rick Brunson: As migrant crisis grows, Texas town responds with class

Andrew Skerritt: The capital city confronts gun violence, belatedly

Stephen Goldstein: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is out for herself

Melody Bowdon: Give people a break; it’s very good for you

Rachel Patron: Hamas digs tunnels while Gazans above endure poverty

Ed Moore: Compassion and security are not exclusive