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Case for immigration reform remains strong

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - Jul. 04 (Editorial) - Politically and in other ways, President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush are polar opposites. But in his earnest plea for reform of the nation's immigration laws last week, the current chief executive sounded a lot like his immediate predecessor.

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Making immigration work

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:09:13 -0700

Miami Herald - Apr. 14 (Editorial) - For advocates of immigration reform, the first year of President Obama's tenure has been a huge disappointment. It made sense to tackle the economy and healthcare reform first, but the administration has no excuse for failing to change unfair and mean-spirited immigration programs under executive control.

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Florida coalition targets pending federal pollution rules

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Curtis Morgan - Nov. 23 (News Report) - The target: A settlement a federal judge in Tallahassee approved last week in a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It requires that federal regulators, for the first time, step in and set a state's water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that flow into waterways from fertilized lawns, sewage plants, farms fields, cattle pastures and a host of other sources.

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Women getting short end of health coverage

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By David Lightman - Oct. 07 (Special Report) - Women of child-bearing age routinely pay more for healthcare because they're women. If they're pregnant, they can be legally denied coverage. Women face other problems in today's insurance market: They tend to need more preventive care and therefore are subject to more co-pays and deductibles, and single heads of households are often women, meaning they're responsible for the family's healthcare bills. Legislation now being considered by Congress to overhaul America's healthcare system would dramatically change the rules, and there's general agreement that this is a problem that needs fixing.

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A nuclear Iran: The world was warned

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Uri Dromi - Oct. 02 (Opinion) - A uranium enrichment facility nobody knew of suddenly emerges in the sacred city of Qom, Iran launches missiles that can threaten not only U.S. targets in the Persian gulf, but also Israel and southern Europe, and now the world panics. Surprised? Not if you're an Israeli. For years we have been sounding the alarm, only to be told to stop crying wolf. Now we are asked to lie low and let the responsible leaders of the world take care of the situation.

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Fear was no excuse to condone torture

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Charles C. Krulak, Joseph P. Hoar - Sep. 15 (Opinion) - In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster. But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.

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How we betrayed the rule of law for the fool's gold of security

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Leonard Pitts Jr. - Apr. 03 (Opinion) - People came out of the McCarthy era marveling at how easily fear and paranoia had stampeded us into surrendering principles that are supposed to define us. Mark my words: We will look back on this era the same way.

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Florida Marlins stadium financing needs a tourism rally

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Douglas Hanks - Mar. 04 (News Report) - The Miami Herald analysis found that the next two years are crucial for the stadium financing plan, with modest revenue dips causing shortfalls a decade later -- even if the county's future growth forecasts are correct. For example, should hotel taxes defy the plan's prediction of a flat 2010 and instead drop another 3 percent next year, the lost revenue would leave Miami-Dade needing an extra $17 million for the ballpark bonds two decades from now.

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`Liberty City' comes alive in one-woman show

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Christine Dolen - Feb. 26 (Review) - After a New York Theatre Workshop premiere a year ago, April Yvette Thompson and her solo show Liberty City have come home to share a rollicking, sobering look at life in her old Miami neighborhood in the late '70s. The script, which Thompson crafted with director/coauthor Jessica Blank, blends fact and imagination in its depiction of her extended family and friends, an only-in-Miami blend of African-Americans, folks from the Bahamas and people with Cuban roots.

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Miami courthouse plaque offers apology for racial injustice

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By David Ovalle - Feb. 25 (News Report) - At a ceremony Tuesday, the Dade County Bar Association formally apologized for the two fountains -- stark reminders that the courthouse was once segregated, and that racism was woven into Miami-Dade's legal roots. ''One fountain was restricted to whites. One fountain was restricted to African Americans,'' said lawyer Joseph Serota, who helped lead a courthouse renovation that focused fresh attention on the water fountains.

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GOP seethes over Charlie Crist's stimulus-plan support

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Adam C. Smith - Feb. 13 (News Report) - As Democrats lavish praise on Florida's Republican governor for enthusiastically supporting their economic stimulus package, Republicans are questioning whether Crist damaged his future. ''I don't think he's helped any national Republican ambitions he may have by stepping up to the plate and batting for the other team. . . . There's a difference between working in a bipartisan way for the common good and switching sides and putting on the other team's jersey,'' said veteran Republican consultant Alex Castellanos. ``At the one moment when we've finally found our voice and remember who we are as Republicans, Charlie Crist forgets. It's stunning.''

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Miami-Dade schools can yank book on Cuba

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Kathleen McGrory, Jay Weaver, Jennifer Lebovich - Feb. 06 (News Report) - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Miami-Dade School Board did not violate the Constitution in 2006 when it removed a controversial children's book about Cuba from the public schools' library system. In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the board did not breach the First Amendment, and ordered a Miami federal judge to lift a preliminary injunction that had allowed Vamos a Cuba to be checked out from school libraries. The majority opinion supported the School Board's authority to set educational standards in Miami-Dade, saying the bilingual book, part of a library series on 24 nations, presented an ''inaccurate'' view of life in Cuba under its former leader, Fidel Castro.

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Coral Springs school accused of fraud over vouchers

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Nirvi Shah, Hannah Sampson - Jan. 31 (News Report) - More than 300 disabled students who attend a Coral Springs private school using public money can no longer use those vouchers to pay their tuition because the state said Friday the school has committed fraud. The Florida Department of Education filed a complaint against Academy High School on Friday, claiming the school forged parents' signatures to claim state money, sent one student fake report cards and even withheld some students' diplomas to keep them on the attendance list. Academy High's access to state money has been cut off. The school has about 460 students, and 337 of them use state vouchers, known as McKay Scholarships, to pay their tuition. Academy High President Nina Kaufman did not return phone messages seeking comment Friday.

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Financial 'missionaries' preach smart money

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By James H. Burnett III - Jan. 28 (Special Report) - These days, the need is apparently growing in the continental United States, where a steadily increasing number of churches and religious groups are ordaining ''financial missionaries'' and ''stewardship pastors,'' whose job is not the spreading of gospel. Rather, their mission is to preach and teach money management and financial salvation in tough economic times.

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Cuba's revolution at 50: gains fade, despair endures

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Frances Robles - Dec. 15 (Special Report) - As the Jan. 1 anniversary of the revolution's triumph approaches, many of the social welfare achievements that were the trophies of the communist regime have rusted. Years of failed economic policy, waves of mass exodus, and Cuba's inability to recover from the collapse of its patron, the Soviet Union, have dulled Castro's touted crown jewels -- the advances in health and education.

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Is Barack Obama's idea-gathering website just for show?

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Frank Greve - Dec. 11 (News Report) - Want to join a policy debate? Your e-mail will appear on change.gov. Readers then rate your submission using icons whose thumbs are up or down. Submissions that are deemed the best rise to the top of the screen. To proponents, these efforts by Obama's team to build a Web-based network of support can democratize the government anew. To skeptics, however, change.gov is little more than a clever public-relations device, a way to keep Obama's fans revved up about him and give them the illusion of influence. ''Change.gov is obviously fantastic,'' said tech-prognosticator Clay Shirky, the author of the book Here Comes Everybody, an upbeat prediction of what networked people can accomplish.

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Turning reality, truth inside out

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - Dec. 09 (Editorial) - In a speech last week, Mr. Bush said the Middle East is a freer, more hopeful place today than when he took office in 2001. He said the threat from terrorist groups like al Qaeda has been curtailed and that Iran faces greater pressure from the international community than ever before. Mr. Bush described his Mideast policies as ``ambitious in vision, bold in action and firm in purpose.''... Mr. Bush's vision may have been ambitious and his plan bold, but history will record that he utterly failed to meet those objectives. His administration emboldened America's enemies, put Israel's security at greater risk, mired the U.S. military in an endless occupation and diminished America's prestige around the globe. No pixie dust can change that reality.

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More indigenous Guatemalans turn to sex work, stoking HIV fears

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - Nov. 28 (News Report) - ''They've come here more and more because they can earn four, five, even 10 times what they could make in other jobs,'' said Dr. Marco García, who runs a nearby clinic offering free HIV/AIDS tests and treatment. The clinic is treating more indigenous women than ever, he said. In the waiting room, a handful of Maya women, small children in tow, waited for medical treatment on a recent morning. ``They realize the risks of contracting diseases, but prostitution pays.''

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Bankruptcy may be good for the Detroit Three

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Terry Jackson - Nov. 18 (Opinion) - We should let General Motors go bankrupt. Ford and Chrysler as well, if it comes to that. Yes, we've heard all the arguments about how many jobs are at stake, both at the Detroit Three and its many suppliers. Also, how this may adversely affect millions of retirees. If you dissect this issue with your heart, it's hard to not give GM and the other two Detroit manufacturers billions of dollars so they can continue doing business as usual. And they will continue doing business as usual, which is why this mess should end up in bankruptcy court, not with wheelbarrows of taxpayer cash flowing out of the U.S. Treasury. Only the forced reorganization of Chapter 11 bankruptcy could finally force these manufacturers, especially GM, to recognize that the 1960s aren't coming back. There's no way GM or Ford will close their doors with a Chapter 7 going-out-of business sale, though that fate should not be ruled out at the much weaker Chrysler.

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Economy woes bigger than bailout package

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - Nov. 18 (Editorial) - It is now clear that the administration is groping in semi-darkness for answers to the nation's cascading economic woes. The $700 billion bailout plan that once was supposed to buy up troubled assets held by Wall Street has instead become a rescue plan for banks and credit markets. With so much government money being doled out, it should come as no surprise that many troubled businesses, including the Big Three U.S. automakers, are lining up to get their share. Who can blame them? Now is the time, though, for America to take a deep breath, exhale gently and just say No. Instead of a bailout, Detroit needs some tough love. Sure, the U.S. auto industry could use some help -- but so, too, could the rest of America. A few weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson predicted an economic meltdown if Congress refused to approve a bailout plan. Lawmakers responded with $700 billion. Now, in hindsight, we know that even with billions flowing to banks and credit markets, the economy has continued to deteriorate. So the administration's pitch now is to ask for patience. Without the cash infusion, the situation would be much worse, Mr. Paulson says. And, yes, he says, the money has brought some stability to troubled credit markets. Really?

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Experts clash on gays' bids to adopt children

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Carol Marbin Miller - Nov. 17 (News Report) - The judge's ruling will determine whether a 4-year-old boy and his 8-year-old brother can be adopted by Frank Gill, the North Miami foster parent who has raised the boys for four years, and his partner. Lederman said she will decide on the adoption later this month. Florida is the only state that bans all gay people from adopting. This fall, a Circuit Court judge in Key West declared Florida's ban unconstitutional, although the decision is unlikely to hold much sway because it was not appealed to a higher court. Since the state is fighting Gill's attempt to adopt the two boys, a decision by Lederman to declare the law unconstitutional would be of far greater consequence. Most likely, the case will ultimately be decided by the Third District Court of Appeal or the Florida Supreme Court.

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Many voters caught unawares by Florida's 'no-match' ID law

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

McClatchy - By Curtis Morgan, Charles Rabin - Oct. 31 (News Report) - The ID check spits out voter registrations that don't match driver's license or social security records. It has left voters on a list dominated by blacks, Hispanics and Democrats in a legal limbo — unless they supply elections officials with additional proof they are who they say they are. More than one-third of the people on the ''no match'' list live in Miami-Dade or Broward counties

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Florida's GOP lawmakers blamed for early-voting lines

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

McClatchy - By Charles Rabin, Larry Lebowitz, Michael Vasquez - Oct. 23 (News Report) - From Miami City Hall to the Southwest Regional Library in Pembroke Pines, voters on Monday and Tuesday -- the first two days of early voting -- sweated out waits of two to five hours. Broward reported record turnout for early voting, which ends Nov. 2. Now, the debate over those achingly long lines has turned political. Some Democratic leaders contend the bill intentionally slowed down a process that has historically benefited the party. ''They were using their power, their majority, to make it harder for people to vote, to gain a political advantage,'' said House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. "It was horrible.''

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Palin could rob McCain of Jewish vote

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - Sep. 13 (Opinion) - John McCain has a strong chance of siphoning votes from Jewish Democrats who never voted for a Republican in their lives -- if his new running mate doesn't get in the way.

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Another vote fiasco in . . . guess where

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - Sep. 07 (Editorial) - The 2000 election fiasco was a horror story that no one in Florida, or the rest of the country, wishes to relive. Unfortunately, it could happen again this year. Once more, anxious eyes are riveted on Palm Beach County, home of the most chronically inept ballot-counting process in the annals of modern democracy. The latest farce began with a countywide election held on Aug. 26.

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