Republican state Sen. Paula Dockery jumped into the governor's race Tuesday, saying she's used to the role of underdog and winning. ...more

November 4, 2009

How big should government be? The answer is: As big as it has to be - and for small-government types, no bigger than it has to be. ...more

February 27, 2009

Reference Jim Vokes's letter Jan. 22, "Thank You President Bush." That letter is wrong in so many ways. It's possible 9-11 could have been avoided if Bush had taken action on an Aug. 8, 2001 memo advising of an imminent terrorist attack. Unfortunately Bush's Crawford vacation took precedence over protecting our nation and saving 3,000 lives. Bush and Cheney were hell bent on starting a war with Saddam. Both knew he had no weapons of mass destruction from 2003 intelligence reports. They rushed into war based on lies, miscalculations and faulty assumptions. Bush's stubbornness and uncompromising attitude precluded him from forming an adequate international coalition of forces. Our troops were sent into combat without adequate body and vehicle armor. These "liberators" suffered over 4,000 deaths and 30,000 wounded and maimed casualties. Jim, I agree Bush "changed the face of the Middle East forever," but unfortunately the whole region is in a state of crisis (i.e. Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Gaza, Pakistan etc.) ...more

January 30, 2009

The root cause of our current economic disaster is very rich people continually getting much richer at the expense of nearly everyone else. While some of this is attributable to recognizing and exploiting legitimate opportunities, much is a result of stacking the deck. Years of deregulation crippled government oversight while Congress rewarded the rich with generous tax cuts while the deficit and debt soared. Hedge funds, totally unregulated leveraged markets providing astronomic profits for their investors. Wall Streeters and CEOs rewarded themselves with multi-million salaries and bonuses while the rest of us lost ground. Privatizing and the Iraq war created opportunities for lavishing government funds on favored private entities, all accomplished under the aegis of the Republican Congress and the Bush White House. ...more

January 24, 2009

This is in reference to Dick Ford's Jan. 13 letter "Democratic Recession." Like most Republicans he feels Democrats are always to blame for all of the ills of our country. Republicans insist the 2001 economic down turn was in progress and inherited by Bush from the Clinton administration. Even though Obama will inherit the current recession (maybe depression) from Bush, I'm sure you Republicans will find a way to blame it on the Democrats. ...more

January 18, 2009

The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution proposed by the Republican Congress and ratified in 1951. The amendment limits a person to two full elected terms as president. ...more

January 9, 2009

Don't rule out "Ginny For U.S. Senate" signs just yet. U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is pondering a potential bid for the seat that Republican Mel Martinez will leave vacant now that he's decided not to run for re-election in 2010, Pete Meachum, Brown-Waite's chief of staff, said Wednesday afternoon. ...more

December 4, 2008

Few issues are likely to generate more emotional opposition than federal funding of stem cell research. Handled wrongly, it could energize conservative opponents and derail Barack Obama's presidency. There is no question that we must move ahead, but caution is key. ...more

November 15, 2008

Better Off Under Bush Regarding "A Bad Comparison" (Letters, May 20): One of your readers asked if President Bush still had any credibility. I believe he does. ...more

May 22, 2008

As I watched the returns on Super Tuesday, one of the campaign-rally interviews stuck out. "It's the most exciting presidential race, certainly in my lifetime," said a 60-year-old woman in New York City. ...more

February 10, 2008