Category: Opinion
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A meaningful career, or a ‘calling’, was invented by Christian reformers 500 years ago, religion professor says
As a professor, I’m fortunate to teach a course called World Religions for Healthcare Professionals that prepares students for the spiritual and ethical issues they may encounter in their careers. But the class often boils down to life’s big questions: What makes life worth living, and how should we live? How do you find your “calling”? In…
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Percy vs. Goliath – A Film “Roundup”
by Jamale Stanley “Percy Vs Goliath” is based on the events that unfolded between farmer Percy Schmeiser and the multi-billion-dollar agrochemical company, Monsanto. (Monsanto has been dissolved since being acquired by Bayer in 2018 and folded into the crop science division). The catalyst to this confrontation was the patented canola plants that grew in Schmeiser’s…
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Climate Change and the Florida Fall
by Dell deChant As the fall of 2016 begins with the autumnal equinox (September 22), here in this part of Florida most folks are probably aware that we’ve had an usually hot summer – which is saying something for the Tampa Bay Region. This should not be too much of a surprise however, since August…
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Opinion: Guns & Education Do Not Mix
by Don Saunders If the Guns-on-Campus Bill passes it would inspire a modification of Victor Hugo’s famous aphorism: “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” Instead, we might now observe: Those who open schools to guns imprison education. Background: The Florida Board of Governors, University Police Chiefs, University Presidents, the League of Women Voters,…
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Throwin’ So Much Away: ‘Garbage Night’ in America
by Frank Ferreri The adage about a road paved with good intentions probably fits a good many of us in contemporary U.S.A. culture. We recycle, we prioritize the reusable, and we teach our children to take care of the planet. But for most of us, without twice-weekly trash service, we’d have more garbage in our…
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OPINION: Teachers Say VAM Evaluations Are Flawed
Teachers Say VAM Evaluations are Flawed Marc Yacht, MD, MPH Many of Florida’s public school teachers see little value in the value-added-model (VAM) teacher evaluation process that’s being used this year. Also labeled “value added analysis” or “value added assessment,” the evaluation tool is tied to student testing results. VAM assesses how one student’s scores…
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EDITORIAL: Do the Math (but not the Science)!
Editorial Do the Math (but not the Science) There are at least 164 voucher-eligible schools in our state teaching Creationism, according to Brandon Haught’s recent op ed in the Tampa Bay Times. Haught is communications director for Florida Citizens for Science. He explains that FCS takes “a strong, determined stand for sound science education in…
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OPINION: A European’s Perspective on Consumerism in Florida: Too Cold, Too Wasteful
Written by Kathrin Kohle I have visited America a couple of times, and I always enjoy my stay. But whenever I’m here, the same things bother me — the waste of resources, especially energy and recyclables. My experience of American wastefulness of energy and recyclables is illustrated in a recent shopping experience. When I head…
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OP/ED: Reasoned Reflections On Mr. Rubio’s “Reasonable Debate”
Here is another example of what seems to be the big fight. Conservatives who believe climate change is a hoax and liberals who accept the claims of climate scientists and want to make changes. There’s no doubt big money is on both sides pushing agendas, but what about those people who may have no political…
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OP/ED: The American Future: High Speed Rail and Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure
This article originally published on NewPortRichey.Patch.com is Copyright 2012 Robert C Marlowe, and republished with permission. Geeknote: Fair warning disclaimer– This is the most “political” GEEKNOTE I’ve ever written. I may make you mad, but I hope that I make you think. The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. Two weeks…