Robyn E. Blumner
Nigeria's leaders offer a poor version of democracy
ABUJA, Nigeria -- To tell if a fish is rotten, goes an old Nigerian maxim, you must smell the head. That saying is particularly poignant now, as this fledgling democracy turns a year old on Monday. To the extent that leadership sets the moral tone for a nation, Nigeria has seen just how putrid the head of a fish can get.

Tim Nickens
Reform Party suffers from its squabbling
This ought to be the best of times for the Reform Party.

Bill Maxwell
Four Mothers made a difference in Israel
Israel's redeployment from southern Lebanon was a military and a political decision. At the core of the exodus, however, lies the simple story of moral courage, persistence and maternal love.

Philip Gailey
Remembering those devotions for our freedoms
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a time to pause and reflect on the valor and sacrifice of the men and women who have died in military service for their country.

Martin Dyckman
Vouchers blur lines of power
There are more than 140 religious denominations in the United States, a fair number of which preach that those who don't believe as they do are going inexorably to hell.

Letters
Gun debate grows too rancorous
Re: NRA tags Gore as enemy No. 1 and vows to defeat him, May 21.

Editorials

• Choice challenges
  In Hillsborough: The school district's proposal is promising, but it has deficiencies. And it would be a mistake to hastily embrace the plan without a substantive public debate.
• Choice challenges
  In Pinellas: While the charter school issue remains a stumbling block, many details of the choice plan need to to be filled in before the public can be expected to pass judgment.