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June 2, 2001
Editorials
Execution can wait
Given that the government botched the handling of documents in the Timothy McVeigh case, a defense request to postpone his execution should be granted.
Investigate Ford-Firestone debacle
Ford Motor Co.'s recent pledge to replace more Firestone tires on its popular Explorer and other models is welcome, but it does not begin to answer all the questions laid bare by one of the nation's worst auto-safety debacles. Ford has been less tone-deaf than its now-former tire supplier, Bridgestone/Firestone, so it is not surprising that Ford would be orchestrating the latest recall campaign. But it will take far more than this belated gesture to satisfy all safety concerns and to focus accountability for what appears to be nothing less than a massive perpetration of corporate deceit.
Letters
Common sense seems lacking in school officials
Have high school administrators in our area lost all touch with reality? I realize the purpose of these "zero tolerance" policies is to prevent "another Columbine," and of course nobody wants to see that happen. But how many stories do we have to read about high school seniors being banned from graduation, suspended or punished in other ways because they had a kitchen knife in their car because they had just moved, or dared to show joy and wave or cheer while receiving their diploma?
Perspective
Taking jobs, alienating customers
For weeks Americans have been told that the outsourcing of high-tech jobs is good for our economy. So said Greg Mankiw, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a recent report signed by President Bush. So, too, writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times in articles praising the rise of call centers in India used for everything from making airline reservations and reading medical X-ray films to providing tech support for American computer firms.
Philip Gailey: Democrats fall off campaign finance reform wagon
Well, what do you know. Soft money is back, and it's making hypocrites of all those Democrats who fervently championed the McCain-Feingold campaign reform law, not to mention those Republicans who objected to the law's restrictions on issue advocacy.
Bill Maxwell: Who is for the farm worker?
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is touting legislation to improve the lives of Florida's 300,000-plus farm workers, who endure institutional and systemic injustices each day in our fields and groves and their personal lives.
Robyn E. Blumner: For some defendants, an American gulag
In Bernard Malamud's masterpiece The Fixer, inmate Yakov Bok was subjected to psychological torture in a Soviet gulag through the humiliations of constant shackling and repeated strip searches.
© Copyright 2001 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.
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