Editorials
Time to leave lap dancing alone
The fog has begun to lift in Tampa's lap dancing war. In customarily blunt fashion, Hillsborough County Judge Elvin Martinez has dismissed all lap dancing cases pending in his court, finding the ban unconstitutional and a recipe for government abuse. The city should halt any further enforcement until higher courts clarify the matter.

Budgetary bumbling
In a relentless pursuit of tax cuts, Florida's leadership appears blind to or apathetic about the economic consequences, which we've only begun to feel.

All in the family
Sen. J. Strom Thurmond, who at 98 is the longest serving and the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, proves you're never too old for nepotism. Thurmond has persuaded President Bush to nominate his 28-year-old son, J. Strom Thurmond Jr., for the post of U.S. attorney in South Carolina.

Letters
Black males need American leadership
Re: We have no leaders to save our black men, by Bill Maxwell, July 29.

Robyn E. Blumner
Internet copyright tizzy will pass
Whenever I hear a debate over intellectual property rights and young people swapping music over the Internet, I can't help but remember the first time I bought a dual cassette tape player.

Bill Maxwell
Poll of first ladies say more about Americans' view of women
A new Pew Research Center poll that demonstrates high approval ratings for first lady Laura Bush has also raised some unsettling questions by way of comparison. As poll editor Carroll Doherty puts it: "Laura Bush has got very wide acceptance . . . she's already the anti-Hillary."

Philip Gailey
Reno candidacy only a GOP dream
Janet Reno needs to get back to her original post-Washington plan. After almost eight controversial years as U.S. attorney general in the Clinton administration, Reno said she planned to hit the road in her red pickup truck and rediscover America. If that idea has lost its appeal, she could get started on her memoirs. She has a story to tell. Reno not only was the nation's first female attorney general but one of its most controversial.