December 30, 2000
Editorials
Unwarranted 'drug war' tactics
A yearlong grand jury study examining Florida's drug-control policies has produced some disturbing recommendations that detract from the sensible ones. The worst of them would further erode civil liberties, already one of the biggest casualties in the so-called war on drugs. Among the proposals: deny defense attorneys access to pre-trial depositions of witnesses, especially law enforcement officers, and encourage the use of portable X-ray equipment and thermal imaging technology to peer through the walls and doors of our houses and vehicles.
Settling with the U.N.
Congress should support an agreement that would fairly resolve the damaging dispute over the United States' overdue debt to the United Nations.
Letters
High-speed rail could help solve water shortage
The voters have spoken, and Florida will build a high-speed rail system that will link all major cities together. Such a transportation system brings both opportunities and challenges. Although this rail system may contribute significantly to alleviating our future congestion, our dynamic state will continue to grow.
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 2000 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.
|
