Today's Opinions
News-Gazette Editorials
Champaign school system is on its own
Friday, November 6, 2009
At long last, the consent decree governing the operation of the Champaign schools has come to an end.
U.S. District Court Judge Joe Billy McDade finally drove a stake through the heart of the civil rights consent decree, accepting a settlement negotiated by lawyers for the school district and the plaintiffs. More …
Letters to the Editor
Indicting Illini not in good taste
Friday, November 6, 2009
In a recent column entitled "Dear Coach Zook," News-Gazette sports columnist Loren Tate embarked on a scathing indictment of the Illini football program and Coach Ron Zook. Tate suggested that 90 percent or greater of the members of Illini Nation have turned not only against Zook but also athletic director Ron Guenther.
Among his scathing remarks was a reference that Zook could simply take his millions and head to the next stop on his coaching career. That suggests Zook is a ladder-climber looking only for greener pastures. More …
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America's future doesn't look bright
Friday, November 6, 2009
Numerous recent polls reveal most Americans have the uneasy feeling about the direction our country is headed. This has no connection with what party is in power in Washington.
If we have become a dysfunctional society, why? More …
Vaccine debacle foreshadows disaster
Friday, November 6, 2009
Has anyone noticed the debacle surrounding the government-managed flu vaccine programs? Not only is the supply and distribution of the seasonal flu vaccine delayed, but the H1N1 vaccine has been so mismanaged that a lot of the damage a timely supply would have prevented has already happened.
Witness the closing of so many schools nationwide and the rising number of deaths. The Centers for Disease Control has a lot of excuses as to why this has happened, but the bottom line is that the population is at risk and the federal government dropped the ball. Anybody want to hazard a guess as to how the proposed socialized medicine program will go? More …
Afghan withdrawal a disastrous idea
Friday, November 6, 2009
In reading the Nov. 1 Commentary Section, I found that U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, my favorite congressman, and liberal extremist, Garrison Keillor, agree on our withdrawal from Afghanistan. Let's analyze this tragic situation.
Neither Johnson nor Keillor are willing to deal with the probable consequences of our early withdrawal. More …
What's wrong with principled dissent?
Friday, November 6, 2009
I'm glad my letters provide entertainment for people with superior intelligence, including John Moore.
But I wish my critics could keep reality straight for the sake of rational argument. More …
Safe schools are important issue
Friday, November 6, 2009
I recently attended a public forum sponsored by the East Central Illinois Safe Schools Initiative – CISSA – entitled, "Making Our Schools Safe for LGBT Students" which focused on the threats to safety directed at our students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered – LGBT.
The nine forum panelists included four youths who are currently enrolled, or recently graduated, from area high schools, a university researcher, a middle school social worker, a high school teacher and principal, and a school district attorney. More …