Columns

WASHINGTON -- Vladimir Putin is a lucky man. And he's got three more years of luck to come. He takes Crimea, and President Obama says it's not in Russia's interest, not even strategically clever. Indeed, it's a sign of weakness.

Are you a father, Mr. Sabet? I suspect not, because if you had a child like my little girl Becca, you would understand the gut-wrenching suffering she experiences every day. It is the most painful experience a parent can endure -- and it's why I'm fighting for medical marijuana reform in Florida.

WASHINGTON -- In matters cultural, California has always been America's petri dish. Whatever happened in California usually infiltrated the rest of the country. Today there is reason to hope that other trends collecting on our far-left coast (geographically speaking) might infect the nation, especially in matters of governance and fiscal responsibility.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, demonstrating how Vladimir Putin has zero fear of President Barack Obama, Fox News anchor Bret Baier reran a snippet from the third presidential debate in 2012, showing who felt Russia was a geopolitical threat, and who thought that sounded silly.

Your editorial "Flooding Capitol Hill" (Feb. 26) addresses the important issue of flood insurance, the National Flood Insurance Program and the current reform legislation in Congress.

With Vladimir Putin's dispatch of Russian troops into Crimea, our war hawks are breathing fire. Russophobia is rampant and the op-ed pages are ablaze here.Barack Obama should tune them out, and reflect on how Cold War presidents dealt with far graver clashes with Moscow.

With all the recent stories about new projects and bridges to move more water into Everglades National Park, we should all feel good about the fruits of our collective resolve to protect and restore the environment.

Anything can happen in politics but is it possible that conservatives in Florida will help depose a conservative governor?

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's new outreach initiative to help at-risk boys of color -- "My Brother's Keeper" -- is cause for cheer. It isn't that we haven't known for some time that minority boys are in trouble. Poor school performance, truancy, delinquency and, ultimately, high incarceration rates cannot be separated from the absence of fathers in many homes. Out-of-wedlock births are now at 72 percent in the African-American community and 53 percent among Latinos, compared to 29 percent among non-Hispanic whites.

What motivates people to demonstrate in central squares, day after day and week after week, against repressive regimes at the risk of life and limb? It's a question raised most recently by events in Ukraine and Venezuela.

WASHINGTON -- Henry Kissinger once pointed out that since Peter the Great, Russia had been expanding at the rate of one Belgium per year. All undone, of course, by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which Russian President Vladimir Putin called "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century."

Businesses here in Tampa, across Florida and around the country are coming together to send a clear message to lawmakers -- end the petty partisanship that has dominated Congress for years and put in place reforms to help the American people.

WASHINGTON -- The many jaundiced assessments of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on the fifth anniversary of its enactment were understandable, given that the sluggish recovery, now drowsing through the second half of its fifth year, is historically anemic. Still, bleak judgments about the stimulus spending miss the main point of it, which was to funnel a substantial share of its money to unionized, dues-paying, Democratic-voting government employees. Hence the stimulus succeeded. So there.

Florida has a unique opportunity to lead the way in cannabis research at our land-grant university, the University of Florida.

"Religious Right Cheers a Bill Allowing Refusal to Serve Gays." Thus did the New York Times' headline, leaving no doubt as to who the black hats are, describe the proposed Arizona law to permit businesses, on religious grounds, to deny service to same-sex couples.