Congresswoman Kathy Castor recently held a press conference at the immigrant statue in Ybor City’s centennial park to introduce her ideas for immigration reform. Once again, our hometown girl earns kudos for leadership -- in contrast to most of her colleagues who prefer simply standing in the mud.  Read More 

When did “entitlement” become a pejorative? Even presumably objective PBS commentators thoughtlessly toss out the word with a snarl, assuming that everyone knows it’s a negative term. They use it to convey the sense of “spoiled” or “selfish” -- but “entitled” is an honorable word.  Read More 

For a couple of days, the story made the headlines: In the teeming city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 112 factory workers – most of them young women – died because of a fire in a garment factory. With flames licking at their backs, some jumped to their death; others burned to ashes behind locked doors.  Read More 

Ah, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! The Christmas season has officially ushered itself in—Christmas wreathes of lush green pine and red bows hang from the front doors of neighbors’ houses, frenzied crowds of parents vie to pick up that last coveted toy on the Christmas list, and families, in excited anticipation, eagerly await the happy reunion of sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  Read More 

Just a few days after the 2012 election, it may be too soon for an obituary for the Tea Party -- but I don’t think so. As a historian who has spent decades studying trends, I’m going to predict that the never-official party will go down as a one-election phenomenon, with only the 2010 election as its brief zenith.  Read More 

Since statehood in 1845, eighty-five justices have served on the Florida Supreme Court. Just three have been women – and all three have been targeted for removal. This is the case again in the 2012 election.  Read More 

After moderator Martha Raddatz separated the contenders in the second presidential debate of 2012, Mitt Romney used the brief silence to twice mutter, “Government doesn’t create jobs. Government doesn’t create jobs.”  Read More