The Florida Frontier

January, 2010

Article Index

Obama's Struggle for Bipartisanship

Micah Lutkowitz

Despite being the most liberal senator at the time of the 2008 election, Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of bipartisanship and changing politics in Washington. Obama promised to bring Republicans into his Cabinet and to “reach across the aisle” on issues such as energy and health care. For all of the flowery rhetoric he used during the campaign, Obama has failed to govern with the same level of bipartisanship that he promised. Read more.

A Message from the Editor-in-Chief

Bryan Griffin

I am proud, honored, and thrilled to bring to you, college students across the state of Florida, this latest issue of the Florida Frontier. For some, this may be the first Frontier you have seen on your campus. For others, you have come to rely on the Frontier to provide a rare outlet for the Conservative voice – a bastion of freedom loving columns and thought-pieces to counter a highly liberal college atmosphere. I write now, not only to introduce myself as Editor-in-Chief, but to assure each of you that the Florida Frontier will not falter nor sway in its dedication to bring such a breath of fresh air to the politically stale climate of most college campus. Read more.

Stay Smart, Not Subervient

Bob Minchin

I am not an old man, but I can remember when the word smart was used primarily to describe an assessment of the intellectual competence of a human being. Oh sure, my generation has always been familiar with the concept of artificial intelligence, and terms such as smart chip and smart bomb are well entrenched in modern vocabulary... Read more.

Dear President Obama

Elizabeth LaFoe, RN, BSN

Dear President Obama,

I am a registered nurse. I have worked at a private hospital, a teaching hospital, and one of the best Veteran's Affairs hospitals in the country. I realize healthcare reform is a priority. However, I am strongly opposed to a government run system. I am deeply concerned Universal coverage will lead to substandard care for all Americans, especially the middle class and the elderly. I know it will raise taxes and decrease the competition driven research advances in Pharmacology and Medicine. It has been my personal experience that when the government gets involved, inefficiency is the main result. Read more.

Soda: America's New "Tea"

Jeff Ivey

I love soda. I hate taxes. So it only makes sense that a proposal by Democrat's in Washington to raise taxes on non-diet soda and other sugary drinks nationally would catch my interest. And draw my strong opposition. Read more.

Government Ignores Rising Unemployment, Touts Accomplishment in Job Creation

David Yakobovitch

The global economic recession continues to plague the U.S. economy. Rising unemployment figures for America's part-time youth, middle-class families, and blue collar workers shows that the economic distress is worsening.Read more.

But Wait! There's More!

Johnathan Lott

We were all sobered last summer by the tragic passing of pitchman extraordinaire Billy Mays. It's a shame he couldn't be around to make the pitch for the Democratic health reform proposals. Read more.

Republicans Know a Thing or Two About Going Green, Too

Elizabeth Hebeler

Historically, the Republican Party has been environmentally conscious. Even as far back as 1906 Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act setting aside thousands of miles of land for conservation. Nixon is the reason we have the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Many other Republican presidents and representatives can be thanked for protecting our environment while passing legislation that furthers our traditional conservative ideals. Now that “Going Green” is popular – politicians on both sides are touting their efforts. Read more.

Beware Washington's Green Craze

Carly Wilson

When I was younger my mom was always harassing me about turning the lights off when I left the room, recycling bottles and containers and not taking a ten minutes long hot shower when a three minute cool one would suffice. Is she a crazed eco-advocate screaming about saving the polar bears and not eating any animal by-products? No, she was a republican promoting one of the age-old tenants of conservatism: fiscal responsibility. Read more.

The True Environment Cost of Recycling

Christine DiPietro

On average, curbside recycling costs 35 to 55 percent more than just disposing of the garbage, and is an industry that costs taxpayers $8 billion a year. It's a price that, though detrimental to the economy, might be worth it if we received some great environmental gain. However, there is a big truth that no one seems to be telling us: we don't. Read more.

Examining the Current Financial Crisis

Chris Depaolo

House Financial Services Committee hearing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Sept. 10, 2003:

“I worry, frankly, that there's a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios.” –Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass)

These are the words of the current Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a committee which oversees all components of the nation's housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities. Frank was one of many who failed to see the looming crisis in the financial system which erupted in 2007. In fact, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not fundamentally sound financially and were placed into conservatorship by the federal government in 2008. The collapse of the mortgage market began a chain reaction which has spread to global financial markets and has pushed the U.S. economy into a long and deep recession. Read more.

Actions Overtake Rhetoric

Morgan Long

President Obama fostered an unbreakable connection with the liberal base of his party, by his articulate and charismatic character. His favorable popularity swelled to 68% in his first few days in office, this only trails that of John F. Kennedy who had 72%.Read more.

The Current Administration on the International Stage: Man Up!

April Candelaria

When will the President realize that his campaign days are over? No one cares for “change” anymore because apparently “change” involves a show of weakness nearly unprecedented by such a prestigious and powerful officer. Brave men and women of war are being picked off and murdered while Barack Obama prances between talk shows and other worthless events. Can anyone justify why in the middle of this mess our president flew to Copenhagen to plead for the Olympics to be in his hometown?Read more.

The International Stage Has Been Appeased. President Obama, What About Us?

Jessica Chasmar

Obama's goal to be Mr. Popularity to the rest of the world has left me and a lot of Americans a little puzzled. Here in the U.S., the president has experienced the largest second- to third-quarter drop for an elected president since the '50s. And to most of moderate America and even the liberal media, his “Apology Tour” and “War on Fox News” is a joke. Read more.

U.S. International Policy: Point the Finger, Pass the Blame

Chelsea Poulin

It seems to me that quite a sizable amount of President Obama's campaign was aimed at pointing out the “mistakes” and “downfalls” that he and his party found in the platform of his predecessor. And by the law of association, these negative views and outcomes were also pinned on the Republican Party. Whether damning President Bush for making the difficult decision to invade Iraq, or promising to fix the economy (after making it clear it was neo-conservatism that had caused the crash), the focus of Obama and the Left has certainly been to sway the public opinion by means of the blame game. Nonetheless, we are several months into President Obama's term and it is high time to evaluate how our President has dealt with these issues. Read more.

The Real Middle East Crisis

Ryan Collipi

With all the upheavals regarding healthcare, and now with Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, the gaze of the world has unfortunately turned away from one of the few true crises of Obama's presidency. The hard-line position Bush favored in his foreign policy were dramatically discarded by the President who pledged to close Guantanamo Bay, bring our troops home, and negotiate peace throughout the world. It seems though that he has turned his back to a major risk in the Middle East. Read more.

Conservatism My Way

Abby Walton

As a 20-year-old college student, I've already got a pretty good grasp on what I want to do with my life. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a mother. I want to be a woman with a happy life. This seems simple enough, but when I discussed this with a friend of mine from back home in Indiana, she berated me as “old-fashioned,” “subservient” and “ruining the women's rights movement we worked so hard to achieve.” Simply put, I took great offense to this tirade because I feel, as a woman, I have every right to decide what I want to do with my life. If these feminists were to really demonstrate their beliefs on equality for women, they would respect my decision to follow in the footsteps of my mother and grandmother in becoming a teacher and putting my future family before the career I'm working so hard at UF to earn.Read more.