Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions

Thirteen countries, ranging from Brazil to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Austria, Estonia and Malta, already have voting ages under 18. The Council of Europe has urged its member countries to follow suit. In Canada, the federal NDP and Green Party publicly support a younger voting age. The federal Conservative, NDP and Liberal parties already allow members as young as 14 to vote in leadership contests.

A lot has changed since incumbent Emmanuel Macron captured the presidency in 2017 – with a global pandemic and a major conflagration in Europe topping the list. Yet the vote looks likely to be heading to another showdown between Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.

Cultures of honor require men to aggressively defend their reputations against insults or threats, and this imperative extends to protecting their spouses, children and property. While many people are quick to declare that “violence is never the answer,” for others violence is, in fact, the answer – and that’s due, in part, to honor culture being alive and well.

The Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933, also known as the “Holodomor”, has rapidly become a central component of Ukrainian identity. Today, 55% of Ukrainians understand the Holodomor as an artificial famine orchestrated by the Soviet authorities and directed against Ukrainians, a view held by just 5% percent of Russians.

“Academic freedom,” one university’s charter of freedoms reads, “is not a legal right, but rather a right or a privilege bestowed by an institution of higher learning. It might best be construed as an ethical right, insofar as it serves good ends: the advancement and dissemination of knowledge.”

Justice is supposed to be “blind.” But is race blindness always the best way to achieve racial equality? An algorithm to predict recidivism among prison populations is underscoring that debate.

Fortunately, none of these weapons have been used in war since the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But as recent events remind us, the risk of their use remains a frightening possibility.

Lower courts have mostly forbidden public school teachers from openly praying in the workplace, even if students are not involved. Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case from Washington state, scheduled for oral arguments on April 25, 2022, could usher in more religious activities by teachers and other staff in public schools.

Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 in response to a global oil crisis. Does it still serve a purpose, given that the U.S. exports more oil and other petroleum products than it imports?

The practice of grading, and ranking, students is so widespread as to seem necessary, even though many researchers say it is highly inequitable. Grades are demotivating, they don’t actually measure learning and they increase students’ stress.

The food industry is especially sensitive to the price of energy, more so than any other sector because petroleum is such a key component of its supply chain at every step of the way, from planting and harvesting through processing and packaging.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on with no apparent solution through international diplomacy, some commentators are wondering if an end of the conflict could come from Vladimir Putin’s removal from power in Russia.

The census missed counting 3.3% of Black Americans, 5.6% of American Indians or Alaskan Natives who live on reservations and 5% of people of Hispanic or Latino origin. This could mean missing about 1.4 million Black Americans; 49,000 American Indians or Alaskan Natives who live on reservations; and 3.3 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin.