My friend Ryan is a great example of the Republican voter who is fiscally conservative but socially moderate. He is a smart, former federal prosecutor who loves the Wall Street Journal and believes the “market” has an inviolate wisdom that should be respected and even revered. But while he sometimes pokes fun at liberals, he …
This month Miami-Dade formally named the new children’s courthouse after my father, Judge Seymour Gelber and his long-time fellow judge, Bill Gladstone. For a decade as a state legislator, I had regularly asked my Dad if he would like the honor of having something named after him. But he always declined, declaring, “you don’t serve …
The Gelber-Gladstone Children’s Courthouse is Named Read More »
Last year at this time I updated you about the journey of my little brother, Travis Thomas. Travis had been abandoned at birth and was being raised by his great aunt when Big Brothers&Sisters matched us together 25 years ago. For his entire life, Travis lived in one of Miami’s more impoverished neighborhoods. Few kids …
UPDATE: Travis Makes the Grade(s)…Happy Holidays Read More »
Famed Miami defense lawyer Richard Sharpstein died yesterday. It was a great loss to his family, the legal profession and our community. Like many, I felt like I was a friend of Richard’s because he made so, so many people feel that way. He was clever, brilliant, insightful and, always, an original. As a federal …
My Dad, Seymour Gelber, was elected Mayor of Miami Beach in 1991, in the midst of a national tourism boycott of Miami-Dade County. It was sparked by the refusal of municipalities across Miami-Dade to honor Mandela during his visit here after his release from 27 years in South African prisons. During Mandela’s imprisonment Yasser Arafat …
This week Education Week announced its Quality Counts State Report Card. Florida received a “B-“ and was ranked 6th nationally so immediately the usual suspects engaged in the typical self adulation. I don’t relish being the guy that is constantly throwing cold water on the party, but a closer read of the report shows all …
Twenty-four years ago Big Brothers&Sisters matched me up with a 6-year-old little gap-toothed boy living in a poor Miami neighborhood I knew only as a place to avoid driving through. Travis, who had been abandoned, had bounced around relatives, eventually settling in with a great aunt. She became his primary caretaker and called on Big …
Today’s announcement that over 70% of Florida students failed the newly calibrated writing FCAT means either our school system has horrible problems teaching, or our Department of Education is filled with idiots. Either way, change is in order. Florida’s overemphasis on testing is insane. We have become a school system whose entire purpose seems to …
What follows is my blog post from a few years ago on Mother’s Day. I miss Mom and especially miss that my kids had only a few years of her great grace and wisdom. THINKING OF MOM At a luncheon last month, a woman asked me a question I have heard countless times before. “Are …
I first met Indiana Senator Dick Lugar 20 years ago. I was running the U.S. Senate’s investigation’s committee for my boss, then Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia. Nunn and Lugar were singularly focused on preparing our nation for the new type of security threat that was emerging from the ashes of the former Soviet Union. …
