Que Bueno

Re the previous post below on the Herald's new columnists, today was Jackie Bueno Sousa's first weekly column. In short, I like it. Some highlights:

One day, as I played outdoors with some friends, we came across two middle-aged men as they walked toward (Hialeah Race Track), passionately discussing the merits of several horses.

One of them, a portly, bearded man, was holding a stack of papers with each hand, the fingers of the right hand curled around a pencil. He'd clearly been doing a lot of research on the horses. The other, cleanshaven with brown hair slickly combed to the side, was trying to convince him to leave the paperwork behind.

''This is about luck,'' he was saying. ``Just go with your gut.''

My friends and I hung around outdoors most of the day and, after some time, I saw the two men again walking past us. Mr. Paperwork displayed a satisfied smile, while his companion looked grim.

''Were you lucky?'' I asked.

''Lucky?'' Mr. Paperwork repeated. ``Yes, I'm often lucky when I use my brain.''

That belief in man's power to foresee outcomes eventually would serve as a guide in much of what I would do later in life, as a writer for The Wall Street Journal, as editor of The Daily Business Review and The Miami Herald's Business Monday section, and even as a business owner.

...

I believe that Main Street is as responsible for the current economic crisis as Wall Street. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone; that NFL play rules are beginning to coddle quarterbacks; and that all elected officials should be subject to term limits. I believe that man really did land on the moon; that history will redeem George W. Bush; that life begins after conception but before birth; and that nature will destroy us before we destroy it.

I can see our liberal friends' heads beginning to explode, especially with the Bush-redemption comment. After all, they've been fed the usual Bush = Evil garbage for so long so I understand their shock to hear another point of view.

Anyway, it's refreshing to see personal responsibility and accountability emphasized so clearly in a Herald column. Please read the rest of the article here.