Florida Politics

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FLORIDA POLITICS

Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
"every political insider should be reading right now."

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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

Older posts [back to 2002]

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The Blog for Saturday, December 31, 2005

New Year's Eve News

A Deeper Hole

Bush tried Friday to strike a delicate balance in the burgeoning controversy over whether intelligent design should be taught in science classes, reaffirming his Catholic faith while insisting that his personal beliefs should not dictate the state's public-school standards.

But Bush also called for a "vigorous discussion of varying viewpoints in our classrooms" -- a rallying cry frequently used by supporters of intelligent design.

"A healthy debate of issues challenges our students' minds," Bush said in a statement issued by his office Friday morning.

In the five-paragraph statement, the Republican governor also said: "I am a practicing Catholic, and my own personal belief is God created man and all life on earth. However, I do not believe an individual's personal beliefs should be the basis for determining Florida's Sunshine State Standards."

Governor sees room to debate evolution

added that evolution should "absolutely" be part of science teachings, but he said there are gaps in the theory and he would want science teachers to allow discussions about creationism.

"What I would hope would happen is that science teachers would not feel compelled to exclude opening children's minds up to the fact that other people - a lot of people - have different views about the creation of life. I think that would be a healthy thing to have children understand, that it's not either/or, that it's not one way or the highway," Bush said.

Bush, who can't seek re-election because of term limits, will leave office in January 2007.

Bush: Let teachers choose curriculum

Silly

"Rep. Fred Brummer, R-Apopka, says anyone with the authority to collect property taxes ought to have to run for election, not be handed the job by the governor" "Bill would link tax charge to election".

Medicare

"Florida ranks above the national average in utilization of Medicare home health services. But the state lags behind the national average in services that support home care, particularly adult day care." "Long-term gains".

Tsk, Tsk Ronda

"Good-government activist Marilyn M. Smith filed a criminal complaint Friday against Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms over Storms' efforts to delay the opening of a Valrico bikini bar." "Storms Target In Bar Dispute". See also "Storms and the Bikini Bar".

Recall that the holier than thou Storms "has told Republican Party leaders she intends to run for the state Senate from east Hillsborough's 10th District". "Storms Plans Senate Bid, Insiders Say".

No

"Can you imagine Gov. Jeb Bush hiring a high-profile Democrat as his chief of staff?

"Six From Florida"

"Since 1999, 210 current members of Congress, including six from Florida, have accepted $4.4 million in contributions from Abramoff, SunCruz or the Indian tribes that hired him to promote gambling legislation, according to figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group tracking money in politics." "Abramoff plea deal could expose officials".

You'll Be Glad To Know ...

That "Floridians with $1 million in stock holdings, for instance, will now pay an intangibles tax of $375, down from $750 on the same holdings last year." "Dozen new state laws to take effect on Jan. 1". Now isn't that good, sound fiscal policy courtesy of the Florida GOP.