Bush and his staff have lashed back at such criticism -- even calling [Judge] Farnell's threat to jail Hadi a ''temper tantrum'' in a comment to the St. Petersburg Times.

''It's unfortunate that Mr. Dillinger does not understand the budget process,'' Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said Friday.

said Friday that he plans to study whether he can target Bush with fines or contempt charges.

"He's the one who drives the ship," Farnell told the St. Petersburg Times. "I need to have somebody to apply the pressure to. I will do whatever I have to do to get these guys some relief."

Farnell is out of line, said Kristy Campbell, a Bush spokeswoman. "If this is true, it's dramatic overreaching by the judge, and it is absolutely disappointing he is not even trying to remain objective or appear to remain objective."

Florida has repeatedly failed to treat mentally ill people in a timely fashion, DCF is violating state law, and the agency conspired to ignore court orders.

The governor may want to chastise judges he sees as interfering in his own domain, but Bush and state lawmakers have failed to meet their statutory obligations. For the previous four years, as the number of inmates found incompetent to stand trial climbed by 34 percent, the number of available state mental health treatment beds increased by only 4 percent. Not until this year, when 87 beds were added, did the state even attempt to catch up. That is way too little, way too late. State law says that mentally incompetent people must be removed from jails within 15 days, but the average wait is roughly six times that amount.

This problem could have been resolved with a mere fraction of the $19-billion in tax cuts Bush claims to have produced in his tenure as governor. Instead, the governor kept ignoring the warnings from sheriffs, prosecutors, public defenders and judges. In his initial budget recommendation for this year, he actually requested less money for mental health programs.

CD 13 Update

"A new round of tests on Sarasota's embattled touch-screen voting machines failed to produce any major findings Friday. ... The state audit will take weeks to complete. In addition to the tests of the machines, state workers will be reviewing paperwork and inspecting the hardware and software used in the voting machines." "Voting-machine findings won't end battle". See also "Second vote test mirrors first".

And here's a regular laff riot, courtesy of Florida's own "Howdy Doody-Looking Nimrod": "Putnam calls on Jennings to concede"

Remember the Sarasota Revote Rally this Sunday, December 3.

NIST Report

Seems Ion Sancho was way ahead of the curve. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department, has issued its "Draft Report on Voting System Vulnerability":

the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a draft report that was roundly critical of the touch-screen voting machines used in much of the nation, including Florida, because their results cannot be independently verified.

Unlike an optical scan ballot, which is read by a machine, there is no way to sit down and manually count votes recorded by an electronic system - instead, it only records what its software tells it to.

Giving voters a paper receipt confirming their choices is also no panacea, because the receipt only shows what the computer registered. A rogue programmer also could rig an election, the report said.

"Simply put, the ... inability to provide for independent audits of its electronic records makes it a poor choice for an environment in which detecting errors and fraud is important," the report said.

Charlie Begins Term With Hands Out To Lobbyists

Not a great way for our new Governor to begin his term: "Governor-elect Charlie Crist wants to raise at least $2 million to $3 million to pay for his inauguration events around the state and is relying on lobbyists to help him." "Crist turns to lobbyists for help".

There are questions as to whether Crist is sidestepping Florida's nearly year-old ban on gifts from lobbyists and whether his transition team is following other state laws regarding prompt disclosure of who's helping him out.

The 2007 Florida Inaugural Committee has obtained a legal opinion from the lead attorney for the Florida Commission on Ethics that the arrangement is legal despite a state law that prohibits lobbyists or their clients from buying meals or providing gifts of any amount to state elected officials and their staffs.

Charlie "Light On Specifics"

"Gov.-elect Charlie Crist doesn't know all the specifics on how to solve the state's homeowners insurance problem, but expressed confidence Friday that lawmakers will be productive in a special session to address the crisis." "Gov.-elect Charlie Crist light on specifics, but insurance top issue". See also "Governor-elect ready to face insurance crisis", "Crist's priorities: Insurance reform sits at top of his list" and "Crist: Lower windstorm rates is goal".

"Anti-Murder" [sic] Must Wait

"Gov.-elect Charlie Crist hasn't even been sworn in and the scoreboard already reads: Legislature 1, Crist 0. Crist stuck out earlier this week when he tried to convince House and Senate leaders to put his 'anti-murder' bill on the agenda of a Jan. 16 special legislative session called to deal with a property insurance crisis." "Gov.-elect Crist loses first battle".

Charlie's Crew

As expected—at least by reporters who covered Charlie Crist’s campaign for governor—the governor-elect has named his campaign’s communications director, Vivian Myrtetus, and campaign press secretary, Erin Isaac, to the same positions in the governor’s office. In addition, the Crist transition also announced today that Chanta Combs, the campaign’s policy director, and Kelley Smith, the campaign’s scheduler, will also take those same positions in the governor’s office. "Crist Names Office Staff Members".

Smith, who was director of scheduling for the campaign, will assume that role for the governor-elect. Combs, who once worked as assistant general counsel and deputy policy director for Gov. Jeb Bush, was policy director for the Crist campaign, while Myrtetus was Crist's campaign press secretary and Isaac was deputy press secretary for the campaign.

Pruitt Under Oath

"Senate President Ken Pruitt testified Thursday about his connections - or lack thereof - to defendants in an ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by a fellow Republican lawmaker. The new presiding officer was interviewed under oath in Port St. Lucie by the lawyer for Punta Gorda state Rep. Paige Kreegel, who has sued the Florida Home Builders and other political operatives in 2005 over an attack mailer sent to voters in his district." "Sen. Pruitt testifies in defamation case".

Chain Gang Charlie Opposed To Shackling

Go figure: "Shackling of juvenile suspects is wrong, Crist says".

GOP Pushes Drilling; Mel AWOL

"With just one week left before they relinquish control, Republican leaders of the U.S. House plan to vote Tuesday on a bill to open some of the waters off the Florida Panhandle to oil and gas exploration." You see, the "They fear the issue will die once they lose control of the House." Why? Well, "Democrats [are] generally are less favorable to drilling. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opposes it outright."."GOP leads push to open gulf drilling". See also "House to vote on Senate's drill bill". See also "House to vote on drilling bill" and "House to vote next week on Gulf drilling".

Thank goodness Florida is graced with Senator Mel Martinez as the incoming RNC Chair. Surely Mel will step up to the plate on Florida's behalf and pull the impressive strings now at his disposal and put a stop to all this. Shucks, Seems Mel's AWOL again.

The Ethics Thing

"The Florida Commission on Ethics on Friday approved a lengthy list of changes it would like state lawmakers to make during the 2007 regular session. The draft of legislation includes recommendations to require the governor and Cabinet members to place investments in a blind trust, expand the list of people who must file financial disclosures, impose penalties on executive branch lobbyists who lie, and flatly prohibit county and municipal officials from even discussing something if they have a conflict. The commission expressed concerns that officials were abstaining from a vote on conflicts, but they still were discussing the matter with fellow elected officials." "Ethics Commission has wish list for lawmakers". See also "A question of trust".

Bloggers Heart Jennings

"Liberals flex muscles to raise money, awareness of 13th District fight." "Bloggers step up for Jennings".

RPOF "Style"

"The Florida House's GOP members get to know one another during a retreat at a lavish resort." "Republicans break ice in style".

Byrd Speaks

"Face facts: Institute needs an overhaul".

Allegations Denied

"A Boca Raton company owned by Venezuelans denied allegations it evaded U.S. taxes and paid a bribe to secure a contract in Venezuela to supply electronic voting machines." "Voting machine firm denies tax, bribery allegations".

Gallagher Charges

"Gallagher has rejected a proposed settlement of the case, and a trial before state administrative law judge Barbara Staros is scheduled for Jan. 19." "Gallagher still fighting ethics charges".

House Speaker Marco Rubio, whose new book faults government for spending too much money, has created new high-paying jobs for two Republican allies.

Rubio hired Gov. Jeb Bush's former budget director, Donna Arduin, as a $10,000-a-month consultant. She starts work today.

A former House member, Republican Ken Sorensen of Key Largo, started three weeks ago at a salary of $100,008. ...

In other personnel moves, Rubio named Richard Corcoran, 41, as chief of staff. A former partner in a Crystal River law firm bearing his name, Corcoran had worked the past two years for the Republican Party of Florida.

Corcoran will earn $175,212 a year.

Transition To "The New Darling of the Homosexual Extremists"

If you need to know who is on the transition team for, as the incoming RNC Chair calls him, "The New Darling of the Homosexual Extremists", see "McCollum's Transition".

CD 13 Developments

- The "Audit": "State elections officials concluded Thursday that human error caused discrepancies in a simulated election staged Tuesday, after viewing hours of videotapes of elections workers casting ballots." "State: Workers erred in testing". See also "Human errors found in vote test".

- Report - Reliable Audit An "Impossibility"?: In a related development, Division of Elections spokeswoman Jenny "Nash also took exception to doubts cast on the audit by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has ripped the reliability and security of electronic voting machines that lack voter-verified paper records."

The agency's preliminary report, which leaked to an Internet blog on Wednesday, does not specifically address the ES&S machines in Sarasota. Instead, it outlines problems with such "software-dependent" machines - in particular, the inability to guard sufficiently against error or fraud and the virtual impossibility of reliably auditing the results.

The NIST experts said they have no idea how one could write "testable requirements" that could make such machines secure. From this point on, their report advises, states and counties should not purchase electronic voting machines lacking an independent paper trail or comparable independent recording system of votes.

Nash defended the reliability of the state's audit of Sarasota's machines, in which experts monitored videotapes of the votes that testers cast and compared them with the machine results. "If there is an error in any of the sets, that would be evident."

Jennings added the Election Systems & Software company to her lawsuit against the state in an effort to gain access to the source code of the election machine computers. Examining the code "is necessary to determine conclusively the cause of the massive undervote in Sarasota County," according to her lawsuit.

Coming To Theater's Soon - Stem Cells

"The Florida Supreme Court is already considering whether to approve the language of a proposed constitutional amendment to promote state-funded stem cell research; now it will also consider one banning stem cell research." "Court To Consider Anti-Stem Cell Research Amendment". See also "Justices get 2nd stem cell amendment".

The St Pete Times observes that "The state Supreme Court is weighing dueling constitutional initiatives for legal clarity. If both get on the ballot - well, you know Florida voters." "We could ban stem cell research - and require it".

What About Pruitt?

The editors over at the Orlando Sentinel, among others, have no problems chastizing the Speaker of the U.S. House: "Ms. Pelosi stumbled out of the gate when she endorsed her ethically challenged friend John Murtha of Pennsylvania to be the House's majority leader." "Hastings not right for post".

Yet, the Sentinel has been strangely silent about the ethically challenged politicos closer to home, say the problems of Senate President Pruitt (Today's Florida Political News - Pruitt Hides Behind Lawyer's Skirts). And you would think the Sentinel and other papers would be outraged at this: "Reporters not welcome at Pruitt deposition".

And Then There's Jim Davis

"It's only fitting, really, that outgoing Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa would spend his final days in Congress on this: Trying to stop off-shore oil drilling." "One More Time".

Class Size Working

As noted yesterday ("And We Can Still See The Sun"), more "than 90 percent of traditional public schools in Florida are meeting tougher new requirements to cap class sizes, but charter schools are lagging behind, a new state report shows." "Most schools hit class-size mark". I must have missed Jebbie's press conference on this.

Charlie Speaks

"Crist says insurance companies should understand that he expects lower windstorm insurance rates, not just smaller increases, after Florida lawmakers complete a package of insurance reforms next year." "Crist: Lower windstorm rates, not just smaller hikes, is goal". See also "Special session to cover insurance". The Tallahassee Democrat urges "No Band-Aids" ("Crist presumably has already taken note of the dereliction of the 2006 Legislature, which passed an inadequate law before calling it quits earlier this year.")

McCain In Miami

"The Republican Governors Association is prime opportunity for chairman and likely '08 presidential candidate Mitt Romney to shine and schmooze influence GOP leaders. But Sen. John McCain isn't letting the opportunity pass either. He's hosting a reception for the GOP governors tonight in Miami Lakes. Charlie Crist will be there, Jeb Bush won't." "McCain courts Republicans in Miami".

Privatization Follies

"While Florida proceeds with its privatization experiment, a new report by a nonpartisan think tank suggests that handing off government health services to for-profit corporations results in higher costs." "Spending more through privatization". See also "Care and profit" ("The state's plan to hand off mental-health care to for-profit companies will soon take full effect in Volusia and Flagler counties, and many local leaders are worried. With good reason.")

Charlie The "Rock Star"

"Republican Charlie Crist flouted the national anti-GOP current that helped the Democratic Party pick up six governorships and gain its first majority in governors' offices since 1994. 'Everyone has been talking about him,' state Rep. David Rivera said of Crist. 'He's the rock star who bucked the national trend, and everyone wants to hear about the secret to his success.'" "Crist stands out at GOP governors' conference". See also "Bush hosts Republican Governors Association".

Public Records

"Governor-elect Charlie Crist has been talking about bringing a commitment to open government to the governor's office, and he's making good on that pledge with one of his planned hires. Pat Gleason, currently general counsel in the attorney general's office and a renowned expert and advocate for public access to government records, will be working on cabinet affairs in the the governor's office, Crist said Thursday." "Pat Gleason going to governor's office".

'Nuff Said

"'Try not to date your aide'".

"Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus "

"The Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus will hold its winter conference in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend _ which is conjunction with the winter board meeting of the National Stonewall Democrats _ and the group says the event will feature gay and gay-friendly winners of elections this year." "Gay and Gay Friendly Democrats to meet".

The Prez Thing

"Crist says he’s inclined in favor of moving Florida’s primary to an earlier date, but doesn’t have a position yet on whether the Republican Party should hold a presidential preference straw poll, as party officials have planned to do." "Crist Likes Earlier Primary, No Stand On Straw Poll".

"Watch The Dollars"

"During the last legislative session, a large warning sign flashed for those who were paying attention to Medicaid managed care, a sign that more tax dollars might be diverted into private pockets, rather than paying for needed care. Companies get paid a set rate for every patient they take responsibility for. And for patients who rely on Medicaid to cope with mental illness, Florida law requires that companies spend at least 80 percent of that money on actual services such as mental-health counseling, prescription drugs and case management." "Watch the dollars".

The Last Gasps of Bushco

"The governor has rounded up his dad, former President George H.W. Bush, to speak at the final forum he'll host before leaving office next month. Over six years, Gov. Bush has used his connections to put state workers and students in front of corporate CEOs, sports icons, celebrities and national political dignitaries with the intent of injecting new ideas into government." "Bush to host a family affair".

By the Way, Immigrant Bashing Tancredo's A Republican

Tampa Trib: "The city of Miami has its challenges, but it is hardly a "Third World country," as U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo labeled it the other day. The Colorado Republican is said to be planning a run for the presidency, but take away his xenophobic rhetoric and his cheap shots at immigrants and he has almost nothing to say." "Tancredo's Narrow View". Strange, the Trib failed to mention he was a Republican.

Toni Who?

Remember Toni Jennings? To the extent you care what she has been up to: "'Florida has truly been blessed this year. It was our turn,' Jennings said at a press conference in a largely empty state Emergency Operations Center." "Jennings bids adieu to hurricane season".

Same Old, Same Old

"The first wave of would-be laws has been filed ahead of the Legislature's 2007 session, and there are plenty of familiar ideas." "What's Old is New Again".

The coordinated announcement by Bush, Crist and the Republican leaders of the two legislative chambers also appeared intended to stave off criticism over legislation signed by Bush earlier this year that opened the door for insurance companies to raise their rates. Democrats had been demanding a special session by next month.

CD 13 Update

"Wednesday, [the auditors] reviewed the scripts to make sure they matched the ballot data retrieved from Election Day. They found no script errors in the Buchanan-Jennings race. Workers then began reviewing hours of videotape in search of any mistakes made by the mock voters Tuesday. When they quit for the day, they had made it through about 10 percent of the tape. ... More testing is scheduled for Friday." "Under video review: Re-enacted voting". See also "Initial voting machine audit shows marginally different results".

The Washington Post has a good overview of developments thus far in "Vote Disparity Still a Mystery In Fla. Election For Congress".

Meanwhile, the influential Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, argues that

Congress needs to find out exactly what happened to the 18,000 undervotes in the 13th District race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings. Buchanan was certified the winner by 369 votes, but the unusually high undervote has prompted Jennings to challenge the results in court.

"We need to know what happened to those 18,000 votes," Sabato said.

anxious to inject themselves into the legal dispute between Jennings and Buchanan.

Federal law gives Pelosi, as House Speaker, the power to seat Jennings over Buchanan, citing the disputed election. But political experts say such a move would be toxic politically for her relationship with the GOP.

When Democrats sat a Democrat over a Republican in a disputed election in the early 1980s, the bad will from the move lingered for years afterward and made it hard for the parties to work on anything, said former U.S. Rep. Bill Paxon, R-N.Y.

Sabato said he doubts Pelosi would want to start the Democrats' first week in power in a dozen years in such a partisan way.

Pelosi's spokesman said the California Democrat is watching the legal process in Sarasota, but isn't prepared to comment further on what she will do on Jan. 4, the first day of the new Congress.

Totaling the outcomes from the three congressional districts found inside Polk, Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards said there were about 5,000 undervotes. That’s a useful comparison to Sarasota County, which has only one district, because the total number of voters who went to the polls in both counties was nearly identicial, Edwards said.

Polk County uses paper ballots, on which voters darken ovals and then submit them to an optical scan counting machine. The machine is set to spit back undervotes only if an entire ballot is left blank, Edwards said. An undervote in an individual race does not get questioned. So it is no harder to undervote in Polk County than in Sarasota, which uses touchscreen machines without a paper receipt.

Polk’s system, purchased for the 2000 election, has operated remarkable free of problems since then.

Underwritten By Lobbyists

"The Republican Party of Florida is picking up the tab for the retreat, the cost offset by contributions by lobbyists who are underwriting some of the dinners." "Florida Republicans meet at coastal resort".

Cashing In

"One of the key architects of Florida's sweeping ban on gifts from lobbyists has officially joined their ranks. Former state Rep. Dudley Goodlette of Naples, who left office this month due to Florida's term-limit law, has been hired by Southern Strategy Group as an executive-branch lobbyist and 'strategic advisor' on legislative issues." "Goodlette, champion of ban on gifts, to become lobbyist".

Not So Fast On Barreiro

Barreiro touted as head of Juvenile Justice". Some, however, have "qualms about his potential selection".

A "Return to the Paper Era"?

"When hanging chads and Palm Beach County's "butterfly ballot" put the kibosh on punch-card voting six years ago, Florida's elections chiefs ventured boldly into the new frontier of paperless electronic voting."

Now they are preparing - reluctantly - for a possible return to the paper era.

Amid the uproar over blank electronic votes in a tight congressional race in Sarasota County and the prospect of "paper-trail" legislation from Washington and Tallahassee, elections supervisors meeting here this week say paperless voting appears to be on its way out.

Wingnut Wars; Mel AWOL

It is funny to see the wingnuts go after each other; in this case Jebbie and a fellow right winger (who one suspects agree on the vast majority of things). Recall that Republican Colorado Congressman

Tancredo, who has championed building a fence along the border with Mexico, pointed to Miami as an example of what could happen to the United States if immigration policies are not tightened. He said of Miami in an interview with a conservative online news site, "You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."

Bush said the remarks were "naive" ... .

Republicans took a drubbing among Hispanics this year. From George Bush's 40% share in 2004, the Republicans managed only to garner only 30% this year. Just think what that means in the context of huge growth in the numbers Hispanic voters. For 2008 that could mean a decline of 1.3 million Hispanic Republican votes in elections that have been won and lost by mere hundreds and thousands of votes. The impact could be particularly significant in such key competitive states like Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, and Colorado, all of which include large Hispanic populations.

One key factor in Hispanic disillusionment for Republicans has been the party's right wing pushing for a tough position on illegal immigration. In the Zogby International post-election poll of 903 Hispanic adults, only 29% polled said they feel that the Republicans are better equipped to handle immigration. Twice as many favored the Democrats. More ominously for the GOP, only 30% said the Republicans represent the values they hold dearest.

And We Can Still See The Sun

"The vast majority of Florida's public schools are meeting class-size reduction limits this academic year, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. ... The class size amendment was passed through a citizen initiative over opposition from Gov. Jeb Bush. He had argued that it would be too expensive." "State: Most schools meeting class size requirements".

Remember how Jebbie hysterically claimed that "if voters actually had the gall to demand smaller classes, the cost would 'blot out the sun.'" "Voters have some nerve telling Jeb what to do".

That's our "Jeb!", wrong, yet again.

In the Meantime, Jebbie's cherished "Charter schools struggle with class size".

Has It Come To This?

I mean really, do we have to give Pruitt (a pol of dubious standards himself "(Pruitt Hides Behind Lawyer's Skirts)") massive props for doing the obvious? The Tampa Trib apparently thinks so, as it writes editorials like this: "Pruitt Makes Encouraging Stand".

Blind Trust

"The Florida Commission on Ethics wants to require the governor and four other statewide elected officials to put their stock holdings in a blind trust before taking office to avoid potential conflicts of interest." "Blind trusts urged for leaders' stocks".

The W.D. Effect

"The former chief judge of the 1st District Court of Appeal resigned as its leader last month amid complaints about court management and personal relations among the members, according to documents obtained Wednesday through a public records request. Charles J. Kahn drew a colleague's public criticism earlier this year over his role in a decision upholding former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers' bribery conviction. Kahn denied having a conflict of interest in the case, although he is a former law partner of a close friend of Childers." "Chief resigns after other appellate judges complain".

More From The "Values" Crowd

"The state agency that pays private attorneys to represent indigent clients has been broke since Nov. 9. Its ramifications threaten to backlog an already overburdened court system statewide. Attorneys aren't getting paid and some Broward County court-reporting agencies are refusing to transcribe depositions until they get the money they're owed." "State agency runs out of money to pay lawyers representing indigents".

Pastor Rejected For Doubting That "Christ hated caring 'liberals'"

Mike Thomas explores the Rev. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of North Church in Longwood, Florida (See "Florida pastor won't take national post" and "Missed chance for Coalition"). Thomas writes that "Unfortunately, the religious right has become so closely tied to conservative Republican politics that biblical and political principles have merged. Hence, anything that might be considered a liberal political position becomes unacceptable."

That is why the Christian Coalition, which approached Hunter about leading the organization, changed its mind. The group could not accept some of his "liberal" beliefs.

"If you care about the environment or justice or AIDS or poor people, all of a sudden you are a liberal, and liberals are the enemies," Hunter says. "The compassion issues of Christ have been tagged as liberal issues. It is the reverse of what it ought to be."

Earlier Florida Primary?

"Florida voters were among the nation's most important in picking the new president in 2000 and 2004 - but they had no say in picking the nominees."

Florida's comparatively late primary dates meant the presidential nominees in both parties were decided before Florida voters went to the polls in mid-March.

That may change drastically in 2008 for two big reasons.

First, there is strong sentiment among state legislators, led by incoming state House Speaker Marco Rubio, to move the state's presidential primary. That could make Florida the biggest, most demographically representative state with an early primary.

Second, the state Republican Party has announced it will revive the Florida tradition of holding a presidential straw poll at its state convention next fall.

The Federal Election Commission has dropped a long-standing investigation of Sen. Mel Martinez after finding no evidence that the Florida Republican illegally coordinated 2004 political ads with President Bush.

The decision ends a two-year inquiry into allegations that Martinez helped Bush's re-election bid by using the same advertising firm to synchronize TV and radio commercials -- a violation of election law.

FEC officials would not comment on that audit, although letters between the agency and the Martinez campaign show the commission has questioned debt incurred during his Senate run, in which Martinez raised more than $12 million.

CD 13 Audit

"A state test of voting machines in Sarasota failed to resolve the mystery of the missing 18,000 votes in the tightly contested congressional race between Democrat Christine Jennings and Republican Vern Buchanan."

State officials said late Tuesday they found no major glitches in four spare machines they tested in a mock election.

The test was set up to see if workers using a prepared script on how to vote on each race could duplicate the results found on four real machines used on Election Night.

But there were still no clues about why a high number of voters -- more than 18,000 -- did not have votes recorded in the Buchanan-Jennnings race on Election Day.

Tuesday's test was a warm-up for a more important event Friday, when workers will repeat the test with machines actually used in precincts on Election Day.

The results of the test varied from Election Day totals by five votes, but it was unclear what that meant. Jennings' camp said it suggested the machines were fallible; Buchanan's team said the differing numbers proved nothing.

Today, officials will review videotapes of the tests -- to ensure testers selected the correct candidates -- and the scripts that the testers worked from. At first blush, the five-vote variance didn't alarm state election officials.

Sentinel review of undervotes last week found that the group of voters who registered no choice in the congressional election overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates in the five statewide races.

And Tuesday, Stanford University professor David Dill said his examination of ballot data supported that conclusion.

Dill, an electronic-voting expert, found that 5,304 people whose ballots showed no selection in the congressional race voted a straight Democratic ticket on the five statewide races. He found that 3,290 voted straight Republican.

"Something's going on there," Dill said. "But I'm not sure what yet."

Dill has argued for an independent audit of the machines, saying the state inspection will only answer some of the questions plaguing the election. Jennings has asked a judge to allow her team to conduct its own examination.

said Tuesday she still wants an independent audit of the voting machines and is prepared for a long fight if necessary.

"I am here to say I will never give up until we truly, to the best of our ability, know what happened," she said. "I will not let the voters down."

GOP Phone Rate Increase Scam An Abject Failure

Remember this silly piece of Legislation?

Florida lawmakers and regulators said in 2003 that BellSouth Corp. customers could pay an additional $3.16 each month in a rate hike phased in over three years as part of a bid to get other companies to sell local phone service. ... in the fall of 2005, BellSouth raised rates by $1.13 a month, an increase for residential consumers of 10 percent to 14 percent.

State utility regulators are required to tell the governor and lawmakers each year how much competition exists between companies that sell local telephone service and whether consumers can get that service at rates comparable to those of BellSouth, Embarq, Verizon and other dominant local phone companies.

"The promise of competition hasn't occurred. In fact, it is declining," said Mike Twomey, a Tallahassee-based consumer attorney who represented the AARP in challenging the hike. "If you look at the numbers in terms of actual competitors out there and the number of people they are serving, they peaked and then started sliding off."

Hastings Dissed

As Ray noted yesterday, "Hastings Won't Chair Intelligence Committee". Today's coverage: "Pelosi won't name Hastings chairman of House Intelligence Committee" "".

The affable Alcee's response:

"You win some, you lose some, and some you get rained out," Hastings said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post. He added that, although he would "not be in the starting lineup, I will still be in the game." ...

"Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet," he said later.

Hastings said he would not disclose details of his conversation with Pelosi. He acknowledged, however, that his impeachment was the reason she would not name him chairman.

Whatever

"Freshman class learning about life in the Legislature". See also "Florida Republicans gather for 'member training' retreat".

More Harris?

"The item in Roll Call, a Washington-based insider newsletter on congressional doings, was intriguing—Katherine Harris wants her old House seat back." "Harris Denies Interest In House Seat".

Back To South Florida

Jebbie will be regrouping in Coral Gables, in a "high-end building, with million-dollar plus apartments and just one unit per floor." "Jeb Bush will move into Gables condo". See also "Jeb moving on up".

Christian Coalition "Values" Don't Include Poverty?

The New York Times picks up on the story previously reported and editorialized about by the Orlando Sentinel ("Missed chance for Coalition"): "The Florida clergyman in line to be the next president of the Christian Coalition of America, which long served as a model for activism for the religious right, has stepped down, saying the group had resisted his efforts to broaden its agenda to include reducing poverty and fighting global warming." "Florida pastor won't take national post".

Drug Survey

"Each year, the state has conducted a "Youth Substance Abuse Survey," this year involving more than 57,000 kids in sixth through 12th grades, who are asked if they have smoked, drank or taken any illegal drugs in the past month." Although the "survey shows drug use among Florida teens still less than it was at the turn of the decade, but stubbornly refusing to budge lower. ... the use of anti-depressants and other pharmaceuticals continues to rise, particularly among girls. Six years ago, 1.5 percent of girls surveyed reported using depressants in the past 30 days. In 2006, that had increased to 2.8 percent." "Survey: Teen drug use holding steady". See also ""Gov. Bush: Teen illegal drug use declines in Florida"." and "Survey: More kids using depressants".

Revote Rally

"Some groups sound as if they already know that an audit of some of Sarasota's touch screen voting machines, following a dramatic rate of undervotes in a congressional race, won't end the mystery. So they have announced plans for a "revote rally" for next Sunday. Common Cause, People for the American Way Foundation, VoterAction and the ACLU are sponsoring the rally, to be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bayfront Park in Sarasota. Other organizers include VoteTrustUSA and the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections." "A 'revote rally' in Sarasota".

More From The "Values" Crowd

"[Y]ou would think that public universities -- especially each state's flagship school, such as the University of Florida -- would be devoting more dollars to helping students who are least able to pay. You would be wrong."

The University of Florida was among universities receiving an "D" overall grade in the Education Trust study. It was given a "D" in minority access; an "F" in low-income access but a "B" in helping enrolled minorities.

Acting on a request from The News-Journal by higher-education reporter Mark Harper, Education Trust calculated grades for three other Florida universities. The University of Central Florida and Florida State University both received overall grades of "D," while the University of South Florida received a "C." All troubling assessments.

There's more disturbing news from the study. These universities are spending more money to recruit high-income students, including offering more financial aid. From 1995-2003, aggregate grant aid from these universities for students with household incomes under $20,000 decreased 13 percent from $196 million to $171 million. For households with more than $100,000 in income, aggregate aid increased during that period 406 percent, from $50.8 million to $206.5 million. For incomes between $80,000 and $99,999, the increase was 484.5 percent to $147.3 million.

Buchanan CoS

"Republican Congressman-almost elect Vern Buchanan has tapped for his chief of staff Dave Karvelas, who for 10-years had been the top aide to Republican Nancy Johnson, a prominent moderate CT congresswoman who lost re-election this year." "Buchanan names chief of staff". See also "Buchanan names chief of staff".

Lobbyist Disclosure Fight To Continue

"Now that the main legislative defenders of a lobbyist pay-disclosure law are out of power, will their replacements continue the fight? The early indication from Senate President Ken Pruitt is yes." "Pruitt likely to continue defense of lobbyist law".

Grubbing for Patronage

Current DJJ secretary Anthony Schembri in the wake of the Anderson scandal may be on the way out. "Former Rep. Barreiro would "love" DJJ job".

"Surprise" Citizens' Reversal on Rates

"The chairman of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is calling on the state legislature to repeal the law it passed on the last day of the session that mandates another rate hike for Citizens policyholders on March 1. The surprise reversal by Bruce Douglas, who heads the largest insurer in the state, puts more pressure on the legislature to have a special session in January to address remaining insurance problems. Waiting until the regular session, which starts in March, would be too late for Citizens policyholders, as the increase would have taken effect. Something has to be done now because policyholders are being forced out of their homes, Douglas said." Meanwhile, "legislative leaders did not return calls seeking comment Monday." "Citizens exec: Junk required hike".

Charlie and Mel

William March writes that "U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, the new national party chairman, is a religious conservative devoted to right-to-life issues and tightly allied with the Bush brothers, the party's leading religious conservatives." Nothing surprising there. He continues, "Gov.-elect Charlie Crist is a moderate populist who doesn't advocate action on hot-button social issues and has declared independence of the Bushes." "Crist, Martinez Mark Party's Divide, Path To Unity".

Huh? Charlie's campaign (particularly in the primary) was, if nothing else, little more than I'm just like Jebbie; Charlie's message, sometimes sub rosa and sometimes explicit was clear: "we've got to stay this course". To characterize Charlie as some sort of independent thinker who "has declared independence of the Bushes" does not cut it.

And how about this remark by John McCain: "Crist's win during an anti-Republican wave, McCain said, would make him 'the next generation of leadership of the United States of America' and 'a player on the national stage.'". We can only hope.

Rubio Publicity Stunt

Media darling Rubio announces his first official publicity stunt

While a special session dealing with property insurance has been delayed until at least January, House Speaker Marco Rubio plans to hold a three-day "conference on property insurance'' next week. One day will be dedicated to experts discussing the scope of hurricanes and the history of property insurance, while a second day will dedicated to group workshops to discuss insurance issues while the final day will be "idea day."

CD 13 "Audit"

"For 12 hours today, state elections officials will try to re-create a slice of Sarasota County's controversial Election Day."

"It's like having Ford employees doing all the test driving of the Taurus to see what went wrong," said Jennings' attorney, Kendall Coffey, of the state's plans to have its employees conduct the mock voting.

Because the state approved the type of equipment used in the election, it has an interest in seeing the audit reveal no unusual problems, Coffey said.

problems are not limited to touch-screen machines: Here in Volusia County, many still remember how, in the early hours of vote-counting for the 2000 presidential election, Democratic candidate Al Gore at one point showed negative 16,022 votes. But when technology went haywire, Volusia County had paper ballots to recount. Sarasota County does not.

Legislators can spare other Floridians the courtroom brawls and crippling uncertainty of another botched election -- by mandating paper trails in other counties and only finalizing elections after electronic machine tallies have been verified, when necessary, by hand recounts.

The Sarasota County debacle proves, once again, that Florida voters aren't using the best technology. It's difficult to understand why state officials keep arguing for less reliable means of vote-counting.

GOP Leader Insults Miami

Will someone explain why Cubans put up with GOP garbage like this?

In South Florida to attend Restoration Weekend, a gathering of conservative activists, [Rep. Tom Tancredo] the Colorado Republican, whose district includes suburbs of Denver, pointed to Miami as an example of how "the nature of America can be changed by uncontrolled immigration," the story says.

"Look at what has happened to Miami," the WorldNetDaily quotes Tancredo as saying in an interview. "It has become a Third World country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."

The remarks drew an instant rebuke from Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who called Tancredo "flat out wrong" and extended an invitation for him to come and judge the city for himself.

Who Knew?

The Palm Beach Post advises that Congressfolk "Klein and Mahoney crossed Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi by supporting Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer for majority leader over Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, the Iraq pullout advocate and unindicted Abscam figure."

Dems Fight For Paper Trail

"Though Gov. Jeb Bush has opposed legislation in Florida mandating the paper records, fellow Republican Charlie Crist, who succeeds Bush in January, has expressed vague support. South Florida Democrats including state House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, and state Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Fort Lauderdale, said they expect to lead the effort in Tallahassee to require that voting machines deliver paper proof of a vote. Ring called it 'absolutely unconscionable that we can't seem to get this [vote-counting] right in Florida.'" "Democrats renew drive for paper trail in voting".

Keller

After his genuflection to Mel the other day, Scott Maxwell redeems himself a bit in this (easy) shot at Ric [sic] Keller (who always seems to be leading with his chin anyway); Maxwell writes that

in politics, where promises often last only as long as a roll of toilet paper (and are roughly equal in value), there is an art to breaking your word.

And Ric Keller proved to be a professional in this genre last week.

Keller, you see, vowed to serve four terms and then leave Congress. U.S. Term Limits, a national advocacy group that promotes such restrictions, said he even signed a pledge.

No one forced Keller to do this. He volunteered to do so in 2000 when he was an upstart candidate who figured signing the contract would earn some good publicity. It did, helping Keller eke out a 50.8 percent victory that year.

But with his inaugural victory long behind him, Keller announced last week that he was reneging on his pledge. He said he made a mistake as a "rookie candidate" and had subsequently discovered the value of tenure.

His excuse may have rung hollow. But his timing was quite smart. He announced his broken promise just a few days after his last election and long before his next one.

Mahoney

Tim Mahoney's chief of staff will be

Charles Halloran, who joined the underdog Mahoney campaign against Foley in June as a general consultant. Halloran helped direct the negative ad strategy that already had lopped 11 points off Foley's approval rating before the scandal hit.

Halloran has worked for a long list of Dems going back to former Veep Walter Mondale and also has ties to maverick Republican consultant Roger Stone. Halloran was campaign manager for the Rev. Al Sharpton's Stone-encouraged Democratic presidential bid in 2004.

The Other Undervote(s)

Strange: "Less noticed on Nov. 7 were problems at polling stations in Charlotte, Lee and Sumter counties where, according to Common Cause of Florida, more than 40,000 voters who used touch screens appear not to have chosen between candidates in the state attorney general's race."

Licking Their Wounds

"Gov.-elect Charlie Crist is likely to get rock star treatment at this week's conference in Miami of the Republican Governors Association. Crist's victory was one of the bright spots nationwide for the GOP, which lost its majority of governorships in the Nov. 7 election." "Republican governors unite".

Bristling Republicans

"Sarasota County Republican Party chairman Bob Waechter isn't sugar-coating what he says went wrong for local Republicans in 2006. Standing before the Sarasota County Republican Executive Committee, Waechter told the 100 people in the crowd what he thought. ... The scolding was clearly hard to listen to for many in the audience who bristled in their chairs at Waechter." "Candidates already thinking ahead".

Mainstream Dems

"A political group called the Florida Mainstream Demcrats, formed back in 2004 to keep conservative North Florida Dems from fleeing the party, is tooting its horn over the $1.13 million it raised during the election cycle. That's because it's the most the group has ever raised." "'Mainstream' Dems raise $1 million".

Bushco Meeting In Tally

"Former President George H.W. Bush is expected to be in Tallahassee next week." "A visit from '41'". In the meantime, grab your orange vest as "Dick Cheney flew into Tallahassee on Monday afternoon to go on a hunting trip." "ice president passes through".

"Giv[ing] Bipartisanship a Bad Name"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "There's no good reason that state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando - now felon Gary Siplin - should be allowed to continue in the Legislature. Yet in a move that gives bipartisanship a bad name, the Senate's Republican president says the first felon to serve in that body can keep doing so until his appeals are exhausted." "Senator in name only".

New Rules

Teach me the rules: In

the House, Rubio decreased the number of councils and the number of committees _ meaning that there will be less plum assignments to hand out to his fellow Republicans. And the committees themselves will likely be composed of more members. This was done to accomplish Rubio's goal of tying together the committees that vote on substantive legislation with the ones responsible for drawing up the budget.

But in the Senate, Pruitt actually increased the number of standing committees, creating new committees to deal with education facilities, higher education budget issues and higher education legislation. This is a very interesting decision. Funding for education facilities used to be done behind closed doors by the chairman of the entire budget committee. And spinning off higher education budget issues into a stand-alone committee will reduce the influence of the education appropriations chairman.

The other big change in the Senate: The creation of six new policy and calendar committees that will be responsible for shepherding legislation to the floor instead of having it handled by a single committee. Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster calls this an effort to spread out the power instead of concentrating it in the hands of a few people.

Depends On What You Mean By "Productive"

"At the wonderful hour of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, House Speaker Marco Rubio will kick off a two-day "House Member Academy. ... The session on how to have a productive meeting with a lobbyist will be led by Reps. Joe Pickens and Andy Gardiner." "It's academy time for House members". See also "Lawmaking 101".

Attorney General Charlie Crist has asked the state Supreme Court to determine whether a political committee's proposal to bankroll embryonic stem-cell research with state money can legally appear on the 2008 ballot. The proposal would require the state to grant $200 million in a 10-year period to Florida nonprofit institutions for such cell research.

Meanwhile, a rival political committee awaits the same consideration of their initiative to ask voters to ban state funding for "experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo."

Both groups have gathered more than the 60,000 signatures to qualify for review by the high court, but each will have to gather 611,009 signatures by Feb. 1, 2008, for their questions to appear on the ballot. The Supreme Court also must rule by April 1, 2008, that the questions would not mislead voters or ask them to decide more than one issue.

"Power Shift"? I'll Believe It ...

when I see it: "Legislators last week got marching orders for the next two years in what is likely to be a power shift at a state capital where a strong governor has ruled the roost for the past eight years." "Michael Peltier: New era coming at state capital".

It Is The Democratic Party

A long time pet peeve of mine is addressed by the St. Pete Times editorial board today; let us see if the Republicans in Tally pick up on this in connection with the so-called "Power Shift":

If he wanted to, President Bush could change the tone in Washington with a single syllable: He could just say "ic." That is, he could stop referring to the opposition as the "Democrat Party" and call the other side, as it prefers, the Democratic Party.

The derisive use of "Democrat" in this way was a Bush staple during the recent campaign. "There are people in the Democrat Party who think they can spend your money far better than you can," he would say in his stump speech, or, "Raising taxes is a Democrat idea of growing the economy," or, "However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."

But even as he promised to work to change the tone in Washington after the elections, the president couldn't manage to change his language. In his day-after-the-elections news conference, Bush employed this needling locution five times. "This morning, I spoke with Republican and Democrat leadership in the House and Senate," he began, adding, "it is clear the Democrat Party had a good night last night." That was followed by references to "Democrat leaders," "Democrat leadership" and "Democrat votes," as in, "We got some tax cuts passed with Democrat votes." Geez, you'd think he'd at least give them the -ic when they vote for his tax cuts.

The president isn't alone in his adjectival aversion to "Democratic" when it comes to the party. The provenance of the sneering label "Democrat Party" stretches back to the Harding administration. William Safire traced an early usage to Harold Stassen, who was managing Wendell Will-kie's 1940 campaign against Franklin D. Roosevelt. A party run by political bosses, Stassen told Safire for a 1984 column, "should not be called a 'Democratic Party.' It should be called the 'Democrat party.'"

Minority Hiring

Bill Cotterell: "It's not going to mollify his critics, but the status of women and minority employees in state government has steadily improved in Gov. Jeb Bush's second term. And the gains have been accomplished despite some built-in obstacles, such as state government's downsizing, outsourcing and low pay scales." "Minority hires gained under Bush".

CD 13 Audit

"A seat in Congress hangs in the balance as a team of experts from the Florida Secretary of State Division of Elections office is set to audit Sarasota County's voting machines starting Tuesday." "Vote machine audit to begin".

Jennings Is Right

"The Editorial Board has 11 members, none of whom works in the newsroom, and we have asked ourselves whether we would urge a comprehensive audit of the election results and a contest in court if Jennings, whom we endorsed, had won. We think the answer is yes."

We have not, as some critics have suggested, written that Jennings should be awarded the seat or a revote should be conducted. The evidence uncovered so far hasn't supported such a rare, extreme step -- one that would have wide-ranging implications. (For one thing, fewer people would probably vote in a revote.)

But that doesn't mean we believe Jennings -- and, more important, the system -- should just move on.

There are times when more time is needed -- to audit, find facts and make informed decisions on complicated challenges.

This is, in our view, one of those times.

Pundits on Jennings

Daniel Ruth had these words of "wisdom" in a column last week: "By hook or by crook, or by fluke, the Jennings campaign lost. And no amount of legal maneuvering, wishful thinking or pouting will change that reality." "Hardest Words For A Politician To Say: 'I Lost'".

Daryl Lease has a different take in "Contest to get voters fired up".

The Other Undervote(s)

"The undervote in Florida's District 13 congressional race is getting statewide, even nationwide attention. But the undervote in two Palm Beach County elections isn't getting the attention it deserves."

On Nov. 7, about 21 percent of those who went to the polls did not cast a vote in the Group 13 race between Jerald Beer and David French for a circuit court judgeship. Almost one-fourth of voters did not make a choice in the Group 2 race between Stephen Brannock and Frank Castor for the county court bench. In Sarasota County, the debate is over a roughly 15 percent undervote. The losing candidate, by 369 votes, is suing over the result.

In Palm Beach County, no one is suing, even though Mr. French beat Mr. Beer by just 2.7 percentage points. Unlike the situation in Sarasota County, no one is claiming that the touch-screen machines failed to register votes. There are two reasons for the difference. One is that the judicial races were farther down on the ballot, where voting usually tends to drop off. More important, there is general agreement that people avoid judicial races because they don't know much about the candidates, who aren't allowed to take positions on issues that might come before them.

That large undervote for such important elections - many judges have more power than politicians - shows why Florida should abolish all judicial elections in favor of appointments, an option that voters refused in 2000.

Drilling

"Congressional negotiators say the House next month is likely, though not certain, to pass a Senate-approved bill that would keep drilling at least 125 miles off the Florida Panhandle and 234 miles off Tampa Bay, in exchange for the right to explore millions of acres of the eastern gulf now closed to oil and gas rigs." "Drilling deal to hang on House".

The administration wants to drill, according to "Spills or not, Gulf drilling will be messy":

The federal government says the odds are a minuscule 0.5 percent that an oil spill from expanded drilling in the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico would hit Florida beaches.

Environmentalists scoff at the math. Even if the number is correct, however, installing new drilling rigs and pipelines is certain to gouge the ocean floor with anchors and trenches and release billions of barrels of sediment, cuttings and contaminated water.

Moreover, some planned lease sales are expected to prompt hundreds of tanker trips per year to bring oil from the deepest platforms to shore, a practice that would be new to the Gulf and which some drilling foes argue would boost the odds of big spills.

The Minerals Management Service, part of the Interior Department, last week released its most detailed portrait yet of what expanded drilling operations in the Gulf would entail.

"Florida's Leadership ... Hypocrisy"

"When it comes to hypocrisy, you simply can't beat Florida's leadership. For two years, we were told how the Legislature didn't want slot machines in Broward, even though voters approved the machines. There were threats about getting the slots amendment repealed. State officials talked about how gambling was bad and immoral and the social health of our state was in danger if we got slots. You can be sure they are none too happy that slots finally came to Broward this month. Ah, but playing the lottery -- that's just good sense." "Gambling".

Jebbie's "Ideological Arrogance"

"Bush, however, isn't taking any chances that Mr. Crist might want to move Florida away from the governor's excessive reliance on high-stakes testing, his silly FCAT-based school grading system and his wish to use public money for private-school vouchers."

Though the governor has asked for the resignations of not just his top aides but many in midlevel appointed positions, there is one key exception: Education Commissioner John Winn, who practically boasted this year that he would be around no matter who became governor.

That sort of ideological arrogance made Mr. Winn a perfect match with Gov. Bush. Previously, Mr. Winn had been chief of staff to Jim Horne, the first appointed education commissioner. In that role, he went along with Mr. Horne's policy - dictated by Gov. Bush - of making nontraditional public schools more important than public schools. While public schools have to deal with the FCAT, voucher schools don't have to give it, nor do they have to be accountable for the public money they take.

Whew! ... At Least It Isn't A "Tax"

"Florida's university students could have up to $300 heaped on their school bills next year, if lawmakers go along with a plan to charge a per-credit fee to pay for new computers and the upkeep of current systems." "Tech fee could cost university students $300".

DCF Straightens Up

"Three days after a circuit judge threatened to jail the head of the Florida Department of Children and Families for failing to treat mentally ill inmates as required by law, the agency announced it will move 85 people waiting in local jails and ask the legislature for money to help more." "DCF says it can place 85 inmates".

Harmony

"At the last minute, Sarnoff [a local activist who parlayed his publicity in leading the fight to stop a Home Depot in Coconut Grove into a successful political campaign] switched from being a Republican to a Democrat and drubbed [incumbent Miami commissioner Linda] Haskins nearly 2-to-1. He got 64.46 percent of the 5,467 votes; she got 35.5 percent. That represented a 15 percent voter turnout for the [Miami District 2 commission seat] that snakes north from Coconut Grove through downtown Miami and up to Morningside." "Activist who won in upset: Let's work in harmony".

Keller

"Let voters decide fate" ("Term limits aren't a good idea even if a candidate such as Keller made a pledge.").

Another "Blunder" by Jebbie

"Florida failed to seriously compete for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, a $450 million federal lab that's become the hottest ticket in the race of regions to build high-tech economies."

And from Bush's office came a lengthy response not rooted in reality. It said the governor's office and others worked together "flawlessly" on the bid. "In all respects, Florida's efforts to secure the Agro Defense facility were superior, and exceeded expectations," the statement continued.

Well, if the governor considers a letter of a few short sentences that did nothing to tout the state's combined strength as a biotech center is considered a "superior" performance in winning a big federal contract, Florida ought to be seriously concerned about its economic development strength. Not even Port St. Lucie officials were willing to spin this as the state's best effort.

Florida needs economic development leaders who spot opportunities and move quickly, and who have the courage to explain why some may be passed up or other opportunities lost. State leaders need to be in search of biotech income, not just eager to give handouts.

And it needs to identify who's responsible for spotting opportunities for Florida to keep another huge failure from happening again.

The Rich Are Different

"When a gate divides the $600,000 houses from the $700,000 houses, the excluded side takes offense." "Haves vs. the have- mores".

Maxwell Takes a Dive

I missed this very disappointing piece of alleged journalisim from Scott Maxwell last week: "Mel Martinez's remarkable journey".

Here's An Idea

"As property values soared, various anti-tax movements rose up -- from those who just want their taxes cut outright to those who propose "reforms" of the tax system. The danger is to reform a flaw with another flaw. That's where Florida property tax law appears to be heading."

One of those reforms, the one with particularly strong backing from Governor-elect Charlie Crist and county property appraisers, is the concept of "portability": Florida homeowners who benefit from the 3 percent cap, the reform's backers say, shouldn't lose its accrued benefits when they move to another home in Florida. The cap's portability would not be open-ended. It would itself be capped at 50 percent of previous savings. In other words, a homeowner selling a $200,000 home with an assessed value of $100,000, and buying a $200,000 somewhere else would have an assessed value of $150,000. The 3 percent cap would pick up from there, and on up to a maximum portable assessment saving of $400,000. Beyond that, regular assessments apply.

It's an appealing idea, especially in the way the Florida Association of Property Appraisers is presenting it: The 50 percent portability gives the principle some progressivity, even though a too-generous one if the portability cap extends to $400,000 in potential breaks.

That aside, however, the idea remains a fix on top of a flaw. The main problem with Florida's property tax law is not lack of portability of the 3 percent cap. It's the cap itself. "Reforming" it in such a way that it extends even further, even if diluted by half, only perpetrates an unfair system that digs deeper the gap between those who benefit from the cap and those who don't.

The appraisers' proposal isn't without merit. The principle behind it could actually be the basis for fairer reform. A cap on the increases in the taxable value of a $150,000 or $200,000 home makes sense, if it protects the homeowner from tax bills that spiral up too fast. But protecting a $200,000 home isn't the same as protecting a $500,000 or $1 million home. If the system is based on progressive taxation, protection in those cases becomes a subsidy -- at other taxpayers' expense. The more expensive the home, the smaller the taxable value cap should be.

Laff Riot

The Tampa Trib blames communism for too thin Cuban sandwiches: "Riddle Of Thin Cuban Sandwich Bewilders Socialists In Havana".

Book Your Flight

Well maybe it is a bit premature to book a flight, but "Cuba-embargo foes see hope in new Democratic-controlled Congress".

More From The "Values" Crowd

"Teacher's aide gets satisfaction, but little money".