FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

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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.

 

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The Blog for Thursday, April 03, 2008

Run on cocktail dresses in Florida

    "A pledge from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to seat Florida convention delegates sets a new tone for how the state will be treated and puts pressure on the presidential candidates to find a compromise, party leaders said Wednesday." "Howard Dean reaches out to Florida voters". See the FPC's "Now Do You Believe Us".

    See also "Dean says Florida delegates will be seated at convention", "Dean: 'We believe we'll seat delegation'", "Florida Democrats to be represented at national convention", "DNC chief will seat Fla. delegates, but details up to rivals", "Dean: We'll try to seat state delegates" and "Hope Springs Eternal for Florida Delegates".

    The "hospitality rooms" are all set and ready to go: "Florida has hotel rooms, but no votes yet".


    Choice politics

    "The Florida House on Wednesday mounted what critics called a two-pronged assault on abortion rights, passing legislation that would require pregnant women to undergo ultrasound exams before getting abortions and effectively defining life at conception for criminal prosecutions."

    Remember all the hullaballoo about this bonehead being appointed to fill her husband's position:

    "I can't imagine any man having a surgical procedure without prior tests," Rep. Marti Coley, R-Panama City, said during debate over the ultrasound bill. "As a woman, as a mother, I ask you to support this bill, not to invade privacy, but to ensure that all women are offered safe health care."
    "Florida House votes to require ultrasound before all abortions".

    "The measure, which could amount to the most significant abortion legislation in years, now heads to the Florida Senate where its powerful sponsor, Sen. Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden, said he's confident it will pass." "Abortion vote may add rule". See also "Abortions may require ultrasound" and "Tensions high as Florida House passes bill requiring exams before all abortions".

    "House Democrats said the bill is simply an attempt to throw up a roadblock for women wanting abortions and called it partisan posturing aimed at pleasing the conservative base. They said it was a waste of time when the House should be making more of an effort to find solutions to the budget crisis." "Pre-abortion ultrasound passes".


    Laff riot

    As the AP noted yesterday, "Crist a possible McCain VP?".


    No word yet on the intangibles "fee"

    The courageous RPOFers in Tally are playing word games - repeat to yourself over and over, "fees" are not taxes: "From the courthouse to the college lecture hall to the driver's-license office, Floridians could pay higher fees as part of legislative plans to pump up the state's withering budget. The proposed fees [sic] from the Republican-led Legislature come while lawmakers prepare to slash spending as much as $5 billion in next year's budget." "State could jack up fees".


    Voucher madness

    "While state lawmakers scavenge for dollars to run crucial services, a legislative committee agreed Wednesday to possibly take in $150 million less from corporations over the next five years."

    The money would be diverted away from public schools and toward school vouchers for private secular and religious schools for low-income families.

    The annual $30 million less the state would collect in the corporate taxes could equate to an additional 8,000 children each year receiving the maximum $3,750 Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship to attend private institutions.
    "Corporate voucher program could grow". Go here for more on our taxpayer dollars at work subsidizing private schools (yes, the State pays for this website, and an entire "Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice").


    "The duplicity is too rich not to observe with some awe"

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "Citizens who are fed up with overburdened highways and water restrictions may want to pay close attention to a bill written by Dean Cannon, in line to become speaker of the Florida House in 2010."

    The duplicity is too rich not to observe with some awe. After all, the Florida Legislature doesn't trust mayors and city commissions with their own tax dollars, thinks county property appraisers need to prove the validity of their assessments and could care less whether a school principal deems certain teachers worthy of extra pay. So when a House council considers writing into law that city and county officials should be "presumed to be correct," one has to wonder what has left legislators so smitten.

    The answer is as obvious as the bulldozers and construction cranes that dot the local landscape: developers.

    That's right. In a bill being offered by the House Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council, lawmakers would turn the 1985 Growth Management Act upside down. The reason the law exists is because cities and counties were giving green lights to almost every developer who wanted to build condo towers or shopping strips. That's why the state is required to make sure that new developments are consistent with city, county and state plans. ...

    Aside from the presumption of correctness, the bill also would: loosen standards for intensive development on existing rural lands, weaken requirements to upgrade overburdened roads before allowing new construction, and give cities and counties three more years to prove their development plans are financially feasible.
    "Bill undermines state growth laws".


    Why do some editorial boards ...

    ... confuse "freedom" with "materialism? In a Miami Herald editorial this morning, with the word with "freedom" in the headline, the lede is "Change is happening in Cuba, but its impact is still uncertain. Under Raúl Castro, the government is lifting some old prohibitions. If they can afford it, ordinary Cubans can now buy what could be sold only to foreigners and top government officials: computers, cellphones, microwaves and other appliances. Cubans may also stay in luxury hotels and rent cars ...". "Thirst for freedom not easily restrained".


    RPOFer "Dark Ages" values

    The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "heartless, irresponsible state budget cuts proposed in the name of saving $1 billion on health and human services."

    As one nursing home director correctly described the proposed cuts, which would eliminate nursing home staffing requirements, Florida "is going back to the Dark Ages.
    Florida GOPers, lacking any form of leadership from the happy faced Governor, are happy to hammer the helpless as opposed to upsetting "the base", a/k/a "the haves and the have mores".
    Such cuts appeal more to most Republican legislators than drawing new, available revenue by closing sales-tax exemptions and loopholes that benefit non-Florida corporations and the wealthy. Senate Democrats, for example, want to close tax loopholes involving the real-estate transfer tax, which wealthy developers use to avoid paying the state up to $200 million a year; off-shore or out-of-state tax shelters, which corporations use to avoid paying up to $400 million a year in taxes to Florida; and deep-sea fishing charters, which could draw an estimated $65 million.
    "Balance state budget without assaulting poor".

    There's much more: "Threats of early prisoner releases and the potential for bank failures emerged Wednesday as a series of austere spending measures advanced in the Florida Senate as part of the budget-writing process."
    One panel unanimously agreed on a justice system budget that includes eliminating 2,200 positions from the Department of Corrections and 382 from court support staff. ...

    The prison reductions are a powerful bargaining chip to get legislative leaders to allocate more money for the entire justice system, Crist said. That's because the prison cuts could lead to the early release of inmates under a federal court order that prohibits overcrowding.

    The House's $65 billion proposed budget bill for the fiscal year that starts July 1 would cut fewer prison jobs — 900 — but more court support positions — 542. Judges and other elected judicial officials cannot be let go.
    "Corrections, courts are eyed for cuts". See also "Austere budget brings threats of prisoner releases, bank failures". Mike Thomas this morning:
    Florida lawmakers are slashing services to the poor with a rusty sling blade.

    They do that rather than eliminate special-interest tax exemptions for corporations and wealthy residents.

    Evangelical leaders such as Joel Hunter are questioning the morality of a regressive tax system that targets low-income residents, and then hits them with the deepest cuts.

    It's a new twist on injecting Christian ideology into government.
    A lot more here: "Ask yourself: What would Jesus cut?". See also "Proposed cuts could slash hard-won senior funding".

    "Central Florida schools, already bracing to cut hundreds of teaching jobs, were staggered again Wednesday by a Florida Senate school-funding plan that could force even deeper reductions. The Senate proposal earmarks $79 million less for schools than a House plan released earlier this week that led officials in Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties to warn that job cuts were likely." "Schools fear even deeper cuts under state Senate funding plan".


    Mend it, don't end it

    The Senate proposal earmarks $79 million less for schools than a House plan released earlier this week that led officials in Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties to warn that job cuts were likely.".

    "Florida's once-praised system of using tax dollars to help candidates running for statewide office could become political history."

    The Florida House voted Wednesday to scrap the system that offers candidates for governor and state Cabinet posts the chance to tap public financing if they agree to overall spending limits. ...

    The law was designed to curtail the influence of big-money contributors by imposing spending limits and by providing public funds to candidates whose rivals exceeded the spending cap. But critics said it was made toothless by changes that allowed politicians to tap more than $11 million in taxpayer cash in the 2006 elections.

    The Republican-led Legislature voted in 2005 to dramatically raise the ceiling on how much candidates could raise from private givers and still tap taxpayer cash for their campaigns. This allowed Charlie Crist to raise more than $20 million in his 2006 race for governor and still receive $3.3 million in taxpayer money for commercials and campaigning.
    "Campaign aid for candidates faces repeal". See also "House: Let's end public financing of campaigns" and "Florida House votes to nix campaign finance".


    Enough with the hard charging, risk taking, job creating, entrepreneurial crap

    "As Poe insurance companies sank toward insolvency after two record hurricane seasons, Poe family members and managers were not just collecting hefty payments, they were also flexing their political muscle."

    Poe board members and family members gave more than $65,000 to state political candidates during the 2006 election cycle, even as their companies' bottom line plummeted.

    About $38,000 went to the Republican Party of Florida and $6,500 to the Florida Democratic Party.

    About the same time, Poe was paying its own managers and family members more than $100-million in dividends, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
    "As Poe companies were sinking, leaders fed campaigns".

    Here's the scoop:
    Former Tampa Mayor Bill Poe Sr. and 19 others, including his wife and five children, have been sued by Florida regulators for engaging in what the state alleges was an elaborate scheme to divert more than $140-million from three property insurance companies even as the companies hurtled toward bankruptcy.
    "The suit, filed in Leon County Circuit Court, alleges the managers paid themselves about $143.5-million in dividends during 2004-05, a large portion of that flowing out of the company after its liabilities exceeded its assets."
    The Poe companies were hit with more than $2.5-billion in wind damage claims from the storms of 2004-05 and suffered a net loss of $369-million. Those losses triggered a series of assessments on all Floridians' insurance bills that are still in effect. ...

    Regulators last fall signed off on a 2 percent assessment to cover Poe's debt — the third such levy in the past 16 months. With the latest assessment, which began last month, everyone in Florida who buys homeowners or auto insurance is paying an extra $20 for every $1,000 in premium.
    These folks apparently never missed a meal (at the country club)
    The suit alleges that top Poe executives on dozens of occasions transferred millions of dollars out of the insurance operation in the form of dividends and capital contributions to top executives and Poe family members. Bill Poe Sr. alone accounted for a total of $25-million in dividends.
    Being born a Poe apparently a great way to, as the RPOFers put it,"achieve" in life.

    What can one say in response to all this? Anything but this would be a good start:
    "I lost every dollar of profit I ever made in Wilma."
    "Florida sues Poe family over insurance companies' finances". As in Hurricane "Wilma".

    Mpre from The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "To Preserve Legacy, Bill Poe Should Address Charges Soon".

    For background on folks like Poe and his family, see Thorstein Veblen's "The Theory of the Leisure Class". Veblen, believe it or not, was an economics professor at the University of Chicago (before Milton Friedman was invented*). You can read it online or download Veblen's 1899 classic for free at "Project Gutenberg". For more on these startling notions, see "Conspicuous consumption" and "Conspicuous Leisure".
    - - - - - - - - - -

    *(By the way, greed guru Friedman never won a Nobel Prize as is falsely claimed by the wingnuts who worship his worship of money; rather Friedman was handed something from a Swedish bank called the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel", and that, according to the folks who invented the award decidedly "is not a Nobel Prize.")

    This website could just as easily ... hell, let's just do it, invent an award called the "World Prize in Economic, Social Political Justice in Memory of Alfred Nobel". And the 2008 award goes to ... any suggestions, err... nominations?


    But the damage FAU's stature is incalcuable

    "The expenses, which were paid for with private donations and $25,000 from the FAU Foundation, include thousands of dollars for security, food, décor, and $1,200 in Port-O-Lets." "FAU spent $200,000 hosting GOP debate".


    Larcenia?

    The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "Why would a member of Palm Beach County's legislative delegation want to force the county to approve a landowner's plan for a 3,000-home community? Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, voted last week for Senate Bill 2246, which would give Callery-Judge Grove in central-western Palm Beach County protection from local opposition. She was on the losing end of a 4-2 vote, but the bill will be reconsidered today." "Rigged development deck".


    Daniel Ruth ...

    ... has the latest on "state Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Tammy Faye Bakker Only Without The Sense Of Whimsy". See "Her 'Academic Freedom'? Not Free, Just Dumb".


    Foreclosure World

    "Palm Beach County foreclosure filings cooled a bit from February to March, but remained well above 2007 levels, according to the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller's Office." "PBC foreclosures dip but still top 2007 figures".


    FCAT Follies

    "The FCAT, used to measure schools' achievement, could become just one of several factors used to grade state high schools under a bill that's cleared the Senate and is waiting for House action." "Proposed bill would limit FCAT score's impact on Florida high schools' grades".


    Potential disaster for Floridians

    "A federal appeals court in Atlanta has denied the News-Journal Corp.'s last challenge in the dispute over the value of the shares held by its minority partner, Cox Enterprises. Now that the appeal is over, the News-Journal Corp. is left with two basic options:"

    Pay Cox the $129 million set by the court for its 47.5 percent share.

    Move for a court sale of the 79-year-old family-owned newspaper company.
    "Court denies rehearing on News-Journal value".


    Sickening

    "For three years, lawmakers have tried to establish an automatic system for compensating the wrongly imprisoned so they might avoid the bureaucratic tangle Crotzer and others have had to navigate. But once again, a solution is elusive."

    The central problem is over some lawmakers' insistence that automatic payments wouldn't apply to anyone with a prior felony conviction, a measure that would have barred Crotzer [for the 24 years he spent in prison for a double rape he did not commit. DNA evidence exonerated him in 2006.].
    The rules are always different in Florida: "No other state requires such a 'clean hands' provision for restitution."
    But Florida Republicans, who control the House and Senate, insist on such a requirement.
    "Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia "
    have laws that have resulted in payments to nearly half of the 215 prisoners who have been exonerated since the first DNA case in 1989.

    None preclude people with prior felonies.

    "It makes us a leader in compensation but in all the wrong ways," said Seth Miller, staff attorney for the Innocence Project of Florida. "It's ridiculous."
    "Compensation bill stalling". The "values crowd" in action yet again.


    Runnin' government like a business

    "DCF officials have no choice but to implement safeguards that will prevent abuse of public funds in the future. It seems very clear that, wrongdoing or not, DCF's oversight policies appear lax." "DCF needs better financial controls".


    Windy

    "Two weeks after scaling back a plan to put wind turbines on Hutchinson Island, Florida Power & Light Co. officials released a survey Wednesday attesting to what they say is broad support across St. Lucie County for the more modest proposal." "Survey supports turbines, FPL says".".


    Lobbyists now recruiting children who can sing

    "Broward Democrats waging an uphill battle against the powerful insurance industry to mandate coverage for autistic children have a new ally: Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist this week made a surprise appearance at a Senate committee where the bill by Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, of Cooper City, was scheduled for a vote. The governor had been monitoring the meeting on the Capitol's closed circuit television, and decided to appear after he heard the singing of an autistic child" "Gov. Charlie Crist backs mandatory insurance for autism".


    Yeah ... he was just "great"

    Clay Shaw "a former Fort Lauderdale mayor who represented Broward and Palm Beach counties in Congress for 26 years, received the award from Gov. Charlie Crist, who praised him as 'a truly great Floridian' and a 'champion of the Everglades.'" "State panel honors former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw as a Great Floridian".


    Whatever

    "Don't expect to get free ice any longer from the federal government after a hurricane, FEMA's boss said Wednesday." "FEMA boss Paulison, of Davie, to leave at end of Bush's term".


    Lotharios in the Legislature's cross hairs

    "Laws aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence would be extended to victims of dating violence under a bill passed by the House." "Dating violence in focus".


The Blog for Wednesday, April 02, 2008

"The Jeb Bush Education Agenda Commission"

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "The state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is acting as if it were the Jeb Bush Education Agenda Commission."
    The commission voted last week to put a measure on the ballot that would sharply weaken the state's guarantees of church-state separation.

    What has that to do with the state's tax and budgetary policies — issues the commission is charged with acting on? Not much. The action was a political move designed to shield the former governor's school voucher programs from legal challenge, since the vouchers are often used to fund parochial school education.

    It took 17 votes from the 25-member commission to move the measure to the November ballot and 17 votes it received, including one "yea" vote from Darryl Rouson, whose current candidacy for a state legislative seat has the support of a group that promotes school vouchers.
    "Overstepping duties".


    Who elected this idiot?

    "In the face of multibillion-dollar spending cuts contemplated for health care and schools, House Speaker Marco Rubio is pushing a plan that could curtail state and local government spending even more." "Florida House speaker pushes more tax cuts".


    Joe on a roll

    Joe Garcia, a Miami-Dade Democrat running for Congress,

    said Tuesday he has raised more than $320,000 -- much of it from online contributions -- in his bid to oust U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

    Garcia, who said he began raising money halfway through the three-month fundraising quarter that ended Monday night, said the contributions were from nearly 2,000 donors.
    "Joe Garcia raises $320,000 in congressional election bid". Kos has more.


    You get what lobbyists pay for

    "After meeting for 4½ weeks, lawmakers have agreed on only one thing: Deleting more than $500 million from the current state budget because of a tanking state economy. The Republican-led House and Senate have debated and voted on other high-profile issues like penalizing children who wear saggy pants to school, changing Florida's school grading system and whether employees should be able to take their guns along in their cars when they go to work." "Major budget woes paralyze Florida legislators".


    Who needs Florida?

    "Some question whether Barack Obama, the Democratic front-runner, will spend the huge amounts of campaign time and money it takes to fight for Florida if he becomes the nominee. The reason is simple:"

    Florida is one of the most expensive states in the nation in which to campaign, and Democrats don't have to win it to win the presidency.

    "Since you don't need it and it costs so much to play, it's an argument that will be had," said Derek Newton, a veteran Miami Democratic political consultant. "I think they should, but it's not a sure thing."
    "Obama and his strategists, however, insist they plan to start organizing in Florida as soon as he becomes the nominee and 'campaign vigorously' here."
    Thomas Schaller, a University of Maryland-Baltimore County political scientist specializing in presidential politics. ... said Florida won't disappear from the Democrats' electoral map.

    That map, he said, is becoming more predictable - only four states switched sides between 2000 and 2004.

    [It's the fourth-largest state, with the fourth-largest number of electoral votes. Of the top four, however, it's the only one considered a swing state. California, with 55 electoral votes, and New York with 31 are reliably Democratic. Texas, with 34, is reliably Republican.]

    "We're going to be fighting over the same eight to 10 states as in 2004," and Florida is among them, he said - possibly more so because of the end of the Bush era, in which Jeb Bush held the governor's mansion during both his brother's campaigns.
    Florida may very well be in play, considering
    the election of Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the re-election of Sen. Bill Nelson and Democratic gains in Congress and the state House, he said 2006 was "the best election year the Democrats have had in the state in several decades," a trend that should convince the nominee to play here.

    Mellman, however, said Ohio "is going to be seen as slightly more fertile ground than Florida," citing the 2006 election of a Democratic governor and senator. Both replaced Republicans after the former administration was dogged by corruption issues and a flagging economy.

    Also, Devine said Obama "might be willing to concede Florida if he can make headway in New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri or Colorado" - the state where Democrats are holding their national convention. The Western states are considered to be in play because of increasing numbers of Hispanic voters there.
    Much, much more here: "Will Obama Play In Florida?".

    Why, then, is Obama opening up campaign offices in Florida?


    All tomorrow's parties

    "After meeting behind closed doors to discuss strategy on Tuesday, Florida Democrats in Congress plan to press national party Chairman Howard Dean today to publicly promise to seat the state's delegates at the national nominating convention."

    The House members were mum after the strategy session. But Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the state party, said she and the members will present ideas to Dean at a meeting this morning to try to resolve the dispute over Florida's delegates.
    "A participant in Tuesday's meeting said the members will ask Dean for some signs of progress toward seating the delegation, such as establishing hotel assignments and processing credentials.""Florida's Democrats in Congress to press Howard Dean over delegates".

    Update: nuthin'new.

    "Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said Wednesday the party is committed to seating Florida's delegates at this summer's convention as long as any agreement is supported by the party's two presidential contenders. Dean met with Florida lawmakers to discuss ways of allocating delegates among Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and prepare for the fall campaign in the battleground state." "Dean: Dems committed to seating Florida delegates".


    "Florida's dirty little secret" (at least one of 'em)

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "The new commissioner [education] should do away with Florida's dirty little secret. Earning a GED certificate is not the same thing as fulfilling the requirements for a high school diploma. Yet Florida continues to count the state diplomas awarded to those who pass the GED test as regular high school graduates. Florida should own up and tell citizens the truth - our high schools are not as successful as the state has reported. Indeed, Florida's Department of Education routinely reports a graduation rate as much as 10 points higher than what researchers have found. The Manhattan Institute, which doesn't include GEDs, put Florida's graduation rate at 59 percent in its 2005 study. And researchers at Johns Hopkins last year arrived at roughly the same percentage, tagging Florida and South Carolina high schools as the worst 'dropout factories' in the nation. By their accounts, half of Florida's high schools earned that disturbing moniker." "Feds Will Make Florida Face Up To High School Graduation Failures".


    A burden of proof thing

    "It could become easier for property owners to win challenges against county property appraisers to reduce their valuations and their taxes. A Florida House panel approved two bills by wide margins Tuesday that would reduce and/or shift the burden of proof in contesting valuations. In the measures, county property appraisers would have to prove they were correct in their assessments instead of homeowners or businesses proving they were not." "Proving values would shift to appraisers in House bill".


    More good jobs

    Many of Florida's best jobs are going away: "NASA officials Tuesday tried to downplay concerns over their forecast that more than 8,000 workers across the country could lose their jobs when the space shuttle retires,"

    but members of Congress, a key contractor and union officials said the agency's "worst-case" scenario may be too optimistic.

    In particular, they said, Kennedy Space Center faces the loss of hundreds more positions in addition to the 6,400 contractor jobs that NASA said could disappear when the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

    About 15,000 people work at KSC today, including 8,000 spacecraft-contract workers as well as support and federal civil-service employees.
    "Job loss at Kennedy Space Center could be worse than first forecast". See also "NASA faces job flight".

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board, authors of drivel like this, will be shocked to learn that these private sector jobs actually pay more than public sector jobs, actually providing workers with high pay, retirements and health insurance. The Trib editors are probably glad to see these jobs go, though, because they put a strain on the private sectors' ability to depress wages and benefits.

    In the meantime, "Senate bills proposed to offset future job losses in Florida's space industry pass key hurdle". Good luck with that.

    "A Legislature reluctant to tackle immigration policy in an election year made its first foray into the issue Tuesday with a proposal to kick out of the country illegal immigrants in Florida's prisons who volunteer to be deported. Even that measure, approved on a bipartisan vote in its first Senate committee stop, is billed by supporters more as a cost-saving measure than a bid to crackdown on illegal immigrants." "Legislators: Deport illegal immigrants in Florida's prisons".


    "Fearless"?

    "The Senate transportation committee on Tuesday passed a bill that's meant to crack down on fearless, reckless driving by motorcyclists." "Brakes sought on reckless motorcycling". See also "Tougher street-racing stance gains clout".


    I thought it was that thing with a bottle of Coke

    "Some Florida teens believe drinking Mountain Dew or smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy and that swallowing a capful of bleach will prevent HIV/AIDS. One reason those dangerous myths have spread is the state's reliance on abstinence-only sex education, say advocates of a bill to require a more comprehensive approach in Florida's schools." "Florida Senate bill would require schools to teach more about sex".


    The "free enterprise" crowd in a tizzy

    "Lake Worth's Edlon Garvey needed money to pay his medical bills to place stents in his heart. So, he took it out of his home."

    But when the payments became too much on his refinanced home loan, the delivery driver says his lender would not allow him to negotiate to lower his payments. His home is now in foreclosure.

    "The way you feel when you're trapped in it, you feel like you're going to die," said Garvey, 52, one of about 50 protesters who built a tent city Tuesday on the lawn of the Historic Capitol to illustrate the thousands of Floridians who have lost homes in foreclosures.

    The display advocated for legislation (HB 979 and SB 2846) to restrict high-interest subprime mortgages.

    The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which produced the "Subprime City," hopes some of the legislation would be included in recommendations from Gov. Charlie Crist's task force on foreclosures, which meets today.
    "Protest pushes crackdown on predatory lending". Good luck on regulating our courageous, All-American, risk-taking entrepreneurs in the high-interest subprime mortgage industry.


    I see, replace intangibles tax with a sin tax on the poor man's vice

    "At 34 cents, Florida's sales tax on a pack of cigarettes is higher than only four other states. Sen. Ted Deutch says it's time for a hike - and a big one." "Deutch targets low cigarette tax".

    What about a tax on 10 dollar cigars? How about an intangibles tax?


    "Catching up to do"

    The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board writes that "instead of seizing the moment, the Bush administration is trying follow its own money to who knows where. The Bush administration, like the Castro regime, has its own catching up to do." "End to cell phone, hotel bans shows how far behind Cuba is" ("The administration says one change it will make is that it will award the free-Cuba money to European and Latin American groups seeking change in Cuba. Yes, more outsourcing.")


    "Could there be a little pre-emption going on?"

    "State Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Lutz, who has already filed to run for re-election this year, also filed Tuesday to run for the state Senate in 2010. He will seek the seat occupied by Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who has to leave then due to term limits."

    Interesting thing, his longtime pal and fellow Republican, Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman, was planning to file for the same Senate seat today. Norman has made clear for years that he plans to run for the seat.
    "Republican pals to vie for Crist's Senate seat".


    Charlie on the edge of his seat with anticipation

    "Interviewed by radio talk show host Don Imus, McCain did not offer any details of his search for a running mate. ... McCain has given no hint of his thinking on a running mate, although he frequently speaks warmly of his former rivals for the nomination, particularly former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Among the other possible choices are several governors: Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist, Mississippi's Haley Barbour, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr." "McCain compiles list of running mates".


    As Florida burns ... we debate feet, songs, license plates, and cell phones?

    "State law prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers, parks or playgrounds. Cities and governments can expand those limits and at least 10 counties - including Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade - have increased the restriction to 2,500 feet. But the bill (SB 1430) would set 1,500 feet as the only standard across the state." "Statewide standard limit for sex offenders proposed".

    "Some of the very legislators who made history last week by apologizing for Florida's slave history are showing persistent fondness for the state song that refers to blacks as 'darkeys.'" "Rural Florida legislators balk at replacing state song".

    The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Blot out specialty license plate proliferation with moratorium" and "Solid legislative measure has good shot at stemming metals theft".

    "Drivers under 18 would be banned from gabbing on cellphones under a bill approved unanimously by the Senate transportation committee on Tuesday." "Senate bill answers cellphone-behind-wheel problem".


    "Ignorance"

    The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "State legislators don't know how much rock Florida needs for road-building or how much rock lies underground. They admit as much in a bill to be heard today. But that ignorance hasn't stopped legislators from adding to the bill a terrible condition that would strip zoning control from communities and empower the mining industry." "Don't strip mine control".


    "Something rather appealing"

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "There is something rather appealing about watching Wal-Mart in such a position, especially since the real victim in this case is the environment." "Wal-Mart cries foul despite clout".


    Flipping a coin

    President of Fla. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, A. Russell Smith writes that "under current Florida law, the court's determination about whether a confession was illegally forced from a suspect, or whether the suspect ever really confessed at all can be no more accurate than flipping [a] thin dime." "Law would require recorded confession".


    Hillsborough

    "New Voting Machines Debut".


    Arresting lawyers

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "To prosecute Miami attorney Ben Kuehne as though he launders drug money morphs the war on drugs into a crusade against lawyers." "Attorney's indictment sends bad message".


    Heaven Help us

    The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: Do we really need these geniuses to tell us how to run our schools? "Florida TaxWatch on Tuesday suggested that public schools are going to have to rethink the way they do business beyond the classroom in order to protect the classroom."

    That is, said TaxWatch CEO Dominic Calabro, school districts must redirect dollars through "smart business and smart policy" such as changing the way they purchase noninstructional services such as transportation, food services and maintenance.
    "Creative cutting: Schools are getting lots of advice".


    LEOs

    "Get convicted of killing or attempting to kill a law enforcement officer and be prepared to spend the rest of your life behind bars." "Bills would toughen laws for hurting law enforcement officers".


    Same old song

    "Causing the death of a fetus would lead to a murder charge, no matter how far along the pregnancy is, under a bill passed in the House on Wednesday." "Fetus protection bill passes House, little movement in Senate".


    Whatever

    "With Gov. Charlie Crist making climate change one of his signature issues, Florida lawmakers are in a high-stakes debate about reducing air pollution and revamping the state's energy laws." "Florida attempts to go green".


    Bizzare

    Has it really come to this?: "Is it against the law, the jurors asked the judge in a note, to swear an oath of allegiance to al-Qaida?"

    In response to their query, prosecutors said yes and defense attorneys said no, airing a dispute that began when the men were charged in June 2006.
    "Jurors pose question while debating Liberty City terrorism case".


    Limbaugh may be waitin' on a new man

    The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Prescription drug abuse could be curbed with state electronic data base".


    Battle of the empty suits

    "Car dealer Norman Braman -- in a fighting mood with the architects of Miami's $3 billion megaplan -- commissioned a poll that finds state House Speaker Marco Rubio would offer a strong bid for the seat now held by one of the deal's sponsors, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez."

    Rubio has yet to file to oppose Alvarez, but the poll is another signal that a battle between two major politicians could be in the offing.

    The poll of 1,211 likely voters, evenly taken in all 13 commission districts, indicates Rubio would steal from Alvarez's Hispanic Republican base. But it also finds Alvarez with a significant lead in the fight for non-Hispanic whites. The poll, which has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, showed both tied at 38 percent each.
    "Braman's poll turns heat up on Alvarez".


    We need more

    "Florida Power & Light will need to increase electricity production by 25 percent over the next decade to meet rising demand, the company said Tuesday." "Largest Fla. power companies need to increase electricity output".


    Grow houses

    "Florida House bill would stiffen grow-house penalties".


    "Totally unconscionable"

    "Department of Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth said Tuesday it is 'totally unconscionable' for Florida legislators to cut medical and social services for needy children." "Florida House proposed budget would slash nearly $7 billion, hit health care hard".


    Never mind that "forever" thing

    "The state's conservation land-buying program and Everglades restoration would receive no money under the House proposed 2008-09 budget." "Budget cuts could impact Florida environment".


    "Not dropping enough"

    The Miami Herald editorial board: "Hurricane season is coming soon, and state lawmakers again are trying to bolster Florida's battered property-insurance market. There are no easy answers. Until Florida can spread the windstorm risk more broadly -- preferably nationwide, or at least among coastal states -- insurers will continue to collect high premiums." "Insurance costs not dropping enough".


    Regalado

    "Miami City Commissioner Tomás Regalado -- well-known radio and TV commentator, unabashed populist, and frequent thorn in Mayor Manny Diaz's side -- now wants to be mayor himself." "Regalado to run for Miami mayor".


The Blog for Tuesday, April 01, 2008

"'I don't think we've ever been in this place'"

    "Despite a 10 percent cut to their state spending plan for next year, House lawmakers said Monday that a historic run of budget shortfalls might not be over. 'We are in uncharted waters,' said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami. 'I don't think we've ever been in this place - certainly not in modern history in Florida.'" "State House sees no end to budget cuts". Remind me. Which political party has been sailing Florida's ship of state for the last decade?

    "The Florida House leadership presented a budget plan of $65.1 billion [Monday] and proposed an emergency stop-gap measure to head off any further shortfalls in state revenue collections. House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and budget chief Rep. Ray Sansom said the budget fiscal 2008-09 that will be considered by Sansom's House Policy and Budget Council is almost 10 percent below the final 2007-08 budget. That budget was about $70.3 billion after some reductions forced by state revenues not keeping up with projections." "Florida House proposes $65.1 billion budget, 10-percent cut".

    And how is this for raw political courage?: "state lawmakers are proposing giving Gov. Charlie Crist and a handful of legislators the power to spend up to $1.7-billion in reserves to avoid a deficit." "Reaching for the reserves".

    The courage of Florida RPOH-House never ceases to amaze: "House leaders rolled out a $65.1 billion budget with no pay raises for state employees Monday, along with a stop-gap plan to let Gov. Charlie Crist use reserves and trust funds if Florida's tax collections continue to fall short." "No raises in $65.1 billion Florida House budget".

    The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board explains why we're "Budget hostages" ("'We are "unraveling our sense of community in this state,' a seasoned lobbyist observed, looking over some $700 million in House and Senate budget cuts currently aimed at health and human services.")

    "South Florida this year may be forced to absorb more than half of the public school spending cuts being proposed by the state House". "Broward schools face biggest cuts in state from legislators". See also "Budget ax hangs over jobs at schools" and "Budget-balancing legislators to raid Palm Beach County schools for funds".


    Sittin' in limbo

    "Five months away from one of the most anticipated political conventions in American history, there's no room at the inn -- or even the Motel 6 -- for delegates from Florida and Michigan." "Florida, Michigan delegates are seated in limbo".


    "Florida state employees are the lowest paid nationwide"

    After garbage like "Force Government To Rethink Its Generous Pay and Benefits" from the The Tampa Tribune editors board the other day, it is nice to see at least one editorial board reporting from planet earth. The The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editors board: "With all the talk about cutting the fat out of the state budget, it would be easy to forget the tasks government employees do for us every day."

    They man our prisons, maintain our highways, regulate health care and respond to natural disasters and other emergencies, among other duties. And they deserve to be paid wages commensurate with their service.

    But in Florida, that's just not happening. The state spends less per capita on its employees than any other state in the union, according to a recent study by the Pew Center on the States and Governing. And for the second year in a row — and at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed — state workers haven't received across-the-board raises.
    "State employees underpaid" "State employees underpaid".

    Unfortunately, The Palm Beach Post editorial Board is happy to sidestep the pay problems of public employees if an icky union is involved. See "Police union misfires"


    'Glades

    "Members of South Florida's congressional delegation Monday warned legislative leaders not to eliminate spending next year for Everglades restoration." "Florida urged not to cut funding for Everglades".


    Stewards of the earth

    "Florida is No. 1 in greyhound racetracks, but state regulators say they need more inspection power and penalties for animal abusers." "Dog tracks may face tougher scrutiny".


    First you gut union trades apprenticeship training programs ...

    ... and then you complain about the lack of adequately trained construction workers - after all, those highly skilled union operating engineers (unlike the nonunion, unskilled construction workers who come to Florida from South Carolina and sleep in their cars with their cousins at job sites) have the unmitigated temerity to insist on Commie things like health insurance and other expensive things that drive up the cost of commercial building construction.The Miami Herald editorial board: "Florida needs tough crane-safety law".


    RPOFers running government like a business?

    "A state program created two years ago was supposed to get badly needed cancer drugs to some of the thousands of uninsured Floridians. The number of people it had helped by the start of March: one. In 2006, lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the program to allow donations of unused medications to cancer patients without insurance, but a lack of publicity and coordination has crippled it from the start. Other states like Louisiana have managed to fill thousands of free prescriptions in similar projects." "Cancer drug donor plan fails to thrive".


    House courageously stands tall against "voyeurism of youths"

    "A House bill that would make video voyeurism of youths a felony won't cost much money, still giving it a chance to pass in this tight budget year." "Florida House's budget-friendly voyeurism bill stands a chance".


    That was "the easy part"

    The Palm Beach Post editorial Board is on fire this morning.

    "It was a strong, symbolic moment last week when Florida expressed regret for past wrongs. It also was the easy part. The apology is meaningful only if it inspires the same legislators to change what they're doing wrong now." While far too late, the editors write that

    the timing of the apology matters less in relation to the past than it does to the present. Now that the Legislature has "call(ed) for healing and reconciliation among all residents of the state," will the House and Senate actually deal with the unfairness - in education, in health care, in prisons, in foster care - that still exists between blacks and whites? ...

    Targeted, need-based social policy is the proper and practical reparation. Instead, Florida has cut scholarships to poor and first-in-family college students, limited subsidized health insurance for children of the working poor, underfinanced preschool programs and failed to require sufficient standards, and embraced disciplinary policies in schools that lead to dropouts. Legislators soon may cut: court programs that put drug offenders in rehab, not prison; budgets for colleges and universities; juvenile justice programs that help prevent crime; and money that helps former foster children go to college.

    Dismissing such apologies as unnecessary reminders of slavery's brutality, particularly its physical cruelty, ignores the lingering institutional racism that began with slavery. The resulting inequity still shows itself in inequitable wages, unfair sentencing, disparate access to health care and education, and discriminatory lending practices.
    "State sorry for slavery; here's how to apologize".


    Dry

    "March brought South Florida above-normal rainfall for the second month in a row, but regional water supplies still show signs of strain." "South Florida: Water supplies low despite above-normal rainfall".


    I'll stick with Costco, myself

    "DOJ sues Wal-Mart claiming company denied former airman his job".


    Overlooked

    "With all the hoopla over the possibility of House Speaker Marco Rubio or business mogul Philip Levine challenging Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, the only two people who have actually filed to run say they have been overlooked." "Newcomers say they're being overlooked in Dade mayor race".


    "Serious questions"

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "The Legislature should slow down the state's plan to subsidize a commuter rail line in the Orlando area. The proposal has long been plagued by serious questions, and the questions only keep coming." "Put brakes on rail project in Orlando".

    Daniel Ruth is confident that the questions will be answered:

    But while it might seem darkest before the body politics' pocket is picked, there really is no need to worry about more than a half a billion dollars being bestowed upon a private corporation by Republicans who normally get the vapors at the prospect an inner-city single mother might be living high on the hog on $200 in food stamps.

    That's because, brothers and sisters, Florida has the self-proclaimed/self-anointed "People's Governor," Charlie Crist on the case - a man who eats, drinks, sleeps nothing but the interests of the "People" day and night/night and day.

    Surely the "People's Governor" won't allow a $649 million cooked-up-in-secret diversion of the people's money steered to a private enterprise without ever giving the people, especially the people most directly affected by the out-of-the-sunshine footsie-wootsie, a chance to express their opinion in a public hearing.

    Really now, how could the "People's Governor" keep running around the state humming: "People, people who need people," while promoting himself as the "People's Governor," if the very people who are the people as in the "People's Governor" can be treated as little more than lawn jockeys by CSX and the "Special Interests Legislature"?

    See? There's nothing to worry about. People get ready, there's an election train coming.
    "Any Time Now, The Peeps' Gov Will Save Us".


    Fees

    The Orlando Sentinel editorial board points out that it "didn't take local governments long to figure out ways around the property tax cuts demanded by lawmakers and voters." "Our position: Local governments are insulting taxpayers with their fees".


    "Running out of ballots"

    "It's a simple question with no simple answer: Why do polling places across America keep running out of ballots when it's no secret that this contentious primary season keeps breaking voter turnout records?" "High turnouts mean polls may run short of ballots".


    Yesterday's news

    Stories and commentary we missed yesterday:

    - The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "An elected state education commissioner could unravel reforms".

    - "Now, having gone through a series of cuts earlier this budget year and with the Legislature looking at $2 billion or more in new cuts, some state agencies and local programs feel like they are facing their final overload." "Agencies gird for new cuts".

    - "Budget shortfall dictating choices".

    - "With four weeks gone in Florida's legislative session and four weeks to go, little in the way of meaningful legislation has made its way into law. And it could stay that way." "Slots pros, cons round political turn in U.S. race".

    - The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Florida lawmakers take time to apologize for slavery".

    - "A little-known panel of lawyers, lobbyists and ex-legislators is on the verge of placing some of the most transformative tax-and-spending changes in decades on the November ballot." "Tax changes could sock your wallet in some new ways".

    - "Tampa Bay area legislators work to get funding for local projects".

    - The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board writes that "At last, some meaningful change to FCAT": "The Florida Legislature is poised to finally make meaningful change to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which ranks right up there with hurricanes and traffic as the most despised aspects of Florida life. The change unanimously passed by the Florida Senate — and the House needs to quickly follow suit — would alter the way high schools are graded. Instead of only using the FCAT to determine a school's grade, other elements — including significant barometers like graduation rates and graduation rates of at-risk students, plus SAT and ACT scores — will be included in determining a school's overall grade."



The Blog for Sunday, March 30, 2008

You mean it was just a GOTV scam?

    "With the prospect of the Democratic ticket being topped by a black presidential contender, the apology may help Greer's minority-outreach push for Florida Republicans. Greer is actively courting black voters with a party department devoted to the effort, leadership councils and a statewide black Republican conference last fall in Orlando." "Apologies on the agenda at weekend GOP pep rally".


    Grim

    "State programs are on the chopping block as legislators grimly craft what will end up as Florida's $68 billion state budget this week. " "Lawmakers continue tug-of-war over Florida budget".


    We'll fix it next time

    "The constitutional amendment, which needs a final vote from a state tax panel to be placed on the November ballot, would cut nearly all property taxes that pay for schools and increase the statewide sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent."

    The grocery store cashier, the public school teacher and the young family trying to establish roots in suburbia could lose more of their income to state government under a proposed tax change that would give the state's wealthiest residents the biggest benefit, a Palm Beach Post analysis shows.

    The Post study, based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of personal spending, shows households with the lowest average income - $60,000 or less - would see modest tax increases under a proposed constitutional amendment being prepared for the November ballot.

    Meanwhile, households with higher income could get a tax savings.
    But there's more: you see,

    tax swap would leave a $4 billion hole in Florida's $19 billion education budget. The amendment suggests lawmakers close that gap by removing sales tax exemptions on some goods and services.

    The federal survey of consumer spending shows that poorer households spend a larger portion of their income on sales taxes compared with wealthier families.

    Even by expanding the sales tax base by repealing tax exemptions on services, as the amendment suggests, a one-penny sales tax increase would cost low-income families a bigger share of their paycheck, the analysis shows.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. survey shows wealthier households spend a larger percentage of their income on property taxes.

    That means eliminating the property taxes that pay to operate K-12 schools would erase the sales tax increase for wealthy families.
    "Tax flip benefits richer families". See also "Tax flip benefits richer families".

    Meanwhile, "Florida's business lobby has launched a campaign to torpedo the plan for additional property tax relief that the state's powerful tax commission plans to submit to voters in November. What appears at first like a tax cut, the lobbyists argue, might be a tax swap at best — and may even be an overall tax increase. Business could be the major loser." "Sun-Sentinel: Florida businesses object to plan for property tax cuts".


    "Catastrophic"

    "A tax proposal that would go to voters in November has local education leaders worried about whether enough money would go to public schools."

    ''This would be a catastrophic loss to schools,'' said Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade's associate superintendent for intergovernmental affairs. ``This may actually compromise the economic viability of public education in the state of Florida.''

    Broward Schools Superintendent Jim Notter summed up his mood this way: ``It's like I've run out of panic. What do you do when you run out of panic?''

    The talk of catastrophe stems from a plan, expected to go before voters in November, that would eliminate the state-required portion of school property taxes -- reducing property tax bills across the state by as much as 25 percent.

    The proposed constitutional amendment would require legislators to make up the shortfall in revenue -- most likely through a one-cent increase in the state sales tax and the elimination of current sales-tax exemptions, ranging from dry cleaning to legal fees.

    But the mandated guarantee to keep schools financially whole would apply only to the first year of the changeover, 2010-11.
    "Tax changes fuel fears of funding loss". And it ain't just schools: "Unprecedented Cuts Could Deflate Services" and "Lawmakers push budget cuts, housing bills".


    It must be something the NEA did

    "Economy poor for grads' job hopes".


    "wet-foot, dry-foot"; white foot, brown-foot

    "Nearly 50 undocumented Cuban migrants who landed ashore at Hollywood shortly after midnight Saturday will be allowed to stay in the United States under the existing 'wet-foot, dry-foot' policy, authorities said. Smugglers had brought the 46 migrants from Sagua la Grande, Cuba, near the island's northern coast, according to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Lazaro Guzman." "U.S. policy will permit 46 Cuban migrants to stay".


    Of "double dippers" and very stoopid editors

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board is either plain stupid or willfully ignorant: In complaining that the Florida Retirements System's Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), the dopes write that "elected officials at the state and local levels won't bring public compensation into line with private-sector pay for two reasons. First, the employees and their unions exert heavy pressure during campaigns, and second, the politicians have cut themselves a big slice of the same pie." "Force Government To Rethink Its Generous Pay and Benefits".

    It is scary absurd that anyone with an ounce of brains would say that this Legislature has ever bowed to any labor organization; stoopider still is the editors' claim that state employees receive "generous pay and benefits".

    What kind of Wall-Street-Journal-editorial-board-rock did these idiots crawl out from under?: Just a few days ago Floridians were graced with this news from a librul Tribune Company organ: "Florida ranks last in pay for state employees".

    The The St. Petersburg Times editorial board is a little closer to the mark, recognizing that the Florida Retirements System's "double dipping" problem is a "practice by elected officials", not state retirees generally.

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board nevertheless misrepresents the "problem" to tar all public employees, and to top it off spews the usual Chamber of Commerce garbage: "Public employees deserve competitive pay, not a significantly better deal than everyone else."

    I wonder what this poor dude was making a year: "FHP trooper struck during I-4 traffic stop". You can be damn sure it ain't no "a significantly better deal than everyone else". The The Tampa Tribune editors ought to be ashamed of themselves.


    Loser

    "Some people call earmarks pork-barrel politics. Others call it bringing home the bacon. U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, calls it doing his job." "Weldon lists projects".


    Already lean

    The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Florida's state court system is already a lean, hardworking justice machine. It operates with roughly half as many trial judges per citizen as other large states — 4.5 judges per 100,000 citizens compared with Texas with 10, for example, or the national average of 7.3 judges."

    Yet this year's budget crisis could, as [Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred] Lewis puts it with all the judicial calm he can muster, "place an arrow through the heart" of this branch of government if lawmakers move forward with across-the-board cuts. A 10-percent slice of the judicial budget could be more painful than with many other agencies because it starts out with just a sliver of the state's $70 billion budget. The state courts system consumes just 0.7 percent of the total, compared, for example, with education at 31 percent.

    Cutting 10 percent of a $483 million budget for one entire branch of government is dire, especially when 80 percent of that goes to the 20 circuit courts.
    "Disorderly lawmaking".


    He's got it all figured out

    Mike Thomas: "How I learned to quit worrying and love nuclear power".


    Problem solved

    "New Law Targets People Who Steal Metal For Scrap".


    Here's an idea: let's tax the expensive wines the swells like to swill?

    The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Raising Florida's cigarette tax would have dual benefits".


    Limbaugh breathes a sigh of relief

    "There is a bill in the state Legislature this year that would save more lives than any other proposal currently before lawmakers, Dr. Rafael Miguel says. It calls for the creation of a statewide database to alert physicians or pharmacists of people trying to dupe them into giving out drugs." "Proposal to monitor prescriptions stuck in Florida Legislature".


    Whatever

    "Florida legislators consider more specialty tags".


    Puffing Gaetz

    "Around the Capitol, the multi­millionaire hospice provider turned school superintendent is known for a hard-driving work ethic that respects Democrats but does not suffer fools or opposing lobbyists lightly." "GOP lawmaker Don Gaetz is rising fast as a state Senate leader".


    Poor things

    "As 48 states jockey for the best hotels and floor seats at the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver, Florida and Michigan delegates are left noodling on travel websites and wondering if they should risk shelling out plane fare." "Florida, Michigan delegates are seated in limbo".


    Daylights

    "One Florida lawmaker wants to end the annual rites of springing forward and falling back." "A little less light: Fla. lawmaker to end daylight saving time".


    'Ya think?

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board believes that "there is more to be done on the issue of wrongful incarceration. With DNA testing able to demonstrate actual innocence, a reasonable system of automatic compensation needs to be established for prisoners who were undeniably wrongly convicted." "Wrongs still righted too slowly".


    Ruth

    "Republican Hypocrisy And Lunsford Loathing In Cyberspace".


    DCF

    "Florida's child welfare agency suffers from widespread computer security issues and inconsistent background screening policies, according to an investigation prompted by the arrest of an agency spokesman on child pornography charges." "Review: Inconsistent oversight of workers at child welfare agency"

    "".


    Mahoney

    "Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, a superdelegate who won't commit to either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, criticized both candidates today for refusing to campaign in Florida before the state's disputed Jan. 29 primary." "Mahoney criticizes Clinton and Obama, won't commit to either".


    Yaaaawn ...

    "Despite state's mandate, P.E. 'activities' in Florida create little sweat".




    Poor Randy Schultz, he's "apologizing for all those editorials before the Amendment 1 vote Jan. 29. "

    Among other reasons, we wanted Floridians to reject the amendment because the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission surely would offer something better. Surely these 25 heavy hittters [sic] would take their responsibility seriously and propose real tax reform, not just another perk for all the Save Our Homes lifers like me.

    We were wrong. Last week, it became clear that whatever this supposedly prestigious commission does until it disbands in May, Floridians can't take it too seriously. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is supposed to propose constitutional amendments or laws that relate to ... taxes and the budget. The commission isn't supposed to settle political grudges. The commission isn't supposed to indulge its own members.

    Yet the commission did both.
    "Voucher vote discredits tax panel".

    Labels:


The Blog for Saturday, March 29, 2008

Florida Republicans goose stepping to Limbaugh's tune

    It isn't much of a surprise, but Florida's country club wingnuts - those courageous trust fund entrepreneurs (a French word) who pray at the temple of draft evader* Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (his real name) - are obeying his instructions to the GOPer fringe undermine McCain**.

    You see, "in the must-win state of Florida, many of the top Republican money-raisers have yet to step up for their presidential nominee. Consider that of Florida's 66 so-called Pioneers or Rangers who raised at least $100,000 for Bush-Cheney in 2000 or 2004, only nine have contributed to McCain" "GOP money in Florida slow to flow to McCain".

    - - - - - - - - - -
    *It bears repeating that Limbaugh, like his fellow chickenhawks, did not serve - he managed to wrangle a deferment. Snopes quotes from a Limbaugh bio, as follows: "for all his father's patriotism, and deep-rooted fear of Communism, Rusty (Rush) did not enlist to preserve those ideals. The official explanation, (brother) David Limbaugh says, is that Rush had a student deferment and ... a pilonidal cyst on his ass which qualified him for a medical deferment". And precisely what is a "pilonidal cyst'? According to military records, it is a cyst near Rushbo's considerable derrière in
    which excess tissue and hair may collect, causing discomfort and discharge.
    Rush couldn't buck up and fight the Commies because he might be ... ahem ... "uncomfortable"? Quite a RPOF leader, that Rush person.

    **See e.g., "McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice" and "Limbaugh on McCain". The idiot wind yesterday.


    What kind of "stewardship over the earth" is this?

    "Did you know that 300 million gallons of raw sewage is "pumped by water utilities into the Atlantic Ocean each day"?

    Southern Baptists say that the Bible teaches "that when God made mankind, He commissioned us to exercise stewardship over the earth and its creatures (Gen. 1:26-28)." Surely dumping 300 million gallons of crap and urine into the ocean each day is inconsistent with "stewardship over the earth"?

    Where are our Tallahassee evangelicals? Surely tax cuts are not more important than the teachings of the Bible?


    Rubio is apparently nuts

    The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "With his ear trained on antitax groups, maybe House Speaker Marco Rubio just couldn't hear the citizens who nearly forced an antigrowth amendment to the ballot this fall."

    But if he really thinks Florida would be better off with no development controls and no state growth agency, he will become the poster child for Hometown Democracy.

    Back in January, at a business editors' summit, Rubio went so far as to suggest he might try to abolish the state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees growth-management laws. "Regulatory compliance," he was quoted as telling the group, "is a tax."

    If regulatory compliance is a tax, then the construction industry clearly has been exempted. Look around: clogged highways, overflowing landfills, water shortages, condo towers. The 1985 Growth Management Act that developers warned would lead to widespread building moratoriums has instead served as little more than a speed bump.
    "For sensible growth".

    To which we might add, "if regulatory compliance is a tax", so is any fee increase or toll increase (even if the road is privatized), etc.


    Still more from the "values" crowd

    Here's a great way to save bucks: "The Senate has proposed slicing $6 million from the current prison food budget, while the House wants to cut $11 million." This, despite the fact that"mushy bland broccoli stems accompanied by a greasy mystery meat endowed with undercooked rice is as good as it gets for inmates behind bars. But, according to the vendor who provides the food and some lawmakers, that's still too good. Critics suggest the proposed new contract is really an attempt by Aramark to make more money by paying less for food. The company is paid not by the number of meals consumed but by the number of inmates. If fewer inmates eat the food, Aramark can save money by providing less food."

    Here's an idea: the government has 300 million gallons of "water" a day at its disposal; why not contribute it to the state prison system to be used for showers, laundering, moping floors and the like (it probably isn't potable, but you never know).

    And isn't this a nice commentary on the RPOF's privatization initiative:

    Aramark wants to do more than change the menu. The company also is proposing cutting back on the number of workers it provides prisons, shifting the responsibility to corrections officials.

    Guards would have to fill in, posing a problem for an already understaffed corrections system that could lose 1,800 guards under the Senate proposal, according to corrections officials.

    Since signing a contract with the state seven years ago, Aramark has received mixed reviews. There have been questions about food quality, quantity and potential health violations. At times, the company has been fined by the state for failure to meet the specifications of its contract.
    "Vendor, lawmakers suggest cutting $11 million from prison food deals". Back in the day (and don't ask why we know this), prison trustees would assist state employees (not corrections officers) cook the food, and that was that.


    Of alleged evil doers and paint ball guns

    Here's the rub:

    there is no evidence the men ever acquired any explosives or took any viable steps toward making the alleged plots a reality. Defense lawyers say the months of discussions about terrorism were orchestrated by the FBI and their two paid informants, unfairly entrapping the suspects.

    Attorney Albert Levin, who represents defendant Patrick Abraham, told jurors that the Bush administration and FBI are desperate to get convictions to show their strategy of preventing terrorism at the earliest stages is working.

    "This is an administration that made the war on terrorism priority number one. They want this case real bad," Levin said, pointing to the defendants. "These guys? Go find Osama bin Laden, please."
    "Jury begins deliberations in Sears Tower terror plot case".


    Can't we at least agree on this?

    "Since 2001, there are about a dozen documented cases in Florida of people sexually assaulting animals.

    While that may be disgusting, it's not illegal. Florida is one of about 20 states with no specific law prohibiting sex acts with animals." ...

    A bill introduced this session (SB 744, HB 1227) would make any contact, for the purpose of sexual gratification, with an animal a felony.
    Sen. Nan Rich, Weston Democrat "took up this bill because she believes animal abusers eventually hurt other people ... But Rich has not been to get the bill before a committee. She has asked [Republican]* Sen. Paula Dockery, chairwoman of the criminal justice committee, to take it up. Dockery could not be reached for comment." There appears to be "backlash" from a certain part of the State:
    Dee Thompson-Poirrier, director of animal control for Okaloosa County, understands the uneasiness. She said there was a lot of backlash in the community when she investigated the goat case last year in nearby Walton County**.

    When Thompson-Poirrier pushed to have a rape kit done, she said she heard: "It's just a goat lady, get a grip. A lot of people said you're wasting your money. You're wasting the court's time."
    "Bestiality bill finds slim support". Perhaps this tender part of Florida believes animal rape is a personal matter that should be handled within the goat's family, without wasteful government intrusion - after all, panhandlers believe there's already too much government regulation already? And ... hey, maybe goat stuff like that is perceived in the panhandle as part of the maturing process (of goats, that is).

    - - - - - - - - - -
    *For some reason, Dockery's political party (unlike Rich's) wasn't mentioned in the article. Dockery is of course a Republican.

    ** It is no secret that, "in the Florida Panhandle, with its stereotype of a Republican bloc-vote of retired military officers, the Christian right and unreconstructed Good Ol' Boys ... there isn't much of a presidential race ... [in 2000' Bush won the region with roughly 70 percent of the vote ... The issue's unspoken subtext is whether the region has become a Capital of Dumb and Nasty in the United States." "The Redneck Riviera, where Bush can't lose".


    It ain't exactly like ...

    ... you know ... when the drafted that Declaration of Independence thingy. The property-tax swap proposed for the November ballot remains unchanged as the committee assigned to write the final draft of the controversial plan to amend the state Constitution postponed its work until next week."

    The Style and Drafting Committee of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is charged with refining the wording of the amendment that will ask voters to replace $9.6 billion in property taxes that fund schools with sales taxes and other sources of revenue.

    But the committee struggled with what to do to fix it.

    For example, the committee asked, can they use the wording from a nearly identical proposal that is more artfully drawn or would that render the measure vulnerable to a legal challenge?
    "Another word on tax-swap proposal". See also "Final wording of proposed tax-swap amendment in flux" and "Taxation and Budget Reform Commission tweaks tax swap proposal before it heads to Florida ballot" The chair of this august Committee?: one Patricia Levesque, "Jeb!"


    Florida's tuff on crime

    "The recent arrests of two 93-year-old men in Manatee County on solicitation of prostitution charges has steamrolled across the Web in a matter of days." "93-Year-Olds In Sex Sting Make News Around World".


    Florida's booming economy

    "About 422,000 Florida residents out of a labor force of 9.2 million were out of work last month." "Fla. unemployment remained steady in February at 3-year high".


    Corporate welfare for the tourism "industry"

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board argues that, "with the state facing a budget shortfall of more than $3 billion, now is not the time to grow the budget for marketing, which Gov. Charlie Crist wants the Legislature to do. Agencies that receive state money should hold the line on spending, just as many families are being forced to do. Crist wants $10 million added to the state's tourism-promotion agency, Visit Florida, for the next fiscal year. If approved, the agency's public funding would jump from about $33.3 million to more than $43 million." "Boosting Budget To Market State A Difficult Sell In Face Of Cuts".


    "This is ... not Dogpatch"

    Daniel Ruth never tires of urinating up a rope, with pleas like this: "This is the fourth-largest state in the union. It's not Dogpatch."

    A few days ago, Hillsborough Circuit Court Chief Judge Manuel Menendez warned that the budget ax poised over the hall of justice could well bring the courts to a virtual standstill.

    Up in Tallahassee, there is talk of upping the ante to go to a state university. Public schools are trimming their budgets. Health care looks to be on life support.

    And if the bean counters have their way, the streets will start to look like something out of "The Grapes of Wrath."

    Who is responsible for this?

    Well, if you were one of those harrumphing Floridians who voted to reduce your property taxes when you approved Amendment 1 in January, the culprit to hold partly accountable for turning the state into "Deadwood" is - well, it's you, bunky.
    "Like It Or Not, Bunky, Freedom Isn't Really Free".

    Whoa: "if the bean counters have their way, the streets will start to look like something out of 'The Grapes of Wrath.'" Now that's a keeper.


    A bit much

    Sure, it's better than Jebbie's double entendre ("Kick their asses out!"), but The St. Petersburg Times editorial board is expecting a bit much don't you think: "The Legislature's baring of the shameful record of slavery should make Floridians more sensitive to calls in the black community for help in overcoming traditional barriers to education, jobs and other opportunities. Indeed, the second part of the Wednesday's resolution called for lawmakers to 'promote' healing and reconciliation. Floridians need to build on this long overdue apology." "A solemn slavery apology".


    Geniuses

    "As part of a cost-cutting move, House Republicans have proposed the suspension of patient-care standards at Florida nursing homes." "Staffing cuts weighed for nursing homes".


    Mahoney mixes it up

    "Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, a superdelegate who won't commit to either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, criticized both candidates today for refusing to campaign in Florida before the state's disputed Jan. 29 primary." "Mahoney criticizes Clinton and Obama, won't commit to either".


    "A quintessential smear campaign"

    "In a six-page ruling, the 5th District Court of Appeal found Guetzloe could be prosecuted on a single misdemeanor count for failing to include in a mailed flier that it was a 'paid electioneering communication.' The court upheld the charge and ordered him to be resentenced in the case. Guetzloe had pleaded no contest to the charges in Orange County court, pending his appeal. The court referred to Guetzloe's efforts in the 2006 campaign as 'a quintessential smear campaign.'" "Most of Goetzloe's violations overturned".


    One man's vice ...

    The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board thinks an "Increase in Florida's cigarette tax makes sense".


    Knuckledraggers admit using Con amendments as a GOTV scheme

    "Republicans hope advancing the two causes will serve as a "market correction" to the party under Crist, nourish soft support for presidential nominee John McCain and combat recent Democratic gains in state elections."

    "There has been no shortage of stories that the Christian right is dead. But family values voters are surging right now," said John Stemberger, the Orlando activist behind the gay marriage ban.

    "There's a lot of people just looking for leadership and issues that can bring them out. Now we have those vehicles," said Dennis Baxley, a former state representative from Ocala who now heads the Christian Coalition of Florida.

    Whether the surge is something real or a last gasp of the Jeb Bush era remains to be seen, of course. But getting the items on the ballot is an unqualified success that took many by surprise.
    Much more from Alex Leary here: "Conservatives show they still matter".


    Under water

    "Coastal communities in South Florida need to start planning now if they want to avoid damage from rising sea levels, federal and state officials said Friday." If you thought this might amount to some sort of recognition that gloabal warming exists, you'd be wrong:

    Participants at the briefing did not specifically use the term "global warming."
    "Coasts urged to prepare for rising sea levels".


    Whatever

    "A bill before a Florida Senate committee would cut in half the amount of money the Innovation Incentive Fund grant program invests in biotechnology companies and research centers." "Measure could cut biotech funding".


    And your point is?

    Douglas Lyons thinks the RPOFers are so nice to recognize that slavery was a bad thing: "State lawmakers this week officially apologized for slavery. It would be easy to blow the whole thing off with such knee-jerk statements like "It's about time!', 'Better late than never!' or simply 'So what?' But, this is the Florida Legislature we're talking about here, and say what you want about them, few would put the words 'politically correct' and 'state legislators' in the same sentence to describe this bunch. It just isn't done." "Douglas C. Lyons: Enlightened resolution by Legislature".


    'Ya reckon?

    The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board asks the question that should be on everyone's mind?: "Since when do school vouchers qualify as a tax and budget reform?" "Floridians are closer than they think to a vote on whether to spend tax dollars on religious institutions, including private schools. It's not like the public's clamoring for it, as they are for property tax and insurance reform, but that hasn't deterred the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission." "School vouchers shouldn't be part of Florida's needed tax and budget reform".