GOPer Grandstanding Hurts Florida

"High unemployment, rising clothing costs and even the debt-ceiling battle in Washington are all making Florida parents reluctant to splurge on their children heading back to school." "Back-to-school spending expected to be down". See also "Congressional indecision on debt threatens Palm Beach County's bond rating".




Ricky Sends Video to Perry Prayer Event

"Scott not lobbying Perry to jump in GOP primary, but will send video to prayer event".




The Balance Trap

By equating the Behavior of West and DWS, Steven Kurlander falls into the "balance trap" this morning: "Feud between West and Wasserman Schultz hurts South Florida, and the nation".




This Lawyer is "Suspiciously Low on Proof"

Scott Maxwell: "Earlier this year, the Florida Attorney General's Office was in the midst of a pull-no-punches investigation into foreclosure fraud. Investigators were exposing rampant abuses. They'd netted a $2 million settlement from one company. And they were gunning for more. But then in May, two things happened:"

First, the "special counsel" to Attorney General Pam Bondi left to take a high-level job with one of the very companies the office was investigating.

One week later, the investigators were forced out of their jobs, told late on a Friday afternoon that they had 90 minutes to decide whether to resign or be fired.

No longer could Assistant AGs Theresa Edwards and June Clarkson investigate Lending Processing Services — the company at which Bondi's former special counsel, Joe Jacquot, was now a senior vice president. ...

Bondi claims her office's recent ousters weren't affected by cozy relationships with anyone — that Edwards and Clarkson were ousted purely for "poor performance."

But she is suspiciously low on proof.

"Taxpayers fund, get smacked by Bondi's 'revolving door'".




Haridopolos Blows Off 2012 Congress Run

Aaron Deslatte writes that "Haridopolos [has] ruled out running for Congress in 2012, despite the persistent chatter that a district would be drawn to accommodate him."




The Best Medical Care In The World?

"Despite insurance, medical bills push family to bankruptcy".




"Voters are Being Assaulted"

The geniuses on the Saint Petersburg Times editorial board equate the political contributions of "big business and labor unions":

The full impact of an unfortunate U.S. Supreme Court opinion last year is already smacking Floridians in the face. Just as critics predicted, voters are being assaulted by a barrage of hard-hitting television ads that rip Democratic candidates and even a few Republicans — and they often don't know who paid for them. The floodgates are opened for big business and labor unions[*] to spend obscene sums on these attack ads, and the least Congress should do is require instant public disclosure of who is paying for all of that television time.

"Court ruling opens floodgates of mud".

- - - - - - - - - -
*Political contributions by labor are dwarfed by those of business. Yet, for the sake of "balance" alleged "liberals" like newspaper editors propagate the falsehood that business and labor spend equivalent amounts. Indeed, "business interests dominate, with an overall advantage over organized labor of about 15-to-1." Meanwhile, the overrated "Politifact" remains, as always, silent on anything that might be fair to labor unions.




When in Doubt, Go Regressive

Mike Thomas whines that "insuring a house in Florida soon could cost almost as much as the house itself."

Thomas then pimps the absurd idea of Florida's Senate pipsqueak,

a Marco Rubio idea from 2007: lower the cost of homeownership by eliminating property taxes. ... Rubio proposed eliminating taxes on homestead property and replacing them with a 2.5-cent increase in the sales tax.

"Ax property taxes to ease homeowner-insurance pain".




Huntsman Goes Red

"Focus on Mars, Huntsman urges in Orlando speech".




Extremist Whines About Dems "Using the Extremist Label"

"Florida's two U.S. senators debated the nature of extremism Saturday as Congress remained in partisan gridlock over the federal government's debt ceiling." "Florida Sens. Marco Rubio, Bill Nelson debate nature of extremism in debt battle".

Remember this about Mr. Rubio: "Rubio Appears With Far Right Evangelical, Revisionist Historian". Marco of course got a pass on this from his adoring Florida media. As we know, Florida's ink stained wretches desperately want, if not "Jeb!", someone from Florida to run for national office. That way, Florida's alleged journalists will at last get to ride on the big bus with the real reporters.




Never Mind the "Hefty Salaries" for Management

"Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is demanding concessions from county employees in a bid to cut spending. At the same time he is handing hefty salaries to his new coterie of top advisors that rival — and even surpass — some of the pricey compensation packages paid in the previous administration ousted by a voter recall."

- Jack Osterholt, who is leaving his post as executive director of the South Florida Regional Planning Council and will earn $250,000 as a deputy mayor;

- Genaro "Chip" Iglesias, the former Key Biscayne village manager and previous Gimenez aide, who will now serve as chief of staff and deputy mayor for $225,000; and

- Alina T. Hudak, the county manager and top administrator when Gimenez was elected last month, who will stay on as a deputy mayor earning $259,000

"New Miami-Dade mayor defends salary level for top advisors".

The usual suspects whine that folks should "straighten your undies" because, you know, unlike lazy cops and firemen "everyone’s sacrificing here — even experienced, college-educated types." "Complaining about Gimenez’s staff is misplaced".




Browning Takes Voter Suppression to DC

"Secretary of State Kurt Browning has asked a federal court to approve Florida's new election law, sidestepping the U.S. Justice Department on the most controversial portions of the voting overhaul approved by the GOP-dominated legislature in May."

In a release, Browning hinted that the state wouldn't get a fair evaluation from the administration of President Obama, a Democrat. ...

Florida, Texas and Wisconsin are among states where GOP-dominated legislatures have passed election overhauls that opponents say are aimed at suppressing Democratic votes.

"Does new Florida election law make it harder for some to register to vote?".




Busy Busy

"The governor’s lawyer, Charles Trippe, is a busy man".




"Abuse from the Natives"

Aaron Deslatte: "Senate President Mike Haridopolos isn't afraid of much these days. Two weeks after ending the biggest campaign of his life, the 41-year-old legislator sat for three hours at a redistricting hearing on his home turf and took some abuse from the natives." "Haridopolos unfazed despite criticism".




Wingnuts Never Seem to Die ... Or Even Fade Away

Mike Lafferty: "Like Frankenstein, Charley Reese's 'final' column lives again".




Yee Haw! I'm Gonna Get Me a Juror

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Judge Perry's orders threaten the constitutional right of access to the courts". The Daytona Beach News Journal editors: "Anthony case fallout threatens crucial liberties".




Prisons for Sale

"The most sweeping change of all on Buss' watch wasn't his idea — it was the Legislature's. By January, 30 prisons and work release centers in South Florida will all be outsourced to a private company." "New state prison boss pushing big changes".




Kingsley Finds a Wedge Issue

Kingsley Guy: "Florida legislators, have you no shame? How can you countenance this blatant assault on poor people in the name of environmentalism? Is it because poor people tend not to vote, while hybrid owners generally go to the polls? " "'Green' energy: Environmental policies hurt the poor".




Draper Talks Back

Eric Draper, executive director of Florida Audubon Society, responds to what he calls a "derisive column" in the Sunshine State News by Nancy Smith: "Proposing Solutions to Protect South Florida’s Water".




Surely the Dagny Taggerts Among Us Will Step Forward

"States ponder: What happens when the money stops?"




Sweet Irony

The Orlando Sentinel's Kate Santich's excellent piece, about the "strikingly common" problem of Floridians with health insurance being pushed into bankruptcy as a result of medical bills, closes with these words:

Despite the debts wiped away by the bankruptcy, the [family] have no credit cards, and they no longer have any insurance coverage themselves. For now, they simply hope they don't get sick.

Hmm ... they hope they "don't get sick" ... now where have we heard that before? It has such a familiar ring to it.

Goodness gracious ... now I remember ... "don't get sick" is precisely how one Alan Grayson - the former Democratic Congressman from Central-Florida - famously described

The Republicans' health care plan for America: Don't get sick. That's right. Don't get sick. If you have insurance, don't get sick. If you don't have insurance, don't get sick. If you are sick, don't get sick. Just don't get sick. That's what the Republicans have in mind for you, America. That's the Republicans' health care plan.

How prescient Mr. Grayson was ... he used the very same words Orlando Sentinel reporter Santich used in describing the health insurance predicament some Floridians today find themselves in.

Ironically, the Orlando Sentinel editors recently savaged Congressman Grayson for saying the same thing - via precisely the same words relayed by Ms. Santich in her story today.

Indeed, the Orlando Sentinel and the rest of the hypocritical Republican/corporate establishment went apoplectic over Grayson's remarks, with the Sentinel leading the way,endorsing Grayson's opponent (a TeaBagger wingnut who opposes abortion even in cases of rape) in a hit piece, that merely echoed Republican/Chamber of Commerce propaganda. See also: "Orlando Sentinel can't handle Grayson".

Yet today, the Sentinel publishes that a Florida family "simply hope[s] they don't get sick." How ironic is that?