The best medical system in the world?

"More patients turning to ER for dental care".

"Florida held the earliest primary in the country from 1920 to 1968"

"Four years ago, Democratic presidential candidates terrified of antagonizing party activists in the exalted early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire signed a pledge to boycott Florida's earlier-than-allowed January presidential primary."

No one was more disgusted by that boycott — and especially the image of candidates raising money from Florida fat cats while refusing to mix it up with rank-and-file voters — than the chief protector of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

"I did not support that boycott. No elected official in New Hampshire did,'' said New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner. "The fact that a candidate could talk about his vision for America to people that were willing to pay, but the average little guy couldn't necessarily be there is the absolute upside down of what it should be — and the opposite of what New Hampshire is about."

Some background: Presidential primaries didn't even exist until early 20th century reformers such as Wisconsin's progressive Gov. Robert La Follette grew resentful that party bosses picked the nominees in back-room deals. The first state to hold a presidential primary election? Florida, where Democrats in 1904 elected delegates to the national convention, though these delegates were free to back whoever they chose.

Florida held the earliest primary in the country from 1920 to 1968 (Iowa weighs in earlier, but those are arcane caucus elections), before the Granite State's primary gained the status it has today. That year in New Hampshire, Democratic incumbent Lyndon Johnson barely squeaked by longshot Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy.

"The Panhandle's Joe McCarthy rode his pitchfork to the rescue"

Daniel Ruth: "Whew! That was a close call. If this obvious conspiracy to dragoon Durant High School students into the Ho Chi Minh Fan Club had been allowed to fester, no telling where things might have wound up."

But thanks to Geoff Ross, the Panhandle's Joe McCarthy who rode his pitchfork to the rescue, Durant is safe from all manner of fifth columnists, saboteurs and Sandinistas plotting to transform the student body into a bunch of sniffling Bolshevik do-gooders.

Ross, who is a member of the tea party and the John Birch Society, which wins the quiniela of paranoid conspiracy theories, was stunned to learn Durant counselor Angel Vazquez had invited students to participate in a variety of discussion groups to explore issues such as bullying.

Vazquez also created a discussion forum he called the "Justice League," which would explore topics such as equality for all — clearly the evil handiwork of the dark forces of oppression. After all, once you start jabbering away about social equality, just as those Trotskyites who drafted the Declaration of Independence, folks might start to expect to be treated equally. Where does it end?

Cue The Internationale.

The very idea that students in an educational setting could be exposed to radical concepts like social justice in Plant City so aggrieved some Durant parents that they informed Ross, who contacted the school to complain that "social justice" sounded an awful lot like Marxist communism to him.

Ross, who took time from combing out his pelt collection in Navarre, expressed concerns that Vazquez was promoting a "pity party" for people who might be poor, or oppressed, or discriminated against because of their race, or some other social glitch. ...

Indeed, [principal Pamela] Bowden was so rattled by Ross' academic Salem witch trial, she felt compelled to justify her own patriotism to the Gen. Curtis LeMay of the Panhandle.

When a public high school principal has to pass some specious litmus test to prove her love of country to a tea party/commie-behind-every-bush John Birch Society zealot, you understand why Vazquez created a social justice discussion group.

In an email distributed to his supporters, Ross bragged, incorrectly, that Vazquez had undergone the public school equivalent of having his epaulets ripped off his shoulders in a thorough shaming involving a summary "court-martial."

Feds back consumers over Scott and the Florida insurance industry

"Seven insurance companies are at risk of having to provide their customers rebates after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday refused to waive a requirement that 80 percent premium collected by insurance companies be targeted to medical care."

Steve Larsen said he did not accept the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's argument that immediate implementation of the new medical loss ratio requirement would adversely affect Florida's insurance marketplace. Larsen is the deputy administrator and director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which is in charge of granting the waivers.

"We do think it's a competitive market," Larsen told reporters in a conference call announcing the decision.

Larsen said that even had HHS accepted the OIIR's argument that insurance companies would leave the state, Florida has a "guarantee issue requirement" that means customers would be protected. Under a guarantee issue requirement, if a company withdrew from the state its insureds could go to another company without being discriminated against.

Larsen sent a 16-page letter to the Office of Insurance Regulation Director Kevin McCarty explaining the decision. Larsen was somewhat critical in the letter noting that his office was asked by several advocacy groups to hold a hearing on the state's waiver request. Although Larsen denied to hold the hearing, he was sympathetic to the organizations' concerns that the OIR's efforts to gather testimony on how the MLR would impact the state was one-sided.

OIR spokesman Jack McDermott said the office was notified by telephone that its waiver was rejected. McDermott said the office was "disappointed" in the decision.

Empty suits, no ideas

"The $1 trillion omnibus spending bill passed the U.S. House Friday without the help of seven Florida representatives. Conservatives assailed the measure, which passed 296-121, for a variety of reasons." "Seven Florida Republicans Balked at $1 Trillion Federal Spending Bill".

FlaBaggers warn of UN "intervention in 2012 election"

"Tea Party Manatee, based in Southwest Florida, sent out an email newsletter this week ... warning that the U.N. is 'trying to Intervene in 2012 Elections.' According to group’s email:"

- In November 2012 Foreign bureaucrats will appear at your polling station to ensure you adhere to their vision of a ‘fair’ election.

- Local polling officials who dare to enforce state clean election laws will be subject to lawsuits and arrest.

- Conservative political speech will be deemed hateful and be suppressed.

- Just enough voter fraud will be allowed to ensure a second term for Barack Hussein Obama.

This is not a fantasy – next week it will start to become reality when a delegation of leftist Obama supporters will meet with the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. And there they will lay the groundwork to ensure the United Nations takes action in time to save Barack Obama.

You see, the Democratic Left is terrified of the new clean election laws being passed across America. These laws have cleared our voter lists of the dead and the ineligible, require voter identification for everyone and insist that our military be allowed to vote.

And clean elections are the single greatest weapon we have to ensure an honest vote in 2012 and a single term for Barack Obama. And the Left can’t allow that to happen.

So they will make their case for action to the UN Human Rights Council – an international government origination so biased that even Hillary Clinton has denounced it.

Council members like Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Mexico and China will review your election laws and judge if you measure up to their idea of democracy. How can we accomplish any of our goals, like repealing health care rationing, securing the borders and balancing our budget if we can’t even control our own elections?

That’s why we need to send a clear message to the UN – stay out of America’s elections and abandon Barack Obama to the judgment of the American people. I need you to tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to send that very message to the United Nations – by any means necessary.

Never mind the pork

"In Senate bid, Connie Mack no longer boasts of getting budget pork".

West-Baggery

"A Florida Republican congressman who likened Democrats' opinion shaping to the efforts of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels defended his comment Friday as criticism mounted. U.S. Rep. Allen West, a freshman, made the Nazi reference Thursday when asked about Congress' approval ratings and the blame that the public has apparently assigned to Republicans."

West represents a South Florida district that has an influential Jewish constituency and a sizeable population of Holocaust survivors. He told reporters, in his remarks at the Capitol, that he was comparing Democrats to Nazi propaganda, not the Nazis themselves, but that did little to quell controversy.

"Congressman West needs to immediately apologize for insulting the memories of the millions who lost their lives during the Holocaust," said Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Comparing political differences today to the worst Nazi propagandist diminishes what happened to millions of Jewish families during the Second World War. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that Congressman West has made this type of hateful remark that makes a mockery of what millions of Jewish families suffered."

West, one of two new black Republicans to join the 112th Congress this year, is a tea party favorite who has repeatedly drawn attention for off-the-cuff comments. He defended his latest remarks, saying through a spokeswoman that twisting his comments was "a perfect example" of what he was talking about.

"Who couldn’t see the charter school mess coming?"

Fred Grimm: "Unrestrained conflicts of interest. Little accountability. Slip-shod ethics. Lax oversight. Add landlords and developers and for-profit management companies to the formula. Tempt them with $400 million dollars of public money. Who couldn’t see the charter school mess coming?" "Charter school mess is no surprise".

The Miami Herald editorial board: "As reported in the Herald’s three-part series, Cashing in on kids, about 12 percent of charter schools that have opened in the past two decades have closed. In the Sunshine State, that failure rate is double."

Why the disparity?

Florida law has few regulations to check on finances and academics at charter schools. In fact, during the first few years of charters Florida didn’t even require the schools to make public their students’ FCAT scores. The point of charters was to free schools from some of the requirements that public schools must abide by, like class size limits. But at what point does this produce a drastically unlevel playing field? Florida seems to be perilously close to that breaking point. ...

[I]n Florida, it’s a free for all.

At some charter school boards, the members have ties to for-profit companies like Academica that oversee those charter schools’ finances and help hire principals and teachers — principals who then sit on other boards of other Academica-guided schools. ...

The goal should be a high-quality education for all students — no exceptions.

The best they can do

"A conservative Hispanic political group is teaming up with the Republican Party of Florida to sponsor a presidential primary debate on Jan. 26." "Hispanic group co-sponsoring Fla. GOP debate".

Rivera slithers into loophole

"The year-long Miami-Dade state attorney’s office investigation into Congressman David Rivera’s personal and campaign finances has stalled over questions about more than $100,000 in undisclosed campaign donations that appear to fall under a little-known loophole in Florida’s campaign-finance laws."

Rivera collected the money not for a political office but for a campaign he mounted for an obscure, unpaid position within the Republican Party. Campaigns for party posts are not governed by state election laws, allowing Rivera to raise and spend as much money as he wanted without public disclosure or contribution limits.

That exception could make it difficult for investigators to charge Rivera with any wrongdoing, if the money they have been probing turns out to be unregulated by state law.

State prosecutors, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, discovered the funds while probing Rivera’s finances dating back to his years in the state House, including payments from a Miami gambling company to a firm with ties to Rivera.

"Only a few other states pay less"

"The prospect of higher taxes for 9 million Floridians and an economic loss of $5.6 billion for the state was held hostage Friday as Congress debated whether to extend a payroll tax holiday. But members of Congress reached an 11th-hour agreement to temporarily extend the tax break to 160 million Americans."

Congress also was locked up over whether to extend emergency unemployment insurance, a benefit the CBO rated to have the best bang for the buck of so-called stimulus options.

Because so many workers have been without stable income, except unemployment benefits, for so long, economists say those who receive the checks are most likely to spend them and in turn spur the economy.

"The No. 1 problem that companies tell us they're facing in the economy is insufficient demand," said Alan Krueger, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. "Having more of the unemployed receive unemployment insurance allows them to maintain their consumption and buy goods and services."

In Florida, weekly benefits average $225, $75 less than the national average. Only a few other states pay less.

Private contractor incompetence

"Private contractors that are supposed to guard against Medicare fraud paid claims submitted in the names of dead providers or for unnecessary medical treatments, which were among problems estimated to cost more than $1 billion in 2009, according to an inspector general report released Friday." "Study: Problems with Medicare contractors persist".

Occupy Florida

"Tampa's strip club king opens park for protesters". See also "Occupy Tampa to march on Obama office to protest National Defense Authorization Act".

Charter schools do it the easy way

"From South Dade to the northern reaches of Broward County, only a handful of students with profound disabilities make it into charter schools, according to a Miami Herald/StateImpact Florida analysis of student enrollment data. The trend holds true across the state, where 87 percent of charter schools don’t serve any students with the most intense support needs."

[T]he trend is troubling to advocates of children with disabilities, who say charter schools are legally obligated to admit and educate students with the most intense support needs. Like traditional public schools, charter schools are funded by taxpayer dollars, and must abide by anti-discrimination laws and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. State law also says that students with disabilities shall have an “equal opportunity of being selected for enrollment” in a charter school.

“Charter schools were supposed to provide a choice for parents,” said Isabel Garcia, executive director of Parent to Parent of Miami, a nonprofit organization that provides support to families with special needs children. “Unfortunately, charter schools are not a choice option for children with disabilities.”

When it comes to children with less acute disabilities such as learning disorders, South Florida charter schools enroll numbers proportionate to the local school districts.

Yet in Miami-Dade, only two out of 109 charter schools serve children with more profound disabilities like autism and cerebral palsy. One is a specialized school for children with developmental delays, the other for children with autism.

"Shrinking Citizens"

Aaron Deslatte: "Florida legislators to take aim at shrinking Citizens".

Entrepreneurs in action

"Nevada's attorney general traded barbs Friday with the nation's largest lender services company after filing a lawsuit in Las Vegas accusing it of orchestrating a 'robo-signing' scheme to file fraudulent documents in the months before the local housing market collapsed."

Lender Processing Services, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said it "strongly disputes the allegations," and promised to fight.

"Florida overpaid private prisons $13M over 8 years"

The Chamber lackeys comprising the Tampa Tribune editorial board write that "the Legislature last session passed a measure calling for the privatization of nearly 30 South Florida prisons, a change lawmakers said would save $22 million."

To be sure, the wisdom of such a sweeping privatization move is debatable.

Prison privatization has been highly successful, when there is adequate public oversight. But privatization also has led to waste and scandal.

A 2005 audit found that Florida overpaid two private prisons $13 million over eight years. An investigation a few years before found the now-defunct commission overseeing the state's privately run prisons was more concerned with boosting the profits of politically influential firms than protecting taxpayers.

Who needs juries?

"[A] group called Patients for Fair Compensation proposes a sweeping overhaul to create a workers comp-style system that would adjudicate malpractice claims and curb the costly practice of 'defensive medicine.'" "Medical Malpractice Reform Would Install 'Patient's Compensation System'".

League of Women Voters joins lawsuit challenging voter suppression

"New rules in Florida are causing voter-registration rates to drop and turning 'civic participation into a mountain of red tape,' League of Women Voters of Florida President Deirdre Macnab said in Orlando on Friday." "Critics keep up attack on new voter registration law". Background: "Voter groups sue over Florida voting law".

Out here in the fields

"Current: Farmworker advocates hope Senate report will help Apopka residents". See also "Farmworker representative says Senate report provides validation for Lake Apopka workers".

The Obama machine

Jeremy Wallace writes that "the campaign operation most active in preparation for the fall 2012 election might come as a surprise."

President Barack Obama’s campaign arm and Democrats have been quietly dispatching dozens of field representatives throughout the state to begin building a ground game for next November, recruiting potential supporters and preparing to deal with new voter laws. ....

Florida is again expected to play a critical role, especially given the demographics that could determine the outcome.

The best the AIF could do?

"Former U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney is the new head of Associated Industries of Florida, replacing Barney Bishop, who was ousted from the job earlier this year. Feeney is also a former Speaker of the Florida House." "Former U.S. Rep. Feeney is new head of business lobby group".

Weekly Roundup

"Weekly Roundup: Medicaid Reform, FAMU, Jobs".

"Great Tallahassee Schools Scam is heading our way"

Randy Schultz: "Anyone who knows the politics of public education in Florida would have seen it coming. We at The Post did. Now, though, we can confirm that another Great Tallahassee Schools Scam is heading our way."

This one is about merit pay, the latest supposed miracle cure for education. The Legislature passed a merit-pay plan in 2010, but Gov. Crist - desperate for non-Republican votes - vetoed the bill that teachers hated. Teachers didn't much like the similar bill the Legislature passed this year, but there's a new governor who doesn't need the teacher unions, and he signed it with gusto.

The plan is supposed to work this way: A sure-fire evaluation system will separate good teachers from slackers. Overachievers will get more money - merit pay - and underachievers will get fired. Repeat each year. Pretty soon, Florida will have nothing but good teachers. ...

Last Monday, though, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson met with The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board. We asked who would pay for merit pay. The state? Nope. "It will be up to local school districts," Mr. Robinson said. "It always was going to be state and local."

In other words, school districts that already face budget cuts for next year - about $53 million, in Palm Beach County's case - will have to find money for a program they didn't want. If the districts don't find the money, the Legislature will blame them for failing to support good teachers, blocking education reform and undermining Florida's economic future. Or worse.

It's typical Tallahassee, which supports public education right up the point of paying for it.

Big of him

"Scott is spreading the Christmas cheer to state workers. He ordered Department of Management Services Secretary Jack Miles to give all nonessential employees a paid day off on Friday, Dec. 23, in order to give them more time to celebrate the Christmas holiday. He also noted that state workers have not received a cost of living increase in over five years." "Christmas bonus: State employees get extra paid day off".

Bondi flip-flops

"Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who last week spoke of 'many money laundering cases' involving the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, now says her information came from a conversation she had with a detective at a party." "Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi walks back casino money-laundering claim".

"Unemployment down a tad"

"Florida’s unemployment rate slid to 10 percent in November, down 0.4 percent from the previous month and its lowest mark since 2009, according to new data released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity." "Florida’s unemployment drops to 10 percent". See also "Unemployment down a tad".

Putnam glowing

"Putnam to Push for More Nuclear, Renewables in 2012". Related: "Putnam says his department is putting finishing touches on energy bill".

"Just in time for the holidays"

"Just in time for the holidays … attack TV ads to kick off Florida's presidential primary."

A political group working to elect Mitt Romney is launching TV ads in Tampa Bay criticizing former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as a baggage-laden disaster against whom President Barack Obama would love to run. ...

Restore Our Future is a so-called Super Pac that can spend vast sums helping candidates but is not allowed to coordinate directly with the campaign. Several former Romney campaign staffers are working for Restore Our Future, which has been heavily funded by longtime Romney supporters.

The Senate failed to get enough votes Monday night to take up the nomination of Mari Carmen Aponte, who has been serving on an interim basis as ambassador to El Salvador. The White House lashed out at Republicans for blocking the vote, calling their move Monday night one that played “politics with America's national interests.”

A spokesman for Rubio said the Obama administration was playing “ethnic politics,” and said the Florida senator would abandon efforts to work with the administration on Aponte's nomination. She's been serving as the ambassador to El Salvador since mid-2010, when President Obama appointed her during a recess. ...


Yet Hispanic Democrats in Florida have taken notice, too. They include Florida state Rep. Darren Soto of Orlando and Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, who ran against Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, in 2008 and again unsuccessfully for Miami-Dade County Commission last year. Taddeo-Goldstein on Monday urged people to call Rubio's office to criticize his vote.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. ... was critical this week of an op-ed Aponte wrote in a Salvadoran newspaper praising the country for its support of a U.N. declaration that calls for eliminating violence against gays and lesbians.

State's workforce the smallest and cheapest in the nation

"Florida's state workforce shrank by about 3.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according the State Personnel System Annual Workforce Report for 2010-11, released by the Department of Management Services."

There were no raises for the second year in a row. The average salary for state employees declined slightly, by about $642, and remains below 2006-07 levels. During the same period, private sector wages have risen by 4.5 percent. Florida's state workforce remains both the smallest and cheapest in the nation on a per capita basis, edging out Arizona in both categories and costing the average resident $38, or just above half the national average of $75.

Prodigy denies parental involvement

"John Martinez says dad didn't play role in Orange post".

"How in the world"?

The Miami Herald editorial board: "How in the world did Florida slip from being a virtual magnet for this nation’s seniors looking to spend their golden years in 'paradise' to a place where the most frail among them can be abused and neglected — to death — in assisted living facilities charged with their care? Worse, for years the state has practically given the worst facilities its blessing." "Step it up, AHCA".

Jobless fear benefits lapse

"Florida's limping economy will sustain a further blow if Congress does not extend emergency unemployment benefits set to expire Jan. 1. The state stands to lose roughly $30 million a week in direct benefits and even more in the loss of mortgage payments, grocery purchases and other spending the out-of-work may no longer be able to afford." "Florida's jobless fear possible benefits lapse".

Pasco goes Paul

"Ron Paul tops in GOP straw poll in Pasco".

Start-Ups

"Start-Ups Drive Florida Job Creation, Report Finds".

"Legislature might shelve social issues during session"

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "It was refreshing to hear that the Florida Legislature might shelve social issues during the upcoming 60-day session, which this year begins in January."

But way too often, once the Legislature assembles and should be taking care of the serious business that faces the state, lawmakers find themselves delving into issues like abortion, and teaching evolution in schools, and prayer in schools, and other such topics.

And sometimes they want to talk about the dire need to bring back dwarf-tossing, or wanting to end lethal injections for executions and go instead to firing squads or even the return of Old Sparky. Even sex with animals gets a hearing.

And if all else fails, they will talk about the need for another vanity license plate, or picking the official state yogurt.

It all makes for a few jokes and keeps columnists busy, but it does a great disservice to the citizens of Florida.

Dorworth fights for sewage

"HB 999 by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, could bridge differences earlier this year between the House and Senate on repealing the inspection requirement put in place in 2010. Supporters in 2010 said an estimated 260,000 failing septic tanks need to be identified and repaired or replaced to avoid polluting springs and groundwater." "Dorworth files bill to repeal septic tank inspection requirement".

Cannon sees no reason to delay budget vote

"Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon said Tuesday that he sees no reason to delay a vote on the budget. His counterparts in the Senate have floated the idea and said they are nervous about deciding on the budget two months ahead of schedule during a crucial stage of the state's still-fragile economic recovery." "Cannon: No need to delay budget decision".

Scott loses another one

"Former Rep. Kim Berfield resigned from her job at the Department of Health on Tuesday. Her decision to step down comes after a previous shakeup across the agency." "Former legislator leaves top post at state health agency".

"Florida has one of the worst rates of child homelessness in the country"

"According to a report released today by The National Center on Family Homelessness, Florida has one of the worst rates of child homelessness in the country." "Report: Florida among 10 worst states for child homelessness".

Occupying the Legislature

"This past weekend, Occupy Wall Street-inspired groups from all over the state came to together in Orlando to outline priorities for the upcoming state legislative session. ... About 200 people showed up to the People’s Convention, Garcia says. Among the cities represented at the convention were Ocala, Orlando, Jacksonville, Key West, Lakeland, Citrus, Gainesville, Tampa, Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale and The Villages." "Florida Occupy groups organize for legislative session during statewide convention".

"Victory for the state’s Holocaust survivors"

"A French railroad that carried thousands of Jews to their deaths in Nazi Germany will have no part of teaching Florida’s children about the Holocaust, the state education commissioner has decided."

SNCF America, the U.S. subsidiary of the French National Railroad, had agreed to pay $80,000 to the state for a program focusing on France’s role in the Holocaust. But Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson told an SNCF administrator in a letter last week that he was terminating its partnership after “thoughtful consideration of numerous concerns raised.”

It was a victory for the state’s Holocaust survivors, who fought a passionate battle against the railroad, which transported about 76,000 Jews during World War II. The survivors said the company has not taken full responsibility for its role in the Holocaust and should have no part in the state’s Holocaust education efforts.

Their fight received support from Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio as well as 11 U.S. House members. In September, they wrote a joint letter to Robinson criticizing the department’s involvement with SNCF.

“We are told again and again that all it takes for evil to succeed is for people to do nothing,” said Rita G. Hofrichter, 84, of Sunny Isles Beach, who lost her parents and other relatives in the Holocaust. “We have done something, and I’m very proud of that effort.”

The survivors said SNCF has not paid reparations to victims, and they saw SNCF’s donation as a public relations ploy in its effort to secure billions of dollars in U.S. rail contracts.

Medicaid deform

"Feds want changes to Broward Medicaid reform pilot". See also "New mandates stall decisions on $1 billion in health care spending" and "What could be changing in Florida Medicaid".

The Senate Budget Committee chairman's demand for a mountain of records from state universities comes just weeks after his bullying failed to pry away the Lakeland branch campus from the University of South Florida. Any valid points of inquiry Alexander has are dwarfed by his abuse of his public office and his obsession to create a separate new university as his legacy.

Subtlety is not one of Alexander's strong points. His heavy-handed efforts to steal USF Polytechnic away from the university were bad enough. But his behavior has only gotten worse since the Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, voted last month to create a deliberate process for a split that could take several years. This is a vendetta that knows no boundaries.

"Horrid poll numbers"

"Rick Scott isn't the only freshman Southeastern governor with horrid poll numbers. But after nearly a year in office, that's small solace for Florida's chief executive" "Focused on Jobs, Rick Scott's Work Generates Low Poll Numbers".

AIDS drug waiting list

"Number of Floridians on AIDS drug waiting list ticks back up".

"Drilling off Cuba prompts talks"

"Officials from Caribbean countries, including the U.S. and Cuba, met to discuss plans in case a disaster happens at an oil rig off Cuba’s coast." "Oil drilling off Cuba prompts talks in region".

Scott's Open Government Chief has had enough

"Rick Scott's Open Government Chief Carolyn Timmann Stepping Down at Year's End".

Florida League of Cities goes after firefighters and cops

"The Florida League of Cities argues municipalities across Florida could save hundreds of millions of dollars by revamping pension and disabilities benefits that the state requires for law enforcement officers and firefighters. The league, as a top priority for the 2012 session, wants Florida legislators to overturn state mandates that have been in place since 1999." "League of Cities Seeks to Roll Back Pension Plans for Police, Firefighters". See also "Fla. cities again push legislature to revise law requiring extra benefits for police, firefighters" ("The current law was passed by a Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Bush in 1999, as Bush delivered on a 1998 campaign promise made while getting the endorsement of the Florida Police Benevolent Association and Florida Professional Firefighters Association.")

Bondi gets a lecture

"Las Vegas Sands Objects to Bondi's No Casino Comments".

"Invasion of the surreal"

Fred Grimm: "It was the invasion of the surreal: thousands and thousands of gelatinous sea creatures, with their dangling venomous tentacles, overwhelming the cooling canal of the St. Lucie nuclear power plant, washing up against the turtle protection nets, clogging the intake screens. So many jellyfish filled the canal that Florida Power & Light shut down the St. Lucie reactor for two days."

Jonathan Gorham, a marine biologist with Inwater Research Group, the non-profit group overseeing the sea turtle protection program at the St. Lucie plant, said he had seen jellyfish blooms in the Gulf of Mexico last summer large enough to disrupt the shrimp harvest.

The invasions of July and August, of course, are anecdotes — data points, Gorham called them — but they coincide, unhappily, with scientific theories that jellyfish, which seem to thrive in warmer waters, are harbingers of global climate change. Marine scientists also wonder whether the anecdotal rise of jellyfish might have to do with the decline of fisheries (less competition for smaller marine life), or from the agricultural nutrients that pollute the oceans. Jellyfish seem to do well in oxygen-depleted dead zones that kill most fish.

Pick your theory. Or all of above. Jellyfish seem to be one of those creatures, like rats, that can adapt to the environmental disasters fomented by man.

Watering down DRI process

"In 2009, SB 360 eliminated the 'development of regional impact' (DRI) process in more than half of Florida's 411 cities. This year, SB 1180 would allow local governments in cities and counties still subject to the DRI process to direct those larger developments into a faster alternative 'coordinated review' process." "Bill would create alternative review option for larger developments".

Term limits

"Florida Supreme Court to hear term limits case".

How nice, Scott appoints Mel's son to Orange County Commission

Dontcha love the Republican blah, blah, blah about folks pulling themselves up by their bootstraps? "Mel Martinez's son replaces Fernandez on Orange commission".

"Florida activists fear potential 'chaos'"

"Florida activists fear potential 'chaos' if Supreme Court allows states to bolster immigration laws". See also "Immigration important in 2012 elections, not so much in Florida’s legislative session".

"The Great and Mystical Carrot Top"

Daniel Ruth: "The Great and Mystical Carrot Top would proceed with this meaningless exercise in hubris if the only people on the stage were Meat Loaf, Gary Busey and a Kardashian to be named later, because this was never about a presidential public policy discussion. It was always about Donald Trump finagling another opportunity to get before a camera, even if it was on a cable channel with less viewership than Phyllis Diller's fashion tips blog." "Republicans bow before towering ego".

'Glades

"Gov. Scott draws rare praise for Everglades budget".

Scott "Robbing Peter to pay Paul"

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend more money on education. That's the good news in the $66.4 billion budget proposal unveiled last week. Unfortunately, it's also the bad news, since the increase comes at the expense of providing health-care services, a safety-net policy area in need of funding to meet pressing needs." "State budget still relies too much on cuts".

Romney getting desperate

"Former Scott campaign manager joins Romney team".

Program "a lapdog, not a watchdog"

"Amid the exodus of volunteer elder advocates, state ombudsman leaders had a difficult choice: dismiss a productive volunteer, or allow his outspokenness to influence others. They decided to get rid of him."

The programs’ new philosophy has pleased ALF owners and lawmakers who support their interests.

But it has not been embraced by many volunteers, who say the program — inspired during the Great Society program of the 1960s — is becoming a lapdog, not a watchdog

"Florida Family Association a fringe hate group"

"The conservative group that got Lowe's to pull its ads from a reality TV show about American Muslims has been fighting for more than two decades against gay rights, strip clubs and most anything else that offends evangelical Christians."

The leader of the Florida Family Association is David Caton, a 55-year-old family values crusader who left an accounting career to found the group in 1987. He said the association has 35,000 members who were urged to email Lowe's to pressure the home improvement giant into dropping commercials during the TLC cable network show "All-American Muslim."

Lowes has drawn criticism for its decision from leaders in the Muslim community, celebrities and others suggesting a boycott of the store. Despite the growing backlash, the Mooresville, N.C.-based company said Monday it was planning to stick by its decision after the show became a "lightning rod for people to voice complaints from a variety of perspectives - political, social and otherwise."

Several politicians called the Florida Family Association a fringe hate group, a title Caton shrugged off, saying the group aims to "defend traditional American biblical values."

"Teacher snared by new election law"

"Civic-minded teacher snared by new election law".

Jose Mallea, who has ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush’s political machine as well as Miami City Hall, brings Gingrich’s campaign a wealth of connections to Florida Republicans and Miami-Dade’s Hispanic community. Mallea is also a co-owner of Local Craft Food & Drink in Coral Gables.

Mallea’s hiring has an immediate benefit for Gingrich: The name “Rubio” winds up in the same headlines as “Gingrich.”

Rubio, a vice presidential short-lister and conservative star, isn’t playing favorites in the race. And there is no sign he is subtly favoring Gingrich, who helped the former Florida House Speaker publish his “100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future.”

"Wave of tea party conservatives"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board reminds us that "reasoned arguments for fluoride were drowned out in October by a wave of tea party conservatives". "On fluoride, hold officials responsible".

Expect a RPOF battle royale

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, insists that her mega-casino bill (SB 710) and the House version (HB 487) would provide 'a major change in the direction of gaming' but would not create a major expansion. The state's attorney general, agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer know better. The Palm Beach County Commission's decision last week toward allowing slot machines at the Palm Beach Kennel Club is proof that the only "direction" in which these bills would send gambling is up."

So Cabinet members Pam Bondi, Adam Putnam and Jeff Atwater, formerly a state senator from Palm Beach County, have come out against the gambling expansion. So has Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, chairman of the Regulated Industries Committee. Any casino bill would have to get through that committee.

Yost claims "lawmakers have 'let us down'" with redistricting

"In an email sent out to supporters, Rep. Corrine Brown’s 2012 challenger Mike Yost writes that he will continue to fight against the state Legislature’s proposals for how to redraw congressional districts, saying lawmakers have 'let us down' by keeping Brown’s mostly unchanged." "Brown opponent continues to decry redistricting proposals".

Florida Republicans embarrass themselves fast and furiously

"U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder continued to draw criticism last week from Republicans representing Florida in Congress over Operation Fast and Furious, the failed sting operation launched by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ['using the same controversial tactic for which congressional Republicans have been criticizing the Obama administration'] that allowed 2,000 guns to fall into the hands of Mexican criminal cartels -- one of which was used to killed U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010." "Florida Republicans Hammer Eric Holder on Fast and Furious".

As Florida's homeless shelters fill to capacity this Holiday Season ...

After Frank Cerabino's "Excellent question. If you’re in the third grade", Nancy Smith comes to Senator Stephen Wise's defense of "a bill to make sure that if the state public schools close down for any length of time that includes Christmas Day, that time off should be called Christmas Break -- not as it is today, Winter Break."

She continues:

Until political-correct-creep found Florida, students were taking a Christmas Break in Sunshine State schools. Christmas Break, not Winter Break.

Happily, Sen. Wise, R-Jacksonville, subscribes to the belief that religious freedom means the right to embrace the customs and meaning of Christ's birth.

“The majority of people in America are Christians,” Wise told a Jacksonville TV station last week. “So I said, why don’t we just call it Christmas Break?

Pitting health care against education

The reliably right wing Daytona Beach News Journal editors say that "Gov. Rick Scott has taken the right approach in trying to rein in Medicaid costs while increasing spending on K-12 education. Scott attempts to pull this off while dealing with a budget shortfall between $1.7 billion and $2 billion." "Gov. Scott's budget plan has the right priorities".

Orlando has become more accepting of the gay community

"The relatively easy passage of a new domestic-partnership registry in Orlando is the latest sign the city has grown more accepting, members of the gay community say. The registry, which grants limited rights to unmarried couples, won unanimous approval from Mayor Buddy Dyer and the six-member City Council at an initial vote Dec. 5. It is expected to easily pass a final vote Monday. Council members even wore red to show their support." "Vote shows Orlando is growing more gay-friendly".

The best he could do

"Smiling, waving and squinting in the midmorning sun, Gov. Rick Scott's No. 2 [Jennifer Carroll] is 15 minutes late when she boards the USS Underwood. In her only role during the event, she stumbles through reading a proclamation."

One of Carroll's more memorable first-year moments came during an aggressive speech to kick off the Republican Party of Florida's Presidency 5 event in September. She condemned The Da Vinci Code as anti-Christian propaganda and compared the media to dictators and socialist rulers. ...

But Scott has been disappointed in Carroll's office, too.

Carletha Cole, one of Carroll's few staffers, was arrested in October over allegedly secretly taping her colleague, Carroll's chief of staff, John Konkus, talking about interoffice drama.

Cole had been fired for complaining about the office to the Florida Times-Union, Carroll's hometown paper.

Before going to the newspapers, Cole's trash can was set on fire by another Carroll staffer, Beatrice "Bibi" Ramos.

Investigators found a match and a cigar in the trash. The case was dismissed as an accident. Records show the evidence was destroyed after FDLE agents talked with Carroll, but before they spoke to Ramos.

The day after dismissing the case, Carroll wrote John Hamilton, the lead investigator, a letter of recommendation.

Carroll said the fire was a mistake and that Cole was a disgruntled employee. ...

Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, describes her as "aggressively confident." ...

Carroll has trouble with paperwork: She reported her net worth as $202 million in 2005, or about $200 million too much. Altered documents in 2006 helped her consulting firm appear eligible for Jacksonville contracts, according to the Times-Union.

Scott can elicit cringes from audiences and his staff when he jokes that it takes Carroll long to fix her hair or put on makeup. ...

Carroll was rumored as a potential U.S. Senate candidate in 2012. After twice coming up short to unseat U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, frequent appearances in Jacksonville feed speculation that she'll try a third time.

Carroll considered both options, but said she has more influence over state policy in her current job.

an open letter from concerned members of the Florida House of Representatives to the Sergeant of Arms:

We couldn’t help but notice that our colleagues in the Senate were provided with enhanced security measures as a result of our controversial – but patriotic! – decision to allow licensed owners of concealed weapons to carry their loaded guns through the corridors of the Capitol.

As everybody knows, the legislation wasn’t our idea. It was written by lobbyists for the National Rifle Association, a fine organization that isn’t nearly as crazed and paranoid as some people make it out to be. Also, the NRA contributes generously to most of our political campaigns, which is why we blindly do whatever it tells us to do. ...

We’d be fibbing if we said every single member of the House actually read this bill and comprehended all its ramifications. Basically, we took the NRA’s word that it was no biggie.

Bearing in mind that citizens occasionally get angry at their politicians, and also bearing in mind that even a normally sober firearms owner can have a bad day, the NRA kindly allowed us to bar gun toters from the legislative chambers and committee rooms, where we conduct the important business of selling out to special interests. ...

However, the law doesn’t prevent armed voters from freely walking the hallways of the Capitol, or visiting the offices of we the undersigned. Consequently, we were intrigued by media reports about the so-called panic buttons that have been given to members of the Senate, even to the Democrats who voted against the darn law. Not that we have an inferiority complex, but we who serve in the House are curious to know why our phones weren’t also equipped with emergency devices.

It’s true that there are only 40 state senators while there are 120 representatives. And it’s also true that Florida is in a severe budget crisis, and that government needs to shave expenses wherever possible.

But, seriously, how much money can these stupid little gizmos possibly cost? Don’t we have any pull at Radio Shack?

After consulting the House leadership, we’ve decided to the take the high road and assume that the absence of panic buttons isn’t a snub, but rather the result of clerical oversight or perhaps assembly-line problems at the panic-button factory in Taiwan. This temporary disparity in the level of safety precautions doesn’t mean that the life of a House member is somehow less valued than that of a senator. In truth, all of us in the legislative branch stand equal in the eyes of those who are seeking to buy our favor.

Therefore, as Sergeant of Arms, you are hereby instructed to promptly obtain and install the proper quantity of panic buttons in the offices of the House of Representatives.

Charter's "rife with insider deals and potential conflicts"

"During the past 15 years, Florida has embarked on a dramatic shift in public education, steering billions in taxpayer dollars from traditional school districts to independently run charter schools."

What started as an educational movement has turned into one of the region’s fastest-growing industries, backed by real-estate developers and promoted by politicians.

But while charter schools have grown into a $400-million-a-year business in South Florida, receiving about $6,000 in taxpayer dollars for every student enrolled, they continue to operate with little public oversight. Even when charter schools have been caught violating state laws, school districts have few tools to demand compliance.

Charter schools have become a parallel school system unto themselves, a system controlled largely by for-profit management companies and private landlords — one and the same, in many cases — and rife with insider deals and potential conflicts of interest.

In many instances, the educational mission of the school clashes with the profit-making mission of the management company, a Miami Herald examination of South Florida’s charter school industry has found. ...

When school districts have taken a hard line with charter schools, they have found their decisions second-guessed by state education officials in Tallahassee.

I-4 corridor getting lonely

"When will GOP swing back for visits to sway voters along I-4?".

A 26 percent approval rating will do that

The Miami Herald editorial board writes that Scott "had to do something to shore up his image after months of dismal showings in polling about his job performance."

The latest poll, released Thursday, by Quinnipiac University, put Mr. Scott at the top of the least popular governors in the nation. His approval rating was 33 percent, with 52 percent of Floridians polled disapproving of his stewardship of Florida.

Another survey by Public Policy Polling, released last week on the same day the governor unveiled his budget proposal, was even worse, with Mr. Scott garnering only a 26 percent approval rating.

[w]hether it was the polling results or a year of learning on the job, Mr. Scott has made the connection between the state’s economic well-being and the need to have an educated workforce. He has learned from parents and teachers and business leaders across the Sunshine State that continually draining public school funding won’t attract new business to Florida, and that taking more from schools won’t produce more jobs. Now, he’s all about “education and jobs.”

Harris "veteran" to help lead Gingrich's Florida campaign

The best Newt could do? "Veteran political strategist Jamie Miller will be helping lead Gingrich's Florida campaign. A former political director and director of field operations for the state GOP, the Sarasota-based Miller has worked on a host of Florida campaigns. Perhaps most notably, he managed Katherine Harris' U.S. Senate campaign, a job he would probably prefer us not to mention." "Gingrich (finally) staffing up".

"God commands ... creation care"

Scott Maxwell: "There are plenty of practical reasons to be concerned about the environment and unchecked growth. Sprawl leads to higher taxes. A drained aquifer could lead to water rationing and higher costs. Pollution affects all manner of living things, from plants to humans. Still, those reasons aren't enough for everyone."

So the Rev. Joel Hunter offers people of Christian faith another reason to care for our natural resources — because God commands it.

"It was our first commandment when we were placed down here: Take care of the garden." Hunter said. "Really, it's a matter of obedience." ...

Revelation goes so far as to warn of judgment for "those who destroy the earth."

These words are not vague.

They are a clear mandate for what Hunter calls "creation care."

That mandate is why Hunter — a nationally known and respected pastor who presides over the 15,000-member Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood — has decided to get more involved.

This month, Hunter agreed to team up with former Gov. Bob Graham as part of a broad and growing coalition of Floridians who are concerned about the continuing attacks on the environment and the laws that protect it.

"I want to be associated with people who have solid thinking and public service — and are willing to reach across party lines," said the man who has prayed with both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

That bipartisan outreach is a primary goal of Graham's newly formed Florida Conservation Coalition.

Scott "continues to suck up only to tea party voters"

Stephen Goldstein: "As Florida governor, CEO-afflicted Rick Scott still doesn't 'get' that the business of government is 'the people,' not business. Like a short-sighted salesman massaging just his current clients, he continues to suck up only to tea party voters, his 'base' — violating the oath he swore to govern on behalf of all the people. Like other politicos bashing government, as CEO, he made millions from a company that depended upon taxpayer dollars — and sees his job as helping other CEOs do the same." "Business people not America's answer".

"Political pros" out of touch with Fla-baggery

"Newt Gingrich may be riding a wave of momentum three weeks before voting starts in Florida, but among the state's political pros, Mitt Romney remains the heavy favorite to win the Jan. 31 primary, according to our latest Florida Insider Poll." "Despite Gingrich's surge, Romney's still favored among Florida political pros".

"Deform" not "reform"

"Florida GOP may gut programs, call it reform, foes say".

Hasner and LeMieux slamming Mack

"U.S. Rep. Connie Mack may be well ahead in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, but hardly a day goes by without rivals Adam Hasner or George LeMieux slamming the Fort Myers Republican as a creature of Washington who used to love earmarks and Charlie Crist but loathes tough anti-immigration laws." "Please, play nice".

New Volusia and Flagler voting districts

Derek Catron: "When state lawmakers came to Daytona Beach in July to solicit voter views on the once-a-decade process of redrawing political boundaries, the message they heard repeated time and again was this: Create compact districts that give us a greater say over our representation. ... But how will that affect Volusia and Flagler residents? The News-Journal studied the proposals to find out." "New voting districts propose fewer representatives in Legislature, Congress".

"Excellent question. If you’re in the third grade"

Frank Cerabino: "It’s not all that surprising that the chairman of an education committee in the Florida Senate has filed a bill to make sure that the state’s public schools go on Christmas Break rather than Winter Break. Calling the days off — which this year stretches to Jan. 9 — a Winter Break bothers Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, who runs the Florida Senate Committee on Education Pre-K-12."

"At first blush, it appears that Wise is going to great lengths to be offensive. But, as I said, he represents Jacksonville. And he’s also term-limited."

But the evolution of Christmas isn’t a topic I’d expect Wise to think about.

He’s not big on the idea of evolution, period. He has spent his tenure as one of Florida’s leading lights in education to push for teaching creationism in science classes.

He summed up his feelings on the subject two years ago:

“Why do we still have apes if we came from them?” he asked.

Excellent question. If you’re in the third grade.

But probably not so good if you’re still asking it when you’re the guy who’s making policy for third-graders.

So Wise hasn’t evolved.

And that’s why he’s just the sort of guy to offer the Christmas Break bill.