Insults 2002 Help support Whoseflorida

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Insults 2003, Insults 1-3/2004

December 2002

Colleges and universities in Florida tell teachers that money is tight, supplies are limited, make do with less... and then give huge raises to university presidents?  Remind you of the recent spiral of corporate CEO salaries?

University presidents thrive in sour economy
The effects of today's severely depressed economy are well known to Americans, who have lost billions in the stock market or even their jobs and hope for retirement.
But we'd never know we are living in such troubling times, as we read about the large salary increases being doled out in Florida to our university presidents.
The rapid salary escalation began last year after the Legislature, with Gov. Jeb Bush's approval, abolished the Board of Regents that, along with its predecessor Board of Control, had governed the university system for almost 100 years. In place of the Regents, the Legislature set up a new governance system, which gave each university its own board of trustees, which now sets presidential compensation... 12/25/02
University heads rake it in and politicians see possibilities
The new president of Florida State University may be announced today. It's down to two boring out-of-state academic types and former speaker of the Florida House T.K. Wetherell...12/18/02
USF trustees approve 37 percent raise for Genshaft
TAMPA — University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft received a five-year contract from the school's board of trustees Wednesday that makes her the state's second-highest paid public university president. Genshaft's salary jumps to $325,000 annually, a 37 percent raise, continuing a pattern that's seen several Florida public university presidents receive raises in recent weeks.

What can be done about this?   Nothing, you say?   Well, check this out...

Overpaid CEOs? Try Suing the Paymasters
Delaware judge, in warning signal to boards, opens door to courtroom remedy.
In 1941 the New York Supreme Court expressed amazement at the bonuses pocketed by officers of American Tobacco Co., which a shareholder lawsuit had challenged as excessive. "To the wage earner eking out an existence they would be fabulous," the court wrote, "and the unemployed might regard them as fantastic, if not criminal." Even so, the court concluded, it wasn't the judges' place to say how much was too much.
That pretty much slammed the door on lawsuits challenging CEO pay. Now, six decades later, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware--where more than half the FORTUNE 500 are incorporated--may have opened the door a crack. In a roundtable discussion to appear in the January issue of Harvard Business Review, Chief Justice E. Norman Veasey suggests that corporate directors who don't meet certain standards when setting executives' pay could face legal liability. "Basically it's an invitation: 'Bring the court a case, please,' " says Charles Elson, an expert on corporate governance at the University of Delaware and the roundtable's moderator. "It's a monumental change in jurisprudence if, in fact, it occurs...

November 2002

Who is Janet Rehnquist?  What is she doing as Inspector General of US Health and Human Services?  Why did she delay the audit of Florida's pension fund?  And why did JEBush request a delay until after the election?

A series of complaints about the conduct of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general has shed some additional light on the workings of the Bush Administration.
Janet Rehnquist, who previously held the relatively low-level post of an assistant US attorney in Virginia, was appointed in August 2001 to the inspector general’s job at HHS, where she is responsible for oversight on the spending of more than $450 billion annually for such programs as Medicare and Medicaid. She also happens to be the daughter of the chief justice of the US Supreme Court, William Rehnquist.
In the 15 months since she took office, Ms. Rehnquist has carried out a wholesale purge of her department, the largest of the 57 inspector general offices within the federal government. Nineteen career officials, including five of the six deputies in the department, have been removed through retirement, forced resignation or transfer....
The unexplained audit
Last spring, an aide to Gov. Bush, brother of the president, called Janet Rehnquist, daughter of the Supreme Court chief justice, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and asked her to delay an audit of Florida's pension fund... 12/1/02
Pension fund conflict: Request for audit delay looks suspicious
Gov. Jeb Bush's office is saying that politics is not the reason he asked Janet Rehnquist -- the daughter of U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- to delay a federal audit of the state's retirement fund. 
That, however, dodges the crux of criticism -- which is that it was improper for the governor or any member of his staff to the make the request at all. The office of inspector general for Health and Human Services held by Rehnquist, is a watchdog agency designed to guard against waste, abuse and fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs. Audits are supposed to be delayed only for reasons such as illnesses, computer breakdowns or conflicting investigations. ... 12/1/02
Bush denies 'secret conspiracy' in Florida pension fund audit
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday there was no conspiracy afoot when a top deputy asked the federal government to delay an audit on Florida's pension fund until after the general election. After the request, the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department ordered delays in an audit of Florida's pension fund that ensured the review couldn't be finished before Bush won re-election. 11/30/02
Pension fund audit delayed after governor's office call
WASHINGTON — At the request of Gov. Jeb Bush's office, the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department ordered delays in a federal audit of Florida's pension fund that ensured the review wouldn't be completed before Bush won re-election, officials say. The delays by Janet Rehnquist, daughter of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, are now being investigated by Congress. 11/27/02
Investigator's role in delay of state audit is questioned
Congressional investigators are looking into whether federal Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, went out of her way to help Jeb Bush win reelection in Florida. 11/26/02

Dr Henry Kissinger appointed to head Independent Commission to investigate 9/11?? 
Is this a joke?

Bush names Kissinger to head independent Sept. 11 probe
"President Bush signed legislation creating a new independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks today and named former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to lead the panel. ... "Dr. Kissinger will bring broad experience, clear thinking and careful judgment to this important task," Bush said at a signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. "Mr. secretary, thank you for returning to the service of your nation."  ...  Kissinger, one of the best known American diplomats of the 20th century, was secretary of state to Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho for cease-fire negotiations during the Vietnam war. Kissinger also made a determined peacemaking effort in the Middle East and made repeated trips to the region. ...
Bush called on members to report back more quickly than 18 months, saying the nation needed to know quickly how it can avoid terror attacks in the future. ... However, Bush did not set as a primary goal for the commission to uncover mistakes or lapses of the government that could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. Instead, he said it should try to help the administration learn the tactics and motives of the enemy. ..."
 http://www.etan.org/et2001a/february/18-24/23refugee.htm 
"Among the alleged "crimes" laid at Kissinger's feet are the prolongation and expansion of the Indochina war; the kidnapping and killing of a Chilean military commander during the events that would culminate in the ouster and assassination of President Salvador Allende and the installation of the Pinochet government; the Greek-sponsored coup in Cyprus in July 1974, which prompted a subsequent Turkish invasion of that Mediterranean island nation; the Pakistani-led massacre in Bangladesh in 1971; Indonesia's 1975 invasion and rout of pro-independence forces in East Timor; and the car-bombing death of former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and his aide, Ronni Moffit, in Washington, D.C., in 1976."
 Regarding Henry Kissinger - A panel discussion on the making of a war criminal (p.5)
"...I would just remind you that though Henry Kissinger's culpability is quite clear, he was never alone. He could not have conducted this savage, heedless, criminal foreign policy by himself. He was surrounded by Kissinger's Kissingers. And they were men who profited personally, materially, in career terms, in terms of reputation, in terms of power, almost as much as he. Only a few of the names you know, Alexander Haig-we have here a catalog of future secretaries of state-Alexander Haig and Larry Eagleburger and future national security advisor Brent Scocroft, the list goes on. You must understand, of course, that their proteges populate the new administration. There is a direct genealogical line between Henry Kissinger and the national security apparatus, as it were, of George W. Bush. Henry's transgressions would not have been possible without the active intellectual and substantive support of his aides.... " 2/22/01

See also:
 http://www.trialofhenrykissinger.org/ - "The United States is home to an individual whose record of war crimes bears comparison with the worst dictators of recent history. Please stand, ex-Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger. "
http://www.etan.org/news/kissinger/default.htm - the Kissinger Watch

Efficiency?

This line gets me: "the discarding of efficiency-encumbering civil service rules".  
First of all, it reframes civil service "protections" as "rules". These protections were originally put in place to protect against politicizing the public service - not to increase efficiency.   Democracy is inefficient.  Hitler's Germany on the other hand, was terribly efficient.  Perhaps the agency will "work" better without these encumbrances, but what will it be doing?

A security story with a twist
"The Department of Homeland Security started out as a gleam in the eyes of Democrats and was originally pooh-poohed by the Bush administration, which then saw the department was inevitable, changed its mind and introduced a major twist. It's that twist — essentially the discarding of efficiency-encumbering civil service rules — that gives the administration a chance of actually making the new department into something that just might work someday..."

It doesn't matter what you say in a campaign: 

In the end, the Bush campaign turned on one point: McBride won't say how he will pay for the class size amendment - so he'll raise taxes.  But Bush knew that question couldn't be answered - and McBride's answer of "we'll have to see..." was absolutely correct!  
And now look at who's talking about raising taxes...

Schools fear inflexible initiative
"...In any event, he and Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan avoided discussion of how much the initiative would cost and how to pay for it. In the recent election, Bush attacked Democratic challenger Bill McBride for not saying how he would pay for it, but now he and Brogan say such questions are premature.
"Until you define this thing, the (cost and revenue source) are impossible to determine," Brogan said...."
Bush fully embraces class size amendment
"TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush has put aside any "devious plans" to shelve the class size amendment.  ... "I'm governor of everyone," Bush said.- Even those who disagree with him. 
"Republicans, we're going to have to think differently than in the past," King told senators.-- "An increase in taxes, though certainly not what any of us wants, will have to be considered," he added." ...

Sure, long lines and people not being able to vote doesn't bother Bush .  The GOP sent out absentee ballot applications to every registered Republican - with the instructions to vote early to avoid the long lines and hassles.  Democrats apparently didn't have enough money to do that... 
Becoming more and more like the "ruling party", the GOP locks in the big money and pays them back with special favors (see October articles below). Ideological crumbs are tossed at the poor and middle class (what's left of it) so that there is always enough popular support to keep them in power.  But people should look at the effect of the policies of this "ruling elite" and see if their best interests (not just their beliefs) are really being served...
...quixote, 11/02/02
Smith, Bush: Long lines small price for democracy
"TALLAHASSEE — Secretary of State Jim Smith and Gov. Jeb Bush brushed off concerns Friday about the potential for long lines that may make voters give up and go home in Tuesday's elections. Democrats are worried voters may not stick around if they have to wait too long. Their gubernatorial candidate, Bill McBride, says he needs heavy turnout to defeat Bush. ... "They may have to wait 30 minutes or 45 minutes or an hour," Smith said. "That is a small price to pay for the democracy that we have."...
Bush rejects Broward voting chief's request
"Gov. Jeb Bush refused to get involved in Broward County's election problems on Friday, and the U.S. Department of Justice also indicated it is likely to stay out of the fray."...

October 2002

Under Bush, what you get depends on what you give.  Florida for sale... and the people be damned...

Floridians are paying as Republicans profit
Under Bush, what you get depends on what you give. - 
As a candidate in 1998, Jeb Bush promised Floridians "a new kind of
politics." He has delivered. He and the Republican Party have put out signs that the state is open for business -- private business. 
Never in Florida has there been such a link between politics and policy. Never has an administration had to invent so many defenses of obvious conflicts of interest. Never has money become so institutionalized in Tallahassee.
Consider just the most recent revelations: (more...)

Bush's early promise was empty promise-- When Jeb Bush took office nearly four years ago, I was hopeful. His politics were to the right of mine, but his inaugural speech on Jan. 5, 1999, made me question whether my fears about him were unfounded.
He stressed themes of compassion and generosity of spirit. He urged Floridians to ask "What's best?"
He talked about faith, family and friends - not in the language of Phyllis Schlafly conservatism, but in the vernacular of values that give meaning to our lives and make our communities better. Make us better. ... 
While he said the right things, I wondered whether he'd put his words into action. I was cautiously optimistic and eager to give him the chance.
He's had his chance. Florida politics are more mean-spirited and bitterly partisan than I can remember, and I've lived here for all 47 of my years. Most people I know, including Republican friends and a Democrat who worked in his administration, are disheartened. Many folks are so confused by the disparity between what the governor says and how he says it, and what he does and how he does it, that they don't know what to believe. ...

Neil Bush selling FCAT software to Florida schools, Bush Sr. retaining interest in the Carlyle Group which has grown to be one of the country's largest defense contractors under the current Bush regime -- no conflicts here??

Bush brother trying to sell FCAT software to Florida schools
A software company run by Neil Bush, a younger brother of Gov. Jeb Bush, hopes to sell a program to Florida schools that students would use to prepare for the test that is key to the governor's education policy. Texas-based Ignite Inc. makes software being used in a pilot program at an Orlando-area middle school to help students prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which the governor has championed as a yardstick for school performance. (10/27/02) (more on brother Neil)

Bush sr. In business with bin laden family conglomerate through Carlyle group
Judicial Watch earlier this year had strongly criticized President Bush’s father’s association with the Carlyle Group, pointing out in a March 5 statement that it was a “conflict of interest (which) could cause problems for America’s foreign policy in Middle East and Asia.” Judicial Watch called for the senior Bush to resign from the firm then.--
“This conflict of interest has now turned into a scandal. The idea of the President’s father, an ex-president himself, doing business with a company under investigation by the FBI in the terror attacks of September 11 is horrible. President Bush should not ask, but demand, that his father pull out of the Carlyle Group,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. (9/28/01)

Shame on Governor Bush for selling out Florida!!!

Did cement deal pour money into GOP? - Paving firm gave $190,000 to Republican Party accounts after N. Florida deal was sealed-- TALLAHASSEE - A year after Gov. Jeb Bush canoed down Florida's beloved Ichetucknee River and vowed to protect it, he shocked environmentalists by allowing construction of a cement plant nearby that they claim could pollute surrounding air.- 
Now, a Herald analysis reveals new information about the controversial episode: Executives and lawyers representing Anderson Columbia Inc., the big paving firm that sought approval for the plant, poured nearly $190,000 into state and national Republican Party accounts over the two days after a key part of the deal was concluded.- 
At the same time, a Herald review of public records shows that one critical component of the deal -- the $23 million price the state paid to buy a lime rock mine from Anderson Columbia -- was based on an unusual appraisal process. ... 10/26/02

As state services go private, GOP reaps donations
The moment he set foot in the governor's mansion, Jeb Bush set
out to run state government like a Fortune 500 company.
He promised to slash costs and improve services by awarding government work to competing businesses while eliminating state jobs.
Four years later, the governor's record of privatizing various services can be viewed as ''mixed,'' his staff acknowledges.
But politically, his bold experiment has been a success -- at least for him and the Republican Party, records show. The policy has spawned a network of contractors who have given him, other Republican politicians and the Florida GOP millions of dollars in campaign donations since 1998.... 10/28/02

Bill Cotterell, of the Tallahassee Democrat, might should take a closer look at the breakdown of of state employee evaluation scores before he hops up on his soapbox preaching about good and bad employees.  One would think he would know better than to take these numbers at face value.  
However, the closer we come to election time, the more Cotterell takes on the role of apologist for JEB's poorly conceived policy decisions.  In this case, basing employee raises on evaluations is a lousy idea.
For starters, the evaluations were not graded to a uniform standard.  Interpretations of an evaluation score of "3" varied considerably from bureau to bureau within each agency. In some bureaus a score of "3" on an item was taken to mean the employee was doing a fine job, doing everything that was expected of him/her.  In others it was seen as just mediocre.  Some bureaus gave themselves median scores of "3" (some employees a little under "3", others a little over) while others scored themselves "4" or higher across the board.  Statistical comparisons between bureaus and agencies could not be made because of this.    
Even within an evaluating unit, the validity of these scores is questionable.  Since the adoption of "Service First" employee evaluations have become even more political than they were before.  Favoritism and cronyism are rampant throughout the system.  With evaluations tied to raises, employees have one more reason to be fearful about disagreeing with their bosses. In addition, now that all of the supervisory personnel are Select Exempt (no longer covered by career service protections), they are less likely to admit their own mistakes. They are more fearful about compromising their own positions, and are quicker to pass the blame down the line.  
...quixote, 10/14/02

• Some workers missed out on pay raises
  When state employees got their 2.5-percent pay raises on Oct. 1, a few were left out. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. If they'd seen their latest performance evaluation, they might have known whether they were just hanging onto their jobs.

Uh oh, is this what JEB meant when he said the voting problem in Florida was "fixed?"  

Who makes the voting machines?  
"Appearance of Impropriety — New Questions About the Integrity and Security of USA Elections

"The story is not about allegations of fraud — it's about an appearance of impropriety that is stunning in its magnitude. 

"Unfettered by any disclosure regulations about ownership or political affiliations, just a few companies create and control almost all the voting machines in the U.S. Do the people who own them have conflicts of interest? We don't know, they won't tell us. Do they employ anyone with a criminal record? We don't know, they say it's private. Can we have someone check the vote-counting code to make sure no one tampered with it? Nope, they say its proprietary." .... (more...)

Does it matter to these guys what the people think?  
...Democrat Bill Nelson, said he shared Graham's concern about an increased terrorist threat, yet is planning to vote in favor of the resolution on Iraq.
''The threat from Saddam is real, and this is the appropriate authority,'' Nelson said.
``And I think the Bush administration is responding to the fuss on Capitol Hill that the United States can't go it alone.''
Nelson's office has heard from more than 2,700 constituents in the last six weeks on the issue, with 90 percent saying they opposed a U.S. invasion ``without strong allied support.'' - Nelson said that many of those responses came from Florida Democrats suspicious of the administration's timing in its drive to take action against Iraq.- 
''But I'm giving the president the benefit of the doubt that this is not political,'' Nelson said.
  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4249597.htm 10/10/02

September 2002

Keep the felons off the voting rolls, the election polls dysfunctional, change the rules for absentee ballots, and have your people vote absentee - is this what JEB means by "electoral reform?"  

You don't have to be absent...to vote absentee this year
Don't want to stand in long lines at the polls to vote this year? Here's a not-so-secret tip, courtesy of Gov. Jeb Bush: DAYTONA BEACH -- Don't want to stand in long lines at the polls to vote this year? Here's a not-so-secret tip, courtesy of Gov. Jeb Bush: 
"You can avoid long lines and vote from the convenience of your home," the governor says in a recorded telephone message being played for thousands of registered voters this fall. "This election could be very close, and it is important to follow the instructions carefully when you receive your ballot to make sure your vote by mail counts." -- 
Republicans, seeking to avoid losing votes in an off-year election in which turnout is traditionally low, are seeking strategic advantage from changes in state laws that now allow anyone to vote absentee, regardless of whether they can get to polls on Election Day. -- 
A full-color pamphlet mailed to Republican voters throughout the state contains a pre- printed request card that need only be checked, signed, stamped and mailed for voters to receive an absentee ballot at home. ... 9/28/02

AP picked up the St. Petersburg Times article below-- for those of you in the know, which is closer to the truth?

(AP) Bush officials defend state employee layoffs  or,

(St Pete Times) Hundreds laid off on Bush's watch
While Jeb Bush blames Bill McBride for layoffs at his former law firm, the governor never mentions the thousands of state workers laid off on his watch. -- 
At least 2,300 state employees lost their jobs since Bush took office in 1999, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of the layoffs were a result of Bush's effort to downsize government and privatize services, plus a weakening economy that led to budget cuts.- 
The governor proudly touts the 10,000 government positions he has eliminated, but only about half of those positions were vacant. Most workers eventually found jobs elsewhere in state government or the private sector. 
Still, others stood in the unemployment line. 

Better check bacteria contaminant levels before you go the beach:
 http://apps3.doh.state.fl.us/env/beach/webout/default.cfm 

Warnings posted at Collier beaches -- High bacteria levels were found in the water around three Collier public beach access areas.- Health warning signs stood between beachgoers and the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday after a second day of high bacteria readings at three local beaches. Collier County health workers posted warning signs near the surf's edge at the beach access to Vanderbilt Beach, at Horizon Way in Park Shore and at Central Avenue. Tests at the Naples Pier showed that high bacteria levels earlier this week had returned to safe levels. A health worker pulled more water samples from the three warning areas Thursday morning. 
3 beach spots test poor for bacteria- 
Three spots along Collier County's beach have tested at poor levels for bacteria, preliminary results from the Collier County Health Department showed Wednesday. The water test results prompted a new round of sampling Wednesday and raised the possibility that health officials as early as today could issue a warning against swimming at the beach sites. The three sites are near the public beach access at the end of Vanderbilt Beach Road, at the Horizon Way beach access in Park Shore and at the Naples Pier. The beach water quality program checks 17 spots along the beach in Collier and southern Lee counties each week for enterococcus and fecal coliform, both harmless bacteria found in the intestines of humans and animals...

Record foreclosures raise questions
A record percentage of U.S. homeowners are facing foreclosure. Many more are falling behind on house payments. 9/11/02

Mortgages hit bargain basement
Mortgage rates below 6 percent in Florida haven't been so low since 1966. 9/7/02

From the Election Dirty Tricks Handbook: (Identify the weaker candidate in the opponent's primary -- run positive ads on him and negative ads on the one you do not want to run against):

Opie factor' blamed in upset
The 'Opie factor' is being blamed in an unknown candidate's win. ...Nelson did not sponsor television advertisements, but a citrus-backed group called "Florida's Working Families" promoted him in an ad aired in South Florida. Nelson said he knows nothing about it and is not connected to the group.-- 
The same group, which has ties to citrus grower Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., and the U.S. Sugar Corp., sponsored attack ads against Barley.--
Barley spent about $250,000 on a 30-second advertisement countering the attack ad, calling her opponents "corporate polluters." 9/12/02

• Florida, counties settle NAACP suit over 2000 election
  MIAMI — Ending a dispute over the 2000 presidential election, the state and two counties filed papers Tuesday to settle a lawsuit from civil rights groups over widespread voting problems. Hillsborough and Orange counties, as well as the state, were the only other remaining defendants in the case, which ended without trial. Five other counties settled earlier.  9/4/02

No, I've never been in the military, but some of my Father's friends have...

• Bush Campaign Enlists Retired Military Leaders -- TALLAHASSEE - Moving to combat Tampa lawyer Bill McBride's appeal among military voters, Gov. Jeb Bush has enlisted the help of four retired generals and a former admiral to carry his campaign to Florida's veterans. -- 
  The new group, Veterans for Bush, will compete head-on with a similar campaign organization that McBride, a former Marine combat officer in Vietnam, rolled out this summer in his hunt for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. .... ``Governor Bush has consistently shown his concern for Florida's veterans over the past four years,'' retired Maj. Gen. Ronald O. Harrison said in a prepared statement issued by the Bush campaign Wednesday.

Maybe we should just repeal the Bill of Rights, and let our President and his staff tell us what we can and cannot think or say or do.  In fact why not just make the president King, or turn the election into a reality TV show? 
The American experiment in Democracy is failing. 
Perhaps it's just too difficult for us - it's just too complicated and gets in the way of everything else we seem to care more about than our freedom...
Perhaps it's just time to let someone else "take care of us" while we snooze and eat and bury our heads in the sand...

• Poll reflects worrisome views on free speech
  The words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution are straightforward. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."-- 
  There, in a nutshell, are the fundamental freedoms that allow us to worship freely, debate ideas and question our government....The national survey of 1,000 people had a margin of error of 3 percent. It found that almost half of those surveyed, 49 percent, said the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees. That was a 10 percent jump from last year.... 

August 2002

Bush acts alone, and the state pays
By Randy Schultz, Editor of the Editorial Page (excerpt)
Child welfare in Florida is burning. The governor is worried about extinguishing political fires. ...
Gov. Bush probably decided to dump Ms. Kearney back in May, when the Rilya Wilson scandal made it impossible for him to keep ignoring child- welfare problems. He wanted to delay her departure until after the election because forcing her out would call attention to the issue.- 
But when the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale reported Aug. 11 that it had found children the state couldn't, the governor had to sacrifice Ms. Kearney early. How he chose her intended successor reveals much about how Gov. Bush operates and why his big decisions have harmed Florida.- 
The day Ms. Kearney announced her resignation, Gov. Bush said he had no idea who might replace her. Two days later, he announced the appointment of Jerry Regier, who has few credentials for the job and social views to the right of Jerry Falwell but qualifies by having worked for the first President Bush. Last week, Gannett News Service obtained e-mails that show inquiries as far back as June from the governor's office to Oklahoma about Mr. Regier.- 
Many knowledgeable people in Florida and around the country would have been eager to help Gov. Bush find the best person to reform child welfare in Florida. Even his critics would have been willing. Instead, Gov. Bush decided on his own, just as he created the unworkable A+ Plan without hearing from educators, just as he decided to "transcend" affirmative action without talking to black Floridians.- 
As a result, the governor has the political problem he wanted so much to avoid, and Florida has a potential DCF secretary who is a religious extremist from a state where the child-welfare system is no better than Florida's. ...

Vacuous vigilantism: Terrorists beware library thought police
Nigel Gates, a British national, was browsing the Internet at the Punta Gorda Public Library earlier this week. He was looking at sites that deal with healing through minerals. One such site, for example, describes with pictures the "salt volatization experiment," which apparently turns rosemary, the herb often used as seasoning for strip steaks and chicken breasts, into a spiritual element with all kinds of feel-good powers. The pictures feature flasks, vials, bulbous bottles and liquids in assorted colors.  8/3/02

At $8.95 / mo. how many papers can a person afford to subscribe to? If all the papers start charging for online content...

• Four Panhandle newspapers begin charging for online content
  DESTIN — News delivered online by four Freedom Communications Inc. newspapers in the Florida Panhandle is no longer free. They are among the first papers in Florida to charge for online subscriptions. Two dailies, the Northwest Florida Daily News of Fort Walton Beach and The News-Herald of Panama City, and the twice-weekly Destin Log and weekly Walton Sun initiated the policy Thursday. 8/3/02

July 2002

Buried on page 9A of the 7/26/02 Tallahassee Democrat, I found an interesting AP article. There is a bill in congress that would let industries hack into people's computers in order to prevent "pirating" of movies, songs, and software.  There was no mention in the entire article about why this might not be such a good idea... but it turns out that not all of the article was printed.  

In the online Daytona Beach News-Journal for the same day, there was a longer version of what appears to be the same article.  It continued on where the Democrat stopped.    The Democrat version: 

But the News-Journal article continued with another 8 paragraphs that critiqued the proposal:

A world of difference without this second half, don't you think?  Also notice that Florida Democrat Robert Wexler is listed as one of the bill's sponsors.

 I couldn't find the Democrat article on line, but this is the News Journal link:  Bill would let entertainment industry disrupt Internet music downloads (from news-journal online, 7/26/02)

.... quixote,7/28/02

Service first been good for Florida? Just look at Dep't of Children and Families, or Corrections, or State Technology, or Environmental Protection, or Community Affairs, Professional Regulation,  Health Care Administration, Labor, Management Services, Education, Transportation, State, and on and on...

• Refining the reform
  Gov. Jeb Bush touts his Service First workforce reform initiative in almost messianic terms. The program is designed to make state government leaner and more efficient through a combination of out-sourcing, re-engineering and good old competition. Administration rhetoric suggests the initiative is a godsend for taxpayers and state employees alike.
  
  

NAACP head says White House dismantling rights
Julian Bond said the Bush administration promotes a "right-wing conspiracy" against affirmative action, voters' rights and public schools. (talking about the big brother here, but same same here in Florida)

"If Bush has done" what?

• Black leader: Bush an option - "If Bush has done as much for the black community as he says, we've got to consider him," Carter said. "We've got to be willing to look at both sides and get away from just party labels."-- 
  Carter said he would spend time in the next few months studying whether what Bush said is true before he decides on whether to endorse the governor's re-election.

Judges uphold Florida voting districts
In a major boost to Republicans in Florida and across the nation, three federal judges on Tuesday upheld the state's new GOP-designed congressional districts, improving the party's chances of maintaining its edge in the House of Representatives.

Kathryn Harris has $2 million ready to take on Percy

• Harris has 4-legged foe
  SARASOTA -- The newest candidate challenging Secretary of State Katherine Harris in her bid for Congress is truly an underdog: a border collie mix. (see Percy's photo)

Bonuses don't raise the base pay which determines the pension amount state workers get when they retire.  

• State bonus pool runs deep in places
  The state has shelled out $13,746,666.47 in bonuses for state employees. Gov. Jeb Bush didn't budget any pay raises this year. Instead, he called for continuation of the performance bonuses he started last year.

This statement gets the suck up of the year award:

• Mr. President, we'll keep Jeb if you fix foster care
  Karen Gievers, a lawyer who frequently represents the Democratic Party and has sued the state over its care of foster children, has suggested a way for President Bush to help his brother Jeb's re-election campaign: Fix Florida's foster care system.

Development plows over farming life- ...Three decades ago, more than 15,000 people like Whaley earned their living in agriculture in Central Florida, according to census data.-
Today, only 5,463 remain. -- 
The number of farming jobs has plunged nearly 75 percent when population growth is taken into account. At least 134,000 acres of farmland has vanished in the past decade alone.

Slavery alive in Florida agriculture industry
With more regularity, federal officials who monitor farm labor issues are digging out the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Written in 1865, it officially ended slavery in America. Again, the 13th Amendment "officially" ended slavery.

June 2002

May 2002

Legislators have little to fear
TALLAHASSEE -- By the way Florida legislators voted this year, one could think they didn't care about coming back. In fact, most do. The truth is that they thought they had nothing to fear.

Florida for sale:
Developers, investors back state GOP - TALLAHASSEE - The real estate and securities and investment industries are the biggest backers of the Republican Party's effort to get Gov. Jeb Bush reelected.
Contributors connected with those two industries have given more than $1.7 million to the Republican Party of Florida in the first three months of this year alone, nearly 20 percent of the money the party raised during that time...

Go Judge Fleet!
Judge rules Florida citrus canker law is unconstitutional - FORT LAUDERDALE —
...The state's citrus canker eradication program "returns the state to a period of time when the rights of an individual were at the mercy of the whim of royalty," Fleet said in his ruling.

Respect for Tyndall - but what about the rest of us???
St. Joe drops plan for development near Tyndall
PANAMA CITY — St. Joe Co. officials dropped plans for a 400-acre housing development after spending an hour denying it would help make nearby Tyndall Air Force Base a candidate for closure. Chris Corr, the Jacksonville-based company's vice president for public affairs, withdrew the plan for single-family homes Tuesday during a meeting with Bay County commissioners "out of respect for Tyndall."

What about vetoing the corporate tax break instead?
Bush says he's got a dilemma with budget vetoes
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday he may have to veto more local projects this year than he wants to. Each year since he took office in 1999, Bush has used his veto pen to carve out about $300 million worth of local projects from the state budget. Looking at that track record, lawmakers decreased the level of the state's savings accounts when they wrote the budget two weeks ago, figuring the amount of savings would increase after Bush used his veto power.

A little present for St. Joe?
Everglades bill's dirty tradeoff
Gov. Jeb Bush would have you believe the Everglades funding bill he signed into law Wednesday was the best way to guarantee steady funding to restore Florida's River of Grass, that the poison pill in the legislation making it harder to oppose bad development was no big deal and that the number of people opposed to the measure was small and largely uninformed. None of that is true. The governor should have vetoed the measure and brought the Legislature back to pass a clean bill. He didn't, and it's fair to ask: Why not?

Is it necessary to cut these trees?
West Boca loses hundreds of trees to canker cutting
 While the city of Boca Raton awaits a court ruling expected this week that will decide the fate of its citrus trees, state agriculture crews sliced through another hundred trees in an area west of the city on Monday in an attempt to stop the spread of citrus canker. (see Canker)

How much data does it take to demonstrate Privatization of services just doesn't work?
This Edison no genius
Reality exposes myth of school privatization. 
In 1991, entrepreneur Chris Whittle claimed that his Edison Project could reinvent American education by operating schools on a contract basis. Since 1995, school districts have placed more than 130 schools and 75,000 children in 22 states under his company's management. Such privatization, parents were assured, would be a good thing for everyone. The company promised to deliver better educational results for no more money than public districts were spending, and Edison would perform this miracle while having enough money left over to pay shareholders a dividend after the company went public in 1999.-- 
Those who believe that government can't tie its shoes while private business never stumbles may have bought into Mr. Whittle's theory, but realists knew it was mostly hype. So it was no surprise, as Education Week reported, that in Wichita, Kan., the school board -- citing sharp enrollment declines, constant teacher turnover, and disappointing student achievement -- voted last January to take back two of the four schools Edison operates in that city and hinted that it also would take back the other two. There is similar dissatisfaction from Baltimore to Inkster, Mich.

We need to look in the mirror to see who's responsible for letting this continue... but, then there's November...
Robbing from the people, giving to big business
How perfect. How perfectly perfect. The epitaph of the 2002 session of the Florida Legislature is this:
Tax breaks for corporations, and the heck with the citizens.
That is the official policy of the state of Florida.
The policy of this state is that the Legislature will raise taxes on parents who are buying their children shoes, and socks, and shirts, and pants, so that the corporations of Florida can still get a fat tax cut....

Profit before good sense, and before our children...
Bush still backs shifting child-protection services - TAMPA -- Gov. Jeb Bush Thursday waved off concerns about the state's early problems with privatized child-protection services during a visit to Hillsborough Kids Inc., an agency soon to be in charge of the largest private takeover of child-welfare services in the United States.
Bush's goal is to move all foster, adoption and child-protection services into the hands of private nonprofit agencies by the end of 2004. So far, only regional switches have occurred.
Despite some early problems and concerns from child advocates, Bush said he remains behind the handoff.

Present for St. Joe?
Growing pains: State's policies will pave Florida's future
It used to take you 12 minutes to get to work. Now it takes you 25. The woods down the street from your house have been replaced by a new subdivision. Your kids attend class in a portable trailer, with 30 kids to one exasperated teacher. Meanwhile, you are forbidden to water your lawn more than twice a week. ... It would be nice to say that Florida is doing better at managing growth. Unfortunately, things are worse. The reason is simple: The state's role in growth management is shrinking, leaving local communities vulnerable to heavy-handed pressure by big land owners and developers. (see DCA, Panhandle takeover)

The following case is just the tip of the iceburg.  State agencies are steeped in secrecy, understaffed, and underfunded - what did JEB and the GOP legislature expect?

• Rilya haunts Bush's promise
  One week after taking office, Gov. Jeb Bush made a surprise appearance in a Broward County courtroom to stave off a lawsuit against Florida's child welfare agency. He promised to accomplish what no previous governor had managed to do: fix the troubled department.

• Jeb rewrites the script to get ending he wants
  In the real world, spending for public schools barely will have increased in real dollars since the governor took office in 1999, despite his claims to the contrary.

• Public records are tougher to view since Sept. 11
  ORLANDO — When it comes to viewing public records since Sept. 11, the pendulum has swung from a presumption of access to tougher standards over which federal and state records can be released, lawyers and journalists said Saturday. At the same time, the U.S. government is demanding more information of its citizens by making it easier to authorize wiretaps and suggesting that in some cases confidentiality between an attorney and client can be breached, said Freedom Forum advocate Paul McMasters.

And what about the citrus canker scam being foisted on us by the administration - here's one of the few articles that even mentions the people's side of the controversy

• Residents: State citrus canker program based on 'junk science'
  FORT LAUDERDALE — The state program that removes uninfected citrus trees to prevent the spread of canker is based on faulty science and should be stopped, attorneys for South Florida home owners, counties and cities argued Friday. (see citrus canker)

Lesson from Escambia
The Escambia County scandal shows the value of banning secrecy.

District Plans Must Not Stand
Republicans in Florida's Legislature burst into applause Friday when told the state Supreme Court upheld their redistricting plans, which most Democratic lawmakers opposed. Republicans should instead hang their heads in shame.

Senate cuts business $262M deal
A fiercely debated $262 million corporate income tax break, described by Republicans as a boon to Florida's economy and Democrats as a blow to the budget, cleared the Senate Friday.

April 2002

The Democrats still don't get it.  It's never been about Nader - it's that more and more of us are sick of the corporatization of government and ENRON-like corruption:
Nader delights in role of party pooper
TAMPA -- Al Gore and Joe Lieberman could hardly hold a reunion with Florida Democrats without Ralph Nader crashing the party.

It's all about the money:
Campaign plies Harris' e-mail from the recount
Thousands of people e-mailed Secretary of State Katherine Harris in late 2000 when Florida was the temporary center of the universe.

Special interest money poured into tax fight
TALLAHASSEE -- When state senators created a fundraising group to sell the public on the virtues of changing Florida's tax system, they promised to gather support from "individual citizens."

State GOP amasses pile of soft money
By Mary Ellen Klas, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
In the year's first quarter, the GOP raises $9.9 million, almost four times as much as Democrats.

Feeney got big donations before session
House Speaker Tom Feeney got money for his congressional campaign from nursing homes and the insurance industry.

It goes on and on ... isn't it time to put a lid on money and politics?  If you think so, then join us at:

Democracy Rising Rally in Tampa 5-10pm at the USF Sun Dome with Ralph Nader, Michael Moore, Jello Biafra and lots of others 

`Jeb!'®

Down the drain we go:

• Veto turnpike rip-off
  If Gov. Bush is the fiscal conservative he claims to be, he will veto a bill that would allow construction of money-losing toll roads that are public subsidies for bad development.
• Voucher sneakiness
  Diverting corporate tax dollars to private schools is nothing to be proud of.

• SCORE ONE FOR URBAN BLIGHT
  The governor signed into law yesterday a bill that puts an unfair burden on municipalities and counties that want to rid their streets and neighborhoods of unsightly billboards.

Our tax dollars at work:
Fiasco in Tallahassee
Contrary to first impressions, the special session that failed (yet again) to enact a new school code wasn't a total waste of time and money. Many legislators took advantage of Tallahassee's splendid spring weather to improve their golf games. Their clerks strove for, and possibly set, new speed records in printing, amending and reprinting 1,800-page bills. And maybe even Gov. Jeb Bush learned something useful, too.

Drug double standard
Rich pay for treatment; poor lose their homes.- Here's another way that rich is better: If you're poor, and a family member does drugs, you can be kicked out of your home. It doesn't matter, as the government's lawyer said, whether the kid lights a joint 3,000 miles away. If the family lives in public housing, it's "one strike and you're out."--  (So what about JEB and George?)

Birds of a feather?
Ex-partner of Jeb Bush hid assets abroad, U.S. says
The accusation comes as the Justice Department amends a suit against a Florida man who sold water pumps to Nigeria.

Week of 3/24-31

• State employees begin the mandated process of evaluating each other for the bonus that up to 1/3 of us will get.  Each agency determines how the booty will be split up.  Most agencies will probably give a couple of hundred dollars apiece to a third of us.  Some will give more money to less workers.
    
  "More to less" sounds like "more with less", our state mantra, so maybe that's what will happen.
    
  However it breaks out, I haven't heard of too many people pleased with this arrangement.  A bonus sounds nice but more than 1/3 of the workers deserve it.  Since the mechanism for picking the lucky few is not standardized between bureaus much less departments or agencies, lots of folks feel a lottery would be more fair.  In fact taking all of us out to dinner would be a better choice, but that would probably cost too much.
    
  But what's really wrong with a bonus instead of a raise is that our base salary stays the same, and it's this base that determines the amount of our retirement. 
   
  The governor and legislature know this of course, which is why they think bonuses are such a good idea.  So it's another year where our salary increase lags behind the cost of living, and another year of a flat salary base so we can count on less retirement.  
  ...quixote
  
  

• The state of the state in Tallahassee
  TALLAHASSEE -- Haven't we seen this before? - The Legislature adjourns without passing a budget. It faces a series of special sessions to complete that and other "must-pass" legislation which easily could have been completed on time. Its top leaders aren't speaking to each other -- except through the press -- so the governor is forced to mediate. The Senate doesn't think too much of him either; he's denounced from the floor, where the confirmation of one of his top appointees is pointedly put off. In the final hours, bills pass at the rate of one a minute, hastily and heavily amended on the floor. Anyone who claims to know what's really in all of them is lying.

Week of 3/17- 23

Week of 3/11-17

Maybe it's time for America to join the rest of the civilized world and provide National Health Care for it's citizens:

• HMOs shift costs of care to clients-- Prepare to say goodbye to $5 and $10 co-pays in your health insurance. They are about to go the way of house calls.-- 
  With medical costs rising rapidly, employers and health maintenance organizations looking for ways to clamp down on expenses are planning to make consumers pay more. Raising monthly premiums, deductibles and especially co-pays top the list.

• Doctor's practice will offer at-your-service care
  It's nearly noon, and Ed Balbona is just hitting stride. He's already visited 10 patients, but 20 more wait before the physician's rounds are done.Known elsewhere as "concierge" care, Balbona and perhaps other associates intend to make up for the cost of running this old-fashioned-style practice by charging a monthly or annual fee to patients not covered by insurance.-- Also called "boutique" or "executive" care, practices like the one Balbona is planning have attracted critics who say charging fees -- up to $20,000 in some places -- circumvents insurance and Medicare rules, creates an elitist tier of care and could push skyrocketing health costs higher.

Week of 3/4-3/10

	FCAT has sent our schools into test-driven lunacy As I prepare my students for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, I think of all those legislators and our governor who daily espouse their compassion for kids, when what I see in front of me is test-driven lunacy. Simply put, policymakers are dead wrong to think FCAT is good for our kids or their education.
	Florida lost if politicians draw maps By Randy Schultz, The Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The politics should start after the congressional lines are drawn, not before.
	Our legislature continues its attack on open government
	JEB's privatization schemes continue to unravel- the workers said we would see less services for more money.  This week the Dept of Children and Families  cancelled a $6 million contract for alleged falsification of child abuse reports State orders massive abuse cases review State dumps abuse investigation agency Firm loses job of seeing that kids are safe Quotas alleged for child-abuse caseworkers Monitor privatization
	Flexible benefit comes up short The fact that more than 2-million Floridians lack health insurance betrays a moral and economic crisis the Legislature should address. But the measure the House intends to debate today is not the right remedy. The insurance might be "affordable," as sponsors say, but it could turn out to be not worth even the low price.
	Two bills leave workers out of workers comp The workers compensation bill that should be called an insurance company bill is back in the Legislature. And this year, unlike last, the Senate does not look up to stripping off its worst features.
	Bills could cut down appeals Opponents of legislation that could make it more difficult for citizens to challenge government decisions say it is a threat to 30 years of environmental rights, but developers contend it's necessary to end what they say is harassment.
	We've met the enemy and ... -- The enemy could be the Legislature itself if, in its ongoing goal to cut back the number of state employees, it failed to note one thing.---  The Legislature is one of the few agencies of Florida government that has actually increased its staff size, according to the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.--- Downsizing, it appears, applies to every agency except the one that makes the rules.-- How swell.
	Senator Rossin tells it like it is -- but did any papers other than the Tallahassee Democrat carry this editorial? Jeb Bush is to Florida as Ken Lay is to Enron It seems Gov. Jeb Bush spends most of his time these days running from one place to another to refute analyses, reports and polls that show his lack of leadership has run Florida's economy into a ditch and broken the back of our public education system - reports from such left-wing think tanks as the Florida Chamber of Commerce that is.

Week of 2/25-3/3

• Here are a whole slew of insults rolled into one article by the St Pete Times:
  Capitol offenses
  Muzzling citizens, endangering patients, harassing public employees and sponsoring sneaky gambling bills -- all in a day's work for your lawmakers.
  
  

• And here's an editorial on one of the sleaziest bills of them all:
  Mary Jo Melone: Think now: Just whose state is it anyway? -- 
  You'd think that after so many years of extraordinary growth in this state, we'd have learned our lesson. We'd treat the environment with more respect. We'd think long and hard before we plowed down another pasture, another grove, another woodland.-- But we haven't. And the Legislature is trying to make matters worse. -- Bills are up this session that would make it harder, if not impossible, for the public to challenge environmental decisions by local and state governments..... 
  
  

• This State Representative thinks the Bill of Rights covers only some of the people...
  State Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, made the following statement in a Feb. 20 e-mail to Jamal Baadani, president of the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in Military.  ... He said, "Our Bill of Rights does not cover citizens of any country, only those citizens of our country."
  http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online 
  
  

• A choice: Schoolkids or special interests?
  Our schools are increasing class size and are about to lay off teachers. Given the choice of allowing special-interest groups to reap the rewards of billion-dollar tax breaks or devoting millions to Florida's school students, the choice is blindingly clear.
  
  

• 4 major publishers are cashing in on this deal:
  Bush, Crist Close Book On Phonics Dispute
  TALLAHASSEE - Lawmakers hoping to debate Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to teach all Florida children to read through phonics can hold their tongues. ... (see Reading Between the Lines)

  • Publishers Agree To Train Teachers On Phonic Method
    TALLAHASSEE - There's nothing on paper. Just a verbal agreement with four of the nation's largest textbook publishers who stand to profit handsomely from the $200 million or more Florida spends each year on instructional materials. ...   The companies are Harcourt, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson Education and Houghton Mifflin.

Week of 2/18-24

• Foul play
  
  The Republican majority kidnapped the House to defeat the Senate's tax reform bill without any respect for House rules or the public. 
  
  St. Petersburg Times editorial Thursday, February 21, 2002 
  
  What happened in the Florida House of Representatives Wednesday recalls Chief Justice Roger Taney's infamous comment in the Dred Scott case that slaves "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." Today, it is the people of Florida -- not just the hapless Democratic minority -- who have no rights that their Legislature is bound to respect. 
  
  That the Republican majority killed, as expected, a carbon copy of the Senate's tax reform is now less important than how they did it. The precedent was set, for Speaker Tom Feeney or any successor, to defeat a bill by consigning it to a "select committee of the whole" that will accept no amendments, permit only a fifth of the members to take part in time-limited debate, hear only those of the public who are hand-picked by the majority, and to thereafter pretend that it had a fair hearing. 
  
  This was so fundamentally foul, so totally inconsistent with the spirit of the House's standing rules, that Minority Leader Lois Frankel did not exaggerate when she referred to it as "the kidnapping of the House by the majority party." Indeed, it gave the Democrats a decent excuse to walk out on the travesty, as 18 of them, mostly from safe districts, subsequently did. Some perhaps secretly welcomed the opportunity to avoid casting a "yes" vote that the antireform lobbies would hurl back at them in November -- the only "safe" vote was no -- but this can be overlooked because of the ruthless way in which Feeney and his henchmen were treating them. 
  
  Rep. Johnnie B. Byrd Jr., of Plant City, who will be speaker next term if Republicans retain the House in November, was a principal architect of this outrage. That is among the facts voters may wish to weigh as they decide whether they should send Democrats or Republicans to the House on Nov. 5. 
  
  http://www.sptimes.com/2002/02/21/Opinion/Foul_play.shtml  

Week of 2/11-17

• Was it political pressure?
  The sad goings-on in Tallahassee -- TALLAHASSEE -- Taping what she didn't know would be her last commentary on Florida Public Radio's Capitol Report, my friend and former colleague Diane Roberts opened thusly: "Like dogs returning to a marked tree, the Legislature has come back to Tallahassee." After some colorful details, sparing not even the governor, she concluded...

• Go Lois!
  Legislator questions firm's part in lawsuit
  TALLAHASSEE -- House Minority Leader Lois Frankel says lawyers with ties to Gov. Jeb Bush should not represent the state in a lawsuit against Enron because they might try to cover up anything that would embarrass "certain political figures."

  • Editorial: Let Butterworth direct probe of Enron losses
    Last year, supposedly smart people admired Kenneth Lay, and Enron supposedly was the nation's seventh-largest company. On April 17, Mr. Lay and Gov. Bush talked on the phone for...

• A voucher ploy-- The latest stab at vouchers in Florida is extreme even for voucher supporters.

• Citrus canker threat
  Now that the harsh measures to eradicate citrus canker have scientific support, lawmakers should put them in writing to allay the emotional response of citrus tree owners. (what scientific support? see citrus canker)

Week of 2/4 - 11/02

• "Even by the Legislature's rough standards, St. Petersburg Rep. Frank Farkas' treatment of the public at a committee hearing last week was singularly rude...."A Lawmaker's Disregard For Public - 
  • Farkas' fiefdom
    The legislator from St. Petersburg muzzled public debate to get his way on a bill that would strip benefits from many employees' health plans.
  • Committee passes insurance bill
    TALLAHASSEE -- For Annis Mackin of Jacksonville, the opportunity to speak against health-care deregulation was worth getting up at 3 a.m.
  • Press release: House Democratic Leader Lois Frankel questioned the actions of Rep. Frank Farkas, chair of the House Health Regulation Committee, Thursday when he ignored House rules and quashed public testimony opposing an insurance bill that he is sponsoring.
    "The House of Representatives should be a deliberative body that welcomes the testimony of Florida citizens, especially on matters that directly affect them.  Floridians want access to affordable health care for themselves and their families.  When this body is considering legislation on such an important topic we need to carefully follow established rules and grant citizens the access to their government that the Florida Constitution guarantees," Frankel said.
    In a letter to Speaker Feeney, Frankel asked him to look into this matter and take appropriate steps to refer the bill back to the Committee on Health Regulation so that public testimony may be heard.  ... 2/7/02
    
    
• "Florida's most vulnerable citizens have been a hallmark of Gov. Jeb Bush's administration...." - says Kathleen Kearney, secretary, Dept. Children and Families
• Bush sides with business buddies on tax issues
  The governor is once again blowing smoke in your face and telling you it's perfume.
• Gov. Bush as editor - Newspapers across the state reported that the governor's office had sought and received a delay of a report by the Florida Chamber Foundation that places an emphasis on education issues.

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