This is Our Voice - Fall/2002

forums    Fl gov't    JEB   agencies    environment    groups   regions   election '02  

Check the new WhoseFlorida for updates

Great leadership does not come to the people; it comes from the people.
-- former Gov. LeRoy Collins
 
The Economic Impact Of Misleading The Legislature 1/04/03

Stop further squandering of public money for citrus tree eradications and legal actions  12/26/02

Lawmakers need to follow their own advice and do more with less 12/25/02

Public access TV is vital to community's cultural evolution 11/27/02

Florida special education services are horrendous  10/30/02

Are you better off today than you were two years ago? 10/23/02

Senator Bob Graham Fighting to Make 9-11 Bombshell Public  10/21/02

Jeb Bush can't make it to his daughter's court hearing -- but he has plenty of time to campaign 10/21/02

A Veteran Speaks Out 10/20/02

Ethics clouds over Tom Feeney gather over Lt. Gov Brogan and Bush administration 10/13/02

We need help down here in So. FL. to save our citrus trees from the government 10/8/02

Did Jeb Bush get a sneak peek at debate questions? 10/2/02

The covenant JEB broke 10/2/02

Please try and make your responses as factually based as possible.  Don't just blow off steam. Information is vital if we are to survive in the post 2001 legislative world.

 

For those of you who would like to be sure the IP address of your computer can not be discerned, use www.safeweb.com, good luck to all, the truth is out there.
...dogsrunning 3/26/01


Bush picks GOP donors for higher ed governors 12/25/02

Human resources hero 12/1/02

Bronze Star 10/26/02

Husband of Ginny Brown-Waite caught stealing Thurman campaign signs 10/21/02

Gov. Bush Reveals Lobby Effort 10/20/02

Time to help ... 10/17/02

The Truth About Jeb's Prescription Drug Plan 10/10/02

Double billing for Medicaid services 10/5/02

Alachua and National Labor Party Websites 8/28/02

 

The Economic Impact Of Misleading The Legislature 

Those people who followed Charles H. Bronson Florida Commissioner of Agriculture's propaganda speeches, open letters in newspapers when trying to defend the unconstitutional and offending citrus canker eradication law, and who read also independent scientists reviling the lies in these, could not miss the expression of "economic impact". That is an expression for abstract figures created in economic studies, by economists - for economists with very little practical value. It tries to estimate the effect of certain financial masses on various levels in the field of economy. In the past this was done using various complicated models with uneven results. Computers created automated programs for calculating it. As in every computer program the results of calculation depend on data fed. Erroneous or false input results in erroneous, false outcome. Promoters of the program to kill all or most of the citrus trees in home gardens for the benefit of a small sector (only about 10 %) of Florida's citrus industry needed impressive figures to convince the public and lawmakers. To argue that if canker affects the fresh fruit producers with an output of only approx. 110 million dollars per year has a devastating effect on Florida's entire economy is not convincing. Figures derived using an expensive computer program, an input-output modelling system fed with partially erroneous data, produced the magic figure of appr. "9". Multiplying the value of the output of the entire citrus industry, they got the imaginary figure of 9.3 billion dollars. Here was the perfect argument that "canker of the 9.3 billion dollar citrus industry can endanger the entire Florida economy." 

But how can be the citrus industry 9.3 billion dollar when according to statistics Florida's entire agricultural industry is only 6 billion dollar?

Bronson's brain trust found the solution: multiple the 6 billion also by "9". Therefore, Florida's agriculture industry suddenly became $54 billion! 

The "doctored" figures were presented to Florida Legislature, with other untrue arguments, to provide a legal basis for an unjust and costly program together with other convincing but untrue arguments as: 

  "Canker threatens Florida's entire agriculture, the second largest industry after tourism and is critical to our economy". 
That sounds like quite an impressive argument, were it true. It attempts to justify mass killings of trees in private gardens at taxpayers' expense. The fact is, however, that citrus production is not all of the agriculture. Florida's entire agriculture industry is a 6 billion dollar industry and the citrus industry is a 1.1 billion dollar fraction of it. The endangered sub sector, the fresh fruit growers are only a very small (however very powerful) part of the citrus industry. They are about 1/10 of all the citrus growers. That means that the only canker-sensitive fresh fruit growing sub sector, valued at 110 million dollars is a fraction of 1/60 of Florida's entire agriculture! 
"Cutting down healthy citrus trees in a radius of 1900 feet around an infected tree is based on science". 
Untrue. It is based on an experiment conducted by Dr.Gottwald, who declared that still further experiments are needed and will be done by the Florida research team in Brazil. (Citrus Canker Symposium in 2000). He never suggested to eradicate all healthy trees in a radius of 1900 feet around an infected tree. 
"Eradication is the only method of controlling canker". 
Untrue. It is totally ineffective. In spite of cutting down more than 600,000 healthy trees, canker spreads to counties far away of the eradicated areas. Infected trees were found In Brevard, Collier, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Martin, Orange and Okeechobee counties. (Just lately in Sarasota). 
Independent scientists, professors Jack O.Whitehead, Charles H.Hamel,and Heinz K.Wutscher with life long scientific research established the fact that eradication is ineffective to control canker. 
"Chemical treatments are useless". 
Untrue. They are the best methods of prevention. Chemical treatments are successfully used in South America and in many other countries. 
  "Canker is destroying Florida's entire citrus industry". 
Untrue. Groves growing citrus to process it, 90% of the industry, are not affected by only blemishes on the skin of the fruit. 
  "Canker is weakening, finally destroying trees". 
Untrue. There is no scientific justification for this statement. On the contrary, researchers show that the canker bacterium has certain beneficial effects on the tree.(Prof. Chester H.Hamel). Canker is self-eliminating (Prof. Jack O. Whitehead). 
  "The eradication program is helping everybody, including the home owners". 
Untrue. Home owners can use the fruit even with blemishes on the skin. 
  "Another major threat of citrus canker may result in a state-wide quarantine that would prohibit the shipment of fresh fruit from this state's most important economic contributors." 
Untrue. Argentina, a canker endemic country, has been exporting citrus into the USA and Europe for years and is scheduled to ship directly to Florida in 2004. - 99% of all Florida's fruit export go to non citrus producing regions or to countries that already have canker. (Researched by Jack Haire). 
The Legislature unfortunately gave credit to these false arguments introducing the citrus canker eradication laws, with devastating economic impacts: 
  1.   Eradicating 600,000 mostly healthy citrus trees and legally robbing home owners, offending their constitutional rights.
  2.   Squandering over 400 million dollars of taxpayers' money for the unfair program, cutting down backyard trees, paying 78 million dollars compensation in to commercial growers and incurring enormous Court costs for defending it. 
  3.   Causing the sensitive fresh fruit growing sector of the citrus industry to become unprotected with the false belief that cutting down trees in home gardens protects them from canker. 

Lawmakers in the Legislature accepted the false arguments and voted for it in good faith. However, a law based on false information and considered unconstitutional also for other reasons by legal experts, must be revoked AS IT WAS CREATED BY MISLEADING THE LEGISLATORS. 

Peter Harsany, D.Sc. (Doctor in agricultural economics), 1/04/02

Top

Stop further squandering of public money for citrus tree eradications and legal actions 

1/ A "9.3 billion dollar citrus industry" as asserted by the Department of Agriculture supposed to be only the industry's impact on Florida's economy, an imaginary figure created by a computer program and not the value of the industry, what is only 1.1 billion, (the total value of one years crop). 

2/ There is no scientific data to justify the claim that canker can weaken the tree or cause fruit to fall prematurely. Dr. Chester H. Hamel, retired research professor from the University of Atlanta and an international expert in several of the sciences critical to effective management of citrus canker, states that the genetics involved in the interaction between citrus and citrus canker makes it impossible for citrus canker to be anything but a fruit blemishing nuisance. According to Professor Hamel, 

"The citrus canker bacterium is inherently innocuous. It does cause blemishes on fruit but it also stimulates immune responses in citrus trees making them more resistant to stress. Thus, on balance, the citrus canker bacterium is a good bacterium, not the devastating threat." 

3/ 1/ Canker may have damaging effects only on the fresh fruit growing sector.(If they do not protect themselves.) This sector represents 10% of the industry. The fruit processors, who represent 90% of the industry, are not affected. 

4/ There is no scientific justification to the 1900 foot scenario either. Dr.Gottwald's experiments cannot be called as such. He himself expects it to be maybe 95% effective, and declared the need for additional experiments to be conducted in Brazil. (Citrus Canker Symposium 2000). 

Sincerely, 
Peter Harsany, D.Sc. (Doctor in Agricultural Economics); posted 12/26/02

Top

Bush picks GOP donors for higher ed governors

........ most of Bush's appointees were Republicans, including heavy-hitters
in the party. Collectively, the appointees, their families and businesses
gave $48,000 to Republican Party candidates in 2001 and 2002, and many
thousands more to the GOP.
One appointee, Republican Carolyn K. Roberts of Ocala, led the failed
campaign to defeat the Graham amendment that created the Board of Governors
on which she will now sit. See:
 http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/tuesday/news_e3701f01145661d400eb.html 

Top

Lawmakers need to follow their own advice and do more with less

When lawmakers meet this spring, they no doubt will ask taxpayers to do more with less. They should heed their own advice.
With a looming multibillion-dollar budget deficit, legislators face the unenviable task of either raising taxes or trimming a host of state-funded programs to make ends meet. And Republicans who control both chambers of the Legislature don't want a tax increase.
OK. But why then would lawmakers even consider sticking taxpayers with a $1.5 million tab to renovate legislative offices? When the elderly can't afford prescription drugs and poor children can't access health care, it's unconscionable for elected officials to even consider posh new offices -- which were renovated just two years ago.
If taxpayers must sacrifice some, lawmakers should, too.
...from Orlando Sentinel editorial, 12/25/02

Top

Human resources hero

With all those holiday fliers in the mail, many Floridians may not have received the latest copy of Human Resources Outsourcing Today, a magazine geared toward finance and personnel officers.
Cover model for December/January is none other than Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, acclaimed for providing "the highest quality HR services while saving Florida's taxpayers millions of dollars."
The mag lauds Bush and the Republican Legislature for turning over state personnel services to Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp., a move proponents say will save the state $173 million over seven years. The state workers union condemns it, saying it could cost 800 state jobs.
"It's quite a marvelous feat," said Jay Whitehead, the magazine's president and publisher. "It's also a model for what President George W. Bush is doing in Washington."
The elder Bush hopes to outsource as many as 850,000 civil service jobs considered "commercial" tasks easily performed by private sector firms.
Although outsourcing is expected to expand during the governor's second term, it also helped pave the way to Bush's re-election. Many companies that landed state contracts contributed to the state Republican Party.... 12/1/02 (more from Orlando Sentinel) 
... posted by Orlando

Public access TV is vital to community's cultural evolution

A recent study found that economic development went hand in hand with certain bohemianism. Several magazines and newspapers analyzed the finding that cities with diverse, quirky, artistic populations had the strongest economic gains.

A Neal Peirce column,"Lively economies require lively cities," appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat's June 9 Comment section.

Two of the cities cited as examples were San Francisco and Austin, Texas. Austin is often spoken of as a twin city to Tallahassee, if always with the qualifier that "Tallahassee is like the Austin of 25 years ago."

Twenty-five years ago, when I was still living there, I was one of the people instrumental in helping change the face of downtown Austin. I was one of the co-founders of several storefront theaters including Esther's Follies.

The year we started Esther's, Sixth Street after dark was an empty place. So we weren't expecting much when we rented a downtown storefront next door to a "massage" parlor and a failing salsa bar.

What happened next astonished us all. Almost immediately, our theater had a consistent traffic of people who, intelligent and curious, had been looking for more interesting ways to spend their money. They came in droves. And by the end of six months we were only one of eight new businesses - three of them restaurants - on Sixth.

Our audiences started coming downtown because they wanted to see this new, interesting thing that was going on. But they were able to come to the Follies because they had been informed of its existence. They got that information not through the mainstream newspapers or radio stations but in large part through word of mouth and from our exposure on the public access television channel.

Public access featured the Austin population making appearances in a series of self-made talk shows, weird little sitcoms, music jams, poetry readings and some of the funniest, mock-profane performance art I've seen in my life. The artists and musicians who appeared on public access ranged from the future stars of the play "Greater Tuna," to Terry Lickonia, producer of Austin City Limits.

People adored the channel and watched in record numbers. Even more people wanted to know how to use public access and came to the free classes offered by the video professionals who volunteered to teach the basics of creating original TV.

Public access television would prove to be one of the most enduring and beloved conduits of local information and entertainment in Austin. In a very real way, it introduced the city to another side of itself. For the first time the quirky, artistic, bohemian side of Austin - the side that would help lead the way to its phenomenal economic growth - was being revealed to everyone else who lived in or was just visiting the city.

Until 25 years ago, Austin, like Tallahassee, was thought of as a sleepy, government/university town that was culturally vacant and kind of backwater. But as those creative, bohemian Austinites gained more exposure, the more diverse and interesting people the city began to attract.

The City Council had long been frustrated in its attempts to woo sophisticated businesses because their key employees were unwilling to relocate from places with thriving cultural scenes to a place that didn't seem to have any culture, period. But with the new visibility of the creative class, those businesses stopped and reconsidered.

Esther's Follies is still thriving, as is Sixth Street, as is Austin, as is public access television itself. The people in our own local government claim they want to emulate the success of Austin; to use it as a model of how to revitalize growth in a town being dismantled by a state government that often seems hostile to its existence.

Many of the ideas promulgated by them and other Tallahassee figures for promoting the life of our city are exemplary. They all say they want to promote Tallahassee as a city where intelligent, cultured, innovative people would love to settle.

But they will not get those people in any numbers if they don't heed and help promote the cultural life of our city. Public access will help audiences find their pleasures, find what delights intrigues and amuses them. It will promote an innovative image of our city as a place where artistic and cultural diversity thrives. And in doing so it will help the economic life this city thrive as well.

Because it is those diverse pleasures, those delights, those curiosities - just as much as affordable homes, good schools, drivable roads and natural beauty- that will attract good businesses and good people to join us in our wonderful town.

By Terry Galloway, MY VIEW, Tallahassee Democrat
Terry Galloway is a writer, performer and director who divides her professional life between Tallahassee and Austin. Contact her at TLGalloway@aol.com.

Top

Special Education in Florida

Nobody has addressed the issue of special education in Florida for children with disabilities.  Many children's civil rights to a free and appropriate education under IDEA 1997 are being violated.  The Florida special education services are horrendous.  Issues include the following: 

Noncompliance with student's IEPs (Individualized Education Plan) and no accountability. 
Students not receiving the needed accommodations and supports that they are entitled to under federal law in order to be successful. 
Not having properly trained teachers. 
No accountability by school personnel for violating these children's civil rights under IDEA 1997. 
Putting children in a more restrictive environment than is necessary. 
Many children are simply not being educated and are being given special diplomas. 
Not having access to the general curriculum. 
Many children with disabilities do not have school choice, yet all regular general ed students will have school choice next year in Pinellas Co. 
Not having any other way of assessing children other than the FCAT, which is not an appropriate means of testing many children with disabilities, and as a result, they are being denied a regular diploma. 
Discrimination against children with disabilities. 
Not enough funding to provide the appropriate services. 
Not providing the appropriate programs necessary for these children to be successful. 
These are just a few of the problems.  Also, you might be interested to know that STAND (Statewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities, Inc.) has been set up in the state of Florida to help educate parents and advocate 
...for the rights of children with disabilities,  Reem Tarantino, 10/30/02

Top

Bronze Star

  Re: Governor candidates look to veterans as vote nears - October 10, 2002 Sun Sentinel Article

The article implies that bronze stars were just handed out for just being in Vietnam. The Vietnam campaign service medal was given out for being in Vietnam. The bronze star was not.  The contents of the article concerning the bronze star is to say the least demeaning and insulting.  
I am a disabled veteran who gave my blood and sweat as a 19 and 20 year old light weapons infantryman in 1968 and 1969 and I was awarded the bronze star for heroism above and beyond the normal call of duty.  I have friends who were killed that are unable to speak for themselves who also earned the bronze star for heroism.  Many of them are probably turning over in their graves I would not doubt because of this article as it is worded.  
I know politics is politics and there is freedom of the press, but when this country may soon be on the verge of war with Iraq the last thing newspaper articles should do is disrespect or make light of those who already have served in combat.  If the author of the article believes that Mr. McBride did not deserve to receive the bronze star then such a statement should have been made.  
The statement as written infers that bronze stars were awarded just for the sake of being awarded.  I would like to see the Jeb Bush and Bill McBride campaigns make strong statements denouncing the implication made by Mr. Kallestad in his article and furthermore request a retraction from him.  My comrades unable to represent themselves might therefore rest in peace.
...sam slade, 10/26/02

Top

Are you better off today than you were two years ago, when Republicans captured the nation's agenda?

The answer for almost everyone would be, "No, two years ago I was better off than I am today!" Let me count the ways:

The stock market is down by pretty much a full third. It had been unrealistically high, sure, but loans, jobs and retirement plans were all based on how high it went. What's more, we're not just talking about the short time span of the last two years. The fiscal quarter just ended was the worst for the market in 15 years.
The average American's net worth has been dropping for longer now than in any period since World War II.
That's partly because of stocks, and partly because of jobs, because our median income is down, too.
So is business profit. The lowest it has been since the 20th Century.
Likewise, business investment. It's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophesy: median income drops, so spending drops, and when spending drops, profits drop, and when profits drop, business investment drops. Is the sky falling?
A natural economic consequence of all of the above shows up in the federal budget, which pays for trifling little things like Medicare and defense. It has deteriorated from a surplus — a record surplus — to a deficit of more than $100 billion.

Of course it would be unfair only to point out the economic factors and indicators that have dropped. In the last two years, some have gone up, too:
Like unemployment. Up by a third.
And families below the poverty line. Up by more than a million.
And Americans without health insurance. Two years ago the figures were nothing to write home about: 14.2 percent of Americans were uninsured. Today, it has jumped to 14.6 percent.
And home foreclosures. Just last month they reached an all time high.

The Democrats could be asking everyone if they are better off today than they were two years ago. But they're not asking. Instead, they're falling all over themselves affirming the assertion that there's not much difference between the two major political parties in America. As if Sept. 11th is the sole reason for our slide. As if questioning the president about anything at all—-the war or the economy — raises questions about their patriotism.
... from Trying to find Waldo, by Greg Dobbs, Scripps Howard News Service, 10/23/02

Top

Husband of Ginny Brown-Waite caught stealing Thurman campaign signs 

Perhaps I missed your coverage of Ginny Brown-Waite's husband stealing KarenThurman campaign signs.  This was covered in the Hernando section of the Tampa Tribune and has been the buzz around Spring Hill.  I haven't noticed this on your site and feel it is important.  A deputy stopped Mr. Brown-Waite amd found several Karen Thurman signs in his truck.  The kicker is that Mr. Brown-Waite was not charged.  The deputy said charges would be left to Karen Thurman!  The Tampa Tribune carried the story of an official apology from Ginny Brown-Waite around October 11, 2002.
...rosegarden, 10/21/02

Top

Democratic Senator Fighting to Make 9-11 Bombshell Public 

U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham said on Sunday he is seeking to declassify "the most important information" obtained in a congressional probe of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Florida Democrat described the material as a key toward better protecting the United States.

Graham's panel and the House Intelligence Committee have conducted a joint investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks, holding a series of open and closed hearings.

The committees are to issue a draft report by the end of this year, with a final report due in February. In the meantime, they are seeking to declassify much of what they learned.

"Frankly, there is a piece of information which is still classified which I consider to be the most important information that's come to the attention of the joint committee," Graham said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"We hope that it will be declassified," Graham said. "I think it is an important part of our judgments as to where our greatest threats are and what steps we need to do to protect the American people here at home."

Graham said, "There's been a pattern in which information is provided on a classified basis, and then what is declassified are those sections of the report that are most advantageous to the administration."
... From www.truthout.com , Reuters , Sunday, 20 October, 2002 -- posted by AO, 10/21/02

Top

Jeb Bush can't make it to his daughter's court hearing -- but he has plenty of time to campaign. 

Joe Conason's Journal
Oct. 17, 2002 | Busy, busy Jeb - Poor Noelle Bush. 

Her father has time to talk about her on national television -- while pleading for family privacy -- but doesn't show up in court when she narrowly escapes a felony charge and gets sent back to jail for 10 days. Her mother wasn't there, either; only her aunt and her attorney showed up.

No doubt Jeb Bush had a good reason for his absence from his troubled daughter's side. Perhaps the embattled governor was reluctant to appear because the judge had refused the Bush family's demand for a closed hearing -- a privilege sought despite the governor's claim that he expected no special treatment for his daughter. In any case, he reportedly spent the afternoon campaigning with his brother the president, less than an hour's drive from the courthouse where the judge sentenced Noelle.

However strangely Jeb and Columba Bush may behave toward their sick child, there is no appropriate reaction except empathy, and a degree of rage. The rage has nothing to do with the circumstances of Noelle Bush's case, but with the persistent blindness of politicians in both parties to the tragedy they have perpetrated in the name of the "war on drugs." Ms. Bush and her family are not the only ones suffering; indeed, their situation is considerably better than that of other nonviolent narcotics offenders who remain brutally incarcerated for years rather than days.

When Jeb isn't campaigning these days, he seems to be walking around with his hand outstretched to every special interest with a bank account. A month ago, the Washington Post caught him lobbying his brother's administration on behalf of the Bacardi liquor company. By then a $50,000 check to the Florida GOP from Bacardi (whose former professional lobbyist Otto Reich is now an assistant secretary of state) presumably had cleared. Then yesterday, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Jeb had signed a bill hindering the removal of highway billboards by local communities in Florida, just one week after the Florida GOP took a couple of checks totaling $25,000 from an outdoor advertising mogul. Those checks had no influence on the governor's behavior, as his spokespersons assured the press in each instance. Of course not. By the way, here's a cool picture of Karl Eller, the gentleman who wrote those two checks that had nothing to do with the billboard legislation. He's smiling because he was picking up a Steuben glass eagle from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, for winning its "lifetime achievement award."
 http://www.salon.com/politics/conason/2002/10/17/bush/index.html 
... posted by galloway, 10/21/02

Top

Gov. Bush Reveals Lobby Effort

(You should add this to your site.  Jeb not only improperly intervened in this PTO dispute, he got a career government lawyer who ruled against Bacardi taken off the case!)

  
 Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has released documents outlining a sustained lobbying campaign by his office on behalf of a major Republican donor, which included efforts to get political appointees of President Bush to overrule career employees at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
To view the entire article By Thomas B. Edsall, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43470-2002Oct17.html
 ...garcia, 10/20/02

Top

 

Veterans

I am a veteran with an honorable discharge. I also work for the State of Florida and I have for over 15 years. I am a native of Florida and except for the years 1970 through 1974 that I spent overseas in the military, I have always lived in Florida. I care about this state and particularly the Northern part.   Until about 3 months ago, I was a registered Republican, and had been a Republican since 1975. What changed my mind about my party membership? Some time ago, I began to realize that all those other things I am make me despised and mistrusted by the Republican Party leadership. 
 
I work close to the top, too close to reveal my true name. Of course, these days it doesn't matter where you work, Jeb's changes to the career service system have brought political influence to any decision-making level of any state agency. Everyone that decides the disposition of business licenses, development permits, tax administration must either be on the team or be in the way. 

Wholesale replacements have already reached down to the bureau level, and will continue until all the Governor's men are in place. In the meantime, most of the remaining career employees are too frightened to make any decision that might run afoul of some Senator, developer, Republican Party donor, or and in-law of any of the preceding. 

Most of the replacements for the career stateworkers are hired at half again the salary, without any actual experience. The politically-connected replacements are always party activists of some level, few of them have even done any military service and half of them were born after Vietnam. The one or two that have done military service either hide the fact or become isolated by the others in the pack. Your “worthiness” to these people only means your (or your family’s) “net worthiness.”   The use of phrases like "personal integrity" or "ethical conduct" are only for speeches and if used in personal conversations will put you on the suspect (hit) list. Being a veteran only aggravates the situation because you wear your honor like a badge for people from this crowd.  Your unselfish service to a noble cause distinguishes you only as someone who might let integrity get in the way, and so shouldn’t be fully entrusted. That's the case with me. For those few of us in government with military backgrounds, while we may refuse to be ashamed of our time in the military, we're damn sure not bringing it up. 

I remember that it was like this when many of us came back from Vietnam. There was this same sense, for many years, that we had done something wrong, something that we should be ashamed of.  I've come to know that's not true. I think I always knew it--but it was difficult, for many years, to talk about something when you knew others despised you for it. I was never called a hero for risking my life for my country, like Bill McBride or John McCain, and I never expected to be--but I shouldn't have to be ashamed of it either. 
 
I look around me now, in state government, and I don't see another vet in sight except for Mr. Milligan. It's odd, but I bet he feels just like me, isolated and working like the lone ranger.  We can all see it and we can all feel it. The Republican Party is run by the Bushs of the world now, they are the children of wealthy parents who have avoided their own civic responsibility, and are now threatened by those of us who, given the same choices, stepped forward.  These people have never been poor, never had to worry about having a job or their children's chances for success in the public school system. They have never understood or practiced the philosophical conservatism of a Ronald Reagan or a Willaim F. Buckley. Their bottom line is pure and unadulterated greed and making sure that their friends, family and selves get the best deal. Veterans, like poor people in nursing homes or our pristine natural springs and wetlands, have already outlived their usefulness to this crowd. 
 
Unless we do something about these people, they'll soon be sending our sons to war while they toss our aging veterans out of the VA hospitals because they drain taxes. They'll be permitting development of that 800 acres down the road from your home that used to be state conservation land, and the little lake in front of your house will soon become a drainage pond for their parking areas. Once they destroy all our lives, our homes, our land, our natural resources, our schools, our public services, our reasons for living here...then the Bushs will just move to another state and suck all the life out of that one, and then the next and the next, and so on. 

I'm going down in advance of this election. I'm taking time to make sure that my absentee ballot is marked in the clearest and most certain way.  I'm making doubly sure that it definitely records my vote for Bill McBride to be governor of the State of Florida, and I hope to God that this honorable man can restore integrity, not to mention democracy, to state government in Florida, before it's too late. 
...Macbeth, 10/20/02

top

Time to Help out...

To the Folks at "Whose Florida": I'm sorry about your family emergency but this is the TIME, RIGHT NOW, to have every available update on Mcbride and to expose all the arrogance and LIES of jebby! I don't live in Florida,my Dad and sister do though and I, like every Democracy loving American want to see him voted into oblivion. I'm writing from New York and I appreciate your web site.
Respects, Char Evans 10/17/02
(Note to all:  Thanks - someone is going to be keeping it going, but could use some help... email info@whoseflorida.com if you're interested)

Ethics clouds over Tom Feeney gather over Lt. Gov Brogan and Bush administration

Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan and the Bush administration may have to face the
serious ethics questions that continue to follow Florida House Speaker and
candidate for Congress Tom Feeney. According to today's Daytona Beach
News-Journal, Feeney sponsored a meeting between Yang Enterprises that
included Lt. Gov. Brogan and Roy Cales, the former head of the State
Technology Office.

Yang Enterprises, a firm that employs Tom Feeney as a lobbyist and general
counsel, is the subject of controversy surrounding allegations of
overbilling the State of Florida. The case was brought to light by
whistleblowers in the Florida Department of Transportation.

"Why did Tom Feeney feel it was necessary to involve Frank Brogan and Roy
Cales in discussions with Yang Enterprises? What was on the agenda and why
was the Lt. Governor involved?" Florida Democratic Party Chair Bob Poe
asked. "When Gov. Jeb Bush came to office he promised an administration with
the 'highest ethical standards.' While Tom Feeney is apparently evading
accountability, Lt. Gov. Brogan should lead the way and provide full public
disclosure of any communications of the Bush administration regarding Yang
Enterprises."

The News-Journal discovered that Feeney's official e-mails apparently
contradict statements made by the Republican Congressional candidate to the
Florida Ethics Commission. The News-Journal reports that Feeney told ethics
investigators that he had not spoken to "anyone at FDOT or the State
Technology Office concerning the Yangs." In spite of repeated claims that he
never used his influence to benefit his client, the News-Journal reports
e-mails show Feeney arranged at least one meeting between state officials
and the Oviedo computer firm that was having trouble with its state
contract.

Along with the meeting with Lt. Gov. Brogan and Cales, the News-Journal
reports Feeney's e-mails also show Feeney also arranged a meeting in Oviedo
in July 2000 between Yang Enterprises and Roy Cales. Cales was the head of
the State Technology Office and an official with tremendous influence over
state computer contracts. Cales, who was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, has
since left the position after being arrested for felony fraud and forgery
charges. According to the News-Journal, Yang wrote to DOT officials after
the Oviedo meeting to say it was very successful. Cales later wrote Feeney
saying, "I am most interested in pursuing additional conversations with them
(the Yangs) to determine the most effective way to utilize their expertise."

According to the News-Journal, Sylvester Lukis, a spokesman for Yang, on
Friday at first denied Feeney arranged any meetings for Yang's owners with
state officials. But later, when told about the e-mails, he confirmed Feeney
had set them up.

The Ethics Commission, dominated by appointees with ties to Gov. Jeb Bush,
(including his former general counsel and one of Gov. Bush's family lawyers)
went on to clear Feeney of the alleged ethical missteps surrounding his ties
to Yang Enterprises. A previous News-Journal report said Ethics Commission
investigators never contacted the whistleblowers in the Yang case.
....RyanB, 10/13/02  (See more on Feeney)

Top

The Truth About Jeb's Prescription Drug Plan

Jeb Bush's campaign is spending millions of dollars airing television ads across Florida touting his "Silver Savers" prescription drug plan for our seniors.  As with most of Jeb's so called accomplishments during the past four years there are two sides to this story, the PR face he puts on it and the truth.  We thought that you would like to know the truth.

 
The original prescription drug plan for seniors was created during the 2000 Legislative Session and called  the "Pharmacy Assistance Program for Seniors." Eligible individuals included those who were age 65 and older, Medicare beneficiaries and had incomes between 90%-120% of the federal poverty level ($7,974-$10,632 for a single person).    The state paid each program participant a monthly benefit of $80. 
The program was funded with $30 million in tobacco dollars to cover about 31,250 seniors but thanks to any real public awareness campaign only 6,818 individuals participated.  During Session 2000, Democrats made an attempt on the floor of the House of Representatives to increase the eligibility level to 200% of poverty so more seniors could take advantage of the program but the amendment was defeated.
During the 2001 Special Session C the Legislature cut $22.5 million from the program, this left just enough money for the seniors currently enrolled.  Additional cuts to state Medicaid programs during that same period saved the state $64.1 million but between 3,000 and 5,000 poor people, many of them seniors lost Medicaid coverage. 
In 2001 Special Session C funding was restored to the prescription drug program and the name was changed to the "Silver Saver Program." This program targets Floridians who are aged 65 and over; on Medicare; and living with incomes between 88% to120% of the federal poverty level.  About $7,797-$10,632 for a single person.  Monthly benefits provided have been increased from $80 to $160 per individual.  The new program will only cover about 58,000 economically disadvantaged seniors. 
The program went into effect on July 31 only 30 days after thousands of poor seniors lost their Medicaid coverage thanks to the 2001 budget cuts that Bush pushed for in the 2001 Special Session C.  The new Silver Saver program will only cover a portion of those individuals who lost their Medicaid assistance due to those cuts.  Cost neutral programs that would have required the prescription drug companies to offer discounts to the state have been rebuffed by the Republican leadership in the House and the Governor's Office. 
 
The end result of this shell game:
Jeb gets a PR tool, our seniors still have no real prescription drug plan!
.... Thanks to the Florida AFL-CIO for this analysis. Posted by JR, 10/10/02

Top

We need help down here in So. FL. to save our citrus trees from the government

I guess that since you Candidates and Law-Makers live in Tallahasee or Washington D.C. The importance of a citrus tree in your backyard means little or nothing at all to you, well as a home owner in South Florida, I can tell you that it means alot to us down here, I am totally discouraged by the response (or the lack there-of) from all of you....... 

We elected you to represent us, not big business. 

I have seen strong arm tactics used on everybody with a citrus tree (except the citrus groves) to enforce a policy that is not proven, it is disputed by Judges, Attys, Politicians, and most importantly, The voting citizens affected by the controversial policy of those in charge.

The ulterior motives are obvious, if you wanted to only protect the groves, you would have imposed a ten mile " citrus free zone around the groves, and let Private Property remain private. I have seen 90 year old widow in tears begging for help, and none was given, or even offered.  The only help she received was to be threatened with arrest while she watched in tears as they cut down her trees that her late Husband planted as a source of sustenance for her and their Family.  

It was awful to watch, with the World the way it is with terrorists, it's hard to imagine that the officials we elected would impose terror themselves on the citizens of this great state...as a property owner, it is an issue of civil rights, as a resident of a condo, or a politcian in a far away area, it means nothing... 

I expect to hear back from you stating how important it is to you, BOLOGNA!!!!! If it was important to you, you , (and I mean all Florida Politicians) you would have intervened by now...

There are many other issues that concern me, such as the tactics used by the removal crews, the destruction of private property, the loss of peace and serenity within your private property, torn down fences and gates, dogs dead and let loose to roam the streets, broken awnings, torn screens, trashed sprinkler systems, etc., etc. 

If I ran a business in this manner I would be in jail, and deservedly so.  Not to mention the pleas for help of our citizens landing on the deaf ears of anyone that could help.  

This example of leadership makes the term private property a thing of the past. They told us their taking away our citrus trees was to protect the groves and all the good things that the citrus industry does for us. They have never given me fruit, they have never paid my bills, the only thing the citrus industry has done for my family, friends and neighbors is take away our fruit and cost us more at the produce section...there is a TV show in South Florida called "issues" in it one of your colleagues said " the 100 foot zone has worked in the past" it was the same episode that Mr. Fagen was on, if it worked in the past, what make the present so different?????  

Please stop the civil abuse of our Rights, and find a way to fight canker in a way that is beneficial to both the citizens and the groves.....The aggresive tacics and lack of concern for the citizens of this state reeks of ulterior motives, and the strong arm tactics used to "protect the groves" makes me think of the link Gov. Bush has w/ the groves, and the role it will possibly play in the upcoming election -- c'mon Ladies and Gentlemen, you are supposed to represent the people that elect you, not the big businesses that could enrich you.   Help let Florida regain the culture that made it such a wonderful place to live, I beg you to stop the slaughter of not only our fruit trees, but our rights as well !!!!!!!  

P.S. please do not respond if you are going to give me the same song and dance given by the attys. that represent the citrus industry, with the money they have to take away our citrus, they could come up with documentation that would tell a person that just had an arm amputated that " don't worry, it will grow back " as you can possibly tell, I'm pretty much fed up and very sad of the path that the elected officials have put Florida on
    Thank you for reading this (if you did )
                 Respectfully submitted,
                           David Murdico and 1000s of others that got the political shaft.

.... Murdicotanis@aol.com 

Top

Double billing for Medicaid services

Any medical investigative reporter looking to save taxpayers a lot of money and stop providers from double billing?  State workers are asking for someone to:

1. subpoena the State of Florida Medicaid records (public records) for Developmental services, Foster Care, Adoptions, Adult Services, etc.

 
2. talk to DCF Contract Managers, dismissed Contract Managers (Whistle-blowers) ...
 
3. Investigate the reimbursement structure and providers who submitted bills for services:
 
(a) Was patient billed for services and then the provider billed the State for services = double billing? 
(b) On the Date of Service, did providers bill the State for two (2) billings for the same service/ same date, during two different billing periods? 
(c) Did the provider bill for services when the patient received NO services? 
(d) Did the provider bill for services for which the patient had no need i.e. the provider billed for physical therapy when the patient did not need physical therapy or no therapy was ordered, and no services were provided??? 
(e) Did the provider bill for multiple services at the same time and on the same date?
 
Patients could give permission to "look at their files" and perform a bill audit.  Patient Representatives could provide permission for billing audits for Medicaid/ billing/ services provided for children who are minors or those patients who are declared incompetent.
 
Additionally, some workers providing services have been reported for "pretending" to purchase "large-ticket items" for disabled persons and the disabled have not received these items.  Reports are that medication has been missing from some group homes.  Has there been large amounts of medication ordered for one patient during a short time frame?  Is the medication needed?
 
FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL.
 
P.S. Workers are saying that Governor Bush and DCF Administrators are trying to either intimidate or "stop the grass-roots" driven requests for change and investigations.  Many DCF workers question why a governor would want to thwart workers' freedom of speech rights?  Some workers are asking if we are living in "Russia" or "Communist China?"  Some workers want to know if DCF IG Amy Drew's husband, Charles Wynn of DOC, has helped in trying to squash any questions of DCF or the Governor?  Some workers wanted to know why a governor or DCF would not want to investigate and ensure their agencies were operating in a "legal" manner?  Some wanted to know why the Governor or DCF weren't more interested in "doing what's right?"
 
Some State workers wanted to know why Governor Bush authorized State Legislators to use taxpayer-paid jets to fly home the Legislators (started under Bush and VERY costly to taxpayers)?  Some wanted to know why the Governor used State jets while providing no proof that his duties were related to state duties?  Some workers questioned why Jeb's pals gained State disability benefits' and SES benefit contracts?
 
Some people JUST want answers.  Some want taxpayer waste to STOP, and some want the current administration to cease trying to hang (harm) those trying "to do the right thing," and investigate concerns of state workers and other taxpayers.  State workers are taxpayers, too!  STOP THE FRAUD!  STOP THE WASTE!  REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA!
....civ, 10/5/02

Top

Joe Conason's Journal
Did Jeb Bush get a sneak peek at debate questions?