NOTE - 
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9/30/02  

Who's playing politics with pay raises?
"Will Gov. Bush play politics with state pay raises?" asks a little memo issued late last week by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Instead of child safety, a foster-care coverup
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Gov. Bush suppressed a scathing report. .... Four months ago,... Paul Vincent, former chief of Alabama's child- welfare department and a national child welfare expert, conducted the study. Ms. Kearney repressed it.  From February to April, his reviewers looked at 80 cases in eight of DCF's 15 districts, including Palm Beach County. The findings, he said, were among the worst he's seen. Taxpayers weren't the only ones stonewalled. Rep. Sandra Murman, R- Tampa, chairman of the special committee investigating DCF, says she didn't know about the study, either.-- 
The reason for the coverup is obvious. The study would have embarrassed Gov. Bush just as his reelection campaign was heating up...

Gap between Bush, McBride narrows in governor's race
Gov. Jeb Bush was slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Bill McBride in poll released Sunday, the second in a week that showed the Tampa lawyer within striking distance in the race for governor. But the survey, conducted for The Miami Herald and the St. Petersburg Times, also indicates the Republican governor has recovered support this summer on education, a pivotal issue in the campaign.

Gov. Jeb's foes have many reasons to thank him - ...Baker County hasn't gotten this much attention since, well, probably never.-- 
For some odd reason, Jeb Bush decided to make a focus of his re-election campaign a television ad that boasts he pulled strings to get a traffic light installed at an intersection near a Baker County elementary school.-- 
Let's see now, four years as governor -- the Department of Children and Families in shambles, the economy in shambles, health-care costs in shambles -- and, bingo, a traffic light...

Voters favor class size amendment
An amendment proposing pre-K classes for 4-year-olds is also drawing strong support.

Keeping voters in the dark
The reality about modern campaign finance laws is that they do precious little to stem the flow of special-interest money into politics, but they at least provide one aid to voters. The candidates and political parties that take the money are required to tell the public who gave them what.

Bush, GOP don't report $221,000 in travel on private jets
Corporate jets have flown Gov. Jeb Bush around Florida but neither he nor the state GOP have reported the $222,000 worth of travel as gifts to his campaign, a newspaper reported Sunday. The full costs of the flights are listed as donations to the state Republican Party, according to The Palm Beach Post.

Two years later, Gadsden relieved by lack of problems
"Any time your county is singled out or pointed to in that manner as not being able to do anything right — basically people were saying 'The people don't know how to vote' — that's embarrassing," said Alice DuPont, the editor of the local weekly newspaper, the Gadsden County Times. Florida's botched primary election earlier this month brought back memories of the 2000 presidential recount. But it was an election reform success story in Gadsden, the state's only majority black county. (WF: Reform success? Not to the folks that had to travel over 20 miles to a polling place...)

Ohio woman seeks to stop Florida execution
An Ohio woman has stepped forward with an appeal on behalf of Florida death row inmate Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. Sanchez-Velasco is condemned for the murder of an 11-year-old Hialeah girl in 1986. He's also convicted of killing two other death row inmates in 1995.

Two inmates facing execution have dropped all appeals
Barring unlikely last-minute stays, two inmates who have volunteered for execution -- serial killer Aileen Wuornos and triple murderer Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco -- will die by injection next month.

Amendment 1: Voters face death-penalty dodge
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were willing to resort to outright trickery to get it? 

Force-feeding freedom: Public schools and the Declaration of Independence
High on patriotism and low on imagination, the Legislature last spring hurriedly passed a bill designed to make students celebrate freedom. The howling contradiction should have sunk the bill's prospect before it became law if it weren't for the means it proposed reading the Declaration of Independence, a text that redeems many a politician's clumsy motives. 

DISCLOSURE WARRANTED
Aveteran INS agent makes serious charges against the agency's Miami district. How does the government respond? By brokering a secret deal to make the lawsuit go away. That may be legal, but it isn't right. Taxpayers have a right to know what their government is doing. Yet the INS refuses to discuss what changes, if any, it has made in operations, personnel or training in response to allegations of bias.

Davie family battles insurer as mold makes house unlivable
When a pipe burst under the bathroom of their Davie home almost 16 months ago, Charles and Claudette Armstrong mopped up the water and paid a plumber $300 to fix the pipe.

Judging Michael McConnell
When the president and Congress select federal judges, they are deciding, in a sense, what kind of nation this will be. With lifetime tenure and sweeping powers, federal judges are in a unique position to determine the rules by which we live. At their worst, the federal courts have endorsed separate-but-equal racial classifications and the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans. At their best, they dismantled the Jim Crow regime in the South and ended back- alley abortions.

The Jack Welch war plan
Two weeks before his inauguration, George W. Bush invited Jack Welch, Ken Lay and a bevy of CEO's down to Texas, and he has always run the White House by the cardinal rules in their playbook. A chief executive can do no wrong. The directors (for which read Republicans in Congress) and outside directors (that would be the Democrats) are expected to give him a blank check and question nothing, including the accounting, while the grateful shareholders (the benighted voters) watch their portfolios bulge. Now that we know that this model was a sham, with even Welch's General Electric under scrutiny for fiscal sleight of hand, you would think the Bush administration might revisit it. But instead it is following a discredited modus operandi more slavishly than ever, even as it prepares to fight a new war.

War is hell, revolting, unholy, evil
By Tom Blackburn, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
President Bush is shooting on suspicion. ... Not even a majority vote can purify war of its evils -- especially in these post-draft times, when it's possible to form a majority without warriors. A debating majority can be created from among people who see themselves getting something out of a war and people willing to sell their cowardly souls so their party can hold a few more House and Senate seats. Huge numbers of people, who can watch on television, will go along with that crowd. "War is sweet," said Erasmus, "to those who don't know it."

Bush feels heat of elections, not of Saddam-- Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that poverty has increased for the first time in nearly a decade. But President Bush has not mentioned it.- 
Indeed, Bush has said little of late about a sagging economy that refuses to pick up steam. In a remarkable course reversal, the president has not spoken much about the nation's financial health since his poorly received economic forum in August.- 
Throughout the summer, the president had sounded a lot like his father, who, waging a doomed re- election campaign, desperately tried to convince Americans he cared about their economic struggles - - "Message: I care." But Bush the younger returned from his vacation strangely silent on domestic affairs.- 
He is not talking about joblessness or high rates of personal bankruptcy. He has had little to say lately about the high cost of prescription drugs. And he is only vaguely aware, it seems, of lawless corporate CEOs who pillage stockholder funds.- 
In a classic "Wag the Dog" scenario, Bush has changed the subject to war. With midterm congressional elections nearing and the White House bereft of answers to domestic problems, the president insists that the only issue worth discussing is toppling Saddam Hussein...

9/29/02

Disavow political assault, battery -- wage a clean campaign -- 
...You know the drill: The 30-second GOP-run spot explaining that McBride's law firm laid off 230 people, portraying in a fleeting flash of film the visages of two forlorn women packing their desks in boxes.-- 
There's no question that these sort of attack ads move voters. That's why campaign consultants make them.-- 
I am left with the real-life image of a woman who had seen the ads and approached McBride one day in Fort Myers to ask if he really laid off 230 people at Holland & Knight. Those layoffs came after he left the firm, McBride replied.--- 
The woman was mollified, but returned with a sincere follow-up question: "What happened to those two women?"-- 
The two were actors, well-paid, I'm sure. They're fine. ...

Education issue keeps Bush ahead
Challenger Bill McBride has closed to within striking distance of Gov. Jeb Bush, but he will have a tough time erasing the six-point margin because few voters in the governor's race remain undecided, a new poll shows.

Tests of war serve McBride in politics
April 1970. About 30 miles southwest of Da Nang, in a gully of the thickly forested Que Son Valley. A band of Vietnamese soldiers ambushes first one, then two, platoons of U.S. Marines, pinning the troops down and leaving eight dead and two severely wounded.

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. ...

Amendment process imperfect but still valuable
On the Nov. 5 ballot are 10 proposals to amend the state constitution, many of which are complex or steeped in political game-playing or both. A few -- such as one to strengthen the state's Sunshine Law -- are easy to understand and no-brainers for the electorate. 
Voter guide:
• The 10 amendment questions before voters

Too much (expletive) politics
By Randy Schultz, Palm Beach Post Editor of the Editorial Page
With education becoming the big issue in state politics, more people want to exploit it.

McBride fans suspicious of lottery ads
By Robert P. King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Lottery officials and Bush's camp deny any link between Bush's effort to appear strong on education.

Veteran politician is running scared -- and he should be
TALLAHASSEE -- One of the greatest mismatches since David took on Goliath is under way in northeast Florida, where 26-year old Democrat Andy Wojcicki is making his first campaign for public office against Jacksonville Republican Jim King, veteran of 10 elections and heir to the Senate presidency.

Debate in House race stays clear of details
House Speaker Tom Feeney and Longwood trial attorney Harry Jacobs stuck to their partisan playbooks during the first of three televised debates in the race for Florida's newest congressional seat, agreeing little on how to expand prescription drug coverage, handle tax cuts and ensure flawless elections.

In Cabinet races, upsets shaping up
Democrat Buddy Dyer has never run for statewide office before, and most voters don't know who he is, yet a new poll puts him dead even with Republican Charlie Crist in the race for attorney general.

Counties batten down for election
Broward, Miami-Dade officials go into crisis mode to prepare for Nov. 5 vote.

Welfare plus reform equals child care
Marriage incentives pose risk, not benefit.

Florida wages war on canker, blames residents for disease spreading-- State officials have waged a war on citrus canker, chopping and burning more than 2 million trees over the last seven years in an effort to salvage Florida's $9.1 billion citrus industry.

Sentiment is changing about punishment in drug crimes
What a difference a few years make. Back in the early 1990s the country was determined to put criminals behind bars and throw away the key. Politicians made great hay out of demands for mandatory minimums, the end of "good time," and new "three-strikes-you're- out" legislation. Rehabilitation was a dirty word and the penological community dismissed it as a goal.

REFUGEES AT RISK
The United States historically has been a beacon of hope for the 
world's refugees. South Florida alone is home to hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, Colombians, Venezuelans and others who fled persecution, abuse and terror in their homelands.- 
Yet the Bush administration turns its back on that commitment now...

More people lose health insurance -- WASHINGTON -- About 1.4 million more people were without health insurance last year as the recession increased unemployment and forced businesses to scale back benefits, Census Bureau figures show.- 
About 41.2 million people, or 14.6 percent of U.S. residents, lacked health coverage for all of 2001, compared with 14.2 percent the previous year, according to bureau estimates being released today.

Competition over oil complicates war push-- LONDON -- One reason George W. Bush has had a hard time selling a war against Iraq to Jacques Chirac, Vladimir Putin and others is oil. The U.S. economy gulps more than a quarter of the world's annual oil production -- and Iraq rests on top of the world's second-largest reserve of recoverable oil.-- 
The Bush administration has said little about what happens to Iraq's oil if there is a regime change. But in Russia, France, Italy and Spain, where major oil companies have signed deals with the Iraqi government despite U.N. sanctions, the idea of regime change is cause for concern.

9/28/02

Bush, McBride clash over education in first debate
JACKSONVILLE — Democratic challenger Bill McBride attacked Gov. Jeb Bush's education record Friday during the candidates' first debate while Bush countered that student achievement and school accountability has grown during his first term. Education dominated the first of three debates as the candidates clashed on several points, from using the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test to grade schools to a proposed constitutional amendment to limit class sizes.

Bush-McBride: first debate
They keep coming back to education - The first debate between Bush and McBride returns again and again to that issue.

Schools, DCF rule debate
By Brian Crowley, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Bill McBride compared Jeb Bush to a careless orange picker, while Bush portrayed McBride as a political novice.

Gubernatorial debate
Gov. Jeb Bush, Democratic candidate Bill McBride square off on education, DCF and more. 

Bush shows more polish, but McBride scores some points - JACKSONVILLE -- Gov. Jeb Bush's cool confidence in his record rose above maverick Democrat Bill McBride's nervousness and difficulty with detail in their first head-to-head confrontation.-- 
At the same time, McBride, a Tampa-area attorney and Marine war hero waging his first campaign for public office, proved himself ready for the 39-day race before them. The political newcomer held his own for the most part with a polished incumbent governor. The two traded a dozen direct punches -- some landing with painful precision.

Bush masterful, but McBride scores many debate points
Bill McBride proved Friday night that the new giant-slayer of Florida politics may not be a fluke. Fresh off his once-unthinkable upset of former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno in the Democratic primary, the lawyer-turned- rookie-candidate showed in his first debate against Gov. Jeb Bush that he can go toe-to-toe with the state's heaviest political hitter.

Bush, McBride Use Debate To Outline Contrasting Campaigns
JACKSONVILLE - Florida's battle for governor went prime time Friday night with a televised debate that reduced the state's myriad issues to two candidates' pleas for trust. Republican Gov. Jeb Bush acknowledged the pell-mell pace of his first four years in office may have startled some, but said the state is in better shape than ever. ...

Clash of the Gubernatorial Titans
Bush defends education progress; McBride attacks misuse of FCATs
Democratic challenger Bill McBride attacked Gov. Jeb Bush's education record Friday during the candidates' first debate while Bush countered that student achievement and school accountability has grown during his first term. 

Opening shot: Debate missing information vital to voters
Floridians hoping for real answers to the state's problems were probably disappointed in Friday night's face-off between Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride. 

Education, economy principal subjects in Bush-McBride debate
The first in-person showdown between Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride turned into a smack-down Friday night. From his opening statement to his closing, McBride assailed the Republican governor's education record, charging that Florida schools are ''falling behind,'' teachers are being lost to better-paying states and that only in the final weeks before the election has Bush undergone an ''election epiphany,'' concluding that crowded schools are a problem.

A class clash: Size limits debated
The state Board of Education this week came out against the proposed constitutional amendment to limit class size, prompting objections from teachers' unions, which say the board should remain impartial.

Impartiality of elections commissioners questioned
TALLAHASSEE — As the Florida Elections Commission investigates whether ads for Democrat Bill McBride for governor were legal, Democrats are questioning whether some Republicans on the panel are too close to the party to be fair.

Bronson in close race with political unknown Nelson for ag commissioner
TALLAHASSEE — Incumbent Republican Charles Bronson is in a surprisingly close race with Democrat David Nelson, a political unknown from Miami, in the agriculture commissioner race, a new poll shows. The survey, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. for several newspapers and broadcasters, showed 33 percent of those polled supporting Nelson to 31 percent for Bronson.

McBride tries to heal rift with black voters
By Marc Caputo, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The Democratic candidate for governor is furiously trying to make up for lost ground in black strongholds.

Donors revealed in McBride flap - On Friday, the state teachers' union released a list of donors who helped pay for advertisements the state Elections Commission is now investigating.

Florida's big vote carries equally big clout
Floridians will go to the polls this November and once again cast their ballots under more than the usual scrutiny from the usual pundits.

DCF woes are widespread
DCF records released Friday show missing children were not isolated incidents. 

'Most qualified,' but out- The Legislature took the politics out of the Public Service Commission in 1978 but didn't kill it. Politics moved from elections that were manipulated by regulated utilities to a nominating council made of political appointees. That's why Michael Palecki won't get a second term on the five-member PSC.

Manatee deaths in 2002 have already set record - ST. PETERSBURG -- While boaters and environmental activists have been feuding over manatee protection, the animals have been dying at a record pace. -- 
With three months left in 2002, the number of manatees killed this year by boats has broken the record of 82 set three years ago, officials at the Florida Marine Research Institute said Friday. 

How did a $30 billion robbery take place in broad daylight?
"You are one of only a handful of major players selling wholesale electricity. Surely the thought has to occur to you: What would happen to prices if one of my plants just happened to go off line? And when companies act on that thought ... well, you get the picture." I wrote that in March 2001, when the California electricity crisis was at its height. Even then the experts I talked to — economists who followed the situation closely, and kept an open mind — believed that energy companies were deliberately creating shortages. But only in the last few weeks, with a series of damning reports and judgments, has conventional wisdom grudgingly accepted the obvious.

An American gulag in the making
'We have created an American gulag," declared former drug czar Barry McCaffrey in 1996, describing the widespread and accelerating incarceration of drug offenders.

Bush gives health benefits to fetuses-- "This is even more cynical and more sinister than originally proposed," said Laurie Rubiner, vice president for policy of the National Partnership for Women and Families. "This is an administration that has never been willing to extend coverage to immigrant women or children, but to advance its anti-choice agenda, it will provide fake benefits to a fetus."

9-11 has America paranoid
Mixed with the false alarms are real threats and dangerous mistakes.

Czechs find no proof Atta met with Iraqi officer-- BERLIN -- Czech intelligence officials have informed their European counterparts that there is no credible evidence of a widely reported -- and just as widely questioned -- meeting between Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi intelligence officer then posted to the Czech Republic.-- 
For nearly a year, senior Bush administration officials eager to open a second front against Saddam Hussein in the nation's war on terrorism have cited the Czech government's previous reports of such an encounter as a possible link between the Iraqi dictator and al-Qaeda, which has claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 hijackings.
Earlier this month,Vice President Dick Cheney termed the Czech reports "credible."

9/27/02

Bush officials defend state employee layoffs
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush was just doing his job in cutting 10,000 state jobs since taking office in 1999, a Bush spokeswoman said Thursday. Katie Muniz, the governor's communication director, responded to a suggestion by a campaign spokesman for Bill McBride, the Democratic nominee for governor, that Bush was being hypocritical by faulting McBride for layoffs at his law firm while the governor was cutting thousands of state positions.

Budget Alarm Rings In Florida
TALLAHASSEE - While Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic candidate Bill McBride woo voters with promises of more money for education, state economists are warning of an unprecedented budget crisis that might force tax increases solely to meet the no-frills needs of the state. ...

This year's ballot amendments are good, bad and confusing
The courts tossed a state constitutional amendment off the ballot but there are still 10 left. The question now is: are Florida voters patient, intelligent and well-informed enough to deal with 714 words of constitutional revision on their ballots? 

Chamber of Commerce joins opponents of class-size measure - TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Chamber of Commerce has joined Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Republican Party in opposing a constitutional amendment that would force the state to lower class size.

Bush quickly builds plan on class size
By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Moving quickly on the debate over crowded schools, Gov. Bush unveils a plan that alters his campaign strategy.

Democrat hammers Bush on schools - TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush squandered Florida's prosperity, helping create a $1.4 billion state budget deficit and leaving public schools a "laughingstock" of the nation, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor said Thursday.-- 
In a continuing war of words over Florida schools, state Sen. Tom Rossin blamed a business tax cut championed by Bush for leaving the state short on funds to pay for classrooms, child-protection services and other critical needs.- 
"The governor has got us in a huge bind," said Rossin, a veteran state senator who chairs a state budget commission....

Some Democratic notables back Bush
MIAMI BEACH -- Republican Gov. Jeb Bush won endorsements Thursday from well-known Florida Democrats, including Tampa Mayor Dick Greco, three former House speakers and the longest- serving current legislator, Sen. Ron Silver of North Miami.

Bush wins backing of some Democrats
By Marc Caputo, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The governor is "doing a good job regardless of his party affiliation," Sen. Ron Silver says.

Bush, McBride to meet in first debate
JACKSONVILLE — Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride prepared to meet in their first debate here Friday with the latest poll numbers showing their race has tightened. Both campaigns said they expected education to top the agenda with both candidates this week blasting each other's proposals to improve public schools.

After months of trash talk from afar, Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and...
After months of trash talk from afar, Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and Democrat Bill McBride will get their first chance tonight to stick it to each other in person.

Gubernatorial candidates debate tonight
By Brian E. Crowley, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Gov. Jeb Bush and challenger Bill McBride meet tonight in a televised debate for the first time.

Time for substance
Sentinel position: In tonight's gubernatorial debate, education platitudes won't work.

A lesson not learned
Sentinel position: The search for an education chancellor shouldn't have been done in secret.-
The Florida Board of Education skirted Florida's "Government in the Sunshine" laws -- and its own responsibilities -- when it paid a consultant $56,000 plus expenses to come up with three finalists for the job of chancellor of public education.

Elections commission may subpoena McBride over ads
TALLAHASSEE — A citizen panel that investigates election complaints sent a subpoena Thursday to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride's campaign seeking information about pro-McBride ads paid for by the state's teachers union.

Miami-Dade OKs independent election monitors-- MIAMI · Hoping to reassure voters and the nation that local officials are capable of properly running the polls on Election Day, Miami- Dade County commissioners voted Thursday to bring in an independent, non-partisan group to monitor the Nov. 5 elections.-- 
By a 6-2 vote, county commissioners agreed to ask the Center for Democracy, a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. that has observed elections in El Salvador, the Philippines, Poland and Russia, to come to Miami-Dade. If that group is not available, another would be sought.

Cabinet Races Close; Many Votes Up In Air
TAMPA - With just over a month left before the Nov. 5 election, the races for Florida's two contested Cabinet posts are neck-and-neck, but many voters haven't decided yet, a recent statewide poll shows. ...

Poll shows Nelson is ahead of Bronson
Florida agribusiness interests spent about $2 million last month to knock Democrat Mary Barley from the agriculture commissioner race and clear the way for industry-friendly Republican incumbent Charles Bronson.

Court traces line between abuse and corporal punishment
TALLAHASSEE — Parents can be convicted of charges less serious than aggravated child abuse, the state Supreme Court ruled, rejecting an appeal from a man in prison for beating his girlfriend's daughter with a belt.

Justices: Spanking child can be abuse
Parents can spank their children, but if they leave welts they can be charged with child abuse, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a decision that wades into an arena some consider private.

USF St. Petersburg Hosts Earth Charter Summit
ST. PETERSBURG - The Earth Charter Community Summits, connecting 20 cities across the nation, will be hosted and Web cast live Saturday from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
The Earth Charter is a document endorsed by people in 78 countries around the world, espousing principals of sustainable development, global interdependence, shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the community of life and duty to future generations. It has been 12 years in the making.

Residents urged to agree to state's canker efforts-- About 75 southwest Orange County residents attended Central Florida's first meeting on the state's canker- eradication program Thursday, armed with questions about why agriculture officials want to cut down their healthy citrus trees.

Man wrongly jailed for 22 years sues
A mentally retarded man who spent 22 years in prison before DNA evidence cleared him of murder is suing the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the former deputies who investigated his case.

Guest editorial: More reasons to abolish death penalty
On Tuesday, Texas executed the 800th death-row inmate since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Hours earlier, a federal judge in Vermont ruled that the federal death penalty is unconstitutional because it denies due process. What's wrong with this picture? What manner of schizophrenia makes America an international champion for humanitarian efforts and human rights, yet justifies state executions? Even as public opinion, courts, politicians and states challenge and turn against death-as- punishment, electric chairs and gas chambers keep churning out gallows justice.

Orlando Sentinel seeks transcripts of Noelle Bush hearing
ORLANDO — The Orlando Sentinel wants a judge to release transcripts of a closed court hearing on whether drug treatment center workers must cooperate in the investigation of Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter. Police officers received a report on Sept. 9 that Noelle Bush had crack cocaine in her shoe, but workers at the Center for Drug-Free Living have refused to cooperate, citing privacy concerns.

Judge denies national class action for patients, OKs doctors
MIAMI — Managed care patients will not be allowed to sue their insurers under a single nationwide lawsuit, but about 600,000 doctors can group themselves together in a class action, a judge ruled Thursday. The ruling virtually wipes out a lawsuit covering an estimated 145 million patients that prominent trial lawyers had hoped to use to put managed care companies under the legal microscope.

Ashcroft's control
Two Justice Department agencies relied upon for their impartiality should be left alone by Attorney General John Ashcroft.  Only a handful of agencies associated with the federal government can be trusted to release information that is fact rather than spin. 
The Congressional Budget Office, for example, has earned a reputation for providing members of Congress with reliable, objective and nonpartisan projections on the economy. Until recently, this kind of independence was the hallmark of two agencies within the Justice Department: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the office that collects statistics on crime in the United States; and the National Institute of Justice, the entity in charge of crime-related research. But changes in the way these agencies are organized and run are threatening their ability to operate outside the push and pull of politics.
There is growing evidence that Attorney General John Ashcroft is trying to exert control in a way that could compromise the agencies' independence, and by extension, the dependability of their data and research...

Molly Ivins: How many disasters does it take to get Washington's attention?
AUSTIN, Texas — The economy is a mess. We are now in the second dip of a double-dip recession. ("Looks like a W," say the economists, another reason why economists are not famous for their humor.) Six and a quarter trillion dollars has disappeared from the stock markets. We have so far to go in cleaning up corporate corruption, it makes the Augean stables look like spilt milk. In the Sept. 23 issue of The New Yorker is an excellent piece called "The Greed Cycle," examining the effects of stock options on corporate culture. The most depressing thing about it is that even though it is a long article, it doesn't begin to cover the range of iniquities and inanities that have been allowed to flourish.

Executives need to feel the pain, too
Of the tens of thousands of people who were laid off this month from companies around the nation, I bet none of them received a send-off like Mark Swartz, the former chief financial officer at Tyco International. Swartz, who resigned from Tyco's top spot following his indictment on criminal charges that included fraud, was given a sweet severance package worth nearly $45 million, according to a New York Times report.

Daschle's tantrum masks union agenda--- ...(Homeland Security) will have a $37.5 billion budget and 170,000 employees -- virtually all of whom now work for the federal government in other departments in which they oversee immigration, emergency responses, efforts to combat biological and chemical terrorism, and analysis of information developed about potential threats.
Most Americans -- who believe many federal workers are overpaid and underworked -- undoubtedly favor giving Bush power to force the bureaucracy to change its ways if that would frustrate efforts by Islamic extremists to kill U.S. citizens.-- 
After all, which is more important, protecting the nation or protecting the jobs of those workers whose performance isn't judged as up to snuff by their superiors?...  
(WF: Haven't we heard this before???  It's "Service Worst" for the Feds -- When [R] Sen. Garcia said Florida's "Service First" was a model for the nation, this must have been what he meant...)

Homeland chief attacks Senate logjam
By Eunice Moscoso, Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau
Tom Ridge argues for collective bargaining suspensions, the main issue stalling a homeland security department bill.

Opposition rising: Dissent is not disloyalty but democratic duty
Finally, Democrats are stirring from their stupor. Finally, they are raising questions about George W. Bush's bully presidency. Finally, they are making the connection between Bush's uses and misuses of the so-called war on terrorism or the impending war on Iraq for political advantage at home. Finally. But why has it taken so long? How long will it last? And what are the Democrats' own motives? 

9/26/02

Change will keep party donations secret until election
TALLAHASSEE — Contributions to the two major political parties in Florida during the final two months of the governor's race will mostly remain a secret until election time. With the elimination of the runoff election by state lawmakers last year, one of the required reports of contributions by parties was eliminated. The parties are the main source of money fueling the governor's race between Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride.

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. 

Disgruntled state employee shoots two co- workers, himself JACKSONVILLE -- A disgruntled employee entered a state government office Thursday, shot two co-workers and then turned the gun on himself, authorities said.--  The shooting occurred before 9 a.m. at the Northeast Florida AIDS network, an office of the state Department of Health in downtown Jacksonville

Disgruntled worker shoots two co- workers
A state Department of Health employee described as "disgruntled worker" shot two co-workers at a Riverside Avenue office building this morning,

City workers won't get raises
Jacksonville City Hall will not give raises expected next week to 3,000 employees, turning a previous threat into a promise because labor negotiations with a union soured.

Disabled voters sue Broward, charge obstacles made it difficult to cast ballots - Disabled voters who claim physical barriers and poorly trained poll workers made it difficult for them to cast their ballots during the September primary filed a federal lawsuit against Broward County’s supervisor of elections on Wednesday, asking the courts to intervene and ensure the November election runs smoothly.

WTSP's debate snub
A media watchdog group reports that local CBS affiliate WTSP-TV Ch. 10 has earned more from political advertising this year than any other station in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market. You'd think a station that lauds itself as "one of the best-performing CBS affiliates in the country" could sacrifice every now and then when an important public debate dwarfs its own commercial interests. WTSP had that chance this week, but declined to bump the premiere of 48 Hours Investigates to air the first gubernatorial debate between Jeb Bush and Bill McBride.

GOP: McBride TV spot is illegal
Republicans contend that the union-backed ad amounts to an endorsement and violates campaign laws.

Teachers union to disclose donors to ad campaign on behalf of McBride - TALLAHASSEE · The state teachers union said Wednesday it will release the names of donors to a group it established to advertise for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride.-- 
Ads touting McBride as friendly to education that ran during the Democratic primary came under fire from Gov. Jeb Bush's campaign as skirting laws limiting contributions and requiring identification of donors.

Bush feels McBride tightening the race -- Bush's 6 percentage-point lead is a mere shadow of the 31-point advantage the governor held over a then- unknown McBride at the start of this year. It's half the 12-point lead Bush held just before McBride narrowly overtook former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary election.

Feeney donations travel far --According to a recent report, Feeney gets more cash from in the 32312 ZIP code in Tallahassee than anywhere else. - Other Tallahassee ZIP codes come in 4th, 5th and 7th place on his top 10, according to the Web site www.opensecrets.org  -- a splendid site for those who want to know who is lining whose pockets.

Education drumbeat grows louder in governor's race- 
Like a couple of kids arguing in the schoolyard, Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride exchanged barbs Wednesday over who had the better plan to improve Florida's public schools. Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled proposals to increase teacher salary and training and retain experienced educators while Democratic challenger Bill McBride visited a poor performing elementary school to criticize the governor for failing inner-city schools.

Bush's game of catch-up
With new plans to build classrooms and give more incentives to teachers, the governor is making promises that run counter to his own education agenda until now.

Bush touts plan for teacher certification
The governor's latest education plan, to increase the number of board-certified teachers, would cost $160-million.

Education board seeks more chancellor candidates
TALLAHASSEE — With just two candidates remaining for the new post of chancellor of public schools, the Florida Board of Education is seeking to enlarge the field before making its choice. The board's search committee canceled interviews scheduled with the two finalists in Orlando Tuesday and asked Korn/ Ferry International, the consulting firm searching for candidates, to find one or two more.

City seeks assurances for beyond school choice
St. Petersburg officials demand straight answers about the school district's plan to ensure diversity and fairness.

Behind czarist 'truths': Deception is no way to wage the drug war
The dogmatic heartlessness of the war on drugs was on flaming display Monday in Flagler and Volusia counties as national drug "czar" John Walters brought a message high on zero tolerance and dubious facts to a high school and a drug treatment center. Walters' sophomoric claims and punishing solutions illustrate exactly why a record 74 percent of Americans believe the war on drugs is a failure and why claims like Walters' cannot be trusted: They are irresponsibly blind to reality. 

Let's cheer for row team, not pull against it-- The classic war in Florida pits those who just got here against those who were here first.
The invaders don't like what the settlers are doing. So they scream and kick and demand their rights as the conquering horde.
This was the case when the outsiders got mad because there weren't enough fish in the water for them to catch. So did they bulldoze their waterfront homes and restore the mangroves? Nope. They kicked out the commercial fishermen whose families had been here for generations... 

Ecotourism Taking Flight With Help Of Pinellas Birding Festival
ST. PETERSBURG - Ken Tracey will spend the weekend in search of the burrowing owl. Linda Bergeron will seek the adventuresome ecotourist. Together, the West Pasco Audubon Society president and the Pinellas convention services director hope to boost the area's growing ecotourism industry. ...

Protesters who put up tents in FSU walkway acquitted of trespassing-- TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State University president Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte didn't care that students had gathered outside his office to highlight their demands that he join an activist group opposing sweatshops.

The media — curse 'em but keep 'em
Don't care much for the media? Too opinionated? Too intrusive? Too sensationalistic? Or now that we're on the verge of another war, maybe even too unpatriotic? Then move to China. You'll love it there! In China, as in the countries I used to cover behind the Iron Curtain (not to mention most of the developing countries on earth), the media minds their manners. They had better! Otherwise the government might shut them down. Look at the latest directive from the Chinese Communist party to Chinese journalists: Don't report major crimes.

Full disclosure for judicial candidates
The Constitution requires the Senate to give its advice and consent on nominees for federal judgeships. But in the case of Miguel Estrada, the Bush administration's choice for a vacancy on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Senate is not being given the records it needs to perform its constitutional role. The Senate should not be bullied into making this important decision in the dark.

The Bush doctrine 
In 1837, British forces attacked and destroyed a ship suspected of being involved in an insurrection against the colonial government of Canada. Because the ship had been moored in U.S. waters, the American government naturally objected. The "Caroline incident," as it became known, is the basis for a time- honored principle of international law that rejects the notion of preemptive strikes.

9/25/02

Economy's Woes Worsen Poverty
WASHINGTON - The proportion of Americans living in poverty rose significantly last year, increasing for the first time in eight years, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. At the same time, the bureau said the income of middle-class households fell for the first time since the last recession ended in 1991. ...

Broward elections chief cedes control in contract
FORT LAUDERDALE — Broward County Election Supervisor Miriam Oliphant has signed a contract relinquishing virtually all control of her office to an administrator in the wake of the botched primary election. The contract signed on Monday cedes all election responsibilities and all personnel and budget decisions to Joe Cotter, who ran the office's day-to- day operations under Oliphant's predecessor.

No water no matter who did not pay
If you don't pay your water bill, Pinellas County Utilities will cut off your water.

Utility accountability - Lawmakers need to assure Florida Water Services customers don't get soaked.- Lawyers, a Minnesota-based power and automotive conglomerate and the tiny Panhandle cities of Gulf Breeze and Milton stand to make millions from the pending sale of Florida Water Services.-- But what about the company's consumers -- more than a quarter-million strong in 27 counties, including 60,000 customers in Central Florida? What's in it for them?

Group aims for bigger paychecks in Miami-- MIAMI -- A campaign that would include the passage of a living-wage ordinance to help struggling residents of the poorest large city in the United States is under way, officials said Tuesday-- 
The Greater Miami Prosperity Campaign was launched just a few months after the 2000 census gave Miami the distinction of being the nation's poorest city.

Bush, McBride gearing up for debate
By Brian E. Crowley, Palm Beach Post Political Editor
The candidates for governor will meet Friday for a debate that will be televised statewide.

High degree of politics
Palm Beach Post Editorial
If the education secretary and the education governor have a plan, they should tout it, not hide it.

Schools chancellor candidate is in feud-- One of the finalists for Florida's new chancellor of K-12 public schools was bought out of his contract as superintendent in Rochester, N.Y., last month, and the city's mayor said the school board should have fired him outright for problems ranging from poor fiscal management to failing student performance.

A lesson not learned
Sentinel's position: The search for an education chancellor shouldn't have been done in secret.

He Thought This Up All By Himself! Really, He Did! ... I shall make my pronouncement, and the pronouncement I shall make. Henceforth, I am decreeing that the state of Florida will build 300 new schools in order to ease classroom crowding, which, as we all know, is the bane of the state's education system. So sayeth me, the grand and glorious governor of all he surveys.''

A failed strategy: Jeb Bush promises more of same on education
With a good deal of fanfare, Gov. Jeb Bush and his top associates are roaming the state touting a new education plan he unveiled last week in Daytona Beach. Basically, Bush would spend $2.8 billion to build 12,000 new classrooms and 300 new schools over the next five years. And he would improve student achievement by continuing the A-plus plan of rewarding schools that improve overall scores on FCAT, the state achievement test.  Accompanying Beattie cartoon

DCF missed out on bonus
Florida's Department of Children and Families possibly missed out on millions of dollars in federal funds when a data glitch caused it to underreport the number of foster children adopted in Florida.

McBride gaining on Bush, poll shows
Despite a week of waiting to nail down his nomination for governor, Democrat Bill McBride has gained some momentum on Gov. Jeb Bush, a new poll showed Wednesday.

Bush announces adult literacy grants
ST. PETERSBURG — Using an elementary school library as a backdrop, Gov. Jeb Bush announced Tuesday that 16 Florida communities will each receive $225,000 grants for adult literacy programs. The money will help pay for programs in 16 designated Front Porch Florida communities, those that have partnered with state and local governments and agencies on revitalization strategies, during the next two years

Thrasher not seeking FSU presidency
TALLAHASSEE — John Thrasher, chairman of Florida State University's board of trustees, said Tuesday he is not a candidate to succeed Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte as the school's president. D'Alemberte announced his intention last month to retire by early next year. Thrasher had appointed a committee to begin the transition process amid rumors he might become a candidate.

FSU sweatshop protestors found not guilty - Six people who were arrested and charged with trespassing in March during the anti-sweatshop student protest at Florida State University were found not guilty today.-- 
The defendants fought the charge on principle, saying that the school shut down their right to free expression.

Watchdog group taking over Elian's family's lawsuit against Reno
MIAMI — A Washington-based government watchdog group said Tuesday it is representing relatives of Elian Gonzalez in their federal lawsuit against high-ranking Clinton administration officials. Judicial Watch took over the suit, which alleges federal agents used excessive force when they stormed the Little Havana home of Elian's great-uncle on April 22, 2000, to retrieve the then 6-year-old boy.

Big Tobacco challenges record $145 billion award-- The tobacco industry attacked everything from unfavorable pretrial rulings to a record $145 billion verdict for Florida smokers in appeal papers filed Wednesday.- 
The final filing by the nation's four biggest cigarette makers subjects the case to its first comprehensive test before a state appeals court since the punitive damage award was announced two years ago.

Lawyer tells high court of 'grave doubts' about Wuornos
TALLAHASSEE — A lawyer representing condemned serial killer Aileen Wuornos has written the state Supreme Court to share his "grave doubts" about her mental condition. Wuornos, scheduled to die by lethal injection Oct. 9, does not want to fight her execution and won permission from Florida's high court in April to fire her state lawyers and drop her appeals.

Enron revives controversial Broward pipeline project with proposed sale-- Enron Corp. has agreed to sell its Bahamas-to-Broward County natural gas pipeline project to a French utility company, reviving a controversial proposal that many thought had died with the Houston company’s bankruptcy.

Florida adds six more counties to West Nile medical alert list
TALLAHASSEE — Florida's Department of Health has added six more counties to the medical alert for West Nile Virus, with 24 of the state's 67 counties now on the list. Alachua, Hernando, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas and Putnam counties are now on the list, said Dr. John Agwunobi, the state's health secretary.

Emergency officials in South Florida watching Caribbean storm
MIAMI — Emergency officials in South Florida were paying attention Tuesday as Tropical Storm Lili approached Hispaniola in the Caribbean, ready to act if the strengthening storm follows forecast tracks to Cuba and the Bahamas.

Guest commentary: A just war?
Preparing for war requires marshalling resources, a process that is surely underway. The American military is rounding up troops and preparing battle plans targeting Iraq. Diplomats are working our allies and the United Nations to stir up international support. Politicians are busy with television talk shows and hearings to move public opinion.

Excessive, maybe?
Indicted Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski's pillaging of his company's assets has made headlines in recent days, as court filings have revealed that Tyco shareholders footed the bill for, among many other things, a $15,000 umbrella stand in the shape of a dog, and a multimillion dollar Manhattan apartment for his ex- wife (his current wife was treated to a $2 million dollar birthday party at company expense).

A look at wacky weed and wacky drug policy
Her mornings are never that good anyhow, because she wakes up with a leg that is withered from polio. Still, this morning was truly bad. She opened her eyes and saw five federal agents pointing rifles at her head.

Stop grandstanding on energy -- Put the emphasis on developing a forward-looking energy policy.

If science is politicized, where do we go for truth?
Are science and technology immune from politics as usual in Washington? Hardly. During the last year the Bush administration has been cleaning out the previous administration's panels responsible for providing expert advice to the Department of Health and Human Services on a variety of scientific, technical and bioethical questions. It's housecleaning with a vengeance - and I think the public deserves better than this in the relationship between science and government.

Bush redefines what it means to be a conservative -- WASHINGTON -- The restatement of the United States' fundamental defense doctrine issued by the Bush administration last week -- substituting pre-emption of potential threats for containment of aggression -- is probably the most dramatic and far-reaching change in national-security policy in a half-century.-- 
But it is also part of a pattern of radical revisionism in basic governmental philosophy and structure engineered by George W. Bush, who is quietly rewriting the classic definition of conservatism.

Senate asks for study of 9-11 failures-- WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to create an independent commission to conduct a broad inquiry into governmental failures leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, significantly boosting prospects that Congress will establish the panel before it adjourns for the year.

9/24/02

Marlette cartoon: Peace is Hell

Debate won't be on TV in bay area
WTSP-TV Ch. 10 won't let Friday's Bush-McBride debate pre-empt the season premiere of 48 Hours.

Ex-legislator sues to get a new election
A former state lawmaker has sued Miami-Dade County over this month's chaotic primary, asking that all results be invalidated and a new election ordered.

Bush urges Defense to keep CentCom at Tampa's MacDill
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush sent a letter Monday to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urging that the military command headquarters responsible for American operations in the Persian Gulf area remain in Tampa. Bush's letter follows Rumsfeld's observation that "a certain logic" points to having the command of forces in the Middle East and Central Asia in that part of the world.

Teachers union playing a big role in governor's race
TALLAHASSEE — There are few who believe Bill McBride could have achieved his stunning upset of Janet Reno in the Democratic gubernatorial primary without the help of the Florida Education Association. The teachers union, calling the November election the most important in 50 years, spent at least $1.5 million in advertisements to build the Tampa lawyer's name recognition. Republicans estimate the amount at closer to $5 million. The union acknowledges that McBride's position on education wasn't the only factor in endorsing him. It also wanted a candidate with the best chance to beat Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

Brogan criticizes McBride plan to build schools
TALLAHASSEE — Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan on Monday compared Bill McBride's proposal to spend $1 billion to build new schools to a plan he and Gov. Jeb Bush are pushing that he said will provide more than $2.8 billion for the same purpose.

Schools chancellor candidate is in feud
One of the finalists for Florida's new chancellor of K-12 public schools was bought out of his contract as superintendent in Rochester, N.Y., last month, and the city's mayor said the school board should have fired him outright for problems ranging from poor fiscal management to failing student performance.

Jeb puts up stop sign for schools
By Jac Wilder VerSteeg, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Even with light, Baker County down $483,000.

Class size plans lack in detail
Voters must decide whether Gov. Jeb Bush or challenger Bill McBride has the best plan to pay for reducing class size.

Ballot vexes elections officials
A Nov. 5 constitutional ballot measure reads like a legal brief at 714 words.

Chief: DCF's system behind
While the agency has progressed, its computer system is too difficult to use, Secretary Jerry Regier says.

Costly DCF files blasted
A $230 million computer system hailed as a solution to Florida's inability to keep children safe is too hard to use and may need drastic fixes, the state's social services chief said Monday.

Ruling delayed on clinic workers
Four workers at a west Orlando drug-rehabilitation center where Noelle Bush is being treated won't learn until next week whether they have to talk to police investigating reports that the governor's daughter had crack cocaine.

Tax amendment gone; need for tax reform isn't
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Florida's system is unfair and outdated.

Public trust betrayed by a private immorality
Chicago is learning to live without Bob Greene. The celebrated syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune was shown the door 10 days ago after he owned up to an affair years earlier with a high school senior.

Orlando adopts tougher rules for lobbyists - Lobbyists must start disclosing how much money they spend trying to persuade Orlando City Council members to vote for their projects under new rules adopted Monday.

Canker found on West Palm grapefruit tree
WEST PALM BEACH — State agriculture crews chopped down several grapefruit and orange trees infected with citrus canker Monday after finding blemished fruit at two homes in one neighborhood. State agriculture spokesman Mark Fagan said the source of the canker is unknown and that state officials would seek search warrants for properties within a 1,900-foot radius.

Pinellas is under alert for West Nile
Six more counties, including Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando, have been placed on a medical alert for West Nile virus.

Flu worries spread
For the first time, parents are being urged to get their babies vaccinated.

Food illnesses show sharp rise
Two sometimes-fatal food- borne illnesses are making hundreds more people in Central Florida sick this year compared with last.

Florida universities lead nation in 'pork'
By Larry Keller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Florida schools received $117.9 million in special project money for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Man arrested for dynamite remark in Fort Lauderdale airport
FORT LAUDERDALE — A retired teacher was in jail Monday, charged with making a comment about explosives inside an airport. Robert Smith, 61, and his wife were checking in at the US Airways ticket counter in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sunday for a flight back to their home in York, Pa. following a South Florida vacation.

Impact fees - Naples-
In other locales, government agencies face unmet needs for items such as roads and parks because they cannot think of ways to raise the money. Around here, the problem is collecting the money from those known to be liable to pay — and those in growth and service industries try hardest to pass the buck.

St. Joe is preserving the best while building the future
Let's start with something we can all agree on: When it comes to natural beauty and local color, the Panhandle is the best part of Florida... By Jerry M. Ray,  senior vice president for corporate communications of The St. Joe Co. 

A cold shoulder for the chancellor
Germany's newly re-elected Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder can forget about a Camp David invitation. Indeed, he'll be lucky to see the inside of the Oval Office again. He did not even get a pro forma congratulatory call from the president.

Friends of meth?
Some wit once defined a fanatic as a person who redoubles his effort just as he loses sight of his objective. That wit must have been thinking of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson. Their objective is supposed to be chasing drug traffickers who sell dangerous drugs such as methamphetamines and heroin to children.

Morton Kondracke: Health care debate reopens
With health costs surging and the ranks of the uninsured swelling, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John Breaux (D-La.) are pushing for a new look at comprehensive health care reform. Kennedy, the old lion liberal, has given up on his dream of a Canadian- style, government-run health insurance system and shortly will introduce legislation mandating that every employer except the smallest provide a basic insurance plan for its workers.

Calif. adopts paid family leave
By Bob Keefe, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The law allows eligible workers to get paid 55 percent of their salary for up to six weeks.

Dow drops to four-year low
Wall Street’s malaise deepened today, with stocks falling on a confluence of factors that included disappointing earnings news and a criminal investigation into Xerox’s accounting practices. The Dow Jones industrials dropped nearly 190 points to hit a four-year low.

By any means? Congress' irresponsible silence over Iraq war
George W. Bush's demand that Congress grant him war powers against Iraq and Saddam Hussein by using "all means that he determines to be appropriate" recalls Malcolm X's equally bellicose use of the phrase four decades ago, with this one difference: Malcolm was justified in his demand for freedom and equality for blacks. Bush is not justified in his design for a pre-emptive war on Iraq, a war hardly to be fought for freedom or equality. 

9/23/02

Bacardi's political mix
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Pour donations to GOP, shake the governor.-- The sequence of events is suggestive: A liquor company gives $25,000 to the Republican Party of Florida; Gov. Bush intervenes with a federal agency on the company's behalf; the company gives $50,000 to the GOP. -- The company is Bacardi-Martini USA. The agency is the Patent and Trademark Office....

Lt. governor should do no harm
Jeb Bush lost his first race for governor, eight years ago, by so narrow a margin (63,940 votes) that any of several missteps could explain it. The likeliest, though, was his having selected Rep. Tom Feeney for his running mate. Feeney, a legislator who is now the departing House speaker, had staked out so many controversial positions that Gov. Lawton Chiles and Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay were able to make an issue of him.

Fix election mess... Mr. Bush, Mr. Smith and every single elections supervisor in the state should instead focus their immediate energies on poll-worker recruitment and training and voter education -- the very problems at the root of the primary debacle.

Now Reform Taxes Properly
Florida's overcrowded Nov. 5 ballot has gotten a little less jammed. A state appeals court wisely and justifiably removed from the ballot a proposed state constitutional amendment that was not only badly worded, but was bad public policy.

Workers rattled by a glitch in direct deposit
It took a little getting used to when Florida government switched to direct deposit of state employee salaries. People liked having a paper check in their hands, even if it meant going to the bank on Fridays. But then they saw that their co-workers weren't losing their money in a computer crash - and were, in fact, avoiding a bit of bother every payday.

AARP study examines the aging workforce-- 
The baby-boom generation is getting older, and as with every other stage of their lives, they expect their changing needs to be met as they near retirement. Because of their numbers, employers better heed the call, according to an AARP survey released Monday.

Patients in the crossfire
BlueCross BlueShield of Florida and BayCare Health System in Tampa Bay should redirect their efforts from bullying each other to making patients healthy.

Doctors threaten to flee Florida over soaring insurance costs - Dr. Eric Frohn last month closed his obstetrics practice to start anew in another state. Dr. Khadra Osman gave up delivering babies, the part of medicine she loved best. Family physician Sanford Kinne is cutting back on the nursing homes he visits.

Shoring up DCF
Sentinel: Jerry Regier is right to seek more money. But that's not DCF's only need.

Noelle Bush case sparks legal test
First there was a frantic call to police claiming that the ''princess,'' Noelle Bush, had been caught at her drug rehabilitation center with crack cocaine, that she had been caught repeatedly and never punished ``because of who she is.''

Minorities still lag in college
A new report says gains in admission aren't matched by status attained later. 

Crews demolish new Jensen Beach condos after neighbors win lawsuit
When Karen Shidel looks beyond her backyard, she sees an empty green landscape, a view she fought to get for seven years. Shidel led her neighbors in a legal battle to demolish an apartment complex that towered over their properties, peeking into their yards and swimming pools. The Martin County Commission had approved the complex's development, even though it violated the county's own growth rules.

Isidore pounds Mexico's Yucatan, may strengthen in Gulf
Hurricane Isidore dove into the Yucatan Peninsula, leaving hundreds of thousands of people huddled in darkness early this morning as howling winds ripped up trees, tore away rooftops and

Men detained as terror suspects may return to Miami hospital
Three men who were detained as terror suspects on a Florida highway may be allowed to train at the Miami hospital that turned them away shortly after the incident. Altaf Ali, executive director for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a Saturday conference that an agreement was reached last week to let the medical students study at Larkin Community Hospital.

Congress gives USF top dollars
The university and the state are first in a ranking of pork barrel project recipients.

Sen. Byrd learns from, shapes history
WASHINGTON -- In an era when most U.S. senators come with an Ivy League diploma and a restless urge to live in the White House, Robert C. Byrd is an anomaly.

Wimpy Democrats leave Bush unchecked
The Democrats just don't get it. Running scared in a campaign season, they are turning away from one of their major responsibilities in a democratic republic built on a two- party system. So far, they have refused to act as the loyal opposition - dodging their duty to stand up and resist President Bush's reckless warmongering on Iraq.

President doggedly waving the flag
By Tom Blackburn, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Americans talk of war while savings shrink.

German leader wins after vow not to aid U.S. on Iraq-- BERLIN -- By a razor-thin margin, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hung on to his job as German chancellor Sunday, edging conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber on the strength of a promise to keep his country out of America's war with Iraq and a surprisingly strong showing by his coalition partner, the Green Party.

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