Not exactly a Shermanesque statement, but Jeb Bush told Kentucky TV station WHASyesterday that he is "not running for president." This isn't earth-shaking, but provides a great opportunity to play "Let's parse his words" to figure out what he really means.
Be careful what you set your heart upon--for it will surely be yours.
When he wrote the above line the great James Baldwin, who's A Talk to Teachers should be required reading in every school of education, was doing a riff on the age-old warning to be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
Jeb Bush has dreamed his whole political life of plunging a dagger in the heart of public education. His fond hopes were probably best confessed in his second inaugural address as Florida's governor in 2003. Bush told the rapt crowd gathered to hail him, "There will be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we can make these buildings around us empty of workers; as silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill." Bush could already see it in his mind's eye. Yes, school buildings empty of teachers, monuments to an abandoned American crusade for universal public education.
On August 9, 2010 at 2:26 a.m., the Florida House of Representatives voted Jeb Bush closer to his life's dream than he has ever been. At the very same moment they destroyed it. Jeb Bush, like Icarus, has finally flown too close to the sun. A sleeping giant has been roused.
Jeb Bush's Waterloo comes at the end of a long road.
This is an unsung scandal of our state government, and though the Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times have done some of the spadework to unearth details, the ripoff of the State Board of Administration is not known as widely as it should be.
The Herald is part of the problem. In this instance Alex Sink, the Florida chief financial officer and leading Democratic candidate for governor, is reduced to complaining in a letter to the editor – as if she’s only a reader of the state’s putative flagship newspaper. And in her letter the key details are buried in the 6th paragraph. There she names her likely Republican opponent for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum, and Gov. Charlie Crist as the ones not taking appropriate action.
Let’s call it by its proper name – they are conspiring in a coverup. Coverup of what? “Lost billions for taxpayers.” Billions. With BBBB. And who did it? This blogger repeatedly has named former Gov. Jeb Bush as a leading suspect, since he was a paid consultant for Lehman Brothers after leaving office in 2006, and Lehman investments are among the biggest reasons for the losses.
(This link is to a recent blog post on the St. Petersburg Times story – also published in the Herald – that occasioned Sink’s letter, and down in the 4th paragraph is a link to an earlier post on the SBA scandal.)
Lehman, you’ll please remember, is an ex-resident of Wall Street, now that the bubble there has burst.
And Crist, well, he was attorney general when some of the shenanigans in the State Board of Administration happened, and thus he would have been one of the three trustees overseeing that board, along with the governor (Bush) and the chief financial officer, then Tom Gallagher, a veteran Republican politician who lost to Crist for the gubernatorial nomination.
Plenty of reason for Crist and McCollum to want to keep this scandal quiet. Would Crist’s bid for the US Senate have any life left at all if this scandal got its due exposure? Would McCollum’s bid for governor need a wheelchair?
Jeb Bush never has stood still for a question on this now almost two-year-old scandal. Jeb, tell us – How much did Lehman pay you to “consult” on having Florida buy their crap investments? Why should Florida taxpayers not consider that a delayed bribe payment?
But back to 2010. This is a complicated story, yet it should be rising to the top of Alex Sink’s drumbeat of campaign talk in this election year. The voters are fed up with corruption and dirty money in politics, and when they go to vote in November they should know that Republicans were the ones ripping them off in Tallahassee. Time for a clean sweep.
With a grit of the teeth: I browsed over to the St. Pete Times to see whether Sink’s letter also was published there, since the investigative piece originated in the Times. No, but the Times had an editorial http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1062173.ece worrying that Sink’s office might have favored one law firm over another because of political donations. That’s understandable. I have worried about the same question. My conclusion is that we must get money out of politics.Check out www.fairelectionsnow.org for a bill in Congress that would do it.
Senator Paula Dockery (R., Lakeland) is wowing the legislature with her knowledge of the "high speed" rail issue, and her political acumen in outmanuvering Senate PresidentJeff Atwater (R. North Palm Beach). In an earlier diary, I predicted something very similar to happen in her upcoming race against Attorney GeneralBill McCullom (R., Orlando) for Governor, next year. But, she is not the first Republican woman with extraordinary law making skills.
I mention in my book, The Golden Years...The Florida Legislature, '70sand '80s, my honor to have served with Senator Mary Grizzle (R., Belleair) and Senator Toni Jennings (R., Orlando). Senator Grizzle had seniority dating back to her years in the House, starting in 1963. I worked very closely with Mary on the Committes dealing with the environment and social issues. Senator Jennings was a history setting Senate President, serving two terms. She also served with distinction as Lieutenant Governor under GovernorJeb Bush (R., Florida).
All three Senators had one thing in common--they have served the public very effectively.
Republican former Governor Jeb Bush, who remains a popular figure among Florida Republicans, has two sons, George P. and Jeb Jr.. Back in February, George P. Bush offered a stinging rebuke of current Gov. and 2010 Senate candidate Charlie Crist's lack of conservative cred:
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is only a "light" version of a Democrat, former Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) son claimed Saturday.
"There's some in our party that want to assume that government is the answer to all of our problems," Bush said at a meeting of young Republicans, as reported by the Orlando News. "You know who I'm talking about," he added, referencing Crist.
After the speech, Bush said Crist is perhaps becoming more of a "D light" politician, not adequately in line with Republican politics.
Fast forward three months and Jeb Bush's other son, Jeb Jr., announces his endorsement of Charlie Crist's 2010 Republican Senate primary opponent, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio:
Today I would like to let you know that I will be enthusiastically supporting my friend Marco Rubio for his bid for the United States Senate.
Florida and our country are at a crossroads. Not only in our economic life, but in who we are as Republicans. ...
With Marco, we have a great opportunity to elect a true conservative and a greater obligation to elect a man of principle. ...
If you can make a donation today to keep this effort going it will go a long way to bring back common sense and a return to conservative principles in Washington.
According to Jeb Jr., Republicans are at a "crossroads" over their identity and Rubio is the only "true conservative" in the race who can return "conservative principles" to Washington. Read: Charlie Crist does not represent the Republican Party.
I can't imagine that these statements from Jeb's boys go out without Daddy Jeb's blessing. Make no mistake, former Governor Jeb Bush does not want his gubernatorial successor to win the Republican nomination for Senate. Further, couple the support of Jeb's boys for Rubio with the recent endorsement of Mike Huckabee for Rubio and we see the underdog picking up steam. Anybody rushing to anoint Charlie Crist as Florida's next Senator better slow down. Conservatives still run the GOP, and Charlie Crist simply isn't up to snuff.
The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board this morning: "A culture of duplicity remains within the top ranks of the Florida State Board of Administration, the agency that oversees billions of dollars of investments for the state pension and other government agencies. "
The seeds were sown in the Wall Street furor, when the SBA's top managers abandoned prudence and due diligence for the lure of the fast buck. But an investigation by the St. Petersburg Times has found that despite a change of executive director, the agency's top managers, throughout the current market downturn, have repeatedly misled clients and investors — even when lower-ranking employees balked at the misinformation.
Recall that
The roots of this deception trace to December 2006. Over the next year, financial advisers from three Wall Street firms persuaded the SBA staff to buy billions of dollars of risky securities. By the summer of 2007 — as the subprime debacle unfurled — SBA staff began to mislead pension plan members, SBA's appointed advisers and local government investors about the mounting losses.
A 2007 Bloomberg.com article outlining Jebbie's involvement with SBA includes this time line:
# Until January 2007, Jeb Bush, as governor, is one of three trustees of the State Board of Administration. The SBA administers $180 billion in Florida assets, including the Local Government Investment Pool.
# In February, out of office, Mr. Bush forms Jeb Bush & Associates.
# In June, the Lehman Brothers investment firm hires Jeb Bush & Associates as consultants.
# In July and August, Lehman Brothers sells the Florida pool $842 million in mortgage-backed debt. At the time, the SBA's executive director is Coleman Stipanovich. Promoted to the job in 2002 by Gov. Bush and the other SBA trustees, Mr. Stipanovich is the brother of Jeb Bush's former campaign manager.
# In November 2007, local governments and school districts that kept their short-term cash in the supposedly low-risk investment pool find out that the investments sold by Lehman Brothers and other brokerages have gone bad and rush to withdraw $12 billion, nearly half the pool's assets.
# In December 2007, after the state temporarily freezes accounts to stop the run on the state pool, Mr. Stipanovich resigns.
# In December 2007, after the Lehman Brothers link to Florida is reported, the former governor sends an "emphatic" denial of wrongdoing to The St. Petersburg Times. A Lehman Brothers spokeswoman insists that "there's no link between Bush and Lehman's sale of debt to Florida."
To be sure, that sequence of events is insufficient in itself to establish wrongdoing. The Bloomberg.com piece continues:
Lehman Brothers spokeswoman Cohen says there's no link between Bush and Lehman's sale of debt to Florida. ``Bush is a member of the Lehman Brothers private equity advisory board and his company has been retained by the firm for consulting and advisory services,'' she says. The former governor declined to comment.
Craig Holman, of Washington-based nonprofit public interest group Public Citizen, disputes Lehman Brothers' view. ``That defies credibility,'' says Holman, who lobbies for ethics in government. ``It's a clear conflict of interest. Bush is a consultant to the company selling bad investments to the same agency on which he served as a trustee until January.''
Moreover, as the Palm Beach Post editors put it back in late 2007,
like so many other timelines involving Bush brothers and business deals - think Neil Bush and Silverado, George W. Bush and the Texas Rangers, Jeb Bush and foreign sales of water pumps - the timelines feature Bushes in business deals that have more to do with political connections than real business acumen. [For more, see the St Pete Times' expose on Jebbie: "Make the money and run"].
The role of Jeb Bush and political crony Stipanovich in the Lehman Brothers deal is just one issue for the state to investigate. Another is the extent to which Lehman Brothers knowingly took advantage of what one expert called "less-sophisticated investors" to dump subprime-tainted securities. If there is grounds for a lawsuit, Florida should file it.
A bit of old fashioned investigative reporting from the AP's Travis Reed. Go read it: "In Medicaid reform, Fla. GOP saw rich benefit". Some excerpts follow (all underscoring supplied):
"While Florida politicians were considering a vast overhaul of the state's troubled Medicaid system, a Tampa company that administered care for half a million poor and needy residents was busy lining their pockets with campaign donations."
WellCare Health Plans Inc., its subsidiaries and executives spent $2.4 million on political contributions in the 2004 and 2006 elections, according to an analysis of campaign records by The Associated Press. More than 95 percent of it went to Republicans, who pushed forward a nationally watched plan that funnels more state and federal Medicaid spending than ever through private companies like WellCare, which profit most by providing the least care.
At the same time, WellCare acknowledges it was cheating Florida out of tens of millions in overpayments and is under investigation for suspected fraud and unfair business practices by a cadre of state and federal agencies.
The money does flow in RPOFer-world:
WellCare gave $100,000 to the Republican Party of Florida on Dec. 6, 2005 - a day after the Legislature convened specifically to consider the Medicaid proposals, and days before they passed. The company spent seven times more on lobbying than its top two competitors combined, skirting state laws meant to cap candidate donations at $500 per person or company by writing checks under nearly 30 different business names.
Half of WellCare's contributions - $1.2 million - went to the Republican Party of Florida. State law provides no limit on party donations, and there is virtually no way to tell where the funds go after that.
The usual suspects:
Two of the biggest recipients of WellCare contributions were former state Senate presidents - current Sen. Ken Pruitt, who led the body from 2006-2008, and former Sen. Tom Lee. Pruitt received $25,500, and tied with former Rep. Frank Farkas as the company's largest direct beneficiary. Neither returned telephone messages requesting comment.
Another top GOP recipient was former House member Holly Benson, who now oversees WellCare and all other Medicaid HMOs as secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Benson accepted $18,500 combined in the 2004 and 2006 elections, but said that didn't compromise her integrity.
Read the whole thing here. All of this is of course deja vu all over again* - Jebbie's privatization artifices were (and remain) nothing more than, as Paul Krugman put it, schemes to generate GOP campaign contributions:
Florida's governor has been an aggressive privatizer, and as The Miami Herald put it after a careful study of state records, "his bold experiment has been a success - at least for him and the Republican Party, records show. The policy has spawned a network of contractors who have given him, other Republican politicians and the Florida G.O.P. millions of dollars in campaign donations."
What's interesting about this network of contractors isn't just the way that big contributions are linked to big contracts; it's the end of the traditional practice in which businesses hedge their bets by giving to both parties. The big winners in Mr. Bush's Florida are companies that give little or nothing to Democrats. Strange, isn't it? It's as if firms seeking business with the state of Florida are subject to a loyalty test.
I was cleaning out some old files on my computer when I came across a copy I had made of an op-ed piece former Rep. Don Brown, (R), HD-5, wrote for an obscure panhandle paper (at least that's where I found it on-line back in January of 2007).
What's interesting about that is Don Brown was an important member of the committee set up in the waning days of the Jeb Bush administration to reform property insurance. The committee was headed by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings and produced a report with several suggestions (none of which was "have prices drop like a rock").
Of course, we all know what happened. Crist and Marco Rubio ignored the report and socialized property insurance and Don Brown got censured when he objected. This was why I included No. 2 in my Three Questions for Jeb Bush.
This op-ed was an eye-opener for me. So, here it is in its entirety:
I submitted the following piece as an op-ed column to my local newspaper, but I haven't heard back, which usually means they're not going to use it. So, I'm recycling it here. Nothing you haven't heard me say already, just in a more toned down voice. Also, since this was intended as a print piece, no links.
What a thrill to wake up, drink my coffee, check Sayfie Review for my Florida news fix and be greeted with a lead story entitled: Meek Considers Senate Run, Could Face Old Foe Bush. I won't go so far as to say it was one of those Chris Matthews' type of thrill, but close.
I've been making the case for Meek running against Jeb ever since Prince Nasty (aka Mr. Lehman Bros., aka the "Smart" Bush) e-mailed those four words heard round the World of Political Junkies: "I am considering it" (i.e., running for Mel Martinez' US Senate seat from Florida).
If you want to know where Jeb Bush stands on issues that will come up if he runs for US Senate in Florida in 2010, just watch this interview he gave in 2007.
What struck me while watching it is how well he comes off by following his closing advice of "being yourself." It will be very important for members of the traditional media to confront him in order for everyone to get a look at his temper and intransigence.
Aaron Deslatte writes this morning that "the holidays are typically a time for life-altering decisions. Never more so than this year, when four of Florida's biggest political names are mulling whether an open U.S. Senate seat in 2010 will change the trajectory of their careers."
Jebbie will of course run ... his gigantic ego prevents him from doing otherwise.
As for the Dems, Deslatte notes that, Alex Sink "has met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Democratic leaders in Washington, who have made it clear she is the party's favored prospect." However,
unless Sink decides to get in soon, there are likely to be a lot of Democrats -- including U.S. Reps. Ron Klein of Boca Raton, Allen Boyd of Monticello and state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach -- who launch campaigns.
Rumor has it Sink is a lock to run.
Deslatte continues, observing that "A Jeb-Sink contest also could hold poetic justice for Democrats. Bush handily dismissed Sink's husband, Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, in his 2002 gubernatorial re-election. 'Jeb could make history. He could beat the husband and the wife,' boasts Brian Ballard, a prominent Republican lobbyist, fundraiser and Crist adviser."
Quietly, prominent GOP fundraisers have suggested Crist's rule over the state party would have to be tempered a bit if Bush returns.
Bush would certainly command more of the media spotlight atop the 2010 ticket, even though Crist would be running for re-election too and ostensibly positioning himself for a 2012 White House bid.
This month, Crist's public comments on Bush have been measured not to sound like he's discouraging everyone else who would be GOP entrants. But he has also cautiously added his own voice to those urging Bush to get in the race.
a Bush candidacy would all but guarantee a free ride to the general election. No credible Republican would take him on. Two potential Senate candidates, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack of Fort Myers and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami, declared their support for Bush Wednesday as the Republican nominee.
Bush's hard-charging partisanship and his politically radioactive last name may seem out of sync in a state just won by Barack Obama, whose current Republican governor is sustaining high approval ratings as he stresses bipartisanship.
"Let me give him some free advice," former Bill Clinton strategist Paul Begala said on CNN Wednesday. "Change your name. Run as John Ellis, not John Ellis Bush. The Bush brand is probably what croaked Mel Martinez."
Unfortunately, Mr. Smith is helping to propagate the myth created by the chattering classes over the years, to wit: that Floridians will walk over hot coals for beloved their "Jeb!" Smith writes that
In Florida, though, the Bush brand is different from the Jeb Bush brand.
Smith proceeds to uncritically repeat shopworn RPOF talking points:
"There isn't a person in Florida that doesn't know Jeb Bush and know that he is his own man, his own thinker, his own innovator. They think of him as Jeb, not as a member of the Bush family,'' said Al Hoffman, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman from Fort Myers.
No one with their eyes half open believes really believes Jebbie "is his own man, his own thinker, his own innovator". The reality about "Jeb!" was touched upon, if only to the smallest degree, in this teensy (and ancient) bit of investigative reporting in, of all places, the The St. Petersburg Times*; there, a fundamental question was asked about the man who (then) sought-to-be Governor, and the question was: "What exactly does Jeb Bush do for a living?" The answer was hard to come by:
The 45-year-old Republican nominee for governor has hawked luxury condos in South Florida, sold industrial sites for IBM, made bank loans in Venezuela and marketed giant water pumps in Nigeria. He has even tried to sell imported shoes to Wal-Mart.
His corporate ties are a web of more than two dozen companies, including obscure, privately held ventures called Uno, Uno Dos and Oriental Trading, and bigger public companies such as SunTrust, Anchor Glass, Ideon and American Heritage Life Insurance. ...
Trading on the famous family name, Bush gained entry to exclusive business ventures courtesy of wealthy Republicans. ...
This go-along style marks how Bush operates in the business world. He has never been elected to public office and wants to be judged as a successful businessman. But he bristles when asked if the Bush name has helped his dealmaking.
There's much, much more, including gems like these:
Richard Lawless, a former 15-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who won state contracts to promote exports in Asia when Jeb Bush served as Florida commerce secretary. Later, he joined with Bush and paid him to find real estate property for Japanese investors. Just one deal in 1993 gave Bush a commission of $213,000.
One Miami real estate deal is typical of the privileged pattern of Bush's wealth-building: invest little but reap lots. In 1984, Bush put just $1,000 in an office building called Museum Tower. By 1990, he sold out for about $346,000. Similar deals followed. Who made it possible? Armando Codina.
As an aside, if Jeb! runs, perhaps a courageous newspaper company employee will follow up on this?:
It was 1991, dad was in the White House, and Jeb Bush was hopscotching through Nigeria in a corporate jet, on his way to meet government officials he hoped would buy $74 million worth of water pumps from his South Florida business partner.
On the jet with Bush was a Nigerian associate in the deal, Al-Haji Mohammed Indimi, who carried several heavy Hartmann suitcases. At least one of the bags, the airplane's pilot says, was packed with cash to bribe the Nigerian officials.
Did Jeb Bush know about the cash in the suitcase? Did he understand what the money was for?
Don't count on tuff questions being asked, let alone answered. In addition to a history of sycophancy, there are three primary reasons to expect the media to, yet again give Jebbie a pass.
State Senator Alex Villalobos once told a meeting United Teachers of Dade the story of his childhood. His father, mother and uncles encountered hardships in their exile from Cuba and struggles in Miami that would have destroyed many families. But a young Alex saw them endure and triumph.
As the 2006 Florida Legislature convened its regular session Alex Villalobos was poised to make history and appeared destined for political superstardom. In 2008 Miami-Dade's favorite son would become the first Cuban-American President of the Florida Senate.
The state of Florida teeters on the brink of economic collapse.
State economists now estimate another $1.8 billion revenue shortfall is in the offing and Florida will attempt to operate this fiscal year on a nearly $7 billion smaller budget. The state has lost nearly 97,000 jobs this year, more than any other state in the nation, and the unemployment rate has shot up to 13-year high. The pension fund that covers 900,000 state and local government employees has lost 4.4% of its value in bad investments. 40,000 Florida homes were foreclosed in June, 300,000 homes are unsold and unoccupied, existing property has lost $13 billion in value, and state regulators gave criminals free access to the mortgage industry until one of every five fraudulent mortgage applications filed in the nation was written in Florida. The state's public schools and universities, the foster care system, the health care delivery system, the capacity for environmental protection and public safety are dysfunctional. The state's infrastructure is crumbling.
The only thriving industry left in Florida is prison building.
Florida is a failed state! Clearly, its retrograde political leaders of the past decade are failures. By every objective measure they are failed stewards of the economy. The stench of failure in Florida is so pervasive it begs a question. Was Florida destroyed intentionally?
While Jeb Bush reigned the Florida Legislature did rubber stamp $14 billion in tax cuts mostly for big business and wealthy investors. While Bush sat on the board of Lehman Brothers the state did purchase $872 million in worthless investment vehicles from that global investment bank. The former governor did say in his 2003 inaugural address, "There will be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we can make these buildings around us empty of workers; as silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill."
Buildings around us empty of workers, silent monuments to another time, welcome to Jeb Bush's new Florida.
Paul A. Moore
Miami-Dade County Florida Public School Teacher
Yesterday, in "The elephant in the room", we repeated what has been obvious to so many for so many years:
Florida's current system of public finance is a house of cards built by pusillanimous pols owned and operated by the no-taxes under any circumstances crowd (a/k/a the Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Industries of Florida, and other such denizens of the "Jeb!"'s hole in the ground).
Unfortunately, Florida's media company employees have largely given "Jeb!" a pass for leaving this turd on Charlie ("I'm just like "Jeb!") Crist's desk:
This morning, the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Thomas, of all people, acknowledges that Saint Jebbie may actually have been, you know ... at least a teensy bit responsible for the state's current economic disaster. He writes:
The tax revenues that poured into Tallahassee during Jeb's final years were as real as the economy that created them. But Bush used the bounty to slash billions in taxes.
And now Charlie Crist finds himself billions in the hole, facing the greatest budget meltdown since the Great Depression.
And who received the billions in "bounty" in the form of billions in taxes being slashed?
"A review of tax cuts enacted during Bush's terms show the bulk of the cuts have aided businesses or investors, with cuts on estate taxes and investments accounting for nearly half of the tax cuts and cuts for businesses also well into the billions of dollars."
Since 1999, lawmakers have approved tax cuts totaling more than $14 billion.
But most Floridians haven't seen a direct impact.
A review of tax cuts enacted during Bush's terms show the bulk of the cuts have aided businesses or investors, with cuts on estate taxes and investments accounting for nearly half of the tax cuts and cuts for businesses also well into the billions of dollars.
"Gov. Bush defends his record of tax cuts" Given a chance to defend this sort of class warfare, Jebbie was "asked which of his tax cuts provided direct benefits to working class Floridians, [and in response] Bush cited sales tax holidays and a 1999 property tax rollback."
[insert laugh track].
Let's take a closer look at these alleged "tax cuts" for the folks who Jebbie condescendingly calls "Joe Bag of Donuts":
The tax holidays, short periods where no taxes were collected for back to school items, hurricane-preparedness supplies or for gasoline, have totaled about $250 million since 1999 - a little less than 2 percent of the total tax cuts. The 1999 property tax rollback lowered the millage rate by .42 mills, meaning a savings of about $42 for an owner of a $125,000 home with the homestead exemption
That's it? "Joe Bag of Donuts" only got some phoney* sales tax "holidays" and 42 bucks if they happened to own a home.
Meanwhile, businesses and investors laughed their way to the bank, and then on to their to the next AIF/Chamber/RPOF meetings.
joined a federal phase-out of the estate tax in 2002, resulting in a net $2 billion-plus tax cut thus far. And Bush has led the charge against the state's intangibles tax on investments.
Since 1999, the [intangibles] tax has been reduced four times with a total cumulative cut of nearly $4 billion.
Individuals with at least $250,000 of investments pay that tax, which Bush labeled as "insidious" early in his first term.
Great job Jebbie! Now, with Florida's economy in tatters, we do not have the public finance infrastructure necessary to weather the storm.
Back to Thomas' column this morning. He continues, writing that:
The only way to create a stable and fair tax system is a state income tax backed by responsible spending.
More below.
- - - - - - - - - - *These silly "holidays" are PR stunts - economists "criticized the sales tax holiday for back to school items, saying businesses may raise prices due to the increased shopping due to the tax reduction and that the holiday doesn't affect shopping since most people would do so anyway."
(believe it, or not ... - promoted by Florida Politics)
Florida State Representative Darryl Rouson (D-St Pete) has been caught making homophobic comments in a video posted on YouTube. He represents a gerrymandered district with a 3.5 to 1 Democratic voter registration advantage and switched from Republican to Democrat just to run for a seat in a recent special election.
His opponent in the August 26th Democratic primary is the second-place finisher in the special election, Rev. Charles McKenzie. (The third-place finisher who received 26% of the vote has endorsed McKenzie.) Although many black ministers are not progressive on gay issues, McKenzie has been endorsed by the Pinellas Stonewall Democrats and Equality Florida PAC. You can view his web site at http://www.mckenzie2008.com and his online contribution link is http://www.mckenzie2008.com/index-5.html
You can view the 57 seconds of shame by Mr. Rouson here:
"Small consolations: The governor this week signed two bills that will benefit state employees, and which this beleaguered work force well deserves given its appalling neglect by lawmakers for three years running."
I mean really?: is this chicken shi* supposed to restore the morale of the poor folk who slave away in the buildings Jebbie wanted to empty?
The Career Service Reform bill requires objective criteria, including at least the consideration of seniority, when it comes to retaining employees during a layoff. And it makes promotions and transfers to better jobs nonprobationary, meaning employees can return to their former positions if the promotion doesn't prove to be a good fit. It also stops involuntary job transfers of more than 50 miles.
And this almost rises to the level of an insult:
The other legislation, which is unfortunately just a first step, sets up a $100,000 task force and study on how to effectively bring back workplace safety and health laws for Florida public employees.
It's appalling that these safeguards are not in place in the year 2008. But in 1999, then-Gov. Jeb Bush eliminated the Division of Safety in the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security, thereby repealing all safety and health laws covering public employees at any level.
And when you do crazy things like "repealing all safety and health laws covering public employees at any level", which Jebbie did to the cheers of the dopes at the League of Cities and the Chamber of Commerce, sad things like dead workers tend to occur.
[more on the flip, including a friendly link to the media's loving review of " Jebbie's "JFK-like" [sic] vision of the role of public employees in our society.]
Well, Jordan certainly has made a splash recently in the community and at a critical juncture for public education. Judging by an apparent lack of previous experience young Jordan is the prototypical cub reporter--sort of what Jimmy Olsen was to The Daily Planet in Superman lore. Miami SunPost readers must take him as an idealistic wide-eyed new generation muckraker, a regular Westbrook Pegler, ready to root out corruption in high places and make the community safe for the kids. And oh, how Jordan must love the kids! Why else would an aspiring journalist risk a life of poverty and conflict of interest charges by taking a part-time job in the Miami-Dade Public Schools.
Honestly, who is Jordan Melnick? He seems almost too good to be true.
As of 7/16/10: An old friend resurfaces as BlogWood 2.0. Please check out the prolific Rantings from Florida and a new site, "Current news updates"
Immediately below, you can donate, follow select candidates on twitter, or check them out on Facebook. These are not paid ads.
Become a FLA Politics fan on FaceBook and/or follow us on Twitter:
Candidates
The campaign web sites of select candidates; click on "FB" to check them out on FaceBook, "T" to follow them on twitter, and "$" to donate. These are not paid ads.
- At "After All, He Is Black", we look at the inability of Florida "conservatives" to deal with racial issues.
- "Take this job ..." is a compendium of some of the things Florida employers are permitted to do to their employees.
Please leave comments or e-mail us with additional material for these projects.
About Our Feeds
Our collection of RSS feeds includes our selection of continuously updated Florida Netroots posts and Florida newspaper company "blog" posts, as well as a "Crist Watch" feed.
