"Me Thinks" There is More To The Fundraising Story

by: Robert McKnight

Wed Apr 07, 2010 at 11:55:11 AM EDT

From being a student of Florida politics for almost a half a century, "me thinks" there is more information to come from the just released quarterly fund raising reports of the major statewide candidates.  For example, there are rumors that some candidates, in their current or previous positions, might have had an overly cozy relationship with some private ventors of public entities.

With the Session in high gear now, most of the media attention has been temporarily diverted from carefully analyzing the contribution data.  

But after the Session ends in a couple of weeks, both the main stream media, and especially the opposing candidate's camps will jump into the fundraising data to "connect the dots" between contributors and previous relationships of the candidates.  I predict their efforts will be fertile.

Post editors think the accused should have the burden ...

by: Florida Politics

Tue Jun 23, 2009 at 08:51:59 AM EDT

... of proving their innocence; so long as the accused is a lowly public employee.

The Palm Beach Post editorial board spits out the usual party line this morning:

Florida's police chiefs and sheriffs want the governor to veto Senate Bill 624, the misnamed Officers Bill of Rights. ...

[U]nder SB 624 an officer or deputy under investigation would get to see all "existing evidence" - including "GPS information" before even the first interrogation. As the police chiefs association points out, this part should read "known evidence." Otherwise, evidence that develops during an investigation would be inadmissible.

Another change would allow the officer to see the report, conclusion and recommendation before the department imposes any discipline. ...

But there are even more proposals, all designed to hamper investigations and shift the burden from accused to accuser. The union enjoys great influence in Tallahassee, and Gov. Crist no doubt wants the PBA endorsement for his Senate run. This bill, however, is not about good law enforcement. It's about protecting bad cops.

"Veto bad-cop protection".

Pardon us, but precisely what is the problem with "shift[ing] the burden from accused to accuser"? We seem to recall that that is kinda, sorta, the American way.  Isn't the better question why the accused employee ever had the burden to prove her innocence in the first place?

If the denizens of the "police chiefs association" accuse a public employee - even a lowly law enforcement officer - with wrongdoing, ought they not, as the accuser, have the burden of proving that the accused did something wrong?  After all, the decsions of the accusers in this situation inevitably result in the accused being fired and their careers, and frequently their lives, destroyed.

We understand that the The Palm Beach Post editors reflexively oppose anything that smacks of employee rights viz. their bosses (other than outright slavery (big of them)); but is it really to much to ask that Florida's law enforcement officers enjoy at least some of the protections available petty criminals, to wit: that the accuser have the burden of proving that the accused did something wrong.

This is particularly true when one considers that, unlike criminals, public employees do not have the right to refuse to answer questions in the first place.

All this is of course just another example of Florida's editorial boards showing that they are anti-worker, profit-making employers first, and journalists last. In that connection, have these editors ever once written about Florida's at-will employment rule? See "Take this job ..."?

Vote Local Pinellas -- Is this wise? It sure is Funny

by: stonegauge

Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 12:37:06 PM EDT

I was made aware through Creative Loafing's political weblog run by Wayne Garcia of a new clip promoting these candidates...  

And it's not what I expected.  Jump below the fold and watch it for yourself

"My GOP is scaring me to death"

by: Florida Politics

Sat Oct 11, 2008 at 11:15:08 AM EDT

Your RPOF scares me to death

We are familiar with the story about how Florida McCain-Palin robots "shouted obscenities at reporters in a press area during Palin's speech, and that one crowd member shouted a racial epithet at a black sound man". "'Kill Him' Yell At Clearwater Palin Rally Being Probed" (Tampa Tribune, October 10, 2008).

For a little insight into the "thought processes" of some of our fellow Floridians, take a look at some of the comments to the (above) story.  Welcome to Tampa Trib-world:

- "If Obama is elected we will have people swinging from trees and scratching their armpits forever. Do you really want that? They will run wild as they will think they can do anything because the president is Negro."

- - [in response to the above comment:] "With Obama president we will not have to work as the rich are going to be paying for everything, right? We can just sit had home like mindless zombies and collect a govt check."

- "A Negro woman driving a brand new BMW went in and noticing the display bought all McCain memorbelia. My friend mentioned she must be quite a fan of McCain and the Negro woman shot back 'hell no, I wouldn't vote for that honkey if he was the last man on earth. I am buying all this stuff to throw away and nobody will be able to buy it.' That's how the majority of Negros think and they don't even know what the issues are. Doesn't quite make sense voting for someone just because they are Negro."

- "(This comment was removed by the [Tampa Trib] site staff.)"

- "washington times [sic] is one of the most liberal newspapers in the country. They are not a credible source of information".

- "Wake up America!!!....Reverend Wright...Bill Ayers....This guy is a bad character and is not who he pretends to be....Obama is NOT Presidential material!!!! Just listen to what he says when the cameras are not on.....giving money to ACORN ...accepting money from ACORN....Marxism failed in Russia and we dont need it here!!!!"

The Annual "Labor Day" Insult

by: Florida Politics

Mon Sep 01, 2008 at 16:51:33 PM EDT

"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. ...

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.

Read much?

by: Florida Politics

Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 10:35:43 AM EDT

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board writes today that "the sound you might have heard Friday from Dayton, Ohio, was Republican presidential nominee John McCain blowing up the mold for running mates." "We think: McCain's pick of Palin makes both tickets historical".

We beg to differ:

Dear editors: we understand you must keep boss-man Zell (and Charles Krauthammer) happy, and the boss will surely like that editorial, but we must remind you that this "blowing up the mold for running mates" thing was kinda, sorta done more than two decades ago, by the Dems.**

So, this foolish equation - of the Dems nomination (via votes and all) of a black man for president with McCain's desperate, gratuitous selection of a woman as a VP - ... well, it just don't pan out. Neither McCain nor the GOP deserve a whit of credit for traveling a path the Dems blazed many years ago.

But do give credit where credit is due:  It did take "courage" (of a sort) for McCain to make a pick that puts the

focus on women who support offshore drilling, are anti-choice, mock cancer survivors, oppose stem cell research, think creationism should be taught in schools, ardently oppose gun control, dig beauty pageant contestants, want to open up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and aren't sure about the global warming thing ...

Now, going after that voting bloc was "courageous", or sumthin'.

- - - - - - - - - -

** As an aside, the Ferraro thing of course reminds one of this sweet bit of Bushco stupidity: "Barbara Bush was asked what she thought of Ferraro; she responded, 'I can’t say it, but it rhymes with rich.'" Classy.

So much for a spine

by: Florida Politics

Sun Aug 24, 2008 at 10:45:34 AM EDT

It is time for the nuclear option: a state income tax.

Florida's budget disaster now qualifies as a national disaster.

In asking for federal emergency money to deal with flooding, Gov. Charlie Crist cited Florida's $1.8 billion deficit.

listened to me, we would have a personal income tax and could afford to buy everybody in Palm Bay a kayak. We would also have money for schools, universities, health care, poor children, unemployed liberal journalists and so on.

We'd be a utopia.

California teachers are tied with Connecticut teachers as the highest paid in the nation.

How do the enlightened leaders of California deal with their deficit compared to the gun-loving, Darwin-doubting Neanderthals of Florida?

Score one for the guys in the cave.

Florida still needs to broaden its tax base and fund critical needs. And the only way I see of getting there is a credible spending cap to ensure we avoid going the route of California.

Zell also talked about the importance of adding more local stories to the front page. When discussing newsroom decorum, he told reporters that if they want to watch porn all day at their desk then go for it! As long as they're productive. He added, with a smile, "Let me know if you find any good sites."

Stopping Voter Suppression: The Press Gets It Right in Virginia

by: Project Vote

Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 19:11:21 PM EDT

Must be "balanced" ...

by: Florida Politics

Sat Jul 12, 2008 at 10:13:17 AM EDT

To keep folks interested, Cox Enterprises, Inc. needs to have a close preznit campaign; it likewise serves the company's  economic interests to keep its GOPer subscribers happy by not appearing to favor one side over the other. 

 Never forget, it is first, last and always about selling newspapers and making money.

As a result, we poor readers routinely get garbage like the following from the Cox company's editorial board scribblers - The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "George Bush and Barack Obama will share this year's gold medal for Olympic inconsistency."  "Summer political games".

Hey, Obama's got plenty of flaws, but it just ain't right to in any way equate Obama with McCain on the makin' flippy floppy thing.  You can find a more accurate picture here: "John McCain -- 61 Flip-Flops and Counting".

Bill Moyers puts the problem this way in a July 11 article:

Our dominant media are ultimately accountable only to corporate boards whose mission is not life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the whole body of our republic, but the aggrandizement of corporate executives and shareholders.

These organizations’ self-styled mandate is not to hold public and private power accountable, but to aggregate their interlocking interests. Their reward is not to help fulfill the social compact embodied in the notion of "We, the people," but to manufacture news and information as profitable consumer commodities.

Democracy without honest information creates the illusion of popular consent at the same time that it enhances the power of the state and the privileged interests that the state protects. And nothing characterizes corporate media today more than its disdain toward the fragile nature of modern life and its indifference toward the complex social debate required of a free and self-governing people.

"Is the Fourth Estate a Fifth Column?" (via this dKos post)

More on what the "Post" is here: "Sorry bro (Updated)".

Union volunteering to take pay cut should "dial back the rhetoric"?

by: Florida Politics

Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 10:25:25 AM EDT

The Palm Beach Post editors have been in lockstep with their newspaper company brethren in bashing public employees, particularly.  Indeed, the Post editors have been leading the way in attacking firefighters, who they have variously described as laying back "on the couch, finishing off a six-pack of beer and a pack of cigarettes and having a heart attack" all on the public's dime.  Them lefty editors want you to know these "Firefighters have sweet pay plans [and 'outlandish benefits'], mostly because of politically connected unions".

So you know it was tuff for them to concede this:

Last week, Martin County firefighters made a grand gesture: They will give up cost-of-living increases that are part of their contract to save the county more than $1.5 million. It was a good and generous thing to do.

"Where's E. W. Scripps when you need him?"

by: Florida Politics

Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 13:14:18 PM EDT

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board recently remarked, in the context of Florida's debate over teaching evolution,  "where's Clarence Darrow when you need him?"

How ironic. 

If you were a Tribune Company employee, one might invoke Darrow if your knowledge of him was limited to watching "Inherit the Wind" on TV when you were a kid.  However, the "monkey trial", handled by Darrow in the waning years of his career, hardly summarizes what Clarence Darrow was all about.

Darrow was actually a "gladiator in the nation's emerging class struggle". Believe it or not - and the Sentinel editors surely will be stunned at this - Darrow actually thought labor unions were good things. In one of his many union cases, he told the jury:

Let me tell you, gentlemen, if you destroy the labor unions in this country, you destroy liberty when you strike the blow, and you would leave the poor bound and shackled and helpless to do the bidding of the rich . . . It would take this country back . . . to the time when there were masters and slaves.

"Excerpts from Darrow's Summation in the Haywood Trial".

At the same time, newspapermen like E. W. Scripps, the owner of United Press and The Los Angeles Record, like Darrow, thought labor unions were a good thing and would actually "pepper" his friend Darrow with advice in the midst trials.

Like Darrow is to lawyers, Scripps' approach to journalism represents the ideal for many newspapermen and women. 

Scripps' approach was for those "who considered journalism an exciting adventure, or who had instincts for social reform, or who liked to deflate pomposity and pretense. Scripps papers stood in awe of no person or institution. Scripps men worked in an atmosphere of journalistic and creative freedom."  And it wasn't as if a successful business enterprise and Scripps' idealistic brand of journalism could not coexist - "At his death, he left 25 newspapers; United Press, an international news service he founded to compete with The Associated Press; Newspaper Enterprise Association, a newspaper syndication service and forerunner of United Media".  Scripps - Our Heritage.

Of course, the Orlando Sentinel does not share either Darrow or Scripps' persective on working people, labor unions, or much else for that matter - after all, the Sentinel - like its brethren in the media - is just a business out to make a buck. 

Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, that is just the way things are these days: heck, The Tribune Company's new owner is actually a "real estate mogul [sic]", with a mile wide wingnut streak: "the mention of Hillary Clinton's name prompted him to use a four-letter obscenity to describe her."

And, as we have noted previously, the Sentinel's perspective on workers and unions glee is no secret: see e.g., "Ignorance", "Sentinel At It Again" and "Oh ... The Horror".  More: "Orlando Sentinel embarrasses itself" and "The Orlando Sentinel editors are at it again".

And then there's the Sentinel's perspective on the noble cause of scabbing - see "Send in the scabs".

Having said all that, we join the Orlando Sentinel editors in asking "Where's Clarence Darrow when you need him?"

And we further ask, "Where is E. W. Scripps when you need him?"

The Orlando Sentinel editors are at it again

by: Florida Politics

Tue Feb 12, 2008 at 12:20:15 PM EST

While businesses cut back on health-insurance benefits and replaced expensive pensions with 401(k) plans, few governments have done the same.

The editors' point is clear: it is a good thing to "cut back on health-insurance benefits" and "replace[] expensive [defined benefit] pensions with 401(k) plans". We responded to these assertions with this screed: "Orlando Sentinel embarrasses itself".

The editors are at it again today, throwing out this bit 'o wisdom at the end of an otherwise unremarkable editorial, to wit: public employers should be

bringing pension plans and expensive vacation and leave policies in line with businesses.

That is to say, it would be a good thing for public employers to join the private sector to, as the editors' put it the other day, "cut back on health-insurance benefits", and other emoluments of employment. 

Excuse us if we're wrong, but is there any reputable support for the assertion that "cut[ting] back on health-insurance benefits" is a good thing. Yet, the essence of the editors' argument is that, if "businesses" are cutting back on insurance, it is necessarily the right thing to do.

The editors offer absolutely no support for their position other than the empty assertion that "businesses" are doing it.

Of course, businesses' sole motivation - as it understandably is in our economic system - is to maximize profit. If a company could pay its workers a dollar an hour with no benefits, thereby maximizing profit, it (understandably) would gladly do so. More specifically, if business can "cut back on health-insurance benefits", it is understandable that they would do so to maximize profit.

This is of course good for folks that own corporations, whether they be stockholders in publicly held companies or the owner(s) of privately companies; for example, the real estate mogul (some say slum lord), Sam Zell, who recently purchases, and serves as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Tribune Company and, in turn, the Orlando Sentinel.

As to "businesses" like the Tribune Company/Orlando Sentinel, we fully understand why they think "cut[ting] back on health-insurance benefits" is wise. Things like "health-insurance" cost money and adversely affect the maximum conceivable amout of profit.  Obviously, anything that maximizes the profit of "businesses" like the Tribune Company/Orlando Sentinel - like "cut[ting] back on health-insurance benefits" - is consistent with the very reason a business exists, to make as much money as possible.  Greed is good and all that.

[As an aside, if other employers in the marketplace - say public employers - are not "cut[ting] back on health-insurance benefits" or "replac[ing] expensive [defined benefit] pensions with [cheap]401(k) plans - it makes it difficult for an employer - say the Orlando Sentinel - to justify cutting its employees health insurance and providing employees to cheap retirement plans (like 401(k) plans where employees bear all the risk)].

Back to the greed is good philosophy, if one looks at the Tribune Company's board of directors you will find these wise souls:

- Jeffrey S. Berg, who among other things, is on the Board of Directors of Oracle Corporation. As of 2005, Oracle employed more than 50,000 people worldwide and is the world's second largest software company.

- Brian L. Greenspun, the chairman and chief executive officer of The Greenspun Corporation, a privately owned corporation that manages the Greenspun family assets. These "assets" include, among other things, the American Nevada Corporation, a developer; VEGAS.com, which in turn owns both "Casino Travel and Tours" and CTT Transportation (which provides limousine and motor coach services); as well as the following joint ventures: Sky Mall (a catalog that is distributed to airline passengers) and at least 50% ownership of four casinos.

- William C. Pate, chief investment officer of Equity Group Investments, LLC. Pate serves on the boards of Covanta Holding Corporation: "As of December 31, 2006, it owned and operated approximately 51 energy generation facilities, which uses municipal solid waste, water, natural gas, coal, wood waste, landfill gas, and heavy fuel-oil. In addition, Covanta Holding Corporation owns and operates a waste procurement business, landfills, and waste transfer stations, as well as a water treatment facility." Pate also serves on the board of Exterran Holdings Inc., whose "customers include international oil and gas producers; independent exploration, production and distribution firms, and national energy companies. Exterran has operations in over 30 countries worldwide".

- Maggie Wilderotter, who among other things serves on the board of directors of Yahoo! and Xerox Corporation, the latter a international operation with divisions throughout the world.

- Frank E. Wood, chief executive officer of Secret Communications, LLC, a venture capital company in Cincinnati. He is chairman of the board of 8e6 Technologies, an internet filtering company, and serves on the board of Chemed Corporation (Roto-Rooter) and C Bank, a new business bank.

- Betsy D. Holden , a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company and the former president of global marketing and category development at Kraft Foods, Inc. (owned by The Philip Morris Company, it is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in North America). She also serves on the board of Western Union Company (with reported revenues top $3 billion annually.)

- William A. Osborn, the chairman and chief executive officer and a director of Northern Trust Corporation and its principal subsidiary, The Northern Trust Company. In addition, he serves on the board of the delightful Caterpillar, Inc. Among Caterpillar's fine contributions to American society, is its embarkation upon a "southern strategy", transferring work from unionized facilities (with, yes, "health-insurance") in Illinois, to right to work states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia, at the cost of nearly 20,000 high-wage union jobs in the Peoria, Illinois area.

With corporate masters like these*, it is less than surprising that the Orlando Sentinel editors think that, if "businesses" are doing it, it must be the right thing to do, and, hence "cut[ting] back on health-insurance benefits" and "replac[ing] expensive pensions with 401(k) plans" is wise policy and good for the community.

The Tribune's owners, directors, and editors are hardly the ink stained wretches of yore (like Edward Willis Scripps**, who hung out with riff raff like Clarence Darrow as opposed to prospective mates at the club); however, one can reasonably assume that they (at least the local editors) think themselves as cut from the same cloth and otherwise engaged in a noble calling.

To be sure, readers can expect the Sentinel editors to courageously rail against the horrors of dumping raw sewage into the ocean, the elimination of no-wake zones in Manatee areas, the loss of Everglade protection and so forth; but when it comes to economic issues (as well as issues concerning labor unions (read police and fire fighter unions, among others), they obediently articulate views pleasing to their "businessmen" employers, and consistent with the Tribune Company's embarrassing history***. 

Stated differently, the Sentinel editors' enormous intellectual exertions tend to result in views consistent with the interests of "businesses", which coincidentally enough, include businesses just like the Tribune Company/Sentinel.

The Sentinel is after all, and in the end, itself a "business".

This reality in turn makes it so very easy for the "diverse" editorial board to "thrash out the issues of the day", and engage in "broad, philosophical discussion" that "reflect broad, philosophical positions".

And, after "hearing all sides of the issue", and a conducting a "debate [of] the issue" among these "diverse" editors, the editors struggle to "come up with positions" that are "in the community's best interest", which "reflect thorough research and weighing of the facts"****.

Ironically, as stated earlier, these considered editorial positions - specifically on economic issues - reflexively reflect the less than difficult to discern wisdom of Messrs. Berg, Greenspun, Pate, Wood, Holden and Osborn, as well as Mmes. Wilderotter and Holden. Here's our familiar case in point: the Sentinel editors conclude that it is "in the community's best interest" to "cut back on health-insurance benefits" and "replace expensive [defined benefit] pensions with [cheap] 401(k) plans". 

In disputing any concern that its editorials are mere "knee-jerk opinions", the Sentinel's editorial page editor grandly describes how editorial decisions are arrived it:

The Sentinel's editorials are decided by the newspaper's 12-member editorial board. Their backgrounds, detailed above, are diverse, as are their opinions. The newspaper's editor and publisher are on the board, too, but usually participate only in broad, philosophical discussions.

The board meets each weekday to thrash out the issues of the day. Generally, an editorial writer proposes a stand, which should reflect thorough research and weighing of the facts.

The board then debates the issue before nailing down a position. After hearing all sides of the issue, the board always should be asking itself: "What is in the community's best interest?" ...

The daily discussions also reflect broad, philosophical positions that we have arrived at in earlier discussions. For instance, we don't debate anew each day whether we want to protect the Everglades or raise the standards in our schools.

Read it and weep.

- - - - - - - - - -

* We use the term "corporate masters" out of a sense of balance and fairness.  The term might be considered the rhetorical counterpart to "union bosses", a phrase not unheard of in the traditional media.

** Edward Willis Scripps is the prototypical progressive ink stained wretch, who, while controlling as many as 34 newspapers in 15 states, reflected a perspective long since lost: Scripps' newspapers tended to support progressive causes and the trade union movement. He once wrote (notwithstanding his capacity as an employer): "I have only one principle, and that is represented by an effort to make it harder for the rich to grow richer and easier for the poor to keep from growing poorer." Scripps claimed that he viewed his newspapers as "the only schoolroom the working people had". He added "I am the advocate of that large majority of people who are not so rich in worldly goods and native intelligence as to make them equal, man for man, in the struggle with individuals of the wealthier and more intellectual class".

*** The Tribune Company's corporate personality was defined by the tenure of a charming fellow named Robert R. McCormick, the Chicago newspaper baron who expired in 1955.

Colonel McCormick was the aristocratic counterpoint to the thoughtful E.W. Scripps: consider:

- "A conservative Republican, McCormick was an opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and compared the New Deal to Communism."

- "During his long and stormy career, McCormick carried on crusades against ... Democrats, the New Deal and the Fair Deal, liberal Republicans, the League of Nations, the World Court, the United Nations ... socialism, and communism."

- McCormick "continued to champion a traditionalist course long after his positions had been eclipsed in the mainstream."

- "McCormick was described by one opponent as 'the greatest mind of the fourteenth century'".

 One might say that Colonel McCormick was ahead of his time - McCormick's views reflect the values and philosophy of the ownership (and frequently the editorial spirit) of much of today's corporate media.  (The Tribune Company's reverence for McCormick (and presumably his "ideas") is reflected by its expression of "corporate citizenship" through the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.)

By contrast, Scripps and his values are sadly anachronistic.

**** The quoted language is from the passage quoted in the body of the post, with the quoted text indicated by underscoring.

Orlando Sentinel embarrasses itself

by: Florida Politics

Sun Feb 10, 2008 at 15:00:40 PM EST

Note: a version of this post originally appeared at the close of our review of Florida Political News for 2/10/08.

The swells on the Orlando Sentinel editorial board think Florida governments' financial problems can largely be traced to the "fatter paychecks of government workers". These dopes, in a delightfully titled editorial this morning - Fattening Up: Local and state governments are overly generous to employees - have the gall to complain that public employees are compensated too well. They make three (3) laughable, indeed embarrassing points, which we address in detail below. As their first argument, the editors hit us with their best punch:

the wages of city and county workers in Florida [which were already pathetically out of sync with the private sector] grew by more than 20 percent between 2001 and 2006, and the average salaries of all local government workers is now higher than those who work for businesses.

the average pay for city and county workers in Florida in 2006 was nearly $41,000 compared to about $38,000 for businesses. ... Wow. So much for the struggling public employee*.

Overpaid SWAT Team member, whose salary exceeds the average of "those who work for businesses", prepares to rescue taxpayer held hostage

Faux "struggling public employee" carries taxpayer's child to safety

Selfish Tactical team officers, with "platinum benefit packages", prepare to assault meth lab operation in taxpayers' neighborhood

Forest firefighter "fattening up" on "overly generous" benefits as she prepares to enter inferno in state forest enjoyed by taxpayers

The editors third "argument" is that public employers have not gutted health insurance benefits: they write that "while businesses cut back on health-insurance benefits ... few governments have done the same." You read that right, the editors actually argue that health-insurance benefits should be "cut back". The reason that, because the private sector - in the absence of a strong union movement - has been able to shift most if not all health care costs to employees (after all, there is no law requiring employers to provide health insurance at all), government should do the same. Taking this "argument" to its logical conclusion, why not eliminate public employee employee health insurance in its entirety - it would be cheaper for the taxpayer, at least in the (very) short run. The bottom line is that the Sentinel editors believe that the public sector - which, unlike most of the private sector, actually treats its employees with a modicum of decency - is a drag on the private sector's ability (including the Sentinel in its capacity of an employer) to unrestrainedly exploit employees for the sake of making a buck. We know and accept that corporate America is an amoral machine that cares nothing about anything else but profit, but one would hope that our society - acting through its elective representatives - would care about something greater than joining Florida's private sector in its race to the bottom. The Sentinel editorial board does not share that hope.

- - - - - - - - - -

* Could these be the same faux "struggling public employees" the Sentinel acknowledged a couple of weeks ago could not afford to buy a home in Orange County? "A study by the county's 2006 task force showed that most homes were far out of the price range of 75 percent of all Orange County residents. ... The market leaves ... police, firefighters and other workers with few options."

** The Tribune Company's new owner is a "real estate mogul [sic]", with a wide wingnut streak: "the mention of Hillary Clinton’s name prompted him to use a four-letter obscenity to describe her."

*** The Sentinel's anti-union glee is no secret: see e.g., "Ignorance", "Sentinel At It Again" and "Oh ... The Horror".

**** During a strike involving a Tribune Company newspaper [the Baltimore Sun] a few years back, "guess where Tribune's finding its [reporter and editor] scabs? 'Florida is supplying them with a lot,' says one Sentinel source". Indeed, "potential scabs are offered Sun pay on top of their normal salary -- more than double their pay, for scabs coming from regional papers like the Sentinel -- plus per-diem expenses and even security to deal with the hecklers." "Send in the scabs". By the way, we all can agree on what a scab is, can't we? No less a figure than Jack London, described as "the most successful writer in America in the early 20th Century" - and presumably someone for whom the Sentinel writers have some respect - is attributed with putting it this way, as described by the U.S. Supreme Court:

The Scab "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab." "A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a water brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." "When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and Angels weep in Heaven, and the Devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out." "No man (or woman) has a right to scab so long as there is a pool of water to drown his carcass in, or a rope long enough to hang his body with. Judas was a gentleman compared with a scab. For betraying his Master, he had character enough to hang himself. A scab has not." "Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Judas sold his Savior for thirty pieces of silver. Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of a commission in the British Army. The scab sells his birthright, country, his wife, his children and his fellowmen for an unfulfilled promise from his employer." "Esau was a traitor to himself; Judas was a traitor to his God; Benedict Arnold was a traitor to his country; a SCAB is a traitor to his God, his country, his family and his class."

See also this Jack London paper in "the Atlantic's series of papers on the Ethics of Business."

***** The Orlando Sentinel has editorialized long and hard against newspapers being subject to lawsuits for so-called "false light" torts, while at the very same time the Sentinel's lawyers were threatening another newspaper with, you guessed it, a "false light" lawsuit. "Oh ... The Hypocrisy".

Where's Kerry the Coward?

by: Joe X

Fri Sep 21, 2007 at 11:34:31 AM EDT

To me, Andrew Meyer, the UF student who was Tazered by UF Police this week is a case of Police brutality.It's also much more.

 You might not agree with how he delivered his questions but that doesn't mean they should not be answered: Kerry did call on him after all.

1. Why did you (Kerry) concede the election so early, given how unfair and disastrous 2000's went?

2. Why is Impeachment of the table if it will stop a war with Iran?

3. What the Hell is Skull and Bones (and I'd add, who do you think you are to assume you can get away with not talking about your little secret society)?

The reason this young man was violated while exercising his constitutional rights seems simple to me: The Police did not like his questions and they arrested him, took away his rights and then Tazed him in public as punishment. 

The least Kerry could do is answer these questions himself with words from his own mouth instead of having the Police answer them with violence.

more info

Freedom of the Press...Owners???

by: Florida DFA

Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 23:06:33 PM EDT

Too Bad

by: Eyeball

Mon Sep 03, 2007 at 09:46:32 AM EDT

Too bad the St Pete Times doesn't do "PolitiFact" for Florida politicians.  It would probably crash the company's computers.

BTW, I disagree with PolitiFact analysis of this statement. It is just a figure of speech, and certainly doesn't mean that one doesn't "respect the office", if not the man.

Who Writes this Garbage?

by: Eyeball

Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 18:22:49 PM EDT

Van Sant declares that "Nationwide, private employers have become stingier with health plans, trimming benefits and shifting premium costs to workers."  Hmmm?  That must be the standard of excellence, then; after all, if the private sector is doing it, it must be goooood.

Here's the kicker,

A review by the St. Petersburg Times shows that several local governments, including St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Hillsborough County, will actually pay the same or a bigger share of worker health care costs in 2007 than they did five years ago.

Isn't it outrageous that these public employers aren't stomping the bejesus out of their employees by cramming more and more of their health care costs down these lazy, high paid public employees' throats? 

The article repeatedly refers to these health insurance benefits as "generous", amounting to "largesse".

This anti-public employee, indeed anti-worker, garbage is hardly unusual for the St Pete Times these days.  Here's a real sweet one from the editors about firefighters (you know, the people who go into burning buildings while you and I are running out) and their "lavish" pensions: "Lavish Pensions Decreed By State Add Galling Irony To Tax Breaks" (describing the "generous" pensions as "unbelievable").

I particularly like this one from those brainy yuppies on the Times editorial board: "Whether local governments can afford these lucrative retirement plans for deputies and police and firefighters at a time when private companies are shedding pension plans is a reasonable public policy question."  "High cost of pensions straps cities".  As noted by FLA Politics, "is one to suppose that the St Pete Times editorial board thinks public employers should also be 'shedding pension plans' for firefighters?"  After all, if the private sector (represented by the Chamber of Commerce swells with whom the editors hang and talk about their 401(k)s) is "shedding pension plans", it must be a good thing.

And this might be the best of them all: "Wondering where all those skyrocketing property taxes have gone?  One major drain: the tony retirement pensions of the state's police and firefighters."  "Pensions take toll on tax coffers".  Believe it or not, this isn't even an editorial, but rather a "news article" by alleged Times "journalist" Aaron Sharockman

It ain't just the St Pete Times, though they seem to be the worst; for example see  "Hacks"  (scroll down) (The Tampa Trib editors argue that "most government workers also have been getting raises far more generous than typically available in the private sector.")  And here's more from the Miami Herald editors: "A Platinum Standard for Firefighters".

I'm sick and tired of these media "liberals" and their anti-employee crap.  Then again, what do you expect from the corporate media; after all, they have businesses to run. 

And, like all businesses, they don't want their employees getting all uppity with fancy pants ideas from other workers, especially those with "platinum" pensions, "generous" wage increases, and other "tony" benefits.

Hey Kids! Climate Change Is Your Boogeyman!

by: bkirby816

Mon Jun 25, 2007 at 18:48:04 PM EDT

But if there’s one thing I can’t stand it is a disingenuous argument.  And I’ll tell you, nine times out of ten, there’s nothing more disingenuous than playing the God!-What-About-The-CHILDREN!!! Card.  And Emily’s column today in the Post about global climate change does exactly that.

Ms. Yoffe has decided to take on Al Gore and his “campaign of mass persuasion” on global climate change.  She is concerned.  You know.  For the children.

More scary stuff after the jump:

Progressive Blogosphere Wins Wellstone Award

by: Ray_Seaman

Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 10:28:30 AM EDT

"Jeb: America's Next Bush" Interview

by: Ray_Seaman

Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 11:39:28 AM EST

Journalist S.V. Date, Tracking Jeb Bush

Date is a good journalist, and have read one of his other political profile books, Quiet Passion: A Biography of Senator Bob Graham, which I enjoyed thoroughly.