Notes For Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Philosopher John Rawls died Sunday, Nov. 24. Rawls radically changed the philosophical landscape with his watershed works in political philosophy, including A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism. "Rawls is considered by many to be the most important political philosopher of the second half of the 20th century and a powerful advocate of the liberal perspective. In 'A Theory of Justice', Rawls sets forth the proposition that 'Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. Therefore, in a just society the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests.'" [obituary]

"John Rawls stands as the most notable--and controversial--political theorists of the twentieth-century. His 1971 work A Theory of Justice redefined the status of political philosophy in the West, giving central focus to the group of ideas surrounding the concept of 'liberalism.' The liberal democrat state, Rawls argues here and elsewhere, can and should be the guarantor of social justice. In A Theory of Justice, Rawls sketches a complex and well-defined notion of how such a state could make a positive impact in terms of being redistributively just--that is, how a liberal democrat state could insure that its members were provided with basic rights and more or less equal opportunities. In later works, including Political Liberalism, Rawls deals with the thorny issue of cultural pluralism, and how a liberal state could hope to incorporate the life-plans of many different cultures under one roof." [More] 1:27 PM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

The "Courtier" Class? To borrow the description used at the Daily Howler , the term "courtier" seems to accurately describe the Florida media's relationship with the Bush family:

"Entry: cour·tier
Pronunciation: 'kOr-tE-&r, 'kor-; 'kOrt-y&r, 'kort-; 'kOr-ch&r, 'kor-
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : one in attendance at a royal court
2 : one who practices flattery" 7:43 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

Florida Media Slow To Pick Up On John Ellis Bush's Links To Fraud Case: Although the Washington Post reported two days ago that a John Ellis Bush supporter was on the lam, it is only today that a Florida paper bothers to mention that "Gov. Bush is linked to firm in fraud case". We don't expect much, if any follow up on this story. Remember the Enron fundraising, the misreporting of private plane usage during the campaign, the Bush El bribery issue, and so on and so forth. The media could not care less. 7:12 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

Audit Scandal, What Audit Scandal? Yesterday most Florida papers picked up the AP wire story about the would-be audit scandal (read the wire story here); there is no follow in Florida's papers today. The wire story has been picked up, however, in Atlanta and in all places, two Montana newspapers (The Missoulian and the Montana Forum.com).But that's it. It appears that this story will disappear into the mist. 7:08 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

The View From LA: "In Florida, Limit Class Size Now, Pay Later - Constitutional amendment seeks to address overcrowded public schools, but the price tag may reach $27.5 billion over 8 years" [LA Times Article] 6:47 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]