Notes For Sunday, January 05, 2003

MEDIA BIAS. The so-called liberal media is at it again. The St Pete Times today published a hit piece on Florida's teachers union, claiming it cannot deliver votes for Dem candidates. The headline: "Teachers do not vote in one bloc. Most teachers go to the polls, but many don't support the state teachers union's positions, an analysis shows." Now, reading this, you would expect to see an "analysis" showing that "many" of the "teachers [who] go to the polls" "don't support the state teachers union's positions." There is no such analysis. Buried in the "story" is the following admission: "it is impossible to say how teachers voted". The "analysis", then, was nothing more than a handful of interviews with local teachers, including at least one who, get this, actually voted for Gov. Bush, and hence the conclusion of this so-called analysis:"local teachers indicate educators did not vote as one, and party affiliation may be an unreliable guide." It is truly painful to see this kind of garbage in Florida's finest newspaper.
5:49 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

NEW DEM FACES. The courtier class is fond of saying that the Florida Dem party is bereft of young, vibrant leaders - you know, like the Repubs self made Mel Martinez or the substantive Charlie Crist. Well, there in fact are many bright Dems ready to step into the fray. Howard Troxler writes about one of them here. 5:32 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

PEOPLE LIKE US. A "Black Tie and Blue Jeans'' Ball? Is this what the Rebpublican Pary thinks is the "real" Florida? A combination of "tuxedos" and Levis? And for music the best they could do was "Blues Traveler", has beens that never were. It is always interesting to see Republicans scrape the bottom of the pop culture barrel - Tom Sellek, Lorretta Lynn, Blues Traveller (which played at a party during the Republican convention in 2000 and was introduced to the crowd by Bush's son, George P, that other superstar), etc. - to find someone, anyone, to show up at their events. 4:49 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. A fawning Peter Wallsten tells us why "Jeb is in a position to make the Bushes a true dynasty", and, more particularly, succeed his brother to the presidency. 4:44 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

SUNDAY EDITORIAL PAGE SURVEY. Working our way south to north, the first editorial of note this Sunday is "Vouchers as tax write-off not an education reform" in the Palm Beach Post. The editorial argues that it is hipocritical to give companies a dollar for dollar tax write off for money contributed to the state's private school voucher scheme because private schools are not subject to accountability testing. In "Bad Plan at DCA", the Tampa Tribune editorializes against folding the Department of Community Affairs into the Department of State (soon to be headed by Glenda Hood). Speaking of Hood, the Orlando Sentinel offers its advice to Florida's new Secretary of State. The Tallahassee Democrat writes about how the governor's next term will be the "Inauguration of centralized government" 4:43 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

ON THE NATIONAL FRONT. A thoughtful column by the former editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune: George "Bush should heed latest polls". 4:38 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

THE ISSUE THAT WILL NOT GO AWAY. Although the media has largely given our Governor a pass on the abysmal performance of DCF, the Sun Sentinel is staying after it. It is reported that although "Bush claimed success in dramatically reducing the number of children lost in Florida's foster care system . . . an official with the Department of Children & Families said that 425 children remain missing." Moreover, it appears the Bush task force was cooking its numbers: "leaders of the task force contended that they were looking for 393 children. But Ted Harrell, a DCF statistician assigned to the project, told a judge that the number missing was actually 513."

The Sun Sentinel filed suit in Tallahassee "seeking documents showing how long the children were missing, whether any were harmed and what actions DCF took once the children were found. A judge is expected to rule next week whether the Department of Children & Families must release information on children that were once missing from state custody but have since been found." 4:38 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]