Notes For Sunday, January 19, 2003

IS GOV. BUSH REALLY "TOO DEEP" FOR THE REST OF US? Last Monday we griped (in concededly other than eloquent fashion) about Governor Bush, of all people, claiming he was "too deep" for his critics. Readers will recall that, as put in a column today by the Tallahassee Democrat: "In a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Bush haughtily dismissed critics of his inaugural address with a laugh, suggesting that perhaps his metaphor was 'a little too deep for them.'"

Mike Pope, the Tallahassee Democrat's Letters Editor examines Bush's self-proclaimed "deep" remarks, and finds that Bush "has exposed his deviously libertarian thinking for all of Florida to see. How will his empty halls cope with a potential $4 billion gap between what it must pay for in 2003-04 and what it can afford? Will privatization leave Florida a pawn to corporate interests? Who will fill the void of compassion and thwart the greed of industry? When tumbleweeds gently blow through the empty halls of Tallahassee's state office buildings, who will find Florida's lost children? Certainly, our governor will not." 8:26 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

MALPRACTICE CAPS. Martin Dyckman: "Quack remedy to cap malpractice awards".


8:19 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

IT'S NO MISTAKE. The Tampa Tribune believes that Bush's proposal "eliminating the Department of Community Affairs is a terrible mistake. Destroying the state's development watchdog serves only to raise fears about the state's future". (emphasis supplied.) 8:16 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

A "C MINUS" ON THE ENVIROMENT. The Legislature is given a "C-" on enviromental issues. 8:05 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

OUR 'AUSTERE" GOVERNOR. AP reports that "the budget Bush will recommend this year will be, in his words, 'austere.'" And "in public comments and interviews, Bush has said that he won't propose any tax increases this year - although a substantial tuition hike for college students is likely". (emphasis supplied.) Too bad Bush wasn't "austere" with his intangibles tax cuts for the wealthy; now it seems college tuition increases will be used, at least indirectly, to fill budget holes created by tax cuts. What vision.

As an aside, we wonder what jobs our Governor did when he worked his way through college?

Let's see, an austere budget, together with tuition increases (not to mention gutting the "bright futures program") to go with last term's "billion-dollar-plus tax cuts by the Republican governor and Legislature and the[ir] refusal to act on proposals to narrow sales tax exemptions". Not what we would call universal, timeless, clear and electrifying vision. 7:48 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

NOW, THAT'S A CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH. AP reports that "State lawmakers propose dismantling DCF". 7:40 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

MORE ON MADDOX. Just who is the Maddox guy? 7:35 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

THIS, BY CONTRAST, IS ELOQUENT. Waldo Proffitt, the former editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, writes that John Ellis Bush is "the wrong man for the job". 7:32 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

OUR GOVERNOR IS BOTH "SMART" AND "ELOQUENT". The fawning continues. Last we were told our Governor's possessed "universal and timeless" and "clear and electrifying" vision. This week we are advised that Bush is "smart" and "eloquent" in his simply following the constitution in not removing Miriam Oliphant. As Bush put it, in functional, if not eloquent, terms: "The constitution does not authorize me to unseat an elected official merely on the basis of an expectation that she will fail to carry out her duties or because of a loss of confidence in her abilities" 7:26 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]