The Way Byrd's Brain Works - " When House Speaker Johnnie Byrd needed someone to shepherd through complex changes to the state's workers' compensation laws, he turned to a Lakeland lawmaker with a personal stake in the issue. Republican Dennis Ross is a lawyer who makes his living defending companies against claims by injured workers. To Byrd, that makes Ross the best person to oversee the legislation. But critics say Ross' pivotal role is a conflict " See "Company lawyer steers reform".
The Session - You may want to keep your eyes on these issues as the session progresses.
Oh Pleeez - "Sitting on an emerald green chair, hunched forward with his hands clasped on his lap, President Bush's brother told students, educators and media at Homestead Middle School that the freedom to express their opinion is what the United States is fighting to uphold." See "Governor talks to students about war".
We doubt that our Governor, hands clasped in his lap, explained to his attentive audience how he managed to avoid military service in Vietnam (thereby earning a place on the Chickenhawk list). We also doubt that he explained that his brother "the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, who's sometimes referred to as a 'former fighter pilot,' has an embarrassing military past. His records show that for months at a time during the Vietnam War, Bush could be classified as, at best, 'absent without leave' (AWOL) or, at worst, as an army deserter." See "What did Dubya do in the war, daddy?". See also the Boston Globe piece, "One-year gap in Bush's National Guard duty - No record of airman at drills from 1972-73".
On Citizen Initiatives - The St Pete Times sure likes direct democracy, opining that lawmakers "should either accept the people's directions or find a new line of work." The totle of the editorial, "An insulting power grab", says it all.
Is There Hope For Democrats? Peter Wallstein thinks 2004 could be the year of "smart Democratic Party politics", whatever that is. Wallstein explains:"The Democrats' likely new state House leader, Rep. Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale, is devising a strategy to focus a lot of money on only a few, targeted races. . . . Smith's plan is simple: Raise $4 million for House races next year, and spend most of the loot on three key seats where he thinks Republicans are especially vulnerable."
"One victory could come in Orlando, where Democrats goofed last year by running a Colombian American in a largely Democratic Puerto Rican district. The Republican, John Quinones, a Puerto Rican, took the seat. Another victory could come in the Gainesville area, where an incumbent Democrat last year took a long bicycling vacation in the heat of the general election -- and lost by 35 votes out of about 50,000 cast." 8:10 AM
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