Add On: Daytona Beach's Own Mark Lane In The Atlanta Journal Contitution - "Bad call: A litmus test in church of baseball ". "There are no political litmus tests in baseball . . . A sport that still employs John Rocker can survive an appearance by [Tim] Robbins and [Susan] Sarandon."
Troxler: Throwing "Out The Baby Because Of The Cost Of The Bathwater" - "On the state level, 'living within our means' is the favorite saying of Johnnie Byrd, the fascinating leader of our state House. To Byrd, Florida's "means" refers to that number of dollars generated by Florida's random, stupid, unfair and regressive tax structure." See "Officials' desire to toe the tax line spirals into absurd obsession".
People Will Die - "If the Florida Legislature doesn't restore a program that supplies prescription drugs and medical care to the desperately ill, people will die. It's just that simple. Children will die. Elderly people will die. Transplant patients will die. There is no "maybe" about it." See "Legislature turns its back on desperate need".
We Know What Happened Here . . . And It Is Outrageous - "The firing last month of six Department of Children & Families social workers for allegedly being rude to a state senator's grandmother was, at best, disturbingly disproportionate to the offense. The dismissals, at worst, bespeak of possible heavy-handed abuse of power and a conflict of interest." Six employees being rude to a little 'ole grandmother? That sounds very strange. In any event, this is a must read story:"Fired For Rudeness?".
You Don't Think . . . Not Our Governor - "Last year, when Gov. Jeb Bush needed your vote for re-election, he vetoed a telephone bill that would have increased the cost of local phone service. This year, having won re-election, he supports a similar bill."
"What has changed? Not the harm done to phone customers, especially those who can only afford basic service. The average monthly phone bill would increase as much as $7.25 over the next four years if the proposal becomes law, according to an analysis by the House Committee on Business Regulation. And that's not the end of it. The cost of basic phone service could grow by 20 percent a year after that." See "Support for a bigger phone bill". More on the Bush sellout here.
Whither OPPAGA? It is no secret that Bush does not like the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, or OPPAGA, particularly when it issues reports with conclusions like this:
- "Florida has relatively low state and local taxes and total revenue compared to other states;"
- "Florida’s state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income increased in the early 1990s but have subsequently declined;"
- "Florida has relatively high government debt compared to other states, and state government debt has risen over the last decade in response to the needs of a growing population;"
- "Florida has relatively few public employees compared to other states, and efforts to outsource public services have contributed to a recent decline in the number of state government employees."