On a different note, the cases involving the rapes and potential court ordered abortions of two disabled Florida women, one in Orlando, one in Miami, are starting to get interesting from a political persepective. In the Miami case (the case the Governor for some reason did not get involved in) the Judge ordered the "Disabled rape victim's pregnancy terminated", and the abortion took place yesterday. As the Herald reports, Gov "Bush never sought to influence the outcome of the Miami case. But on Tuesday, members for the Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-area conservative religious group, asked Rothenberg to appoint them as lay guardians for the woman's unborn child. The group also asked Rothenberg to halt an abortion he had authorized May 23."
"The Miami woman's attorney, Lance Block, called Liberty Counsel's legal efforts `frivolous, nonsensical and without any legal basis in the state of Florida.'''
"The [Miami] woman's plight was strikingly similar to that of a 22-year-old Orlando woman, who also is disabled and whose rape also led to pregnancy. Gov. Jeb Bush announced earlier this month he was asking an Orlando judge to appoint a guardian for the Orlando woman's unborn child. The announcement caused an uproar and rekindled the emotional debate over abortion." See also "Jeb likes political womb".
We must wonder why the Gov chose to inject himself into the abortion issue in Orlando, but not in Miami. It could be that he was unaware of the Miami case, but that is doubtful. Bush probably believes that portraying himself as an anti-choice zealot plays better in central Florida than in Miami; hence, it was easier for him to get publicly involved in the Orlando case.
It would appear, however, that the Florida GOP did send a surrogate to Miami to, in essence if indirectly, represent the Governor's views - the surrogate being the wacky "Liberty Counsel". This group calls itself a "a nonprofit civil liberties education and legal defense organization dedicated to preserve religious freedom", but is little more than a wingnut GOP front group, getting involved in partisan political fights, including intervening in some of the 2000 Florida election cases to support the GOP position (and claiming that those "voter cases has essentially shut down our offices so we are only able to work on these cases", and using this as a fundraising device).
And there appears to be a credibility gap with the group's claims. The following appeared in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday: "A Central Florida-based anti-abortion group said late Wednesday that it had persuaded a Miami judge to allow a mentally disabled woman who is six months pregnant to have surgery to deliver her baby rather than have a court-ordered abortion. Arthur L. Rothenberg, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge, could not be reached to confirm the statement by the Liberty Counsel of Longwood"
"Still, the group of conservative and religious attorneys was claiming a major victory on a key front in the abortion debate. 'We're very excited and very pleased with the result,' said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of the Liberty Counsel. 'We're very pleased that Baby Doe will have a chance at life now.'"
"The Liberty Counsel said the judge's verbal decision came late Wednesday . . . ."
News-Journal Begins "Tax of the Day" Reports - "Florida lawmakers bragged about passing a budget that doesn't raise taxes. In fact, the budget contains a wide array of tax and fee increases, mostly targeted at working-class Floridians. Over the next week, we'll be highlighting them." They begin with "Tuition hikes are hidden tax, targeted at workers".
Graham Steps Up Attacks On Administrations WMD Claims - "Intelligence information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was either wrong or altered by the Bush administration, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham said Thursday." See "Graham attacks Bush claims on Iraqi weapons".
"The 2003 Florida Legislature . . . may go down in state history as one of the worst ever convened." - "Gov. Bush, on the other hand, made himself heard to reporters Wednesday chastising the naysayers and praising the House and Senate for "the cleanest budget he's ever seen anywhere.' Once again, we've seen how unhealthy one-party rule is for Floridians, especially working people, students, the ill or elderly." See "Poor, poor Florida".
Foley: A Partisan Hack To The End - We agree with the Gainesville Sun that "Congressman Mark Foley's sexual orientation doesn't matter. But he shouldn't blame Democrats for spreading rumors." "Rumors of rumors" explains:
"South Florida Congressman Mark Foley is running for the U.S. Senate in 2004 as a Republican. Last week, he accused "Democratic activists" of spreading rumors about his sexual orientation."
"Foley wouldn't name a single guilty party or give any evidence to support his claim. And he said that that was the last time he intended to discuss the subject."
"Interesting strategy. Blame the other party for rumor-mongering while refusing to discuss the substance of the rumors and, by implication, absolving anyone in his own party."
"But there's one annoying complication. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, the issue has been raised publicly by John Parsons, who happens to be the Republican state committeeman for Palm Beach County, where Foley lives." 7:16 AM
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