On MSNBC's "Buchanan and Press", a pathetic little show, there was a discussion about a theoretical 2008 presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice (yes, the National Security Advisor who presided over the biggest national security disaster in U.S. history, and has yet to receive a whit of criticism); the upshot was that Rice could not run since 2008 was reserved for "Jeb!". That "Jeb!", whose hubris is boundless, has presidential aspirations - and is using Florida as a stepping stone - is no secret, but it is starting to get more and more play in the press. We will stay on top of all such reports, and would appreciate hearing from you if there is media coverage about our "Jeb!"'s national aspirations.
Something else before turning to the news: FCAT. The papers today are filled with stories about this school receiving this grade or that, and huge mprovements in FCAT scores, etc. The stupidity of such claims is manifest: as if testing kids, in and of itself, means that schools have improved , or the silly carrot and stick game with funding has any real impact. Accordingly we'll spare you citations to the endless FCAT stories - the media frenzy over the issue itself has the effect of validating (if obliquely) the whole FCAT process - except for this one: "State, U.S. at odds on schools' progress".
Uh, I Guess Someone Forgot To "Brief" Our "Jeb!" - Several weeks ago, Bush arrogantly claimed that a critic of the Everglades sellout bill that Bush was pushing needed to get "briefed" on the issue. Now we learn that it was Mr. Bush who needed the briefing: "A powerful congressional committee on Wednesday set aside $68 million for Everglades restoration but with a significant catch: The state will have to stick to an earlier pollution cleanup law, not a controversial revision, to cash the whole check. The move comes after repeated warnings from leaders in Congress about a new Florida law backed by the sugar industry, which critics contend could weaken a plan to sharply reduce tainted runoff from farms and suburbs." See "Glades money comes with a catch".
Marquez - "In the midst of another medical malpractice 'crisis' we have Republican legislators in the Florida House attending campaign fund-raisers, drawing big bucks from doctors, hospitals, insurers and other health-care related groups." See "Somebody call a doctor -- credibility is losing its pulse in the House".
Silly Us, We Thought It Was A Constitutional Requirement - "Bush hints at veto of rail cash".
Be Afraid, Very Afraid - I don't know about you, but when I hear about state (as in the state of Florida) run voter databases, I get concerned, very concerned. Today we read that "a statewide voter database . . . will replace the individual databases in each of Florida's 67 counties. It will be based on information from the state driver's license office, Social Security information and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement database." See "State to begin work on voter database". If you need reminding, check out this Harper's Magazine piece by award winning journalist Greg Palast.
Peaking Of Tort Reform, Shouldn't The Legislature Doing Something About This? See "SLAPP-suit tactics are mark of sore loser". SLAPP (or "strategic lawsuit against public participation") suits are typically filed by powerful interests against citizens who dare stand up to them. And what has the Florida Legislature done about it? You guessed it: "Florida's Legislature in the past has rejected legislation aimed at controlling or eliminating such lawsuits. The chilling effect they have on public participation is a real threat to representative democracy." 6:32 AM
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