Feeney Fights "Discrimin[ation]" - In "Feeney: Tax break could be $1 billion", we read that "Top Republicans called for a federal tax-code rewrite Thursday that could funnel as much as $1 billion in sales-tax deductions into Floridians' pockets. The plan is to allow Florida residents to write off sales-tax expenditures on their federal tax returns. Such deductions are allowed for state income taxes -- but they don't exist for the eight states that don't levy income taxes and have sales taxes only."
"'Right now, it's a huge discriminatory issue,' U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, said at a news conference at Orlando International Airport, where he was joined by state House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City. 'California and New York get to deduct billions of dollars of taxes that then fund their state governments.'"
Hit The Road - "Hundreds of older teens have lost their state aid, some even the roof over their heads, under a new state law that pushes teens out of foster care at age 18. The "Road to Independence" Act - dubbed the "Road to Homelessness" law by child advocates - is, in key respects, as short-sighted as it is heartless." See "Foster teens' lonely road".
Death Penalty - "If Florida insists on keeping the death penalty, it needs to make sure that defendants get adequate lawyers" See "Stacking the deck" [We missed this on Wednesday].
Florida Embarasses Itself Compared To Most Other States When It Comes To Arts Funding - "In the Sunshine State, meanwhile, the arts are facing stormy weather. On Mon., June 23, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush approved a budget that virtually decapitates arts funding -- the $5.9 million appropriation is nearly 80% lower than the $28 million appropriated last year, and nearly 85% lower than state arts groups themselves requested. The cuts affect the two principal avenues by which Florida supports the arts: the Cultural Facilities grant program, which supports capital spending, and the Corporations Trust Fund, which helps organizations with operating costs."
"A breakdown of cuts, published in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, really brings home just how stunning the situation is. For example, Seaside Music Theater, which requested a $100,000 grant, will receive $11,599. And all of Miami-Dade County, which aimed for $7.03 million in support, will squeak by with $1.05 million." See "State Arts Funding Under Siege".
Graham - W's juvenile "bring 'em on" line has been rightly criticized by, among others, Bob Graham. "Bob Graham, criticized Bush's remark during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. The Florida senator said the phrase 'may be appropriate for a referee in a Las Vegas boxing match, but not for the man we trust to lead our men and women who are in harm's way.'"
Since W's remark, one U.S. soldier has been killed and 28 wounded in Iraq. ("Mortar rounds slammed into a U.S. base north of Baghdad, wounding 18 American troops, the U.S. military said today. In a separate incident, a U.S. soldier was shot and killed while guarding the national museum in the capital. . . . just one day after 10 other American soldiers were injured in three separate attacks that demonstrated the increasing sophistication and brazenness of guerrilla-style strikes in Iraq, according to military officials." Source).