Could it be that "Jeb!" is tearing the Florida GOP apart? ''The medical malpractice issue is no longer simply an uncommonly bitter political controversy. Gov. Jeb Bush is making it into a constitutional crisis by waging civil war against senators of his own party who don't want to vote as he demands. The escalation is entirely his doing, and his responsibility." See "Bush's civil war" ("Bush has been spoiled by his success. Now, through his refusal to compromise, he wages a civil war that threatens his own party's viability"). Bill Cotterell agrees: "Gov. Jeb Bush's aggressive arm-twisting in the Senate appears to have badly damaged political relations that were already severely strained long before the special session on medical malpractice." See "Republican feuding continues" ("'Even though he's in my party, he is not King Jeb the First.'").
Malpractice - "A proposal described as the best the Senate could do on capping some lawsuit damages to help doctors burdened by soaring malpractice insurance costs is a promising step in the right direction, but likely not far enough to suit Gov. Jeb Bush." See "Bush considering proposal aimed at ending malpractice logjam".
"The Senate's new position, which King described as the Senate's final concession, brings the chamber within $1.5 million of the total $2.5 million cap that Gov. Jeb Bush indicated Wednesday he would accept. But even King put the odds at 50-50 that the concession would appease the governor, who has routinely attacked the Senate for not embracing a stricter cap. . . . Reaction from the House and the governor's office was muted but unmistakable: The Senate plan does not go far enough. 'These numbers probably aren't where they need to be,' Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings told reporters Thursday. 'But both sides have have come a long way.''' See "Senate lowers malpractice limits" See also "Malpractice cap feud at impasse", "Elusive victory", "Caps bill looking for support" and "Senate lowers its offer".
The Perils Of Priviatization - "A private Islamic school in Tampa co-founded by a man accused of terrorist ties landed at the center of a political maelstrom Thursday amid reports that it received more than $300,000 in a state scholarship program for disadvantaged students." . . .
"About 100 students at the Islamic Academy received the scholarships in the 2002-03 school year through a state program that diverts potential tax dollars from corporations to pay private school tuition. Democratic senators, responding to an ongoing investigation by The Palm Beach Post into a lack of oversight of the scholarship program, urged Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday to cut off payments to the school. 'The disclosures that more than $300,000 of this money went last year to a school suspected of terrorist ties raises the frightening specter that Florida's taxpayers may be unwittingly funding extremist organizations intent on the destruction of our nation and its allies,' Senate Minority Leader Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach, and Sen. Dave Aronberg, D- West Palm Beach, wrote in a letter to Bush." See "State Money Benefits School Tied To Al-Arian".
Graham - "Millionaires should pay higher taxes to help erase the nation's deficit, stimulate the economy and lower taxes for those who make less money, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham said Thursday." See "Graham proposes 'millionaire's tax bracket'" for a discussion of that and the other elements of Graham's economic platform.
This Doesn't Make Sense - "It seems an absurd notion that a state ever would provide no education at all, until you consider what the Florida- and Washington-based Bush administrations have done. Their approach, as demonstrated by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the federal Adequate Yearly Progress report: Label and shame; then, confuse. First, Gov. Bush said Florida's public schools weren't good enough. He then abused the FCAT, using the scores to give schools grades. This year, he boasted that his tactic was worth it. Just one month ago, Gov. Bush praised statewide gains on the FCAT and crowned 1,230 schools with A's. As it turns out, however, the governor's 'A' still could mean federal academic probation, according to President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. (Those rebellious teenagers who complain to their parents that school grades don't really matter might have a point.)" "Schools get an A, and still lose".
Where's The Money? "Palm Beach County leads the state in sales of Choose Life license plates, but what should have been a $76,000 windfall for agencies that provide adoption services has turned into a nightmare for county officials who can't find anyone to distribute the money. When state lawmakers approved the controversial license tag in 1998, they mandated that the money generated could be given only to adoption centers that don't provide abortion counseling or referrals." "Choose Life funds lack distributor" 6:35 AM
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