Concerning the Hill execution, "the more relevant question remains the same one that we and others who oppose capital punishment have been posing for years: Is it right for the state to kill - in our names - in order to show that killing is wrong? The answer is no." See "Execution day".
Get Your Priorities Straight -
We Floridians hear a lot from Gov. Jeb Bush about priorities, particularly amid difficult financial circumstances that have pushed the state into questionable spending practices - the recurring use of nonrecurring revenue for recurring expenses, for example.
So it's a little hard to understand the governor's apparent insistence that, in the midst of these tough times, we should nevertheless go ahead and spend millions of the taxpayers' money to buy a new executive jet rather than refurbish the oldest of the fleet's three propeller-powered planes.
"Jet fever". At least it will make it easier for "Jeb!" to fly around to prop up his forthcoming run for preznit.
We Weren't Kidding: "Jeb!" In 2008 Is A Likelihood - Consider this little taste of the "Jeb!" in 2008 buzz:
There is much, much more. We just can't bring ourselves to link to it.
Fun With Numbers - The misleading headline on this AP story in the Miami Herald is "Bush: Minority enrollment's up under One Florida". The truth is that when you look at raw numbers, which is what "Jeb!" is emphasizes, the "number of black students at Florida's public universities has topped 38,000, up from 31,413 in 1998." But these numbers ignore Florida's population growth since 1998. The minority share of total enrollment provides a more accurate picture:
But although there are more black students at Florida's public universities, their share of the total enrollment hasn't changed much. The percentage of black students edged up to 14.3 percent from 14.2 percent last year and 14.0 percent in 1998. Statewide, 15 percent of Florida's population is black.
And "Jeb!" used another numbers trick:
Bush used 1998 figures, making the gains seem more impressive. He touted a 1.7 percent increase in minority freshmen enrollment since 1998, though the percentage increased by just 0.7 percent since 1999, the last year of racial preferences.
"Jeb!" Forgot To Have A Press Conference Touting These Numbers -
The first-ever report, released recently by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, tries to measure how states are faring in seven areas relating to child protection and foster care. Florida scored abysmally, failing in six of the seven.
...
The federal reviewers found Florida's performance woefully inadequate at virtually every point along the foster-care continuum. DCF workers do not respond to child-abuse complaints or interview at-risk children quickly enough; are too lax in monitoring parents suspected of abuse; do not have a sufficient number of safe foster homes, especially for older children; and do not address the educational and mental-health needs of children once they are brought into state care. While the report did document some areas of strength - among them the state's efforts to place children with relatives or in their communities - it reads as a sobering indictment of a system that too often fails to protect its most vulnerable children.
. . . Or These Numbers . . . -The local [telephone] companies all are announcing rate increases because the Legislature and Gov. Bush bought their line about lower bills -- someday. Telecom companies made the sale easier by donating, according to The Miami Herald's math, $3.2 million during the last election cycle. See "Can't block this call".
. . . Or For That Matter These Numbers -Florida's largest homeowners insurer on Tuesday asked state regulators for permission to raise homeowners insurance rates by a statewide average of 6.9 percent. If the rate hike is approved, it would take effect Dec. 15 for renewals and Oct. 15 for new policies. See "State Farm seeks another increase".
Do Us A Favor And Stay In Texas - "Jeb!"'s son, one of the original "little brown ones" (with a propensity for violence), has graduated from law school and managed to land his first job! And this is not to be believed: he has earned (pure merit no doubt) a prestigious position as a law clerk in Dallas, Texas with U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater, who - no coincidence here - just happens to be a Reagan appointee to the bench. We're sure family connections had nothing to do with this job.
For a detailed review of "Jeb!"'s seemingly neverending use of his family connections to benefit himself, check out the classic Mother Jones bio of our "Jeb!" from the archives (scroll down).
Troxler Fantasizes - Mr. Troxler writes:
I would stand up and cheer for Johnnie Byrd, the speaker of the Florida House, maybe even quit my job and go to work for him in his U.S. Senate campaign (hey, maybe, I said), if tomorrow he held a news conference and declared:
"You know, I have come to realize that there is just too much of a conflict between my personal desire to run for the U.S. Senate and my taxpayer-paid job as speaker of the state House of Representatives.
"It's wrong for me to use my position as speaker to acquire a list of state specialty license-tag holders, and then to send out a mailing pandering to them at taxpayer expense - right after I declared for the Senate.
"It's wrong for me to use my position as speaker to amass any sort of potential political data, such as sending out "questionnaires' to voters and requiring them to give me their e-mail addresses.
"It's wrong for me to be putting members of the Florida House, who ought to be using their independent judgment for the public good, in the awkward position of declaring whether they support my U.S. Senate race.
"And most of all, I now understand how terrible a conflict it is for me to be raising campaign money from the same Florida industries and special interests who are affected by the work of the Legislature.
"Oh, by the way, even though it's not directly related to the campaign, it also was wrong for me to pump that $3-million in computer money to my political buddies and their clients. In fact, I ought to be investigated for it.
"Anyway, I'm resigning from the House immediately so I can remove these conflicts. I hope you will consider this a sign of my good faith in the coming Senate election."