Chock up another one for "Jeb!" and the Florida GOP:
Florida was one of only five states to experience both a decrease in household income and an increase in families in poverty from 2001 to 2002, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday. . . .The state's income declined at almost twice the national rate. "State has more poor, less income".
Florida saw a significant increase in its poverty rate and a decrease in median income, both of which may be due to the state's dependence on tourism, a University of Florida economist said Friday.
In new figures released Friday by the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida's poverty rate increased to 12.1 percent over a three-year period ending in 2002, an increase of 0.8 percent since 2001. At the same time, the state's three-year average median income for 2000-2002 decreased by 3.3 percent to $38,533. "Florida reports a significant increase in poverty".
How convenient that this bit of news was released on a Friday for publication on Saturday, the day when people pay the least attention to the news.
OUR "JEB!" LOVES TO GO NATIONAL -Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will campaign Oct. 8 in Mississippi for Republican gubernatorial nominee Haley Barbour. "Gov. Bush to appear at Mississippi candidate's fish fry". Mississippi seems like a good fit for "Jeb!" Too bad he didn't think to satke his career there instead of washing up on the shores of Florida.
It's important to keep in mind that Gov. Jeb Bush isn't from around here. His roots in Florida run about as deep as the thin layer of topsoil that covers the coral-incrusted hardpan of the southern tip of the state.
Bush relocated to Miami from Texas in 1980. He played developer for a time - scraping away the topsoil and blasting through the coral - while he assembled the necessary political infrastructure from which to launch the true family business: dynasty-building.
And Florida, a transient state, was the perfect launching pad in that regard. Roots don't matter all that much in a state where most voters come from somewhere else. "The interloper".
"REPUBLICAN SHENANIGANS" -Republican shenanigans that could open Florida's beaches, as well as Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to oil drilling sparked angry letters and comments last week not just from Democrats but from Republicans as the Senate began debate of a national energy bill. "No drilling in the gulf".
GRAHAM PINS HOPES ON FOURTH OR FIFTH PLACE SHOWING IN IOWA -Sen. Bob Graham has settled on a shoot-the-moon strategy for his struggling presidential campaign: Pour all he's got into Iowa and hope for the best. The best, his campaign strategists say, is finishing as high as fourth in the state's Jan. 19 caucuses -- enough, they say, to let the political world know that Graham is a factor. "Graham strategy pins all hopes on Iowa".
OOPS -The Duval County elections supervisor testified Friday that he intends to sue the manufacturer of the county's voting system because ballot machines accessible to blind voters don't have the necessary certification to be used. "Election chief to sue over ballot system".
GOP PAYS LIP SERVICE TO PATRIOTISM, ALL THE WHILE SCREWING DISABLED VETS -As the 2004 election year approaches, Democrats are making a strong bid for the support of a traditional GOP constituency: disabled military veterans. Democrats in Congress seized an opportunity to appeal to veterans recently after the Bush administration indicated it does not support a proposed improvement in disability benefits. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has told members of Congress that he will ask President Bush to veto the measure if Congress passes it. . . . Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., meanwhile, has drawn urgency to the issue by collecting signatures on a so-called "discharge petition" that would bring it to a prompt vote in the House. If it were to pass in the House, the measure would likely become part of the final version of the defense bill sent to Bush. . . . House Republican leadership, bowing to the administration's wishes, has instructed GOP members not to sign the discharge petition. . . . Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, was among the signers of the discharge petition; Republican Reps. Bilirakis, Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville and C.W. Bill Young of Largo were not. . . . Republicans are being restrained "under penalty of death," meaning they will lose their party's support in the next election if they disobey. "Disabled vet vote in play for 2004".
THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD -Florida Education Commissioner Jim Horne, heeding state senators' concerns that his staff violated the law by allowing kindergarteners and some first-graders to enroll in an experimental ''virtual school'' program at the state's expense, said Friday that he would look for alternative funding for the students' tuition. "Alternate tuition source to be sought".
Horne said Friday he would not force kindergartners and first-graders who were illegally allowed to enroll in state-financed Internet-based "virtual schools" to withdraw -- a decision that will cost taxpayers $565,000.
Horne's action appeared to contradict advice from his department's top lawyer, Daniel Woodring, who wrote Horne a letter Thursday recommending that the department tell two for-profit schools that the state wouldn't use money allocated by the legislature for the virtual-school project to pay for students who were not enrolled in a public school last year. "Virtual-voucher mix-up may cost $565,000".