Gov. Jeb Bush's "A-Plus" plan and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests have done much to improve education in Florida, primarily by establishing a system of accountability. "Alternative Worth a Try".
PLEASE, MAKE IT SO -On the Republican side, advisers to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris of Sarasota pointed to her statement following Graham's announcement Monday, when she said it "has certainly created a blip on my radar screen, but I cannot yet say that my decision has changed." . . . Harris had previously backed away from entering the Senate race. She gained notoriety when she served as secretary of state during the 2000 Florida recount and would garner immediate name recognition among Republican primary voters.
State GOP Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan described Harris as "awesome" during a Tallahassee news conference Tuesday but did not anticipate a late entry. "Graham decision may enlarge primary field"
THIS IS A COMPLETE FARCE - One of the state's first attempts at accountability for its three voucher programs has produced a list of private schools taking tax-financed vouchers that some are calling inaccurate and others confusing.
The list shows that 67 private schools have yet to answer a state questionnaire aimed at increasing accountability on the loosely monitored voucher programs, including former Education Secretary William Bennett's Internet-based James Madison K12 Academy.
But some schools, citing increasing government interference, decided against taking vouchers this year and didn't fill out the form. Others said they didn't know anything about the questionnaire -- despite media attention, and letters from the state warning that failure to comply would mean the loss of voucher money. "67 schools haven't answered voucher survey".
CASTOR IN LEAD?According to the poll, which has an overall margin of error of 3.7 percentage points, Castor scored a 37 percent favorable rating statewide, compared to U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings at 32 percent, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch at 24 percent and Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas at 17 percent. "Castor says she leads Senate race".
DEAN BLASTS "JEB!" -Presidential candidate Howard Dean said Tuesday that Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature should be embarrassed by their involvement in the medical treatment of Terry Schiavo.
Florida lawmakers, at the urging of Bush, hurriedly passed legislation last month forcing doctors to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube six days after her husband, Michael, ordered it removed.
"I would be embarrassed if I was the legislature and governor," Dean told several hundred members and guests of the Tallahassee Tiger Bay Club, a nonpartisan public affairs group.
Dean, a physician who received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978, went on to say that these medical decisions should be between the doctor and family.
'GLADES -The federal government's detailed rule book for the $8.4 billion Everglades restoration finally got a public unveiling Tuesday -- and a swift attack from dozens of environmental groups, who called it a surrender to farmers and developers.
Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton praised the rules, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished nearly a year behind schedule after a contentious series of public comments and meetings, including one hosted by the White House. "Environmentalists blast [Everglades]restoration rules".
OFF TOPIC: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE - Objectively incompetent Condi Rice - who, as "national security advisor presided over the biggest national security disaster in U.S. history - had the gall to blame previous administrations for 9-11:
Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, recently blamed prior administrations for not doing enough to address the growing threat of terrorism over the last 20 years. This, according to Rice, "emboldened" groups such as al-Qaida to rachet up their attacks.