Notes For Friday, December 27, 2002

"'CHEAPER, NOT BETTER' IS NOT THE ANSWER", opines the Penasacola News Journal editorial about Bush's apparent intention to raid trust funds to make up for the looming budget shortfalls.

"Taking the money from those trust funds means making decisions about the programs they fund. And that raises questions: Do voters want to fund more classrooms by cutting back on elder care? Do they want to fund a new pre-K program by cutting back on grants to libraries and museums? Do they want to fund the bullet train by cutting indigent care or slowing road repaving? In tight times, unsexy programs like aquatic weed control look like easy targets. But a few years down the road, when fishermen and boaters can't use lakes and streams because of weed growth, we go back to the cycle of management by crisis."

In a tip of the hat to Bill McBride, the editors close the piece with the following: "to borrow a phrase from the recent elections, Floridians understand that "cheaper, not better" is no bargain." Let's hope the message is heard this time around. 9:13 AM

FAMILY PLAN. "A perfect plan: The guv could appoint 'P'". Nancy Cook Lauer. 7:53 AM

BUILDING A DOOR IN THE WALL BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE. "Governor putting 'faith-based' mentors into public schools". Sun-Sentinel article. 7:53 AM

WHICH PUNDITS? "'Jeb Bush, visionary leader or arrogant purveyor of privilege?' pundits asked after November's mandate," says the guest columnist in the Orlando Sentinel about the exploding growth in the Wekiva Basin. 7:53 AM

LEXICON OF LOVE. In "'Field hand' comment offends GOP official", we see evidence of a developing political correctness problem in the GOP. We can expect to see more of this - as Blacks accept the invitation to join the "party of Lincoln", and then rocket up into party leadership (so the Repubs can display Black faces at party events), the old line Repubs are going to react and screw up. This is quite understandable - long time GOP party workers no doubt resent newcomers being propped up for PR purposes while they continue to slog away in the trenches. 7:53 AM

DYER TO RUN FOR MAYOR OF ORLANDO. Politics just got interesting again in central Florida. Read "Mayor's job lures a former senator".

Dyer versus Sublette, a very prominent Dem versus a has been, but still young, Repub. But the party structure isn't behind Sublette, they like former Dem and Cuban American Tico Perez. The former Democratic - now Republican - Mayor Bill Frederick (who supported McBride), supports someone else.

7:53 AM

Notes For Thursday, December 26, 2002

DYER TO RUN FOR ORLANDO MAYOR. One of the worst kept secrets in town - that Buddy Dyer is running for Orlando mayor - hit the Orlando media this week and statewide media today (via an AP wire story). Dyer will run, expect an announcement Monday. Dyer will be the prohibitive favorite the moment he announces, much to the chagrin of the repubs and conservative dems who have run this city for years.

Five others are already in the race: advertising executive Pete Barr Sr., perennial candidate Alex Lamour, attorney Tico Perez, developer Wayne Rich, and former state lawmaker Bill Sublette.Orange County Commissioner Homer Hartage has expressed an interest in running.

If County Hartage is out of the race (see note below), Dyer might be able to win without a runoff. More analysis of this race as it develops. 7:06 AM

POTENTIAL LAWSUIT MAY DELAY MAYORAL ELECTION. An interesting side issue in the Orlando mayoral election is a possible lawsuit by Orange County Commissioner, Homer Hartage. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that, because "State law requires a public official to quit at least 10 days before the opening of the qualification period for another office . . . [and the Orlando] City Council set this election schedule only five days before qualifying begins, Hartage would have needed to resign by Dec. 17." Hartage may file suit ti challenge this quirk in the law, and, in the process, delay the election. 7:06 AM

MORE JOHN ELLIS BUSH HIPOCRISY ON CUBA. John Ellis Bush is "readying Cuban trade plan", just in case. 7:06 AM

JIM KING SHOWS CLASS. More on Jim King's power sharing with dems, from a Broward perspective. The democrats would do well to remember this when - or if - they return to power. 7:06 AM

Notes For Wednesday, December 25, 2002

Notes For Tuesday, December 24, 2002

Harris, who incredibly said she was running for the House to "serve" George Bush (The Palm Beach Post, October 3, 2001), would be a dream candidate, at least for political junkies. We urge all readers to buy up as many copies as possible of Harris' book "Center of the Storm"; this may give Harris the impression that she is some sort of political powerhouse in the state, and impel her to run. The thought of a statewide race involving Harris is simply too fun to imagine. 7:07 AM

GRAHAM FOR PREZ? "[I]ncreasingly concerned about the way the war of terror is being conducted and the lack of ideas of what to do with our economy," Florida Senator Bob Graham is considering a run for president. Graham called the U.S. '''scandalously ill-prepared' for another terrorist attack", according to the Miami Herald's lengthy discussion of the potential candidacy.

In a separate article, the Herald observes that the open Senate seat created by a Graham candidacy "would create a succession frenzy". Dems who might get in the race include U.S. Reps. Peter Deutsch of Broward, Alcee Hastings of Miramar, Robert Wexler of Palm Beach County and Jim Davis of Tampa, and possibly former Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson, who is also a former congressman; other Dems in the picture are former state Sen. Darryl Jones, state Senate Minority Leader Ron Klein, and former state Sen. Buddy Dyer. Repubs considering the race are Clinton-hater former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, U.S. Reps. Mark Foley of Lake Worth, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, Cliff Stearns of Ocala, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher, Attorney General-elect Charlie Crist, and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez.

In addition to the Herald story, there are separate pieces in the St Pete Times, Palm Beach Post and the Tampa Trib, as well as an AP Wire Story. 7:07 AM

PASCO COUNTY DEMS TURN COAT. "Two top Pasco County Democrats have defected to the Republican Party. Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning and Pasco County Commissioner Steve Simon changed their voter registrations on Friday." 6:45 AM

READ THIS DAYTONA BEACH NEWS JOURNAL EDITORIAL. "For a lucky few: Is there no end to the president's compassion?" 6:39 AM

"CHOOSE LITIGATION". "A Florida appellate court has given new hope to opponents of the state's 'Choose Life' license plate, reviving their lawsuit challenging the controversial tag.". Article. 6:39 AM

BUSH ANNOUNCES GOP SERVICE AWARDS: Gov Bush doles out the spoils of political war, this time naming 14 people to the new governing body for Florida's public universities. 6:39 AM

A PLUS PLAN BONUS SQUABBLES. The Palm Beach Post editorializes on yet more problems with Bush's A+ plan. 6:39 AM

DYCKMAN COLUMN: LeRoy Collins, Trent Lott: a study in contrasts 6:38 AM

"WHAT BUDGET CRUNCH?" The Miami Herald editorial board savages the Florida Legislature for"ill-advised decision-making by lawmakers to pamper themselves even as they are preparing to ask cash-strapped residents to shoulder possible service reductions." 6:04 AM

ORLANDO MAYORAL ELECTION ON FEBRUARY 4. The vacancy created by Hood being appointed Secretary of State will be filled by a special election on Feb. 4, 2003. All are not happy with the date, or the fact that Hood will remain in office instead of getting out of dodge. 5:49 AM

Notes For Monday, December 23, 2002

WE'RE SURE THIS LEGISLATIVE ISSUE WILL BE RIGHT UP THERE WITH TORT REFORM. It's embarassing, but, as the Gainesville Sun reports, "our state has one of the highest rates of people without health insurance (about 18 percent, according to a recent Census Bureau report). For many folks who lack coverage, this means they simply cannot afford to visit a doctor or fill a prescription. They may just try to live with their health problems and pray they get better, but too often missed work days and the distraction of untreated pain makes it hard to keep a job." 8:16 AM

MONEY FOR NOTHING. "What do special interests want most often when they make big campaign contributions to a member of Congress? Nothing. Literally, nothing." And Congressman Bilrakis is very good at doing nothing. Read. 8:13 AM

PRIVATE SECTOR VALUES - PAY OUTRAGEOUS SUMS TO THOSE AT THE TOP. In an excellent editorial, the Palm Beach Post observes the "Florida university presidents' pay-raise stampede is the latest irresponsible development in the two years since the Legislature imposed a system in which the governor appoints everything from the board of education to every trustee at every university . . . Meanwhile, faculties are getting minuscule raises, and students are getting record tuition increases. On Nov. 5, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment to reinstitute a statewide governing board, the absence of which opened up the system for such abuses. Never in Florida have so many public employees received so much for doing so little." This columnist has a different take on the pay raise dispute, and so does this one. In the midst of the controversy, FSU says no to a pay increase. 7:59 AM

ENOUGH ALREADY ABOUT DCF . . . THE ELECTION IS OVER. A Palm Beach Post editorial today describes Gov Bush's papering over of DCF's problems as merely a re-election ploy. His programs and panels were designed for "deflecting criticism of Gov. Bush until after the election", and comprised of "handpicked insiders whose mild report said DCF failed to enforce its own protective policies.". 7:54 AM

HE'S JUST KIDDING, RIGHT . . . ? Bill Cotterell describes Gov Bush's methodology for determining wage increases for State employees thusly: "Bush and the Republican Legislature prefer to use whatever money is available to give tax breaks to campaign contributors first, eliminate as many jobs as possible second, and then apportion available funds on a formula involving the number of letters in the name of each employee's political party." Read.
7:48 AM

PRIVATIZATION CHRONICLES (cont.) "The state Board of Education is investigating a complaint against a private academy serving children with disabilities after an assistant principal and special education teacher recently quit to protest the way the school managed its state funds." Read the Sun Sentinel's "Miami-based academy investigated for possible mismanagement of state funds" here. 7:45 AM

Notes For Sunday, December 22, 2002

GOV. BUSH A NATIONAL PLAYER. Wallsten continues to push John Ellis Bush as some kind of national figure in "When Jeb speaks, the media listens." In most cases, when Bush speaks, the media bows..
8:09 AM

SUNDAY SURVEY. The Sunday papers are abuzz with Orlando Mayor Hood's appointment to Secretary of State:

- "Orlando mayor chosen as secretary of state". As for Hood, she is a ceaseless self-promoter and relative lightweight.

- The Miami Herald notes that Hood's "appointment begins what could be a wave of new hires by the governor, with the top jobs still open at at corrections, transportation, the lottery, business and professional regulation and management services." 8:05 AM

Notes For Saturday, December 21, 2002

TRIAL LAWYERS TO TAKE THEIR MEDICINE. "People who sue physicians and hospitals for malpractice would be limited in the amount of money they could recover under a preliminary proposal recommended Friday by a panel appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush" No surprise here; the panel was a set up from day one: the greedy trial lawyers were trumped by the greedy doctors and the, greediest of all, insurance industry. 9:11 AM

BUSH TO LOOT STATE TRUST FUNDS? Bush, having squandered the surplus left to him by Lawton Chiles, and compounded the fiscal problem by reducing the States's intangible tax (to the benefit of traditional GOP contributors), now looks to eliminate dedicated funds "that go to things like cleaning up beaches after an oil spill and training homemakers for work outside the home". It is really quite brilliant: Bush will limp along for four more years, sacking the State like a Visigoth (he is after all Texas shorewash), and leave office without raising taxes. To be sure, by 2006 when Bush leaves office, State services will have been reduced to a minimum and/or contracted out to GOP friends and contributors, but Bush will have given the appearance of having "held the line" on taxes. That will give Bush something to build on in 2007 and 2008 as he works to succeed his brother to the White House in 2008. 9:04 AM

Notes For Friday, December 20, 2002

LIKE BROTHER, LIKE BROTHER - GOV BUSH CONSIDERING FAITH BASED OFFICE. Copying the stalled federal initiative, Gov Bush "may create an office at the highest level of state government to coordinate contracts with religious organizations." Nancy Cook Lauer's Knight Ridder Newspapers piece notes that "Bush's transition team are recommending the faith-based office be located within the Governor's Office. Bush said he's considering that but hasn't made up his mind."

9:30 AM

BUSH TO USE RELIGIOUS GROUPS TO HELP FLORIDIANS' MARRIAGES. AP reports that Gov Bush "plans to enlist religious organizations to help with his goal of creating stronger marriages." 9:24 AM

Notes For Thursday, December 19, 2002

BYRD OUT OF CONTROL. To make sure every Floridian understands his devotion to smaller government, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd has hired eight media specialists to get the word out. "Byrd is certainly making a name for himself (don't forget his www.johnniebyrd.com Web site), which one supposes is the point. But it doesn't exactly square with his image as the maverick budget-cutter who pledges to 'seek and destroy government waste' and 'leave the money in the pockets of hard-working Floridians.'" [St Pete Times editorial.] 6:19 AM

EVEN IN PALM BEACH. Palm Beach "Democratic Party struggling financially". 6:13 AM

BUSH BRAGS. "As Bush brags, child welfare continues to suffer", by Howard Goodman. 6:09 AM

Notes For Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Is Gov Bush delivering a message on George's behalf, or is he simply promoting himself. Kinda ironic to hear the man who ordered a subordinate, when confronted with a sit in by two Black legislators protesting his dumping of affirmative action in the Lt. Gov's office, to "throw their asses out". 5:59 PM

FLORIDA IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA (AGAIN). MORE MISSING KIDS On December 3, an AP wire story reported Gov "Bush said 'a majority of the [missing 393] children were found' but he didn't give specific numbers. Officials with the FDLE and DCF would not discuss specifics until their report is completed later this month." As we noted at the time, this statement by Bush begged the obvious question - "Does that mean that a minority of the 393 missing kids - say 185 remain 'lost'?" Well, as reported today throughout Florida, and as far away as LA and DC, somewhere between 88 and 102, or is it 103, kids remain lost.

Incredibly, John Ellis "Bush and his new child-welfare agency chief used a news conference Tuesday to tout success in tracking down 75 percent of nearly 400 children reported missing from state care as of mid-August." Aside from failing to account for 25 percent of the missing kids (and claiming success!), the problem is getting worse: "hundreds more have gone missing from state care since the task force was created in August as a response to the disappearance of Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old Miami-Dade girl in state custody. Bush, though, declared the effort a success. . . ." Source.

Bush's "solution" will no doubt be more of the same - privatization. 6:30 AM

Notes For Tuesday, December 17, 2002

LUCY MORGAN. Florida's elected "Democrats retreat into secrecy, obscurity". 6:48 AM

HOOD LIKELY TO BE SECRETARY OF STATE. First, Mel Martinez to HUD Secretary, now Glenda Hood to Florida's Secretay of State - or so the rumour goes. Both Martinez and Hood will shortly be running for statewide office. ["Hood appears likely to land Cabinet post"] 6:43 AM

IMPENDING DISASTER. "Estimates put the need at 25,000 new teachers by next fall alone - 16,000 to handle student growth and another 9,000 to tackle class-size reduction. Demographics foretell a long-range hiring need: There are already 154,000 teachers and personnel for the state's 2.45 million students. But nearly one-third of the state's teaching force is between the ages of 50-to-59 and nearly 60 percent is older than 40." [AP Wire] 6:32 AM

OFF TO A FINE START. The title, "State's higher education chancellor leaving before he starts", says it all. 6:28 AM

LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM - THE MAN CAN WRITE. The Christopher Hitchens piece "Three Stooges" must be read. 6:24 AM

Notes For Monday, December 16, 2002

GORE SHOCKER - THE IMPLICATIONS FOR FLORIDA: Gore's decision not to run (see AP WIre story), leaves the following cast of characters fighting for the nomination:

- "Lieberman, who is likely to decide in coming days to seek the White House.

- Gephardt, who also ran in 1988, is 'very, very likely' to run, with the decision by Gore having no effect, associates say.

- Daschle is actively considering a presidential run, but has set no deadline for a decision.

- Kerry has taken initial steps to form an exploratory committee, a preliminary to a formal candidacy.

- Edwards is expected to announce his decision on candidacy after the Christmas holidays, and associates expect him to run.

- Dean is already a declared candidate and has spent much time in early states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina."

Leiberman will not be an automatic for Florida as some might expect - his conservative politics were overlooked when he was the VP on the ticket and his religioin was a novelty. 6:47 AM

WALLSTEN ON BYRD: The new "House speaker is less of a mystery, more of a master". Column in Sunday's herald. 6:43 AM

BUT I SAID IT DURING AN ELECTION, SO IT DIDN'T COUNT: During the election, John Ellis was happy to take credit for federal govrnment policy that made him look good (e.g., the everglades thing), and that included the bluster about haitian immigrants. Well, now that the election is over, things have changed.

"Advocates for more than 200 Haitian refugees taken into custody in October had expected that immigration rules keeping them in indefinite detention would be eased after President Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, said they should be treated no differently than any other asylum seekers, except Cubans. But since then, the Bush administration has instead tightened the immigration rules and broadened their scope, making it virtually impossible for the Haitians to be released soon."

["Hope for Speedy Release of Haitian Refugees Fades". IN THE nEW yORK tIMES.] 6:37 AM

Notes For Sunday, December 15, 2002

- The Tallahassee Democrat does have an extensive piece on Speaker Byrd's leadership team. The editorial title says it all: "Right off the bat: reason to be alarmed".

- The Gainesville Sun shines a little light on one of the most divisive forces in Florida, the James Madison Institute.

- The Sun Sentinel caps a week long series about a couple's experience with DCF in an adoption with an editorial noting that "the state's adoption program continues to be plagued by DCF's larger problems of high staff turnover, low morale and poor record-keeping, which have so discouraged many prospective adoptive parents that they have quit the process in frustration."
9:16 AM

SUNDAY'S LEAD STORY: DOCKS VS. MANATEES - GUESS WHO WINS? This one does not warrant a link. 8:45 AM

NOT AT FLORIDA THEATRES TODAY, NOW OR EVER: "Six Fairy Tales About Growth in Florida". Read about a film you likely will never see. 8:43 AM

TRIAL LAWYERS VS. GOV BUSH: With the class size amendment and the budget crisis, it seems unlikely that legislation imposing caps on med mal cases will dominate the legislature in the upcoming session. However, with the Governor's Select Task Force on Healthcare Professional Liability Insurance scheduled to issue its report on January 31, 2002, and the creation of Speaker Byrd's Medical Liability Insurance Workgroup, it is possible we may see a full court press on this issue similar to Service First (the dismantling of civil service protections, such as they were, for state employees). State employee unions - read "AFSCME" - were Bush's target with Service First; now it may be the Trial Lawyers' turn.

[For an unbalanced review of the cap issue on the merits, there is an editorial in the Tampa Tribune: "The Complicated History Of Medical Malpractice Insurance".] 8:35 AM

Notes For Saturday, December 14, 2002

CIRCLE THE DATE FEB 21, 2003 ON YOUR CALENDAR: Because on that date, the Florida Elections Commission - neutral body that it is - will decide in a closed door meeting whether the mailer sent out by the Florida GOP featuring John Ellis Bush in front of a giant AARP banner violated state election law. The AARP does not endorse candidates, and the law prohibits the use of an endorsement from an organization without written approval from the organization.

["Bush campaign mailer investigated"] 8:47 AM

IT WAS NOTHING BUT A CAMPAIGN TOOL: Gov. Bush launched "Operation SAFEKids" three months before the election, saying the program would bring home many of the missing DCF children. The media was there to help him declare victory ofver the DCF mess - for which Bush avoided receiving any of the blame. Just after the election, the program ended. Now, the Palm Beach Post reports "The statewide task force charged with finding Florida's foster kids barely made a dent in the number of missing children, according to numbers released Friday by the Department of Children and Families." 8:37 AM

Notes For Friday, December 13, 2002

["Backward choice in Hawkes". St Pete Times editorial.] 8:31 AM

FLORIDA MEDIA SLOW WAKE UP TO AUDIT SCANDAL: On Thursday, several Florida newspapers finally caught up with the rest of the nation, publishing an AP Wire Story about John Ellis Bush's scheme (with Chief Justice Rehnquist's daughter, no less) to obtain a delay in a federal audit of Florida's pension plan to avoid embarassment in the election.

The circumstances of the first request for a delay make the story make it particularly juicy: the governor's chief of staff, Kathleen Shanahan, called to request a delay on April 15, the day the audit was supposed to have started. "A top aide to Rehnquist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Shanahan described her request as urgent and asked Health and Human Services officials to get the message to Rehnquist, who was at a department reception." What was the urgency?

The gist of the newest AP story is that Bush's attempt to sidestep the issue - claiming the delay was no big deal because the audit would not have been finished before the election anyway - is hogwash. ("A draft audit of Florida's pension fund would have been completed before Gov. Jeb Bush's re-election if federal investigators hadn't agreed to delays sought by his office, according to government documents provided Thursday to congressional investigators.").

The other excuses proffered by Gov Bush and Rehnquist have already been debunked. The inital claim that audits are routinely delayed is untrue. In the original AP story, the nation's most senior inspector general, OPM's Patrick McFarland, is quoted as saying: "I can't recall being involved in any decision when we put one off or postponed one for any reason", said Patrick McFarland, inspector general for the Office of Personnel Management. McFarland is the government's longest serving inspector general at 12 years."

Bush's other explanation, that the delay was necessary because of a change in pension fund personnel, is baseless as well. A previous AP story reported that neither the outgoing (Herndon) nor the incoming (Stipanovich) pension fund chiefs were consulted about the need for a delay, and saw no need for a delay. "Tom Herndon, the pension manager who retired in June, said he saw no need for a postponement. His successor, Coleman Stipanovich, was hardly new to the pension fund; he was Herndon's top deputy. Stipanovich said that while he believed it would be wise to have him in office before the audit began, he never requested a postponement from the governor." Indeed, Rehnquist's subordinates told her that the reason for the delay offered by Bush was insufficient - "Rehnquist [was told] that Florida's justification for seeking the postponement -- waiting for a new director -- made no sense because the same records would be audited no matter who was in charge" - yet Rehnquist granted not one, but several postponements.

The AP story was picked up the St Pete Times, the Lakeland Ledger and the Gainesville Sun.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution and the NY Times recently covered the story as well. 6:31 AM

Notes For Thursday, December 12, 2002

The Washongton Post reports today that "[t]he General Accounting Office has expanded its investigation of Health and Human Services Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, the daughter of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, beyond its initial focus on widespread personnel changes in her office. According to congressional investigators, the GAO is now also looking into allegations involving the delay in an audit of a Florida pension fund that could have benefited Gov. Jeb Bush (R) . . . June Gibbs Brown, Rehnquist's predecessor at HHS who served as IG at four federal agencies, said in an interview that requests to delay an audit are unusual and rarely reach the head of the IG office.
. . .

[The] almost six-month delay earlier this year in beginning an audit of a Florida state government pension fund [occurred] at a time that Gov. Bush, President Bush's brother, was facing a tough reelection battle. The audit, scheduled to begin in April, did not start until September, ensuring that any potentially embarrassing results would not be known until well after the Nov. 5 election in which Bush eventually won a second term. St. John said the audit was delayed at least three times at the request of Florida officials. He said that at least the first request, seeking a delay because the pension fund was about to get a new director, came from Gov . Bush's office and was referred to Rehnquist.

But St. John said that the delays were not linked to Florida politics, and that the outcome of the audit would not have been known until after the election even if the audit had started in April. A congressional investigator disputed that assertion, saying that interviews with people in Florida indicated that the audit would have been done before Nov. 5.

Late yesterday, Rehnquist released internal documents on the audit decision and a letter to Grassley in which she said 'my decision to delay the audit was based on the merits and not motivated by political reasons.' According to an internal e-mail message that Rehnquist released, before the audit was delayed, OIG officials expected a draft report on the audit by Sept. 30, more than a month before the election. Rehnquist confirmed yesterday that the delay request came from Kathleen Shanahan, Jeb Bush's chief of staff. Rehnquist said her staff advised her that it was a 'reasonable request.'"

["GAO Widens Inquiry of Rehnquist". Article in the Washington Post.] 6:58 AM

Notes For Tuesday, December 10, 2002

According to the Orlando Sentinel, "researchers from the Local 362 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union submitted a report to the county suggesting Xentury's parent company may have links to banks that finance terrorists. The union claimed it found a connection between Xentury's parent company, Saudi Arabia-based Xenel International, and an overseas bank the U.S. Department of State thinks was used to finance al-Qaeda. The CEO of Xenel is Abdullah Alireza. Alireza sits on the nine-member board of supervisors of an Islamic bank called Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust. A subsidiary, Faisal Bank Sudan is among the co-founders of a third bank, Al Shamal Islamic Bank, according to published reports. State Department records showed Al Shamal Islamic Bank has been used to finance global terror."

And how does John Ellis Bush fit in to all this. Dismissing the connection to terrorism as mere "politics", on Nov. 25, the governor's chief of staff, Kathleen Shanahan, asked County Commission Chairman Paul Owen to base the convention center decision on business factors. "Owen said Shanahan mentioned the importance of Saudi Arabia's relationship with the United States, and the role its air bases might play in a war with Iraq", according to the paper.

Inasmuch as the County attorney was unable to disprove the terror connection, does John Ellis Bush know something that we don't know, and that the State Department doesn't know? And, how is it that a company with alleged ties to terrorism manages to pull strings and have the Governor's office intervene on its behalf?

John Ellis Bush's plea failed. Responding to the public outcry, the Sentinel reports that "Osceola County commissioners voted Monday night to kill talks on a $100 million convention center with [the] Orlando firm because of its possible ties to Osama bin Laden."

[Orlando Sentinel article, "Osceola kills talks with firm".]
9:02 AM

Notes For Wednesday, December 11, 2002

ONLY THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST - "HOUSE INSIDER" APPOINTED TO FIRST DCA: "Former state Rep. Paul Hawkes was appointed Tuesday by Gov. Jeb Bush to the 1st District Court of Appeal. Except for a brief stint in the governor's Office of Policy and Budget two years ago, Hawkes, 45, has been a policy adviser to the House of Representatives since Republicans took control in 1996." [Article.] 7:26 AM

I WONDER IF HE ALSO PROMOTED HIS NATIONAL POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS? "At a meeting with members of financial institutions in New York City, Bush said he had the opportunity to promote Florida as an attractive destination for venture capital."

["Bush hypes Florida as venture capital destination" article in The Business Journal.] 6:52 AM

WALLSTEN - BUSH "THE COUNTRY'S MOST POWERFUL GOVERNOR AND POTENTIAL FUTURE PRESIDENT". Peter Wallsten writes that "Gov. Jeb Bush's landslide re-election and renewed talk of a family dynasty have secured his stature as the country's most powerful governor and a potential future president." If you can get past this bombast, the rest of Wallsten's lengthy syndicated piece about Bush's lieutenants leaving (presumably to make big bucks lobbying) is worth a read.

["Jeb Bush's regime showing cracks", Knight Ridder Newspapers] 6:14 AM

Notes For Monday, December 09, 2002

DO YOU THINK DADDY WILL RECUSE HIMSELF? Janet Rehnquist, the inspector general at the federal Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, apparently has a penchant for shredding documents. This Bush family confidant, who no doubt believes people ought to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, is the subject of a short piece in Time magazine. The article mentions that she is "under fire for delaying an audit of a Florida pension fund at the request of a top aide to Governor Jeb Bush."

["A Rehnquist Under Scrutiny". Article in Time.] 7:09 AM

Notes For Sunday, December 08, 2002

THE TERRORISM THING. "The Bush Family’s Terror Connections", a blog entry over at Blog Soup (one of our recommended blogs), is well worth a read. 6:54 PM

WHY BUSH WON: An article in the Daytona Beach News Journal today reports that "Bush didn't win because of minority turnout. He won because he increased his share of white voters . . . About 50-59 percent of registered white voters cast ballots statewide this fall, 15-20 percentage points above the turnout for registered black or Hispanic voters." And, why don't minorities turn out? Because they are crammed into majority-minority districts where the only competetive races are in the Dem primaries.

This is nothing new, but rather the function of what Miami Herald writer Tyler Bridges referred to last week as the "unholy alliance" between Black Dems and Repubs in the redistricting process - the end result: a few super-safe Black seats and the majority of seats leaning or strongly Republican.

The News Journal's solution? It is "supporting an initiative to create an independent 17-member commission to draw Florida House, Senate and congressional districts. This plan was initiated by the Constitution Revision Commission in 1998, and it almost went on the ballot -- but was destroyed by a crude political maneuver prompted by legislative leaders. It is now a proposed constitutional amendment supported by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause. Under the plan, legislators would appoint 16 members to a commission, eight from each party. The new commission would then select a 17th member. The rules would help reduce political interference: None of the members could be elected officials. Nor could they be lobbyists or party officers. Districts would have to be approved by three-fifths vote. And after it completes its job, the commission is dissolved."

["Whose vote counts?" Article in the Daytona Beach News Journal.]
8:11 AM

Notes For Saturday, December 07, 2002

- Bush lobbied for a terrorist;
- Bush's Enron connection (State investment in Enron as it tanked/Enron exec contributions to Bush's campaign);
- Gambling was one of Bush's 'devious' plans" to upend the class size amendment;;
- Bush improperly asked the feds to delay auditing Florida's Retirement System until after the election";
- Bush misstated the state of the Florida economy, which is now in crisis
- Bush claims he did not know the plane he had been using in the campaign was owned by a crook"; and
- Bush failed to report airplane flights properly as in kind contribution (the matter is presumably before the FEC).

We don't expect to see much coverage of these issues tomorrow, if ever.

To help fill in the gap, we are working on developing separate pages on this website for each of these issues - otherwise the stories will evanesce into the ether. Pleae e-mail us if you have any ideas or suggestions in this regard. 8:52 AM