Weekend Zen

All thoughts turn today towards the 25th and final launch of Endeavour.

We--along with visitors to Brevard, President Obama and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (who made the trip to see off husband space shuttle Commander Mark Kelly)--wish the crew safe journey.

Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days.

Bruce Springsteen. Glory Days.

Short Shorts: Graham, Influence and Political Myth

Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham discusses the sad state of the state here.

A snippet.

(...)

As the Legislature enters its second half, there has emerged a disturbing pattern of ignoring many of Florida's core values. Over the last half-century these values have given Florida government — whether in Republican or Democratic hands — a stability and predictability that is now threatened.

What are some of those at-risk values?

Florida is a treasure which we have the privilege of enjoying with the responsibility to preserve and enhance that treasure for future generations.

For most of Florida's history, up until the mid 1960s, our state was treated like a commodity. If you didn't like it you changed it: land into water; water into land. The business of the state was business, and our enormous natural resources were just another input. The quality and safety of our coasts, fresh waters, open lands and the Everglades were regularly and enthusiastically sacrificed on the altar of growth.

Riding over the horizon were two merging armies. Emerging Democratic leaders, such as Reubin Askew of Pensacola and Lawton Chiles of Lakeland, who were in the vanguard of the recently reapportioned Legislature, joined forces with young Republicans like Nathaniel Reed of Hobe Sound and Warren Henderson of Sarasota, who were appalled at the change they had seen in their newly adopted state.

These armies had a common mission: to reverse the damage commoditization had done to Florida and replace it with a culture of conservation and intergenerational responsibility.

***

TIME released the magazine's annual Top Ten List of Influential People. Who didn't make the cut (or who should have been cut)? Read it here.

***

CNN lists the eleven biggest political myths many still believe, which will include the disproven Obama birth certificate conspiracy for years to come. Skim the list here.

***

Talk to Me.

Aloha Birthers

The White House release of the President's long form birth certificate has actually given birth to a new sort of ridiculousness.

--The Donald Trump "I'm the Man" credit over the release of record.

--The Sean Hannity comical super speed backpedal away from birther conspiratorists in order (and I'll paraphrase this afternoon's radio broadcast) to focus on the President's record.

--The RNC Chair Reince Priebus flip-flop on the Obama citizenship issue. Either "...President Obama’s birth certificate is “missing” and ... Mr. Obama needs to prove he was born in the United States..." or as Priebus stated upon release of the certificate "...Trump and the candidates can talk about it all they want, but my position is that the president was born in the United States...".

--The Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann back flip away from the fringe with her demure acceptance of the record of birth during a recent ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos.

--The "just try and pry my beliefs away" crowd who continues to hang on to disproven claims, including one favorite that the President has spent $2 million in legal fees either A. defending lawsuits about the birth certificate or B. blocking access to the birth certificate. Check out the truth here and other dissected fringe favorites here.

--Even the conspiratorist one grass skirt short of a hula has backed down.

But hold that thought.

Orly Taitz is now questioning the President's social security number.

Aloha Birthers.

And on to the next sideshow.

Read It and Weep, GOP

Haley Barbour's out. Ron Paul's in.

But here in Florida and nationwide, the GOP can't seem to draft a giant killer.

(...)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's surprise decision this week not to run for president was just the latest reminder of how uncertain the GOP field remains and how many Republicans see Obama as tough to beat. Grass-roots activists look at Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty and pine for a star like Jeb Bush or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

(...)

"As a Republican I have to be realistic about Bill Nelson,'' said Republican consultant Phil Vangelakos of Orlando. "In 2011 we fielded a rock star in Marco Rubio, and he couldn't get above 50 percent. ... In 2012 we've got to ask ourselves: In a presidential election, does Florida have what it takes to go Republican? It's not nearly as likely in 2012 as it was in 2010."

(...)

The low-key, slow-starting Republican presidential contest looks just as wide open. A recent New York Times poll found nearly 6 in 10 Republicans could not point to a single contender who sparked their enthusiasm.

(...)

One Republican presidential debate has already been postponed, and less than a week before Fox airs the first major debate of the election it's unclear who will show up. POLITICO reported that major candidates expected to participate include Pawlenty, Gingrich, Santorum, Paul and possibly Bachmann.

Read more over at The St. Pete Times.

Could the possibility exist that President Obama will stand unchallenged in 2012?

Metaphorically? Yes. Actually? Well, I guess the Reps must throw someone up against the President. But wouldn't it be great if they didn't? Then we could just get on with the business at hand and save all that campaign cash to pay down the deficit.

Not a bad idea.

Talk to Me.

Florida Sightings

The split face composite was strategically placed within direct eye contact of anyone who passed by the artist's booth.

The movie poster-sized half-Hillary Clinton and half-Sarah Palin portrait stopped many in their art-lovin' tracks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" was asked of the artist.

"Whatever you think it means," was his reply.

"Well, what about that?" My eyes followed the direction of the posed question and settled on a more traditional representation depicting Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore, both graphic images stenciled purple against an atomic yellow field.

The artist turned to face the iconic images of the two political extremes most associated with the far right and the far left. "The purple represents the royalty of the American press. And the yellow--the yellow represents the yellow journalism they report and profit from."

And with that in mind, I strolled back out into the Melbourne Art Festival and away from the garish truth of the artist's viewpoint, leaving behind two women heavily engaged in critique of a work portraying two faces of Michelle Obama.

Weekend Zen

It's alright if you love me
It's alright if you don't
I'm not afraid of you running away,
Honey, I get the feeling you won't.

There is no sense in pretending
Your eyes give you away.

Breakdown.

Tom Petty.

Short Shorts: Endeavour, Tea Troubles, Unpopular Scott and a Teen Lured to his Death

The Obama family will attend next week's launch of space shuttle Endeavour.

(...)

The launch of Endeavour is NASA's next-to-last shuttle flight. The mission will be led by Mark Kelly, husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who may attend as well, her first public appearance since being gunned down at a shopping center in Tucson in January.

Endeavour is go-for-launch Friday, April 29.

***

A horrific premeditated murder claims the life of 15-year-old Seath Jackson.

(...)

At the beginning of March, 15-year-old Seath Jackson adored Amber Wright.

He posted on Facebook that he loved Wright, also 15, and noted on one peaceful afternoon that he was spending time with her and her brother, 16-year-old Kyle Hooper. Weeks later, the young couple had broken up.

Now Wright is accused of luring Seath to his death with a text message.

Marion County Sheriff's Office detectives said Wednesday that Wright, Hooper and three older friends were responsible for planning a deadly encounter during which Seath was brutally beaten, shot several times and his body burned to ashes. They were charged with first-degree murder. James Young Havens III, 37, who is Wright and Hooper's stepfather, is accused of acting as an accessory after the fact.

The killing shocked residents and crime experts alike.

Read the sad facts of the case here.

***

They don't like me. They really don't like me.

Is Guv. Rick Scott shape-shifting? Upon learning that almost every individual in the state harbors dislike for the governor, his recent reversals may indicate yes.

Check out his makeover here.

***

Finally, the Tea Party stirs its own pot.

(...)

A West Palm Beach group called Tea Party in Action is being criticized by other tea party groups who allege the organization is a front for the Republican Party of Florida and a hired gun for special interest groups in Tallahassee. The group's executive director, Marianne Moran, dismisses the allegations.

The issue came to a head last week when Moran testified before a Senate committee on behalf of a bill to ban unions from using payroll deduction to collect dues.

"What does this bill have to do with tea party principle of limited government?'' asked Henry Kelley, president of the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party, in a letter to senators. "I can't see why a Legislature focused on limited government in a right-to-work state wants to tell union people what to do with their paychecks.''

Good point, Henry. Read more here.

Talk to Me.

Jan Brewer Buckles

I've chuckled quite a bit over the Tea Party's cranky incessant obsession with the Obama birth certificate, considering my own is quite the piece of work--an extremely bad photocopy about the size of a large index card boasting a dark black background with white type.

But what many Arizonians are finding less than amusing is Gov. Jan Brewer's recent veto of a "birther bill" which would require "...presidential candidates to prove they were American citizens born in the United States, before being added to state ballots."

(...)

"I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for President of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their 'early baptismal or circumcision certificates' among other records to the Arizona Secretary of State," the governor wrote in a letter addressed to the Arizona House speaker.

Imagine how below the belt a pro-circumcision vs anti-circumcision debate might hit. Mr. Presidential Candidate, how will your circumcision (or lack thereof) effect your ability to send American troops to war? And Ms. Presidential Candidate, do you base your decision to seek this office based on the tiniest bit of circumcision envy?

Better yet, visual the cable news roundup of psychotherapists booked to explain the mutilation vs blessing theory on the psyche, leadership potential or the impact on the ability of a potential Presidential candidate to answer the red phone at three in the morning.

And what about the campaign slogans? "Candidate A. A cut above the rest!" or perhaps "Candidate B. Smiling since birth!"

Nah. With those visuals in mind, I've got to agree with Brewer on this one.

The Arizona birther bill just didn't cut muster.

Talk to Me.

Florida Sightings

The pick-up pulled into the rural station just as the gas pump dinged my car's tank full.

The driver stepped out and shut the car door closed, his Stetson tipped back to better view the fuel prices. The passenger side swung wide to reveal a woman dressed in what I refer to as full Florida ranch wear: belted work jeans with a tucked in long-sleeved calico blouse buttoned up to the throat, with hair swept back in a no nonsense sort of way, as if to say I've been up since before dawn, don't mess with me.

Her boots hit the pavement, but as if an afterthought, she turned back to pull something off the dash. Turning back my way, she shaded her eyes with a pair of Chanel sunglasses, the iconic gold CC's winking a detail much unexpected.

I watched her walk into the convenience store and was struck by how this rancher wife with an affinity for fine eye wear so typified Florida, a state juxtaposed in a constant clash of opposition.

We Floridians often manage to find enough common ground to respect our differences while keeping the best interests of the state in focus. Yet, after these first 100 days of Gov. Rick Scott, sadly I fear our best days may be behind us.

Read my Sunday Debate (April 17, 2011) column Gov. Scott's decisions a disaster here.

Total Recall: Gov. Rick Scott

Should a constitutional amendment be placed on the ballot to allow recall of a Florida governor?

***

Never in my nearly 50 years of calling Florida home have I witnessed a governor as focused in tearing down the state as Rick Scott.

His refusal of $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail trashed a project years in the making, instantly vaporizing up to 30,000 much-needed jobs. If that’s Scott’s idea of a sound business decision made in the best interest of the state, he should read a Henry Flagler biography.

The business tycoon’s Florida East Coast Railway paired his vision with the Flagler fortune and, as a result, provided a sound transportation system that led to the birth of a little city called Miami.

Scott also tossed aside the much-anticipated computer database aimed to track illegal distribution of narcotics from pain clinics. He claimed the law enforcement tool “didn’t work.” However, late last week, Scott changed course, telling Congress that Florida soon would implement the database as part of broader reforms.

After transferring his $62 million investment in Solantic urgent care centers into a trust held by his wife, Scott got busy lobbying his own health care reform, as reported by the Miami Herald:

“Drug testing state workers, switching Medicaid patients to private HMOs and shrinking public health clinics,” all business decisions initiated by Scott that could benefit both Solantic and Mrs. Scott’s pocketbook.

Likely the worst affront is Scott’s systematic draining of Florida’s lifeblood by targeting the pensions of public and state employees, the very people who have devoted a lifetime to improving the quality and efficiency of our everyday lives.

It’s the governor’s way of driving off any sense of community and connecting people together.

If these Scott decisions aren’t grounds enough for Floridians to actively pursue a constitutional amendment to allow recall of a Florida governor present or future, I honestly don’t know what are. What I do know is 19 states have the ability to recall a governor as well as other state officials.

Florida could round out that figure to an even 20. However, we citizens do have an option:

The impeachment of a governor is current law in the Sunshine State.

***

Sunday Debate (FLORIDA TODAY, Gov. Scott's decisions a disaster, 4/17/2011)

Florida Senate Working to Suppress the Vote

Why would the Florida Senate push to cut early voting time in half and require people to vote provisionally if a person had moved since the last time they voted?

Simple. The Democrats turned out the early vote for Obama in 2008 and one less week helps to curtail the effort to get people to the polls in 2012. Provisional voting (votes not always counted) would most likely effect college students, who turned out the under-25 vote for then-candidate Obama.

And the best reason to disenfranchise the Florida vote?

All 160 Florida legislative districts are up for grabs in 2012 due to reapportionment.

Meaning we might be stuck with this bub Scott for awhile, but as for the Legislature, we Floridians can soon clean house...

...causing the GOP-controlled Legislature will do whatever possible to keep the power between now and then.

Per The Miami Herald:

(...)

Among the bill’s onerous requirements:

• A newly married woman wanting to vote on Election Day would no longer be allowed to show elections officials at the polls documentation with her name change to vote on that day. Instead, she would be forced to use a provisional ballot, which likely will mean that vote won’t be counted. In 2008, half the provisional ballots in Florida were thrown out, making it hard to contest.

• Voter-registration groups would have to register all their volunteers and paid staff with the state’s Division of Supervisors of Elections, which would create a database. What’s the purpose? Harassment of volunteers or particular organizations?

• Volunteers, who now can help resolve legal issues for individual voters at the polls, would be restricted because the bill lumps “legal advice” into the definition of solicitation and prohibits it within 100 feet of a voting line.

• Any voter who has moved and shows up at a polling site with evidence of the new address would also be forced to use a provisional ballot even though county elections supervisors now have access to a statewide voter database, created back in 2003, that can easily confirm a voter’s change of name or address. This would potentially disenfranchise thousands of college students.

Read more about SB 2086 here.

Weekend Talk: Flip This House

House Democrats tricked House Reps today into turning on each other, coming dangerously close to kicking Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's budget to the curb as the more conservatively radical Republican Study came within 18 votes of passage.

TPMDC:

(...)

The vote was on the Republican Study Committee's alternative budget -- a radical plan that annihilates the social contract in America by putting the GOP budget on steroids. Deeper tax cuts for the wealthy, more severe entitlement rollbacks.

Normally something like that would fail by a large bipartisan margin in either the House or the Senate. Conservative Republicans would vote for it, but it would be defeated by a coalition of Democrats and more moderate Republicans. But today that formula didn't hold. In an attempt to highlight deep divides in the Republican caucus. Dems switched their votes -- from "no" to "present."

Panic ensued. In the House, legislation passes by a simple majority of members voting. The Dems took themselves out of the equation, leaving Republicans to decide whether the House should adopt the more-conservative RSC budget instead of the one authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. As Dems flipped to present, Republicans realized that a majority of their members had indeed gone on the record in support of the RSC plan -- and if the vote closed, it would pass. That would be a slap in the face to Ryan, and a politically toxic outcome for the Republican party.

So they started flipping their votes from "yes" to "no."

In the end, the plan went down by a small margin, 119-136. A full 172 Democrats voted "present."

Happy Weekend.

***

"What makes it even more hilarious is that now Dems can rub it in the face of the teaparty. Dems handed Republicans a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to pass the extreme wingnut agenda of the teaparty, and Republicans themselves voted it down. It's pure brilliance. Just sit back and watch them start turning on themselves even more. POPCORN PLEASE!!"

--Mophan, TPMDC

Weekend Zen

Hold your head up, movin' on
Keep your head up, movin' on
Hold your head up, movin' on
Keep your head up, movin' on
Hold your head up, movin' on
Keep your head up, movin' on
Movin' on!


Annie Lennox. Sweet Dreams.

Short Shorts: Scott Sells Solantic, Obama's Back and Joe Nods Off

Well, well, well.

The Miami Herald:

Two weeks after insisting he was “not involved in that company,” Gov. Rick Scott finalized a deal Wednesday to sell Solantic Inc., the Jacksonville chain of urgent care clinics he founded.

Scott’s sale of the company comes as he attempts to distance himself from repeated conflict-of-interest questions about whether the company he started in 2001 — and hoped to develop into a national chain — would benefit from the aggressive health care changes he wants state lawmakers to approve.

(...)

Asked on March 29 whether he would sell his interest or bar the company from receiving state contracts, Scott said, “As I’ve told you, I’m not involved in that company.”

Six days later, Scott announced the state would not contract with the company.

Then he acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday he was interested in selling.

***

The New York Times :

The man America elected president has re-emerged.

For months, the original President Obama had disappeared behind mushy compromises and dimly seen principles. But on Wednesday, he used his budget speech to clearly distance himself from Republican plans to heap tax benefits on the rich while casting adrift the nation’s poor, elderly and unemployed. Instead of adapting the themes of the right to his own uses, he set out a very different vision of an America that keeps its promises to the weak and asks for sacrifice from the strong.

The deficit-reduction plan he unveiled did not always live up to that vision and should have been less fixated on spending cuts at the expense of tax increases. It may give up too much as an opening position. But at least it was a reasonable basis for a conversation and is far better than its most prominent competitors. That is because it is grounded in themes of generosity and responsibility that, until recently, had been shared by leaders of both parties.

Because everyone deserves “some basic measure of security and dignity,” he said, the nation contributes to programs like Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance. He said that “we would not be a great country without those commitments.”

But House Republicans and many of their party’s presidential candidates are trying to terminate that promise, he said, leaving seniors on their own and abandoning 50 million uninsured Americans. They are saying no to rebuilding bridges, sending students to college, to investing in research while giving the rich $1 trillion in tax cuts.

“That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m president,” he said.

Read specifics of the budget speech here.

***

And did Joe take a nap? Decide for yourself here.

Talk to Me.

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

With legal judgments looming for so many regular folks who out of sheer necessity have defaulted on loans in this tough financial world, Rolling Stone asks the obvious....

...why isn't Wall Street in jail?

And furthermore, "why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs?"

Here's a snippet.

America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial. The official budget is public record and hotly debated: Money comes in as taxes and goes out as jet fighters, DEA agents, wheat subsidies and Medicare, plus pensions and bennies for that great untamed socialist menace called a unionized public-sector workforce that Republicans are always complaining about. According to popular legend, we're broke and in so much debt that 40 years from now our granddaughters will still be hooking on weekends to pay the medical bills of this year's retirees from the IRS, the SEC and the Department of Energy.

Most Americans know about that budget. What they don't know is that there is another budget of roughly equal heft, traditionally maintained in complete secrecy. After the financial crash of 2008, it grew to monstrous dimensions, as the government attempted to unfreeze the credit markets by handing out trillions to banks and hedge funds. And thanks to a whole galaxy of obscure, acronym-laden bailout programs, it eventually rivaled the "official" budget in size — a huge roaring river of cash flowing out of the Federal Reserve to destinations neither chosen by the president nor reviewed by Congress, but instead handed out by fiat by unelected Fed officials using a seemingly nonsensical and apparently unknowable methodology.

Now, following an act of Congress that has forced the Fed to open its books from the bailout era, this unofficial budget is for the first time becoming at least partially a matter of public record. Staffers in the Senate and the House, whose queries about Fed spending have been rebuffed for nearly a century, are now poring over 21,000 transactions and discovering a host of outrages and lunacies in the "other" budget. It is as though someone sat down and made a list of every individual on earth who actually did not need emergency financial assistance from the United States government, and then handed them the keys to the public treasure. The Fed sent billions in bailout aid to banks in places like Mexico, Bahrain and Bavaria, billions more to a spate of Japanese car companies, more than $2 trillion in loans each to Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, and billions more to a string of lesser millionaires and billionaires with Cayman Islands addresses. "Our jaws are literally dropping as we're reading this," says Warren Gunnels, an aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. "Every one of these transactions is outrageous."

But if you want to get a true sense of what the "shadow budget" is all about, all you have to do is look closely at the taxpayer money handed over to a single company that goes by a seemingly innocuous name: Waterfall TALF Opportunity. At first glance, Waterfall's haul doesn't seem all that huge — just nine loans totaling some $220 million, made through a Fed bailout program. That doesn't seem like a whole lot, considering that Goldman Sachs alone received roughly $800 billion in loans from the Fed. But upon closer inspection, Waterfall TALF Opportunity boasts a couple of interesting names among its chief investors: Christy Mack and Susan Karches.

Christy is the wife of John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley. Susan is the widow of Peter Karches, a close friend of the Macks who served as president of Morgan Stanley's investment-banking division. Neither woman appears to have any serious history in business, apart from a few philanthropic experiences. Yet the Federal Reserve handed them both low-interest loans of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars through a complicated bailout program that virtually guaranteed them millions in risk-free income.

If that doesn't peak your interest, you've been politically underwater for far too long.

Read more over at The Real Housewives of Wall Street, Rolling Stone, 4/12/2011.

Talk to Me.

Thanks for the Florida Memory Project

I skipped back in time during last night's research for my upcoming Sunday Debate with co-debater Marshall Frank (yes, yet again, blatant self-promotion. Look for us on the April 17th Opinions page of Florida Today). Whether reading online or in print, check out our dueling columns discussion of the need by Florida's citizens to consider a constitutional amendment to recall a sitting governor.

But back to skipping.

For those unfamiliar with The Florida Memory Project, take time to peruse Florida's rich history and significant events that shaped our great state by visiting the online archives. I particularly enjoyed the time line of Florida governors, from territorial to present day. Click open the hyperlinks of your faves (Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles) and you might find yourself surprised at what might turn up. I myself did not know that Governor Farris Bryant--who governed the state the first year my family transplanted to Paradise--helped establish Florida Atlantic University, destined to be a certain six-year-old Alabama girl's future alma mater.

And Dems sounded much like present-day Republicans back in the sixties. Take a listen to Democratic Governor Bryant address the Senate Commerce Committee here. Farris felt if customers had the right to choose what businesses to solicit, then businesses had a right to choose their customers. And guess who agreed with him?

Strom Thurmond.

Groan. Oh well. At the very least, Farris and I will always have FAU. Go Owls. (Hoot! Hoot!)

FCAT continues.



Talk to Me.

FCAT Monday

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test begins this week and all exam administrators should practice what is preached to the students.

--Get a good night's sleep.

--Eat a good breakfast.

--And get to school on time. (Which is of particular importance for those headed to a pre-FCAT complimentary breakfast offered by McDonald's. (On the menu: egg McMuffin, milk or a small oj and a package of apple dippers).

For Florida educators and all those interested in the fast-moving legislative proposals effecting those who educate our youth, a link popped up on my Facebook page this past week which may prove of interest. Follow this FRS link to review a side by side summary/comparison of House and Senate retirement changes currently before the state legislature.

Have any extra-special FCAT advice or tips? Feel free to share; otherwise, mega meows of luck his week to Brevard County students and teachers.

Weekend Talk: The US is Open for Business

So as to keep the zen in the weekend, consider a discussion now opened for those wishing to commiserate the deal cut last night to keep the federal government open for business.

The New York Times reports that federal spending to the tune of $38 billion gets the ax, but Planned Parenthood is not included on the chopping block. As the hours grew short, many Republicans grew weary of their party's stubborn refusal to "... to abandon a policy provision that would withhold federal financing for family planning and other health services for poor women...".

(...)

As the day went on, aides reported progress in attempts to reach an accommodation on the family planning provision. Even veteran anti-abortion Republicans, like Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, indicated a willingness to compromise, not wanting the party to be accused of shutting down the government over divisive social policy and diluting its new emphasis on cutting spending. Other Republicans, in interviews and statements, indicated that it was time to end the stalemate.

And apparently Mr. Boehner chose the last minue strategy in order to appease those irritating congressional Scrooge-types.

(...)

Allies of Mr. Boehner, the veteran lawmaker in his first months as speaker, said he seemed to be pursuing a strategy of pushing the negotiations to the last possible tick of the clock to appease rank-and-file conservatives, who have been very reluctant to give an inch from the $61 billion in cuts approved by the House.

Yet another fine example of our government working in an expeditious manner.

All which leads me to believe the GOP political drama was less about spending cuts and more about restrictive social policy.

Feel free to grind the ax amongst yourselves.

Talk to Me.

Weekend Zen

After midnight, we're gonna shake your tambourine.

Eric Clapton. 1988.

After Midnight.

Financial Question of the Week

This Florida educator has saved towards her own retirement since the first day employed.

Wasn't much, but a little each month can go a long way considering dollar cost averaging. (Of course, the financial crisis shook that up like an Etch a Sketch, but silly me, I'm still contributing).

The Senate approved a package of pension changes this past week, detailing a graduated scale of state employee contributions toward retirement. Those who earn more will be required to pay more than their lesser compensated colleagues. (2 percent on the first $25,000 of earnings, 4 percent on the next $25,000 and 6 percent on everything above $50,000 a year).

The House version required a flat 3% contribution of all.

The obvious point is 6 percent imposed on a teacher making $51,000 is a much bigger hit than the same on a mid-level manager earning double that salary; however, if the either version is signed into law, the retirement contribution is coming off the top of the paycheck, an immediate hit to take-home pay.

Leading to the Financial Question of the Week.

Should state employees continue to contribute to their own personal financial investments with less money in their pocket?

Talk to Me.

FOP Severs Support of Ritch Workman

The FOP has pulled it's support of Florida Rep. Ritch Workman. BRAVO.

(...)

The Fraternal Order of Police rescinded its 20,000-members' endorsement and support from Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, over his bill to deduct 3 percent from public employees' paychecks for retirement benefits. Brevard representatives also angered the police union by voting for a bill to ban payroll deductions for dues."Our confidence was misplaced, our endorsement abused," reads a March 28 e-mail to Workman from state FOP president James Preston. "Remove our FOP logo from your website immediately."

Matt Reed's column GOP Should Tread Lightly can be read in entirety here.

Talk to Me.

Short Shorts: Polls, PBS, Public Radio and The Civil War

Here's a shock. Guv Rick Scott is down in the polls.

(..)

"While his approval rating is unchanged, Gov.Rick Scott's disapproval rating has jumped from 22 to 48 percent, perhaps not surprising given the magnitude of the changes he is proposing," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Today, Scott is a four-letter word to many Florida voters, but political popularity can change in time."

The poll cites the state budget as the cause of Scott's sudden unpopularity. (Go figure). Read more here.

***

For the Civil War historian in us all, The Conspirator is scheduled for release April 15th. Robert Redford directs.

A riveting thriller, THE CONSPIRATOR tells the powerful story of a woman who would do anything to protect her family, and the man who risked everything to save her.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.

Check out the preview here.

***

As I write this post, the Ken Burns production of The Civil War plays in the background, broadcast by PBS affiliate WMFE Orlando.

The station was recently sold to a religious broadcaster out of Texas.

For those still reeling from the decision to sell, here's the rub...PBS ain't cheap.

WMFE paid $1,000,000 in dues to PBS annually. And when fundraising time came and went, viewers didn't pony up for quality television.

(...)

Jose Fajardo, WMFE’s president and CEO, said that less than 1 percent of the 2.2 million households in the market contributed to Channel 24. “We’ve been asking the community to support public television. The response has been, ‘We’ll watch. We’re not going to give,’ ” he said.

Read more here.

Keeping the fate of WMFE in mind, Space Coast Public Radio needs your help. WFIT 89.5 on the FM dial is in the midst of the station's 2011 Spring Fund Drive and is asking for listener support.

Put your money where your ears are. Be a contributor by making a pledge online or by calling (321) 674-8950.

***

On a personal note, two members of my extended family went quietly into the good night this past week, my second cousin Lois and within a few days, her mother Bess, who during her 95 years on this earth heard many a story from those not so far removed from the Civil War.

We bid them farewell.

Florida Housing Hardest-Hit Fund Program for Unemployed or Underemployed Homeowners

Passing on this press release as received for those who may find themselves in need of funding to help pay the mortgage.

Visit the official Florida Hardest-Hit website for more information and eligibility requirements here.

Be wary of copycat websites.

Good luck.

***

FLORIDA HOUSING LAUNCHES STATEWIDE HARDEST-HIT FUND PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Cecka Rose Green Tuesday, April 5, 2011 (850) 488-4197 or
cecka.green@floridahousing.org

TALLAHASSEE—During a press conference on Tuesday, April 5, Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) announced that unemployed or underemployed homeowners in Florida, who are having difficulty paying their mortgages, will be able to apply for financial assistance from the Florida Hardest-Hit Fund (HHF) beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 18. On this day, the program will become available to troubled homeowners in all 67 counties in the state.

“We’re now in the position to offer this financial assistance statewide to the people out there who are desperately struggling to stay in their homes,” said Steve Auger, executive director of Florida Housing. “For the homeowners who qualify, this temporary relief from their mortgage payments will provide some ‘breathing room’ so they can focus on becoming re-employed at a level that will allow them to resume making payments on their own.”

After reviewing information gleaned from the pilot in Lee County and in consultation with the Governor’s Office, there are a few changes to the HHF program benefits, as follows:

 The Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program, or UMAP, will provide up to $12,000 to pay monthly mortgage and escrowed mortgage-related expenses for up to six (6) months, or until the homeowner can resume making mortgage payments, whichever comes first. In addition, homeowners in the UMAP will be required to pay 25 percent of their monthly income toward their monthly mortgage payment, with a minimum payment of $70 per month.

 The Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment Program, or MLRP, will provide up to $6,000 to bring the homeowner’s past-due first mortgage current if the homeowner can show the ability to resume making mortgage payments on his/her own; for a homeowner who received funding from the UMAP program, any unused funds up to $12,000 may be used in addition to MLRP funds to help bring the first mortgage current.

The minimum qualifications a homeowner must meet to be considered for assistance from either or both HHF programs will remain the same.

(more)
Florida HHF Press Release Page 2

UMAP and MLRP program funds will be in the form of a 0% percent, deferred-payment loan; the loan can be forgiven over a five-year period, at a rate of 20% each year.

“There are several reasons for these changes to the program,” said David Westcott, director of Homeownership Programs at Florida Housing. “Most importantly, the need for this program continues to grow and we want to assist as many homeowners as possible. These changes could allow Florida Housing to provide financial assistance to nearly 40,000 homeowners statewide—twice as many as we previously estimated could be helped,” he said.

Homeowners in every Florida county may apply for financial assistance from the fund by using the official HHF website: www.FLHardestHitHelp.org. The site contains all the information users will need to begin the application process, including a program fact sheet, answers to frequently asked questions and links to resources that may be helpful to those experiencing economic challenges.

Florida homeowners should also be aware that several “imposter” and “copycat” websites posing as HHF application sites have been identified. Once the application process opens, applicants are strongly encouraged to verify that the website they are using is, in fact, the official Florida HHF website before providing their personal information. If applicants are suspicious about a website, they can submit an anonymous report on the official HHF website by clicking the “Report Fraud” link on the homepage. Also, they may call the Florida HHF Information Line at 1-877-863-5244 to ensure they are using the correct website address. Application for the Florida Hardest-Hit Fund program is FREE-OF-CHARGE, and applicants will not be asked to pay for any eligibility determination services in conjunction with applying for the program.

First announced on February 19, 2010, by the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the “Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets” (HFA Hardest-Hit Fund) provides federal funding to states hardest hit by the aftermath of the burst of the housing bubble. To date, $7.6 billion has been infused into the HFA Hardest-Hit Fund for 18 states and the District of Columbia; Florida’s total allocation currently stands at more than $1 billion.

Treasury has approved both of Florida Housing’s programs to provide temporary assistance to eligible unemployed or underemployed homeowners. The goal is to help them sustain and keep their homes, ultimately, to avoid foreclosure.

###

Florida Senate: Stipend or Salary for Florida School Board Members?

Florida school board members may have thought themselves above the recent gubernatorial and legislative assault on educators, but a proposed state bill finds those who oversee the schools squirming on their dais.

Senator Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) thinks school board members are way overpaid. “Let me say this and I hope it’s printed,” Wise said. “We are number one in something in Florida—salaries of school board members.”

At this writing, "... the state of Florida pays the state’s 355 school board members $10.9 million a year, not including about $5,000 a year per retired school board member."

(...)

A bill in the Florida Senate proposes to eliminate board members’ salaries and benefits, replacing both with a stipend of $100 per meeting. Retirement benefits would be eliminated, reducing state spending on school board members to $900,000. Travel expenses would not be: board members could still be reimbursed for mileage or other approved travel.

With unemployment at 12.4 % in the county they serve, as of January 2011, Brevard County individual school board members earn $38,404 annually (and that's sans retirement).

After the last several years of practically begging these folks for a raise and getting nothing but shown the hand, all that can be said is...

...karma, it's a __________. (Complete the sentence as so deserved).

Listen to the podcast of the SPB 7234 presented before the 4/5/11 PreK-12 Committee here.

Talk to Me.

Fired Up

Rethinking his 9/11 decision not to burn the Koran, my retro couch salesman is presently feeling the heat himself. After placing the holy book on trial and condemning the words within to kindling, Terry Jones finds himself most unwelcome in his neck of the Florida scrub. His Dove World Outreach Center is up for sale and the citizens of Gainesville, Florida can't wait to be rid of him.

(...)

Mr. Jones’s mission is not a popular one in these parts. The Dove World Outreach Center’s membership evaporated after his preaching began to focus on what Mr. Jones said are the dangers of Islam. “We don’t have any members,” he said. “It’s not something your average person wants to do.

“People want to hear the good news. But the church has a responsibility to speak about the word of God. But it also has to speak out about what is right — be it abortion or Islam. Churches and pastors are afraid.”

He said he was no longer welcome in Gainesville — which he considers too small and unenlightened to understand his message — and is seeking to move.

First, though, he has to sell the church’s property, which is not easy in Florida, which is one of the nation’s foreclosure capitals. And as his personal stake in his mission grows deeper, his bank account is running dry. (One source of income comes from his eBay sales of antique furniture, some of which he stores in the church.)

(...)

Residents in this city, home to the University of Florida, are also less than thrilled.

Out in front of the church, signs that read “Islam Is of the Devil” have been edited by outsiders to say “Love All Men.” In a housing complex across the street, some of the residents said they could not wait for Mr. Jones to leave.

“Why are they trying to incite hatred and anger?” asked Shawnna Kochman. “They are mean. God is meant to have loved everyone. It’s a cult.”

Read more over at The Gainesville Sun.

Speaking of Fired Up! Ready to Go! in the best of ways, President Obama has kicked off his reelection campaign.



As for Most Likely to Be Fired, Rick Scott gets booed yet again by a Florida crowd quite anxious to serve the Guv his pink slip.



Talk to Me.

Rubio Swims Out

Like the shark in the movie Jaws, Marco Rubio has reemerged from the waters of the Senate, causing many to ask just what has prompted the freshman Senator to snap at the publicity bait.

With a field of lackluster GOP candidate possibilities failing to impress, is Rubio circling in consideration for a 2012 Presidential run or is the reason a much more stealth ploy aimed to woo fellow but traditionally Democratic-voting Hispanics into the Republican shark tank?

The St. Pete Times:

(...)

"My view, as somebody who's been in this close to 40 years, is Rubio's emergence has absolutely nothing to do with the debt," said Democratic consultant Garry South. "It has to do with Latinos. You saw the census figures."

The new count showed the Hispanic population in the United States grew 43 times faster than the non-Hispanic white population, rising from 35.3 million in 2000 to 50.5 million in 2010.

The political implications are vast, and in recent years Hispanics have favored Democrats nationally, partly due to GOP calls for a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Rubio will face significant pressure to be the Hispanic face of the party, Davis said, but must approach it carefully.

"He doesn't want to look like he's being exploited," Davis said. "He knows what sold him as a U.S. senator. He's a total package, not just a Hispanic."

What I believe we are witnessing dear Reader, is the making of a political "eating machine".

Da dum... da dum.. da dum da dum dadumdadum..............

Talk to Me.

Weekend Zen

I got a little change in my pocket going jingle lingle ling...

Keep Your Hands to Yourself.

The Georgia Satellites.