BlogWood: Norwood's Fair and Balanced Nattering

Hillsborough schools achieve goal of resegregation

Predictably, Hillsborough County’s new school choice plan has resulted in a return to the days of separate but “equal” education, with poor and minority students being crammed into schools lacking such basics as bathrooms and books.

The number of Hillsborough schools with high concentrations of poor students nearly doubled this year, with some lacking basic supplies and facilities.

Washington K-8 and James K-8 schools started the school year without enough books, teachers and working toilets.

Students at two others, Oak Park Elementary and Franklin Middle, remain in portable classrooms for a second full year. There's limited computer access for Franklin students because their portables lack enough security.

Admittedly surprised by the spike, district officials rushed extra tutors to some of the schools in advance of this week's FCAT testing. They will begin special teacher training in the summer and plan a separate teacher recruiting day, where they will offer more money to experienced teachers.

Frustrated parents are taking note.

``As far as this school getting a fair shake, I don't see it happening,'' said Dwayne Ellis, Franklin's PTA president. His two daughters attend the school.

A year ago, a dozen Hillsborough public schools reported nearly 90 percent or more of their children qualified for free or reduced-price meals based on federal guidelines.

Now there are 23 such schools, a transition tied to a district plan to let some families choose their own schools.
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Hillsborough is following a nationwide pattern of resegregation as it enters its first year of school choice.

The choice plan, which went into effect in August, allows families of certain students to choose from schools in their assigned region as long as there is room. That includes families living in Tampa's generally impoverished inner core, where forced busing to the suburbs took place for decades to desegregate schools. It ended this year.

Few families from the inner core ended up choosing schools, so most were assigned to their neighborhood schools.

``This was a predictable outcome,'' said Sam Horton, president of the Hillsborough County branch of the NAACP and a retired educator. ``It was about this way in 1954. It's no different now.''

Yeah, this outcome was very predictable, especially considering that it was by design. The Tribune innocently reports that “The choice plan, which went into effect in August, allows families of certain students to choose...” without detailing which lucky students get to make a choice.

The only students required to make a choice are those who were previously bused to nice schools from their blighted inner city neighborhoods. Guess what: the poor and under-educated parents of those kids often failed to make a choice, and even when they jumped through all the right hoops, they were told “sorry, but the nice schools are all full...”

Estella Gallegos was turned down Tuesday when she asked that her 13-year-old daughter, Maria Hernandez, be allowed to return to Mann Middle School in Brandon in August. Children from her neighborhood have been bused there to desegregate schools in the suburbs. The choice plan is ending forced busing, but Maria wants to go back.

The mother and daughter were attending a hastily called meeting of parents from Tampa's urban core. The students are being assigned by the district to two schools in their neighborhood - James and Washington - that will re- open in August as kindergarten through eighth-grade schools to provide necessary space.

About 2,000 urban core families did not apply for the program and were assigned to mostly urban schools, the district said.

Gallegos, who speaks little English, said through her daughter that she never knew she could apply to have Maria return to the Brandon school or she would have.

Maria says, ``I don't mind the bus ride'' from her home near Ybor City.

Under choice, the district is divided into seven regions, and families eligible for choice were supposed to be able to choose from schools within their region. The district would provide transportation to some of those schools.

Families eligible for choice this year were those with children entering kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades and all those living in the county's urban core. About 45,000 students districtwide were eligible.

As of Tuesday's sparsely attended meeting, letters had not been sent to all the affected families notifying them of their assignments, district officials said. Families that attended were confused, and some did not like their options.

Left Feeling Deflated

Derwin and Loretha Bozeman applied for choice by the Jan. 9 deadline. They showed up with a worn notification card saying they got their first choice of Tampa's Wilson Middle School for their daughter, Bianqa, who has been attending Pierce Middle School. They then got a letter saying they failed to participate in choice and needed to come to Tuesday's meeting, they said.

``We were told we can go to either Booker T. Washington or back to Pierce,'' Derwin Bozeman said. ``We want Wilson. It's the only blue-ribbon school in the area, and we live closer to Wilson than Pierce.''

As of Friday, the family had made no decision. ``This is like a big evacuation of air from the balloon. We don't know what we're going to do.''

The Bozeman family is among a group of 1,500 families the district erroneously assigned to already-crowded schools. They were all supposed to be called, but the Bozemans said they never were.

As a result of overcrowding at the nice schools, 2 old schools were reopened: Washington K-8 and James K-8 schools, the same schools that lead today’s article because they lack basic necessities.

The school choice plan was designed from the beginning to be burdensome to those who were least likely to have the time or expertise to navigate its confusing rules. The game was rigged to bring back segregation, and that’s exactly where we are today.

In fact, back in February of last year, Hillsborough educators blamed a computer glitch for assigning poor kids to wealthy white schools, and decided to turn away many poor kids who had actually been assigned to the school of their choice.

Then they found ways to make room at those same schools for other kids whose parents were resourceful enough to call the right people at the school board and complain.

So, the bottom line is that poor and minority kids who were previously attending desirable schools were reassigned to schools like Washington and James and essentially written off as not deserving of books or teachers or bathrooms.

For background on this fiasco, see this detailed BlogWood post from June of 2004, which is just chock full of yummy links and tasty factoids, and which correctly foresaw the very mess in which we find ourselves today.

BlogWood: Norwood's Fair and Balanced Nattering: School choice separate but equal

Elite downtown housing displaces working poor

Hmmm... regular folks seem to be waking up to the fact that all of the much ballyhooed housing development in and around downtown Tampa is not designed for them.

About 60 young professionals packed a small room at the Tampa Museum of Art on Thursday night to drill city and development officials about why they can't afford most of the housing planned for downtown.

Of the 27 condominium projects planned for the urban core, very few are offering units below $200,000, and many are priced at more than $1 million.

The Tampa Chamber of Commerce's Emerge Tampa, a group for young workers, held the forum to get answers and send a message that they want downtown to become vibrant with homes and nightlife, and they want to be a part of it.

First, if you earn a limited income and yearn for something better, don’t get in bed with the Chamber of Commerce. An entity which exists to further enrich businesses and the already wealthy ownership class through massively profitable development is not going to fight for affordable housing.

In fact, developers write the rules around here, and they’re not about to offer an affordable condo to the likes of you.

Developer Frank DeBose heads a Hillsborough County board intended to encourage affordable housing, but he doesn't include that type of housing at the Pinnacle Place twin condominium towers he plans downtown.

Requiring developers to include lower-priced homes could discourage them from building in Tampa, said DeBose, chairman of the county's housing finance authority.

Instead, DeBose said, incentives such as tax breaks or other taxpayer-financed subsidies would be a better way to encourage construction of affordable housing.

That pretty much sums up Tampa’s problems: the developers write and enforce the rules. Frank is happy to do the right thing, and take full credit for it, but only if his largesse is financed by taxpayers.

So, instead of focusing on affordable housing, which naturally leads to diverse, vibrant, interesting and desirable communities Tampa’s leaders tend to look for ways to push the working poor away from downtown.

The developers invariably promise something better for the residents of blighted communities, but those promises are empty, as residents end up scattered and the vast majority are never able to return to the neighborhoods from which they were evicted.

Here’s an idea:

why not pump some city and county money into the rehabbing the empty and crumbling downtown buildings such as the Floridan Hotel and the old Kress building? These and tons of other vacant downtown properties could be cut up into apartments and lofts, incorporated as condos, and offered to the working poor as a viable home ownership option.

Downtown would be infused with new energy. Nighttime activities would increase. Vibrant new communities would blossom and grow. The powerless people who we are now talking about dislocating and scattering would suddenly have just a little say in their own future, as they form condo boards and start to practice a little self-determination.

And, as people started using downtown on the evenings and weekends, impressions like this (from the original Tribune article cited at the beginning of this post) would quickly change.

``I've been thinking, `Is Tampa really my place?' '' said Veena Rayapareddi, 33, who moved here from Washington, D.C., two years ago to work for an information technology company. ``I like Tampa, but I don't see much that will keep me here. When I go downtown on a Sunday afternoon, I don't see even one person walking.''

Misleading comparisons offer no hope for Schiavo

The right wing extremists who have latched onto Terri Schiavo in a blatant attempt at self-promotion are dredging up medical cases with so few similarities to Terri’s that comparisons are meaningless, but they still insist that a miraculous cure is just a prayer away. In real life, Terri has lost so much brain matter that virtually every legitimate medical professional agrees that recovery is impossible.

For 20 years, she was silent, a prisoner of a terrible accident that damaged her brain.

But last month, Kansas resident Sarah Scantlin suddenly began to talk. The media called it a miracle.

Could it happen to Terri Schiavo?

"It gave Terri's family great hope," said Randall Terry, the Operation Rescue founder who has been organizing protests on behalf of the Schindlers, Schiavo's parents. "Terri is in a better condition than Sarah was."

Leading neurologists disagree. They say that, as similar as the two women's cases may appear, Schiavo's brain injury is far more severe than Scantlin's. Recovery in cases like Scantlin's is rare, but possible. In cases like Schiavo's, they say, it can't happen.

"This recent case has no relationship to it at all," said Dr. William Kessler, chairman of the neurology department at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "It's like comparing apples to oranges."
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Kessler said that, based on descriptions of Scantlin's abilities before she began speaking, her damage was less severe than Schiavo's.

People with those two different brain injuries may look the same physically - but their condition is very different. Think of different kinds of infections, Kessler said.

"If you saw two patients who had a fever and trouble breathing, you might think it was the same case," he said.

But one could have an easily cured pneumonia, while the other had usually deadly Ebola, he said.

"To a neurologist, you would never equate those two cases," he said.

To Terry, of Operation Rescue, those opinions don't matter. Scantlin wasn't expected to speak again, he said.

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Terry pointed to such doctors as Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Clearwater neurologist who has examined Schiavo for her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. Hammesfahr has said in court that Schiavo tried to follow simple commands and that her eyes fixed on her family. Hammesfahr, who was called "a self-promoter" in a court order by the judge in Schiavo's case, declined to comment Thursday.

Brain scans show that parts of Schiavo's brain have atrophied and been replaced by spinal fluid. With such severe damage, Schiavo can't show the recovery that Scantlin has, said Dr. Michael Pulley, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.

"Those types of changes don't reverse," Pulley said. "If you lose big pieces of brain, regardless of what it is - trauma, stroke, surgery - it doesn't come back."

The only documented case of someone recovering from a permanent vegetative state came in the early 1980s, said Dr. Ronald Cranford, a neurology professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School who has examined Schiavo.

And in that case, the patient's scan showed no brain atrophy, Cranford said. "The one thing we learned from that, you look at shrinkage of the brain," he said. "Terri has massive shrinkage."

Schiavo also has more severe brain damage than two patients in a New York study published this month, Cranford said. In that study, the patients diagnosed as minimally conscious showed increased brain activity when they heard audiotapes of loved ones' voices.

Cranford said it's hard for people without neurological training to accept that people in a vegetative state can't recover and aren't aware of their surroundings. They sleep. They wake. They grimace.

"It's very hard, because when you look at Terri Schiavo, you can think she's interacting, but she's not," he said. "When you have loving, caring parents like the Schindlers, you just want to deny they're in a vegetative state. It's a terrible syndrome."
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THE LATEST

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer is expected to decide today whether to give Terri Schiavo's parents time to pursue appeals. Greer's order preventing Schiavo's husband from removing her feeding tube expires at 5 this afternoon.

We’re down to fundies and quacks pursuing their own agendas, feeding the family false hope in order to keep themselves in the limelight. Punks like Randall Terry and need to be seen for what they are - opportunistic con men skilled in using baseless faith to steer their victims toward a state of delusive dreams.

Jeb! proposes new pay for pray plan

Jeb! has a new plan to improve public education: shift low performing students into private religious schools that have absolutely no accountability. That way, the students’ low test scores wont drag down the averages of their former classmates, and Jeb! can point to rising test scores and claim to have done something. Oh, and religious institutions will get even more money from the state, which is unconstitutional, but let’s not get bogged down by details. What’s not to like?

Florida would get its fourth, and possibly its largest, school voucher program, with as many as 170,000 poorly scoring children eligible for "Reading Compact" vouchers, under a proposal unveiled by Gov. Jeb Bush Wednesday.

Children who score in the lowest level on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test three consecutive years could get a voucher to any private school — religious or secular — or to another public school.

Bush said the vouchers are necessary because 17 percent of sixth-graders and 18 percent of eighth-graders have failed the FCAT reading section three years in a row.

"That's a trend," he said. "And that's a trend we need to deal with early on to make sure it doesn't happen systemically."

Critics said that giving the worst-performing students vouchers and letting them disappear into a private school system with no public accountability is no way to solve the problem.

"They said vouchers. And I said no," said Wayne Blanton, director of the Florida School Boards Association, about his briefing from Bush's office on the issue.

Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Art Johnson said it also could create problems with the balancing of schools for enrollment purposes.

Bush's announcement came Wednesday even though "Opportunity Scholarships" — his first and smallest voucher program, for children at schools receiving an F grade two out of four years — have been declared unconstitutional by a state appeals court because they send public money to religious schools. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case this spring.

"The governor is just showing a lack of respect for the courts," said Ron Meyer, the lawyer for voucher opponents who successfully argued the case before the 1st District Court of Appeal.

In most respects, the reading vouchers would be more like McKay vouchers for disabled children and corporate tax credit vouchers for poorer children than they are like Opportunity Scholarships in that the McKay and corporate programs have less state oversight and fewer restrictions than the Opportunity program does.

Schools that take Opportunity Scholarship vouchers, for example, must agree to take the state voucher as full payment of tuition and fees, must not discriminate on the basis of religion, and must not force children to pray or worship. And children who get them must take the FCAT each year.

But schools participating in Reading Compact vouchers, according to language by Rep. Rep. Anthony Traviesa, R-Tampa, would be able to ask parents to pay tuition and fees on top of the state voucher amount, would be allowed to admit or not admit children based on religion, and would be allowed to compel worship. Children would not have to take the FCAT, only the standardized test used by the school.

Those test scores would be given to parents — as FCAT scores are. But while public school scores are aggregated and produce an annual grade for every school, the scores from the voucher students would be aggregated across the entire program by an "independent private research organization" that would be prohibited by law from revealing how well particular private schools were doing.

"Why do that? Then we'd know what was going on," quipped Sen. Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach. "The governor always seems to be afraid of accountability when it comes to voucher programs, and I don't know why."

Schiavo: Jeb! scores political points with his base

Yesterday, it was reported that know nothing busybodies were praying to God Jeb! to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. It seems their prayers have been answered.

State officials again tried to step into the legal drama over Terri Schiavo's life Wednesday by filing an 11th-hour motion to block the removal of her feeding tube. A judge rebuffed the move, although he extended an order barring the tube's removal until Friday.

The unexpected filing by the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate reports of abuse against Schiavo was reminiscent of lawmakers' passage of a 2003 law forcing doctors to resume feeding Schiavo after she went six days without food and water.

The DCF move capped yet another day of political and legal intrigue in a case with no shortage of dramatic developments throughout its seven-year history.

Just as in 2003 when lawmakers were spurred to action by thousands of communications from people wanting to keep Schiavo alive, e-mails and phone calls once again flooded Gov. Jeb Bush and lawmakers.

Bush pledged to do "whatever I can within the law" to keep Schiavo alive, but he sent a blunt message to those who oppose removal of her feeding tube by declaring he will obey "the rule of law."

"I'm not going to grandstand," Bush said. "I'm not going to do something that would be completely inappropriate and disrespectful of the laws of the state of Florida."

George Felos, a lawyer representing Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, protested DCF's motion. "This reeks of political arm twisting," he said. "The governor and Legislature are trying to make an end run around the court system."

Schiavo's parents praised the DCF help and said the judge's order preventing removal of the feeding tube, unrelated to the DCF action, was another "miracle" to extend their daughter's life.
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(Pinellas-Pasco Judge George) Greer appeared irritated as Kelly McKibben, a counsel for DCF's Orlando office, stepped forward during the hearing to speak on a motion to intervene in the case as a crowd of up to 80 people, most of whom support Schiavo's parents, stirred. Some mumbled, "Amen."

Greer would have none of it, saying DCF was not a proper party to the hearing.
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DCF officials refused to comment and declined to say who ordered the move to intervene.

Bill Spann, chief of staff at DCF, said the agency could not provide any information because state law prohibits the disclosure of abuse allegations.

If abuse is proved, Spann said, a report is made to law enforcement and custody of the victim can be transferred away from an alleged abuser.

A copy of the DCF motion was not immediately released. The motion does not note who has made the "abuse and neglect" reports and contains little detail of the allegations.

Schiavo's family has previously complained that they believe husband Michael Schiavo had abused his wife.
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Felos said DCF has previously investigated "scores" of abuse allegations, though none, he said, have ever been substantiated.

Asked if Bush and state lawmakers were behind the DCF action, Felos said, "It's so transparent. I think the general public realized that."

No surprise: Bush family directly profits from war

Company's Work in Iraq Profited Bush's Uncle

The Iraq war helped bring record earnings to St. Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems Inc., and new financial data show that the firm's war-related profits have trickled down to a familiar family name — Bush.

William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, uncle of the president and youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, cashed in ESSI stock options last month with a net value of nearly half a million dollars.

"Uncle Bucky," as he is known to the president, is on the board of the company, which supplies armor and other materials to U.S. troops. The company's stock prices have soared to record heights since before the invasion, benefiting in part from contracts to rapidly refit fleets of military vehicles with extra armor.

William Bush exercised options on 8,438 shares of company stock Jan. 18, according to reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He acknowledged in an interview that the transaction was worth about $450,000.

Nothing new here...

Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

Orcinus: Bush, the Nazis and America

village voice > news > Bush Sr. Could Profit From War

CorpWatch: Bechtel Wins Iraq War Contracts

CBS News | All In The Family

Vouchers for Jesus

This is just too good to pass up: a parent whose kids are ineligible to receive vouchers gets them anyway and uses them to help her kids learn songs praising Jesus. Then the kids are held up as model successes of the very program which they have cheated in order to enroll in.

For school voucher proponents, the morning was almost perfect.

The children on stage sang songs about Jesus while about 2,000 of their classmates in matching red T-shirts clapped along. Attorney General Charlie Crist promised to expand vouchers and Gov. Jeb Bush , who is expected to unveil a new type of voucher today , vowed that corporate tax credit vouchers would continue as long as he is in office.

There was, for voucher fans last week, only one glitch: The parent chosen to offer a testimonial for corporate vouchers was by her own statements ineligible to receive them but, because of a lack of oversight, has had two children enrolled for three years.

The law passed in 2001 at the behest of a major Republican donor requires participating children to have been enrolled in a public school the year before they first receive vouchers. Linda Rutledge, a social worker, said she got vouchers for her son and daughter in 2002 , even though they were attending a Catholic school at the time and had not attended public school for several years.

"Somehow, you've got a poster child for this program, and she's flatly ineligible for the program? How does that happen?" asked Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville.

King was instrumental in the program's founding but is in his second year of pushing legislation to add "accountability" to the state's three voucher programs, which this year are sending about $120 million of public money to private schools.

John Kirtley, the Tampa businessman who effectively runs the corporate voucher program, did not return phone calls for comment.

Cindy Forster, head of the HEROES voucher group in Jacksonville, which receives money from Kirtley for corporate vouchers, said in an e-mail that of more than 10,000 children in the program, Rutledge's children were among 24 improperly enrolled by FloridaChild, a group that no longer distributes vouchers.

Only five such children, including Rutledge's two, are still receiving vouchers, Forster said.

Rutledge said her children had attended a Catholic school for several years on private scholarships. When her son was finishing eighth grade , the highest grade at the school , three years ago, both children applied to and were accepted by Duval County magnet schools.

Rutledge, however, learned of corporate vouchers and decided instead to send her children to Potter's House Christian Academy.

"I think it's an excellent program because it gives us choice," she said, praising her son's "spiritual growth" at the school.

But remember: according to Jeb!, state voucher money does not aid religion in any way.

Jeb! aims to expand holy welfare

As a Florida Supreme Court fight over the constitutionality of throwing state money at private religious schools looms, Jeb! aims to expand his controversial voucher program. His ultimate goal is the destruction of the public school system, because educating poor people without simultaneously indoctrinating them into a hateful and violent religious creed is not an efficient use of taxpayer money.

Students who fail the state's reading test three years in a row would be offered vouchers for private school under a sweeping new education bill Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to unveil today.

The proposal also would change the way teachers are paid, taking into account working conditions such as low-performing schools, high-crime areas and teacher shortages.
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Bush was leading a trade mission to Bogota, Colombia, on Tuesday. His office would not discuss the proposal before today's announcement.

The proposal is almost certain to face strong opposition from Democrats, many of whom have questioned the constitutionality of vouchers.

"I think we ought to focus our efforts on improving our public schools," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. "The future of Florida's children, the future of Florida's economy, depends on good, quality public schools."

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said money would be better spent on provisions such as reading coaches. "We need to solve the reading problem within the school system that's supposed to teach them to read," he said.

The bill, which was still being drafted Tuesday, would be a major expansion of the state's voucher program at a time when its legal future is uncertain.

In a November decision, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the state's original voucher program is unconstitutional because it allows tax dollars to be spent on religious schools. It was the third such court ruling since the voucher law was passed in 1999. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the issue this spring.

Terri may get her wish to die today

As protestors prayed to God Jeb! to intervene, a Judge issued a last minute stay to prevent Michael Schiavo from carrying out Terri’s wishes by allowing her to die. The OK should come soon, though, ending an odyssey started by well intentioned parents years ago and artificially extended by manipulative Christians and supercilious politicians who have cynically preyed upon the family in order to further their own agendas and careers.

Schiavo case nears decision - maybe

The seven-year legal battle over the fate of Terri Schiavo reaches a critical and familiar juncture today leading either to the end of her life or more legal maneuvers to sustain it.

Just days before the 15th anniversary of their daughter's collapse, Bob and Mary Schindler are once again asking a judge today to stop Michael Schiavo from ordering his wife's feeding tube to be removed so they can explore further appeals.

A judge's order barring the tube's removal expires at 5 p.m. today, opening the possibility that feeding will be stopped for the third time since 2001.

On Tuesday, the case hit the latest in a long series of legal standoffs.

First, an appeals court released an order that seemingly cleared the way for Schiavo's husband to order that his wife's feeding tube be removed. But less than an hour later, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer issued a second order stopping him at least until Greer hears argument today about whether to grant a further stay.

Without the food and water the tube brings, Schiavo is expected to die within two weeks.

Lawyers on both sides of this bitter and protracted legal battle agree that the case is at an important crossroads.

"Tomorrow is a huge day," attorney David Gibbs III, who represents Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, told reporters Tuesday.

George Felos, a lawyer representing Michael Schiavo said, "We're hopeful the courts will finally come to the point of saying, "No more delay.' "
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Tuesday started as have so many days in this complex legal contest - with protests, competing news conferences, last-minute court orders and the shadow of uncertainty hanging over everything.

Protesters stood outside Michael Schiavo's Clearwater home early in the morning as police watched nearby. Up to 50 people also protested outside the hospice in Pinellas Park where Terri Schiavo lives, holding signs saying "Thou Shalt Not Kill" or "Let Terri Live."

Matthew Irwin, 24, a student at the University of Florida went to the protest with his mother.

"We're here to pray for Gov. Bush to intervene like last time," he said. "He has the constitutional power and the ability to give Terri life today."

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a mandate, essentially finalizing an earlier unsuccessful appeal by the Schindlers. Some thought the court would spell out instructions on when the feeding tube could be pulled, which could have delayed the act for weeks.

About 11 a.m., Terri Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, told protesters outside the hospice: "I don't have much to say except we are begging and pleading for the Legislature and Gov. Bush to save Terri from being murdered in cold blood."

Upon its release, the district court order offered no instructions on when the feeding tube could be removed. In such an event, Felos had promised that his client would seek to end life-support immediately.

But about 1:45 p.m., Greer issued an order preventing the removal of the feeding tube that has kept Schiavo, 41, alive since her collapse Feb. 25, 1990, from a suspected chemical imbalance, which stopped her heart and severely damaged her brain.
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The Schindlers' lawyers will ask Greer at a hearing today to extend his stay. If Greer doesn't, Felos told reporters that his client will again have health care professionals remove the feeding tube.

"As soon as he is legally authorized, he will discontinue artificial life support," Felos told reporters at a news conference.

Unlike 2003, when state lawmakers and Bush stepped in and forced doctors to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube - a move later overturned on appeal - Felos doesn't think lawmakers have any options left.

"There is nothing they can do to overturn the final judgment of the court in this case," he said. "I think legislators know that, their staff people know that and the governor knows that."
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Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, who has been asked by the Schindlers to organize protests on their daughter's behalf, expressed hope Tuesday that state lawmakers could intervene.

ChoicePoint admits to 10,000 FL victims

ChoicePoint was just gonna notify California victims and leave everyone else hanging, but then word got around, and the company is now scrambling to save face.

The personal information of more than 10,000 Floridians -- things such as birthdays and bank account numbers -- was released to identity thieves in a massive security breach.

It's the kind of information that can be used to create credit card accounts or drain bank accounts.

Overall, 145,000 people living in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and three U.S. territories will receive warning letters, which will be sent out by the end of the week. Only California and Texas had more people affected than Florida. California authorities estimate a half-million people could have had their information stolen.

The announcement Monday from the data broker ChoicePoint comes in the wake of revelations last week that criminals posing as legitimate businesses in California were able to gain access to 19 billion pieces of information on individuals.

ChoicePoint is one of several companies that gather personal information on people, then package and sell it for profit. Its mishandling of that information has set off a political firestorm from California to Washington, with some public officials calling for stepped-up regulation.
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ChoicePoint is one of the largest warehouses of personal data in the country. The Georgia-based company keeps a massive store of records that includes everything from an individual's date of birth and Social Security number to their employment history and driving records. Employers, loan officers, law enforcement and media outlets, among others, pay ChoicePoint for access to its databases.

Companies like ChoicePoint, said Linda Foley, co-executive director of the California identity theft center, ``know as much about you as God does.''

SCANDAL NOTIFICATION

Now, in an effort to contain the widening scandal, ChoicePoint is sending letters to everyone whose information may have been given to a fraud ring. It asks people to call a toll-free number and urges consumers to check their credit reports for suspicious activity.
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Publicly-held ChoicePoint is no stranger to controversy.

In 2000, it bought Boca Raton-based DBT, a data collection company that had its contracts with the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI suspended because its founder was once suspected of ties to Bahamian drug smugglers. DBT also was hired to help build Florida's infamous felon list for the 2000 presidential election. Many of those people, who were purged from voter rolls, were actually eligible to vote.

The breach was first discovered in October, ChoicePoint said, when it detected signs of fraudulent activity in the Los Angeles area. But it said that city authorities asked the company to not notify individuals because of a pending investigation.

In late January, it said it was cleared to begin notifying Californians. In connection with the fraud, a Nigerian citizen last week pleaded no contest in California state court and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

PRIVACY LEGISLATION

Only California has a law requiring data collection agencies to immediately notify people when their personal information has been stolen or given to suspicious groups.

If not for California’s law, no one would have ever found out about this. And that “immediate” notification clause seems to have been stretched to the limit, as most of the stolen information was delivered to the thieves (by ChoicePoint itself) last summer.

They are only notifying victims from other states now due to pressure from at least 38 Attorneys General.

Hmmm... California officials estimate 500,000 and ChoicePoint claims “only” 145,000. Ultimately, it may turn out that many more than 10,000 Floridians were affected.

GOP bullies pollution opponents with “blatant attempt at intimidation”

Opponents of 'Clear Skies' Bill Examined

The chairman of a Senate committee that oversees environmental issues has directed two national organizations that oppose President Bush's major clean-air initiative to turn over their financial and tax records to the Senate.

Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), who heads the Environment and Public Works Committee, asked for the documents 10 days after a representative of the two groups criticized Bush's "Clear Skies" proposal before a Senate subcommittee. Inhofe is the leading sponsor of the administration bill, which is deadlocked in his panel.

The executive director of the two organizations, which represent state and local air pollution control agencies and officials, charged that the request was an attempt to intimidate critics of the measure.

Democratic senators on Inhofe's committee also were dismayed by his action, but declined to say so publicly because they were in the midst of sensitive negotiations with the chairman on the legislation, staffers said.

The committee's majority staff director, Andrew Wheeler, said the request for the groups' documents did not stem from their criticism of the legislation. He said the panel wanted to determine whether the groups represented only regulators' views or whether they also were subsidized by outside interests, including environmentalists or foundations.

The funding, Wheeler said, "goes to who they're speaking for."

William Becker, the executive director of both groups — the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators, which represents 48 state air pollution control agencies, and the Assn. of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, which represents more than 165 local agencies — said they received no money from environmental activists or other private interests.

The administration has proposed the "Clear Skies" initiative as part of its effort to overhaul the way the Clean Air Act forces power plants to cut emissions.

The measure would set new emission standards for three major pollutants and introduce a market-based approach favored by industry. Proponents say it would reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions by 70%. Opponents say reductions could be achieved faster through tighter restrictions or other approaches, including existing Clean Air Act regulations.

Inhofe delayed a vote on the bill this week after he determined that he did not have the numbers to send it to the full Senate. The panel's 18 members are split, largely along party lines.

On Jan. 26, John Paul, an environmental regulator from Ohio, testified on behalf of both pollution control organizations. He told the Senate subcommittee that "Clear Skies" "fails on every one of our associations' core principals," was "far too lenient" on polluters and would undermine "states' abilities to protect air quality."

After the testimony, several senators sent a letter to Paul with follow-up questions; Inhofe included a request for financial statements, membership lists and tax returns for the last six years for both groups. Paul is the vice president and incoming president of the local air pollution group. Inhofe's request was first disclosed by Cox News Service on Friday.
......

Rep. Henry A. Waxman of Los Angeles, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said: "There is not even any subtlety about this. This is a blatant attempt at intimidation and bullying so that experts will be afraid to speak out about a bill that rolls back air pollution protections for all Americans."

Race to hate at Daytona

As Orcinus points out, white supremacist groups are becoming much bolder in their outreach and recruitment efforts. Billboards, pamphlets, and airplane advertising are just the beginning, unless their message of hate is met with a stronger message of tolerance.

In an attempt to reach out to NASCAR fans, local white supremacists say they have hired a plane to fly over Daytona International Speedway today, trailing a banner that reads "Love Your Race."

Todd Weingart, head of the Tampa Bay unit of the National Alliance, a West Virginia group with neo-Nazi roots, said that dozens of volunteers will hand out pro-white fliers and CDs at the Daytona 500, which is expected to draw 200,000 spectators in the stands and millions of TV viewers.

"We feel that we definitely have an audience within the NASCAR racing circle," Weingart said. "They're mostly white people that go to these things, and we feel it is a good opportunity to get our message out."

Federal regulations forbid aircraft from flying near or over the speedway during the race, so Weingart said the plane with the banner will end its flights an hour before the race begins.

Born in the South, NASCAR has struggled with an image of racial insensitivity. Ramsey Poston, a spokesman for NASCAR, said the popular racing organization, whose fans sometimes wave Confederate flags, is remaking itself in the image of an increasingly diverse America.
......

The National Alliance, too, seems to be trying to change its image, at least locally. On its Web site, the group advocates the creation of all-white "racially-clean" communities, accuses Jews of controling the media and refers to multiculturalism as a "sickness." Yet Weingart denied that it is a neo-Nazi or white-supremacist group, calling it instead "an educational organization."

On fliers the group plans to distribute today, a blonde, white-skinned woman is pictured beneath the words LOVE YOUR RACE. But as Weingart, a 27-year-old, who lives in St. Petersburg, spoke of how African-Americans are "more criminal" than whites," bashed interracial marriage and advocated ending U.S. support for Israel, it was clear that the group's core message had not changed.

Art Teitelbaum, southern area director for the Anti-Defamation League, calls the National Alliance "one of the most dangerous extremist groups in the U.S." He said the group, whose philosophy is thought to have inspired Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, is using NASCAR to garner publicity for "their own disgusting purposes."

"One cannot discount the potential for violence when dealing with groups like the National Alliance," Teitelbaum said. "I can assure you that law enforcement and track security is working very hard to ensure the safety of all those who are attending the Daytona 500."

Read Orcinus. Browse the archives. Check out the essays on patriot groups and fascism. Don’t underestimate the power of hate.

Also see the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tolerance.org

WMNF's new building not for everyone

From the SP Times, we’re reminded that today marks the official start of broadcasting from WMNF’s new building.

Starting today, WMNF officially switches its signal - not to mention its studios, news center and nearly 50,000 CDs and 20,000 LPs - to a brand new, $2.2-million building next door.

And from my inbox, an email from Connie Burton, which reminds us that some longtime volunteers will never see the inside of the new broadcast studios.

To: Whom It May Concern From: Connie Burton

Monday night I went before the Personnel Committee to
appeal the cancellation of Straight Talk. First I was
told I must appear alone. Then Sandy Thompson received
an email from Personnel Committee chair David Roosa
that she could stand with me as she has been producer
of the show for the last 3-4 years. When we arrived at
the station, she was not allowed into the meeting.

At the start of the meeting, Roosa announced that they
wanted to record the meeting. I agreed on the
stipulation that I receive a copy of the recording. On
the following day I received a signed letter via fax
from Roosa stating that the Personnel Committee
upholds the station's cancellation of Straight Talk
and again promising me an audio copy of the
proceedings of the meeting. Along with that letter
were approximately 20 pages of email correspondences
amongst station management and between Lorie and
Sandy. These documents were presented after I left, so
I was not allowed to respond to them.

Today, I was told by Roosa that he was instructed by
"HR" (whoever that is) that he cannot give me the copy
of the recording of the meeting as promised. This is
absolutely treacherous and despicable. What are they
trying to hide? Their McCarthyite tactics? Rather than
hearing my grievance, the Committee grilled me on my
political views. "Are you paid by the African People's
Socialist Party?" "Do you adhere to the philosophy of
Yeshitelism?" "Are you a centralist?" I kept replying
"I'm here to talk about Straight Talk". No wonder they
didn't want any witnesses.

Also on today, I went into WMNF and requested several
items from the public file, which all radio stations
are required to maintain. According to FCC rules, "The
station must make its public inspection file available
at its main studio at any time during regular business
hours. You may request copies of materials in the file
by visiting the station in person." Several of the
items I requested are specifically mentioned in the
FCC rules as mandatory items in the public file. Vicki
refused to give me access or copies of any of the
items requested.

The behavior of WMNF in these matters is shameful and
criminal.

Connie Burton

White
Men
Nepotism
Favoritism

Litterer gets burned

Justice is served

The 20-year-old San Francisco resident was rolling across the upper deck of the Bay Bridge at 10:40 a.m., smoking a cigarette. When he got to Harrison Street, he rolled down the window of his white 2004 Ford Expedition SUV and tossed out the butt.

Instead of bounding along the pavement, however, the still-lit cigarette blew back in and set the interior of his $30,000 SUV ablaze.

Black smoke filled the vehicle. Fish pulled over to the far left-hand lane about 100 feet from the Harrison Street exit and leaped from the Expedition, but instead of putting the SUV in park, he left it in neutral.

The flaming Expedition rolled driverless into a guard rail by the exit, where it crashed to a stop and burned to the frame.

Help the ALA help you

The American Library Association is fighting for your right to read whatever the fuck you want. Right now, the FBI can come along and secretly browse through your library record without a warrant or probable cause that a crime has or will be committed. The ALA wants to put a stop to these fishing expeditions.

Reading about terrorists and bomb-making?

The FBI may want to know.

The Patriot Act, adopted after 9/11, gives the agency easier access to once-protected library records.

Under the law, the government doesn't need proof that you're a terrorist or suspected of any crime to search library records, officials with the American Library Association said.

With the statute up for review at the end of this year, the ALA's office for Intellectual Freedom is renewing its push to restore the privacy of bookstore and library records.

Judith Krug, director of the ALA's office for Intellectual Freedom, has been traveling the country, gathering signatures to urge a change in the law.

"It's nobody's business but yours what you read," Krug told a group of librarians and civil liberty proponents during an appearance at the Stetson Law Center in Tampa Thursday. "FBI agents can come to the library and invade our circulation records."

The Patriot Act also puts a gag order on booksellers and librarians, making it illegal to reveal that records have been searched, Krug said.

Because of the gag order, nobody knows how many times the FBI has raided library records nationwide, she said.

Learn more and sign the petition.

Get your friends to sign (pdf).

Jeb! seeks power to "fix" elections

Katherine Harris helped to throw the 2000 election to George W Bush. She was both Florida’s secretary of state, in charge of statewide elections, and Bush’s Florida campaign manager.

Her successor, Glenda Hood, made many decisions last year that could be seen as partisan, including her blind support for a fatally flawed felon purge list that would have unfairly excluded black Democrats from voting rolls while ignoring Hispanic felons who tend to vote Republican.

Now, as noted yesterday, Jeb! wants to vest even more power in the office of Secretary of State, because if his minions lack the power to fix an election, then democracy suffers.

Ever since November, state officials have been crowing about how well Florida ran its presidential election.

Popular early voting, healthy turnout and only a handful of official complaints seemed a testament to voting changes lawmakers passed after the 2000 presidential election debacle.

So it came as a shock to legislative leaders and county elections supervisors when Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled a sweeping proposal Wednesday that concentrated power over how counties run elections in the hands of Secretary of State Glenda Hood.

"I have seen very good policy die because of a flawed process and an unwillingness or inability to get a buy-in from all the stakeholders," Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said Thursday. "I think that will hurt the secretary of state in the Legislature when she goes to try to accomplish this objective."

The bill would give Hood the final word in interpreting state and federal elections law, as well as voter rolls.

It also would grant her the authority to seek fines and criminal charges against county supervisors of election who fail to follow her interpretation of elections law.

The measure is supposed to be a response to a federal law that requires, among other things, a statewide voter database and uniformity in voting.

But critics say it goes far beyond the federal law.

Faced with legislative leaders' concerns and a near mutiny among some county elections supervisors, Bush said Thursday he's willing to compromise on a bill that preserves the role of county supervisors as caretaker of the voting rolls.

His real priority is to give the secretary of state some recourse when they fail to do it, Bush said.

"I kind of like the idea that supervisors should be responsible for maintaining the list. The problem is when they ignore their responsibility," Bush said.

"There needs to be a means ... for the secretary of state, who is the chief elections officer, to be able to have the wherewithal to sanction and, if necessary, take charge," he said.

Bush didn't name specific supervisors who he says failed in their duties, but last year he criticized several who refused during the last election to purge voters whose names appeared on a state list of felons, who can't vote in Florida unless they've had their civil rights restored.

The state ultimately scrapped the list, which turned out to be flawed.
......

Curtis Gans, director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate in Washington, D.C., said he would support a central official being the final word on elections laws and procedures in some states - but not Florida.

The state has a history of political contamination in its highest elections office, he said, making it unwise to designate that office as the final arbiter on laws and procedures.

"There have been a lot of interpretations by Katherine Harris and her successor that have been partisan interpretations," Gans said, referring to Hood's predecessor, now in Congress. "(But) if the secretary of state were isolated from politics, that would be fine."

Sen. Nan Rich echoed those concerns.

The Weston Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections said Hood's office has become an extension of Bush's office, and that the close association threatens the integrity of the state's voting procedures.

"There's not a pretense, even. It seems that the governor's office and the secretary of state are becoming one and that's wrong," Rich said.

Jeb! plan would enable state sponsored fraud

Jeb! has been steaming ever since last year when severe flaws were exposed in his felon scrub list, forcing the Secretary of State to make its use optional. Most local elections supervisors opted not to use the list, which contained tons of black democrats, but almost no Hispanic voters whatsoever.

Well, here’s Jeb!’s plan to eliminate those pesky problems in the future.

Reacting to Florida's persistent voting complications, Gov. Jeb Bush wants to change election law to centralize more authority in the executive branch.

Gone would be the right of locally elected supervisors to interpret election law in a way different from the secretary of state.

Partisan poll watchers could keep challenging voters they suspect to be ineligible, but the voters would lose any recourse except to cast provisional ballots.

The secretary of state also would have increased authority to decide the manner in which names do and do not appear on the voting rolls, according to legislation proposed by the governor's office.

In other words, the very people who tried unsuccessfully to unfairly disenfranchise black Democrats while ignoring GOP Hispanics are to be given the power to force honest local officials to aid and abet them in the future.

More on the felonious junk felon scrub list.

Compassionless conservatism

W just loves beating up on the poor and powerless.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Bush administration wants to eliminate a program that provides education and training to a large migrant farmworker population.

Ending the National Farmworkers Job Program would save $76.2 million, according to the administration's 2006 budget plan. The administration argues that the program is ineffective and repetitive, that one-stop career centers for migrants do the job.

David Strauss, executive director of the Washington- based Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, said Congress stepped in to save the program in past years.

Farmworkers learn English and obtain a high school equivalency diploma and job training through the program. Without these services, advocates say, they would lose the opportunity to join mainstream America and move away from poverty-level existence.

Schiavo's parents fall in with bad crowd

Terri Schiavo needs to die. Judges have repeatedly found that she made her wishes clear to her husband and that he has every right to remove her feeding tube and put an end to all of this pathetic madness.

Her parents, the Schindlers, are now being used as tools by the religious right, no doubt destined to become the next great martyrs done in by “activist judges” and hateful leftists. One thing I’ll never understand about these self proclaimed religious types: if the great reward of heaven is truly awaiting, then why the fuck are they so damn scared of death?

With legal options dwindling, the woman's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, turned to the founder of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue, Randall Terry. He announced a plan to again lobby Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene and also picket the home and workplace of Schiavo's husband, Michael, who wants to stop his wife's feedings as early as Tuesday so she can die.

GOP wants minimum wage optional for employers

I alluded to the sweetheart deal that WalMart got from the Bush administration a few days ago.

NathanNewman has been covering the WalMart mess well, and it turns out that he’s also all over the Florida minimum wage fight - a fight to make the voter mandated $6 something per hour Florida minimum wage optional for employers. (Click through for the whole story and his links)

Last fall, Florida voters overwhelmingly (72%) approved a constitutional amendment increasing the minimum wage by a buck and mandating that any employers breaking the law pay double damages plus legal fees when they violate the law.

Now the Florida GOP state House leaders want to let violators of the law escape those double damages if they give the money back within 15 days of being notified by employees of the intent to sue.

The Florida Republican leaders claim this provision fits within the intent of the Amendment. Since I drafted the damn thing, I think I can say with some authority that their bill completely violates the constitutional amendment. Read the amendment for yourself, but the basic problem with this 15-day notice is the same as the Wal-Mart deal: Employers will have every incentive to violate the law recklessly. Even if they are caught underpaying a few employees, they can simply pay back the wages owed with no fine, while pocketing the profit from underpaying the many workers who will inevitably never challenge the employer’s illegal activity.

But then that's the point of these "notice" provisions-- to gut minimum wage laws and discourage enforcement. These rightwing politicians hate working class people and support corporate criminality. They are soft on crime when the criminals wear a nice three-piece suit.

Prosecutor not so tough on herself

DUIblog comments on a hometown prosecutor:

Pinellas DUI prosecutor pleads to own drunk driving charge

TAMPA, Fla. Associated Press - A Pinellas County prosecutor known for being tough on drunk drivers will serve probation and lecture school children on the dangers of drinking and driving to settle her own DUI case.

Lydia Dempsey Wardell was arrested in November after she drove the wrong way on a street and was involved in a minor accident. Her two young sons were in the car with her, and police measured her blood alcohol at nearly three times the legal limit for drunk driving.

Wardell was sentenced Wednesday after a plea agreement which reduced the drunk driving and culpable negligence charges against her to misdemeanors. Wardell will serve 18 months probation, and complete other tasks such as spending time on a sheriff's road crew picking up trash and at least 10 hours of speaking to children. Officials said her punishment is similar to those imposed on other first-time DUI offenders....

"Similar to those imposed on other first-time DUI offenders"? Are they serious?

Here we have a person arrested for drunk driving with two children in the car, after an accident, and with a blood-alcohol of about .23% (incidentally, a common indicator of an alcoholic). In most states, an accident will usually increase the jail sentence; a sky-high breath test nearly triple the legal limit definitely will; and exposing kids to all of this is called "child endangerment" and may result in felony charges, as apparently happened here -- punishable by state prison. All-in-all, this person gets a very long stretch in jail.

Ms. Wardell, with her reputation for "being tough on drunk drivers", had the felony reduced to a misdemeanor and was only asked to pick up some trash and talk to kids for a few hours. That is known in the trade as a "Santa Claus deal". But then these are reserved for police, prosecutors and judges -- those, that is, who are unlucky enough to be arrested by an honest cop in the first place.

I’m sure this will cause her to re-think her tough attitude and show some compassion in future cases.

We still need a paper trail

Just received an email from Verified Voting:

On February 9, 2005, Senator John Ensign of Nevada introduced S330, the "Voting Integrity and Verification Act" (VIVA), requiring a voter-verified paper ballot, and ensuring that the paper ballot governs in case of any discrepancy between a machine count and paper count.

Eight original co-sponsors joined Senator Ensign to provide early bi-partisan support for the bill. The leadership demonstrated by these senators is essential to move this bill forward as quickly as possible, and we thank the senators for standing up on behalf of publicly verifiable elections nationwide.

To let them know you appreciate their support, please take action and send a quick thank you note! Visit our Action Center today here

Enabling Wal-Mart

Corrente has the details on the Bush administration's Wal-Mart-coddling.

More Wal-Mart here.

Who would Jesus fuck?

Speaking of going back to the good ole days...

Florida group launches drive for amendment banning same-sex marriage

A group with ties to conservative Christian organizations officially launched Monday a petition drive aimed at writing a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution.

......

"We know homosexual marriage isn't the only threat to marriage today, but rather one of many," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. His organization says it can turn homosexuals into heterosexuals "through the power of Jesus Christ."

Let’s help out with the ballot language:

The legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro filthy homo, or descendant of a Negro homo.

Or maybe

Marriages are void when one party is a white homosexual person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese faggot blood.

Jeb! longs for the good ole days

Jeb! hates citizen initiatives that interfere with his ability to cut taxes and throw other bones to the rich. Now, he wants to appear to be compromising by simply calling for a modification of Florida’s class size amendment, rather than its outright repeal, but he’s actually setting the stage for separate and decidedly unequal schools by calling for counties to meet countywide class size averages rather than meeting the cap in every classroom.

Of course, I’m sure that the net result wont be that schools in poor and minority neighborhoods end up overcrowded while the rich schools come in well under the caps, because our Jeb! would never initiate a plan that resulted in unfair treatment, would he?

Gov. Jeb Bush wants voters to ease the class size limits they approved three years ago, saying a countywide average instead of a cap on individual classes would lead to savings school districts could use to boost teacher salaries.

Bush, a longtime opponent of the class-size amendment voters approved in 2002, threw his support behind a ballot proposal that would allow districts to calculate class sizes using the more lenient standard. He said it will save money and still fulfill the objective of relieving overcrowded classrooms.

"It will provide flexibility to school districts ... and it will free up resources so that we can address a true challenge in our state - how to attract and retain quality teachers, " said Bush, who was flanked by top Republican lawmakers and officials from several education groups.

Hmmm... “flexibility to school districts...”

More here.

Arthur Miller

Go read The Rude Pundit

And that's why we pay attention to Miller here. He fought, fuckin' fought old school, for the good of those who were run over by governments, cultures, and moralities. And so, so much of what he wrote still has the ability to kick the ass of anyone inundated with the lies of the right wing and the powerful.

GOP: The party of fiscal responsibility

After Bush Leaves Office, His Budget's Costs Balloon (washingtonpost.com)

For President Bush, the budget sent to Congress last week outlines a painful path to meeting his promise to bring down the federal budget deficit by the time he leaves office in 2009. But for the senators and governors already jockeying to succeed him, the numbers released in recent days add up to a budgetary landmine that could blow up just as the next president moves into the Oval Office.

Congress and the White House have become adept at passing legislation with hidden long-term price tags, but those huge costs began coming into view in Bush's latest spending plan. Even if Bush succeeds in slashing the deficit in half in four years, as he has pledged, his major policy prescriptions would leave his successor with massive financial commitments that begin rising dramatically the year he relinquishes the White House, according to an analysis of new budget figures.

Bush's extensive tax cuts, the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and, if it passes, his plan to redesign Social Security all balloon in cost several years from now. His plan to partially privatize Social Security, for instance, would cost a total of $79.5 billion in the last two budgets that Bush will propose as president and an additional $675 billion in the five years that follow. New Medicare figures likewise show the cost almost twice as high as originally estimated, largely because it mushrooms long after the Bush presidency.

The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: The Importance of Being Earnest

Mr. Bush needs to convince foreign investors that he's serious about cutting the budget deficit. Here's why: Each day, the United States must borrow billions of dollars from abroad to finance its enormous budget and trade deficits. Without a steady stream of huge loans, the country would face rising interest rates, higher inflation, a dropping dollar and slower economic growth. The lenders want to see less of a gap between what the government collects in taxes and what it spends, because a lower budget deficit always eases a trade deficit. A lower trade deficit also implies a stronger dollar. And a stronger dollar would reassure foreign investors that dollar-based assets remain their best choice.

As it is, their belief is being sorely tested: in 2003, the European Central Bank lost $625 million to the weak dollar and reportedly stands to lose $1.3 billion for 2004. Japan's central bank, which has the world's largest foreign stash of dollars - some $715 billion - could lose an estimated $40 billion if the dollar weakened to around 95 yen, a level many analysts expect to see this year. No wonder that a week before Mr. Bush released his budget, Japan's finance minister said that Japan had to be careful in managing those dollar-filled foreign currency reserves.

It's not hard to see what brought the United States to this juncture. Mr. Bush's first-term tax cuts were too expensive and too skewed toward top earners to work as effective, self-correcting economic stimulus. Instead, predictably, they've driven the nation deep into the red. Having reduced tax revenue to a share of the economy not seen since 1959, the cuts are a huge factor in the swing from a budget surplus to a $412 billion deficit.
......

Lately, Mr. Bush has been talking the deficit reduction talk, but there's no sign that he is willing to walk the walk. In his 2006 budget, he pledges to slash spending, but largely in areas that would have only a small impact on the deficit and where cuts would be politically difficult, not to mention cruel, such as food stamps, veterans' medical care, child care and low-income housing. Meanwhile, he is pounding the table for more deficit-bloating measures - making his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a 10-year cost of as much as $2.1 trillion; putting into effect two high-income tax breaks that were enacted in 2001 but have been on hold, at a 10-year cost of $115 billion; and introducing new tax incentives to allow high earners to shift even more cash into tax shelters, at a cost that would ultimately work out to more than $30 billion a year when investors cashed in their accounts tax-free.

Oh, yes. Mr. Bush also wants to borrow some $4.5 trillion over two decades to privatize Social Security, which is a bad idea even without the borrowing and a horrendous one with it.

IRV makes too much sense for FL legislative backing

Instant runoff voting in Florida? A reform passed by the GOP dominated legislature that isn’t guaranteed to benefit Republicans? A system that most everyone agrees would be fairer and result in more of the population having their voices heard? It’s a great idea whose time has come, but I’m not expecting to see it in Florida real soon.

The benefits are self-evident: November voters would choose among nominees who are more moderate than they can expect now. The nominees would more likely represent the majorities rather than the extremes of their parties. They would have had to run clean campaigns so as not to offend the supporters of other candidates from whom they might need second-choice votes.

"There's no question that the civility of campaigns might be dramatically altered by this idea," says Sen. Rod Smith, one of the Democrats running for governor. "I think the absence of a runoff has hurt the civility."

That benefit is accessible without the expensive, time-consuming, inconvenient and low-turnout traditional runoff which - listen up, you legislators - comes back to the ballot in the fall of 2006 as the law stands now.
......

Instant-runoff voting is not rocket science. It is common overseas and had a successful debut three months ago in San Francisco. Easy-to-read information, including a PowerPoint slide show by Vermont's secretary of state, is available on the Web site of the Center for Voting and Democracy: www.fairvote.org

The Legislature shelved the runoff three years ago ostensibly for the sake of the election supervisors but there was also some political intrigue afoot. The Republicans, having a strong incumbent governor, thought the absence of a runoff would produce a weaker Democratic nominee. They may have been right, though the opponent they got - Bill McBride - was not the one they and some of us in the press expected. Mea culpa.

There was also concern over the potential of some well-mobilized extremist group on the right or left to monopolize low-turnout legislative runoffs. But the risk is even greater in a multicandidate primary without a runoff.

The political motives this time are harder to figure with so many candidates suiting up in both parties. It is widely assumed here that those who seem to be trailing this time next year will be the ones who most want a runoff. Should those include Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, Gov. Jeb Bush could help her by vetoing the legislation to permanently eliminate the runoff.

But that ought not to be the only choice. For the voters, instant-runoff voting is the best of all the possible scenarios. Your Legislature owes you the duty of giving it a fair hearing.

More here.

Shades of WMNF at "Christian" WTBN

This morning’s Tampa Tribune informs us that

A Christian radio station canceled its advertising contract with a Muslim organization this week on the grounds that the content ``did not serve our Christian constituency.''

The 30-second spot promoted a Saturday event at the University of South Florida - a Christian-Muslim dialogue.

``This is exactly why we need to be doing programs like this,'' said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. ``There's a lot of misinformation about Islam, and relations are strained. Not only here, but all around the world.''

Christopher Gould Sr., general manager at WTBN, 910 AM, said Thursday that it was unfortunate a contract had been signed, but the company reserves the right to reject advertising after it reviews the content.

The station will refund the Islamic council's $300, he said.

``We run advertising that is aimed at our audience,'' Gould said. ``This isn't the first time we've had to reject something. It could be another religion trying to promote people to its faith, or for an alcoholic beverage or a gentleman's club. We have to draw the line as to what is acceptable.''

The contract had been signed by a sales manager when the promotions department reviewed the ad. Gould said he checked out the council's Web site and concluded the group is ``clearly interested in recruiting people'' to Islam.

``The language was very gentle, and it's under the guise of tolerance and discussion,'' he said. ``But the fact is, they want to grow their organization.''

That is not the group's intent, Bedier said.

Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding, its Web site says. The organization has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.

``We don't aspire to go out and convert,'' Bedier said.

The radio spot invites the public to attend a Muslim- Christian interfaith event titled ``Jesus: Biblical and Quranic Perspectives.'' It is sponsored by CAIR-Florida and the Muslim Student Association at USF, and includes Christian and Islamic scholars.

A narrator opens the spot with: ``Our world today is torn apart by mistrust and misunderstanding. We have a choice: live in ignorance of each other or work to create harmony and tolerance.'' Listeners are then invited to a ``historic dialogue'' between Christians and Muslims who will share their perspectives on Jesus.

Hmmm... a radio station that is run by closed minded hypocrites who fear the dissemination of ideas which may challenge their narrow notions of reality while possibly upsetting their core group of true believers. This is to be expected of evangelical Christians. What struck me was the parallel thinking of a commercial Christian station and the management at WMNF community radio.

Let’s re-write the article a bit:

A Christian community radio station canceled its advertising contract with a Muslim organization a show hosted by a minority activist this week on the grounds that the content ``did not serve our Christian constituency.''
......

``We run advertising fundraising that is aimed at our audience,'' Gould Santa said. ``This isn't the first time we've had to reject something. It could be another religion marginalized group trying to promote people to its faith, or for an alcoholic beverage or a gentleman's club air controversial ideas. We have to draw the line as to what is acceptable.''

Now, you may or may not agree with the content or the style of "Straight Talk", and some people are aghast at the tactics that Connie Burton and her supporters are using to draw attention to their situation, but the bottom line is that WMNF management is a lily white group of hypocritical punks who are not acting in the spirit of community radio.

But I digress. Today’s outrage should be directed at the predictably paranoid actions of the evangelicals.

CAIR’s web site speaks of understanding and compassion, civil liberties and justice. With the conference that they are sponsoring and attempting to promote, they are specifically reaching out to assholes like the group which runs WTBN. Their goal is to foster a greater understanding of the Islamic culture in order to avoid exactly the kind of misguided thinking that led to the cancellation of their ads.

The bottom line is essentially the same: WTBN is run by a bunch of hypocritical punks who are not acting in the spirit of Christ.

Thought police in Bartow

From Florida Politics, we learn that the Christian thought police have way too much time on their hands.

Damn! This kind of petty crap really pisses me off.

A Polk County mother thinks the word damn has no place in a 10-year-old's school library book.

Kristi Hardee hopes her quest to ban the book, “Anastasia Krupnik” by Newbery award-winner Lois Lowry, from Spook Hill Elementary in Lake Wales will lead to a policy allowing for a countywide ban on books deemed offensive.

"It's appalling, some of the things in this book," said Hardee, 32, mother of a fourth-grader and part-time church secretary.

Lowry said she's surprised someone is raising a fuss about the book now. It was written in the 1970s. She said she's all for parents restricting their children. "But they don't have the right to do it for other people."

Some Polk school officials agree. If a person objects to a book, they can file a complaint and the matter is taken up on a school-by-school basis with a media committee, said Jacqueline Rose, senior coordinator for library services. The school's committee will decide later this month.

Hardee has kept the book checked out so no one can get it.

Yeah, this book sounds downright immoral.

The first and best book in the very popular series describes the ups and downs of a precocious ten-year-old girl. Anastasia loves keeping lists of important information in her green notebook; when she discovers that her mother is pregnant, she instantly adds two new items to her "things I hate" list: "My parents" and "babies." But as the year passes, Anastasia finds that the items on her lists keep moving around; by the time her baby brother is born, the only thing left to hate is liver. An unusually warm, insightful and original portrait of childhood and family life, this is a special and memorable story. Horn Book called Anastasia "an amusing and engaging heroine" and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books wrote, "the whole book is a delight."

New and used copies of this book are available at Amazon for $0.88 to $4.99. (Even better: buy from your local bookseller and tell them I sent you!) How ‘bout we send the school some extra copies so the kids don’t miss out...

Spook Hill Elementary
321 Dr J a Wltshre Ave E
Lake Wales, FL 33853

(863) 678-4262

Recruiters lie, kids die

Wow. Military recruiters lie to vulnerable high school kids in order to meet their enlistment goals and turn the kids into canon fodder? How utterly, uh, believable.

Laramie Misner was surprised when her daughter Kelsie, a 17-year-old senior at Dunedin High School, came home on the evening of Jan. 7 saying she wanted to join the Florida National Guard.

Misner listened with growing worry when Kelsie told her that a Guard recruiter had visited school that day. Kelsie said the recruiter promised not only that the Guard would pay college tuition, but also that she would not have to leave Florida.

It is absolutely true the Florida National Guard will pay college tuition at a Florida school.

But it is absolutely not the case that recruits can be guaranteed to remain in Florida or even the United States. At this moment, 700 to 800 of Florida's almost 10,000 Guard members are serving honorably in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

Yet other students at Dunedin High School thought they heard the recruiter say this, too, and some of them signed up. If you are 18 you can sign for yourself, but if you're 17 your folks have to sign too.

Kelsie was pretty sure her Mom was wrong. That's understandable - whom should a 17-year-old believe, after all, Mom or a complete stranger? So Misner gathered news articles about deployments. Knowing the recruiter needed her signature too, Misner was ready for his followup call. She put Kelsie on the extension to listen in.

"I said to the guy, "Did you honestly tell those kids they would not have to go to Iraq?' " Misner says. She mentioned the articles she had gathered. She says his reply was: "The papers get the National Guard mixed up with the reserves."

Then she started quoting items about Guard units being activated and shipped out. "Well," he said, "there are a few that are going ... it happens on rare occasions." At this point, Misner noticed Kelsie's eyes growing wider.

Misner did not let the matter slide, but visited Dunedin High School, complained, and traded e-mails with principal Mildred Reed. Reed told her she would inform Guard recruiters "that my expectation is that they give realistic presentations."
......

I asked Linda Lerner, a member of the Pinellas School Board, what policy exists on military recruiting visits. She reported it is a welcome and common practice, often arranged at the local school level, whether in job fairs or individual visits.

It turns out that under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, military and college recruiters are entitled to the names, addresses and telephone numbers of high school students. Parents must sign a written notice to keep their child off the list.

Most people know nothing about this name and address requirement, but in Hillsborough County it’s even worse.

A lot of attention was paid a few years ago when a federal funding rule kicked in, requiring public school systems to share student information with the military. No controversy around here, though, as The Hillsborough County School Board has been providing contact info for many years, and at a bargain price, too. For just $61, the military is given a database as well as the use of school property to further their nefarious agenda.

The Hillsborough County school district has been an active supporter for a long time. There was little local effect when the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act required public high schools nationwide to provide recruiters with names, addresses and phone numbers of juniors and seniors because Hillsborough has been supplying such lists for 20 years.

The county charges the military $61 for an annual directory.

Parents who don't want their children contacted can have names removed from the list by filling out a form in their children's student handbooks. Critics say many people aren't aware they can ``opt out'' until after the information has been released.

``It's very overwhelming for parents when they have back- to-school night and they have 15 different waivers and forms to fill out,'' said Mary Kusler, a senior legislative specialist with the American Association of School Administrators in Washington. ``It's very easy for this one to get lost in the mix.''

And it’s not clear form this article if Hillsborough County lets parents opt out. The “No Child” laws call for an opt out option, but if Hillsborough is selling this info on its own, apart from the federal requirements, are they required to provide an opt out, and do they actually provide one?

Helpful Links:

The Objector: Home of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors

Not in Our Name: Stop the Military Recruiters

Questions for Recruiters

VFP Lawrence High School exhibit

GOP aims to dilute new minimum wage law

This is life in a right-to-work state: the Legislature is doing its level best to water down the new minimum wage law - a true mandate from voters - in order to allow employers to screw over low wage workers as much as possible.

Backers of Florida's new higher minimum wage criticized a bill Wednesday that deals with the increase, saying it could water down the measure by creating loopholes.

Seventy percent of voters in November approved a constitutional amendment creating a state minimum wage of $6.15, a dollar above the federal minimum wage.

The wage takes effect six months "after enactment" and must keep pace with inflation each year. The provision also says action by state lawmakers is not needed for it to take effect.

"The language in the amendment could not have been clearer. The will of the voter could not have been clearer," said Rich Templin, a Florida AFL-CIO spokesman.

But business groups that opposed the measure say clarifications are needed, such as the exact date the state wage takes effect, and protections for employers who make honest mistakes.

The House Judiciary Committee is working on legislation to "explain and clarify the ambiguities," Chairman David Simmons, R-Longwood, said Wednesday. "All we're trying to do is keep employers all across the state from being caught in a "gotcha' situation."

The state chairwoman of ACORN, the advocacy group behind the minimum wage drive last year, said supporters fear the bill will weaken the amendment.

Tamecka Pierce said the bill would undercut the constitutional right of employees to join in class action lawsuits. She said it would also give employers a 15-day window to pay disputed wages before being penalized and protection from damages if they can prove they acted in "good faith" when they violated the Constitution.

"We don't want corporations to be able to put in their words," Pierce said.

A business lobbyist told the House panel he worried about employers facing penalties because they didn't realize the increase had taken effect.

"It's not that they don't want to pay the minimum wage - primarily most of them pay well above the minimum wage even as we speak right now," Steve Birtman, representing National Federation of Independent Business, said. "It's that they will not know."

The proposed bill specifies that the effective date of the increase would be May 2, six months after last Election Day.

Ronald Meyer, a Tallahassee attorney who specializes in labor law, wanted removal of the provisions on class action lawsuits and the good-faith protection given to employers.

"I think that goes beyond what the Constitution authorizes and I think it renders the act somewhat susceptible of constitutional challenge," Meyer said.

Yeah, those poor businesses are bound to be caught up in some innocent payroll mistakes that just happen to be in their favor...

Update to The Idlewild Baptist Central Campus Illegal Tire Dump and Mosquito Farm for Christ

After years of frustration, and after reading about Idlewild’s brand new $73 million campus being built in northwest Hillsborough County, I blogged about the unkempt lot that Idlewild owns and fails to maintain right next door to my inner city property.

Before the cleanup: tires litter the Idlewild lot

A crew form the Tampa Solid Waste Department showed up around 8:00 this morning and carted away much of the tire pile. They were sloppy and lazy enough that at least one tire and a big piece of carpet along with several other pieces of debris were left to continue rotting.

While they were still throwing tires into their truck, I wandered out to speak with them and was greeted rather brusquely. They informed me that their work order showed my address as the offending property and that I would be billed for the cleanup. They then began to lecture me on the proper care and feeding of a vacant lot.

I quickly grew tired of their demeaning attitude and I left them to their task and returned to the relative peace of my domicile, but I was rather concerned about the billing issue, since I sure as hell don’t want to get into a fight over payment for the cleanup of a lot that I don’t own. This and the fact that not everything was removed prompted me to call Code Enforcement.

After the cleanup: things are better, but not good enough.

Surprisingly, Code Enforcement informed me that they still showed no violation for the church property. I told the friendly staff person my story, and she directed me to Solid Waste.

I called Solid Waste and was told that no work order existed for either my address or the address for the vacant lot. I repeated that the Solid Waste crew had informed me that my address was on the work order and that I was being billed for the cleanup, and I was put on hold while a search was done, but no record of the work order could be found.

Now, this could well be a simple case of bureaucratic confusion, but I have my doubts.

I strongly suspect that the Solid Waste crew was sent as a favor to the church and that the city will end up eating the cost of the cleanup. This, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing, since the neighborhood as a whole benefits from the removal of discarded tires, but if true, it is a great illustration of hypocritic workings of Tampa’s governmental organizations.

Mayor Pam Iorio has been waging a war against code violations, citing people for such trivialities as address numbers that are difficult to read and slightly overgrown lawns. Many property owners who get cited are simply poor property owners who have trouble maintaining their property, but who do the best they can with a limited budget.

The poor get no break. If they fail to clean up or paint or whatever the city asks them to do, they face stiff fines and very possibly the loss of their homes. Again, they are not intentional scofflaws, but simply economically distressed individuals who may be forced by circumstance to put off a fresh paint job or other cosmetic repair.

The Idlewild Church, on the other hand, is one of the wealthiest and most politically connected property owners in my neighborhood. They are well aware of the blighted vacant lot across from their Central Campus, and have done absolutely nothing to clean up the unsightly and completely illegal pile of junk that has been accumulating there for more than two years.

So, if my paranoid theory is correct, the city is paying for an under the table cleanup for an organization that could easily afford to foot the bill themselves, an organization that has ample resources to properly maintain their property in the first place but which has neglected to do so. At the same time, the city continues to harass and intimidate and cause untold amounts of grief to poor homeowners who would happily comply with city code were they financially able to do so.

Business as usual.

After Cleanup Pictures

Before Cleanup Pictures

Note - to be perfectly clear: I am still waiting for a call back from the Solid Waste Department as to who ordered and is paying for the cleanup. I will post updates as I get them, and I will gladly eat my words if my theory is incorrect.

FL Dems show signs of spine

As Jeb!’s brother fights to destroy Social Security, Jeb! himself is concentrating on shafting the poor by decimating the state’s Medicaid program. Medicaid provides health insurance for the poor and disabled, and Jeb! feels that the only justification for keeping it around would be to allow private companies to profit from the suffering of our most vulnerable citizens.

Thankfully, and perhaps inspired by the national party’s strong stance against the Social Security privateers, Florida’s legislative Dems seem to be displaying a bit of backbone on this one, as they promise to fight Jeb!’s impecunious plan.

Democratic legislators objected Tuesday to Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed overhaul of the Florida Medicaid program, with one leader vowing his party would ``draw our line in the sand.''

Ten members of the House Democratic Caucus held a news conference to criticize the Republican governor for trying to cut health care for the poor while pushing new tax breaks.

``We do not want decisions on people's health, decisions on what we are going to cover, [made] by some bureaucrat in an HMO,'' said Rep. Chris Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, leader of his chamber's minority party.

``We want it to be decided by the people's representatives, by the Legislature,'' he said. ``We do not want to abrogate our responsibility to take care of the most needy in this state.''

Bush unveiled his plan last month to revamp the health care system, leaving many details unresolved. He would eliminate Medicaid as an entitlement, an open-ended program in which the state covers medical bills of those eligible after they have been treated.

Instead, the state would buy insurance policies in a managed care program such as a health maintenance organization for Medicaid recipients. The private vendors who accept the state premiums would be allowed to define the scope of benefits offered.

Bush argues the proposal would help the state stabilize its costs while offering Medicaid patients choices among a variety of plans.

Critics object to letting private companies define coverage. Rep. Joyce Cusack, D-DeLand, said proponents haven't been upfront in describing their vision.

``The governor and his colleagues are refusing to admit that the likely outcome in their plan will be to reduce benefits for Medicaid recipients,'' Cusack said. ``That's the bottom line, a reduction in benefits.''

Related: Delivering a backbone to the DNC, the day after W’s coronation.

Trib polls FL delegation on SS

The Tampa Tribune polled Florida’s Congressional delegation on their Social Security theft stances. Nothing surprising for those who have been following the fight: lots of privateers amongst the GOP, with some notable CYA exceptions for those in districts with lots of retirees.

Constituents in Allen Boyd’s district need to keep the heat on.

Delegation Unnerved By Social Security: From The Tampa Tribune

Florida Republicans in Congress are far from unified behind President Bush's Social Security plan, despite his cross-country campaign to sell it.

At least three key members of the president's party - Reps. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale, Katherine Harris of Sarasota and Ginny Brown- Waite of Brooksville - aren't ready to line up behind his idea for partial privatization of Social Security. The support of a fourth, Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Rocks Beach, is questionable.

Responses to queries of all Florida Congress members this week indicate the state's delegation breaks down roughly along party lines for and against the proposal, with notable exceptions.

Beyond the potential defectors and others who didn't respond, most of Florida's 18 Republicans support the plan, as does their party's one senator, Mel Martinez.

Among Democrats, Sen. Bill Nelson and six House members oppose the plan; a seventh, Allen Boyd of Monticello, didn't respond but has said he favors a plan similar to the president's.

Republicans and Democrats alike are reluctant to suggest options for solving Social Security's long-term financial problem. Only one proposal by a Floridian, Shaw, appears to be gaining popularity as an alternative.

Shaw, a House leader on Social Security issues, supports a plan with one key difference from Bush's. It would allow personal retirement accounts through the Social Security program - but funded by income tax credits, not Social Security tax revenue.

The potential defections come in a state where Bush particularly wants support. Florida's 3.3 million Social Security recipients and ``mailbox economy'' make it more dependent on the program than any other state.

It's also a state where most Republicans, including those in Congress, usually are intensely loyal to the president and his brother, Jeb Bush.

The president made Florida one of five states on a tour immediately after his State of the Union address last week to drum up support for his plan. Speaking at the Tampa Convention Center, he urged citizens to pressure their lawmakers to back him.

Spotty support in Florida could signal trouble for Bush's plan nationwide.

``This is becoming a pattern,'' said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist who cited similar defections in states from the Midwest to the South.

``A lot [of Republicans] are very nervous about this,'' Sabato said, suggesting Bush's proposal may be simply an opening gambit, with any eventual changes taking a different form.

Opinions Have Weight

Several of the Florida Republicans who haven't committed to the president's plan have status in the national argument over Social Security.

Shaw, former chairman of the Social Security subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, is considered the delegation's ``point man'' on Social Security, and his opinion carries weight, other representatives said.

Brown-Waite, a member of the financial services panel likely to consider Bush's proposal, is on the front lines of the battle. Her district, covering retiree areas on the central Gulf Coast, contains some 250,000 Social Security recipients - more than in any other district, and more than in 11 states.

Harris, probably Florida's best-known member of Congress because of her role in the disputed 2000 presidential election, is likely to be the party's 2006 Senate nominee.

Young, Florida's most senior representative, held more clout than any colleague from the state as House Appropriations Committee chairman until he reached his term limit for the post this year.

None of the four voiced direct opposition to Bush, but Shaw prefers his own plan, and Brown-Waite and Harris would not commit.

``Every possibility needs to be on the table,'' Brown-Waite said. ``My primary objective is to be loyal to my constituents, not my party.''

Young hasn't taken a public stance pro or con, and neither he nor a spokesman returned calls for comment. He has been quoted in news reports as saying he wouldn't support a plan that would make Social Security subject to the stock market.

Bush's plan includes investing Social Security tax revenue in the market.

The issue appears awkward for the state's dominant Republicans because of a huge population of elders, less likely than younger people to favor the president's plan.

``They're not going to cast a vote that will end their political careers, especially people in districts with large percentages of seniors,'' Sabato said.

Besides Young, other Republicans who didn't return calls for comment included Reps. Mike Bilirakis of Palm Harbor and Mark Foley of Palm Beach, who also have large retiree populations in their districts. Foley has co- sponsored legislation to enact Shaw's plan.

Those representing fewer retirees felt freer to back Bush.

Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami, whose 47,000 retiree constituents are the fewest of any Florida Congress member, pulled no punches.

``Members of Congress who say this plan is bad, that it's risky, they themselves put their money into the same kind of plan. ... But they don't want to allow Americans to have a similar retirement nest egg,'' Diaz- Balart said. ``Shouldn't working-class, middle-class Americans have that same option? Yes, I do support that.''

......

Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, whose solidly Democratic district is awash with retirees in Broward and Palm Beach counties, was among those making a specific recommendation - rescinding part of Bush's upper-income tax cuts to shore up the Social Security trust fund.

Wexler said Bush has ``a deceptive plan to privatize'' Social Security that will ``increase our nation's debt by trillions and will place an enormous financial burden on the backs of future generations of Americans, ... a risky plan that has no guarantees but a huge payout to the president's cronies on Wall Street.''

Two Democrats who may face tough, statewide elections in 2006 - Nelson, expected to seek a second term in the Senate, and Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa, who's considering a run for governor - are charting a moderate course.

Both oppose Bush's plan because it would take money out of the Social Security trust fund, but both insist they're working on their own ideas. Nelson said he is considering an approach that, like Shaw's, uses tax incentives to set up personal accounts.

For background and continuing coverage check Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall daily.

Right-to-work... for less money and an early death

Unions have been on my mind lately, for a variety of reasons, and I thought that it was high time to address the right-to-work issue.

Right-to-work is part of the Taft-Hartley act of 1947:

"In the face of the workers' determination to resist Wall Street's attack, Congress nevertheless steamrollered through the savage Taft-Hartley Act....

"Truman's conduct on anti-labor legislation affords a striking example of how a Wall Street political chieftain operates. He took the lead in the labor-hating drive of 1946. He threatened the miners and seamen with military force. He smashed the railroad strike. He called a special joint session of Congress to demand shot-gun passage of a law to draft strikers and force them back on the job at the point of a bayonet....

"The Republicans and Democrats in Congress took their cue from Truman. As they vied with each other in cooking up the harshest anti-labor laws, Truman--looking ahead to the 1948 elections--changed his tactics....He became silent, uttering no protest as the Taft-Hartley Act was slicked through Congress.

"Then, at the last hour, Truman made his grandstand play for labor support by a belated veto....As for the Democrats in Congress...they gave a decisive majority to the Slave Labor Law--voting 106 to 71 in the House and 20 to 22 in the Senate."

Specifically, right-to-work

laws undermine the ability to build effective unions by creating a free-rider problem -- workers can enjoy the benefits of union membership in a workplace without actually joining the union or paying union dues. Right-to-work laws increase employer leverage to resist unions by enabling them to benefit from free riders; and vastly decrease union membership, thus dramatically diminishing unions' bargaining power.

Unions are responsible for the weekend, for the eight hour workday, for paid holidays and vacations, and for countless other benefits that most working people now take for granted. Recently, union members have been able to stave off many of the cuts in benefits that non-union workers have had to suffer.

Almost all union workers - 89 percent - have access to employer-provided medical benefits, compared with 67 percent of nonunion workers. Seventy-three percent of union workers have dental care coverage, compared with 43 percent of nonunion workers. For vision care, 56 percent of union workers receive benefits; only 26 percent of nonunion workers are covered.

The advantages of union membership also show in whether or not employees must pay for part of their health care benefits. For single coverage, the employer pays all costs for 43 percent of union workers, but only 21 percent of nonunion workers receive employer-paid coverage.

For family coverage, 33 percent of all union workers are not required to contribute, but only 7 percent of nonunion workers receive coverage that is fully paid by the employer.

When union members are required to contribute toward their health care coverage, they pay far less than nonunion workers. The average flat contribution for single coverage for union members is $56.53 a month, or $678.36 per year, compared with $68.98 per month, or $827.76 per year for nonunion workers.

For family coverage, union members contribute an average of $195.12 a month, or $2,341.44 a year, compared with $273.51 a month, or $3,282.12 per year, for nonunion workers.

Nonunion workers face much higher costs for medical coverage than they did only a few years ago. The average annual nonunion employee contribution for family coverage is $1,052.64 more today than it was in 2000.

Overall, employers pay 83 percent of the cost of health care benefits for family coverage for union workers, but only 67 percent of the costs for nonunion workers.

Fifty-nine percent of workers have access to retirement benefits, with 50 percent participating in at least one type of retirement plan. The vast majority of these workers are covered only by a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), and the data do not reveal the size of the retirement accounts for these workers.

Only 21 percent of all workers are covered by defined benefit retirement plans, which are primarily traditional employer-funded pension plans with a predetermined retirement benefit paid out for life after retirement. Only 10 percent of all private sector establishments still offer these plans. This benefit is now really a union benefit, with 70 percent of all union workers covered by a defined benefit plan, compared with only 16 percent of nonunion workers.

Fifty-three percent of all workers are covered by defined contribution retirement plans, which are largely funded by the workers themselves. Among union workers, 48 percent are covered by these plans, which are often offered in addition to pension plans at union workplaces.

The union advantage extends well beyond health and retirement benefits. Union workers are more likely to receive employer-provided life insurance and twice as likely to have short-term disability coverage.

Union workers are also more likely to receive paid time-off benefits and greater amounts of paid time-off. For example, union workers with 20 years of service receive an average of 22.3 paid vacation days, compared with 18.1 days for nonunion workers.

Unions have also been able to maintain larger wage increases for their members, with annual wage cost increases averaging 3.0 percent for union workers and 2.5 percent for nonunion workers from September 2003 to September 2004. Largely because of the rising cost of benefits, total compensation costs for union workers rose 5.8 percent, compared with 3.4 percent for nonunion workers. This growing differential in union and nonunion costs will fuel greater employer opposition to organizing drives going forward.

Which brings us back to right-to-work.

“Right to work” has nothing to do with a right to a job or employment. The deceptively named “right to work” laws ban workers—who by a majority vote decided to form a union in their workplace—and employers from negotiating union security clauses. By law, unions must represent all workers—members and nonmembers—in contract negotiations and other workplace issues. A “right to work” law would allow nonmember workers to get all the benefits of union membership and pay nothing, while forcing unions and their members to foot the bill for those not willing to pay their share. The result is weaker unions with inadequate resources to represent members.

In the 28 non-“right to work”states, federal law protects those workers who do not want to join the union. Workers in those states are required to pay only a fair share to cover the costs of their union representation, but not the cost of a union's political, legislative, social or charitable activities.

It's really a 'right to work for less'

It's no coincidence that some employer groups, Big Business and ultraconservative lawmakers back “right to work”laws because such laws weaken unions and in turn depress wages. Studies show that workers in “right to Work” states earn significantly less, while workers in non-“right to work” states earn significantly more. A primary reason is that workers with a union contract earn higher pay—weakening unions lowers average pay. Workers of color and women workers who are union members make significantly higher wages.

The average worker in a “right to work” state earns about $5,333 less a year than workers in other states. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001)

Hispanic union members earn 45 percent ($180) more a week than nonunion Hispanic workers. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 2002 )

African Americans earn 30 percent ($140) more a week if they are union members. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 2002)

Union women earn 30 percent more ($149) a week than nonunion women. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 2002)
...

“Right to work” laws reach far beyond wages. Quality-of-life issues such as health care, education, worker safety and poverty suffer greatly in “right to work” states.

In “right to work” states 21 percent more people are without health insurance compared with those in free-bargaining states. (source: State Rankings 2000, A Statistical View of the 50 United States, Morgan Quinto Press)

“Right to work” states spend $1,699 less per elementary and secondary pupil than other states. (source: Education Vital Signs, 2000–2001 school year)

The infant mortality rate in “right to work” states is 17 percent higher than in other states, and the poverty rate is 12.5 percent compared with 10.2 percent in other states. (source: State Rankings 2000, A Statistical View of the 50 United States, Morgan Quinto Press; U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2002)

The rate of workplace death is 51 percent higher in “right to work” states. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001; AFL-CIO, “Death on the Job,” April 2002)

It’s clear that living in a right-to-work state tends to drastically reduce one’s standard of living, and the only people to benefit are those who profit unfairly from the under-compensated worker. This group includes CEOs who pay themselves 500 times what their workers earn as well as the politicians who support the legalized theft of labor.

Simply put, joining and actively supporting a union allows you as a worker to take back a little bit of what you deserve, and if you live and work in a right-to-work state and you enjoy a union negotiated contract without joining the union, if you are a free rider, your short sighted selfishness is contributing to the slow death of organized labor.

More:

Ralph Nader on Taft-Hartley

Pamphlets in the Fight Against Taft-Hartley 1947-1948

Federal Labor Laws

US Labor Unions

How to Organize a Union in Your Workplace

ZNet Labor Watch

'Right to Work' States Are Really Restricted Rights States (AFL-CIO)

Right to Work States

Sales tax measure aims at exemptions

Florida’s tax system is hugely regressive, ensuring that poorer citizens pay much more than their fair share while the wealthy get off relatively easy.

The best way to fix this would be to implement a state income tax, with higher rates for wealthier individuals.

That’s not going to happen anytime soon, though, so eliminating some of the sales tax exemptions might be the place to start. Then again, depending on which exemptions eventually get the axe, this proposal may do absolutely nothing to make the system any fairer, but the fact that business groups strongly oppose the measure implies that the economically disadvantaged may benefit.

A bipartisan trio of former state officials launched a campaign Monday that could potentially eliminate hundreds of sales tax exemptions.

The group wants voters to amend the state Constitution to tax services and force legislators to defend hundreds of other exemptions.

Floridians Against Inequities in Rates hope to put three amendments before Florida voters next year.
......

Lawn mowers are taxed, for example, but lawn services are not. Dog food is taxed, ostrich feed is not.

"Many of these exemptions don't make any sense at all," said former Republican Comptroller Bob Milligan, who along with McKay and former Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth formed FAIR.

McKay pushed a tax review measure through the Legislature in 2002, but the Supreme Court killed it because the language was confusing.

Last year, the court found a similar initiative violated the constitution's single-subject rule for amendments.

The new initiative is expected to face fierce opposition from business groups.

Florida TaxWatch, whose leadership includes executives of some of Florida's most influential businesses, condemned the effort, saying it should be left to the Legislature.

Republican Gov. Jeb Bush also criticized the effort. He said there's little reason to tinker with a tax system he says allowed Florida to rebound faster than most states from the recent recession. He also argued the measure did not belong in the state Constitution.
......

FAIR's three proposed amendments:

--Require the Legislature to review, by July 1, 2008, all the state's sales tax exemptions except those for food, health services, prescription drugs, rent, electricity or heating fuel. Any exemption not reauthorized by lawmakers would sunset Jan. 1, 2009.

--Requires services, such as hair cuts and advertising, to be taxed starting Jan. 1, 2009, unless lawmakers approve specific exemptions.

Jeb! and the far right profit from Terri's artificial life

Courts have found that Terri Schiavo made it very clear to her husband that she would not want to be kept alive in circumstances such as she is now in. Michael Schiavo is legally and ethically responsible for his wife, and his wish is to let her die peacefully.

But Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, just wont back down. They are being egged on and manipulated by right wing extremist organizations who are attempting to profit form their association with this very questionable cause, as well as our own Jeb!, who may well force his way back into the fight if he feels it will benefit him politically.

Now, the state is investigating some questionable fundraising activities by the Schindlers, and the scope of the financial support provided by various anti-abortion groups is starting to become apparent.

State officials are examining whether a foundation set up by the parents of Terri Schiavo is operating illegally by taking donations to defray legal costs in the decadelong battle to keep their daughter alive.

The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, created by Robert and Mary Schindler, seeks donations to "offset some of the expenses associated with protecting Terri," according to its Web site, terrisfight.org.

Nonprofit groups that solicit contributions in Florida are required to register with the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. Registered groups also are required to file an annual report of contributions and expenses, although contributors' names are not required.

The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation filed with the state Department of Corporations as a Florida nonprofit on Feb. 8, 2002, but according to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, has never registered to solicit contributions.

State records show that the Schindlers' attorney, Cristin Conley of Tampa, told Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs officials the foundation would be registered by Dec. 4. According to state records, that paperwork was never filed, and the Schindlers now face a $1,000 fine and could be ordered to stop collecting donations on the Web site.

While the Web site says the donations help offset legal expenses, the majority of the Schindlers' representation during the protracted legal struggle with their daughter's husband, Michael Schiavo, has been paid for by two anti-abortion groups — the Life Legal Defense Foundation and the Alliance Defense Fund — according to the Schindlers' current attorney, Barbara Weller.

The Terri Schiavo-Schindler Foundation and the Life Legal Defense Foundation are the only organizations authorized to raise funds on behalf of Terri Schiavo and the Schindlers, according to the Schindler foundation's Web site.

The Life Legal Defense Foundation is a California-based anti-abortion group that collected more than $440,000 in 2002, according to thefederal tax records.

The organization became involved in the case about three years ago, according to Executive Director Dana Cody, and has spent at least $300,000 on legal fees and associated costs on behalf of the Schindlers.

Much of the support for Life Legal Defense Foundation comes from the Alliance Defense Fund, which collected more than $15 million in private donations in 2002, according to federal tax documents.

Alliance Defense Fund "is funding litigation that is going on to confront and challenge the radical legal agenda advocating homosexual behavior, defending parental rights, and to restore the Constitution's guarantee of free exercise of religion," IRS documents read.
......

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said that he has received about $340,000 in legal fees, which came from a $1.2 million medical malpractice settlement awarded to Michael Schiavo on Terri's behalf. That amount does not include court fees, which could be extensive given the longevity of the case. Felos estimated that Schiavo has less than $60,000 left of the award.

Gov. Jeb Bush ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding and hydration tubes to be reinserted in 2003 after state lawmakers enacted legislation authorizing him to do so at his request.

After a court struck down the law, Bush continued to fight on Terri's behalf by trying to persuade first the Florida Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of the 2003 law. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Bush was represented in the Supreme Court case by Ken Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council, a Washington-based conservative organization.

Bush has since promised to "do whatever I can" to keep the 41-year-old severely brain damaged woman alive.

Anti-abortion advocates asked Bush this week to use his authority to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody. Bush's spokeswoman said Friday the governor continues to explore what legal avenues are available.

Speaking of unions...

The SEIU is organizing condo workers in Miami.

The union is now organizing to represent 7,000 condominium workers in the Miami area: janitors, concierges, parking valets, security guards and building engineers. Part of the hope is that retirees from the North may be more sympathetic in support of unionization than in other parts of the South.

But the union is facing the typical retaliation against workers who stand up for the union:

More here and here.

The union label

Democrats should look for the union label

One of Bush's priorities has been to strip federal employees of workplace and organizing rights. Employees in U.S. attorneys' offices, federal airport screeners and employees at the National Imagery and Mapping Agency have had their rights to unionize unilaterally terminated in the name of national security. And at the Department of Homeland Security, newly completed rules will sharply curtail the rights of the 180,000 employees to bargain collectively.

In the meantime, the manufacturing sector, labor's lifeblood, has been decimated over the last 4 1/2 years with the loss of 3-million factory jobs.

A corollary to the decline in labor's fortunes has been the rise in obscene corporate executive compensation. In 2003, the pay gap between CEOs of large companies and average workers topped 300-to-1. In 1982, it was just 42-to-1.

Unions used to be the countervailing force, demanding that management share the wealth of a company with its workers. Today, with the threat of unionization remote and with employers such as Wal-Mart union-busting without apparent consequence, employers are free to compensate workers poorly while spreading the company's profits among its executives and Wall Street.

Even workers in corporate jobs are watching helplessly as their once-generous health insurance and defined-benefit pension plans are slashed or eliminated without their input. In 1980, 35 percent of American workers were enrolled in a pension. That number stands at 20 percent today.

It is time for the labor movement to reassert itself in a big way and with Democratic help. That includes promoting the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give employees trying to organize significant new legal protections from retaliation. It would also allow for the certification of a union based on the collection of employee authorization cards without the need for an election that may be delayed by an employer for months or years.

Workers who are unionized are far better educated on issues affecting their lives and how politics affects those issues. That's why they vote Democratic in great majorities. Kerry lost, primarily, because union membership keeps declining. This should be the organizing principle for Democrats going forward.

Supporting the troops

The New York Times > Washington > Bush Budget Raises Prescription Prices for Many Veterans

President Bush's budget would more than double the co-payment charged to many veterans for prescription drugs and would require some to pay a new fee of $250 a year for the privilege of using government health care, administration officials said Sunday.

The proposals, they said, are in the $2.5 trillion budget that Mr. Bush plans to unveil on Monday. White House officials said the budget advanced his goal of cutting the deficit, which hit a record last year.

"We are being tight," Vice President Dick Cheney said on "Fox News Sunday." "This is the tightest budget that has been submitted since we got here."

Greet our glorious leader this afternoon

UPDATE: There is now one demonstration - at Curtis Hixon Park. FCAN is part of this one along with many other groups.

At least two demonstrations will be happening in Tampa this afternoon as W arrives to sell his plan to kill Social Security. Details follow:

###

MoveOn.org:

Democrats in congress are standing united against George W. Bush's plan to cut benefits in order to pay for private accounts, and Bush is getting nervous. So after his State of the Union address, the President will launch a divide and conquer approach by trying to break Democratic ranks through a five state PR tour of red states with Democratic Senators.

This week we must show that the people of Florida will not be divided, and will not be deceived by the President's plan to jeopardize Social Security. Our friends at USACTION are organizing a rally in Tampa to counter Bush's visits, and have asked MoveOn members to join them.

The details for the rally are below.

WHEN:
Friday, February 4
4:30PM, Arrive at 3:30PM

WHERE:
Curtis Hixon Park , 600 N. Ashley St., between Polk St. & Zack St.
The park is on the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa

Directions: from I-275 take the Downtown - West / a.k.a. Ashley St. / Tampa St. exit.
Bear right at fork of Ashley & Tampa Streets; go past Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, past light at Cass St., & Tampa Library.
Park is before Tampa Art Museum. Park & these 3 venues will all be on your right.
Parking is available in Poe Garage next to the park, as well as surface parking in the North downtown area.
Curtis Hixon Park is 8 blocks north on Ashley St. from Tampa Convention Center venue where President Bush will speak at 6:00 p.m.

In order to be sure the rally has a clear, consistent message, signs will be handed out at the event. For the best press coverage, the organizers have asked you use these these rather than bring your own.

###

FCAN:

BUSH in Tampa, FL at 6:05 PM: Bush will participate in a conversation on Social Security reform at the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, before returning back to Washington. [White House, 1/30/05]

President Bush will be in Tampa this Friday afternoon to push his Social Security privatization scheme. Please pass the word. FCAN is coordinating with local allies like AFL-CIO, ACORN, AFSCME (and other groups whose names don't start with an "A") to put together a press event Friday, at which a new report on SS will be released, and stage a MASS demonstration in downtown Tampa near the Tampa Convention Center venue where Bush will speak at 6:00 p.m. Tentative plans are to hold our rally at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Lykes Gaslight Park, corner of Kennedy & Franklin, 4 blocks from the convention center. (See details for MoveOn.org above - FCAN has joined.)

Here's where you come in: we need to quickly let every progressive, Democrat, and all those just generally suspicious of Bush's plan to privatize our Social Security know what's going on, and what we're doing. We need your help this week to get a massive turnout Friday afternoon to show the nation that President Bush does not have the support of Floridians to do away with our Social Security.

Even if preservation of Social Security is not your top priority issue, recognize that it is now the #1 priority for Bush. A show of force here & now will go a long ways to demonstrate the opposition is large and organized, keeping those on the fence on the side of maintaining the most successful anti-poverty government program ever created. There is no crisis - it's just another fabricated threat, like WMD's. A defeat for Bush here could really hurt his ability to push the rest of his agenda in his 2nd term.

Let's get together this week to mark the beginning of the end of the Bush administration. Let's defend Social Security and turn George W. Bush into a lame duck, several years early. This Friday in Tampa, the lines are drawn between those who believe in "me" or "we the people". You can help now to get the people out to show where the majority stand.

To find out how you can help, call us at 813-877-6712. If we're tied up on another line & don't answer, leave your name, number & email address, and we'll get with you right away. Thanks - looking forward to working with you in what can become, with your help, a historic moment in Florida!

Philip Compton
Program Organizer
Florida Consumer Action Network & FCAN Foundation
2005 Pan Am Circle, Ste. 200
Tampa, FL 33607
813-877-6712
fax: 813-877-6651

Pre-k problems perplex providers, parents

Florida’s pre-k program, mandated by voters to be a high quality educational experience, is shaping up to be a huge state subsidy to religious day care centers.

The rules enacted by the legislature are written in such a way as to prevent most or all public school systems from participating in the school year portion of pre-k, and the miserly per-child allowances that the state is offering may not be enough to entice any secular organizations to take part.

For now, confusion reigns, as parents and prospective providers scramble to figure out the rules and try to enroll kids in programs that don’t actually exist.

Susan Morris expected to discuss the state's new prekindergarten program Thursday with about a dozen preschool directors.

But more than 130 people showed up to hear the Hillsborough school district's pre-k expert provide details about the program, which debuts in August. The vast majority arrived undecided about whether to participate.

Many left feeling the same way.

"It's nice to come here, but (there is) still nothing for us to follow," said Janeen Stokes, a board member for Gabrielle's Glen preschool in Temple Terrace. "We're still uninformed."

Morris said at the beginning of her talk that she did not have answers to many of the questions concerning rules and requirements. She told them her briefing was accurate "as of 10:30 a.m. Feb. 3."

"I can tell you, by the hour things are changing," Morris said.

That did not reassure officials at the private schools and care centers, which already are enrolling 4-year-olds for the fall. Many directors said they would like to offer the state program, if only to ease the financial burden on families who already attend.

But their comments and questions indicated a reluctance to commit to the three-hour daily program without having more information about particulars, including state funding and the role religion will play in the curriculum.

"We basically want to know what the criteria are, what the restrictions are, what expectations we have to meet," said Julie Perez, director of A Child's World Learning Academy on Sligh Avenue.

Directors of several of the private, for-profit centers worry the state will not cover the true cost of educating students. Gov. Bush has recommended spending $2,500 per child, minus 5 percent for regional program administration.

They asked if they could turn away students whose families do not want to attend before- and after-school programs, where many of the centers expect to make up the difference. The law states that schools may not charge parents for the 540-hour program, but allows them to charge for services that wrap around the instruction time.

Morris said she expected this issue to be a major challenge for many of the centers that the state is counting on to provide space. But she did not know the answer and encouraged those with concerns to check with the state bureaucrats charged with interpreting the law.

An Agency for Workforce Innovation spokesman said the law does not allow schools to require children to enroll for other services to be eligible for prekindergarten.

Faith-based providers, meanwhile, wanted assurances that they would not have to excise their beliefs from their teachings.

"We want to make sure there are no restrictions," said Lynette O'Neal, director of Crossroads Baptist Church Daycare Center in Lithia, where parents are inquiring about the availability of state pre-k.

So, it looks like we may be creating a separate and very unequal system whereby wealthier families will essentially have their daycare costs subsidized by the state while the poor are either turned away or forced to enroll their kids into religious indoctrination classes.

County to study ways to justify more corporate welfare?

This actually sounds pretty good...

Hillsborough Commissioner Mark Sharpe called for a review Wednesday of the effectiveness of a state incentive program meant to lure corporations with high-paying jobs to Florida.

Sharpe won approval from his fellow board members to have the county's administrator and internal performance auditor analyze the numbers.

His request comes after a St. Petersburg Times story late last month chronicled how one company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., has been given or promised more than $100-million in state incentives even as it shed jobs.

But then Jim Norman weighs in:

While the vote was unanimous, some commissioners said the analysis may have little value. Commissioner Ken Hagan said the county won't have access to some of the records, which are kept by the state. Commission Chairman Jim Norman said the proposal should be framed more positively.

"The way I look at it as that I would like to generate a report to show us the value of the program and how we create more jobs," he said. "I'm interested in finding out how we can do more here."

Shorter Jim Norman: let’s pre-determine the results so that we can throw even more cash at the corporate welfare daddies while cutting real benefits that actual people rely on to remain alive.

An open letter to Ronda Storms

Dear Commissioner Storms:

It was with a glad heart that I read of your proposal to sterilize criminal types to prevent them from spawning like-minded offspring, for although some atheistic Francophiles might cry foul, citing liberal judges and whining about constitutionalities, you obviously enjoy the superior genetic makeup of a true leader.

So it is with some trepidation and with only the greatest of respect that I take pen to paper to not only praise your efforts to reign in the criminal classes but also to humbly offer a course of action that must have somehow been overlooked by you and your hard working staff.

I’m informed by this morning’s fish wrappers that our county’s indigent care program is bleeding red ink and that draconian measures are being implemented to save money on the care and feeding off the ill-bred.

I think you may be starting to smell what I’m stepping in here - an obvious leap of logic that municipalities across the land will eagerly line up to emulate: why not combine the two programs into one!

Sure, there will be some up front costs, as we ramp up production, but the long term benefits derived from the forced sterilization of

The socially inadequate (including)- (i) the mentally diseased, e.g. maniacs and schizophrenics (ii) the dependant members of society, e.g. the deaf, deformed and blind (iii) the delinquents, such as the wayward and criminals; (iv) the mentally deficient, e.g. the morons and idiots (v) the degenerates, e.g. sadists and drug habitués (and) (vi) the infectious, such as those with tuberculosis, the syphilitics and lepers

will result in massive long term savings for the citizens of our great county.

Scientists and liberal academics will back this plan.

Albert Ochsner, future Professor of Surgery at the University of Illinois, published Surgical Treatment of Habitual Criminals48. As he bluntly put it: "If it were possible to eliminate all habitual criminals from having children, there would soon be a very marked decrease in this class". He stated: "so far as female criminals are concerned, nature usually protects the community because a large proportion acquire a specific endometritis resulting in occlusion of the Fallopian tubes early in their career, hence their sterility is assured. In order to accomplish this in males, a method must be involved which will in itself not be a punishment to the criminal, or interfere with his enjoyment of life should he reform and become a useful member of society". He listed the advantages of dealing with habitual criminals by vasectomy as follows:- (i) it would dispense with hereditary criminals from the father's side (ii) aside from being sterile, the criminal would remain his normal self (iii) it would protect the community at large without harming the criminal (iv) the same treatment could reasonably be suggested for chronic inebriates, imbeciles, perverts and paupers

Brave eugenicists such as yourself have suffered many years of unwarranted abuse and ridicule, and I, for one, applaud your moral strength and clarity and I urge you to consider expanding upon your excellent original proposal.

Thank You for having the balls to say what needs to be said.

SOTU preview

Jesus' General has the details.

Social Security

Our Leader's plan to undermine the New Deal is faltering. He needs to inject his Social Security initiative with the tonic of fear to nurse it back to health. With that in mind, I've created the following talking points.

1. Social Security will kill you. Nine out of ten people will die within twenty years of the time they start collecting it.

2. Social security supports terrorists. Somewhere, a member of the Weather Underground is waiting for his check to arrive so that he can buy groceries and maybe even the parts for a bomb.

3. There were social security checks on the planes that hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

4. Social security has weapons of mass destruction. Sure, logic tells us that social security is a concept and is therefore incapable of possessing anything, but Ahmad Chalabi tells me it has them.

5. Social Security is trying to homosexualize our children by promoting its pansexual philosophy.

More here.

FSU rides propaganda gravy train

Government money is being used to manipulate public opinion through the use of carefully filtered information that is presented as factual and as having come from an unbiased source, and we’re supposed to look the other way and pretend that this isn’t propaganda.

A Florida State University center has used more than a half-million in education tax dollars to put a positive spin on President Bush's key school policies, including hiring a public relations firm to teach charter schools to be more media-savvy.

Despite conflicting studies on the success of charter schools and other alternative education programs, the School Choice Center at FSU touts them as ways to "increase student achievement, increase parental involvement, promote school improvement through constructive competition, and accomplish racial and ethnic diversity."

In recent weeks, federal agencies have acknowledged using tax dollars to pay columnists to push Bush policies, including the No Child Left Behind Act. Critics argue that using public money for media campaigns could be considered illegal.

Since 2003, taxpayers have given the center $627,567 as part of a 5-year, $1.2 million federal grant made available through the No Child Left Behind Act, which promotes school choice as a fix for failing public schools.

The center's mission is to make parents aware of all choice programs, including traditional magnet schools, expand the number of choice schools in the state, and help them "work the media" — as was written in one of the PR firm's pamphlets.

But links on the center's Web site are almost entirely to studies and articles from conservative groups and strong school-choice proponents such as the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Center for Education Reform and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

For example, a link to private-school voucher articles includes nine entries that provide positive news on the voucher movement, but no mention of the problems in Florida's three programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to be misused or stolen.

Another link on charter schools includes a Manhattan Institute study showing some academic success from charters, but nothing on how 12.5 percent of Florida's charter schools were given F grades last year, compared with 1.3 percent of the traditional public schools.

The center also hired a Tallahassee public relations firm, Moore Consulting Group Inc., to help charter schools and private schools sell their product. The group was given $45,000 to create template advertisements for choice programs, hold workshops, and offer tips such as "Never lie" to editorial boards and "Never screw up on a slow news day."

Web site defended as informative

Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, said using tax dollars to pay PR firms and publicize only the positive aspects of school choice is disingenuous to the public. He compared the tactic to the recent acknowledgments that media pundits were paid to promote federal programs, such as No Child Left Behind.

"I think this is an attempt to present one side of the story and make it appear as though it's an objective thing," Pudlow said. "The public would be wrong if they thought they could get an unbiased approach to this issue in the political climate we have today."

The reality is that school districts must offer choices under the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Web site is designed to help school districts inform parents about those choices, said Richard Kunkel, dean of FSU's college of education.

"It's not an academic debate about choice. It's a state-supported initiative to work with local school districts to help them help their citizens (as to) what choice options exist," Kunkel said Tuesday.
......

Michael Franc, vice president for government relations at the Heritage Foundation, defended the center's use of No Child Left Behind money, saying there is a "guerrilla war" being waged between traditional public school advocates and reformers.

He compared the use of tax dollars to pay for a school choice marketing campaign to federal programs that publicize free and reduced-price lunch programs for children, or anti-smoking advertisements.

"If this is simply trying to rectify the imbalance of coverage and give a better idea of charter schools and how they work, it seems like it is OK," Franc said. "This could be a grant to get the other side of the story to the public."

The U.S. Department of Education has faced criticism in recent weeks for using tax dollars to pay conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $240,000 to put a positive spin on the No Child Left Behind Act.

The Department of Education also has paid a public relations firm to rate the reporting of education writers on the No Child Left Behind Act so those with low scores could be targeted for "more education about the issue."

The Government Accountability Office has sent a letter to the Education Department asking for all materials related to its contract with Williams. Federal law bans the use of public money on propaganda without explicit congressional approval.

FSU's School Choice Center is part of the Center for Educational Research and Policy Studies, which houses several other centers and programs devoted to studying education policies.

Part of the School Choice Center's mission is to couple school districts with extensive choice plans, including magnet schools, with districts that have fewer choices to offer parents. It's also conducting a parent satisfaction survey on school choice and creating a database on what works best in school choice plans.

But the center also touts the relatively new phenomenon of school choice as the way to improve education, despite studies that show varying results.

'Not fulfilling the public mission'

Florida has several types of school-choice plans. The most controversial are charter schools and vouchers, which use tax dollars to pay the tuition of students to private or religious schools. Last year, Florida had about 255 charter schools and 24,590 students using taxpayer funded vouchers to attend private schools.

One of Florida's voucher programs — opportunity scholarships for children in failing schools — has twice been found unconstitutional by the courts and now faces a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.

Critics argue vouchers and charter schools rob traditional public schools of money. They complain now that using tax dollars to teach media skills and promote a one-sided view of school choice is doing the same.

"We are not fulfilling the public mission of creating good schools if we are spending money on public relations manuals and hiring PR firms," said Anjetta McQueen, spokesman for the National Education Association. "The thing is to stay focused. If we stay focused on qualified teachers, small classes, and up-to-date books, then we are fulfilling the mission of a good public education."

Dissent is un-American

One of the GOP’s historical goals is to gut government programs - healthcare, social security, education - they’re all evil, and must be done away with. Well, this is what happens when public schools are de-funded.

The way many high school students see it, government censorship of newspapers may not be a bad thing, and flag burning is hardly protected free speech.

It turns out the First Amendment is a second-rate issue to many of those nearing their own adult independence, according to a study of high school attitudes released Monday.

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

“These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,â€? said Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. “Ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation’s future.”

The students are even more restrictive in their views than their elders, the study says.

When asked whether people should be allowed to express unpopular views, 97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes. Only 83 percent of students did.

Funding religion with vouchers

With luck, Florida's Supreme Court will soon put a stop to Jeb!'s religious welfare.

Troxler

The problem is that in the end, this still comes down to the state taxing its citizens so that it can pay parents to have their kids taught about Jesus, Allah, the Torah, Buddha or the principles of any church that sets up shop. Those may be outstanding subjects for the attention of young people, but the government does not have the slightest business paying for it.

I say this as someone who believes the voucher programs have helped a lot of people. The law's provision allowing parents to opt out of religious instruction, when it is clear that most of them want to opt in on the taxpayers' dime, does not save it. Lacking a tougher requirement for separation, our law permitting tax dollars to be spent on religious instruction is unconstitutional.

Psssst... wanna buy some health?!?

In W’s society, owning one’s healthcare means letting employers off the hook and requiring workers to pay their own way. It means moving even further away from the ideal of universal healthcare in favor of profits for corporations. What’s that?!? You don’t have the money to pay? Well, you shoulda shoved more of your paltry minimum wage into your “personal health care account” - you know, that thing you own -
instead of paying rent or eating.

Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance that has covered most working Americans for the last half-century.

In its place, they want to erect a system in which workers — instead of looking to employers for health insurance — would take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families: They would buy high-deductible "catastrophic" insurance policies to cover major medical needs, then pay routine costs with money set aside in tax-sheltered health savings accounts.

Elements of that approach have been on the conservative agenda for years, but what has suddenly put it on the fast track is GOP confidence that the political balance of power has changed.

With Democratic strength reduced, President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) are pushing for action.

Supporters of the new approach, who see it as part of Bush's "ownership society," say workers and their families would become more careful users of healthcare if they had to pay the bills. Also, they say, the lower premiums on high-deductible plans would make coverage affordable for the uninsured and for small businesses.

"My view is that this is absolutely the next big thing," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose consulting firm focuses on healthcare. "You are going to see a continued move to trying to get people involved in the process by owning their own health accounts."

Critics say the Republican approach is really an attempt to shift the risks, massive costs and knotty problems of healthcare from employers to individuals. And they say the GOP is moving forward with far less public attention or debate than have surrounded Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security.

(Link via Suburban Guerrilla)