Owing to Scott, Florida is one of only four states that don’t spare a penny either from appropriations or earmarked court fees for legal aid. New York provides $56.8 million. Even in Texas there’s $6.26 for every estimated person in need.
Guest Columns
Do the Math: You Couldn’t Live On Minimum Wage
Imagine living on $290 a week before taxes. It’s not a wage you can live on, Mark O’Brien, a minimum wage earner for a time recently, argues, challenging opponents of raising the minimum wage to try it for themselves.
Visit Florida: Ferguson’s Seethe Is a Matter of Time for the Sunshine State
Rose-colored Florida is a cynical myth, the stuff of marketing brochures, a developers’ conspiracy of enticing fiction to make their cash registers ring. The real Florida is a bitter, brooding reality beyond sugarcoating, argues Stephen Goldstein.
Lessons for Florida from A California Pot Tourist
If Florida’s voters approve Amendment 2, our state will have an opportunity to implement a marijuana law that avoids heading down California’s cynical path, argues Karen Cyphers. It will be a challenge, but the reward of fostering an honest, quality health-care system is well worth the effort.
Every Town a Ferguson:
Reflections of a Scary Black Kid from Brooklyn
Next time you feel intimidated by a black man, try to understand that it’s not about you, writes Jon Hardison, as much as it reflects remnants of a fear of what the average black American grew up with.
Manatees No Longer Endangered? Not So Fast.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering downlisting manatees from endangered to threatened, reducing their protective status. Save the Manatee Club’s Katie Tripp argues the proposal rests on too scanty data.
Rick Scott Wants to Believe He’s Born-Again Green. The Record Is Dirtier.
Rick Scott wants Floridians to believe that he had a Road to Damascus moment, suddenly realizing that allegiance to Mammon makes for a dirty Florida and an unhappy electorate, but his 11th hour eco-enlightenment is as hard to swallow as a cup of algae from the Indian River Lagoon, argues Diane Roberts.
Kimberle Weeks Calls County’s Campaign Sign Rules “Interference”; Administrator Craig Coffey Responds
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks says the county’s political-sign rules “may create an unpleasant and dangerous environment” for voters and campaigners at the public library. County Administrator Craig Coffey disagrees.
How the NRA Treats Gun Owners Like Children
The statistical risk of dying by gunshot increases dramatically when you possess a gun in your home. So does your spouse’s and child’s risk. It’s a health risk like unprotected sex. Doctors can ask about unprotected sex. Why not ask about guns?
Gambling Is For Losers: We Should Ban It in Florida
We need a state constitutional amendment to ban all wagering in Florida, argues Stephen Goldtsein. Oddly, raising taxes is considered a cardinal sin, but gambling is supposedly a blessing — especially since the state began pimping it through the Florida Lottery.
The Revealing Arrogance Behind Rick Scott Re-Election Campaign’s Leaked Memo
As usual with Scott and Company, argues Daniel Tilson, you learn at least as much about their mindset and strategy from what they don’t say, as from what they do.
It’s Not Benghazi: Hillary Clinton’s Real Scandal Is Honduras.
Desperate Honduran children are seeking refuge from a human rights nightmare that would cast a dark cloud over Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid right now if the media were paying any attention.
If You Think Businessmen Have Any Business Running Government, Think Again
Government is about essential services; business is about profit. Essential services must be improved, not cut. Government is designed to protect the common good, and has never and will never be successfully run as a business, argues Marc Yacht.
The 10 Counties Likeliest to Swing the Scott-Crist Race for Governor
There is no question this is a toss-up race. Those confidently predicting a winner, one way or the other, are likely smoking the substance that is the subject of a ballot amendment this fall. Here are the 10 swing counties.
Charter School Grades Should Alarm Every Floridian as Drag On Districts Continues
The idea that charter school operators should make a profit by providing children a better educational experience should offend no one. The fact that the numbers say they’re not doing a better job, while they’re draining away precious public resources, should alarm everyone.
Illegal Campaign Stop? Rick Scott Owes an Apology To the Cops He Duped.
At a re-election campaign appearance in Tampa Monday, Scott burnished his law enforcement record with a cadre of uniformed cops. The cops expressed shock to the Tampa Tribune that they’d been used for a campaign stop.
Blame Democrats for the Court that
Birthed the Hobby Lobby Decision
On the other hand, Democrats appear to have been clueless — and (some even) complicit, writes Stephen Goldstein. Year after year, they approved the radical majority of justices who now make up the “Roberts Court,” even when they knew their extreme agenda.
America’s Sad New Motto: No We Can’t
Once a nation of doers who could find no obstacle too great to conquer, we always seem to be finding a way to say something can’t be done – health care, education, environment, gay people in the military. Now, writes Mark O’Brien, it’s every, man, woman and child for himself, and instead of America pulling together, it’s American pulling apart.
Corporate Religious Liberty: The Supreme Court’s Misguided Decision
When companies have clear policies on religious discrimination, their employees are less likely to be looking for a new job. The Hobby Lobby decision may undercut such successes when companies opt to follow its dictates, writes Joyce S. Dubensky.
My Child Can Beat Your Child: How To Make Competitive Parents Shut Up
The next time a competitive parent approaches you with a story about their overachiever who has done so much, and wants to compare your children’s intellect, athletic ability and grade point average, just smile at the mom or dad and say, What have YOU done lately?
Don’t Buy The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Deceptions: City Doesn’t Need New Aerial Fire Truck
The Flagler Beach Fire Department is veiling its unwise request for a new $600,000 fire truck under the guise of “fire safety equipment,” a deception–and a purchase, with money the city cannot afford–residents should reject, argues Rick Blehumeur.
Shout Shows: Internet Vitriol Makes Me Reluctant To Share My Views Online
Any post that has even a hint of “for or against” Obama or any Washington political actions provokes vitriolic responses, writes Ed H. Moore. I lament the angry replies because they hamper the ability to have an instant town-hall of sorts on issues facing our country.
The People’s Guide to Defeating the Koch Brothers
People are more powerful than all of Sheldon Adelson’s and the Koch Brothers’ money combined, argues Stephen Goldstein, so if enough voters see through the barrage of lies and deceptions that engulf them in elections, people-power can neutralize the money peddlers.
Bright Spot in Florida’s Budget:
A Forward-Looking Agenda on Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is the most costly disease to Medicare and Medicaid — and for a state like Florida with high ratios of older residents, this spells an impending crisis for state budgets. Gov. Rick Scott signed a record-sized state budget that included record-sized wins for the Alzheimer’s community.
With Marco Rubio’s Walmart Mentality, Republicans ‘Discover’ How to End the Poverty They Created
The Tea Party GOP has declared Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” a failure. And with the 2014 elections looming, Rubio-Republicans are trying to remake themselves as sympathetic and empathetic, instead of apathetic, to the plight of the poor and the middle class, writes Stephen L. Goldstein.
Sunshine Lows: Cities and Counties Do a Lousy Job of Sharing Information With Citizens
When the First Amendment Foundation publicized its transparency scorecard last month, it found that on average, cities and counties in Florida had lots of room for improvement in sharing the workings of government with the governed.
An Uncomfortable Question: Are Your Death Papers in Order?
In the wake of Rebekah McCloud learning of the death of a friend of 30 years, her friend’s family called a number of times to ask if she knew where she kept her “papers”–life insurance policies, will, deed to the house, bank-account information, etc., which made McCloud think about her own papers. They were not in the order they should be in.
On the Road to Marriage Equality, Florida Slams Against the Worst of Homophobia
Florida is nearing what could be a major step forward on marriage equality. But with awmakers like Charles Van Zant, we have some ugly reminders that the ignorance, prejudice and downright stupidity that plagued us in a dark past, are still alive and unwell today, writes Daniel Tilson.
Florida’s Deepest Pockets: The Best Legislature Money Can Buy
From blocking debate on equal pay for equal work for women, to a head-in-the-sand approach to protecting our environment, the list of issues ignored by this legislature is as long as it is indefensible, argues Mark Ferrulo.
Charlie Crist on Ending the Cuba Embargo: Not Flip-Flopping, But Facing Reality
Crist wants to lift the 53-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. He hasn’t flipped soft on the Cuban government, which he calls “oppressive,” “totalitarian,” and “wrong.” He just says that the embargo hasn’t worked and that it’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, argues Stephen L. Goldstein.
Sheriff Manfre on Medical Marijuana: “I Am Receptive to the Arguments Favoring the Amendment’s Passage”
“For me,” Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre writes, “it comes down to whether medical marijuana has a medically beneficial effect and if it could help my Mom or any of our loved ones from the debilitating side effects of radiation treatments or the other diseases it claims to affect.”
Voucher Scams: Floridians Should Be Fighting the Privatization of Public Schools
We’re decades into a war waged by shadowy business interests and religious groups, working through “cooperative” legislators and governors to gradually undermine most of the state’s public schools and ultimately privatize them, argues Daniel Tilson.
“Growing Up Fisher” Is Perpetuating Stereotypes About Blind People
“It’s hard for me not to cringe,” writes Kathi Wolfe, a legally blind writer, when the main character on Growing Up Fisher “does things that most blind people in real life would rarely, if ever, do. He hits cars in crosswalks with his white cane, checks his guide dog into a restaurant cloakroom, chops down trees with a chainsaw, and takes his clients’ cars for rides.”
Progress Florida Launches Executive Accountability Project as Culture of Secrecy Pervades Scott Administration
The culture of self-serving deal-making that grips many of our state capitals has operated essentially in secret, relying on tactics to avoid Government in the Sunshine laws and a lack of public attention. The Executive Accountability Project will focus on providing the public a never-before-seen look at the inner workings of how their elected officials are conducting “the people’s” business behind closed doors.
Corruption Theorem: Money as Speech and the Supreme Court’s Death Blow to Democracy
We’ve come a long way from the days of Lawton Chiles, who won his election for governor despite limiting contributions to $10 a pop. There is no longer any bidding limit on the vast auction block American politics has become since, writes Martin Dyckman.
The Problem With “Step Up for Students,” Florida’s Voucher Jockey
Step Up For Children CEO Doug Tuthill is shameless about the way his organization–the administrative agent for Florida’s school voucher program–spends lavishly on political races, which may explain why a Senate proposal to vastly expand the voucher program this year foundered.
After the Attack: A Pit Bull Owner Speaks In Defense of Second Chance Rescue
In the wake of a pit bull’s–or a pit bull mix’s–attack on two young children at Second Hand Rescue last week, a dog owner who took possession of a pit bull that had been rescued and rehabilitated by Second Hand Rescue writes in defense of the Bunnell animal shelter.
If It’s Economic Growth You Want, Raising the Minimum Wage Crushes Wall Street Bonuses Every Time
If the $26.7 billion Wall Streeters pulled in on their bonuses last year had instead gone to minimum wage workers, our economy would be expected to grow by about $32.3 billion — more than triple the $10.4 billion boost expected from the Wall Street bonuses.
Sheriff Jim Manfre: How To Restore Common Sense to Stand Your Ground
The public’s valid concern over the vigilante-style actions of certain people who have watched too many Western movies should be dealt with through legislative action, argues Sheriff Jim Manfre, starting with a definition of self-defense that doesn;t leave its determination in the perpetrator’s hands.
Marco Rubio Flirts With Immigration Reform Then Capitulates to the Lunatic Fringe
Rubio placed a dismal seventh at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in a straw poll of likely GOP presidential hopefuls, where his kind of immigration talk doesn’t sit well with the GOP fringe, political or lunatic, writes Andrew Skerritt.
Politicians’ Pot Dilemma: Whether To Inhale Florida’s Medical Marijuana Joint
The elevation of medical marijuana to a theological level is not unique to Florida. Many legislators from Georgia to Kentucky to Iowa have invoked conversations with God as they came to embrace medical pot.
Memo to Florida Legislature: Quit Bashing Public-Employee Pensions
A determined cohort of elected officials in our Legislature is trying to turn working and retired people against each other, to better the odds of a dangerous bill becoming destructive law. If ever there were a legislative wolf disguised in sheep’s clothing of “fiscal responsibility,” this would be that perpetually hungry beast, argues Daniel Tilson.
Neither Marx Nor Hannity: Pope Francis’s Cool Embrace of Simplicity
Even for a pope as refreshingly humble and open-minded as Francis, it’s too much to expect that he will remake the worldwide Catholic Church into one big hippie commune, argues Cary McMullen. Those on the political left may eventually be just as disappointed in him as those on the political right.
Stand Your Ground: Florida is Not My Castle. And It’s Not Yours, Either.
The right to stand one’s ground against aggression in one’s home is unquestioned, but, argues Julie Delegal, in public, spaces must be shared, peacefully. The castle doctrine cannot be extended to cover the entire state, as Florida’s Stand Your Ground law does.
Arrested For Felony Child Abuse and Pot Possession: The Mother’s Account
Sophia Zhudro is the 30-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s B-Section who was arrested on Jan. 24 for marijuana possession as she was parked with her 15-month-old on the side of a residential street in her neighborhood. She tells her side of the story, taking issue with the way the incident was related by police.
Magpul Gun Company Mutes Its Connection To Sandy Hook, and Media Comply
After rushing to every microphone in Colorado during a battle against gun control, Magpul had nothing to say to reporters about its connection to the Newtown shooting, even when photos of its magazines, used by the shooter, were released in December.
Martin Luther King’s Nightmare: The Inequality Behind Forbes’ Richest 400
The net worth of just 400 billionaires is on par with the collective wealth of our more than 14 million African- American households. Both groups possess some $2 trillion, about three percent of our national net worth, an economic injustice Martin Luther King would have decried, argues Bob Lord.
The Slow-Motion Lynching Of President Barack Obama
If this country will lynch a brilliant, civil, kind, humble, compassionate, moderate, articulate, black intellectual we’re lucky enough to have in the White House, argues Frank Schaeffer, we’ll lynch anyone. What chance does an anonymous black man pulled over in a traffic stop have of fair treatment when the former editor of the Harvard Law Review is being lynched?
Florida Hospital Flagler CEO: State Must Extend Medicaid to Working Poor
The Florida Legislature still has the opportunity this year to draw down $51 billion in federal dollars already sent to Washington to help pay the cost of health insurance for those who cannot afford it, argues Floridfa Hospital Flagler CEO Ken Mattison.
Solar Panel Users as Freeloaders: ALEC Network’s State Lobbyists Attack Homeowner and Business Subsidies
According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative network better known as ALEC, our solar panels make us “free riders.” What? Yes, according to ALEC, an organization that specializes in getting the right-wing agenda written into state laws, people like me who invest in energy-efficiency and shrinking our carbon footprints ought to be penalized, writes Isaiah J. Poole.