Yearly Archives: 2014
House Democrats must hold the line on school “choice” legislation
Last Thursday, the House Finance and Tax Subcommittee voted along party lines to expand the school voucher program in an unprecedented and quite possibly unconstitutional manner. The measure which has been pushed by big-money interests and shady outside groups is likely to sail through the House though Senate passage is in serious doubt. Before the bill […]
Casino Gambling: Florida’s last resort?
Last week, the Senate Gaming Committee workshopped a major casino gaming bill, SPB 7052. The 453-page proposal would overhaul Florida’s gambling laws by authorizing two “destination resort” casinos in Broward and Miami-Dade; establishing a Department of Gaming Control with 5 Governor-appointed members (usurping the authority of the Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation and further injecting politics into casino oversight); and […]
Tampa Tribune speaks to Al From- Thoughts on the DLC legacy
From Fresh Squeezed the Tampa Tribune’s Politics blog, a conversation with Al From who was one of the most controversial and influential figures in the Democratic PArty in the 1980s and 1990s. From was probably the figure most responsible for the drift of the national Democratic Party from progressive force in the 1970s, to mushy […]
Flashback Friday: The Cross Florida Barge Canal
A subject we’ve discussed a little bit in the past but never on its own, the Cross Florida Barge Canal and the movement to stop it are among the biggest environmental issues in the history of a state that is marked by huge environmental issues. Promoters of the canal sought to bisect Florida from Fernandina to Cedar […]
Marco Rubio at CPAC: More fluff and dangerous rhetoric
In what is becoming an annual rite of passage, Florida’s Junior Senator Marco Rubio gave yet another speech at CPAC which was designed to incite the conservative base against the President and impress his friends in the media. Rubio’s national profile which is the highest of any member of congress elected for the first time […]
HB 209: More Gunshine State madness from Republican Tallahassee
Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-22) and House companion bill sponsor Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen (R-78) are joining Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-4) this Session in carrying water for the extremists at the NRA and United Sportsmen of Florida, their crazier Tallahassee cousins. Back in October she filed HB 209, which would legalize unlicensed firearm possession during mandatory evacuations during […]
School “choice” proponents continue shady tactics and big spending
As Republican legislators gear up once again to expand school “choice” in the state of the Florida, the Miami Herald’s Kathleen McGrory has exposed the movement once again as far from being organic and grassroots oriented as the proponents of these odious proposals often claim. The Herald had reported late last session that the group “Sunshine Parents” […]
Nan Rich hits Charlie Crist in State of the State response
Hmmm… “For nearly eight years, under Republican Govs. Charlie Crist and Rick Scott, Florida has given billions in tax breaks and virtual control of our government over to special interests,” Rich maintained on Tuesday. “As a state, we are less safe and less able to meet the basic needs of our citizens than we were […]
Crisis of the contemporary Democratic Party: Global isolationism & American liberalism should never mix
As a progressive I must admit that I have been disappointed by the reaction of many of my fellow liberals to Russian aggression in Crimea. It is with great sadness I see the drift of many of my fellow liberal activists towards global isolationism and war weariness. This flies in the face of the historic […]
Crimea Crisis: President Obama begins to end 13-year Putin appeasement and sends strong signal to the world
It took thirteen years, support for Iran and Syria, an invasion of Georgia, opposition to Kosovo independence, the Orange Revolution, interference in Belarus and Ukraine’s internal politics and finally the invasion of Crimea but it appears the Bush/Obama/Rice appeasement of Vladimir Putin’s Russia is finally coming to an end. President Obama has sent the strongest […]
The Florida Squeeze 