The controversy over Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech this week in front of the US Congress continues to simmer. It is worth noting that despite Republican rhetoric regarding Netanyahu and Israel’s loyalty to the United States, exactly a year ago Israel failed to vote on the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262. The resolution introduced by Canada, Germany and Poland and strongly backed by the United States was related to the “Territorial integrity of Ukraine.” On April 13, 2014 Israeli Newspaper Haaretz reported that high-ranking officials in Washington were not happy with Israel’s non-vote. So hopefully those Republican so enamored with Netanyahu will ask the Israeli leader why he broke the age old alliance between the US and Israel in the UN over the issue of Ukraine? My hope is that the strong Israeli-US alliance can be rebuilt in the near future, but it cannot if foreign officials play partisan politics here in the US.  – KK @kkfla737 

Rep, Jared Moskowitz (D-Coral Springs) is waging a lonely but heroic fight on behalf of Greyhounds who are being abused for all intents and purposes at race tracks in this state. Florida is one of only seven states that still permit Greyhound racing and Moskowitz is pushing for Casino/Greyhound “decoupling” legislation as well as stricter regulations on dog tracks reporting injuries. Decoupling would also likely reduce the amount of money gambled in the state of Florida, something I personally favor (I am personally a longtime opponent of gambling who has never even bought a lottery ticket). It’s difficult to take on the Greyhound industry and push for animal welfare in this political environment, so Rep. Moskowitz deserves serious props for his efforts regardless of how successful they end up being.   – KK @kkfla737 

We’ve previously written about the Democratic support for Kimberly Mitchell’s candidacy for West Palm Beach Mayor. A member of an active Republican family, the daughter of the immediate past Chairwoman of the Palm Beach GOP and the sister of a well-connected Tallahassee based Republican operative, Mitchell was a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention. Mitchell was at the Palm Beach County Democratic Black Caucus Luncheon Saturday (despite being a registered Republican, which could be a violation of party rules) and had the audacity to imply she was a supporter of President Obama. So what exactly was she doing as a delegate to the Republican National Convention? – KK @kkfla737 

Jeb Bush’s weak attempts to pack the room at the CPAC Conference flopped, as the former Florida Governor slipped to a 5th place finish in the event’s vaunted straw poll. Senator Rand Paul always polls well at CPAC and thus his victory was not surprising. While it is unlikely the GOP will nominate Dr. Ben Carson or Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Scott Walker is a very viable and attractive candidate and his decisive margin over Bush at CPAC should be a cause for concern. Walker will be strong in Iowa and despite verbal gaffes has the ability to do well in the industrial Midwest making him a potentially attractive candidate in a General Election. Walker might represent a soft landing for conservatives who want to nominate a non-establishment yet electable choice. Don’t sleep on Scott Walker –  in the Summer of 2013 I predicted he or Paul Ryan would be the 2016 GOP nominee. Of course, I was born in Wisconsin (but have lived in Florida since I was four) so I might be biased. But Walker seems to have the right combination of insurgent candidate, conservative cred (busting the unions in Wisconsin), youthful looks and geography (Wisconsin last supported a Republican Presidential nominee in 1984 and neighboring Minnesota where Walker should also do well last supported a GOP nominee in 1972) to be a compelling choice for the Republican Party. – KK @kkfla737