Category — Florida

So far the only commercials I’ve seen for governor are attack ads about Jim Davis’s attendance record in Congress.

There have been no real ads about what either candidate is going to, other that Crist saying he’s going to “stay the course” plotted by JEB Bush, and Davis is going in a new direction.

Both are complaining about the cost of property insurance, and the Republicans have to take the blame on this one. Although Davis doesn’t have a detailed plan, it is rather obvious that “stay the course” and “business as usual” aren’t going to cut it in Florida. The insurance situation is a mess and the taxpayers are going to be holding the bag, no matter what’s done. Insurance companies can’t claim they need new increases while they are racking up huge profits.

The big issue would seem to be whether or not Charlie Crist is gay. I have no idea why this would make a difference in how he does his job, and taxpayers will certainly save on not providing all of the benefits that go with a “first lady.” Given the multiple embarrassments caused by the current “first family” and their problems with the laws of Florida and the United States, having a single governor could be viewed as a major plus for the state.

Davis doesn’t seem to be a very exciting guy, but it’s time for a lack of excitement. I don’t think Florida needs any more departments headed by imported fundamentalists, or people tied to major state contractors. I would hope that Davis appoints some people who want to do their job, without all of the incompetence and corruption we’ve seen under Bush.

Update: Both Mustang Bobby and Robert C. have proclaimed the Crist-Davis debate a snooze, about as exciting as a cheese sandwich from a vending machine.

Representative Jim Davis (D-FL 11th), the Democratic candidate for governor, received an A from the IAVA and 100% from the DAV.

The Reptilicon ads claim he’s never at work, but he seems to show up for veterans issues and a lot of other things, like the offshore drilling votes, when he votes the way a representative of Florida should.

I spoke too soon when I told Jack at the Grumpy Forester that we had taken care of our ballot initiatives during the primary election, because there are six of them on the sample ballot.

I will be voting for Number 3, which increase the percentage of voters who must approve a constitutional amendment to 60% and Number 8, which reins in Eminent Domain.

I don’t think the state constitution should be amended by a bare majority of people who vote in an election and we already have too many extraneous provisions in the constitution.

For the newspaper editors in Florida who don’t think eminent domain proceedings to transfer property to private developers on the promise of tax increases is a problem: get on the Internet; go to Google.com; enter “eminent domain florida lawsuit” and start reading the 400,000+ sites that you get in response. CRAs all over the state have been abusing the power and it’s time for the abuse to stop. Understand these sites only cover the people who have the resources to “fight city hall,” and not the hundreds of small landowners who give up when threatened with eminent domain by developers. The threats have happened locally to people I know personally, so don’t try to tell me: it’s not a problem.

[Read more →]

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

So far I’ve decided, for a lot of reasons, that I’ll be voting for Jim Davis for governor, Skip Campbell for Attorney General, Alex Sink for Chief Financial Officer, Charley Bronson for Agriculture Commissioner and Joe Roberts for Congress.

There are a couple of local races I’m not sure about, and one race in which I’m abstaining.

I still haven’t received much campaign literature, and don’t watch television, so it has been a very quiet election cycle.

Not a headline you will see in the Pensacola News Journal as the Pensacola Beach Blog points out in his coverage of the trial of Kent Hovind: [part one] and [part two].

Hovind is a local Elmer Gantry wannabe who has been fleecing the flock and failing to pay taxes on his “amusement park” or church or mission, or whatever he calls it over in Pensacola. He hasn’t been paying his local, state, or Federal taxes because “he’s on a mission from G-d”, which sounds like a copyright infringement to me.

Maybe they are saving the “good stuff” for a book, but PBB is getting pretty annoyed with the Jack Webb reporting in the News Journal.

While Pensacola might be a suitable replacement for Dayton, Tennessee, I don’t see the potential for popular interest that was stirred up by H. L. Mencken, William Jennings Bryan, and Clarence Darrow.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

The Pensacola Beach Blog wants to give Bill Nelson the benefit of doubt. That’s his opinion and I understand his reasoning.

I’m not going to do anything to help Katherine Harris, and certainly wouldn’t vote for her even to stop waterboarding, but I can’t vote for Nelson. I have already said I wouldn’t vote for him because of the Bankruptcy Law and his votes on judicial nominees, so his support of torture and a pardon for the Shrubbery’s criminal activities, is just further confirmation of my opinion that Bill Nelson doesn’t deserve to be receiving a tax funded pay check.

You could read the Mark Foley Wikipedia entry or the CNN story, but Google’s sponsered link, Block Sexual Predators at www.mysafekeeper.com, provides the gist.

He was in the Republican leadership, came to Congress as part of Newt’s gang in 1994, was involved with the 2000 election in Florida, and is the lowest form of slime. While you are innocent until proven guilty, his IMs to a teenager are a conviction looking for a trial.

I would advise the former Congressman to look for a Federal deal, because he does not want to end up in a Florida state prison.

Under Florida law his name stays on the ballot, but the party can designate another candidate. You have to put your mark on his name, but the votes go to the designated Republican.

I think the Republicans just lost a “safe” seat.

Update: If things keep going like this, the Democrats might have a majority before the election. This is the fourth Republican to fall in the House.

Update 2: TBogg noticed before me.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

Because hurricanes just aren’t enough to pay for living in a temperate climate, at 10:00AM CDT there was 6.0 earthquake due South of me.

Bloody marvelous!