Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jac VerSteegJune 10, 2015

In one of the more bizarre cases I’ve seen, a Palm Beach County woman has just agreed to a plea bargain that requires her to perform 20 hours of community service. Her crime: Waiting too long to kill her dog. Debbie Mays, who lives in Wellington in Palm Beach County, was charged with animal cruelty […]

Jac VerSteegJune 8, 2015

One result of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s indictment is that Wheaton College has removed Hastert’s name from its J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy. In a news release the college, in Wheaton, Illinois, said: “In light of the charges and allegations that have emerged, the College has re-designated the […]

Jac VerSteegJune 3, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday vetoed a law – House Bill 1087 – that would have created protections for Florida homeowners who have insurance from Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort. Scott said he thought the bill would hinder efforts to depopulate Citizens. But from my experience, he got things exactly backwards. Specifically, the […]

Jac VerSteegJune 1, 2015

Mark Foley slowly has been returning to respectability. The former congressman from Palm Beach County resigned in 2006 after the public learned he had sent sexually-charged messages to male former congressional pages. Now, the emerging Dennis Hastert scandal is reminding Floridians of Foley’s misdeeds. After quitting Congress, Foley stayed out of sight for a while. […]

Jac VerSteegMay 27, 2015

Two items in Wednesday morning’s Sunburn really frosted me. Both Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush are trolling for evangelical Christian votes by peddling the line that Christians in America are being persecuted. This appeals to the evangelicals’ penchant for seeing themselves as victims – a stance that bolsters their willingness to make victims of others, […]

Jac VerSteegMay 25, 2015

The Obama administration needs to learn to take advice from Keanu Reeves. In the movie “Speed,” Reeves’s character Jack Travern and Harry Temple, played by Jeff Daniels, are SWAT team members discussing a hypothetical hostage situation. Says Temple: “All right, pop quiz. Airport. Gunman with one hostage. He’s using her for cover. He’s almost to […]

Jac VerSteegMay 25, 2015

The Obama administration needs to learn to take advice from Keanu Reeves. In the movie “Speed,” Reeves’s character Jack Travern and Harry Temple, played by Jeff Daniels, are SWAT team members discussing a hypothetical hostage situation. Says Temple: “All right, pop quiz. Airport. Gunman with one hostage. He’s using her for cover. He’s almost to […]

Jac VerSteegMay 20, 2015

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An underlying purpose of public education reform is providing a clear-eyed view of student achievement. The system will not cringe from telling students when they need to do better. The system will not cringe from telling parents their kids need to do better. The system will not cringe from telling teachers they need to teach […]

Jac VerSteegMay 20, 2015

An underlying purpose of public education reform is providing a clear-eyed view of student achievement. The system will not cringe from telling students when they need to do better. The system will not cringe from telling parents their kids need to do better. The system will not cringe from telling teachers they need to teach […]

Jac VerSteegMay 18, 2015

Jeb Bush’s many missteps last week on Iraq got me thinking about Billy Carter. Those of us around for the Jimmy Carter presidency remember Billy. He was the “colorful” one. Or, if you were being less polite, the “dumb” one. You could tell that Jimmy loved his brother. But you also could tell that Jimmy […]

Tag: Jac Wilder VerSteeg

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Woman's crime? Waiting too long to kill beloved pet

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Dennis Hastert teaches a lot about economics, government and public policy

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Gov. Rick Scott's veto hinders effort to woo homeowners away from Citizens

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Dennis Hastert scandal an unwelcome reminder of Mark Foley’s disgrace

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio don't know what's good for Christianity

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Sometimes in politics, you have to shoot the hostage

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Sometimes in politics you have to shoot the hostage

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: State’s 30 percent decision on math tests is 100 percent bad

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: State's 30 percent decision on math tests is 100 percent bad

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Between Jeb Bush and George W. Bush, which one is Billy?