Guest Author, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorAugust 3, 2015

Much has been written about Gov. Rick Scott’s vetoes of member projects in the recent state budget. Although every governor has vetoed parts of the budget, this time was unusual because the governor had only a very short window to make his vetoes known. Although he vetoed a lot of projects, it does raise a […]

Guest AuthorJuly 30, 2015

This has to be the most on-its-face absurd comparison, but circumstances make it an apt one: Former Florida A&M University President Frederick Humphries is officially the Jimmy Carter of former FAMU presidents. This is not the Jimmy Carter of Habitat Humanity, Sunday school lessons in primitive Georgia churches, or the former president who’s trying permanently […]

Guest AuthorJuly 29, 2015

I sent my best friend Julie a selfie, while making a goofy face, and this was her response. “What’s up with your forehead?” We have more than 30 years of friendship under our belts, so ultimately I decided not to kill her. I did think about it for a while. I looked again at my […]

Guest AuthorJuly 29, 2015

In December 2013, at the United Nations’ 68th General Assembly meeting, the assembled countries could not, as usual, solve the problems of world conflicts, human slavery, wide-spread famine and the Israeli-Palestinian question. So, it decided to do something it could: It declared that 2015 would be the International Year of Light. I’m quite sure that […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2015

For decades, conservatives have lamented federal subsidies in American farm policy accruing to Big Sugar. Strangely, the wailing falls silent south of the Georgia border. In Tallahassee, the glad-handing and back slapping by Big Sugar for its supporters is ubiquitous. The application of sugar money to lobbyists’ and lawyers’ net worth statements, contributions to lawmakers, […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2015

I’m a Southern, white, gun-owning male who worries one day my family will have to pay the price for America’s unwillingness to stand up to the gun lobby. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but hear me out. I grew up bouncing BBs off the backs of the alligators in Lake Newnan outside of Gainesville, Fla. […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2015

Florida’s nine national parks are suffering, needing about $190 million in crucial maintenance left unfunded and neglected at the end of the last fiscal year, the National Park Service reports. Everglades National Park ended the past fiscal year with $58.8 million in unmet needs while Dry Tortugas National Park’s unfunded maintenance totaled $56.8 million, according […]

Guest AuthorJuly 26, 2015

Florida’s nine national parks are suffering, needing about $190 million in crucial maintenance left unfunded and neglected at the end of the last fiscal year, the National Park Service reports. Everglades National Park ended the past fiscal year with $58.8 million in unmet needs while Dry Tortugas National Park’s unfunded maintenance totaled $56.8 million, according […]

Guest AuthorJuly 26, 2015

Did you go out and buy a copy of Go Set a Watchman? Harper Lee’s manuscript was supposedly found by her lawyer last year and released last Tuesday. Many of Lee’s friends voiced concern that the author might not have wanted the release, but it’s hard to tell. Harper Lee doesn’t talk to the media, […]

Guest AuthorJuly 24, 2015

In one way, supporters and detractors of U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson agree: He’s a lightning rod. The Republican Party of Florida loves this about him because it provides fresh material for attack ads; partisans because he revs them up. The Democratic establishment hates it because it screws up the possibility of having a clean, organized, […]

Guest Author

Barney Bishop: State budget process needs a CBIR step again

Chris Timmons: A FAMU ex-president and a Jimmy Carter comparison

Catherine Durkin Robinson: 'What’s up with your forehead?'

Michael Bass: A toast to the International Year of Light

Alan Farago: Big Sugar has conservatives chasing their tails

Eric Conrad: We’re just haggling over price

Joseph H. Carter: Sheer neglect threatens Florida’s national parks

Joseph H. Carter: Sheer neglect threatens Florida’s national parks

Catherine Durkin Robinson: First, Cliff Huxtable. Now, Atticus Finch

Chris Timmons: Politics is organized around passion — so Florida Democrats need Alan Grayson