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

Guest AuthorDecember 17, 2014

You may have read in early December that 61 people were arrested across Florida in a four-day human-trafficking sting operation. If you haven’t followed the dramatic increase in stories about human trafficking in the United States, this news may have caught you by surprise. We need to understand that human trafficking exists in all 50 […]

Guest AuthorDecember 16, 2014

Christmas is commercialized, Chanukah (my holiday) is boring, and Kwanzaa is a lot like underwear you put on before pantyhose…I’m not sure I understand the point. By all means, enjoy the nog and rotting trees in your living room that violate at least 19 fire-safety laws. This list is for the rest of us: 1. […]

Guest AuthorDecember 16, 2014

In the 1800s Americans could legally smoke opium. Then Chinese people came to California and started taking jobs from native-born Americans. California couldn’t kick out the Chinese, but they could take away their their opium, and that’s when the state banned opium. Until the 1900s, Americans could legally smoke marijuana. But when Mexicans started moving […]

Guest AuthorDecember 15, 2014

Gwen Graham took a victory lap in the Panhandle this past week; meeting with business leaders in four of the biggest counties of the 2nd Congressional District. Graham is a rare Florida Democrat; she won an election. While party leaders stage their familiar post-midterm drama, politicians, consultants and donors expressing bewilderment about the shellacking the […]

Guest AuthorDecember 15, 2014

This weekend I participated in an interesting exercise. A group of activists staged a debate in which some of us argued that peace and environmental and economic justice are possible, while another group argued against us. The latter group professed to not believe its own statements, to be dirtying itself with bad arguments for the […]

Guest AuthorDecember 15, 2014

Recently the Alliance for a Just Society released its report, “Equity in the Balance,” examining the percentage of women and people of color who don’t earn a living wage. The report includes an analysis of how history and past policies have perpetuated low pay in jobs and industries where women and people of color are […]

Guest AuthorDecember 11, 2014

Florida’s unemployment rate is at 6 percent. It is hard to imagine a more deliberate focus on job creation than the state witnessed in the past four years. But what happens when we broaden the goal of economic development beyond job creation? In fairness, there is an obligation to demonstrate first why job creation is […]

Guest AuthorDecember 11, 2014

Across the country, policymakers are grappling with the phenomenon of “disruption.” Disruption refers generally to the process whereby some new technology or innovation “disrupts” a long-standing industry and its attendant regulatory environment, threatening market incumbents. Today, we see disruption most overtly in two areas: education and transportation. In education, new organizational structures, new teaching methods, […]

Guest AuthorDecember 10, 2014

Florida’s unemployment rate is at 6 percent. It is hard to imagine a more deliberate focus on job creation than the state witnessed in the past four years. But what happens when we broaden the goal of economic development beyond job creation? In fairness, there is an obligation to demonstrate first why job creation is […]

Guest AuthorDecember 10, 2014

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” I love movie lines. So many epic motivational themes about overcoming obstacles come from movies like “Braveheart,” “Rocky” and “Remember the Titans.” Admittedly my opening quote doesn’t come from any one of these cinematic masterpieces. It comes from the much-less-appreciated classic “Dumb and Dumber.” Yet “a chance” has […]

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Image via AP.

Richard Lapchick: We can’t close our eyes to human trafficking

Catherine Durkin Robinson: 10 things I hate about the holidays

Mark O’Brien: War on Drugs needn’t be a bust

James Call: Gwen Graham gives Florida Democrats a blueprint for recovery

David Swanson: We’re not exceptional, we’re isolated

Megan Baker: Families hang in the balance while wages remain stagnant

Dale Brill: Florida economy on a roll that isn’t sustainable

Gregory Newburn: Like transportation and education, the criminal justice system is ripe for ‘disruption’

Dale Brill: Florida economy on a roll that isn’t sustainable

Todd Dagenais: Telling UCF women’s volleyball team ‘There’s a chance’