Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorNovember 5, 2013

If it seems like just a couple of years ago that the Florida Department of Corrections announced the closure of seven prisons and four work camps. That’s because it is. The department’s January 2012 press release announcing the closings attributed their need to “declining prison admissions and excess bed space.” By fiscal year 2012/13 the […]

Julie DelegalNovember 4, 2013

George Will is right. Daniel Moynihan was right. And former Vice President Dan Quayle was at least half-right. The breakdown of the family unit in our society is a harbinger of national disaster. To say it out loud is not to blame the “victims,” i.e., the children who are born outside of marriage, or the women […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2013

I recently attended a “town hall” event in Tampa sponsored by the Koch-brothers-funded “Americans for Prosperity.” After the presentations, I came to the conclusion that their organization should more aptly be called, “Americans for their own prosperity, and the hell with anyone else.” The first presenter was from the Foundation for Governmental Accountability, as well […]

Guest AuthorOctober 30, 2013

There is a tectonic shift taking place in our country right now, and I’m not talking about gay marriage or adults moving back home with their parents. Many studies have concluded that our nation’s love affair with the automobile appears to be coming to a screeching halt with the demographic group called Generation Y or […]

Guest AuthorOctober 29, 2013

Imagine you are sitting at home watching TV and suddenly the phone rings. You mute the TV and answer the phone. “Mr. _______?” “Yes?” you quizzically reply, as it’s always slightly startling when someone knows your name and phone number without you recognizing his voice. The person on the phone is calling to help you […]

Martin DyckmanOctober 28, 2013

The Tea Party takes its name from an event commonly regarded as a noble and pivotal moment in the struggle for American independence from Great Britain. A more nuanced look reveals a more complicated side to what happened at Boston Harbor on Dec. 16, 1773. It wasn’t entirely a selfless act of protest against taxation […]

Julie DelegalOctober 27, 2013

Here’s a prediction that no one wants to hear. Ten years down the road, after the Common Core State Standards have been implemented, after some company makes millions of dollars on tests and tools, and after more Florida public schools close and more private ones begin feeding at the public trough, poverty will still be […]

Guest AuthorOctober 23, 2013

When a man in Revolutionary War garb shows up at your public hearing, you can pretty much count on a downhill slide in the quality of debate. That was surely the case in Davie, Florida the other night when the aforementioned costumed man was abetted by shouts of “Marxism” and “communism” from the audience. Said […]

Guest AuthorOctober 9, 2013

In May of 2010 I had the privilege of joining Maj. Gen. C.R. Davis at the Panama City Airport to welcome home WWII veterans who had participated in an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. The concept of an Honor Flight is the brainchild of Retired Air Force Capt. Earl Morse. He wanted to honor veterans […]

Guest AuthorOctober 8, 2013

Last week, Americans were captivated when Secret Service and police chased an unarmed mentally ill woman through the nation’s capital and killed her. Another sensational act of violence and desperation was center stage, and once again, within hours, it was written off as the unhinged acts of a mentally ill person. Because it was not […]

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Image via AP.

Doug Clifton: Being tough on crime is tough on taxpayers

Julie Delegal: Conservatives, liberals both weaken American family

Gary Stein: Health-care event light on facts, heavy on rhetoric

Steve Robinson: America’s romance with the automobile ‘on the skids’

Dennis Ross: Your information, your choice, your protections

Martin Dyckman: Like today’s Tea Party, Boston’s was about the power of radicals

Julie Delegal: Education reform will fail if poverty isn’t addressed

Doug Clifton: Some Common Core opponents are proof the standards are needed

Jeff Kottkamp: Despite shutdown, veterans should have access to memorials

Steve Kurlander: Collective madness: The coming of the Prophet of Stamford