Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorJuly 6, 2014

Driving across Alabama the other day, I heard a political candidate on the car radio proudly declaring that, if elected, he will oppose Obamacare. Really, Alabama? You’re a state that’s above average in only two ways – college football and payments from Uncle Sam. Alabama is No. 11 when it comes to total federal spending […]

Guest AuthorJune 29, 2014

A great little three-letter word sums up most of my feelings these days. It’s “meh,” a word made famous by “The Simpsons” to describe indifference, apathy, the I-don’t-give-a-hoot feeling that often descends on us as we are blanketed by Florida’s summer heat. We just yearn to cuddle up to a frosty air-conditioner and sip a […]

Guest AuthorJune 22, 2014

Small communities have always faced “brain drain,” as many of their most educated young people leave for big cities, bright lights and the promise of bigger paychecks. But the shift could be getting more extreme. A new study indicates that highly educated and skilled people are focusing on a relatively few large cities while people […]

Guest AuthorJune 9, 2014

Frustrated parents often ask their misbehaving children this question, “When are you going to learn your lesson?” It’s the lesson that philosopher George Santayana phrased so eloquently, “People who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Let’s start with General Motors, where apparently no one ever learned the lessons of Watergate, which include […]

Guest AuthorMay 29, 2014

I’ve been wearing the clothes of a scary thug for 40 years and I didn’t even know it. I’m talking about the hoodie, the low-cost hooded jacket that intimidates both neighborhood vigilante George Zimmerman and business tycoon Mark Cuban alike. It all depends on where you get your fashion sense, I guess. My first hoodie […]

Guest AuthorMay 15, 2014

There are no fancy brochures for this nursing home, no limousines to ferry the residents to malls and concerts, no menus offering an array of choices. It’s not a bad nursing home. It’s old but it’s clean, and the halls are full of staffers who mostly seem cheerful and helpful and attentive even though the […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 18, 2014

The Republican Party needs a Pope Francis. You know, an old white guy who is tolerant. Kind, not grumpy. Open to more than only people who have millions of dollars or an extra-large chip on their shoulder. Notice that Pope Francis hasn’t changed any fundamental beliefs of the Catholic Church. He’s just made it more […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 1, 2014

These days you hardly ever see a balding man trying to hide under a comb-over, and we should consider this to be progress. It’s not on the scale of world peace, but still, it’s a step forward for society, certainly better than those hideous hair twists and turns so common among middle-aged men not so […]

Guest AuthorDecember 23, 2013

Let’s give a shout out to some good news, but do it quietly because it involves libraries. It’s refreshing in this anti-education, Tea Party era to see that so many people say that they support public libraries, those hotbeds of learning, entertainment and advancement. A new study by Pew Research Foundation found plenty of support […]

Guest AuthorDecember 15, 2013

You have to admire the profile in courage that Florida Republicans are setting. Florida is standing up to all those whiny kids, pregnant women and disabled people and rejecting $51 billion in extra Medicaid funding over the next 10 years. “We don’t need no stinkin’ $5 billion a year for health care,” say the Republicans. […]

Mark O’Brien: Nation’s sad new motto: Yes, we can’t

Mark O’Brien: In Florida summer, ‘meh’ sums up my feelings about many issues

Mark O’Brien: Give us your tired, your poor, your service workers

Mark O’Brien: GM, Obama, Blue Angels should heed standard parental warnings

Mark O’Brien: Mark Cuban’s comment about hoodies is revealing

Mark O’Brien: There’s a nursing home in your future

Mark O’Brien: The GOP needs an endearing leader like Pope Francis

Mark O’Brien: A hair-raising metaphor for progress

Mark O’Brien: Libraries provide more than just books, movies and CDs

Mark O’Brien: Florida is a Medicaid Santa — for other states