Tag: Florida

Alaska Republican (A Different One) Suspected of Biggest Earmark Grab Ever

Trish

The stench from a recently discovered earmark in the 2005 Federal Transportation bill is making members of the Lee County, Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization board swoon. They are also demanding an explanation.

Back in 2005 — before voters the following year tossed out corrupt Republican politicians by the handfuls — it was business as usual for Transportation Committee Chair Rep. Bob Young (R-Alaska) to pay back a donor with a gift from the public till. He appears to have done just that by slipping into the bill new I-75 exit and entrance ramps to a development project being built by a crony.

“I’ve seen little gimmicks and little tricks used to make sure somebody’s friend or contributor is taken care of but this is by far one of the more underhanded, surreptitious examples I’ve seen — ever.”

Young visited Southwest Florida in early 2005 to attend a town hall meeting.

While in town, Daniel Aronoff, a wealthy part-time Naples resident who owns property east of Coconut Road and would benefit from the interchange, held a fundraiser for Young…

The words “Coconut Road interchange” were not in the federal transportation bill approved by Congress in 2005.

Those words were attached to a $10 million earmark sometime after the House and Senate votes but before the president signed the bill into law.

Young can at least be proud that people are hailing his alleged move as one of the most egregious ever. After all, if you’re going to go then go big. But if he did it, as O.J. would say, then how?

The language within the earmark was changed during a process called “bill enrollment,” when technical corrections are made to legislation before being sent to the president. Such corrections include changes to punctuation, section numbers or updates to reflect final actions taken by the House and Senate.

“This goes beyond the intent of the technical corrections process,” said Keith Ashdown, a researcher for the Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington, D.C., watchdog group. “It’s supposed to be about getting your punctuation right, not about making sure that your major benefactor is getting their pork…I’ve seen little gimmicks and little tricks used to make sure somebody’s friend or contributor is taken care of but this is by far one of the more underhanded, surreptitious examples I’ve seen — ever.”

Even after people started getting whiffs of the stinky largess, Young and fellow Republican Rep. Connie Mack tried to make it sound like an offer Naples, Florida couldn’t refuse.

In letters to county leaders, Young and U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, warned that the money could be lost and future funding jeopardized should it be rejected.

In fact, funding reallocations happen all the time.

Board members want to get to the bottom of the issue by their Aug. 17 meeting when they will decide how, with all the actual urgent priorities for roads in their area, the money should best be spent.

American Family Association Rides Coattails of Homophobic Mayor

Buck Banks

With supporters like these: Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle, contrarian that he is, is probably pissed at Donald “Wildman” Wildmon’s efforts to support him for his openly homophobic comments. Today I received an American Family Association “Action Alert” urging me to write a thank-you note to the Neandethalic Naugle in a clear attempt to co-opt Naugle’s issue.

So, Mayor Naugle, keep letting those sad homosexuals know exactly what you’re thinking about — men having sex in public restrooms — and let Donald Wildmon develop his own homoerotic sex fantasies.

Here’s Don’s personal note to me:

Dear Buck,

Mayor Jim Naugle of Ft. Lauderdale has issued an apology to the people of his city for being unaware of the magnitude of local public homosexual sex. He has also vowed to do something about it.

Naugle apologized for underestimating the problem of men having sex with each other in public restrooms. He also said that Broward County leads the nation in the number of new AIDS cases involving men having sex with men, and he questioned whether the county tourism office should be welcoming them.

As expected, the homosexuals have begun a vicious campaign against Mayor Naugle.

So, I used Wildmon’s Web site to send Naugle a letter, though I took a moment to toss his dross and write a few choice words of my own for Naugle. There’s even a button you can check to say you’re going to pray for Naugle, as if that would help. Here’s my letter:

Dear Mayor Naugle,

Don’t let the American Family Association hijack your current program of speaking out on the issues and use you for their own nefarious purposes. Don’t let yourself be a tool of Donald Wildmon and his ilk.

You’ve made it so far standing on your own two hind legs and letting your community know in no uncertain terms just where you stand on the pressing issue of men having sex in public toilets. From everything I can tell, you seem to be firmly against it.

That is YOUR issue, not AFA’s. They are trying to boycott Ford Motor Co., and not having much luck, either. So they’re trying to ride on your coattails as you spread the message of your truth-speech.

Let AFA stick to its own homophobic message and you stick to yours — it’s only right that homophobes stick together on separate issues, don’t you agree?

So, Mayor Naugle, keep letting those sad homosexuals know exactly what you’re thinking about — men having sex in public restrooms — and let Donald Wildmon develop his own homoerotic sex fantasies.

Have some fun — send your own letter to the mayor here. And to make certain he gets it, also send your letter to mayorjames@aol.com.

How Appropos — FlaDems Meeting at Disney World

Buck Banks

I can’t think of a more appropriate place for a Mickey Mouse organization to convene than the fantasy land of Disney World. Between their ineffectual Five Point Plan and lead cheerleader Karen Thurman (the Annette Funicello of the Florida Democratic Party), these folks believe it’s a small world after all and they are living in their own Cinderella’s castle if they think they actually will be a factor in the upcoming elections.

Surprisingly, they are running out of blocked hotel space for the Oct. 25-29 statewide party convention, and have booked more space at Disney’s Yacht & Beachfront Resort, which is an ersatz New England coastal village (think Kennebunkport).

Seems a perfect venue for a faux political party.

Flag Creator Fails to Blackmail City with Rovian Logic

Trish

Barnett and his patriotic display

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until someone co-opted Rovian phrasing to try to make a buck [see update]. A Florida business owner named Barry Barnett designed a yellow flag meant to show support for the troops. Then he tried to emotionally blackmail St. Augustine city officials into purchasing it.

“We’ve got people right now dying (in Iraq),” he said. “How do you think they feel about a community that won’t have the courage to fly a flag to support them?” Barnett said.

Ah yes. If you don’t spend $125 apiece on this junky looking thing I created — and buy one for every city flagpole — you don’t love our troops. Rove himself couldn’t have said it better.

Barnett had more success pedaling his product in nearby Palm Coast, where he lives, along with other cities in Flagler County. St. Augustine commissioners, who developed a strict flag flying policy a couple of years ago after gay pride supporters had the city purchase and display rainbow flags downtown, stood firm.

“We’ve got the red, white and blue up every day,” [Commissioner Errol Jones] said. “And for (Barnett) to suggest that if you don’t fly his flag, you don’t support our troops is ridiculous. He’s taking it to another level.”

Update: When this post was written, I was referencing local newspaper coverage which said Barnett was selling his flags.

The city would have to buy it from Barnett at a cost of $125. He says other cities, including Palm Coast where he lives, and De Land agreed to fly the flag.

Barnett has suggested that St. Augustine would be unpatriotic not to fly the flag.

I apparently missed the later correction, which Barnett has called to my attention.

Barnett took issue with a reference in our editorial Sunday — City should say no to yellow flag — that said he was selling the flags at $125 each. He said he is not selling the flags or making any money from this project. A flag company in Daytona Beach — Bob McGarity Advertising & Flag Co. — will produce and sell the flags after Barnett completes the final design, Rob McGarity, owner, said Monday. We stand corrected.

I have invited Barnett to post further corrections of this record, and look forward to finding out more. In the meantime, we can slam him for his definition of patriotism, but not for any profit motive.

Republican Cash MIA Over Slate of Drippy Candidates

Trish

Not only have Republicans told pollsters they don’t like their party’s candidates, they are also holding back donations.

First came the news that “none of the above” is increasingly the top choice among potential GOP voters.

The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney, and no one candidate has emerged as the clear front-runner among Christian evangelicals…

A hefty 23 percent can’t or won’t say which candidate they would back, a jump from the 14 percent who took a pass in June.

GOP Donor: ”It’s hard for some of us who have been loyal to one family for so long just to flip over to someone else… Ask yourself: Is it going to be the same as it was with Bush 41, with Jeb or with W?”

Now we hear that the big money in Florida, one of the deepest pockets for the Republicans, is missing in action.

Two-thirds of the top Florida donors to President Bush have yet to write a check to any Republican presidential candidate this year, reflecting a nationwide disquiet in the GOP that threatens to undermine its hold on the White House…

”We’re six months before the Florida primary. I would think at least half would be signed up with one campaign or another,” said Fort Lauderdale lobbyist Justin Sayfie, a top Bush donor turned fence-sitter.

The habit of giving to those lovable, whacky Bushes is hard to break, and harder to replace.

A Bush — the 41st president named George, the 43rd governor of Florida named Jeb, or the 43rd president named George W. — has appeared on seven of the last 10 general-election ballots in Florida.

”It’s hard for some of us who have been loyal to one family for so long just to flip over to someone else,” said Michael Hightower, a Jacksonville healthcare executive who served as the local GOP chairman. “I’m not saying we don’t have good candidates, but you ask yourself: Is it going to be the same as it was with Bush 41, with Jeb or with W? And the realistic answer is no, because we don’t have the same relationship.”

Excuse me while I gag.

Our team, of course, is doing fine.

Among Democrats, it’s a different story. About three-fourths of the leading fundraisers for the 2004 Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry, have put their money on a 2008 contender.

Those who really can’t find anyone they like still have a choice. The Committee Against Mediocrity in Politics (CAMP) is urging them to back an amendment that would let them vote for None of the Above.

CAMP is calling for Amendment XXVIII to the United States Constitution. This Amendment would add “None of the Above” to all federal election ballots, allowing voters to choose not to vote for a ballot of mediocre candidates.

Should the “None of the Above” option receive a majority of votes in any given election, then that election would yield no winner and the election would need to be rerun with new candidates on the ballot.

Ralph Nader should love it.

Florida Democrats — The ‘We Too’ Party

Buck Banks

Well, she’s gone and done it again. Karen Thurman, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, has issued another one of her rah-rah memos rallying FlaDems to — save the environment! Sorry, Karen, Eco-Charlie, he of the eternal tan and immovable white mane, stole that issue away from the Dems last week at his climate change summit in Miami.

It took the Democratics a full week to come up with a response to try and take back the issue. Sorry folks, it’s too late. Still, Thurman seems to allege that Democratic efforts led to Gov. Crist’s conversion to greenness:

Yet, finally, it seems the Governor has seen the light.
— Karen Thurman

Sometimes, as Democrats in Florida, it can feel like we’re banging our heads against a wall, trying to talk sense into the Republicans in Tallahassee.

But if we keep trying … keep fighting … once in blue moon, we can get through to them.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist has been a politician for a long time. For years, he stood silently by and watched Democrats promote responsible legislation dealing with the dangers of climate change, while his fellow Republicans decried global warming a “liberal myth” and friends in the Bush Administration allowed polluters to run free under laws with phony names like “Clear Skies Act.”

Yet, finally, it seems the Governor has seen the light.

On the issue of climate change, Democratic leaders have paved the way. Now the Governor, too, recognizes the need for action and is following suit. Unfortunately, even with his support, our leaders can’t save Florida from the dangers of climate change without your help.

Man, if word gets out that Charlie Crist had an eco-epiphany because of the Florida Democratic Party, he won’t get invited to the annual Republican Governor’s Retreat and Camp Out. Now it was rather a surprise when Crist came out all Greenpeace-y all of a sudden, but fact is, he did it and he did it Hollywood Big Time.

But the Democratic attempts to take back the green only get more desperate. Thurman exhorts FlaDems to sign the newly minted Five Point Pledge, a petition that says you agree with the measures Crist signed in executive orders last week:

  • Point 1: I support the establishment of a renewable energy standard for the state. Furthermore, I believe benchmarks should be set to require that more energy come from renewable sources in the future.
  • Point 2: I support the Governor’s Executive Order to explore a cap and trade program for industry, but I also believe we must ensure that this program will offer flexibility to industries that cannot meet the strict standards while still achieving an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Point 3: I support programs such as a statewide net metering plan to give consumers and businesses a financial incentive to generate electricity with solar panels and other technologies.
  • Point 4: I support requiring that our full state vehicle fleet be made up of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles as soon as possible with a program to phase out older vehicles for more environmentally friendly ones.
  • Point 5: I support the idea that Florida should be a trendsetter in the construction of energy efficient buildings by adopting green building or similar standards for all new state offices and public schools.

Well, duh, who doesn’t support those measures? But signing a petition this week doesn’t change the fact that the gov signed executive orders last week, and he had his green buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger at his side when he did it.

What’s with the “we too” stuff? Can’t the FlaDems find some other environmental initiatives to tout? Ones that Crist is against? How about the condition of the state’s endangered rivers? Oh yeah, Crist already got some major stuff through the legislature on that. OK, how about Everglades restoration? Crist has already pushed measures supporting that, too. I know, how about offshore oil drilling? Doh! Florida’s Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson already pretty much owns that issue.

Sorry Karen, et. al., you might mean well, but with this kind of follow-the-leader leadership, who needs the Democratic Party in Florida?

I Love Posts Like That, Kenneth

Buck Banks

Kenneth Quinnell of the Florida Progressive Coalition took offense at a post I made on Sunday about Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman and her questionable lobbying practices. Specifically, he resented my using the term “idiots” in my post, though I will note that I never called either one of them idiots, exactly.

He provides a line-by-line deconstruction of my post here. While I’m not going to argue line by line (after all, Quinnell now owns the high road, while I own the low road of the craven personal attack), I do want to make a few points based on 1) listening to the relevant portion of the radio show and 2) doing some research and 3) speculating on the true motives of a certain lobbyist who also serves as the head of a state political party.

‘Does anyone think that when Karen Thurman takes that check, she’s going to turn around and become a Republican?’
— Kenneth Quinnell

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in the words I used and, for the record, neither Quinnell nor his guest used the word “idiot” during the portion of the radio program I listened to, as he points out. However, they did say some things that sounded like maybe if you didn’t agree with their position, then you were simply a pure puzzlement to them, like a geek in a sideshow. While expressing extreme puzzlement about why anyone would care about such a non-issue and dismissing the topic as not worthy of his consideration, Quinnell said:

Obviously, the Republicans aren’t going to do it [lobby for security at the Port of Miami]. So if they’ll pay us to do it, I don’t see a problem with that.

And:

Does anyone think that when Karen Thurman takes that check, she’s going to turn around and become a Republican?

And:

Lobbying against security down there [Miami], that’s what the Republicans are doing.

I leave it to you, dear reader, to assess the substance of those quotes.

Now, the genesis of the “idiot” comment was an e-mail exchange between me and co-editor Trish. She apparently asked Quinnell to address the Thurman topic on his radio show, and while he did address the topic, it was in a sarcastic, derisive, dismissive tone, employing the incisive arguments above as well as that old chestnut: The Republicans are doing worse things, so why should we focus on this? Quinnell takes umbrage because he says I called an “ally” and “idiot,” but I never said I was his “ally.” But I’ll take the high road on that one ….
[…]

Karen Thurman is Screwing Up the Florida Democratic Party and Florida ‘Progressives’ Say ‘Who Cares?’

Buck Banks

Co-editor Trish tried to get the Florida Progressive Coalition in their weekly radio blog to address the problem of Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman taking money from Republican lobbyist Al Cardenas. You know what they said? It’s a non-issue and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Well, you know who the idiots are? Florida Democrats, that’s who. (Full disclosure: I am registered Independent, but I still don’t want to see the FDP screw up — again).

Karen Thurman, whose intellect and capabilities I have questioned before, is paid $100,000 per year by the Florida Democratic Party to lobby for the Florida Democratic Party. That she takes $3,500 per month from Cardenas to lobby for Republican issues is an issue, and if these numbnuts don’t think it’s an issue, then they are as useless as the FDP.

Look, Florida stands the first chance in a long time in the coming presidential election of turning from red to blue, and the “brightest lights” of the “Florida progressive movement” don’t think it’s an issue that the chair of the Florida Democratic Party is in bed with a Republican operative?

Anyone who thinks that is really an idiot.

Celebrity Dirt Goes Green

Trish

We welcome a new addition to our blogroll, er, sorry Jon, “web sites list.” This one was discovered by Buck during his live reporting from Florida’s “Serve to Preserve” global warming conference.

Ecorazzi bills itself as The Latest in Green Gossip, with current features on Rob Lowe’s testimony in Washington on behalf of hybrids, Courtney Cox’s line of global warming awareness t-shirts, and Madonna’s new movie on Malawi. At last, a way to waste time on celebrity scoop while feeling virtuous. Thanks, Ecorazzi!

Florida Lawmaker Linked to McCain Nabbed for Paying Men to Blow Him

Trish
Republican State Rep. Bob Allen

John McCain just can’t catch a break. And those Republican Florida lawmakers just can’t keep their hands off the boys.

State Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) was arrested yesterday for soliciting prostitutes in the men’s restroom of a public park. Until his inconvenient nabbing, he was set to serve as co-chair for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in the Florida House of Representatives. Bummer.

According to police, the park was under surveillance today by a detail of undercover Titusville Police officers. Officers noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men’s restroom three times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. *

Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest.

Allen, as he was taken out of the Titusville Police Department to be transported to Sharpes, called the situation “a very big misunderstanding,” in comments to WFTV Channel 9.

“This is disgusting,” Allen said.

Well he got that part right anyway. It really is disgusting for someone to be such a hypocrite and to exhibit so much self-hatred and denial.

Allen is a former Little League volunteer who also donated time to the Boys and Girls Club, serving on its board of directors. Allen is married and has a teenage daughter.

The good news is that Allen might not be in all that much trouble. He is only charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which is no biggie in a legislative body. Heck, everyone’s got a few of those.

Allen faces a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail.

* Editor’s Note: My research from all the available sources indicates that although this account makes it sound like Allen was offering to sell a blow job, he was in fact offering to buy one. Maybe that was the misunderstanding he alluded to?