Congress left town last week only to reconvene after the November elections. However, unlike most Congresses, this year the American public will get twice the work out of its retiring or defeated members of Congress.
After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton
You probably can't imagine how much fun I've had at Sunshine State News over the last 10 years. I don't think anybody could.
November 1, 2019 - 6:00am
Politics
Columns
Congress completed its legislative work for the fall a week early and adjourned midweek until after the November elections.Honestly, the legislatorshad little-to-nothing to show for their September fall session.Both the House and the Senate were able to pass a continuing resolution before the bewitching hour of Oct. 1. This passage means that the federal government will continue operations until the close of business on Dec. 3.
When Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink went to New York City last week to speak on managing state pension-fund investments, she didn't include Stuyvesant Town in any PowerPoint presentation.
WASHINGTON -- On Jan. 9, 1969, Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a memo to President-elect Richard Nixon, on whose White House staff Moynihan was to serve. Moynihan wondered whether the disintegration of "private sub-systems of authority" presaged "the ultimate, destructive working out of the telos of liberal thought," in which case "we are moving from Locke to Hobbes." Imagine, if you can, Nixon's furrowed brow.
Here's an exercise for some evening when you're curious about big nationwide trends in this year's elections.
NBC Universal is getting ridiculous with its shameless courting of President Obama. On the morning of Sept. 27, NBC's Matt Lauer interviewed Obama for a half-hour with no commercials. But it wasn't just on NBC. Their devotion to El Jefe is so transparent they aired it live on most of their other cable properties, including MSNBC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen, Chiller, Sleuth, Universal HD and Universal Sports.
Trending Now
By Kevin Derby
Among the half-dozen candidates to replace the late Rep. Clay Ford for House District 2, perhaps none has been the object of more attacks than Ed Gray, a former mayor of Gulf Breeze. Gray's been accused of everything from shady financial dealings, to soliciting Obama stimulus dollars, to working to raise taxes on Floridians.
Now he's being accused of an ethics violation. And there seems to be something to it.
By Kevin Derby
In an exclusive interview with Sunshine State News, the de facto head of the Santa Rosa County Tea Party has endorsed Mike Hill to replace the late Rep. Clay Ford of Florida House District 2:
By Kevin Derby
AP reports thatLois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt organizations, "isapologizing for inappropriately flagging conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election."
The practice was allegedly instituted by "low-level workers" inCincinnati.
{Source}
By Kevin Derby
In a major setback to the rising libertarian wing of the Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee, lifelong conservative Republican Byran Avila has just been elected vice chairman of the local party.
Avila, 28, an English Professor at Miami-Dade College, beat financial manager Manny Roman (a grassroots libertarian activist and GOP newcomer) by a vote of 61 to 49.
The race was seen in some quarters as a proxy battle for the future direction of the Miami-Dade GOP, which is one of the Republican Party of Florida's largest county affiliates.
By Kevin Derby
In an exclusive interview with Sunshine State News, multibillionaire Norman Braman -- owner of Braman Honda car dealerships, former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, and lead public opponent of "corporate welfare" for the Miami Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium -- has issued a strongly-worded endorsement of liberty-activist Manny Roman for the No. 2 position at the Miami-Dade GOP.
Braman tells SSN:
By Kevin Derby
The top three complaints received by theFlorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' hotlinein April revolved around theDo Not Call list, charitable solicitations, and motor vehicle repair, according to a Monday announcement by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
The calls were made to the agency's1-800-HELP-FLA.
By Kevin Derby
By a vote of 27 to 13, the Florida Senate has passed an election reform bill that now heads to Gov. Rick Scott for approval and signature.
HB 7013 ("Florida Election Code") will substantially increase the the hours and days allowed for early voting, impose word limits on ballot summaries for Legislature-proposed constitutional amendments, and allow voters to correct absentee ballots that contain missing signatures. Earlier today, the House rejected a Senate amendment that would have given the Department of State authority to discipline noncompliant elections supervisors.
By Kevin Derby
The Florida House of Representatives has passed a key elections reform bill, by a vote of 115-1, which now returns to the Senate for a final up-and-down vote.
HB 7013 ("Florida Election Code") would substantially increase the the hours and days allowed for early voting, impose word limits on ballot summaries for Legislature-proposed constitutional amendments, and allow voters to correct absentee ballots that contain missing signatures.
By Kevin Derby
By a bipartisan 90-25 vote, the Florida House of Representatives has passed the Senate-amended version of HB7029 ("Digital Learning"). The bill now heads to Gov. Rick Scott for his approval and signature.
By Kevin Derby
In a unanimous, unsigned opinion published Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of a controversial Florida law that grants thestate Public Service Commission (PSC) the power to authorize energy companies to "recover" the costs of their nuclear power plant construction through utility bill tax hikes.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) had argued the law was an unconstitutional delegation by the Legislature of its powers to an administrative body.
More to come . . .
Live streaming of WBOB Talk Radio, a Sunshine State News Radio Partner.