Mrs. Wade, my seventh-grade English teacher, had that special gift. Nearly six decades have slipped away since I sat in her classroom in Simsbury, Conn., and by now there isn't much that stands out about that year in school.
Anybody else remember what the EMILY's List people told Nan Rich when she asked for their support running for governor of Florida against Charlie Crist?
Make room, Burmese pythons ... Tegu lizards are crowding your turf, they're big and scary, and they've been multiplying in South Florida ever since the first one was spotted in 2008 near a Homestead trailer park in the southern part of Miami-Dade County.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush outlined a specific plan Tuesday night to fight ISIS where it stands. Addressing an all-friendly audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, the GOP presidential candidate said his plan would put more than 3,500 American troops in Iraq, but would include no major commitment of combat forces.
Megyn Kelly, the only female moderator in Thursday night's Fox presidential debate, is still getting hammered for leveling tough -- even "mean" and "disgusting" -- questions at candidate Donald Trump. Personally, I don't get it. But that's what is happening. CNN reports there has been so much invective directed at the host of Fox News' "The Kelly File" on the Internet that it's created security concerns for the network. Twitter is alight with calls for America to switch her off and Fox to fire her. This is ridiculous.
Listening to Jeb Bush, at least now I know I'm not the only one who thinks we've carried this self-esteem thing too far. At a Foundation for Excellence in Education summit Thursday, hours before he was due on the GOP presidential debate stage in Cleveland, Bush spoke to a rapt audience: “This morning, over 213 million Chinese students went to school, and no one debated whether academic standards should be lowered to protect their students’ self-esteem.”
Republicans were ready for a street fight Thursday night in a compelling, sometimes fierce presidential debate -- main event in the first of the 2016 race -- with front-runner Donald Trump in the center position among a field of 10, going on the offensive from the first question.
Republicans shouldn't worry about the longevity of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's popularity. There won't be any.
It's the longevity of his ego that's the real problem.
Stay with me for a minute.
Trump is loving his front-runner status. Loving his boast of greater riches than Forbes gives him credit for. Loving the raspberries he blows in the faces of legitimate presidential candidates.
If ever there was a ferociously fishy foregone conclusion, it's Florida Development Finance Corp.'s impending decision to approve $1.75 billion in tax-exempt, private activity bonds so All Aboard Florida can get funding. FDC has already gleefully included its share in its draft budget for the current fiscal year. Check out the $1.8 million under "pending revenue." (All Aboard Florida on June 19 received a six-month extension to sell the tax-exempt bonds.)
The Florida Senate violates the Constitution, lies about it, then admits what it did ... but don't worry, we'll call another special session and fix it ... I don't care which party is in the majority -- even my own, as it happens -- the Senate has acted reprehensibly and, more important, illegally.
