Bill Nelson

BARTOW | Health care reform will pass Congress this year, but without many of the current provisions in House Bill and without a public health-care option, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson predicted today during a swing through Polk County.

Nelson was in the county to tour Summerlin Academy, a military-style public school in Bartow, and for a lunch with members of Citrus Mutual in Lakeland.

During a question-and-answer session with Summerlin cadets, Nelson said the House version of health-care reform cannot get the necessary 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and pass in the Senate.

Nelson later told The Ledger in an interview that he doesn’t think the option to have a public health-care plan can draw the necessary votes to pass the Senate.

“The public option is only one of hundreds of issues concerned with health care reform,” he said. “Public option means different things to different people. Some people think of it as socialized medicine, but that type is not, and has not ever been, considered. Still, any public option will not pass.”

The Senate has not written its version of the health-care reform bill yet. Work on that will begin Sept. 8 when the Senate reconvenes, and it will come out of the Senate Finance Committee, on which Nelson sits, probably sometime in late September.

“A big part of (the bill) will be shoring up Medicare and Medicaid. We do not have a bill yet because the Senate does not have consensus. We tried all summer to get consensus,” he said.

“I want consensus so that we can have as many people as possible with health care coverage, and we cannot get the 60 votes in the Senate with any public option,” Nelson said.

Nelson said it’s easy to understand the need for reforming health care in America.

“Go talk to someone whose employer’s insurance company has dropped coverage for the company,’’ he said.

For Nelson’s thoughts on other legislation pending before Congress and his answers to questions posed by Ledger readers, check back here and read Tuesday print edition of The Ledger.

Dorothy Hukill

NEW SMYRNA BEACH– On Monday, August 31st, State Representative Dorothy L. Hukill (R-Port Orange) will deliver a proclamation to the Jane Sheldon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in honor of Constitution Week, which is an annual celebration commemorating the signing of the United States Constitution in September 1787 and celebrated September 17-23 every year. The aims of the celebration include teaching Americans about the importance of citizenship and the achievements of the Founding Fathers in developing the framework for the Nation.

The proclamation will be delivered at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library, 1001 South Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna Beach, 32618 at 1:30 pm.

WHO: State Representative Dorothy L. Hukill

WHAT: Proclamation Honoring Constitution Week

WHEN: Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 1:30pm

WHERE: New Smyrna Regional Library, 1001 S Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna Beach, 32168

Miami, FL (MMD Newswire) August 31, 2009 – - Noted economist Farid A. Khavari announced that he is a Democratic candidate in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial race. “I have published a complete plan to revive Florida’s economy and make Florida recession-proof,” said Khavari. “We can put 700,000 Floridians back to work. The state can earn billions providing 2% mortgages and 6% credit cards. We can cut insurance costs by 30% across the board, and reduce energy costs. All together, an average Florida family will own their home 15 years sooner and save $200,000 in interest, insurance and energy costs with this plan. State and local governments will save billions per year. We can do this without higher taxes.” Khavari’s proposal for a publicly-owned bank has attracted national attention since it was announced in July.

“What other candidate even has a plan?” asked Khavari. “All we read in the papers is how much money they have raised, not a word about any plans except to get elected.”

Khavari cited Alex Sink and Bill McCollum as examples. “Alex Sink is Chief Financial Officer of Florida. She is one of three trustees of the State Board of Administration. In the past two years this fund has lost over $50 billion, about 40% of its value. This is outrageous but it is being covered up.”

When asked how a $50 billion loss could be covered up, Khavari replied, “That’s easy. The other two trustees of the SBA are the Attorney General and the Governor.” CFO Sink is now a Democratic candidate for Governor, Attorney General McCollum is a Republican candidate for Governor, and Gov. Charlie Crist is running for the U.S. Senate.

The State Board of Administration is custodian of funds from about 1,000 state and local government entities in Florida including pension funds for state and municipal workers. “Whether this is negligence, stupidity or corruption, I cannot say,” said Khavari, “but they didn’t lose this money buying blue chip stocks. They lost it playing in high-risk derivatives and other trades that no sane person would consider.

“My plan will earn $50 billion for the state, and much more, without higher taxes. Who else has a plan? The media are dazzled by which candidate has raised the most money. Do you think those millions came from ordinary people? The media made a big scandal over $50,000 worth of rides in state airplanes, but this $50 billion loss is a million times bigger and the media are helping to cover it up.”

Khavari noted as an exception a series of articles by four-time Pulitzer winner Sydney P. Freedberg published in the St. Petersburg Times and archived online atwww.tampabay.com/writers/sydney-p-freedberg.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph. D., is the author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download atwww.khavariforgovernor.com.

Two years ago I was hanging out with the “Adopt a Greyhound” folks.  Good people, involved voluntarily in a charity with good intentions and documented success.  Jokily,  I stated that because of my none routine lifestyle, adopting any dog would be cruel.  I reasoned that since dogs are very social animals I probably could only keep a turtle or cat.  Two days later I was presented with one free kitten as my cat, making me the designated cat owner in the Adopt a Greyhound program.  It turns out this fully armed indoor/outdoor cat that allows me to live in her house has been a good fit.  However, no matter how good the fit, I can’t afford another free cat!

Free is a relative term, is it free as a whole or partial.  Is it free on a ongoing bases or just initially.  In marketing and sales, free is a technique to motivate a buyer to commit.  For example, children are motivated in the cereal aisle or fast food establishments with enticing free toys, motivating the parent to comply. As adults we are bombarded with offers of BOGO’s, buy one get one, or other offers to facilitate a purchase now instead of later.  This sales technique is called squeezing the balloon, visualize a elongated balloon being squeezed on one end, inflating the other end. The seller is much more aware of the true expense and profits, making their nut, than the buyer, stressing emphasis on the great deal and not the bottom line.  For the technique to work the buyer must be convinced they are receiving something for nothing, which they are not.  No seller, I repeat no seller in a successful business gives anything away for free without
something of greater value in return.  Breaking even on the balance sheet is not an option, without profit a business is only a hobby.

So you may ask, “How does this relate to politics?”.  Well, government is in the business to facilitate itself, ever growing.  To achieve this bureaucratic creep they must sell their customers, us, are getting something of greater value.  The sales technique is the same, recently the federal government had a great example of a hugely successful sales program called, “Cash4Clunkers”.  The sales pitch was, Free Money for a New Car!  Without getting into the detail that the money isn’t free, but an example of monetary inflationary governmental practices, I will just focus on the sale.   In the car biz the hardest part in selling cars is getting buyers on the lot.  Once there, are they real buyers or tire kickers? With real buyers, what needs to be done to “de-horse” them out of their current ride and into new wheels?  Traditionally the car sellers have to do horse trading, negotiating on prices for the new car and the trade-in, factoring
financing and extended warranties.  Very rarely does a buyer come in that pays cash and/or does what is called a “lie-down”.  Urgency is the word for the day in sells every day.  Having time constraints, real or imagined, is crucial to motivate a purchase TODAY!  So how has the federal government helped to motivate the buyer, by picking up the down payment and remedying that pesky trade-in negotiating.  How has the federal government motivate the seller, by bringing customers to them that would not appeared on their on and did away with that pesky trade-in negotiating.    Everything else in the car deal is still in play.  Now that the government has de-horsed the customer and destroyed the car, the making of the artificially produced lie-down sell is underway.

The unsuspecting patsy is under the illusion that the government money for the down payment is guaranteed, if so the contract would read as such.  The customer is always ultimately responsible for any “consideration”,  not the government.  As a rule of thumb, if the customer and their clunker qualified for the program they most likely are the least able to afford a change in terms.  Now with the windfall of additional sells traffic on the showroom floor, the seller can use the time restraints of the government program to demand full MSRP (MSRP has built in profit padding), or make additional padding of the sell price.  I suspect in the very near future the default rate on car loans associated with the Free Money bait for clunkers will sink those into a financial abyss, that they on their own would not of participated.

This concept of free to motivate citizens into action that is detrimental to themselves should not ever be by the hands of government at any level. Presently governments are promoting programs that can not sustain themselves beyond their initial funding and/or require a level of corporatism that should shock any voter.  FREE Trains with FREE station parking, local and State for example.  Where is this demand coming from other than from politicians and those that build public transportation.  Recently the  new revenue enhancement program for local coffers with FREE intersection cameras has grown, not surprisingly.  Incentives for more tickets written, more money for the companies that install FREE cameras. The list can go on and on.  We as citizen must be clear to our political leaders we are interested in FREEDOM, not free gimmicks. We as taxpayers can only afford so many FREE CATS!

Roughly 100 projects in Central Florida would get funding next year under spending legislation that passed the U.S. House this summer, including $700,000 to study solar power at the University of Central Florida and $1 million to find jobs for Space Coast workers.

These earmarks, worth as much as $124 million, were inserted into appropriations bills by six Central Florida House members. Pending U.S. Senate approval, the federal dollars would fund projects from roads to research and — sometimes — steer lucrative contracts to political supporters.

About a third of the earmarks were requested by nine-term U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, whose campaign slogan “Corrine Delivers” underscores that one of her top goals is bringing federal dollars to her district, which stretches from Jacksonville to Orlando.

Her $54.7 million in earmarks includes several projects that would benefit current or former clients of the Virginia lobbying firm Alcalde & Fay, which employs her daughter, Shantrel Brown Fields.

For example, Brown steered more than $8 million to the Jacksonville Port Authority for dredging and other maintenance projects. The port authority paid $40,000 to Alcalde & Fay this year, according to lobbyist records.

Lake County officials paid the firm at least $40,000 this year to help get federal funding for an emergency-operations center, among other projects. Brown netted an $800,000 earmark for the center, as well as $500,000 for Edward Waters College, a former Alcalde & Fay client.

Neither the firm nor Brown’s daughter returned calls. Fields is not listed as a lobbyist for the Jacksonville Port Authority or Lake County, but she did represent Edward Waters College in 2006, records show.

In a statement, Brown said, “I have not sought money for any project that was not requested by a state or local governmental entity, service provider or business in my district or the state of Florida. I am fully confident that each of the projects will provide critically needed services and create jobs.”

Still, one Washington watchdog questioned the connection. “At the very least, it creates appearance problems,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “There may be an innocent explanation … but there are always questions when the kids of members become lobbyists.”

Brown’s earmarks aren’t the only ones that have raised eyebrows. U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D- Orlando, was criticized this spring for trying to direct $350,000 to the Florida Civil Rights Association, run by controversial activist J. Willie David.

The earmark was aimed at helping local homeowners avoid foreclosure proceedings but ran into problems because of David’s past — he once demanded a cut of a $1.75 million judgment for two orphans whose parents were killed when a suspect fleeing police hit their car — and a “humanitarian” award the group gave Grayson.

That project did not survive a vote. Grayson did manage to get approval for several other earmarks, including $500,000 to buy library books to help Spanish speakers learn English and $3.4 million for a “study of sugar cane as a viable alternative and reliable form of energy.”

Grayson, who could not be reached for comment, counts sugar producer Florida Crystals as one of his top contributors, with total contributions of $9,200, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. He also received $1,000 from the Florida Sugar Cane League in March.

Most of the earmarks requested by Central Florida lawmakers were bread-and-butter projects, such as $400,000 to upgrade police technology in Maitland or $250,000 to assist a youth community center in DeLand. Most were steered toward municipalities, schools or nonprofits.

The trend reflects changes in recent years to make the earmark system more transparent — a response to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in which congressional officials were bribed to get earmarks inserted.

Earmarks also aren’t the only avenue to secure federal funding for projects. U.S. Rep. John Mica, R- Winter Park, snagged $40 million for Central Florida commuter rail in the transportation-spending bill, a project also supported by the White House.

One trend that has continued, however, is that the most expensive items generally were for defense spending.

Brown earmarked $5 million for Lockheed Martin to build an anti-tank missile. She has received $5,000 from the company’s political action committee since 2007.

And U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D- New Smyrna Beach, inserted a $1.2 million request to develop “soldier personal cooling systems.” The earmark is tailor-made for RINI technologies in Oviedo; its founder, Dan Rini, contributed $1,000 to Kosmas’ campaign in April.

“We will definitely be submitting a proposal,” said Rini, who added that Kosmas’ staff alerted him to the earmark when the House passed its spending measure.

Kosmas said the earmark was made to “protect our brave men and women in uniform” and had nothing to do with the campaign contribution: “There is no connection between the two. The request was made upon a need.”

Seminoles and Charlie Crist

The Seminole Tribe of Florida voted to approve a gambling compact with the governor Friday at a closed-door meeting of its tribal council in Hollywood, according to people close to the negotiations.

But in what may be a deal-breaker for lawmakers who must ratify the agreement, the council refused to accept some provisions sought by legislative leaders.

Gov. Charlie Crist and the tribe have until Monday to meet the deadline set by the Legislature to complete an agreement to authorize slot machines, blackjack and other banked card games at its tribal casinos.

If Crist signs the agreement, he is expected to call a special session in October to have lawmakers sign off on the deal, as required by law.

The governor wouldn’t comment on the tribe’s decision Friday. “Stay tuned for details Monday,” he said at a Fort Lauderdale news conference to introduce his Senate appointee, George LeMieux.

LeMieux, Crist’s former chief of staff, served as the governor’s lead negotiator with the tribe.

Earlier this week, the governor and the tribe agreed to a plan to pay the state $150 million a year in exchange for operating the games at all seven of its casinos. But that went farther than the guidelines set by the Legislature, which authorized the card games only at the tribe’s Hard Rock casinos in Hollywood and Tampa and its two other casinos in Broward County.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A state lawmaker says Gov. Charlie Crist is picking his former chief of staff George LeMieux (leh-’MEW) to replace Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who is resigning.

State Rep. Jennifer Carroll, who was considered for the position, said Crist told her he is choosing LeMieux. Crist planned to make the announcement later Friday.

By choosing LeMieux, Crist picked the candidate he trusts most to fill out the term that expires in January 2011. Crist is running for the seat in next year’s election.

LeMieux ran Crist’s 2006 campaign for governor. Crist then picked LeMieux as chief of staff. He left for a Tallahassee law firm in December 2007.

Martinez announced this month that he wouldn’t complete his first term.

Crist is running against Marco Rubio for the seat that Martinez has vacated.  Rubio had this to say in a statement “This is a disappointing pick for Florida. George LeMieux is a talented political operative and the governor’s best friend, but that doesn’t make him the right choice to represent Florida in the Senate. Governor Crist had a wealth of consistent and principled conservative candidates to choose from, all of whom would have been a reliable check and balance on the excesses of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.”