Prayers

This morning, I learned from Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, via a personal email, that her husband Harvey is critically ill with cancer and will require on-going treatment. In a press release from her office several minutes ago, Ginny thanked everyone for their kind words and prayers while asking for some privacy while they deal with Harvey's medical issues in the coming days.

My thoughts are with Harvey and Ginny during this most difficult time in their life. I will keep Harvey in my prayers for a speedy recovery. Please do the same...

Partisan stunt costs Hernando County

As a Brooksville business owner, I find today's action by a handful of out-of-county, partisan protesters from Orlando an insult to me, as a taxpayer who pays city and county taxes. Our city and county leaders need to immediately send an invoice for cost of the safety personnel on hand for this partisan stunt by the chairman of the Orange County Democrat Executive Committee, Bill Robinson. The city of Brooksville and Hernando County government are struggling to cover our needs, with a limited budgets, in this repressed economy. As a taxpayer, I wholeheartedly agree with Congresswoman Brown-Waite's call for the reimbursement for theses cost but I will go one step farther by saying the local DEC should cover these incurred costs if our out of town guests fail to meet their obligations to our county. Below is Rep. Brown-Waite press release concerning reimbursement:

REP. BROWN-WAITE CALLS ON ORANGE COUNTY DEMOCRAT LEADERS TO REIMBURSE HERNANDO COUNTY FOR WASTING THEIR TIME AND LIMITED RESOURCES

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today called on Orange County Democrat Party leaders to reimburse Hernando County for the cost of mobilizing their police force, of cordoning off a significant downtown area, and disrupting County and City government business. Protest leaders originally notified the Fire Department that 1,000-plus people would attend. Yesterday they “confirmed” with the City that 417 protesters would be arriving in multiple coach style buses outside the County Courthouse. As of 12:45 pm today, approximately 35 people had arrived, joining 15 or so people who drove themselves, wasting the time and resources of County, City and State law enforcement. All told, Brooksville City Police, Florida Highway Patrol, Hernando County Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department put in countless wasted hours preparing for today’s disruptions.

“Just this morning our hometown newspaper ran a story about the County Commission laying off dozens of county workers, with the prospect of more layoffs in the future,” said Rep. Brown-Waite. “Given the anemic turnout at my office today, I can come to no other conclusion than Orange County Democrat leaders were misleading Hernando County law enforcement about the size of their “protest” in efforts to generate press coverage of what now appears to be nothing more than a Democrat political rally on government property today. Perhaps someone in the State legislature can look for ways to protect municipalities from similar partisan groups like this one from raiding county coffers in the future.

“I also read published reports that visitors from Melbourne and Orlando were charged $15 to ride the lone bus to my office. If they claim to have had 400-plus people pay the money, and then showed up with only one busload of about 30 people, they should have thousands of dollars lying around unused to reimburse the various police and fire departments for their time and energy. Otherwise this “protest” is nothing more than a long distance Party fundraiser for Orange County Democrats.

“If Bill Robinson and his fellow event organizers are at all concerned about the fiscal welfare of the County and local law enforcement, they will immediately contact the Hernando County Sheriff’s and Fire Department, the City Police and the Florida Highway Patrol to reimburse them for the cost of supplying extra officers at their protest today. If Mr. Robinson does not make the law enforcement officials whole again, I would urge Hernando County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Rowden to speak up and tell our out of district friends to stop wasting precious County resources.”

Reponse from GBW to protesters

Below is a press release from the office of Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite in response to today's politically motivated protest in downtown Brooksville which was organized by the Orange County Democrat Executive Committee:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Charlie Keller
February 28, 2008

REP. BROWN-WAITE DEFENDS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Congresswoman Invites All 5th District Constituents to Meet With Staff and Share Their Views

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today released the following statement regarding the protests outside her Brooksville district office.

“I send a warm welcome to all the protesters on their visit to Hernando County,” said Rep. Brown-Waite. “I think it is wonderful that some Floridians have come so far to see our City of Brooksville. I hope that during their day in Hernando County the protesters can find the time to spend some of their anticipated tax rebate checks with local businesses. And, if the group needs to cool off, I recommend that they head down the road to Weeki Wachee for a fun afternoon at our water park.

“It is disappointing that the Orlando partisan race hustlers who traveled to Hernando County today have chosen to continue the politics of division. Tax policy should not be something that divides America along racial or party lines. When you have protesters like the ones here today, however, factual issues are obscured and the focus shifts to name-calling and angry partisan rhetoric. I was embarrassed to read in the newspaper today that Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Bill Robinson is apparently so misinformed about how Florida residents want seniors’ Social Security taxes to be used that he feels it is ok to take retirement incomes from my senior constituents and give it away to those who don’t pay federal income taxes. If that is truly how he feels, I am happy to have that debate, any time, any where. Rather than discussing whether people who don’t pay federal taxes should get a check from my constituents, however, Democrats have once again chosen race-based hysteria.

“I would also like to point out that the use of the word foreign to describe the tax status of people living in the American possessions was entirely accurate. According to the Internal Revenue Code, section 7701(a) 9 defines the "United States," for tax purposes, to include only the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Further, section 901(a) provides a foreign tax credit; section 901(b) defines it to include taxes paid to the possessions (which include Puerto Rico). Finally, sections 7701(a) 4 and 5 define "domestic" and "foreign" corporations as corporations chartered in the United States or abroad, respectively.

“Taken together, these sections of Internal Revenue Code make it clear that people and corporations located in possessions of the United States are considered foreign for tax purposes. In my original statement, and in following statements, I have been consistent that we need to debate who should receive a tax rebate in times of budget deficits and a slowing economy. The facts, no matter how loudly anyone shouts otherwise, remain the facts. The American citizens who live and work in Puerto Rico do not pay federal income taxes to the United States Treasury. My constituents do not believe that Puerto Rico residents should receive tax rebate checks. That debate is moot, however, since the economic stimulus package has been signed into law. Puerto Rico citizens, just like Americans living in the fifty states, the District of Columbia and the other possessions, will receive checks courtesy of the federal taxpayer.

“I hope in the future that we can have a fact-based discussion and avoid further protests like the one we see today, but I doubt that the press that has fanned these flames is up to the heavy lifting to accomplish that simple request.”

Knowingly hiring illegal aliens

The state of Arizona has a newly created law that prohibits the business community from knowingly hiring illegal aliens. If businesses do hire illegal aliens in Arizona, they face losing their business license for 10 days on the first offense, with a revocation of their licenses on a second offense. It also requires businesses to use an otherwise voluntary federal database to verify the employment eligibility of new workers. This law was challenged by many business groups along with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce to argue the Arizona law unconstitutionally infringes on federal immigration powers. The law was upheld in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week.

National television news reports indicated last week that wage levels have already begun to increase in Arizona and their unemployment rate is beginning to decline because illegal's are beginning to flee their state. This Arizona law is intended to weaken the economic incentive for illegal aliens.

Now that this Arizona law has passed muster with the federal courts, our Florida Legislature should strongly consider the same type of statute for our state. A proposed statute could easily be incorporated into regulations for the Florida Department of State/Division of Corporations.

Florida would see immediate relief for our sagging economy, with a law similar that of Arizona. It would put our wage level back on track for legal residents in our state; it would also give assistance to the struggling healthcare industry that is required to treat these illegal aliens, without asking any questions. The cost of healthcare, and associated health insurance, would see a substantial decrease to the cost of consumers if this burden was lifted from having to treat illegal aliens. The deficiencies in our public school system would also immediately benefits from this type of legislation.

These are only several areas of Florida’s economy that would be immediately affected by legislation, like the Arizona law, but the possibilities are endless. Our state needs a jumpstart in our economy now and enacting legislation such as this is a good place to start in Florida’s Legislative agenda for 2008.

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Minor changes have been made to update my blog site. More changes or additions may be on the way. Please stay tuned...

Pen to hand

Yesterday, I was privileged to attend the invitation-only event at Weeki Wachee to witness the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Weeki Wachee officials enter into an agreement to make Weeki Wachee Springs a state park. I sat in front of Commissioners Rowden and Rocco in the Mermaid Theater to watch history being made as Mayor Robyn Anderson took pen to hand and signed the park over to the state of Florida's park system. This signing was a happy ending to a long, hard fought battle to keep this 60 year old roadside attraction alive.

This five year struggle took on the life of a David and Goliath drama. Robyn Anderson and her dedicated staff worked against insurmountable odds to bring Weeki Wachee back to life in the hearts and minds of all of us that call Hernando County home. Some thought Robyn was nuts to fight, the fight, but yesterday paid off big for all of us because she never lost sight of the end goal which was the preservation of Weeki Wachee Springs.

Yesterday, Weeki Wachee's marketing director, John Athanason gave a very inspiring introduction of his friend, Robyn Anderson during the opening remarks. The old saying "behind every man" takes on a new twist with Robyn and John. Robyn took it on the chin many times over the last few years and John was there for her. John remained as a trusted employee and friend to prop her up for each round in this epic battle to preserve Weeki Wachee Springs. They worked day and night, with other trusted employees, who enlisted the add of the public and business community to bring this attraction back to life.

Good luck to everyone at Weeki WacheeSprings. In closing, I just want to say I'm very proud to call Robyn Anderson my friend!

Pssst

Pssst, Mr. McCain! The line "no new taxes" didn't work for Bush Sr. so what makes you think this worn out line will work for your campaign? It makes a good sound bite, Mr. McCain, but weren't you one of the few republican votes against G.W. Bush's tax cuts? Bush, Sr. lost all credibility with the public for violating his campaign promise so what makes you think you can do any better with your record?

Good faith

Last week the Board of County Commissioners voted to approve the final contract for David Hamilton as our new administrator. After all the speculation that Commissioners Rowden and Rocco would vote against this new administrator, it actually surprised everyone when the vote was split 3-2. The surprise came when Commissioners Russell and Rocco voted against choosing Mr. Hamilton as our next administrator, not Commissioner Rowden. Diane Rowden actually complimented Hamilton for doing his homework on the county and said she thought he would do a fine job.

During the contract dicussions, Mr. Hamilton's salary was scrutinized carefully by Commissioner Rocco. She said she wanted to see him prove himself on the job before he got an automatic pay raise. She also was critical about the benefits package being offered to Mr. Hamilton. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that David Hamilton requested the automatic pay increase clause be taken out of the contract, stating that he would prefer to wait until the appropriate time when all employee raises were discussed by the commissioners.

The final contract for David Hamilton was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Rocco voting nay. This nay vote was a little confusing to some in the public, especially after Mr. Hamilton acted in good faith with his contract negotiation.

True gentleman

I was saddened to hear that Chief J.J. Morrison handed in his resignation yesterday to the Spring Hill Fire Commissioners. I suppose that this was his only option after the Spring Hill Fire Commissioners refused to renew his contract several weeks ago because of his prolonged health issues. While there is no one to blame for this resignation, it should be noted that it only brings a sense of saddness to the community.

J.J. Morrison served the community of Spring Hill Fire District for 22 years, with honor, as a firefighter before being promoted to chief in 2002. As chief, J.J. Morrison always represented Spring Hill residents with the genteel manners of a true gentleman. Thanks, J.J. for your dedication to this county. We will miss you!

Free vehicle

The article "County bosses turn raises over the charities", in the Hernando Today underlined three of our county commissioners for their charitable giving in our community. The article featured a photo of Commissioner Rowden loading her vehicle with electric blankets for the elderly in our community while listing the non-profits of choice for Commissioner Stabins' and Kingsley's donations. Commissioner Russell stated in the article that he and his wife regularly give to charity and would continue to do so in the future. The most honest comment in the entire article was that of Commissioner Rocco who said, "I don't think anyone should be put into the position to say they have to donate a percentage (of their wages)".

It should be noted that the community-at-large gives thousands of dollars in charitable donations every year but rarely seeks acknowledgement for their generosity in the local media. When an occassional person from the community is highlighted for their generosity in the local media, they are very humbled by the attention showered on them.

It makes one wonder why this puff-piece glorifying the generosity of some county commissioners was in this morning's paper at all since it only equated to a free vehicle for them to pander to the public with our tax dollars...

Free media

There has been a lot of speculation behind Mike Huckabee's real motive for sticking it out in a primary run where there seems to be no hope of becoming a winner. Maybe he is trying to sell more copies of his book, titled, Character Is the Issue: How People With Integrity Can Revolutionize America? Think of it this way, he is out on the campaign trail everyday, fresh in the mind of the public. Once he throws in the towel on his campaign, he would not have easy access to the media, that is, free media to promote himself or his book. At this point, what better way than to have a national book tour than under the guise of a campaign for Mike Huckabee?

Even though he was not my choice in the Primary Election, Mr. Huckabee should be commended for one simple reason. Mike Huckabee is not a quitter, causing disappoint to those who have voted for him, or will vote for him in the upcoming contests, like Rudy Guiliani and Mitt Romney. In the hearts and minds of the republicans out their watching this primary election unfold, integrity of the individual does count...

A good beat

Dick Clark always had a "rate the record" for his Bandstand show. If this show was still on, the younger kids would probably rate Jeff Webb's rap tune "keepin' free speech real" as having a good beat but you can't dance to it. I'm sure they would all agree though the contents of Mr. Webb's lyrics were based on sound content and should be shouted from the roof tops.

No one should agree with the arrest and over night conviction of Christopher Holder for singing rap music in public while listening to his Ipod. Yes, he was crude and insensitive to the needs of a young mother's children in ear shot but who will be next on the hit list to have their free speech curbed by some one that is offended in public? Will it be the self-proclaimed preachers on the street corner or the anti-war protesters voicing their opinions? Free speech is based on the very foundation of this country.

The only judge and jury to carry out a sentence on this young man should have been his own mother using a bar of soap to clean up the filthy language, not a deputy who took it upon himself to determine what free speech would be allowed in public. As for Jeff Webb's clever column to get his point across to the public on the preservation of free speech, I say well done! Please, Jeff, don't quit your day job cause I don't think the young rap market is ready for you yet.

Pig in lipstick...

This morning on Fox News Sunday, President Bush indicated he would jump on the campaign trail for John McCain. The President attempted to sell the American public that McCain is a true conservative who deserves support from the entire republican party base for his quest to become the next commander-in-chief. This morning the Buzz on Florida Politics carried a short clip indicating that former Governor Jeb Bush sent a check to presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain, and stated this is a clear message to skeptical republicans.

The audible groans from the audience were clear when Mitt Romney bowed out of the race at the annual CPAC convention last week, paving a smooth path for a John McCain nomination of the republican party or will it? Did anyone happen to notice Mike Huckabee won 2 of the 3 states yesterday, not their presumptive front-runner John McCain? Cartoons and quotes have attempted to drive a stake into the heart of conservatism last week. Liberal media pundits are giddy with the notion the conservative movement in this country is dead upon arrival but the November General Election will be the only true indicator.

You can dress up a pig for a party social by putting lipstick on it but at the end of the party all you have is the same old pig. This analogy is similiar to that of John McCain with the republican big wigs now attempting to paint him as a true conservative. At the end of the campaign trail, the republican party will still have a quasi-democrat as their nominee...

GBW press release

This morning, I received this press release from Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's office concerning their use of the word "foreign" instead of the word "territory" for citizens living in Puerto Rico. After all the comments, pro and con, this response by Congresswoman Brown-Waite should fully explain her point of view:

Congresswoman Fights with Facts, Not Angry Slurs and Name-Calling

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today released the following statement about the media generated controversy surrounding her opposition to sending federal income tax rebate checks to territorial citizens that do not pay federal income taxes.

“When I was elected to Congress, I was elected to represent the 5th District, the interests of Florida, and to be a fiscal conservative. The important issue here is whether or not people who do not pay federal income taxes should get tax rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus package. Those who are personally attacking me are just seeking to mask the fact that territorial residents will be getting rebate checks from federal income taxes they never paid.

“I read the statements from Central Florida Democrat Party leaders today and am deeply disappointed that they engaged in the kind of race baiting politics we have come to expect from their Party. Apparently when fiscal conservatives have facts on their side, like I do here, the only way to defeat them is to attack us personally. Whether it is Bill Clinton in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton in California or frequent Democratic congressional candidate Charlie Stuart in Central Florida today, we are seeing Democrats sink to new levels in desperation to capture Latino votes in Florida. Orlando area Democrat leaders have taken a detailed policy discussion and turned it into a personal attack. Perhaps they realized that they cannot win on the issues, so they have resorted to name calling and demagoguery.

“The facts are that I have already issued a clarification that using the word territorial would have been a better choice of words; case closed. But the original issue of my press release stands unchallenged. Is it fair or fiscally responsible to give tax rebate checks to folks who have not paid into the federal income tax system? My 5th District residents, and most Americans, would answer no.

“Some might ask where the idea for this enormous federal income tax transfer originated. One of the Democrat leaders in the House, Rep. Jose Serrano of New York, issued a press release claiming credit for inserting this mammoth earmark into an economic stimulus bill. Rep. Serrano’s earmark is the type of backroom deal that the American public has rejected time and again. They want legislation to be debated out in the open, not tucked in at the last minute with little or no discussion. This is yet another example of Democrat leadership failing to live up to their promises of being an ethical and open Congress.

“By attacking me personally, instead of debating the issue of taxation and rebates, I believe some individuals are trying to shift media focus away from the billion dollar earmark that Rep. Serrano has inserted in the legislation. By calling me names they hope to draw attention away from what amounts to an enormous transfer payment to the government of Puerto Rico, not to its residents; this is a direct transfer payment to territorial governments disguised as tax rebates.

“Furthermore, instead of taking real action to strengthen the economy, the Democrats proposed a package that would give tax “rebates” to folks who have not paid into the federal income tax system. It is not a rebate if people have not paid taxes in the first place.

“My constituents overwhelmingly want a fiscally conservative economic growth package that makes the tax cuts permanent, cuts the corporate tax rate, currently the highest in the world, and includes a stimulus for our seniors and veterans. Anything else is a job half done.”

Resign to run

The Buzz on Florida Politics in yesterday's metro section of the St. Petersburg Times stated Governor Charlie Crist will appear with John McCain at a fundraiser tonight in New York City. Mr. Crist will also accompany McCain to Connecticut, Missouri and Arizona on Super Tuesday. It sure looks like Charlie is interviewing for the vice presidential spot on the republican ticket with McCain.

If Super Tuesday puts McCain as the front-runner for the delegate count nationwide then an announcement of his running mate will surely be made soon by his campaign. It looks like Crist appears to be on the short list of vice presidential picks for the McCain team.

Florida has a resign to run law for all elected officials. This statute would require Charlie Crist to resign his position as the governor of Florida if he accepts an offer for a McCain-Crist ticket. That would mean we would be voting for a new governor in November since Charlie Crist has served less than two years in office and a new election would be required to fill his position.

I just found out from a a very reliable source that the Resign to Run law for state officials running for federal offices was abolished last year. Apparently this was done to assist Charlie Justice to run against Bill Young (Pinellas County) or for Crist to run as VP. This certainly answers the questions many of us had about Governor Crist riding shotgun with John McCain on his campaign trail just prior to Super Tuesday!

Nitpicking...

Yesterday, the Hernando Times ran an editorial opinion titled, "Wrongheaded remark warrants swift apology" which was in reference to Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's office issuing a written statement referring to Puerto Rico and Guam as foreign citizens. This editorial has called for an apology and immediate clarification of her office's statement. The statement was made in reference President Bush's economic stimulus package that tax dollars for the people of Puerto Rico, Guam and Samoa that do not pay federal income taxes.

In the editorial, it stated that Charlie Keller had admitted the use of the term "foreign citizens" was inaccurate but also stated that he thought it was nitpicking by those who questioned it. I agree with Mr. Keller. This is selective nitpicking of our republican congresswoman. If a democrat had made a similiar statement in a press release it would have flown under the radar without even a whisper from the media.