Weiner's "Weiner"

To lie or not to lie-

Friedrich Nietzsche stated, "One may sometimes tell a lie, but the grimace that accompanies it tells the truth."  This quote could not be more perfect to describe Representative Anthony Weiner.

Nearly two weeks ago, Weiner snapped a lewd photo of his body and sent it over his Twitter account to a female.  Instead of sending through his private account, Weiner mistakenly sent it over his public Twitter account for the world to see.  Oops.

His world has now been turned upside down and to make matters worse, he denied that he had anything to do with it.  Instead insisting, "he was a victim of a 'hack' and 'prank'."  Weiner lied and acted as if he were a victim of someone else's cruel joke.  Even mentioning that he was going to get an investigative company to research the crime.  It is a shame that he failed to understand the ins and outs of the computer world.  After realizing that he was caught without any escape, Weiner finally admitted to his lack of judgment and acknowledged the he “did a regrettable thing, and for that I apologize.” 

Apologize for what, however?  The lewd photo, the shame he has brought his new family or once again, helping to reinforce the fact that politicians are excellent liars and care very little for the truth- even when it is staring them in the face or should I say "pants"?   

Yes, Weiner has again brought our American Congress to yet another low.  With sex crimes spiraling out of control, internet pornography and child molestation at an all time high, Mr. Weiner has shown the world that even our elected leaders enjoy the debauchery that only a camera phone and Twitter account can bring.  

He is sure to be run out of office by his colleagues and constituents.  Right? 

Wrong.  According to a recent poll,  "56 percent of registered voters" in his district wanted him not to resign.  "One-third said he should step down" while "12 percent are unsure."

But hey, who in Washington hasn’t been caught with their pants down?

Welfare Drug Testing

Governor Rick Scott signed a law requiring welfare applicants to agree to submit urine, blood or hair samples for drug testing before receiving cash benefits from the state.

"The goal of this is to make sure we don't waste taxpayers' money," Scott said. "And hopefully more people will focus on not using illegal drugs."

But the ACLU of Florida, which filed suit against Scott over a measure requiring government employees to undergo random drug testing, disagrees, and may sue over the welfare law as well.

"What (Scott) is doing is giving ugly legitimacy to an unfortunate stereotype that has been in this country for a couple of decades -- that all welfare recipients are a bunch of drug abusers," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.

Welfare applicants will get reimbursed for negative drug tests.  If the applicant fails the test they will be blocked from getting any welfare for six months.  If they fail the test a second time, it will result in a three-year ban.

Parents who fail drug tests can only get welfare for their kids by naming another person who does not fail the drug test and must be approved by the state.

Controversy over the measure was heightened by Scott's association with a company he co-founded that operates walk-in care clinics in Florida and counts drug screening among the services it provides.

In April, Scott, transferred his ownership interest in Solantic Corp. to a trust in his wife's name, said the company would not contract for state business, according to local media reports.

No other state currently requires drug testing for welfare recipients.

The effectiveness of testing is unknown. A pilot program that tested welfare recipients from 1999 to 2001 found that there was little difference in employment and earnings between those testing positive for drug use and those who were clean, according to a Florida State University researcher.

The issue is whether drug testing is constitutional. "I work for the ACLU, and it's our job to prevent trampling on the constitutional rights of people," Simon said. The Constitution mandates that searches cannot be conducted without probable cause, he said.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/05/scott-signs-bill-forcing-drug-tests-on-welfare-recipients.html#ixzz1OS62QVFS

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/05/florida.welfare.drug.testing/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/fl-scott-signs-drug-testing-bill-20110531,0,5522308.story

Drilling in the Gulf

The debate on whether or not to allow drilling off the coast of Florida is an important one.  Florida controls the water 10 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Do the benefits of drilling for oil in the Gulf outweigh the environmental risk?  


First let's look at the industries that would be affected if an oil disaster would hit Florida.  Tourism brings in nearly $60 billion to Florida each year, which amounts to $3.4 billion in state tax revenues, and directly employs over 900,000 people. It is the state's largest employer (http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/fgils/tourism.html).  If an oil disaster hits Florida, the Gulf Coast counties would be the first to be hurt as it is estimated that if these counties lost just 10 percent of their tourism and leisure jobs and spending, the estimated losses would be 39,000 jobs and $2.2 billion. If that number is increased to 50%, 195,000 Florida jobs would be eliminated and $10.9 billion lost – and that's just in the Florida Panhandle (http://www.iec.ucf.edu/post/2010/05/01/Gulf-oil-spill-could-be-disastrous-for-Florida-economy.aspx).  Next let's look at the second industry ruled by the Gulf- the Fishing Industry.  The Gulf of Mexico is home to thousands of different species of fish, plants and life.  Florida is the nation's number one spot for sports fishing, attracting nearly 3 million anglers and accounting for nearly $5 billion in revenue annually which would be negatively impacted by a oil disaster. (http://myfwc.com/conservation/Conservation_ValueofConservation_EconSaltwaterImpact.htm).  Not to mention that commercial fishing off Florida's coasts generates over $6 billion annually and directly supports nearly 20,000 jobs (http://www.collinscenter.org/members/blog_view.asp?id=548214).

Now that we understand the benefits of a healthy and clean Gulf, let's weigh this against the economic benefits from offshore drilling.  In a study conducted by the Florida Legislature and by the Collins Center for Public Policy there are an estimated 236 million barrels of oil and oil equivalents in Florida's state-controlled waters.  

Florida's total oil and gas resources amount to little more than a 3 day supply (236 million/86 million) when compared to the 83 million of barrels used daily in the world.  In the United States, approximately 20 million barrels of oil are used per day while Florida uses nearly 360 million barrels of oil each year (http://www.statemaster.com/graph/ene_pet_con-energy-oil-consumption).  

This means that the Gulf Of Mexico under Florida's control has enough oil for 11 days worth of oil nationally and less than a year's worth of oil supply to the state.

I cannot see the benefit in a simple risk v benefit cost analysis for allowing drilling off of Florida's coast.  We cannot let another disaster occur- the risk is too great.

No More Text Books

http://www.cfnews13.com/video?clip=http://static.baynews9.com/newsvideo/bn9/web_video/Digital_books_522.f4v&vtitle=Turning%20the%20page%20on%20traditional%20textbooks

Tallahassee is actually doing something dynamic that will save Florida schools millions of dollars and bring our failing schools into the "Digital" Age.  The benefit of having to not purchase textbooks and distribute them in school will bring down the overall cost of education.  Although there is an upfront cost associated with eReaders for kids, that money is returned as an investment since the costs of buying traditional textbooks is not longer there.  Once all the schools are digital, eReaders will be inexpensive and affordable.  The language for young children is now digital so schools must update their technology to communicate effectively with kids.  Schools could double the size of classes with technology and this would bring down the cost in education.   Also, the ability for young teachers to communicate young people through computer technology like eReaders will transform education for the better.  The ability to have all of the information in the palm of their hand will revolutionize American education.  China and India are invested millions into classroom technology and digital textbooks and they now currently some of the most well educated people in the world (or at least, soon to be).   Florida is doing the right thing here as the state realizes that the future in books is ebooks.  California has already started the process and the rest of the nation is sure to follow.  Soon enough every assignment and lesson will be on the computer.  Kids love being online, playing video games and researching life.  It just makes good sense to bring education online as it is one of the only ways to be effective in the classrooms these days.  Florida will be at the top of education the quicker they get this done.   

Tomorrow is Promised to no man

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-163400-test-that-tells-you-how-long-youll-live-2284639.html

A little scary that there is a blood test that tells you how long you have to live.  I bet the gov't is chomping at the bit to get this.  I feel for those souls who will be on government insurance.  I am sure this test will be given immediately.

Drilling in the Gulf again

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/05/12/passing-third-bill-house-says-drill-baby-drill/

Yes, we are drilling again in the Gulf.  Although we export more oil than we import, the whores on the Hill have fooled the people into thinking that gas prices will drop once we "get more oil".   If that is the case, why are prices still high if we are exporting more than we are importing?  That's because the United States government doesn't drill for oil, oil companies do and they care very little about bilking millions from the middle class of America.