Rick Scott and Scott Randolph pen competing essays on Medicaid expansion

Gov. Rick Scott is pushing back against critics of his choice to reject the federal Medicaid expansion, emphasizing in this opinion-editorial that it will be a costly policy move for states and the better strategy is -- you guessed it -- to create jobs so more people can afford their own insurance.

His piece appeared on U.S. News and World Report's "Debate Club" blog on Tuesday. Among experts arguing for the expansion is Democratic Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, who says "uninsured care costs Floridians at least $5 billion per year—not including what hospitals just write off."

It follows a report from the Tampa Bay Times this weekend that quoted several health experts who warned the costs of not expanding Medicaid could outweigh the price of implementation. How? Florida's 3.8 million uninsured residents will continue to receive care they don't pay for in emergency rooms, which will continue getting passed down to people who buy insurance in the form of increased premiums.

Scott writes: 

History has repeatedly shown that the costs of many government healthcare programs far exceed early projections. Why does anyone expect the expansion of Medicaid would be any different? We don't need the federal government telling us what to do when it comes to meeting the needs of the citizens of our states. And we don't need Washington putting states on the hook for future budget obligations.

Medicaid expansion is bad for states because it would put a tremendous strain on state budgets and increase dependency on government programs. We don't need to expand a big-government program to provide for everyone's needs. What we need is to shrink the cost of healthcare and expand opportunities for people to get a job so more people can afford it. In Florida, Medicaid is the fastest-growing part of our state budget—hands down. It is increasing at more than 3.5 times the rate of our general revenue. And that's before we even begin talking about an expansion.

It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that such a trajectory doesn't bode well for our budget. And unlike the federal government, which isn't required to balance its budget, expanding Medicaid could only be paid for by increasing taxes or cutting from other parts of the state budget. The Medicaid expansion would put other vital government functions like education, public safety, and infrastructure at risk. Frankly, that isn't something I'm willing to do.

Keep reading.

 

RPOF attacks "two faces" of Charlie Crist

"Charlie Crist demonstrates he has two faces. One is the face of what he says, and the other is his record," reads a blistering Republican Party of Florida e-mail sent out Tuesday afternoon.

The attack accuses Crist of flip-flopping on the voter purge issue. It is a response to Crist's Washington Post op ed, published Saturday, in which Crist blasts Gov. Rick Scott's efforts to verify legitimate voters on Florida's voter rolls as "mean-spirited" and "all-to-partisan."

Crist is rumored to be positioning himself to run as a Democrat against Scott, which may be why RPOF chairman Lenny Curry continued his attack.

"Last weekend, Charlie Crist added his voice to a chorus of people who exploit a very necessary effort to stop illegal, non-citizen voting," said Curry. "As usual, his voice was used to keep himself in the limelight and to reflect the latest evolution of a politician who stands for nothing."

Here's the picture by RPOF.

Florida appeals Miami federal judge ruling against law prohibiting hiring of companies tied to Cuba

The state of Florida is appealing a Miami federal judge's decision to strike down a law prohibiting governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba.

Last month, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore blocked the law from taking effect on July 1, as scheduled. Odebrecht USA, the Coral Gables-based affiliate of the giant Brazilian engineering and construction conglomerate, had sued the Florida Department of Transportation, saying it's not the state's role to set foreign policy. The law also applies to companies linked to Syria.

In a statement, Gov. Rick Scott said FDOT filed the appeal Tuesday afternoon. 

"As I have said before, the Castro and Assad governments are undeniably repressive, and it is important that Florida taxpayers do not support dictators that suppress freedom," Scott said. "I firmly believe this law is right for Florida and will continue to defend it going forward."

Anthrax hoaxster who mailed Sens. Marco Rubio, Bill Nelson indicted by feds

A Middle District of Florida US Attorney's press release on a person whose hate/stupidity is bipartisan:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Kathryn Cohen Allen, 45, Jasper, Fla., was charged in an indictment unsealed today with nine counts of mailing hoax anthrax letters, announced U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Robert E. O’Neill.  If convicted on all counts, Allen faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, between June 24, 2011, and June 28, 2011, Allen mailed threatening letters containing a white powdery substance to the offices of U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson. She also mailed similar letters to the Hamilton County, Fla., Correctional Institution, the Hamilton County Health Department, the Hamilton County Tax Collector’s Office, the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and to three private citizens. Field and laboratory testing determined that the white powdery substance was not hazardous.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.  The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Taylor.

Said Rubio's office: “We appreciate law enforcement’s diligence in working to apprehend the suspect and helping us continue to serve our constituents.”

Said Nelson's office: "Law enforcement did its job.  Now it’s a legal matter and will be decided in the courts."

Chamber backs Lisbon in his primary challenge against Rep. Gibbons

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Sheldon Lisbon, a Democratic candidate for state house in the new District 100 which runs from Surfside to Dania Beach. Lisbon is running against State Rep. Joe Gibbons (D-Hallandale Beach).

Although Gibbons is running for his third term and has about double the size of Lisbon's campaign account, this could be a competitive race because 57 percent of the voters live in Miami-Dade County. Gibbons lives in Broward while Lisbon lives in Surfside, a small community in Miami-Dade County, where he served for a few months on the Town Commission before resigning to run for state house.

The chamber gave Gibbons a "D" on its 2012 legislative report card. But the big issue which could have cost Gibbons the endorsement was his support for expanding gambling to include large destination resorts -- something the Chamber opposed earlier this  year.

Gibbons says that if done correctly, expanded gambling would create jobs and boost tourism.

Lisbon has criticized Gibbons for taking donations from those in the gambling industry. But in an interview  with the Miami Herald, Lisbon didn't entirely rule out supporting a gambling expansion. When asked if he was flat-out opposed he said "no"  but that he doesn't want it near religious institutions or schools.

"Personally I am opposed to gambling but if it brings in money ... it has to take into consideration how it will impact the community -- the traffic impact, negative impact on schools. ... I don't want it to be a Las Vegas kind of town." 

The Chamber doesn't release candidate questionnaires but spokeswoman Edie Ousley said that Lisbon  told the chamber that "he does oppose the expansion of casino gambling" and therefore his position is in line with the chamber's position.

The Associated Industries of Florida, a business group that supported destination gambling resorts, endorsed Gibbons.

 

 

 

State loses yet another round in prison privatization saga

Yet another legal setback for Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature in their efforts to expand privatization in state prisons.

The First District Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed the state's appeal of a lower-court decision that struck down as unconstitutional a plan to privatize more than two dozen prisons in South Florida. The decision was on procedural grounds, not on the merits of privatization.

Attorney General Pam Bondi had filed the appeal on behalf of the Legislature, which was not a party to the original suit -- a maneuver the judges struck down, saying Bondi had no right to appeal. "Like any other non-party in the trial court, the attorney general lacks standing to initiate an appeal on her own," the judges wrote. "Non-parties whose rights have not been adjudicated have no right of appeal." 

The original lawsuit was brought by the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the former union for correctional officers. The PBA challenged the attempt to privatize prisons through fine-print budget language known as proviso, and Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford agreed that the action was illegal.

"This (appellate) ruling reaffirmed our argument that the attorney general did not have the authority to appeal the lower court's decision," PBA Executive Director Matt Puckett said. "This was never more than the Legislature's last-second attempt to privatize public prisons in South Florida." 

Scott was not a party to the case, either, but he tried valiantly last spring to convince the Legislature to privatize prisons generally south of Lake Okeechobee. But nine Republican senators joined with all 12 Democrats in defeating the plan in the Senate on a 21-19 vote.

-- Steve Bousquet

Campaign-cash catch 22: Connie Mack raises $50k, but gets rapped for missed votes

Remember the beating Jim Davis took from Charlie Crist for missing votes in Washington in 2006? We wonder if it's only a matter of time before Democrats and/or Bill Nelson start using the same attack on U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, who has missed a slew of votes while running for U.S. Senate. Only yesterday he missed three votes as he raised $50,000 in Jacksonville.

The folks at the Democratic Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century has done some numbers crunching to put Mack's missed votes into context.

Over the first half of the year the Fort Myers Republican missed more than 31 percent of the House votes taken this year. That gives him the seventh worst record in the House.

Putnam energy audit finds millions in taxpayer waste

Florida misspent millions of federal and state dollars intended to grow the energy sector, according to an audit by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The audit is among the first steps by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to bring stricter measurement and oversight to the Office of Energy, which, he said, has been plagued for decades by bad leadership.

The Governor's Office handed Putnam a mess when the Legislature shifted the Office of Energy to the Department of Agriculture in July of 2011, Putnam said at a Tuesday press conference.

Judge refuses to issue gag order in case against former Carroll aide

Circuit Court Judge Frank Sheffield declined Assistant State Attorney John Hutchins' attempt to seal the file and prevent lawyers representing a former aide for the lieutenant governor from making statements to the media.

But Sheffield did admonish attorneys on both sides of the case during a private meeting in his chambers today, according to Steve Andrews, an attorney representing Carletha Cole, the former aide accused of sharing an illegal recording of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll with the Florida Times-Union newspaper.

"He told us that we cannot talk about the evidence in the case and in accordance with Florida Bar rules we can't make extra-judicial comments that can be perceived" to have a detrimental affect on the case, Andrews said.

Hutchins filed a five-page motion asking for the gag order on Monday. A hearing on the state's case against Cole -- she is charged with a felony -- had already been scheduled for today so Sheffield to could get an update on the case in its initial stages. Witnesses will be interviewed in the coming weeks, the attorneys told him.

"We didn't have a hearing on the gag order and I'm not going to enter a gag order but I am expecting compliance with the rules of professional conduct in regard to extra-judicial statements," Sheffield said.

Tampa strip clubs getting webcams, 'Nailin' Paylin' Sarah Palin lookalike stripper for RNC

From TBO.com

Strip clubs may not be the most politically correct venue for those attending the Republican National Convention, but that doesn't mean Tampa's well-known adult hot spots won't be ready for the influx of visitors.

One place is bringing in a stripper who looks like former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.** There are major renovations taking place. And some nude clubs have already been giving potential customers a taste of the talent online.

"Not only can you see the dancers on the stage and in the dressing room, you can also talk to them in an online chat room," said Don Kleinhans, owner of the 2001 Odyssey on North Dale Mabry Highway.

More here

**The Twitters informs us the Palinesque stripper is Lisa Ann of the 'Who's Naylin Palin' pornographic movie.