Sequestration, Budget Cuts

 "General Consensus Seems To Be: Sequestration Will Indeed Be Harmful" by v. johns, 3-2-13, 9:42 PM

The graphic to the right of this column is a White House graphic illustrating some of the potential effects of the sequester, which was allowed by the petty 113th Congress, featuring House Speaker John Boehner and Eric Cantor, to be signed into law on Friday, March 1 (2013). I say “allowed” because the sequester was designed to be repulsive enough to inspire the nominal degree of cooperation necessary to have passed a better, more sensible law (#FAIL).

According to President Obama: “The whole design of these arbitrary cuts was to make them so unattractive and unappealing that Democrats and Republicans would actually get together and find a good compromise of sensible cuts as well as closing tax loopholes and so forth. And so this was all designed to say we can't do these bad cuts; let’s do something smarter. That was the whole point of this so-called sequestration."

I think it’s safe to opine that allowing sequestration to be signed into law this past Friday was nothing short of a political stunt (a potentially harmful one at that) to benefit the political images of the Congressional Republicans who are up for election in 2014. Our upcoming frustration and suffering, the result of the repeal of sequestration being ruled out of the question, for now, will help all these conservative-cred-thirsty Republicans look like they’re just really taking it to President Obama. Furthermore, they all realize that there’s still time to repeal this stupid law. So, even some Democrats might not have been as eager to repeal the law on Friday as they should have been. 

Regardless of what anyone’s particular political slant might be, the general consensus outside Washington seems, to me, to be that budget sequestration will be harmful. Furthermore, it’s just common sense to see that anytime you take money away from someone (teachers, firefighters, students, the elderly, etc.) there will be some degree of suffering.

Even though these harmful cuts to the budget have passed to become law, there’s still time to either repeal the law directly or pass legislation to stop its senselessly hurtful outcomes. We’re all a bit Johnny-come-lately on this issue, most of us, but it won’t hurt at all for us to contact our elected representatives and business leaders so as to mount as much pressure from the public on this issue as possible.

Wall Street, Middle Class, Poor

"Wall Street Siege: The Middle Class and the Poor Strike Back! - Join the Rebellion!" by v. johns

I recently joined Dylan Rattigan's campaign to “Get Money Out” of politics. I also look forward to Reverend Al Sharpton’s October 15 “March for Jobs and Justice” in Washington, D.C. And, although I don’t know quite what to make of it, yet, I’ll be more than happy to support the movement to “Occupy Wall Street.”

But while Wall Street protesters don’t have any one particular grievance to air, I DO. And while most political discourse, these days, is trending toward blaming “Washington in general” or pointing fingers at “both sides,” I hold and maintain that if anything is to change, at all, those responsible for the current madness we must endure must be brought to justice and put to political death.

Both parties, Democrats and Republicans, many of them, bought and sold, they are. But to what degree and on behalf of whom? The media -- they themselves largely bought and sold -- won’t say.

How anyone can look and see what the Republicans and their Tea Party affiliates have done, in the face of worldwide economic collapse, and claim, with a straight face, that the Democrats are somehow, not a barricade against, but a major part of this sick charade, I cannot understand...

Blame “both sides,” while one obstructs? I’m not playin’ that game…

It’s not the Democrats blocking unemployment and jobs legislation…

It’s not the Democrats pushing costly tax cuts for the rich and putting the burden of reducing the deficit on women, children, elderly, the disabled, and the poor…

It’s not the Democrats blocking appointments to cabinet posts, court vacancies, and… security agencies?

It’s not the Democrats filing a record number of filibusters in the Senate…

It’s not the Democrats allowing the government to be shutdown over ideological nonsense…

It’s not the Democrats who used the full faith and credit of the United States of America as a political weapon, this past summer...

It’s not the Democrats proposing cuts to programs they don’t like in exchange for funding FEMA... for RECENT emergencies!

It’s not the Democrats who walked out on the “Grand Bargain,”  this summer…

It’s not the Democrats who want to do away with Medicare and Social Security…

It’s not the Democrats who are crafting legislation in Republican-dominated state legislatures to get rid of collective bargaining...

It’s not the Democrats trying to restrict certain people from voting...

It’s not the Democrats booing gay soldiers...

It’s not the Democrats cheering for people to be put to death, whether they are guilty or not...

It’s not the Democrats clapping for uninsured patients to die…

It’s not the Democrats trying to force the United States Postal Service –- THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE -- out of existence...

It’s not the Democrats saying no to high-speed rail in the state of Florida…

It’s not the Democrats claiming that the 99-percenters, marching on Wall Street, are lazy or looking for dates...

It’s not the Democrats calling our own President “the enemy” and claiming that he has a “deep-seeded hatred for white people.”

It’s not the Democrats who failed to fund the FAA, back in August, before leaving Washington, on vacation…

It’s not the Democrats who have a race problem…

It’s not the Democrats who used language that led to the killing of an abortion clinic doctor or the crashing of a plane into a federal building in Texas…

It’s not the Democrats who are discriminating against any religion that isn’t fundamentalist Christianity…

It’s not the Democrats who are called “The Party of the Rich.”

Am I wrong?

As one can clearly imagine, I've been deeply troubled by what the tyranny of a few has caused our nation to be reduced to. So, while other 99-percenters are protesting and marching on Wall Street and elsewhere, I’ll continue doing what I've been doing all along, since late 2007… writing opinion columns… and making my case for nothing less than the complete and total END of the Republican Party as we know it.

I can forgive the silliness, disunity and bungling of priorities coming from a big-tent outfit like the Democratic Party. What I cannot, and will not, forgive is the senseless hatred, heartlessness and malice, coming out of what passes for the Republican Party, these days…

May the all burn, comfortably, IN HELL…

© 2011 LostParadiseFL.us.  

Liberals Should Support the President

 "A Dire Warning to Liberals: Support the President or Watch Him Fail" by v. johns, 8/19/11, 12:42AM

Now that the debt-ceiling debacle is over, the media has gone back to doing what it does best: calling the President weak (CNN and Fox) and demanding that he transform himself into an FDR-like figure for the new millennium (MSNBC). ENOUGH already!

While I side with liberals on about 65-98 percent of all issues, I cram to understand how some of them can beat up on the President day in and day out, knowing damn well what he’s up against. From Cornell West and Tavis Smiley’s shameless 15-city bus tour to badmouth the President to cable news commentators demanding that the President be big and bad like FDR -- why is the President being attacked on all fronts while Republicans and Tea Baggers continue to go unpunished for their obstruction against our country’s progress?  Why are people accusing Obama of not saying or not doing things that he clearly is?

I know people are suffering. I’m one the people suffering -- damn it! But, demanding that President Obama be a “Magic Negro” is no better than Rush Limbaugh singing his racist “Magic Negro” song. The President said that he would once again make jobs and job creation a headlining issue. He has done just that. While I don’t always agree with President Obama, I refuse to contribute to destructive chatter that only serves to detract from whatever the President is trying to accomplish. Either we Independents, Moderates and Liberals get behind Obama - warts and all - and keep his path free of debris OR we risk his presidency (and therefore our economy) being lost to some Tea Party zealot in 2012.

Think it can’t happen? Keep thinking it. People moaning and whining (and sitting home on election day) is part of the reason why the Tea Party is in power this year. I voted in the fall of 2010 –- against the Tea Party. Where were the rest of you bozos? Whining or voting?

I’ve been following the President’s bus tour on MSNBC and C-SPAN. As a voter, I like what I’m hearing. Perhaps Obama does need to be more clear on some things or package his ideas into a large publicly-reviewable package. But other than that, he’s doing exactly what he should be doing: taking his plans to the people and inviting us to get involved by demanding that Congress get off its ass and do its job. He knows that the House Republicans are at largely at fault for our current failures. And he knows that the American people know that this is the case. But as long as the media keeps trying to make a story out of Obama’s style of governing (about as good as you can get with a do-nothing Congress), his message on jobs will get lost.

Keep challenging the President. He wants us to. But don’t tell the man how to do his job. What kind of a supporter micro-manages his own President? The hell with that. As I said before, and as the President is asking us to do now: Call your congressman. Call your Republican congressman, especially. Call, write, fax, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, visit their office, sleep outside their office, protest, picket -- whatever it takes for them to get the message that those who continue to hold our country hostage (away from the jobs, infrastructure, innovation and prosperity we all deserve), will not be tolerated.

Whatever you decide to do, DON’T fight the President. By all means, however, DO keep fighting!

 

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us      

Double-Dip Recession, Blame Game

"Double-Dip Recession, You Say? Blame Congress and Corporations, Not Obama" by v. johns

Before I begin with today’s topic, I must disclose that, as of June 20 of this year, I am now out of a job. Before unemployment, I endured 14 years of underemployment, working part-time at a well-known southern grocery-store chain in two cities and in three stores. I am confident that whether it be purely through my own volition or with help from Florida’s One Stop job centers, I believe that, at some point or another, I will find full-time work.

In the meantime, although I apparently make no light at all of the unemployment rate being so high, I question the term “double-dip” being thrown around so loosely, as of late. While I hold and maintain that we should listen carefully to economists, let me clarify that I say this with a strong emphasis on the “s” at the end of the word “economists.” It’s very important that we analyze the consensus among them against whatever dissident discourse may exist as well. And please note that while economists look at raw data, news agencies mostly report the sexy stuff. The two don’t always jibe. So, while most people don’t want to see “the fundamentals are strong” headlined in their local newspapers or blabbed about on TV, when they are without a job, it’s important that people understand exactly why there is a disconnect between the economy we feel (high unemployment) and the one on paper (“the fundamentals”). That’s right, people… politics.

This being summertime, when things slow down in some places, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect another bad jobs report before the summer is out. Florida, a state that harbors northerners escaping harsh winter months up north, is especially sensitive to this normal annual down-cycle. So far, though, our state is gaining jobs.  To Governor Scott’s credit, 78,000 jobs (according to one local news-channel in my viewing area), have been added to the state since Scott has been in office, with May’s unemployment rate coming in at 10.6-percent statewide, down from 11.3-percent a year ago (according to the Palm Beach Post). Florida’s report for June, says the Post, is still pending.

My problem in what is being reported on is that while all leading indicators are essentially up since 2009, the two things most responsible for this ongoing disconnect between recovery and job enumeration (political obstruction and corporate cash-hoarding), have gone largely unchallenged by the media at large. While our political situation has spawned all sorts of anti-job creation instruments (an ongoing foreclosure crisis, ongoing financial speculation, poor financial regulation, harmful anti-competitive corporate mergers, depressed consumer psychology, slowed consumer spending, a tax burden that overloads and depresses the resources of the middle class and the poor, etc.), corporate America’s refusal to reinvest in its own workforce is not only inexcusable, but utterly shameless. With capitalism being based on bold risk-taking action, some of our corporate business leaders are telling us that because they’re so afraid of “uncertainty,” they can’t risk investing their hoarded trillions in the very people that are going to spend and create multiplier effects once they’ve regained their footing. Had this been done in the past, after the Great Depression, there would be no such thing as “trillions of dollars.”

Getting back to the psychology of it all, long before the debt-ceiling crisis began popping up on most people’s radar, the Republican obstructionists up on Capital Hill were throwing out the phrase “double-dip” as a way to refute Obama’s allegedly bad economic policies. So, now that another bad jobs report has come along, this time for the month of June, the Grand Old Party (of greed, prejudice and fear) is at it again: using a bad situation to get what they want politically, despite what they know is right for America.

My plea to people is this: How long are we going to tolerate a small politically-extreme minority holding our country back from what we could have had two years ago? (a real economic recovery). When are we on the bottom going to hold those at the top accountable for what they’ve brought upon the rest of us? When are we going to stop waiting for economic prosperity and start fighting for it? “Job creation” is something we’ve all got to fight for. When lawmakers and business leaders don’t hear from us, they simply ignore us. Call them, write them, sleep on their doorsteps or outside their offices, write annoying blogs, like this one -- whatever it takes to say: “I see you. And I … am going … to get you!” (“get you” as in: recall, vote-out, primary challenge, impeachment and removal, etc.).

Later on, I’m going to list some things we can do to get Washington’s attention. In following through on some of these things -- things that are already in motion to some degree -- not only can we let the rich not pay their fair share of taxes, we can look corporations dead in their grill and tell them to keep their damn trillions. It’s what the old self-help gurus call “the power of alternative thinking.” In the meantime, should a double-dip recession, or something of its nature, occur, let it be because of the poor judgment and apparent lack of morality of a few and not because the rest of us have given up on ourselves and talked ourselves into it.

 

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Double-Dip Recession

"Talk of a Double-Dip Recession: Political and Premature" by v. johns

I agree with University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith, a registered Republican, that the month of May’s dismal jobs report is merely a “soft patch” in an otherwise continually improving economy. All this talk of a “double dip” is simply an attempt by those who loathe President Obama –- Republicans -- to play politics with the psychology of the American people. Why? So that our consumer confidence will drop, lower demand and keep the unemployment rate high through 2012. The intended result being: a bad economy equaling a bad  election day for Mr. Obama. How silly.

As long as Americans continue to play the same old  good economy/bad economy game instead of firmly demanding that our lawmakers get serious, once and for all, about fostering a healthier job creation environment for mom-and-pop shops and innovative startups, many of us will continue to suffer through this dull economic lull that our lack of imagination has rout. In the meantime, deficits and debt be dammed, whether it be to no apparent avail or not, I urge anyone truly serious about building and constructing the next evolution of the American economy to call, write or visit their congressmen, lawmakers, and business leaders to demand robust investment in those things that are going to put real money, real food, real change and real progress on everybody’s table.

With small businesses, home owners, college grads, retrained workers and green-industry startups leading the way out of this thing, for good, we should see our economy perk up, pick up and remain strong for some time to come. But unless and until these basic groups of people are shown the same red carpet treatment as too-big-to-fail banks, Wall Street firms, the top 2-percent and giant, monopolized tax-evading corporations that hoard cash and create jobs overseas, then of course, we run the risk of a “double dip” recession -- one with even more dire implications for future economic downturns…

All things equal, however, it’s one thing for such a thing to happen. It’s quite another thing altogether for us to talk ourselves into such a situation. Am I wrong?

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Civility Without Change

"Civility Without Change Means Absolutely Nothing" by v.  johns

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s having to address national  political issues when I prefer to focus primarily on issues that pertain to the state of Florida and more specifically to the super region of Southeast Florida. Considering what was at stake, had Obama’s tax cut deal not have passed over the holidays, it was only prudent that I add my two cents to the jar. Whether it mattered or not remains to be seen, as no comments have been posted to confirm wider readership of this blog.

While I am indeed  biased in favor of liberal politics, policies, and prose, these days, I am by no means tethered to their ideology. My free-thinker ways will not allow me such a luxury. But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this: Either we hold our noses and work together to get things done or we don’t. As I always say to my family, friends and coworkers, I simply cannot understand how anyone can fail to put their prejudices aside long enough to make a dollar.

Though it was wrong for the Republican party to obstruct everything President Obama has tried to achieve, it was also wrong for liberals to attack Obama for not wanting to fight over details while millions of people’s lives were at stake. And regardless of all the talk of civility that the Tucson Shooting Tragedy has spawned, I hope that when it comes down to things that cannot be compromised on without risking our quality of life, such as Social Security, the liberals and House and Senate Democrats will show as much fight and zeal as they did in mistakenly attacking Obama on his attempt to secure the stability needed to move on to the next step: creating the environment needed to foster private sector job creation.

Like Obama, I despise political rigidity. Nonetheless, I agree with Ed Schultz that one has got to stand for something. This blog stands for progress. Progress done right -- not top-down progress at the expense of the once mighty American Middle Class. You can’t play “patty cake” with people who are clearly trying to undermine the dwindling good fortunes of average working people, such as myself. No rich person, king or politician on this earth is more important than the people who make their wealth, power and prestige possible. I will work these folks wherever possible, but other than that, I will fight them to the bone on what’s right and wrong.

So, for now, you can all keep your civility. I prefer real human kindness and consideration, not reactionary spin. We’ll all get true civility when it’s actually what is demanded and required in all we say and do. When we all feel deeply, thoughtfully and sincerely, that you just simply cannot be a real American without being civil. Thus, civility means nothing without actual change. You don’t believe me? Come to Southeast Florida, drive too slow on I-95 or the Turnpike, and tell me how you’re treated!

In the meantime, I don’t believe the right wingers had anything specifically to do with the unfortunate tragedy that occurred in Tucson. The man that perpetrated this selfish and egregious act was sick beyond repair. But the right wingers ARE responsible for the mean, uncaring “everyone for themselves” environment our society has embraced in recent years. And I think it’s safe to say that had anyone actually gave enough of a damn to get the killer some real help with drug abuse and fitting in, perhaps he might not have gotten sick and did what he did.

Social ostracizing is far more deadly than most people realize. And liberal types, especially New York and Hollywood liberal types, are not off the hook for helping to create a toxic environment, due primarily to their part in insisting that cosmopolitanism is all there is and that everything else is “fly-over country.” Liberal fashonistas, with their demeaning insults and put downs of people based on weight, teeth and style of dress are no better than the conservatives who hate and fear anyone or anything different than they are. But while liberals have gotten a grip and clamped down on their dangerous far-left, anti-government “loonies,” those on the right have all but unleashed their own brand of loonies on American society to acquire political gain.

As a black man, while I am well known for being damn near apologetic for other cultures, I will not sit back and let tea party racists threaten my person or demean my heritage. Black culture, at its best, is American culture and I will not allow my fleshly make and model to be used to render me, nor anyone else of color, anything other than uniquely and truly… American.

Instead of creating another blog for politics, as I had planned to do and still may, I’ve decided to keep commenting on national politics, wherever necessary, from a Florida perspective, while keeping a sharp eye out for trends in the four main areas I prefer to opine on with regards to my state’s top region: education, transportation, innovation and ethical governance. I’ve gone back and re-posted my opinion on the Gulf Oil Spill Tragedy and have stated clearly which way I lean politically, most of the time anyway, given today’s economic and political climate. And while I prefer that my blog not be about politics or race, I have noticed patterns and trends, here in Southeast Florida’s socio-economic environment, that demand the street-level clarity and perspective that I believe my writing can provide. For all those concerned, should we not address these issues, you can look forward to our state always playing second fiddle to New York, Texas and California. The result: Companies, institutions, individuals and industries that create opportunities and jobs preferring them over us. Florida, I believe, has more promise and potential, these days, than any of these other places. I hope Governor Scott realizes this and understands the enormous untapped regional power and potential of the Southeast Florida metrosphere in shaping our state and nation’s future.

As promised, I will continue to opine on issues that acutely affect Florida. In between, however, it won’t hurt to write opinions that make it clear to a more national audience that Florida is in the game, it is the future of American life, and it is poised for shaping the way Americans think and progress. And I would hope that at some point the phrase “lost paradise” will refer primarily to hidden enclaves throughout the Southeast Florida metrosphere (via photo blogging) that exemplify the phrase “best kept secret.” But for now, my job is to do all I can to help Southeast Florida become the world’s new land of big dreams and to ensure that Florida’s unspoken promise of paradise for all rings true for all who walk our shores…

Happy New Year.   

Liberal Attacks, Republican Obstruction

"While Liberals Attack Obama, The Real Story, Ongoing Republican Obstruction, Is All But Ignored" by v. johns

I wanted to wait until after Keith Olbermann’s show to write this post. But after listening to a full day of mostly pointless jabber on Obama’s press conference and his tax-cut deal with the Republicans, I just can’t take it anymore!

As I have stated before, I don’t believe that people should be so caught up in their own ideas that they can’t consider other people’s ideas. That goes not only for the tea party, and the Republican establishment that uses them to cull power, it also goes for Democrats and Liberals, as well. After watching Obama’s press conference today, on my favorite TV news program, News Nation with Tamron Hall, I’ve had to sit through a whole day of analysts and pundits missing the entire point of Obama’s press conference. His sincere effort to explain and define what separates Democrats from Republicans, on the Bush tax-cut debate, was all but ignored by the liberal media, while his deal with an otherwise uncooperative Republican leadership was lambasted and denounced as a shameless giveaway to the rich.

From my point of view, Obama spent most of the press conference drawing a stark contrast between the himself and the Republican leadership by painting Democrats as champions of the middle class and the poor and referring to the Republicans, indirectly, as “hostage takers.” Folks, this is some strong language! Yet, the minute Obama finishes his press conference, the people who support the Republicans are grinning and smirking and claiming some sort of victory, while the people who side with House Democrats are labeling his press conference as a chastising of his progressive base? You’re kidding me, right?

Before going any further, let me list some things that will benefit the middle class and the poor, should this bill proceed. They are:

• A 13-month extension of unemployment
• A 2% payroll tax cut
• An extension of Bush’s tax cuts for the middle class
• An earned income tax credit which Obama says “helps families climb out of poverty.” 
• A child tax credit which Obama says “makes sure (that) families don’t see their taxes jump up $1000 per child.”
• An American Opportunity tax credit for college students which Obama says “ensures over 8 million students and their families don’t suddenly see the cost of college shooting up.”

(Ref: B. Obama, via MSNBC, Dec. 6, 2010)

ALL THIS, listed above, in exchange for what Obama calls the most important item EVER for Republicans: Tax cuts for the rich (along with a reduced rate at a higher level of income on a reinstated estate tax). BIG freakin’ deal! I might add that Obama said that these things, small as they may seem to some apparently happily employed Liberals, will help the “folks hardest hit by the recession.” So, what’s the damn problem?

It really pains me that a press conference designed to address an emergency situation, while exposing and amplifying the Republican’s unabashed support for the rich, has been turned into an alleged “Obama tax cut for the rich” proposal (that will add another 900 billion dollars to the deficit). All of a sudden “big, bold progress” Liberals are concerned about a 9-years old budget deficit. You mean to tell me that his deficit obsession nonsense, which no one is really serious about, has gotten so far out of hand that Democrats and Liberals are out-obsessing the tea party folks over irresponsible borrowing that Began in Bush’s first year in office?

I agree with Obama. Now is simply just not the time for an unnecessarily long and protracted debate over something that can better be addressed down the road. Christmas is almost here and for 4-7 million people to have to be going into a sensitive major holiday with no unemployment coverage and into a new year with immediately increased taxes, on Jan. 1, that would threaten consumer spending, is something I never imagined that the Democrats and Liberals would even entertain playing with. This is not ‘94. Sixty votes RULE! And the unemployment rate has inched up from 9.6 to 9.8 as of THIS November! This is NO TIME for arguments and games!

There’s an old saying in the African American community, here in the South: “Sometimes you’ve got to take the good with the bad.” Obama’s reluctant – reluctant - compromise with those who dare rob others of their meal proves this and shows that, at the end of the day, the only thing that counts is food on the table! I wasn’t so sure if he really understood this before, even though I voted for him in ‘08, but I’m thoroughly convinced that he does now. As far as I’m concerned, Obama seems to be the only adult in the room, as of late.

What happened today, in the Liberal media, amounts to three people being tied up in chairs (Obama, Liberals, American public), with one (Liberals) cursing and swatting at another (Obama) even though he’s found a way to escape, get medical attention for one of them (American public) AND club the bad guys (Republicans) over the head. I’m severely embarrassed that on a day when the President of the United States has taken a solid position and come up with a workable alternative to a potential “protracted battle” over taxes and unemployment coverage (GOING INTO THE HOLIDAYS), I have to watch analysts, pundits, activists and lawmakers, on MSNBC and elsewhere, ignore the President’s potential victories, on behalf of the middle class and the poor, and paint the whole press conference as an issue of… Obama vs. his “base?”

Obama’s “base” is not simply Democrats and Liberals. His base is who he keeps referring to: the American people. We’re tired of ideological debate. We want results! We want them NOW!

While I understand and support the arguments and concerns being presented by House Democrats and Liberals, to present Obama’s attempt to protect the middle class and the poor, as much as possible, before Republicans take over the House next year, as an attack on or admonishment of his own base as a headlining issue is simply misguided and irresponsible. Obama, in his press conference, not only painted a picture of middle-class oriented Democrats vs. “For-the-rich” Republicans, he also signaled that he’s got something up his sleeve for how he’s going to deal with them when they come back into power next year (Put up or shut up on tax reform and the deficit). Not only did he make a valid case for compromise, he also laid out a viable strategy for how to proceed once the suddenly fired up Congressional Democrats become reduced in numbers and in power after this month. How could anyone with a brain have missed ALL THIS?

With all the confusion, squandered votes and silly mistakes that have been committed by the present Democratic majority, in Congress, in the last two years, despite their majority, I don’t want to hear another word on Obama’s faults. Because, while the President is playing three-dimensional chess and thinking light years ahead, on behalf of the American people, his cohorts are stuck on dominoes-and-checkers politics. Rather than echoing Obama’s fleshing out of the for-the-rich Republicans, and saying “Yeah! We agree! The Republicans are why we have to have this bum deal!” Liberals have instead chosen to attack him and threaten him with abandonment and primary challengers.

Oddly enough, as Obama seems to silently understand, the Republicans are the ones who are going to get screwed in the long-run. They didn’t require their tax cuts for the rich to be extended permanently. Big mistake. BIG mistake! And when it’s time to roll up some sleeves and actually get the deficit under control for real – for real, for real - the Republicans are going to look even more foolish and out of touch than they (and their Congressional Democratic counterparts) look now. It’s my humble calculation that Obama is calmly and silently preparing to mount a serious and thoughtful challenge to Republican political tom foolery, in the next two years, as the American public becomes less and less tolerant of gridlock and games. 

Come State of the Union, the game is going to change and those who choose rhetoric over results are going to have to explain themselves. And whether Boehner or McConnell know it or not, they haven’t been given a mandate, they’ve actually been put on notice. The American people’s patience is wearing thin!

This is all I have to say on this matter, for now. Bravo to Chris Mathews on recognizing the political reality behind the President’s decision. Keith has said his piece. Ed as well. Rachel too. I respectfully disagree with them, and others, as well, just on this one issue, but I do feel their pain. And upon completing this post, at this time, I’m happy to see that Lawrence O’Donnell, in addition to myself and Chris, supports Obama’s position, as well.

So… Bravo, Mr. President! Bravo!

Two Good Things

"Two Good Things Jeb Bush Did For The State of Florida" by v. johns

Despite last Tuesday’s results in the midterm elections, I’m pretty pleased with how things have turned out, nationally. For one thing, the corporate-owned, stand-for-nothing “Conserva-Dems” are gone, baby, gone! (Half of them, anyway.) Second, Harry Reid, not Mitch McConnell, is Senate Majority leader! Third, Republican’s actually have power, now. (No more whining, please!) Fourth, the Tea Party’s upcoming battles with the their parasitic Republican hosts will make the internal squabbles between the Democrats look like Pokémon! Fifth, can you imagine former Florida Governor Jeb Bush facing off against Sarah Palin in a Republican primary bid for the 2012 Presidential election?

Holy cow! Man, this is gonna be GOOD!

Unfortunately, my tolerance for Republican successes stops there. Here, in Florida, we’ve elected a Republican billionaire outsider as governor (Rick Scott). We’ve also elected an overwhelmingly Republican state legislature. And, finally, we’ve elected, to the U.S. Senate, one of the few successful Tea Party-affiliated candidates to win a seat on that level (Marco Rubio).

Given this state’s decade-long anti-intellectual lull, under Republican rule, there’s a real chance that education, transportation, and scientific research and innovation will fall by the wayside, as lobbyists who specialize in Republican handouts and payoffs head to Tallahassee to feed at the trough, in record numbers. I’m not entirely sure that a Democratic majority, in the state legislature, would be that much better than a Republican one (This is Florida, after all), but their overall perceived commitment to public investment (education, transportation, innovation, etc.) is what separates them from their private-wealth driven counterparts.

Florida’s overall failure in capitalizing on its own diversity, via smart public investment in its people, through education, mobility, and robust research capacity, will only intensify under unchecked one-party control. Keep in mind, long before the nation’s economic collapse, Florida, with its overpriced, speculator-dominated housing market, was well on it’s way to becoming… a lost paradise.

As I had promised to do in a previous post, I’d like to give credit where credit is due by mentioning the two things Jeb Bush left Florida with that Governor-elect Scott can probably only dream of accomplishing. Bush paved the way. It’s up to the citizens of the state of Florida to find the public and political will to move these things forward in a more meaningful way.

First, at the outset of constructing this blog, I recall reading about Jeb Bush’s attendance at a “Power of Regionalism” conference in which Bush encouraged South Florida counties (Palm Beach, Broward, Dade) to work together and cooperate across county lines. Since then, Florida Atlantic University has taken the lead in expanding South Florida’s boundaries beyond the Tri-County Area to include the Treasure Coast and the Keys by encouraging governmental entities to form regional partnerships to tackle common problems like housing, schooling, crime and transportation.

(Ref: FAU CUES, SoFlo.org)

Second, perhaps his most famous act, here in Southeast Florida, was the luring of the prestigious La Jolla, CA-based Scripps Research Institute. Largely seen as a means to steer public funds toward Bush’s greedy home developer friends, this move did not come without controversy. Public and political pressure eventually landed the Institute’s Florida campus in the town of Jupiter, rather than out near the Acreage, where what amounts to a new city would have been created. Scripps Florida is now permanently headquartered near FAU’s Jupiter campus working to develop innovations in such areas as chemistry, infectology and neuroscience.

(Ref: PalmBeachPost.com, TCPalm.com)

With every new governor and every new set of lawmakers comes new sets of priorities. Just as Bush-era priorities, like Scripps, gave way to Charlie Crist’s Everglades land deal, incoming governor Rick Scott will have his own pet projects that will take priority over those of the aforementioned former governors of this state. It’s up to the people to see to it that our investments in these projects continue to get priority so that we can get a valuable return on them.

So far, our state’s investment in the “power of regionalism” has not only led to more cooperation among local governments and businesses in Tampa and Orlando, thanks to the Southeast Florida Regional Partnership, here in South Florida, it has also netted our own home region, the state’s flagship region, a 4.5 million dollar federal grant to begin developing a regional master plan. Furthermore, the addition of Scripps Florida to our region, even on a scale smaller than imagined, has added economic diversity, higher paying jobs, biotech spin-offs, has attracted other institutions (Torrey Pines, VGTI, Max Planck, Digital Domain?, etc.) and has ensured our state a promising spot at the biotechnology research and development table… should our nation actually insist that massive research and innovation should form a higher proportion of GDP than consumption.

(Ref: PalmBeachPost.com, Fareed Zakaria GPS).

I really do believe that good governance, here in Florida, combined with better education systems and a more solid mobility infrastructure, could have spared our state from some components of the national economic meltdown, had we been prepared. This, based on our state’s untapped capacity to function similarly to a small country.

Only time will tell what direction Florida will find itself heading in, anytime after January… I’ve come to expect nothing short of total ruthlessness and incompetence from politicians of any political stripe, though I do have my own personal exemptions from these notions. What troubles me these days, more than anything, is the seeming inability of the public, at large, to avoid meaningless distractions and to settle civilly on priorities that will benefit all of our state’s inhabitants… all of our nation’s inhabitants… starting with those most in need and working our way on up from there...

Only through committed public and private investments in three surefire areas – (1) education, (2) transportation, (3) research and innovation - can this be done most effectively …and efficiently. All this, in effect, would render our state in its highest position to become the premiere place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business… But only if the will to do so is there…

Dear Tea Party

"Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott, Mr. Paul… I Have A Message For The Tea Party… BRING IT ONNNNN!!!" by v. johns

I’d like to congratulate Mr. Kendrick Meek and Mrs. Alex Sink, both whom I voted for, and Mr. Charlie Crist, on their courageous bids to serve their state on a grander level. While you may have all lost, we still need you on our side, here in Florida, to eventually win the battle we are faced with now. Don’t go far.

In the meantime, while holding my nose, I’d like to congratulate Mr. Marco Rubio on his win in last night’s “historic” election. The people have spoken and he is it. While I disagree with Rubio’s politics and feel that his party’s positions inspire nothing short of racial animus and hate, his clean-cut demeanor and on-point presentation of himself and his goals cannot be argued. He’s got talent. I just hope he put’s his talent to use to frame Florida, and ALL of its people, not just the “values” crowd, first in his world view.

Mr. Scott? No congrats, there. I don’t trust politicians who buy their way into “public service.” I also don’t trust those who sell themselves as trying to “change Washington” or “change Tallahassee.” While they’re allegedly trying to “change government,” to suit their own needs, I presume, their own home locales continually suffer… and the very same hucksters that the people elect to “limit” (or in some cases destroy) government, end up becoming an established limb on bad government’s twisted body of sordid agendas and pathological praises unto itself. Nonetheless, Mr. Scott, one way or the other, justice WILL prevail… And you know exactly what I mean…

Mr. Rubio, I want you to know that as a member of a historically discriminated-against ethnicity in this country (African-American… not Haitian, not Jamaican… African-American), I’m tired of the finger being pointed squarely at my darkened skin as the reason for our country’s failures and lack of moral values. I’m tired of having to pay a personal price for your harmful wink-and-a-nod, finger-pointing politics, just so you and your cohorts can win elections, hoard power and redistribute our nation’s wealth towards the wealthiest among us. But even more so than this, I’m tired of seeing people far worse off than I am having to suffer, needlessly, at the hands of harmful policies and laws that stem from flawed political ideologies. 

As it stands, at this point, we now have – quite possibly - three distinct political parties that are about to begin sharing the governing power of this nation: The Tea Party, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Tea Party is merely, but rightfully so, the “poor man’s Republican Party.” They are the folks with the big ol’ trucks that Howard Dean warned the Dems not to ignore. The Republican’s are, sadly and unabashedly, the Party of corporate power and intrusion. Simply, shameless. The Democrats? I really don’t know what the hell they are, these days, but historically speaking, they’ve traditionally been the Party of the working folk of America. People like myself… “Takin’ what I’m given, ‘cause I’m workin’ for a livin’.”

Despite the Tea Party’s intimidating grass-roots powered sweep into potential power and dominance, with 113 out of 129 wins, according to one cable news pundit, they don’t frighten me one bit, because in the end, once the American electorate gets tired of them, they’ll be bum-rushed and shown the door, along with the countless other Democrats and Republicans before them.

As much as I’d like to see the Tea Party live on, in a more refined, inclusive form, and become a reasonable third-party balancing agent against government waste and establishment politics, the truth is… Now is simply just not the time for their foolishness. Whether people appreciate it or not, catalytic government investment is precisely what has prevented a total collapse of our economy. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, printed on election day, the federal stimulus “helped add 61,000 jobs” to Florida’s economy “in the third quarter” of this year.

But besides the obvious, the worst thing any so-called “movement” can do is establish itself in the cesspool of wasted dreams that has become Washington, D.C. This is where the Tea Party might ultimately fail. Once they become poisoned by the same twistedness that seduces every public servant into becoming a “politician,” and once they realize that they can’t realistically keep all their misguided promises, they’ll be lumped into the same loser-loaded boat as the rest of them. As imperfect as it is, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott, Mr. Paul, as long as we have this thing called “elections,” my fear of you shall not exist and my faith in God and Country shall, at once, persist!

So, bring it on, bitches! I’ll be in the ring waitin’ on ya!  

Media, Blame Game, Political Partisanship

"Media’s Insistence On Partisanship Rather Than Obstruction As Problematic to American Political Process Does No One Any Justice" by v. johns

As follow up to a previous post on my fantasy of ousting Florida’s Republican party, I’d like to comment briefly on the media’s failure to put the Republican Party leadership of this nation in it’s proper perspective. These days, they are not merely an “opposition party” with differing opinions on how things should be done. They are all hell bent on getting what they want, at any cost, even if that cost may be the delayed economic revival of this nation’s economy.

I’m tired of the national media’s insistence that “political wrangling” or “partisanship” are responsible for important bills not being passed or for the economy’s continued stall, when in truth, what has harmed our nation’s progress, for two straight years, has been the Republican’s refusal to play ball and allow Democratic ideas to proceed forth to trial.

Should Democratic legislation have been allowed to roll out at a faster, more consistent, and unobstructed pace, from the outset of Obama’s inauguration, our economy, as of January of this year, would have began reversing its course, ending what I call “the actual recession.” Instead, we find ourselves in the same old funk, and out of raw anger, fear and impatience, getting ready to give more  power to the same old bunch of folks that harbor the same old ideas that got us into this mess. All this while the media has wrongfully acknowledged the cartoonish candidates and outlandish extremes of the American Right as being somehow on par with the more level-headed ideas of the Democrats and their ever-loyal, but poorly-treated, Left.

As the old saying goes, “You won’t know if you don’t try,” and it pains me that in a nation that is often referred to as the Great American Experiment, Republicans are using fear and hate to keep things from going forth that, even if initially not very good ideas, need to at least be tried to see if they’ll work. What kind of country are we if we’re afraid to execute this thing called “ideas” toward our own best interests. What kind of country are we if we are forever ruled by the constant fear that the Republicans want us to embrace so heartily? 

Even MSCBC, which many would call the liberal antithesis to Republican-owned FOX, seems to jump happily on the “blame it on partisanship” bandwagon, from time to time, so as not to appear biased, I suppose. But the reality is that WE’RE ALL BIASED and the best we can do is to make sure our biases don’t flow so strongly in the direction of what we firmly believe in that we blind ourselves to more worthy and productive ideas than our own.

The cornerstone of American public, private and governmental life, is the notion of “the big idea” and that whomever has that idea and makes it work will be richly rewarded. As long as the Republicans continue to obstruct vital programs and legislation (i.e., ideas) via record filibusters, stalling tactics, etc. and as long as the media continues to give them cover by pretending that Republicans and Democrats are equally corrupt or have equally valid ideas, maybe not now, but soon, very soon, we’re going to find ourselves, as a nation… all out of ideas…

Nasty National Politics (Moved)

"Can't let nasty national politics destroy this blog" by v. johns, 7/20/10, 8:49 PM

See: The Lost Paradise Journal Edition

Oil Spill Crisis

"BP Oil Spill Crisis No Excuse For Trashing Obama" by v. johns

As you may well know, even with national issues unfolding and having immediate local effects, I prefer to focus solely on Florida-specific issues. With news of this sort unfolding and changing daily, I’m not even gonna bother spending much time on things like the BP Oil Spill Disaster except to say… We WERE warned.

The warnings were clear, but OH NO, you –- you as in WE the American people -- were so concerned about God, guns and gays that you failed to be truly eternally vigilant and keep abreast of all the lies that the “free market idiots” were shoving past your nose and now down your throat and now onto OUR beaches. You were so busy keeping up with the Kardashians and buying homes and Hummers you couldn’t afford, all while thumbing your nose up at other less fortunate people, that you failed to see the possibility of all that has transpired thus far, including the current and tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

Now that the Bush years have come and gone, NOW YOU -– you meaning “ideological purists” and those who follow you -- want government to work? Now that YOUR constituents, which you have mislead and used and lied to about government’s real role, are woefully and clearly in some real, cold-hard livelihood and culture-destroying trouble, you’re yelling and screaming for a government, that YOU have helped to cripple, to pull a rabbit out of a hat? And some of you, leaders and followers, are so shameless and vile that you only want government to work for people who look and smell and walk and talk… like you. Some of you would rather that we all ride in horse carriages on dirt roads than to see minorities, women, gays, the elderly –- you name it -- advance in this nation and do THEIR DUTY to CONTRIBUTE to this freakin' society as all are required to do…

…And this is by no means an assault on the good people whose lives are affected by this tragedy, but a statement of utter anger disgust, on my part, on how sorry we as Americans have become that we can allow politicians and corporations to get away with destroying the standards and practices that MAKE us who we are… Americans…

I’m no sage, but it doesn’t really take one to see that the tragic and fatal Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and oil spill disaster, along with its Wall Street meltdown corollary, are only, quite possibly, the beginning of a long line of free market foul ups that have threatened to undo the fabric of American society. All this time we’ve been told that the government is some big, bad far off entity with no real role in American life –- and believe me, it DOES feel that way sometimes -- only to witness the same dammed people telling us this garbage RUNNING FOR OFFICE to make careers for themselves… IN GOVERNMENT… for the sole purpose of enriching themselves and their friends at OUR expense.

Picture me telling you that the Worldwide Web or the Internet is of no value, and damning it to hell daily, while using it all along to enrich myself and gain unfair advantages over you amid your ignorance and lack of maintenance and use OF it! Is THIS what these so-called Tea Party folks want? Is THIS what the so-called “Republican rank and file” and their “Conserva-Dem” water boys and bitches want? When will we -– WE meaning “Americans” --finally realize and understand that -– at least in theory -- WE ARE THE DAMN GOVERNMENT, and that it is our DUTY, one way or the other, to remain vigilant and engaged and to ensure that the right people, PUBLIC SERVANTS FROM AMONGST OURSELVES, not simply “Democrats” or “Republicans,” are elected to CARRY OUT OUR WILL via the mechanism to enact our will that we call… government?

Sadly, with the kinds of people we are producing in our society these days –- selfish, cold, detached, desensitized, antsy, addicted, criminal, over-stimulated, etc. -– it may be untold generations before we can truly recover from the pangs of backwardness, moral or otherwise, that the Bush years hath spawned. While I’m just as miffed and puzzled about Obama’s handling of the BP oil spill crisis, there’s no way in hell I’m going to punish him for my frustration and bewilderment by voting for his opponents and detractors, come the next election, KNOWING that these people not only wish to see him fail, but quite possibly, may actually wish to see the whole damn country… fail! Such free-roaming ignorance and malice can only seemingly exist in a country as open and free as ours.

While party affiliation seems to matter less these days, it has become clear to me that not only has Conservatism essentially failed, it has become a one-way pipeline for greed, prejudice, anger and fear. While the Democrats and Liberals are not without fault, the Republican Party, and their Conservative-before-American filth, has nauseously and shamelessly allowed itself to become the party of greed, prejudice, anger and fear.Their awfully contagious “exclusive club” mentality and divisionary tactics have fouled our air and soiled our spirits.

Don’t let the corporate puppets fool you… Their aim is still the same… To bankrupt their own damn country at the expense of their own fellow Americans for their own personal gain. While I sometimes – sometimes -- trust Democrats about as much as I trust Republicans, this CURRENT CROP of Republicans trouble me and are quite possibly the most dangerous and ignorant people on the face of planet at this time. So, unless and until their party acquires the competency and tone of one of my heroes, General Colin Powell, as punishment for them, I’ll be damned if I ever vote Republican any time soon. But you can damn hell rest assured that this being “Flori-DUH,” my one, lone vote for Independents, self-proclaimed “public servants” and candidates who net under $50,000, in upcoming local and national elections, will probably drown in the same “Us versus THEM and their taxes” chorus that has been playing in this state for decades on end. God help us all…

Presidential Cabinet Picks

"Obama Cabinet Picks Overlook Southern Talent" by v. johns

In composing this blog, I prefer to keep it local. There are more than enough talking heads on TV and enough scribes in the blogosphere discussing national politics without me putting my hat into the ring. Besides that, I prefer aftermarket discussion and analysis to forcasting and speculation. I'd rather leave the news gathering, and the punditry, to the experts -and the hacks. But there's one thing that has been haunting me about President-elect Obama's cabinet picks that I simply must comment on, at least briefly. Something that, if I had followed my instincts and blogged about it the instant I thought of it, I would have been one of the first to bring it up. But at present moment, ABC News and others have beaten me to the punch. And that thing is the fact that, Obama seems to be overlooking Southerners in the construction of his future administration. This is my first major disappointment with Obama. 

I'm not expecting Mr. Obama to work miracles. That's God's job. But I am expecting him to keep, as closely as possible, to his campaign promises. Mr. Obama won, partly, on the promise of uniting America along various lines of division and separation. One sure way to blow that promise would be to replace Bush's predominantly Southern regime with an overwhelmingly Northern center of gravity. This last decade came to be, in part, because of tensions, described by some as "culture wars," between Northern and Southern ideals (Walker: Texas Ranger vs. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Sex in the City). As we speak, there's still mild tension between native Floridians and Northern transplants from New York and New Jersey. Some of it being played out in the form of what taxes and fees should be paid by whom regarding the matters of home ownership and insurance. 

No one, south of the Mason Dixon, nor west of the Misissippi, wants New York to dictate their worldview to us. Inspired, we may be. But talked down to, the way the Northern elites have traditionally done, won't win any friends in the South -or the West. Our way of life may be different, but under former President Clinton, the South, while retaining its character and pride, was beginning to, finally, come into the fold and make inroads into areas that northerners considered us behind them in: infrastructure, education, race relations, etc. While prosperity and perception was beginning to change in the South, the North was beginning to lose population and political clout. 

Even under Bush, southern states have made significant strides in diversifying their economies and shifitng from a primarily agricultural base to branching out into manufacturing, finance and technological innovation. Regions, such as South Florida and the Research Triangle region in North Carolina, have formed around clusters of smaller cities that are now finding themselves with the same problems, needs and demands of a full-sized northern metropolis. 

Regardless of who Obama picks, the fact remains that the South will continue to trend toward gaining population and political representation. The center of gravity of his nation will continue to shift from the North and Midwest to the South and the West. If the Obama Administration fails to recognize and appreciate this general trend, foregoing the 50-state strategy in favor of an attempt to shift power back up north, the repercussions, though unknown, will probably do the Democratic Party more harm than good as they have yet to prove, on a national level, that they really understand the unique regional problems we must overcome, here in the South. And though the days of the "racist Republicans" may seem to be numbered, they are not over. Ailenating the South will only serve to allow this type of destructiveness to creep back into our national fabric and threaten our Union once more. 

There is no doubt that Obama's picks are more than capable of helping us to turn our nation around in a way that will enable us to get back to the peace and prosperity we deserve and once had. But overlooking such wise counsel as former Senator Bob Graham of Florida, James Clyburn of South Carolina, and other talent from other southern and western states, might eventually prove to be an unintended slap in the face. Therefore, it is important that the Obama Administration, in the future, continues to reach out and make inroads into the South by backing up his party's requests for our votes with political representation and cultivation of new Southern Democratic leadership and talent. 

In the meantime, no matter where the political center of gravity in this country may be, at any given point, Florida is a place that's all its own. We'll be alright. So, even with no Floridians in visible roles in the upcoming Obama Administration, I'm just happy that we will have a president, once again, who will do his job. My job, as it were, is to continue to express my views and do anything I can to help make South Florida the best place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business...      

War on the Middle Class

 "The War on the Middle Class... Florida Style" by v. johns, 7/30/08, 10:50PM

If you haven't already, I want to invite you to go back and read my last post titled "Our Independence Day" as it discusses the price we have all paid for the misconduct and misguidance of our so-called leaders. Their corruption, hubris, lack of vision and their failure to lead their fellow citizens and constituents in the right direction has cost us greatly. This post also discusses the failure of the state's citizens themselves to recognize what's really important in our lives, leaving the door wide open for hucksters and charlatans to step in and run the show. Thus, the political hijacking of our governance has not only cost us our right to a clean and decent mass transit system that could have been built years ago, it has also cost us our pride, our credibility... and our livability.

With all the partisan posturing and political tom foolery that has gone on in the state of Florida, and around the nation, in the last decade, all the time spent by our local leaders, our legislators and our citizens over garbage issues, power plays and ploys, could have been better used to secure a more stable framework for all the people of the State of Florida. Rather than foolishly and blindly bickering over ideological silliness centering around wedge issues like God, guns and gays (and pregnant pigs) - issues that have blinded us to the problems we now face - we could have been planning and creating a world-class transit system, a world-class education system, a long-lasting, higher-quality job market and a more mature and recognizable national and international business scene. Instead we have all squandered our future on mindless ideological stances and so-called principles that have nothing to do with real progress.

With nearly no money left in our state and local coffers to finance the things we've taken for granted (police and fire protection, libraries, schools), as well as the things we are beginning to realize that we need (efficient public mass transit), we are all now learning the real costs of politics over policy. Surely, by now, despite what's going on nationally, we could have had it all, here in Florida... We "could have been a contender." Instead, we find ourselves nearly homeless, leaderless, visionless, drowning in debt and swamped with hidden taxes we thought we'd voted against... All of us wondering what has happened, what might have been... And at the very least wondering... Just what lies ahead...

State of South Florida

"The Great State of... South Florida?" by v. johns

Two politicians down in Broward recently pulled some cheap political stunt that called for separating South Florida from the rest of the state and making it into a state all its own (What a disaster THAT would be!). Their claim was that Tallahassee ignores the needs of the state's most populous counties. First of all, that's a no-brainer. Tallahassee does seem to favor the most rural and conservative districts in the state, politically speaking. Second, where these politicians have gone awry in their argument is in apparently not realizing that "South Florida" expands far beyond Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. If these politicians realized this, there would be no need to posture against Tallahassee in such a whiny, tantrum-like manner. With all due respect.

This stunt, in my opinion, is truly a case in point in the need for regional commitment from all seven of South Florida's counties. I'm not just talking about phone calls and meetings. I'm talking about delegations and conventions, if necessary. Vero Beach is just as prone to hurricanes as Miami is. You give me one good reason why both of these jurisdictions shouldn't be in regular dialogue with eachother. Particularly when Vero Beach is one of the last evacuation points out of South Florida in the event of a landfall further south. Just because Indian River County is far less populated than Miami-Dade doesn't mean that they don't have common ties. If anything, these two counties can promote local tourism between themselves. But getting back to the political landscape, if there's something Miami-Dade needs from Tallahassee, wouldn't it be a good idea for them to take Indian River County and five other generally very wealthy counties along with them to make the point very clear?

The Gold Coast by itself is no match for Tallahassee. But when combined with the generally more conservative districts of the Treasure Coast, we may find that there might actually be some room for negotiational improvement. That is: on some issues we might actually be able to march up to Tally and bully and get some bold results for a change. They can ignore one or two counties, but they can't ignore seven-strong. Which is why it can't be stressed enough how important it is for all seven counties to consolidate whatever resources they can and channel a great deal of their energies toward building and developing regional understanding and solidarity. For jobs and tax dollars, it's not just Tampa, Dallas, L.A. or the mighty Northeast we're competing with. How about: Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo? Uhh... Yeah, it's that important!

It shames me to know that with all the talk and chatter online, on the local news and in the newspapers, about regional planning and increasing economic ties of all of South Florida's counties, we still have people, public officials at that, who appear to have no concept of what we all are dealing with, here. This housing bubble won't last forever. The market will rebound. And people will continue to move to this region in droves. And if that isn't enough, there's now talk of South Florida building out and merging with Tampa Bay (Southwest) and Orlando (Central) to form an immense mega region called the Peninsula or SoFlo (Richard Florida). A region that would rival Southern California (SoCal) and the Northeast in both size and population.

Zooming back in to where we are now: If the Treasure Coast is not included or consulted with (or if thy do not include themselves) on issues that all the counties share - even ones we don't share - Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade are going to find themselves with double and triple the trouble when the growth they've enjoyed (and I use that word lightly) resumes and expands northward at a more rapid pace toward total regional build-out. This isn't a game. The quality of life of this part of Florida is - and has been - deteriorating for quite some time. And something radical must be done so that all seven counties can make progress without sacrificing too much of that quality of life that we were once known for. How do we get even bigger than we already are without losing our livability? That question can only be answered as issues are tackled and solved by all those concerned: residents, businesses, teachers, students, workers, public servants, etc. We can't continue to allow corrupt politicians and greedy corporations to thwart the progress and livelihoods of ordinary citizens...

Now, for those of us who are reasonably informed and follow articles, features and reports such as those featured on SoFlo.org, those of us who have some sense of basic geography... unlike our two friends in Broward... we all know we can't continue to live in a region where the name is there but the actual infrastructure and public commitments to common projects are all but nonexistent. I believe that the concept of South Florida is sinking in with most who are concerned. But just because the name is there doesn't make it so. We can't really call ourselves a region if all our components or districts aren't in play. Our visionaries, who seem to be in the minority these days, realize this. But many people don't. Many, including allegedly informed politicians and other public officials, still seem to have no idea what South Florida is. They stop all discussion on the map at Palm Beach County. As if their economy has absolutely nothing to do with the droves of people in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties who clog up the highways every morning heading south and every afternoon heading north.

One thing I like about our local news outlets, here in our area (WPTV, WFLX, WPBF, WPEC, etc.), is that they literally go out of their way to cover even the most remote parts of our region. They constantly use the phrase, "the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast", to signify the ties and alliances that have been here, in this part of the region, for generations. Too bad the U.S. Census and other news and data sources are still behind the curve on this issue... If we all agree that South Florida is a seven-county powerhouse - and not a three-county "stepchild" - then, quite naturally, from there, shouldn't we all be concerned enough to make sure that the rest of the world sees the same picture that we do?

Miami may be the southern tip of the Florida mainland, but it is not, by itself... South Florida. Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade may be the Gold Coast, but without the Treasure Coast and the Keys, they are not, by themselves... South Florida.

For those of us who have been here all along - or long enough - we know the real story, but it has taken studies compiled by F.A.U. and SoFlo.org to get the concept firmly into the minds of local officials and finally put on paper and on the Web what has always been the case: South Florida does not end in Palm Beach but stretches from the Keys to bottom tip of the Space Coast. The only major cosmetic difference between the region today and the face of South Florida in 70's and 80's is that all the cow pastures, farms and orange groves are mostly gone and many communities have grown to the point where they run right smack into one another. That impact cannot be taken lightly...

So, in addition to getting people to understand exactly where the hell they live and what options are available, within that context, there's gonna have to be some major efforts made, by all of us, to build a strong regional structure around all those options. One that will allow all our residents, institutions and businesses to access them at will. I believe it's called... "mobility."

Furthermore, major cooperation between all seven counties is essential in establishing a fully incorporated, navigable regional interface complete with, but not limited to: a common name, a heavy web and media presence, a strong common commerce, highly-visible common transit, strong political clout and strong residential pride... Not to mention a deep, deep commitment to constant self-investment through education, job training, fully-accessible transit, civics training, character-building programs, sports teams, museums, entertainment, food, a thriving music and arts scene... You name it!

We are all responsible, not only for establishing a deep sense of place, but also, for building the actual public, private and social ties and structures behind that sense of place that will foster - and not reject - a shared commitment to solving our problems and maintaining our livability... Every county, from the most sparse to the most populated, no matter how seemingly independent they may think they are of all the other counties, has a responsibility to contribute to the general welfare of the entire region. Those days of one place being isolated and unto itself are all but over...