Call This A Sign of Our Sleazy Times

Even in a state of perpetual sleaze, some dirty deals stink more than others. The most recent is a weird little law approved last spring that allows the South Florida Water Management District to enter the commercial billboard business

The Eye Doctor and the 'I' Pol

South Floridians are accustomed to the sight of blue-jacketed federal agents swarming a doctor's office and marching out with boxes of files. Normally this is unpleasant news for the doctor. But it's even worse news for Senator Bob Menendez

Not an Easy Makeover for Florida Representative Allen West

After less than two years in Congress, Rep. Allen West has raised $15 million to get himself re-elected. That's a mountain of money, but you'd need every dime if your job was to make West look like a calm, responsible person

Florida Law Against Cuba May Help Cuba

The oddest thing about Florida's new state law to punish companies that do business in Cuba is not that it is an election season gimmick to win Cuban-American votes. It's that it would actually help Cuba's dictatorship

Trampling the Right to Vote

The story of American democracy has been the expansion of voting rights to more and more citizens. Yet now, conservatives linked to the Republican Party are systematically seeking to constrict the vote

You Can't Fix Education by Lowering the Bar

It burns -- I tell you this from experience -- to realize people have judged you by a lower standard, especially when you had the ability to meet the higher one all along. So this 'interim' cannot end soon enough

Obama Should Send Thank-You Note to Chavez

There are an estimated 244,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, up from about 91,000 in 2000, a year after Chavez took office. Perhaps more interestingly, a majority of these Venezuelans are highly educated

Ham-Handed Solution to a Problem That Doesn't Exist

Bill Internicola had to show his papers. He received a letter informing him that he was not a United States citizen; however, he was registered to vote. So Internicola had to prove he is an American

New Florida Voter Purge Should Come As No Surprise

Another tight presidential election, another Florida voter purge. This time, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's appointed secretary of state, Ken Detzner, is targeting suspected noncitizens

Marco Rubio: Ready for Political Primetime

Senator Marco Rubio so gifted at age 40, combines passion for his conservative ideas with a humility that could easily spill over into arrogance, if he didn't have a strong sense of self

Once Again, Florida is the National Punchline

The bad news is that Florida screwed up another big election. The good news is that it doesn't matter this time. By now, Floridians have stoically accepted our laughingstock role in the Electoral College

Florida's Amendment 8 An Assault on Church-State Separation

In a campaign season where lying has become a centerpiece political strategy, there is no greater lie than Florida's Amendment 8

Charlie Crist Would Topple Rick Scott Next Florida Governor Race

A new poll finds that voters in the Sunshine State have not just forgiven former Gov. Charlie Crist for switching parties, they would also vote for him as a Democrat in 2014 if he ran against Gov. Rick Scott, who has seen the popularity that pushed him into office plummet so much so he is now the nation's most unpopular governor

Florida GOP Won't Let Democracy Get Out of Hand

Florida Governor Rick Scott recently signed a new election bill that is callously designed to suppress voter turnout, making it harder for many disgruntled Floridians to cast a valid ballot in 2012

Fast Trains Are Cool ... and Very Expensive

Of all the ways Florida could blow through $1.25 billion in federal recovery funds, a bullet train is certainly the flashiest. Connecting Tampa, Orlando and Miami by high-speed rail is a scheme that's been chugging around for decades, and the prospects for profitability are the same today as they always were: nil.