Today is the day to get out and vote! If you don’t vote, don’t bitch! Your opinion will have little to no real opinion for the next 4 years if you are not willing to spend the time and make your voice heard at the ballot box.
Voting is more than a right, it is a responsibility.
Florida Amendments, Pros and Cons
Amendment 1
Parental notification of termination of a minor’s pregnancy.
Pro: Parents will have more controls over their children (ie leave parenting to the parents), and it may reduce the number of teenage pregnancies, due to the difficulty in getting an abortion on demand.
Con: The potential for a female to not get a medically necessary abortion could exisit if the parents refuse to allow the abortion or the legislature does not enact require exceptions to the law.
Other thoughts: It seems that people who engage in hands on parenting probably don’t need this amendment added to our constitution. And from an aspect of constitutional amendments this should have been written more broadly to reflect/restrict the rights of minors in the state of Florida. It is pretty interesting that we are electing to enact a law that restricts a very specific segment of our population, teenage females. While I can’t argue the fact that parents, in their very nature should have the right and have the responsibility of the actions of their children (male and female); I think that unless this is a national policy, these girls will just dissappear for a weekend up to Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, or where ever they need to go to get it done.
Amendment 2
Review of Constitutional Amendments
Pro: Every election year we are faced with different amendment proposal, some that are legitimate and others that are not. The PRO advocates believe that changing the dates will make it more difficult for Special Interest Groups from financing amendment changes to our constitution, such as the pig amendment sponsored by PETA. Florida voters will get about 9 months rather than 3 months to review and campaign for a specific ballot initiative.
Con: The Con side basically says that the large percentage of amendments proposed aren’t by citizen initiative anyway, but rather are brought forward by the legislature for us to vote on. This amendment will make it more difficult for real grassroots changes to our constitution, because of the lead time required to go through the process.
Other thoughts: Again, we have a historic opportunity here to make a change to our constitution, and we squander it with small thinking amendments. We are one of a few states that even allows changes to our constitution by ballot amemdment. Pro advocates claim that we will become more like California if we don’t enact this, however, we get these wacky amendments because the legislature doesn’t do its job! We pay good money to have these guys go to Tallahassee and enact legislation important to Floridians. The real fix would be to allow the citizens to place LAW on the ballot separate from constitutional amendments. Allowing both may seem confusing at first, but would prevent non-constitutional laws from having the effect of law.
Amendment 3
THE MEDICAL LIABILITY CLAIMANT’S COMPENSATION AMENDMENT
Pro: Laywer hating insurance companies won’t have to deal with as many lawsuits, frivolous or otherwise due to the cost of litigation. Based on that, this should make it easier for doctors to maintain their medical malpractice insurance and stay in practice.
Con: If you read the FAQ at this Florida law firm http://www.forthepeople.com/legal/ about how much it costs to take a case to trial, you soon find out that:
Even though the costs involved with a case can run anywhere from $20,000 to $175,000 and up, it costs you nothing, unless there is a recovery.
As the costs of litigation continue to rise, it will be very questionable whether or not lawyers will take cases that they normally would, but financial find it impossible to support, due to costs.
Other thoughts: Personally, I’m for tort reform, but I also believe that people have a right to make as much money as people are willing to pay them. When hospitals can charge $10 for an aspirin, musicians can make Millions from selling records and doing concerts, and sport stars can make even more from their athletic pursuits, it seems hypocritical to restrict the financial possibilities of the legal profession. Tort reform is complex, and takes a more thought out plan than this to make it work. I believe that the verbage excluding reasonable fees is vague. Too often we hear the those supporting the screw the lawyer crowd saying “McDonald’s Coffee Case” as if it was like saying “Remember the Alamo”. But unfortunately for every one of those cases is countless other cases of that have meritt, and don’t rake in Millions of dollars. Will this be good for Florida? Whose to say? Are you willing to take the risk that if you need a lawyer, you may not be able to get one, that’s the real question! The bottom line is that this law prevents many people from having representation without having cash in their pocket to begin with. In cases of an injury, chances are you’ve already spent that money on your healthcare.
Amendment 4
AUTHORIZES MIAMI-DADE AND BROWARD COUNTY VOTERS TO APPROVE SLOT MACHINES IN PARAMUTUEL FACILITIES
Pro: Florida get Slot Machine style gambling in already established gaming facilities with profits to SUPPLEMENT Florida schools.
Cons: People against this claim increases in crime and drunk driving. Additionally they want to keep this a Family Friendly State.
Other thoughts: It is ironic that people are adamantly against this amendment. It doesn’t establish new gaming areas. It doesn’t create Las Vegas Style Casinos (Table Gaming), and we are currently watching MILLIONS of Florida dollar go off shore, unregulated, and untaxed on Casino daycruise ships. Wake up Florida, we aren’t half pregnant, we have gambling already, we just aren’t cashing in.
Amendment 5
FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE AMENDMENT
Pro: As fuel prices and other prices have risen over the past few years the minimum wage worker has still seen their wage left behind. This will help give employees enough money to make it some working mothers and elderly the ability to start at a better salary.
Con: This will drive up costs in every place of employment, and will in fact cost Floridians jobs and benefits.
Other Thoughts: Hey, Let’s do the math. Assuming that their is only 300,000 people who are making minimum wage, then we are talking about an increase of $12 Million dollars in cash added to the liquid Florida Economy. That’s roughly $2,000 per person a year, based on a 40 hour work week. But since many of the people who make minimum wage don’t work full-time, such as minors, who by law can’t, the employer out of pocket expense goes down. Since many of these employees aren’t full time, they most likely aren’t getting any medical benefits anyways. But let’s take the McDonalds example.
They employ 20 workers on average that make below $6.15 at various rates. Assuming that the average employee works between 24-30 hours a week, that’s $30 per person raise. Multiply that by 20 people, and you have $600 a week, in raises. The local McDonald’s is a $2Millon a year business locally where I’m at, and other locations do even better. In California, where the minimum wage is higher, they still have a Dollar Menu, so I’m not sure if we should worry.
Now the flip side of the coin here is actually really simple, once again Florida legislature, do your job. It wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. This particular amendment should in fact be a law. Changing our constition to have a minimum wage may not be the proper place for such an initiative.
After doing the math, it seems that employers crying about paying an extra $1 an hour or less, is like whores arguing about virginity.
Amendment 6
REPEAL OF HIGH SPEED RAIL AMENDMENT
Pro: Save Florida $20 to $25 Billion by repealing a transporation system.
Con: Florida Voters approved it overwhelmingly in 2000. The Florida government has chose to drag its feet, and should have had infrastructure well on its way. The train would enhance tourism, business between Florida cities, and reduce congestion on Florida roadways.
Other Thoughts: The government didn’t want it and this is just their way of saying “are you sure?” But by dragging their feet, they are costing the State Millions of dollars in development costs. We may not like it, but we bought it, we should have just done it. Imagine if the government just stalled any law, any constitutional amendment that they didn’t agree with?
Amendment 7
PATIENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT ADVERSE MEDICAL INCIDENTS
AND
Amendment 8
PUBLIC PROTECTION FROM REPEATED MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
These two Amendment go together, so here we go:
Pro: Florida citizens will be allowed to know about adverse information relating to medical malpractice. Additionally amendment 8 prohibits medical doctors who have been found to have committed three or more incidents of medical malpractice from being licensed to practice medicine in Florida.
Con: The Florida Medical Association says that this will unfairly malign good doctors, discourage new doctors from starting practice in Florida, and possibly have some Florida doctors move out of state.
Other thoughts: When you look at the big 3 (3, 7 and 8) I say send ’em all packing. Until we can get it right, with these organizations working together, we will never have a system that helps everyone all around. I would recommend voting NO on all three of these, and hope that we can get some non-partisan groups to work on amendments that will really make a difference.
Ballot Summary:
ARTICLE X, SECTION 22
ARTICLE X
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 22. Parental notification of termination of a minor’s pregnancy. The legislature shall not limit or deny the privacy right guaranteed to a minor under the United States Constitution as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. Notwithstanding a minor’s right of privacy provided in Section 23 of Article I, the Legislature is authorized to require by general law for notification to a parent or guardian of a minor before the termination of the minor’s pregnancy. The Legislature shall provide exceptions to such requirement for notification and shall create a process for judicial waiver of the notification.
YES
NO
Information on Amendment 1:
Pro: www.frtl.org/LifeLink/2004/09-04%20LifeLink-ParNot2FRTL.pdf
Con: www.ppswcf.org/issuesActions.cfm
ARTICLE IV, SECTION 10
ARTICLE XI, SECTION 5
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE
Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to require the sponsor of a constitutional amendment proposed by citizen initiative to file the initiative petition with the Secretary of State by February 1 of the year of a general election in order to have the measure submitted to the electors for approval or rejection at the following November’s general election, and to require the Florida Supreme Court to render an advisory opinion addressing the validity of an initiative petition by April 1 of the year in which the amendment is to be submitted to the electors.
YES
NO
Information on Amendment 2:
Pro: www.votesmartflorida.org/no_surprises.asp
ARTICLE I, SECTION 26
THE MEDICAL LIABILITY CLAIMANT’S COMPENSATION AMENDMENT
Proposes to amend the State Constitution to provide that an injured claimant who enters into a contingency fee agreement with an attorney in a claim for medical liability is entitled to no less than 70% of the first $250,000.00 in all damages received by the claimant, and 90% of damages in excess of $250,000.00, exclusive of reasonable and customary costs and regardless of the number of defendants. This amendment is intended to be self-executing.
The direct financial impact this amendment will have on state and local government revenues and
expenditures cannot be determined.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 3 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 3:
Pro: www.citizensforafairshare.org
Con: www.factsonthree.com
ARTICLE X, SECTION 19
AUTHORIZES MIAMI-DADE AND BROWARD COUNTY VOTERS TO APPROVE SLOT MACHINES IN PARAMUTUEL FACILITIES
Authorizes Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to hold referenda on whether to authorize slot machines in existing, licensed parimutuel facilities (thoroughbred and harness racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai) that have conducted live racing or games in that county during each of the last two calendar years before effective date of this amendment. The Legislature may tax slot machine revenues, and any such taxes must supplement public education funding statewide. Requires implementing legislation.
This amendment alone has no fiscal impact on government. If slot machines are authorized in
Miami-Dade or Broward counties, governmental costs associated with additional gambling will
increase by an unknown amount and local sales tax-related revenues will be reduced by $5 million to $8 million annually. If the Legislature also chooses to tax slot machine revenues, state tax revenues from Miami-Dade and Broward counties combined would range from $200 million to $500 million annually.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 4 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 4:
Pro: www.yesforlocalcontrol.com
Con: www.nocasinosfl.com
ARTICLE X
FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE AMENDMENT
This amendment creates a Florida minimum wage covering all employees in the state covered by the federal minimum wage. The state minimum wage will start at $6.15 per hour six months after enactment, and thereafter be indexed to inflation each year. It provides for enforcement, including double damages for unpaid wages, attorney’s fees, and fines by the state. It forbids retaliation against employees for exercising this right.
The impact of this amendment on costs and revenues of state and local governments is expected to
be minimal.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 5 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 5:
ARTICLE X, SECTION 19
REPEAL OF HIGH SPEED RAIL AMENDMENT
This amendment repeals an amendment in the Florida Constitution that requires the Legislature, the Cabinet and the Governor to proceed with the development and operation of a high speed ground transportation system by the state and/or by a private entity.
The probable financial impact of passage of this amendment is a state cost savings ranging from $20 billion to $25 billion over the next 30 years. This estimate assumes the repeal of associated laws, the use of state bonds to finance construction, and could be reduced by federal or private sector funding.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 6 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 6:
Pro: www.derailthebullettrain.com
Con: www.therailtruth.com
ARTICLE X, SECTION 22
PATIENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT ADVERSE MEDICAL INCIDENTS
Current Florida law restricts information available to patients related to investigations of adverse medical incidents, such as medical malpractice. This amendment would give patients the right to review, upon request, records of health care facilities’ or providers’ adverse medical incidents, including those which could cause injury or death. Provides that patients’ identities should not be disclosed.
The direct financial impact this amendment will have on state and local government revenues and
expenditures cannot be determined, but is expected to be minimal. State agencies will incur some
additional costs to comply with public records requirements of the amendment, but these costs will be generally offset by fees charged to the persons requesting the information.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 7 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 7:
Pro: www.floridiansforpatientprotection.org/voteYes.html
Con: www.fmaonline.org/amend78.html
ARTICLE X, SECTION 20
PUBLIC PROTECTION FROM REPEATED MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Current law allows medical doctors who have committed repeated malpractice to be licensed to practice medicine in Florida. This amendment prohibits medical doctors who have been found to have committed three or more incidents of medical malpractice from being licensed to practice medicine in Florida.
The direct financial impact on state and local governments resulting from the proposed initiative would be minimal. There will likely be additional costs to the state of less than $1 million per year, but these costs will be offset by licensure fees.
YES
NO
Click here for complete Amendment 8 financial impact statement
Information on Amendment 8:
Pro: www.floridiansforpatientprotection.org/voteYes.html
Con: www.fmaonline.org/amend78.html
The headlines in the recent days haven’t been so great to our military operation in the Middle East. We’ve had a group of soldiers that refused dangerous assignments with unarmed supply vehicles.
The debates continue to ferver with the drum beat of a potential draft. While there has been a supposed vote to state that we would not have a draft, things can change.
Members of the integrated ready reserves (IRR), and other reservists are being called up to fill missions that have nothing to do with the training that they have received on active/reserve duty. The IRR make up a group of people who don’t drill, don’t get paid, and aren’t eligible for advancement. This would include the individuals who signed up for 4 years of Active, with the 4 years inactive to total 8 years of service. This is what amounts to a backdoor draft.
Let’s keep the IRR out of this, they are the unwitting and unwilling volunteers.
I’m not in the IRR, btw…
I serve so that in the future, others may not have to…
I serve to protect freedom and liberty,
So that the ideals of America can continue on.
I serve because we can not afford to retire the watch.
I serve because freedom is not free.
You can listen or play the video.
What does it mean to have so many hurricanes hit Florida in one year? I for one am shocked. Some people would have you believe, “YOUR GONNA DIE!” “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!” And others just see it as a conspiracy dreamed up by Lowes and Home Depot, in partnership with your local broadcast affiliates to sell plywood.
Yet at the end of the day, if you have suffered severe damage, don’t you wonder where God is in all of this? Is this just nature taking its course, or is there a greater hand in all of this? Are we, Floridians being punished for something? Have we not let some people go, so that the floodwaters of the Atlantic would not bear down upon us?
Maybe this weather is on a 500 year cycle, and we just didn’t know it; and now we must expect this sort of weather from here on out… for a while. After all, our grasp of time is small in the large spand of the universe. Who is to say, maybe Nostradamus.
In the end, with technology, many lives have been saved. Early warnings and heeding evacuation notices has saved lives in most vulnerable areas.
As lucky as we are to have days of advanced warning for Hurricanes, California had no warning of the Seismic activity that is starting to occur; and add to that some activity at Mt. St. Helens, makes me wonder, what on EARTH is happening.
“Europe warns Iran against nuclear arms”
:
How long does it take? But moreover what does this mean? We are watching Europe finally take notice of the nuclear build up of Iran. Can we expect Europe to really be “Tough and Friendly”? I’m not so sure, but where do you draw the line on your expectation of what America should do? Do we attempt to negotiate or be ready to fight?
CBS News | CBS: Bush Memo Story A ‘Mistake’ | September 20, 2004 21:42:19: “CBS: Bush Memo Story A ‘Mistake’
”
Was there really a question by the staff? Let’s get serious. I looked at the documents over a week ago, when the first question of the authenticity came out, and after searching a few websites, and my own personal knowledge, came to the same conclusion.
In the high tech world of computers, it has become much more difficult to synthesize a typewriter. Typewriters are notorious for being much more like handwriting. Even using the same ball in a selectric typewriter, you may notice different drops, leading, and kerning. Besides that, if you look at probably 75% or more of military documents typed in the 60’s, 70’s and later, most are in Courier, a monospaced font-type.
If you need proof, look at John Kerry’s military record see:
There you will see mostly monospaced courier fonts.
Besides that, you will see that most Command Letterheads are pre-printed, even today. They use different color inks, and are typeset. While today, it is done with desktop publishing, back until the early 1990’s it was done on very expensive typesetting machines.
I think that what upsets me here, is that journalists need to keep their skeptical edge. I don’t care if it is CBS or FOX. Moreover, who were these experts that said this stuff was legitimate? I would call into question their ability in the future to verify any documents.
