What does WOKE look like in Florida?
April 29, 2023
Here’s one example…
“Florida lawmakers seek to delay Clearwater’s Drew Street overhaul”: So reads the headline of a recent news story published in the Tampa Bay Times (Tracey McManus, April 28, 2023).
McManus tell us in her news story, “When the Clearwater City Council reaffirmed its support for a safety overhaul of Drew Street on April 4, it was the only approval the Florida Department of Transportation needed to advance design work on the east-west corridor notorious for crashes.
On Friday (4/28/23), state Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, intervened with language in the state budget to withhold funding until the department conducts another study on how the lane reconfigurations would impact traffic.”
Those of us who live in Clearwater and who also try to pay attention to shenanigans in and around City Hall have been kept very, very busy recently.
Following about 2 decades of leadership failures evidenced by clear signs of significant deterioration in management efficiency, the City of Clearwater reached a new lower limit of performance around mid-2020.
Following a mayoral election in March 2020 which returned a former political hack to the office of Mayor, the City has operated in a morass of “Chaos and Crisis” where malevolent leadership led to insider decisions and some bad outcomes which are evidenced by observable:
- Excessive and continual management and supervisory turnover;
- Rising levels of overall employee dissatisfaction;
- Measurable decreases in critical employee productivity measures;
- Poorly executed public projects, including unexpected delays (Marina, The Bluffs, and more…);
- Extreme cost overruns on public projects (Imagine Clearwater, and many more);
- Unusual and/or abrupt failures of existing programs (Trees, anyone?);
- Unexplained or poorly communicated public sector programs and/or projects;
- Decision making ‘in darkness’ where the entire case is not presented to the public in a fair and honest fashion.
A recent comment from Whit Blanton at Forward Pinellas summarizes the whimsical and erratic behavior of some Clearwater elected officials we — the taxpayers, voters and stakeholders of Clearwater — have sadly become accustomed to,
“The City of Clearwater has voted three times for this project, the Forward Pinellas Board has voted 10 times,” Blanton said. “The neighbors have been clamoring for this for years going back to 2004. We finally got momentum and there seems to be forces that are unhappy with the outcome.”
I recently heard a politician say, “Let’s not let perfect be the enemy of good.”
Another study? More delays, deaths and despair on Drew Street?
It’s well known that Tammany Hall disappeared from the NYC political scene sometime after WWII.
What was not known until very recently: Tammany Hall didn’t really disappear, it just moved to Tallahassee to help support people like Senator Hooper and his backroom cronies.
All this time we thought Florida was the Sunshine State, a place where important decisions are made in public….
Or, as the infamous Governor DeSantis tells us, “Florida is where WOKE goes to die.”
Well, I just got abruptly and rudely awakened by some really bad behavior by some Florida politicians, so call me WOKE!
And I’m certainly not here to die!
Here’s a call to action to all of my neighbors who are just fed up: Please join me!
Jim Jordan Reveals Plan to Investigate Crime in Florida
April 18, 2023
Following up on his success in Manhattan, Jordan announces Florida as the next target for Judiciary Committee
FL Gov. Ron DeSantis offered an immediate solution to allegations by Rep. Jim Jordan (R, OH), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, that crime is up in Florida and enforcement is down.
Joined by FL Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, a 5th generation Floridian, DeSantis announced today that the new Epcot-Reedy Creek Correctional Facility will help ‘dispel any false rumors. Our new facility will accommodate any and all scofflaws, illegals or gatecrashers who dare to attempt to flaunt the will of the people of Florida at Disney properties’.
DeSantis further explained that this new Correctional Facility will be created within a unique and innovative Public-Private Partnership which will be fully funded and managed by an anonymous Private Capital (hedge fund) entity.
In an unrelated report, the global news outlet Semafor reported today that Billionaire donor Ken Griffin is standing by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for president in 2024 despite some other major donors backing away from the rumored presidential candidate.
A person close to Griffin told Semafor that Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund Citadel, does not agree with DeSantis on all issues but still believes he would be a strong candidate for president.
Griffin was recently named the Most Profitable Hedge Fund Manager of all time.
Gov. Ron and his Feud with Disney
April 9, 2023
DeSantis: I’ll kill the Reedy Creek Deal
Vows to work Legislature to consider hotel tax, tolls for Disney World
Yes, Governor Ron, by the time they reach age 25, the majority of adolescent boys have experienced the transition to adulthood as their prefrontal cortex matures.
They experience emotional autonomy, where they become more skilled in their own self-governing behavior and independent enough to make rational, forward-thinking and impartial decisions on their own accord.
The great majority of post-adolescent boys age 25+ have moved on from impulsive behaviors which are often described as a lack of “cognitive control” by younger men moving out of adolescence into adulthood. Observed incidences of impulsive risk-taking behaviors generally fades into history once males reach the age of 25.
Governor Ron: You seemed to be doing OK until you assumed the role of Florida Governor. Perhaps it is the pressure of the job, or other factors. You have made some really impetuous decisions over the past 18 months, or so, but none more egregious and potentially damaging to the people of Florida than your War on Disney.
It seems to be quite clear that you are personally angry with some of the Disney management because they publicly spoke out in objection to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” legislation enacted in 2022.
And, it’s OK for you to be personally angry, in private.
It’s not OK for you, as an elected official, to allow your personal biases, beliefs and emotional triggers to infiltrate your public actions.
The people of Florida deserve better leadership than what you offer today.
A true leader who inspires me is former president Jimmy Carter.
Despite his deep personal evangelical Christian beliefs, Carter was able to compartmentalize his own opinions and sublimate his ego to address the big picture. Carter was often criticized in the popular media because he favored deliberation and thoughtful compromise over autocratic or absolute mandates. In plain English, he didn’t try to impose his personal private beliefs onto the broader society.
And, history tells us that decisions made after careful research and deliberation, informed by a fully educated and diverse panel of professional advisors, are most likely to stand the test of time.
On the other hand, decisions made in the heat of the moment by individuals who see themselves as clairvoyant and/or omnipotent have rarely survived the test of time.
Governor Ron: You were endowed at birth with many gifts; you have accomplished much in your short lifetime and in your career in public service. We can only hope that you will step back, smell the roses, and realize that true leadership has nothing to do with autocracy.
True leadership begins with high standards of integrity. True leaders take full responsibility for their actions, and they don’t blame others for setbacks. They make decisions based on principle rather than on immediate gratification.
You have the knowledge, wisdom and ability to experience emotional autonomy and become a true leader.
Now is the time for you to step forward and show the people of Florida, the people of America, the people of the World — what true leadership is all about….
Legislative Leaders in Tennessee Clean House
April 6, 2023
Tennessee GOP expels 2 Black Democratic lawmakers for anti-gun violence protests.
Early on Monday morning, March 27, 2023, an assassin armed with two AR-style weapons, a handgun and significant ammunition, used force to break into a private Christian school in Nashville, taking the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult school staffers.
Within days, mass protests broke out across Nashville and the entire state of Tennessee calling for stricter gun safety measures.
At the state capital in Nashville, several elected officials joined with citizen protesters to help amplify the need for immediate action on stricter gun control by the Tennessee General Assembly.
Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R—Crossville) said that the actions of some of his colleagues inside the State Capitol were like that of an insurrection.
Today, April 6, 2023, a Republican majority in the Tennessee General Assembly – led by Speaker Sexton — voted to remove two Democratic legislators for participating in “an unauthorized gun safety protest” last week on the House floor.
22 years ago, it took an act of war orchestrated by insidious foreign nationals using aircraft to attack the American people in iconic American locations, to rally our country to solidarity and action.
Today, those same insidious and dangerous forces seem to have infiltrated main-stream America, poisoning our political structures, our institutions, our entire raison d’être.
This is 2023, folks.
The phrase, “United we Stand, Divided we Fall” is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, and he did make it into a mainstream rallying cry. Yet, it has been used by great leaders since the dawn of time.
We have a choice. We can fight over petty differences, or we can unite around our common interests.
The train has left the station, and it’s well past time for America to stand up and demand that elected officials – at the local, state and federal level – stop creating divisive rhetoric; begin to listen to each other and the people they represent; return to the purpose for which legislators are elected to serve.
I do hope we can find a peaceable way to Unite.
Behind Closed Doors
April 5, 2023
Gov. Ron & Smiling White Men Out of the Sunshine
In a private ceremony in Tallahassee on April 3, 2023, this small group of villainous reprobates gathered in private to celebrate the signing of a new law which allows permitless concealed carry of firearms in Florida.
Some have said this new law will enable more Florida residents to carry their hidden weapons into schools, grocery stores, office buildings, libraries, shopping malls, houses of worship, and on the streets and parking lots in your town, in your neighborhood, wherever people gather.
One Florida lawmaker said,
“In the State of Florida, government bureaucracy will no longer stand between law-abiding Floridians and their freedom to exercise their 2nd amendment rights.
This bill recognizes that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, its citizens have a right to protect themselves.”
Although many gun rights advocates are ready, willing and able to interpret and quote the 2nd amendment, they seem to have lost their ability to recall the Gospel of John:
“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” [1 John 3: 7-10]
I am a strong believer of separation of Church and State, so I quote the Christian Bible just for reference.
My limited research led me to believe each of the major religions of our world generally takes a dim view of people bearing arms in a civilized society.
Based on survey data obtained from 60,000 respondents in 2018, researchers at Eastern Illinois University determined that 87% of American adults with an identified religious affiliation favor more restrictive gun control laws, led by Hindu (96%); Buddhist (96%); Atheist (94%); Jewish (94%); Agnostic (94%); Catholic (91%); Mainline Protestant (90%); Muslim (87%); and Mormon (86%)[i].
Of course, there are some outliers[ii].
[i] Data from the 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), a national survey with 60,000 respondents. Analysis led by Dr. Ryan Burge, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University.
[ii] Dr. Jenny Wiley Legath, the Associate Director of the Center for Culture, Society and Religion at Princeton University, has developed some research pertaining to carrying concealed weapons as a “religious practice” for some Americans, particularly white evangelical and Pentecostal Christians.
I Like Clearwater Florida. It’s where I live!
April 3, 2023
No matter how special, there seems to be an aura of stupidity, ignorance or greed somewhere near City Hall…
Someone at Clearwater City Hall may have recently read the book “Who Moved My Cheese” and got inspired to move everyone’s cheese.
We recently had a dinner guest (Jim) from D.C. on a Saturday evening. He was staying at the Wyndham Grand on the Beach. He used Uber to get to his hotel on a Thursday evening, and his plan was to use Uber to get from the beach back to our Pride Neighborhood in Clearwater, a 5 mile, 11 minute ride on almost any Saturday evening in August.
Jim’s Uber got stuck on the Memorial Causeway enroute to the Wyndham, thus was 45 minutes late arriving at the hotel. Then, it took a bit more than 25 minutes from the hotel to our Pride Neighborhood.
We did have a nice dinner, although it seemed that the drama might have been significantly reduced if the architects of “Beach by Design” had bothered to incorporate some real and honest transportation planning into their original document; and/or various revisions along the way.
Let us not forget that Beach by Design was adopted in 2001 to help guide ‘thoughtful revitalization strategies governing Clearwater Beach, focused on six components’: land use; mobility; off-street parking; catalytic projects; economic feasibility and financing; and design guidelines.
The old Memorial Causeway bridge going over to the beach was built in the early 1960’s as a 4-lane drawbridge.
I remember those days! A sailboat (a.k.a. ‘rag bagger’) could easily cause a 10 to 15 minute delay for those many folks in cars who were driving to or from the beach!
The new Bridge – construction began in 2001, completed in 2005 – is still 4 lanes for vehicular traffic, but is elevated off the water so that there is no need for a drawbridge. The sailboats can come and go as they please, but the traffic delays on the bridge are now worse than ever before.
The knuckleheads who envisioned, designed, approved and constructed the new bridge somehow forgot to consider the probable impact from increased traffic due to the planned surge in capacity due to new hotels, restaurants, etc.
They just plumb forgot to incorporate a mass people mover – something like what we have at Tampa International:
- Elevated; Electric; Automated; Safe; Convenient; Cost effective.
Instead of working to mitigate the predictable negative externalities from an increase in the number and frequency of internal combustion vehicles coming to (and from) the Beach, these former elected officials from our past seem to have fretted over increasing both the cost of parking fees and the number of parking spaces to a point which is intolerable to most residents and visitors alike. There must be an explanation, although it is quite elusive.
But, Wait! One of the dinosaurs from 2001 has been recently awakened, and now appointed to serve as Interim Mayor of Clearwater!
As has been said in previous retrospectives, “Only in Clearwater could the Cabal get away with this sort of ‘apparently innocent’ fraud, malfeasance and corruption.”
walrus51 