LOCAL and Florida Politics

[jack]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Some of our posters like to suggest  that all politicians are bad and it makes no difference who’s elected.

I have maintained, after working for more than my share of candidates and elected officials over the years, that, in fact, is hardly the case. Florida, after it fired the Pork Chop Gang, entered an era when Floridians did see things could be better. 

An example - as Wiki tells us, Reubin Askew, who did more than anyone else to modernize Florida government, was recognized not only statewide as one of our best governors but also nationally:

“Askew is widely thought to have been one of the state's best governors; in 2014 the Tampa Bay Times ranked  him the second best governor in Florida history and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University rated him one of the country's top ten governors of the 20th century.”

So, no, every state government isn’t as bad as Illinois but we as citizens have to make sure the evildoers never have a chance. For a couple of decades now, we’ve fallen down on the job.

 

That is not right. Some elected officials are pure trash. Most are average and some are great. The political parties by and large are trash but it does not help that they do not have much sway anymore. 

Illinois is a basket case and is hard to understand why anyone up there puts up with it. I guess those who can just move to other states. 

[spenser1058]

There they go again - we finally have charges in the “ghost” candidate scandal in Jason Brodeur’s 2020 election to the Florida Senate.

Prominent among those are multiple charges against Eric Foglesong and others in the scheme. But wait, there’s more!

This is the same Eric Foglesong who was hired as a lobbyist for OIA by DeSantis appointees. The rot keeps growing. Had enough yet? This is Florida’s Republican Party.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-ne-eric-foglesong-arrested-ghost-candiates-20220524-nee4javd2zejzeebedyfzdznjq-story.html  

From The Sentinel 

You do have to feel badly for retired Rollins professor Rick Foglesong for enduring the travails of his wayward son. The elder Foglesong is much respected for his studies in the local community and its relationship to WDW as well as New Urbanism and other urban-related issues, both in the area and beyond.

Here’s the Florida Politics version if you can’t get around the Sentinel’s paywall:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/527424-seminole-county-republican-chair-two-others-indicted-in-ghost-candidate-case/
 

Edited May 24, 2022 by spenser1058

[AmIReal]

Re: Foglesong- couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

[jrs2]

On 5/20/2022 at 8:11 AM, spenser1058 said:

Some of our posters like to suggest  that all politicians are bad and it makes no difference who’s elected.

I have maintained, after working for more than my share of candidates and elected officials over the years, that, in fact, is hardly the case. Florida, after it fired the Pork Chop Gang, entered an era when Floridians did see things could be better. 

An example - as Wiki tells us, Reubin Askew, who did more than anyone else to modernize Florida government, was recognized not only statewide as one of our best governors but also nationally:

“Askew is widely thought to have been one of the state's best governors; in 2014 the Tampa Bay Times ranked  him the second best governor in Florida history and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University rated him one of the country's top ten governors of the 20th century.”

So, no, every state government isn’t as bad as Illinois but we as citizens have to make sure the evildoers never have a chance. For a couple of decades now, we’ve fallen down on the job.

I know...I know...I can be a real thrill kill...I missed Megacon this year; The Apostle John Kreese came thru and I missed him,  so Jack is a very dull boy right now...

it's all good tho...  keep fighting the good fight for me...  nobody does it better on these boards even tho I don't always agree with your points of view.

But why you gotta bring The Land of Lincoln into it?  Springfield already lost Meigs Field downtown and has been sentenced to life via O'Hare from now till eternity.  Isn't that bad enough for those poor folks? 

Compassion, Spenser...compassion!

[JFW657]

I wonder if Eric Foglesong is in any way related to Rick Foglesong, the Political Science Professor at Rollins College and go to guy on political analysis for local news stations? 

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, JFW657 said:

I wonder if Eric Foglesong is in any way related to Rick Foglesong, the Political Science Professor at Rollins College and go to guy on political analysis for local news stations? 

Yes, Eric is Rick’s son. 

[spenser1058]

38 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

I know...I know...I can be a real thrill kill...I missed Megacon this year; The Apostle John Kreese came thru and I missed him,  so Jack is a very dull boy right now...

it's all good tho...  keep fighting the good fight for me...  nobody does it better on these boards even tho I don't always agree with your points of view.

But why you gotta bring The Land of Lincoln into it?  Springfield already lost Meigs Field downtown and has been sentenced to life via O'Hare from now till eternity.  Isn't that bad enough for those poor folks? 

Compassion, Spenser...compassion!

I always wondered how folks in a place like Illinois could let their governments get so awful. Little did I know that carpetbaggers from out of state would move here and start to make Florida just as bad.

The thing is, I first got interested in politics just as Florida was entering an amazing period of modernizing and working diligently to improve. As a result, I had no idea that wasn’t necessarily the norm. Now, I’d do anything to get back to that point but, for whatever reason, all around me folks just say “meh, can’t do anything about it, why bother?” I don’t get it, but after two decades of this nonsense, why haven’t people had enough? And yet, the hits just keep on coming…

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Yes, Eric is Rick’s son. 

How embarrassing for him.

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

How embarrassing for him.

To say the least. They are about as different in demeanor as night and day.

It’s as if Doug Guetzloe had been the love child of Mayor Bill or something.

Edited May 24, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Is it just me, or does the booking photo for Jestine Iannotti not look at all like the pic in her campaign brochure? Wow, they went all the way with this scam! THIS is the GOP.

The updated Sentinel story notes the pic on the campaign mailer was that of a Black woman. Incredible.

Meanwhile, Ben Paris, who worked for Republican candidate Jason Brodeur (Brodeur was the beneficiary of all this skullduggery) at the Seminole Chamber of Commerce, has resigned. The party is going to great lengths to keep Senator Brodeur out of this, but I suspect it’s far too close to him for him to know nothing. Aaaaah, “plausible deniability”, even when it ain’t.

Ghost’ candidate Jestine Iannotti booked into Seminole jail 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-jestine-iannotti-ghost-candidate-jailed-seminole-county-20220525-fii4tvm55jabhpabiycz7cyv3i-story.html
 

Edited May 25, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

In addition to DeSantis slipping behind Kamala Harris in a recent poll (see The Republic Is Saved), it turns out in this article from Florida Politics that Disney also outpolls our worst governor since Charley Johns:

“Disney is slightly more popular than Ron DeSantis, the Florida Governor who declared political war on the entertainment and theme park giant.

A survey commissioned by NBC Newsand performed by Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategiesasked 1,000 adults various questions, including tracking the popularity of Disney and Gov. DeSantis, who has spent recent months punishing one of the state’s flagship companies for opposing the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.

The poll showed Disney outperforming DeSantis in overall popularity, with 33% for Disney and 28% for DeSantis.”

Apparently, DeStupid is not the juggernaut the media is presenting him to be. Keep in mind it’s months until the election for governor and an eternity until the presidential election, but it appears DeS cannot walk on water after all.
 

[jack]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Is it just me, or does the booking photo for Jestine Iannotti not look at all like the pic in her campaign brochure? Wow, they went all the way with this scam! THIS is the GOP.

The updated Sentinel story notes the pic on the campaign mailer was that of a Black woman. Incredible.

Meanwhile, Ben Paris, who worked for Republican candidate Jason Brodeur (Brodeur was the beneficiary of all this skullduggery) at the Seminole Chamber of Commerce, has resigned. The party is going to great lengths to keep Senator Brodeur out of this, but I suspect it’s far too close to him for him to know nothing. Aaaaah, “plausible deniability”, even when it ain’t.

Ghost’ candidate Jestine Iannotti booked into Seminole jail 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-jestine-iannotti-ghost-candidate-jailed-seminole-county-20220525-fii4tvm55jabhpabiycz7cyv3i-story.html
 

I read that and looked at the photo. I don't know what the sentinel is smoking but it obviously was not meant to portray her. It was to show she had black woman backing her. 

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

In addition to DeSantis slipping behind Kamala Harris in a recent poll (see The Republic Is Saved), it turns out in this article from Florida Politics that Disney also outpolls our worst governor since Charley Johns:

“Disney is slightly more popular than Ron DeSantis, the Florida Governor who declared political war on the entertainment and theme park giant.

A survey commissioned by NBC Newsand performed by Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategiesasked 1,000 adults various questions, including tracking the popularity of Disney and Gov. DeSantis, who has spent recent months punishing one of the state’s flagship companies for opposing the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.

The poll showed Disney outperforming DeSantis in overall popularity, with 33% for Disney and 28% for DeSantis.”

Apparently, DeStupid is not the juggernaut the media is presenting him to be. Keep in mind it’s months until the election for governor and an eternity until the presidential election, but it appears DeS cannot walk on water after all.
 

Again, the media is smoking something strong here. DeSantis is strong against either of those weak opponents this November, but I do not see him being president unless the stars perfectly align. 

[spenser1058]

I think what happened is they used a stock photo (per the Sentinel) of a Black woman with the idea she was more of a progressive (that, of course is a fallacious GOP assumption - Black voters are generally more to the right than White Democrats; indeed, that’s how the party was able to push Joe Biden for the nomination in 2020, because the SC Dem primary vote is majority Black - very few Black voters are Bernie Bros). Otoh, that district is majority White, so it probably worked out.

Either way, using a totally bogus pic of the candidate is right out of the Roger Stone School of Dirty Tricks.
 

 

[jrs2]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:39 PM, spenser1058 said:

In addition to DeSantis slipping behind Kamala Harris in a recent poll (see The Republic Is Saved), it turns out in this article from Florida Politics that Disney also outpolls our worst governor since Charley Johns:

“Disney is slightly more popular than Ron DeSantis, the Florida Governor who declared political war on the entertainment and theme park giant.

A survey commissioned by NBC Newsand performed by Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategiesasked 1,000 adults various questions, including tracking the popularity of Disney and Gov. DeSantis, who has spent recent months punishing one of the state’s flagship companies for opposing the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.

The poll showed Disney outperforming DeSantis in overall popularity, with 33% for Disney and 28% for DeSantis.”

Apparently, DeStupid is not the juggernaut the media is presenting him to be. Keep in mind it’s months until the election for governor and an eternity until the presidential election, but it appears DeS cannot walk on water after all.
 

you guys are awesome!  well, they do need a willing participant audience, ya know.

33%, huh?  Disney?  wow, what a coincidence... Old Walt would be proud...

[spenser1058]

2 hours ago, jrs2 said:

you guys are awesome!  well, they do need a willing participant audience, ya know.

33%, huh?  Disney?  wow, what a coincidence... Old Walt would be proud...

That was of course his favorite number…

[jrs2]

On 5/26/2022 at 5:56 PM, spenser1058 said:

That was of course his favorite number…

indeed...and I hear steak dinners at Club 33 are cha-ching

[jrs2]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:18 PM, spenser1058 said:

I think what happened is they used a stock photo (per the Sentinel) of a Black woman with the idea she was more of a progressive (that, of course is a fallacious GOP assumption - Black voters are generally more to the right than White Democrats; indeed, that’s how the party was able to push Joe Biden for the nomination in 2020, because the SC Dem primary vote is majority Black - very few Black voters are Bernie Bros). Otoh, that district is majority White, so it probably worked out.

Either way, using a totally bogus pic of the candidate is right out of the Roger Stone School of Dirty Tricks.
 

I think they merely took my unofficial advice:  you already have a pissed off old white guy in office.  How do you beat him?  with another pissed off old white guy.  And call him a clown to boot.  it worked.

[spenser1058]

17 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

I think they merely took my unofficial advice:  you already have a pissed off old white guy in office.  How do you beat him?  with another pissed off old white guy.  And call him a clown to boot.  it worked.

Oh my!

[spenser1058]

FL Rep. Anna Eskamani (Orlando’s next mayor if she hasn’t reached retirement age by the time Buddy decides to shuffle on), has endorsed Congressman and former Governor Charlie Crist for guv once again.

I’m quite pleased to see that. 

[orange87]

DeSantis blocks state money for Tampa Bay Rays training facility after team tweets against gun violence

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/politics/ron-desantis-tampa-bay-rays-gun-violence/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1Qs1R2K-k80T7qjQu4UgzNHBWr1a34o7tYbicETv6z0MRZ8iNClZiwYcI

I think I'm beginning to hate DeSantis more than Trump now. The Rays should move to another state to give DeSantis the middle finger. They need a new stadium anyway. It would also be great if Disney moved some of their offices out of Florida too.

[spenser1058]

22 minutes ago, orange87 said:

DeSantis blocks state money for Tampa Bay Rays training facility after team tweets against gun violence

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/politics/ron-desantis-tampa-bay-rays-gun-violence/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1Qs1R2K-k80T7qjQu4UgzNHBWr1a34o7tYbicETv6z0MRZ8iNClZiwYcI

I think I'm beginning to hate DeSantis more than Trump now. The Rays should move to another state to give DeSantis the middle finger. They need a new stadium anyway. It would also be great if Disney moved some of their offices out of Florida too.

I remain appalled at how many white Midwestern retirees relocate to Florida and seek to turn it into Mississippi. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

32 minutes ago, orange87 said:

DeSantis blocks state money for Tampa Bay Rays training facility after team tweets against gun violence

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/politics/ron-desantis-tampa-bay-rays-gun-violence/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1Qs1R2K-k80T7qjQu4UgzNHBWr1a34o7tYbicETv6z0MRZ8iNClZiwYcI

I think I'm beginning to hate DeSantis more than Trump now. The Rays should move to another state to give DeSantis the middle finger. They need a new stadium anyway. It would also be great if Disney moved some of their offices out of Florida too.

While DeStupid did it for the wrong reasons, pro sports teams have no business receiving handouts from the citizens. Let them pay for it on their own, especially since they reap the immense profits upon selling their franchises due to artificial restriction of supply.

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

While DeStupid did it for the wrong reasons, pro sports teams have no business receiving handouts from the citizens. Let them pay for it on their own, especially since they reap the immense profits upon selling their franchises due to artificial restriction of supply.

Like anything, it's a two-way street.

The state and the local communities where these pro sports facilities locate, reap big rewards in terms of increased tax revenue, jobs, creation of other business opportunities, tourism, recognition/publicity for the state, corporate relocation incentive, etc, etc.

To call DeShameless a POS is unfair to S.  

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, JFW657 said:

Like anything, it's a two-way street.

The state and the local communities where these pro sports facilities locate, reap big rewards in terms of increased tax revenue, jobs, creation of other business opportunities, tourism, recognition/publicity for the state, corporate relocation incentive, etc, etc.

To call DeShameless a POS is unfair to S.  

If corporate relocation is so driven by pro sports teams, then why are Austin and Raleigh doing so well without them?

Research into the things you’ve mentioned have yet to demonstrate direct correlations, it’s merely what those trolling for taxpayer money want you to believe.

It’s also unnecessary- see Orlando City and the newest NFL stadium in Inglewood (LA) California. 

 

[JFW657]

45 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

If corporate relocation is so driven by pro sports teams, then why are Austin and Raleigh doing so well without them?

Research into the things you’ve mentioned have yet to demonstrate direct correlations, it’s merely what those trolling for taxpayer money want you to believe.

It’s also unnecessary- see Orlando City and the newest NFL stadium in Inglewood (LA) California. 

You are once again, engaging in logical fallacy.

IOW: "Just because something works one way in one place, means it has to work the same in every place."

Also, there are intangible benefits to consider. 

Quote

U.S. metro areas have had to compete with each other to retain and attract major league sports franchises. The resulting large public outlays to finance the construction of sports facilities have been quite controversial.

Proponents of using public funds to finance stadium construction argue that the benefits from increased economic activity and increased tax revenue collection exceed the public outlays. But independent economic studies universally find such benefits to be much smaller than claimed.

So does it makes sense for metro areas to use public funds to attract and retain major league sports franchises? 

A strong case can be made... that the quality-of-life benefits from hosting a major league team can sometimes justify the large public outlays associated with doing so.

Quality-of-life benefits are rarely explicitly included in the debate on using public funds to attract and retain a major league sports franchise. Acknowledging that the main benefit from hosting a team comes from improved metro-area quality of life should help to value this contribution. Doing so does not require impact studies.

Residents and elected officials who understand that the benefits of a sports team are the same sort that flow from parks, zoos, museums, and theater can decide on their own how much hosting a major league team is worth.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.kansascityfed.org/documents/355/2001-What%20Are%20the%20Benefits%20of%20Hosting%20a%20Major%20League%20Sports%20Franchise%3F.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjc6Y-RxJT4AhWfg4kEHbJyB_QQFnoECDEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3PKVc7pibccVKtWu8U8q8_

 

.

Edited June 4, 2022 by JFW657