Screwed Up

That's one shocker of a verdict. One really has to wonder how the presence of human remains in the trunk of a car for somebody who went partying for a few days while cops searched for her missing child.

I cannot help but think there remains a miserable public life lying ahead for Casey Anthony, but for right now, I join a chorus of people upset justice has not been well-served. Much of that will likely weigh on the shoulders of prosecutors and investigators who pegged so much hope of technology and so much less than expected on traditional evidence-gathering.

I am kind of shocked that a Florida verdict (we've never been known here for taking a soft view on crime) would return a not guilty verdict here. But I think it says some things about our values, and if I may go off on a haphazard commentary on this, it shows how the "traditional family values" which so often are suggested bedrock for society do not always offer as much strength as one might expect.

I think the holding up of maternal figures as sacrosanct has served us poorly, and if people could wrap their heads around true gender equality, it would mean something in cases like this.

I believe a focus on punishment within our justice system too often shades the thoughts of those who must decide who deserves the punishment.

But I am sure many on the other side of issues today will feel in their gut that liberal outlooks on the world had a detrimental effect as well.

Who knows? But a lot of people are angry right now, and I think they have good reason to be. The question looking forward though should be on how to make the justice system more fair and equitable, not more hostile and vicious.

Sunrail Gets Rick Scott's Go-Ahead

Credit where it is due.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

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The decision sets the stage for SunRail to begin operations as early as May 2014, running between DeBary in Volusia County, downtown Orlando and the south edge of Orange County. Within another couple of years it supposed to go to DeLand in Volusia and Poinciana in Osceola County.

The approval ends the region’s 30-year quest to devise a transportation alternative to cars and buses. Previous attempts ranging from magnetically levitated trains to light rail options have failed

While Scott closely held his decision, he did leave hints that he would give the go-ahead, most prominently by setting aside more than $269 million for SunRail in the state budget that takes effect today.
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Maybe it was the PR disaster of killing light rail. Maybe the people Rick Scott has surrounded himself with have over time convinced him of the genuine need for working rail in Florida. And maybe, just maybe, six months of office-holding has finally injected some public responsibility for a governor whose background before was all private sector.

But this was the right decision. I didn't think he would do this. The decision to support SunRail marks a moment when Gov. Scott could have chosen to set us back a decade on rail, or allowed the project a fair shot at success regardless of his own personal doubts.

Rick Scott made the right move today. I applaud his choice.

Coddling Evil

Much is rightfully being made of Gov. Voldemort's robocalling madness. But I wanted to note a little-discussed element about it - the demonstration of a gross double standard for Rick Scott and for Charlie Crist by the Republican Party of Florida.

Make no mistake, I am no Crist sympathizer, as long-time readers will know. But I can't imagine the Republican Party spending money on an effort to raise positives for a politician not up for re-election for another three-and-a-half years. Indeed, this is the party that ultimately went all in against a popular governor to boost a right-wing crazy to the post of U.S. Senator.

So let's consider this. Rick Scott is recording robo-calls on an almost weekly basis and poisoning the voice mail of independent voters on an almost weekly basis. Considering these calls carry such lies as the suggestion he delivered a record veto on spending in order to pay for education (he actually budgeted less for education that the Legislature did, and regardless that money can't be easily redirected), I am glad the calls come from a political body instead of being official expenditures of the state.

But unlike his vanity letters to the editor, these calls are not being funded by his own campaign, but by the party. These calls come at the expense of state lawmakers and Congressmen in swing districts this year who could really use the help, thanks mostly the the deatheater taint the governor has put on the 'R' marking by their names.

Maybe the albatross impact of this governor's immense unpopularity is reason enough for the party to get involved. A sinking tide beaches all boats, after all. But it should be noted that when a governor, even one not favored last year by the establishment, turns into a national laughingstock because of his out-of-touch policies, the Republican Party rushes to the rescue.

Contrast this with the response to Charlie Crist's woes last year. While I was never a fan of Crist because I saw his policies as opportunistic, Florida Republicans watched his approval ratings with independents and Democrats and reacted with horror. A governor who would not carry water for the far right? Detestable, never mind his boost in the polls.

Indeed, when Jim Greer was personally favoring Crist's Senate prospects, the organization went nuts. It seemed clear to me that Greer's problems began not when it came to light he was caught stealing but when local parties started holding straw polls that touted Marco Rubio's tea party popularity. In the end, the governor was utterly abandoned, not by independent voters but by his own party.

Less than a year later, we now see that same party embracing a man nobody else wants to touch. The policies which make Rick Scott disgusting to average voters make him a hero to the right. Cutting benefits and pay for public workers? Turning away free money for infrastructure improvements? It is clear to even the casual observer that Rick Scott is punishing us poor muggles in order to promote a small ring of powerful evil lords who should be able to fund their own success but intend to make life easier at the expense of the poor. This is worse than corporate welfare. This is an assault on the middle class.

And it is exactly what the Republican Party wants in a hero.

Are We Really In Libya?

As I have mentioned before, I've been a little squishy about our involvement in Libya because I don't know if the U.S. stamp of approval does much for democratic uprisings in this part of the world. But I must say the rebuke of our Libyan involvement is just disgusting to me. Based on their unwavering and uncritical support of Bush's moral-free invasion of Iraq and our way-past-unwelcome forays in Afghanistan, I just can't believe these people can start preaching to us now about war powers.

To catch folks up, the House voted down a measure authorizing our involvement in Libya. A threat to cut off funding failed. But the words from GOP members who have suddenly found a war operation they don't like was astounding. Here is Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, via HuffPo:

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“I think the message from Congress is not only is Libya not authorized, we don’t want to fund it. Period.”
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All of this made me ask, just how much involvement do we have in Libya anyhow? We are supporting NATO, meaning we are actually going along with a real "Coalition of the Willing." We are primarily providing air support. We have not sent in an Osama bin Laden-like team of seals to storm Gadaffi's palaces.

In fact, we have yet to see a single American military casualty result in this involvement. Check this list of military deaths reported by the Department of Defense. You will see we are continuing to lose soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq on a regular basis, even though the intended goals of those military operations, meaning the ouster of Saddam Hussein and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, have already been accomplished.

In other words, our involvement in the Libyan conflict is largely symbolic. Certainly, people have died in Libya, but it has mostly been the forced on both sides of this civil war. But we simply haven't paid a major price in American blood.

Compare the rhetoric from the GOP regarding this bloodless war to the caustic attacks against the left when resistance was expressed regarding operations in Iraq, which are still costing lives eight years later. Ann Coulter, who has criticized Libya involvement, thinks our involvement in both Libya and Egypt has been wrong-headed, and thinks the strange thing is that Democrats support these bloodless operations while opposing the incredibly costly attack in Iraq. Back then, she wrote a book called Treason about how unpatriotic it was to oppose a president's military ambitions, ever.

But she is just a pundit. What did officials say back then?

Well, here is Kevin Brady (see above) on President Bush's plans in Iraq, via The Political Guide:

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"If our military leaders need the extra troops in Baghdad then Congress needs to back them. I have concerns about where we find the troops to build strength in Iraq because our soldiers and families are stretched awfully thin already.

But there can only be one Commander-in-Chief. If Congress starts interfering in battlefield decisions or refuses to fund our troops this war is lost. The consequences will be tragic."
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Pretty funny, huh?

Republicans support war when they control the White House and oppose it when Democrats control the White House.

Republicans support war if it means our soldiers get killed for political reasons in efforts which produce only negative change in the Middle East and hurt our interests abroad, but oppose it when America is part of an internationally-backed effort and when no American lives are placed in danger.

Maybe the problem is that Democrats just aren't as good at jingoism. Honestly, most liberal anti-war groups have maintained opposition to Libya, refusing to succomb to the hypocracy that remains the core value of the modern GOP. Barack Obama has never attacked those who oppose his policies as un-American. We don't have politicians calling for boycotts of pop stars who are critical of the president. We simply haven't deployed the same fear-mongering machine that Bush used to guilt Americans into supporting wrong-headed actions of yore.

I have a feeling the right will get their comeuppance. I won't count on there never being an American soldier killed in the Libyan conflict, but at this rate this will be a much lower casualty conflict that accomplishes regime change much faster. Obama will be able to campaign two years from now on a military success that did not result in innumerable deaths, and did not paper every front page in America with stories of local soldiers whose lives were lost for reasons both distant and unclear.

But regardless of one's feelings on this conflict, it seems quite clear right now that Congressmen like Brady never have cared about the lives of our troops or the reasoning for our wars. They certainly didn't care about executive overreach when a Republican did it, and therefore don't really care at all.

All they care about is disgracing Obama. They disgrace themselves and their offices instead.

Astroturf At Its Worst

This is a sad, sad attempt. It really is. Rick Scott is sending out form letters to supporters to send to newspapers.

For what it is worth, the editorial sections at every newspaper I have worked at toss such letters out when they realize they are form letters. Of course, that would only work if letters were coming en masse. Seeing Scott's popularity numbers right now, maybe he figured that wouldn't be a problem.

Wondering how to counter this? My basic instinct is don't bother. But if people want to write their own letters, emphasis on their own, I am sure it would be easy to collect a litany of complaints much more coherent than this crappy form letter.

Recruiting Against Rivera

I suspect it won't be hard to find a slough of Democrats willing to challenge Rep. David Rivera, a freshman Republican in the 25th and easily the most embarrassing result of Florida's GOP storm in the 2010 elections. I have great admiration for Joe Garcia, and hope he runs again, but apparently some other interesting folks are also getting into the mix, including state Rep. Luis Garcia.

This will be a big race, so people will have to get in early, even though the district lines won't be known until next Spring. But something interesting, it seems as if this district, created 10 years ago so Mario Diaz-Balart could get a cheap ticket to Washington, may get drawn by the GOP Legislature as a more Democrat-leaning district.

From the St. Pete Times:

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The Miami-based congressional district held by Republican Rep. David Rivera could get cut at the Collier County line, making the seat a little less Republican, said Steve Schale, a Democratic consultant.

Rivera's district, which is over-populated by nearly 111,000, borders the Fort Myers-based seat held by Rep. Connie Mack, who's mulling a run for U.S. Senate. His seat is overpopulated by about 162,000.

So it's likely, though not guaranteed, that many of those excess Collier and Lee County residents will form the backbone of a new Southwest Florida-based congressional seat, according to Schale.
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Since Rep. Connie Mack is running for re-election instead of the Senate, I expect Tallahassee will make his seat a little safer at Rivera's expense. And since Mack doesn;t really live here anyway, he probably doesn't care. (note, I live in Connie Mack's district today. I also live a couple miles from Jeff Kottkamp, who the Times suggests may benefit from redistricting, so that may change)

The question in Tallahassee from a political standpoint is how much the Republicans want to keep this seat. Truth is the seat has been trending blue, enough so that Diaz-Balart high-tailed it out last year. Now that we have one of the most outwardly corrupt freshman in the country representing the district, it seems a ripe choice for flipping in 2012. And by corrupt, I mean was instantly under federal investigation.

But the question is whether is is important to keep the district red, not Rivera. Some Republican leaders are already recuiting challengers for this seat regardless what happens with Rivera. It will be curious to see if the folks in Tallahassee try to hold this area for their team.

The advantage we have, and the one we should leverage, is that this seat is tainted by corruption regardless what it looks lie next year. We should be the housecleaning campaign, regardless who we run, and regardless who they run. If we put a strong enough slate of people out there right now, I think it is more like the GOP won't even put up a fight. They are likely picking up two new seats in Florida this year, and that should be enough for them.

And when this seat moves to our column, we can bask in the irony that a seat blatantly hand-drawn for the Republicans will be in the hands of Democrats a mere 10 years later.

The Wrong Inspiration

An interesting political phenomenon of the last 50 years has been the shift of "Support Israel" from being a banner message for the Democratic Party to one for the Republicans. Today, we seem to be at, I hope, a point where blind trust in Israel's good intentions is on the decline within American foreign policy.

But I get very discouraged when I see a message like this from Rep. Dan Webster, R-Winter Park. Webster went onto Good Life 45 to espouse a belief that continuing foreign aid to Israel guaranteed "God's Hand" would remain on this country. (h/t to Think Progress on this)

Here is YouTube of his appearance:



Webster's talk of how he "doesn't like giving money to our enemies" but "loves giving money to Israel" is problematic in a lot of ways. Of course, the position should not be dismissed out of hand. I, too, dislike how much foreign aid we give to nations which are openly hostile to the United States and which seem unconcerned about funding efforts that threaten our own national interest.

But what makes Israel our great friend? Certainly Benjamin Netanyahu did not seem friendly toward America during his recent meeting with Barack Obama, attacking our president as an ignorant fool in fornt of international press while being hosted at the White House. Israel's media called the get-together tense and cold. And in the midst of that, Bibi mischaracterized Obama's policy on a Palestinian State as a radical departure from past American positions, when it in fact was not. Webster may disagree with Obama's positions on Israel, and that fine, but I think the current friction between our leaders and Israel's leaders shows the nation is not our best friend.

But Webster's logic is what leaves me flabbergasted. He doesn't argue that supporting Israel is in our nation's best interest, or that Israel has been a valuable foreign policy ally. He argues that our nation must act based on religious conviction. Without getting all Church-and-Statey about that, making decisions about providing financial or political support for other nation's based on a particular interpretation of God's will is extraordinarily dangerous and foolish, and should not be considered in important decision-making processes in Washington, D.C. Webster obviously has a friendly audience on this television show, but his constituents as a whole should be appalled by this type of worldview.

Religious views have always played too great a role in American foreign policy in Israel. Whether influential Jews in the Democratic Party or evangelicals in the Republican Party are promoting this, the decision to endorse a foreign power, especially one with a horrendous record on human rights, should not be decided based on a desire to satisfy God.

Personally, I don't think God wants to engage in political gamesmanship. But my own values also conflict with the notion that ethnic segregation of the sort Netanyahu has supported for years would not meet the test of "What Would Jesus Do." I both disagree with Webster's suggestion God will look favorably on our support for a barbaric and detestable administration and in the notion that God's Hand should be the desired goal of any granting in foreign aid. If that makes me radical, then radicals far outnumber the people in this world who think Webster's view is mainstream.