Pensito Review: Verbatim

FLA Politics: Florida Political News

South Florida Daily Blog: Your Morning Sift

South Florida Daily Blog: Your Evening Sift

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Sunday Reading

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Short Takes

Re/Creating Tampa: Across the Tampa Blogosphere

Florida Independent: Oil Spill Roundup

EXTRAS:

Source: Blogwood 2.0

Action: Register for AFL-CIO info and action alerts at their website. Text STRONGER to 222568 to join the AFL-CIO text program.

Also: What other Labor Unions are doing public pushes like this one today? E-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com and I’ll post any others use find.

Of those wanting to build the cultural center known as Park51, Keller said cheerily, “All these people will die and burn in hell.”
…

Keller said he is looking at three different sites for his church near the “hollowed ground,” near the site of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

…
One blogger at the service told me that he had recently gone on TV and blasted the preacher, only to receive a thank you note from him the next day. “He loves the press,” the blogger said.

EXTRAS:

Source: Creative Loafing

Questions: Of the 25 attendees who weren’t press, how many of them were just passersby paying attention to a spectacle? What’s the difference between Keller and Fred Phelps? Am I helping Keller by giving him free press?

EXTRAS:

Question: Do the editorial boards that are not right-wing in their slant think this somehow represents some kind of objectivity to criticize labor on Labor Day? If you always criticize labor on Labor Day, is that balanced or objective?

Action: Write letters to the editor for the papers that did this (read the problems with each paper at the FLA Politics post linked above)…

Orlando Sentinel: e-mail only insight@orlandosentinel.com

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (web form)

Saint Petersburg Times (web form)

Tampa Tribune (web form)

Miami Herald (web form)

Palm Beach Post (web form)

Florida Times Union (web form)

Daytona Beach News Journal (web form)

Action: Attend the peace vigil planned as a response or contribute to groups that help increase tolerance and interfaith understanding in Florida. If you know of specific groups doing this, please e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com and I’ll add them to this post.

Update: If you are in the Sarasota area, you can attend the following event:

Gather in Peace on 9/11

Interfaith Service for Understanding and Peace
7:30 pm
Saturday, September 11, 2010
First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota
2050 Oak Street
Sarasota, florida

Arranged by Temple Sinai, The Islamic Society of Sarasota, and First Presbyterian Church. Supported by Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, the Religious Society of Friends, and many, many others.

Scott Maddox (Commissioner of Agriculture Candidate):

On this day it is important that we take time to honor the many men and women who have labored, fought, and organized to build this great nation.

I am proud to stand with my brother and sisters – honoring their efforts – as we celebrate America’s most indispensable resource – the American worker.

My family has deep roots in Florida labor, and we know firsthand the consequences of not being protected. My grandfather lugged blocks of ice from house to house only to be “let go” so the company he worked for would not have to pay his duly earned retirement. My father founded a union and served as its president.

Today is a day of praise and remembrance, but it is also a day of action.

We cannot afford to sit back and rest on what our forefathers and mothers accomplished. I am concerned about the direction of the state and the nation; the rights and opportunities earned in the past are now under assault and may not be there for future generations.

At an alarming rate, we are losing jobs to companies overseas; the jobs that we do have are not keeping up with inflation. Moms and dads are now forced to take two or even three part time jobs just to barely get by. A living wage is only a dream for too many of our citizens. At present, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Florida has over an 11% unemployment rate, higher than the national average and one of the highest in the South.

The current leadership in Tallahassee has failed the working families of Florida. While skilled labor leaves the state, at every level, incumbent politicians have been behind the curve.

My opponent, longtime U.S. Congressman Adam Putnam, is no friend of working families. He has continually sided with corporations and their CEOs over the interest of Florida’s workers. The AFL-CIO gave him lifetime rating of 9%; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees gave him a lifetime score of 1%; Utility Workers 1%; Federally Employed Women 20%; Service Employees International 0%; United Food and Commercial Workers 7%; Disabled American Veterans 0%; Alliance for Retired American 4% – and the list goes on.

It is time that we have real leadership in Tallahassee, not career Washington insiders pandering to corporate greed and special interests. I am running for the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services because for too long the “big corporate bottom line” has dictated Florida agriculture and economic policy.

We need leadership that understands the value of the working family and small businesses and cares about the issues that influence our lives.

Thank you for your support. Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day.

Allen Boyd:

Throughout history, the American spirit of hard work and determination has been a monumental force in the progress of this great nation. In good times and in bad, the working men and women of America have kept that spirit alive, working hard every day to build our communities, teach our children, serve the public, and keep us safe.

On this Labor Day, I would like to thank all of the working families who keep our country and our state moving forward on a daily basis. I can’t thank you enough for all of the hard work you do, day in and day out.

Please enjoy this time with your family and friends. Have a safe and happy Labor Day.

Kendrick Meek:

“On this Labor Day, we thank the hardworking men and women of Florida who punch in and punch out everyday to support their families and communities. They are the backbone of our economy and the engine that drives our state forward. As I stand with working Florida families today in Orlando and Plant City, it will be my honor to address such dedicated Floridians who are persevering during trying times.

“Sadly, over one million Floridians are still unable to find work. Too many middle-class families are struggling to make ends meet. My fight is to rebuild the middle class, to bring jobs home to our state and put working people ahead of the special interests. For Floridians who have work and to those still looking for work, I always have fought and will fight for your interests above all else.

“My mission today is the same as its been from day one: to create jobs and get Floridians back on the job. On this Labor Day, we stand with the men and women who make this state great and will ensure our prosperity once again.”

EXTRAS:

Action: Volunteer or contribute to Fair Districts Florida.

*Use transparent, outcome-based budgets

Question: Will this be real transparency or the transparency that other Republicans have promised in Florida?

*Propose biennial budgets in order to adequately review budget goals and give the public time to participate in the budget process

Question: Other states have used biennial budgets, have they worked in those states?

*Impose spending limits to ensure government expenditures are at an affordable level

Questions: Do spending limits improve the quality of government services? Do arbitrary caps on spending limit government flexibility and ability to deal with crises? What would be the basis of the limits?

*Unlike other spending limits, my plan changes the focus from how much government can spend to how much the economy can grow

Question: So, if the economy is bad, is it a good idea to limit the government’s ability to fix the problem?

*Return Florida’s state and local government expenditure burden to at least the 2004 level before spending ballooned out of control

Questions: What is magical about 2004 that spending in 2004 is somehow better than spending in 2011? How does that factor in seven years of inflation and additional problems such as hurricanes and oil spills? Do arbitrary spending level goals limit the ability of the government to do its job?

*Refuse temporary funding from the federal government that creates permanent spending in Florida

Question: How does this help Florida in times of crisis?

*Balance the budget – without gimmicks, one-time revenues, borrowed funds, temporary funds, or tax increases.

Questions: Is it good to throw out every possible avenue for balancing a budget except cutting services? Are Floridians better served by higher taxes and better services than by lower taxes and worse services?

*Aligning state employee pension contributions with other states could save almost $1.4 billion.

Questions: Are the pensions in other states adequate? Does lowering pensions help or hurt retirees and employees near retirement? Are there not other ways to generate revenue than cutting pensions?

*Paying competitive market-based salaries for corrections’ staff, utilizing inmate labor to grow prison food, and competitively bidding health care contracts, prisoner costs would be reduced by $1 billion.

Questions: Does this mean cutting corrections’ staff salaries? Does cutting salaries for corrections’ staff decrease the quality of the job they do? Does forcing inmates to do labor for no pay violate their Fourteenth Amendment rights?

*Imposing more stringent standards on non-compliance with work requirements and require drug screening for recipients, Florida could save $77 million.

Questions: Does kicking people off of welfare programs for technicalities benefit anyone? Are the alleged problems with welfare practical problems or merely philosophical problems? Should we be dealing with bigger issues instead, like ones that cost more than a tiny $77 million?

*Using common sense business solutions can reduce the cost of government through operational efficiency saving upwards of $500 million (Source: Florida Taxwatch). A 5% reduction in the state workforce will save almost $300 million.

Questions: How is “common sense” defined here and do non-conservatives agree that these solutions are common sense? Is Florida Taxwatch a valid source to be used in planning policy? Is arbitrarily firing 5% of state workers a benefit to anyone? Are the savings gained from firing 5% of the state workforce not offset by increasing costs for welfare, unemployment, crime, etc.?

*Reforming health care for Medicaid recipients (through a waiver), and state employees to consumer directed care will lower the cost of health care, increase choice of health plans, and save taxpayers’ $1.8 billion.

Questions: How would said waver and “consumer directed care” work. How is “consumer directed care” defined?

*Veto what the legislators call “turkeys”- costly and unnecessary pork barrel projects.

Question: Will Republican turkeys be vetoed at the same rate as Democratic ones?

*Make unemployment benefits more affordable

Question: Is this statement too vague to mean anything?

*Limit frivolous lawsuits by implementing tort reform

Questions: Is there any evidence that we have sufficient number of frivolous lawsuits to merit such a solution? Does Scott have any objective criteria for what makes a lawsuit frivolous or is it just a matter of defending business interests vs. consumer concerns? Is there any unbiased, nonpartisan, nonideological evidence to suggest that tort reform benefits anyone?

*Impose a regulatory freeze and implement a comprehensive review of existing and proposed regulations

Questions: Can we deal with real world problems if we have a regulatory freeze? Can we not review existing regulations without a freeze? Is there any evidence that regulations cause a particular problem?

*Review state development regulations and expedite permits for job-creating businesses, such as Enterprise Florida targeted industries

Question: Is there any evidence that permits for job-creating businesses have been slowed?

*Reform Pubic Service Commission (PSC) processes to allow reasonable energy production and expansion

Question: Does “energy production and expansion” mean anything other than expanded oil drilling in the Gulf?

*Lower workers’ compensation costs; a 35% reduction in workers’ compensation costs would save businesses approximately $2.46 billion

Questions: How does one lower workers’ compensation costs 35%? Is it possible to lower those costs by that much without denying rightful claims to workers?

*Bring our health insurance costs and mandates in line with the U.S. average

Question: Is the average anything other than an arbitrary goal?

*Address Florida’s relatively expensive electricity costs so businesses could save approximately $3.25 billion

Question: How does one address electricity costs?

*Local economic development offices are central to job creation and retention in our state. I will ensure these offices have the right resources and trained specialists so they can assist their local businesses obtain state and federal grants, and to comply with state and local regulatory processes in the least costly manner

Question: Is there any evidence that these offices don’t have the right resources and training?

*In Tallahassee, we will eliminate overlapping economic development agencies and have one group that will assist local economic development agencies and serve as our statewide recruitment agency. As governor, I will be the state’s chief economic development officer, working with existing as well as potential businesses every day to create jobs

Question: What overlapping agencies currently exist?

*Make economic development programs more flexible to allow our existing businesses to expand here in their own unique ways. I will invest in the state Innovation Fund that brought Scripps and Burnham research labs to Florida, developing high tech clusters with high-paying jobs

Questions: Would this additional flexibility in business expansion come at the cost of workers’ rights or environmental protection?

*Nurture new cutting-edge technology clusters – such as the biotechnology cluster in Orlando that, by conservative figures, creates over $7 in economic returns from every $1 invested – a 7:1 return on investment (ROI)

Question: How would Scott nurture these clusters?

*Invest in university research, laboratories, business incubators, and technology transfer

Question: How does one expand this type of investment while cutting the budget and revenue?

*Maximize the impact from university research on the economy by ensuring that each Florida university – and the research conducted by our universities – are connected to the state’s economic development process

Questions: How does one “make sure” this connection exists? Does such an assurance eliminate important but non-economically productive research?

*Leverage the research strengths of our state’s universities – such as recent investments made in medical colleges – to invest in new and emerging technologies that positively impact our economy

Question: What does “leverage” mean here?

*Florida has many unique clusters revolving around university specific research, such as the biotechnology cluster associated with the University of Florida. State economic development grants will always include partnerships with universities to develop research strengths into unique clusters

Question: Does this mean an increase in these type of grants or does it mean that other types of grants will be eliminated to increase these?

*Reduce the statewide property tax (RLE) by $1.4 billion (from 5.29 mills to 4.29 mills, a 19% reduction in RLE). Savings from other key components of my 7 step plan will be used to replace those funds so not $1 is shifted away from our schools.

Questions: Since previous property tax cuts had no real benefit for the Florida economy, how would further cuts change that? Since previous governors promised that property tax cuts could be made without cutting education and found that they couldn’t do it, how will Scott be able to do that with further cuts?

*Phase in another 1 mill reduction over the next 7 years

Question: How does any of this work, with even further reductions?

*Fully phasing out the business income tax over time will have a large positive benefit for Florida’s economy while having a minimal impact on state revenues

Question: How is it possible to make large cuts in taxes, including business taxes, without impacting state revenues?

*Total state tax revenues will benefit from the dynamic economic growth created from the corporate income tax phase-out

Question: What nonpartisan, nonideological evidence exists to show that tax cuts lead to enough growth increases to maintain or increase revenue in the long run?

*In total, my tax and budget reforms will create an additional 365,000 jobs.

Questions: How do tax cuts increase jobs? How do budget cuts increase jobs? What nonpartisan, nonideological evidence exists to support this concept?

Not surprisingly, I have a lot fewer questions about Alex Sink’s plan. I would like to see more detail in the plan though, as it’s long on description of the problems we face, the climate we live in and the principles Sink stands for, but it’s short on the details of how we achieve those principles. That’s to be expected from a candidate’s plan, though, so I’m not too skeptical of that aspect.

EXTRAS:

Source: Naked Politics

Action: Contact Rick Scott’s campaign and ask 1-2 of these questions. Please report back what they say. E-mail: info@rickscottforflorida.com. Phone: 954-915-3360.

Bill Keller, is now railing against the Islamic center planned for lower Manhattan. He says he’ll be holding Sunday services from a room at the Marriott across from Ground Zero every weekend until he can find a permanent spot for his “9/11 Christian Center.”

“The center is there to bring hope and to help people,” Keller, who lives in Florida, told the New York Daily News. “It’s not designed to be a place where we preach against Islam, although we will preach against Islam and Mormonism and any other false religion.”

Source: FLA Politics

Questions: Does anyone actually care what Keller thinks? Is anyone offended by a Christian Center near ground zero? Is anyone not offended by a “Christian” center that specifically advocates against other religions as inferior to Christianity?

Spin Alert: Did he seriously say in the same sentence that it isn’t a place designed to preach against Islam, but it is a place where they will preach against Islam?

*David Denslow, Economist, University of Florida
*Randall Holcombe, Economist, Florida State University
*Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch
*Nancy Stephens, president of the Florida Manufacturers Association
*Doug Martin, a director of the Florida chapter of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
*J. Robert McClure, president of the James Madison Institute

Not too bad, just from that glance. A little biased, though. Two theoretically neutral experts from public universities. Two obvious conservatives (TaxWatch and JMI), one I don’t know about, but would assume is conservative (Florida Manufacturers Association) and one obvious liberal (AFSCME).

Taking a closer look at the two “experts” though, skews it further to the right. Denslow endorses Sink’s plan, but not for any liberal reasons, and Denslow’s commentary includes phrases like: “Returning spending to the 2004 level should take account of population growth and inflation.” “Yes, we should reduce pension contributions to match other states.” “Here the big issue is not the governor but the vote on Hometown Democracy, which will be an economic and political disaster if it passes.” “Sure, workers’ comp reform and tort reform would be great.” There are some less conservative claims in this commentary, but these are pretty conservative claims here and all of them are, at a minimum, debatable for accuracy and logic. I’m not sure this expert is neutral, much less liberal.

Holcombe’s analysis includes less advocacy of particular positions he holds and asks a lot more pointed questions about both plans, but then he says he prefers Scott’s plan: “I might give a slight edge to Scott, but only because of his emphasis on cutting taxes and government spending, and regulatory reform.” Good analysis capped off by clear expression of conservative values as those that are the ones to pursue.

Calabro is as ideologically pure as always, as is McClure. Martin is as well, although less so than Calabro and McClure. Stephens, the lone woman included in the analysis, is much more neutral in her comments than anyone else in the survey.

So, in summation:

6 people cited
3 who are clearly conservative
1 who is clearly liberal
1 who appears neutral
1 who spouts conservative talking points, but endorses the Democratic plan

Extras:

Source: FLA Politics

Questions: Are voters and Sunshine State News readers best served by an unbalanced report like this? Are there no other left-wing groups in Florida that might have opinions on these economic plans? Are two economists a valid sampling of the relevant experts? Is it good to outweigh experts with biased political operatives in a valid news report?

Action: Comment on the article here. Contact reporter Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341 and POLITELY ask him to please include more balanced sources when reporting stories like this.

Update: Ward responded by saying he attempted to contact SEIU but got no response and that in the future he would contact FPC to get a progressive voice in stories like this. Definitely a step in the right direction, although he could probably find more knowledgeable people than me to contact about the story.

Talking about Charlie Crist:

Extras:

Source: Shark Tank

The poster child for failure might be John Corzine, the one-term Democratic governor of New Jersey. He says there is little similarity between the jobs.

He told Newsweek magazine politicians “don’t have the flexibility you imagined. There’s no exact translation.

“I don’t think candidates get the scale and scope of what governing is.” Corzine was considered one of Wall Street’s brightest financial wizards when he was CEO of Goldman, Sachs.

But after one term, he was drummed out of office by relatively unknown Chris Christie, a Republican who railed against taxes.

After his term as governor, Corzine no longer believes being a CEO prepares anyone for the day-to-day grind of governing.

“The idea that you’re accountable to a bottom line and to a payroll in managing a business — it gives voters the confidence that you have the right skills. But it’s 20,000 people versus 9 million.”

Extras:

Source: FLA Politics

Questions: Does a term as chief financial officer of the state of Florida improve one’s ability to run the state? Does it make a difference if you are a good CEO or a bad one? Does it make a difference if you are a CEO whose company engages in fraud?

Action: Volunteer for or contribute to Scott’s Democratic opponent, Alex Sink. Theoretically, you could also volunteer for or contribute to Michael Arth’s campaign, but Arth can’t win the general election, so it isn’t as strong an action for you to take.

Anyway, after his two full years as speaker, and even with a lapdog legislature and a Republican governor, Marco failed — big time. A mere 24 of “his” 100 ideas ever became law; another 10 were “partially enacted,” according to a rigorous analysis by The St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald (http://www.politifact.com/florida). Out of 32 ideas dealing with improving education — a critical area for reform in Florida — just four became law, four “kind of” did, six flat-out didn’t, and three were such broad goals that they “cannot be achieved in law.”

EXTRAS:

Source: FLA Politics

Questions: Did Rubio try to pursue the rest of his ‘ideas’? Did he ever intend to? Did he only put ideas in the book that conformed with the extreme conservative ideology he holds? Did he really listen to the people?

Actions: Volunteer for or support Rubio’s Democratic opponent, Kendrick Meek.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott could have to do some explaining about his past this fall, and not just what he knew about the Medicare and Medicaid fraud at his former company, Columbia/HCA.

See, he once wanted to privatize all of it: the government-funded health-care programs that pay for the check-ups, hospital stays and prescriptions for 45 million seniors and millions more poor people.

Before he was forced out in 1997 as CEO of the company amid the largest Medicare fraud investigation in U.S. history, Scott was a national player in the industry resistance to President Clinton‘s attempt to impose a national health care program. When Scott was still trying to expand his hospital chain, he told USA Today the state and federally run health insurance programs would be better off in the hands of profit-seeking companies. “Let us make a profit. So what?” he said in 1994.

He also had his eyes on Veterans Administration hospitals.

“If you look at how the government runs VA hospitals and Medicare and Medicaid, you can see that the whole system is inefficient,” Scott told theSouth Florida Business Journal the same year. “The things we are doing wrong in health care can be corrected if private business could run national health care administration.”

EXTRAS:

Source: Saintpetersblog

“We’ve got to get away from political correctness on the battlefield,” West said, placing the blame for these soldiers convictions not on their own actions or violations of the law, but on the canard of political correctness.

West is no stranger to scandal when it comes to the war in Iraq:

West is a decorated Iraq war veteran whose own U.S. Army career ended in controversy. As a battalion commander in 2003, Lt. Col. West supervised the interrogation of an Iraqi police officer suspected of having information about an assassination plot against West. West fired a pistol near the man’s head to get him to talk. After a military hearing, he was fined $5,000 and allowed to retire with a full pension.

“I know the method I used was not right, but I wanted to take care of my soldiers,” West said at the time.

The gist of this seems to be that he’ll do what he wants, whether he thinks it’s right or not.

EXTRAS:

Source: Post on Politics

Questions: Has West actually reviewed the transcripts of these convictions to see the evidence supports them? Does West think it’s okay to kill Iraqi citizens without any form of due process? If West is willing to do things that he knows aren’t right to “take care of his soldiers,” how does that thought process transfer to working in government? How does a possible “assassination plot against West” equate to some kind of danger for “his” soldiers?

Spin Alert: Suggesting that the military legal system isn’t serving the cause of justice but the right-wing boogeyman of “political correctness.”

Action: Volunteer or contribute to West’s opponent, Ron Klein.

Kendrick Meek’s statement.

CONTACT:

WILLIAM R. BARZEE, ATTORNEY AT LAW
305-443-3269

FORMER SUPPORTER AND DONOR FILES FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST DAVID RIVERA

I would like to inform you that I have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission regarding David Rivera’s apparent violations of federal election laws. As a former supporter and donor to David Rivera, I am saddened and surprised by what I see as a disregard for the rules and laws that govern our elections.

I have filed this complaint as a private citizen based upon a good faith belief that federal candidate David Rivera and the 527 Committee “Voters Response” have violated federal campaign finance laws in at least two ways. First, by coordinating with a 527 committee to attack candidate Joe Garcia and second, by avoiding campaign contribution limits by off-setting campaign expenses through the 527.

Sarah Bascom of Bascom Communications has been acting as spokesperson for the Rivera campaign. Rivera campaign finance reports however show no payment for her services. The 527 “Voters Response” on the other hand has been paid by Bascom Communications for its services. “Voters Response” is the 527 committee that has launched repeated unfair attacks against Joe Garcia.

Enough is enough.

527 committees were not created to launch attacks on behalf of a candidate’s campaign, nor were they created as a way to avoid campaign contribution limits.

I call on David Rivera to end the nasty political attacks and to stop abusing our campaign finance laws.

William R. Barzee

Republican Michael Bileca (www.bileca2010.com) won a seven-way Republican primary last Tuesday in House District 117 (open, Republican Julio Robaina).

In addition to being another wealthy self-funding Republican (he spent $145,000 of personal money in the primary) Bileca is a poster-boy for the Tea Party, the Christian Coalition and the farthest right of the right wing.

The Florida Tea Party Express ran twice weekly phone banks for Bileca during the primary and Bileca has all the traditional backing from the Christian Coalition, Catholic Conference and related hard-right allies. His questionnaire to the Catholic Conference says he supports mandatory ultrasounds in family planning cases and supports eliminating the Blane amendment which prohibits the state from funding religious groups.

In short, Bileca is as far out as far out gets:

“Michael Bileca is 100% pro-life and pro-family, he can be trusted to look out for the best interests of Florida families…” Anthony Verdugo, Founder and Executive Director of the Christian Family Coalition.

[from Tea Party Express local website] “Michael Bileca is a conservative Republican going for the open Florida State Representative seat in district 117. He decided to join the race last year after coming home from the 9/11 tea party rally in Washington. [Bileca] thinks like we do. He has been very helpful in getting us organized”

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/EventDetail/5783/Pizza%20Party%20Call%20Bank%20for%20Michael%20Bileca-for%20State%20Rep%20117

Bileca’s primary victory is especially troubling because the previous representative, Julio Robaina, was a real moderate – voting against SB6 (teacher tenure bill), opposed to offshore oil drilling and vouchers. The district leans Republican but is more in line with the moderate politics of Rep. Robaina or Alex Sink (49% in 2006) than Bileca.

Two important notes in making 2010 General Election planning decisions:

· The district is 58% Hispanic and Bileca is not. The lack of a Hispanic Republican in the General Election makes the race more competitive in November.

· The Democrat, Lisa Lesperance, is viable. She has raised more than $80,000 and had no Primary. In 2008, Lesperance ran for judge and won 48% of the vote in this district.

A victory by Lesperance in November would not only close the partisan gap in Tallahassee, it would stop a legitimate 9/12, Tea Party, Christian Coalition candidate from “picking up” a seat represented by a moderate.

(CBS) They are safety engineers at nuclear power plants and biological weapons experts. They work at NATO headquarters, at the Pentagon and at nearly every other federal agency. And, as CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, they’re employees with degrees from phony schools.

“These degrees aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on,” says one insider, who asked CBS News to protect his identity.

The man worked at a so-called diploma mill where students pay a lot of money to get a degree online or through the mail for little or no work.

He says he’s not surprised to know that there are people working at almost every level of government who have degrees from these types of operations.

Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Abell has a master’s from Columbus University, a diploma mill Louisiana shut down. Deputy Assistant Secretary Patricia Walker lists among her degrees, a bachelor’s from Pacific Western, a diploma mill banned in Oregon and under investigation in Hawaii.

CBS News requested interviews with both officials. The Pentagon turned us down, saying, “We don’t consider it an issue.”

But using such a degree is a crime in some states. Alan Contreras cracks down on diploma mills for Oregon, a state that’s taken the lead on this issue.

“You don’t want somebody with a fake degree working in Homeland Security,” says Contreras. “You don’t want somebody with a fake degree teaching your children or designing your bridges.”

But we found employees with diploma mill degrees at the new Transportation Security Administration, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Departments of Treasury and Education, where Rene Drouin sits on an advisory committee. He has degrees from two diploma mills including Kensington University.

Kensington was forced out of business by officials in California and Hawaii. Another Kensington alum, Florida State Rep. Jennifer Carroll, just stepped down from the National Commission on Presidential Scholars.

Both Carroll and Drouin say they worked hard and thought their degrees were legitimate.

“The students are being sold a bill of goods that really don’t help them at all,” the insider says. “There are slick people out there, and it’s happening every day, every minute probably somewhere in America.”

And taxpayers have paid for bogus degrees some workers used for hiring, promotions and raises.

Best National Blog
The Reid Report

Best State Blog
FLA Politics

Best Local Blogs
Saint Petersblog

Best Media Blog
Politifact Florida

Best Professional Blog
Doug Tudor

Best Party Website
Democratic Veterans Caucus

Best Candidate Website
Alan Grayson

Best Local Party Site
Pinellas County

Best Interest Group Website
Hands Across the Sand

Best Writer
Dan Tilson

Netroots Candidate of the Year
Alan Grayson

Netroots Activist of the Year
Mark Ferrulo

Netroots Organization of the Year
Progressive Push

Best New Blogger
Dan Tilson

Best Online Campaign
Spill Baby Spill

Best Use of Twitter
Peter Schorsch

Best Overall Use of Social Media
Peter Schorsch

Best Post
Daniel Tilson, Florida Progressive Coalition, “Florida Republican
Party Rots From Top Down”

Best Ongoing Series
Peter Schorsch, Saint Petersblog 2.0, “Crist vs. Meek vs. Rubio,”

Best Online Radio Show
Alison Berke Morano and Susan Smith, No Days Off

FPC’s Progressive Hall of Fame
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Bob Graham
Mark Ferrulo
Steve Schale
Ray Seaman

FPC Progressive Courage Awards
Vicky Impoco

All winners will be announced at the FDP’s Jefferson Jackson Weekend at the Netroots Event.

Here are the runoff contests:

1. Best New Blogger (Last year: Vicki Impoco): This one should go to the best blogger who has been blogging about Florida politics for no more than a year and a half.

Daniel Tilson, Examiner.com, http://www.examiner.com/x-9540-Boca-Raton-Liberal-Examiner

Steve Schale, http://www.stevenschale.com/

Fernando Rendon, Opinion Matters, http://opinionmatters.flatoday.net/

2. Best Use of Twitter (Last year: Kendrick Meek): Any Floridian who uses Twitter and whose posts incorporate the following qualities: good use of the language, original reporting, a good sense of humor, creativity, a strong personal touch and an effect on the real world because of their writing.

Peter Schorsch, http://twitter.com/SaintPetersblog

Dan Gelber, http://twitter.com/DanGelber

Progess Florida, http://twitter.com/ProgressFlorida

3. Best Overall Use of Social Media (Last year: Kendrick Meek): The best use of the various social media sites (Twitter, Facebook and other similar sites) in accomplishing political goals.

Progress Florida, http://progressflorida.org/

Peter Schorsch, http://saintpetersblog.com

Organizing for America Florida, http://www.Florida.BarackObama.com

4. Best Ongoing Series (Last year: Susan Smith vs. Ray Sansom, Florida Progressive Coalition): The best regular feature that incorporates at least five posts since last year’s awards.

Peter Schorsch, Saint Petersblog 2.0, “Crist vs. Meek vs. Rubio,” http://saintpetersblog.com

Jon Bleyer, Progress Florida, “Best Of The Blogs,” http://progressflorida.org/page/community/blog/jonbleyer