Posted on 10/01/2005 6:32:54 AM PDT by topher
The only issue that David Gibbs can ever remember Jesse Jackson and Rush Limbaugh agreeing on was the fact that Terri Schiavo should remain alive.
...
Gibbs called removing Schiavo's feeding tube "barbaric and uncivilized." Florida law does not allow the starvation of animals and the constitution does not allow the starvation of convicted murderers, he said.
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Felos said faith-based organizations, religious leaders, priests and rabbis distorted the facts in the Schiavo case.
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(Excerpt) Read more at palmbeachdailynews.com ...
That this could be used as a basis is more scary than people not close to such situations could realize.
We heard the same thing about our own son in the first few months with the solemn judgement he could not possibly live more than six months. Two decades later, doctors were saying the same thing. So much for that kind of medical advice...
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Also don't forget that the Florida Supreme Court gave money to the ACLU!!!
http://www.reclaimamerica.org/Pages/News/newspage.asp?story=2792
The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ has uncovered documents revealing that the Florida Supreme Court is responsible for helping to fund the ACLU of Florida — using interest from legal trust funds generated by unsuspecting home buyers, heirs, and legal awards and settlements. Between 1990 and 1997, the Florida Bar Foundation (FBF), a creation of the Florida Supreme Court, provided more than $600,000 to help pay the salary of the ACLU of Florida’s legal director.
Incredibly, the Florida Supreme Court approved these appropriations, despite the fact that the Court often issues rulings in cases argued by the ACLU’s legal director. One would assume that such funding would create a conflict of interest — but not in the eyes of the Court. In a letter faxed to the Center, the FBF admitted that every instance in which it offered funding to the ACLU of Florida, it was “specifically approved from time to time by the Supreme Court of Florida.”
(excerpt)
It's amazing what doctors like Egner, who try to save people, rather than kill them, can accomplish. Don't look to the pro-euthanasia crowd for advances in medicine.
You are so right and a good point about where the advances in medicine come from and where they do not, syriacus.
The article was a great read - encouraging. Thanks.
The ACLU and the GOP are pals in Florida; the highers ups in the party, not the GOP's disillusioned base.
DIRTY LAUNDRY RE: CHARLIE CRIST & EVERETT RICE
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End-of-life decisions should be personal
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"That this could be used as a basis is more scary than people not close to such situations could realize.
We heard the same thing about our own son in the first few months with the solemn judgement he could not possibly live more than six months. Two decades later, doctors were saying the same thing. So much for that kind of medical advice..."
Doctors are so often wrong, and we can't kill people because some judge or doctor decides their quality of life is too poor to live. But, of course, most of us here know that. Wish we could convince more people in the rest of the country.
The bodies of 45 people were removed from the hospital. Of those, 11 people had been in the hospital morgue before the storm, and 34 people - most of them weak patients in a long-term care center within the hospital - died after Katrina blew through.
Investigation into 'mercy killings' ordered
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Staff at New Orleans hospital debated euthanizing patients
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A doctor who was on duty at a New Orleans hospital during the throes of Hurricane Katrina suspects euthanasia might be behind the abnormally high number of patient deaths that took place there.
Euthanasia in Katrina aftermath?
This comes from the Christian Post.
Peter Singer thinks euthanasia is going in the right direction.
Singer is also confident that the acceptance of euthanasia in Europe--including the euthanasia of newborns, young children, and the elderly--will lead to a growing acceptance in the United States. "As we approach 2040, the Netherlands and Belgium will have had decades of experience with legalized euthanasia, and other jurisdictions will also have permitted either voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide for varying lengths of time."
Singer and his cronies think the Terri event could be a stepping stone to acceptance. (If only we extremist believers in life would just forget about it..)
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BREAKING NEWS FROM FLORIDA: Senator Jim King, Dennis Jones, Mike Bennett and Rep. Frank Farkas went on a junket involving a racetrack and the Fla GOP is demanding that they return their ILLEGAL FUNDS. This may be something that Randall Terry can use against Jim King in their race next year.
Oddly, the Tampa Tribune does not have this on line yet. Maybe the Tallahassee Democrat does.
Frank Farkas was a Terri supporter but now he's gone over to the choice side and then he gets caught in a Fla scandal. Farkas should have known not to play with King, Jones and Bennett.
lying is a pathological condition.
The doctor from New Orleans is Dr. (Bryant?) King. CNN has run the same news story two nights in a row. Bryant King and a nurse are whistleblowers. Louisiana's Atty General (the opposite of a Crist) is investigating.
Where did you find this? I googled but no luck.
It was a long article so I can't type it but if I have time later today, I'll scan it and put it here giving attribution.
Jim King racetrack google: http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/20/State/Racetrack__gambling_m.shtml
Miami Herald Jim King racetrack: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12897195.htm
The Miami Herald always prints negative GOP material and their article is up to date.
Posted on Fri, Oct. 14, 2005
HERALD WATCHDOG | REPUBLICAN PARTY
State GOP to repay racetrack for travel
The state Republican Party said it will reimburse the owner of Gulfstream Park nearly $50,000 that the company paid to fly four lawmakers to Toronto.
BY GARY FINEOUT
The Republican Party of Florida did a turnabout Thursday and said the party will fork over nearly $50,000 to the owner of Gulfstream Park to reimburse the company for money it spent to fly four powerful state lawmakers to Toronto this summer.
The four legislators spent two days in July in Canada, including eating at a restaurant that overlooks Niagara Falls, before they were flown back to Florida on a private jet paid for by Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns the Broward County racetrack and others around the country.
The legislators said the trip was organized as part of an effort to raise money for the state GOP, and Magna reported an in-kind donation to the party for the amount of the expenses. But state Senate President Tom Lee said no one in the party ever authorized the visit, and on Thursday, a party spokeswoman said that the Republican Party should not have reported the trip as a donation from Magna to the party.
OVERSEE PARIMUTUELS
The Republican Party plans to write a check for $48,180 to Magna to cover the cost of the private plane, lodging and meals that went to state Sens. Jim King, Michael Bennett and Dennis Jones and state Rep. Frank Farkas. While none of the legislators are from South Florida, both Jones, a St. Petersburg Republican, and King, a Jacksonville Republican, sit on the committee that regulates parimutuel gambling in the state.
''It's unfortunate these members put the party in this situation,'' said state GOP spokeswoman Camille Anderson.
But even if the party picks up the cost of the trip, the four legislators may still be open to ethics charges that they accepted illegal gifts, because the party did not arrange the trip or select the lawmakers who went.
King continued to defend the trip on Thursday, saying he viewed it as an effort to try to woo a major company to Florida, since a company related to Magna Entertainment is a $20 billion conglomerate that manufactures auto parts and assembles cars.
''We came back thinking it was a worthwhile trip,'' King said. ``I am sorry there was any supposed taint the party felt they had. I applaud their actions, because by doing so they have validated it.''
But while the decision to reimburse Magna may end the party's involvement in the trip, Lee said Thursday that he will ask the Senate's top lawyer to investigate the ''circumstances and facts of the trip,'' including how it was organized and who paid for it. Lee, a Brandon Republican, said he would rather have the Senate conduct its own investigation instead of waiting for someone to file an ethics complaint to trigger an inquiry.
''I have no reason to believe that laws have been broken,'' Lee said. ``We're doing this because we don't think it's appropriate for a presiding officer to wait for some external action to happen when we know there are clouds hanging over the Senate. . . . The best thing we can do is be proactive.''
SENATE PRECEDENT
Lee's call for an internal investigation is the same action he took in the spring after The Herald reported that state Sen. Mandy Dawson, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, had solicited money from lobbyists to pay for her January trip to South Africa. That inquiry concluded that Dawson violated state ethics laws. The senator was publicly reprimanded by the Senate and removed from the chamber's Ethics and Elections Committee.
King said he welcomed the inquiry.
''There is absolutely nothing we did wrong,'' said King, who has been a fixture in the Florida Legislature since 1986. ``There's no rule or law we broke. I've been raising money for the party for two decades. We went for a purpose. We were invited by the company to come to talk about their increased involvement in the Republican Party of Florida and to also look at their short-term and long-term prospects for Florida.''
King said that the Toronto trip netted a $10,000 contribution and a pledge of $50,000.
But it turns out the check that legislators collected was not from Magna Entertainment, but from Gulfstream. It wasn't deposited until this week because it had not been given to party officials until now, even though it was written on July 7.
TURNED IN REPORT
The payment for the lawmakers' trip came to light this week when the state Republican Party turned in its quarterly contribution reports. The report showed an ''in-kind'' donation of $48,180 from Magna, which owns 12 racetracks around the country, including Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach and Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness race. In-kind contributions are donations of goods and services rather than cash or checks and can include travel, food, polling, phone banks and other services useful to party operations.
There is nothing illegal or improper about such large contributions, as long as they are controlled by the party. But they cannot be made to individual legislators: State law prohibits giving lawmakers gifts valued at more than $100.
FV SAYS: Senator Jim King is destroying Florida's Republican Party. He's up for re-election next year. He's a real sleazy character. Fla AG Crist won't investigate this nor will the Florida Elections Commission or the Legislative Ethics body.
$48,000 trip? GOP picks up tab
The party wants to avoid an ethics problem for four lawmakers. Senate President Tom Lee promises an inquiry.
By STEVE BOUSQUET and LUCY MORGAN, Times Staff Writers
Published October 14, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - The Republican Party of Florida will pay a gambling company $48,000 in hopes of sparing four lawmakers a possible ethics problem after they took a two-day trip to Toronto at the company's expense.
The GOP said it will pay $48,000 to Magna Entertainment Corp., which chartered a jet from St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport on July 12 and whisked the four lawmakers to its company headquarters in Canada. Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, who urged the party to act, promised an inquiry by Senate lawyers.
Two Pinellas lawmakers were on the trip: Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Rep. Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg. Both run key committees regulating Florida parimutuels. Others included Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton, and lobbyists Marc Dunbar of Magna and John Culbreath of Magna's Gulfstream Park.
Magna is eager to install slot machines at Gulfstream, its thoroughbred track in Broward County. Voters approved the slots in a referendum in March, but lawmakers have not passed legislation to get the slots operating.
Magna wants to expand to night hours at Gulfstream and is interested in adding to its operations in horse-friendly Ocala.
The trip appeared on recently released campaign finance reports of the Republican Party of Florida, which listed the $48,000 as an "in-kind" contribution from Magna. In-kind donations typically refer to goods and services, such as food and travel for campaign events.
Listing the trip as an in-kind donation made it appear the party had arranged the trip, when it had not.
Lawmakers couldn't directly accept the trip because of a state law that limits gifts from lobbyists and their clients to $100.
"This should not have been reported as an in-kind contribution. The party will pay for the costs incurred," said Camille Anderson, a party spokeswoman. "It's unfortunate these members put the party in this situation."
It is not clear who decided to list the expense of the trip as if it had been part of an official party event, but amid strong criticism from Lee, the Republican Party agreed to pay Magna.
By paying Magna, the GOP puts itself in the awkward position of sending money to a gambling conglomerate at a time when key party leaders are supporting repeal of a constitutional amendment that legalized slot machines in Broward County.
The party's unusual payment might save the four lawmakers from an ethical embarrassment, but their problems are only beginning.
Lee said he would direct Senate lawyers to launch a "thorough inquiry" of how the trip came about.
"Is there any more evidence to support the need for reforming Florida's ethics laws than these kinds of situations?" Lee asked.
Lee said he found out about the trip Tuesday. He said he learned of an Aug. 11 letter from Dunbar, the Magna lobbyist who went on the trip, to state GOP chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan that itemized Magna's costs.
The trip was first disclosed in Wednesday's edition of the Miami Herald.
Magna spent $40,812 on travel, $4,153 on catering and $3,216 on lodging and entertainment, Dunbar's letter said.
"We are pleased to assist you in what we hope was a successful event raising money for the Republican Party of Florida and the Republican Senate Caucus," Dunbar wrote.
But Jones and Farkas said no fundraising occurred, and King said no fundraising was authorized. The group returned with a $10,000 donation to the party, King said, and a promise of $50,000 more.
"I looked at it as a trip worth taking and came back feeling we had accomplished something," King said.
During a frantic round of phone calls Thursday, Lee said, even Gov. Jeb Bush "became engaged" in the controversy.
Bush's office did not return calls seeking comment.
"I felt like I needed to have some dialogue with Carole Jean and the governor," Lee said. "There are going to be a lot of questions that have to be answered."
Jones, who chairs the Senate Regulated Industries Committee that directly regulates gambling interests, said he had a longstanding invitation to tour Magna's operations from company official Jim McAlpine.
Jones labeled the trip as a "show and tell" and said he came away impressed by Magna's commitment to expanding in Florida.
"They put their money where their mouth is. They create good jobs that pay well. They are a world-class operation," Jones said.
Farkas said he did not know the trip had not been arranged by the party.
"Shame on me, I guess, for not looking at it a little closer," Farkas said.
No fundraising took place, he said, and the trip was focused on Magna's operations, including its plants that make cars and car parts.
The trip was hardly a junket, King said. The group that toured Magna's plants saw models of its Florida expansion plans and dined at a race track with a casino, "but never gambled a dime."
King said Jones got the invitation from Magna and asked the others to go. Farkas said Jones invited him, "and I didn't ask any more questions after that."
Although it is illegal for legislators to take gifts worth more than $100 from lobbying entities, the Commission on Ethics has said lobbyists can make larger donations to political parties that benefit lawmakers, as long as the lobbyist does not "earmark" which legislators receive gifts.
It has become routine for lobbyists' clients to pay for outings at Disney World or trips to pro sporting events by coordinating them through the parties.
Lee's decision to investigate the trip puts the Republican Senate leader in the rare position of investigating members of his own party heading into an election year.
King said he told Lee he "would welcome that. We didn't do anything I haven't done in the past to raise money for the party."
King, who was Senate president before Lee, faces a re-election challenge from antiabortion activist Randall Terry, and Farkas is running for a Senate seat that straddles Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
He is in a hotly contested primary with Rep. Kim Berfield, R-Clearwater.
One option the legislators had was to pay their own way. The four Republicans who traveled to Canada at Magna's expense are among the wealthiest members of the Legislature.
According to financial disclosure statements filed in July, Bennett is worth $12-million, King $6-million, Farkas $3.6-million and Jones $3-million.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/14/State/48_000_trip_GOP_picks.shtml
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