Free Republic

The woman who told President Barack Obama that she was "exhausted" from defending him and his economic policies and waiting for the change she expected after voting for him has another reason to be put out: She's lost her job. Velma Hart, the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a veteran services organization based in Maryland, said Monday in an interview with CNBC that she was laid off as part of the nonprofit's effort to cut expenses. "I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic," said Hart, who lives in Upper Marlboro, Md. "And assume that somehow things...

TALLAHASSEE -- The voice of the Florida Senate is gone. Sen. Jim King, the longtime Republican legislator whose legacy was giving Floridians the right to refuse life-prolonging medical care, passed away Sunday. His death came less than three months after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the same disease that took his father. He was 69.

Jim King, long-time Florida Republican legislator known for one-liners and being passionate about healthcare issues, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 69.

Former Florida Senate President Jim King, who sometimes fought Gov. Jeb Bush and his own Republican Party over the Terri Schiavo right-to-die battle in 2005, died Sunday after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, a family spokeswoman said. He was 69

More than a month before the start of the Florida primary, one race to watch is the battle for the Republican nomination for Jacksonville's Senate seat. The latest skirmish has candidate Randall Terry accusing incumbent Jim King of having the backing of a bikini bar. Terry, 46, who has lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for three years, will run against King in the heavily Republican district that stretches from Duval County to northern Volusia County. In a move Terry called disappointing and sad, Gov. Jeb Bush publicly announced Wednesday that he is endorsing King. King has served in the Legislature...

What made you want to step out in favor of Sen. King? You do this very rarely. "I've done a few but it's not the norm, I guess that's probably right. ... Tom Lee and Jim King this year did significant work in building and passing an aggressive agenda, and I'm a grateful governor. I believe when people work hard to create a shared agenda and then work hard to pass it, it's appropriate to show your appreciation." Does this represent a distancing from a conservative segment of voters? "There is no distancing from my perspective. People know where I...

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...

TALLAHASSEE - It was billed as the 11th annual tribute dinner to state Sen. Jim King, the Jacksonville Republican and veteran legislator who is former president of the Senate. The event, held last week at the Four Seasons luxury hotel in Dallas, attracted nearly a dozen lawmakers, including three state senators who will be responsible for helping craft legislation that regulates the use of slot machines at three Broward County racetracks and a jai-alai fronton. And who picked up the tab for the dinner? A cadre of Tallahassee lobbyists, many of whom represent the same tracks and other gambling interests...

FSU to fight ban on Indian mascot The NCAA took action against the use of American Indian mascots and nicknames by college sports teams, and Florida State's Seminoles were incensed by the new rules that could affect FSU's teams and traditions. BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN Is Florida State University's nickname -- the Seminoles -- a tribute to the Indian tribe's indomitable spirit or an offensive racial stereotype? Depends on whom you ask. The NCAA on Friday banned the use of American Indian mascots and nicknames by 18 college sports teams -- including the FSU Seminoles -- during postseason tournaments beginning Feb....

The First Coast's 2006 state Senate primary between Jim King and Randall Terry is 15 months away, but fast becoming a bellwether race. At the very least, there is increasing national interest in how such a conservative core of the state defines conservatism, how powerful the religious side of the party continues to be and how big of a tent has been built by the GOP. Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman is among the national figures diving into the debate. "This is precisely the type of race I'm interested in, because it's a...

Terry, a nationally known abortion opponent and spokesman for Terri Schiavo's parents this year, is scheduled to announce today he will run to unseat King next year. He had previously announced he was considering a run. Terry says the district has no room for moderation and that he can better represent Republican principles. "I want a smaller government, lower taxes and more respect of life and marriage," he said Tuesday. King helped lead a group of nine Republican senators who blocked a bill aimed at saving Schiavo, sealing the brain-damaged woman's fate. She died March 31, and autopsy results released...

Somebody has to make sure the name of Jim King goes down in infamy. I nominate Hugh Hewitt for that important task. King is the lard-assed "Republican" Florida state senator who was the ringleader of the group of GOP state senators who voted "No" on the save-Terri bill the other day.Not only did he vote no, he told a reporter that, in essence, Terri is better off dead. "I think Terri is better off in heaven than in that bed," King said, in the article reproduced below. "It's going to be the will of God." AN OPEN LETTER TO HUGH...

You won't be surprised at some of the "regulars" who voted against Sen. Webster's bill to save Terri Schiavo, like Jim King, Dennis Jones, Nancy Argenziano. However, some of the others were a bit surprising. This is what happens when Dems change parties and run as Republicans. Thank God for term limits, so that we can finally start filling these RINO seats with some conservatives. There was was Dem crossover, Sen. Al Lawson from Tallahassee. Yeas - 16 (to save Terri) Tom Lee Jeff Atwater Carey Baker Lee Constantine Victor Crist Alex Diaz de la Portilla Mike Fasano Rudy Garcia...

“As far as we’re concerned, we don’t want anything to change the existing law,” said Sen. Jim King.We need to Freep Sen. King. He is the senator for district 8, which consists of parts of Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. Here is how to contact him: Capitol Office: (850) 487-5030 (Fax:(850) 487-5368) District Office:(904) 727-3600 (Fax:Fax (904) 727-3603) Districtwide: 1-888-861-9761 Also, we should call his businesses, and let them know: Owner, Personnel Recruiting, Temporary Help, Employee Leasing, Consulting and Testing Firms (King Temporary Staffing Inc., Southeastern Resources Inc., King Leasing Corporation, The Jim King Companies) Can any...

GAINESVILLE Florida's Board of Governors voted 10-3 today to reject a proposed chiropractic school at Florida State University that was sought by powerful lawmakers, but vehemently opposed by some FSU medical faculty. The board did not agree there was a need to create the nation's first chiropractic school at a public university, especially when state funding is so scarce and it could damage the school's reputation. The project has been embroiled in controversy since last year when state lawmakers put $9 million in the state budget for a school. Instead it was a pet project for then Senate President Jim...

Faculty members say they are afraid to question the chiropractic school because they fear retribution from either top administrators or the powerful state lawmakers who support it. The atmosphere is grim, said Marc Freeman, a distinguished research professor in the biology department. "We feel as if something is being shoved down our throats that we don't want." The growing frustration comes just weeks before votes by FSU's board of trustees and the Florida Board of Governors that could decide the school's fate. If the school dies, professors should think about the consequences, state Sen. Jim King, an FSU graduate who...

When it comes to keen political instincts, Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd makes Mel Brooks' dithering Gov. LePetomaine in ``Blazing Saddles'' look like a founding father. As brilliant strategic maneuvers go, Byrd has pulled off the Tallahassee equivalent of Howard Dean deciding to turn into Carrot Top on the night of the Iowa caucuses. During an interview last week with the quill pens of the editorial board here at the Ministry of Truth, Byrd somehow concluded it would be a good idea to treat fellow House Republicans as so many lawn jockeys - on the eve of the legislative session,...

TAMPA, Fla. -- "Terri's Law" was actually an appropriate label for the measure passed by the Florida Legislature last fall to save the life of brain-damaged woman Terri Schiavo. Lawmakers in special session crafted the bill so narrowly as to apply only to Schiavo's unique situation. At the urging of her parents, they gave Gov. Jeb Bush authority to order a feeding tube reinserted into her stomach, six days after her husband had it removed with court permission. The unprecedented government intervention into a right-to-die case attracted national attention, aroused strong emotions on both sides and brought to the forefront...

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/040116a.asp FL Senator Johnny Byrd calls up President of the Senate Jim King: "Jim, we need to save Terri Schiavo's life." President of the FL Senate Jim King: "No, I wrote this legislation several years ago, and I want her to die." On November 21, 2003, Senator Stephen Wise sponsored Senate Bill 692. This bill is being titled the "Starvation & Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities Prevention Act" and it "declares that an incompetent person is presumed to have directed health care providers to provide necessary nutrition & hydration to sustain life". On December 3, 2003, Senate President Jim King...

Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A Florida state legislator has proposed a bill that would make it more difficult to remove the feeding tubes from incapacitated patients that do not leave advance directives asking that they receive lifesaving medical treatment. Sen. Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) has proposed Senate Bill 692 which allows food and fluids to be given to those who can't speak for themselves, such as Terri Schiavo. It requires courts to presume that incapacitated patients would not want to be denied lifesaving medical care even though they had not stated their treatment preference in advance. Pro-life advocates who are monitoring...