Today marks the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. We can remember the toppling of the statue of Sadam Hussein, and the children chasing along hitting it with their shoes as a sign of disrespect. Then came five years of fighting against insurgents. Where are we now?
General David Petreaus testified on Capitol Hill yesterday, and as usual, instead of listening to what he had to say, the politicians of both parties used his appearance to make political points. Protesters tried to disrupt the proceedings. Click “Read More” to see the video. Continued
Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke in Jacksonville today. He had fond memories of the city, as well as the City of Orange Park where his family lived during his captivity in Vietnam. McCain spoke at what is now Cecil Commerce Center, but during his time here, was the Navy base Cecil Field.
McCain described war as “wretched beyond all description” and spoke of the valor of the men and women who fight it. He spoke about the future of the United States and the military.
TALLAHASSEE — While state officials are working to cut over $2 billion from the upcoming 2009 budget – including via cuts in state education spending – a Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance and Accountability report released today finds that there are tremendous cost-savings opportunities from within the state education system through the elimination of duplication, unnecessary bureaucracy, and excessive spending on non-instructional services and activities, among other
recommendations.
“Every dollar we can redirect into the classroom can actually increase student performance,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of the non-profit, non-partisan research institute and government watchdog. “We must free ourselves and our children from excessive bureaucracy that gets in the way of classroom instruction,” Calabro added. “The ideas detailed in this report will actually help the state provide better education to our children at less cost to the taxpayers of Florida. That’s smart business and smart policy.” Continued
A website created by the Florida Department of Transportation gives you traffic information for I-95 fromt he Georgia line south through Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Palm Coast to Flagler Beach. The site tells of construction projects and travel alerts throughout the area. It also allows you to look at key areas through traffics cameras.
Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) announced a presidential campaign swing through parts of the country where he grew up - including Jacksonville. He calls it his “Service to America Tour,” and he will visit Mississippi today, and Virginia, Maryland, and Arizona, as well as Florida, this week.
The Jacksonville rally will be held on Thursday, April 3, at 8:45 in the morning. It will be at the Cecil Commerce Center, a former Navy base, FCCJ Aviation Center of Excellence, Aviation Hanger 14, 13510 Aerospace Way.
McCain is a former Naval aviator who was stationed for a time in Jacksonville. Here’s what the campaign says about the tour:
… John McCain will embark on a “Service to America” tour where he will introduce himself to the nation through a series of speeches and visits that trace the life of a man indebted to his nation, humbled by the opportunity to serve his country, honored by his family’s love and deeply moved by his fellow Americans’ courage and sacrifice. The tour will highlight the events and figures that shaped his views of right and wrong, forgiveness and grace and the tradition of service and sacrifice ingrained in him from generations of McCains. This “Service to America” tour will fundamentally be about the future of America and the change John McCain will bring as president, informed by the values that have guided his life.
School bus drivers employed by First Student rallied yesterday saying they want to be represented by the Teamsters. Here’s their statement:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — First Student school bus drivers joined with area Teamsters today to rally outside of Jacksonville’s largest bus yard to demand fair wages, improved benefits, safe conditions for themselves and the children they transport, and respect on the job. Continued
Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fl) spoke before the state legislature today and presented his ideas for election reform. Here’s the text of his released statement:
This morning in Tallahassee, I spoke before our state Senate on a subject that has become all too familiar to Florida—the right to vote and to have that vote count as intended.
I commended the Florida Senate and Governor Crist for banning touch-screen voting machines; last fall, I filed legislation in the U.S. Senate requiring that no vote for federal office be cast on a touch-screen voting machine starting in 2012. I also proposed a system of six rotating primaries from March to June in each presidential election year.
But these actions are just a beginning.
When I return to Washington, I will propose a legislative package that calls for early voting in every state, allows every qualified voter in every state the option of casting an absentee ballot, gives grants to states that develop pilot projects for mail-in balloting and secure Internet voting, and eliminates machines that don’t produce a voting paper trail.
And, I will propose that we amend the U.S. Constitution to abolish the Electoral College, giving citizens direct election of their president by popular vote.
Let’s not forget: it was more than 230 years ago that our Founding Fathers declared that all men are created equal. But the country still had to wait 94 years beforeformer slaves were given the vote. And it took another 50 years before women in America were allowed to vote.
This country cannot wait that long to fix the flaws we still see in our election system. The blessings of liberty cannot wait. The time for reform is now.
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