Religious Bigotry - Favoritism of Christian Dogma
It just doesn't 'register' in the cognition of these people that freedom is for all, not just Evangelical Christians of the Religious Right, especially, when their thick headed leader is stilling looking for a crack at the Presidency and wants to shore up his base.
Did his daughter ever come out of rehab better than she went in?
Senate moves to end separation of church and state
by Dara Kam | April 13th, 2010The separation of church and state has been in Florida’s constitution for more than a century.
But that might this fall under a proposal approved by a Senate committee this morning that could go before voters on the November ballot.
The “Religious Freedom” amendment would delete the 125-year-old provision in the constitution prohibiting state money from being spent directly or indirectly to aid any church, sect or religious denomination. And it would open the door to former Gov. Jeb Bush’s school voucher program allowing public school students to use state money to pay for religious school tuition that the Florida Supreme Court struck down.
Also known as the “Blaine Amendment,” the separation of church and state restriction was an anti-Catholic, anti-immigration measure aimed at keeping Catholics from obtaining government funding for their schools.
The proposal not only strikes the Blaine amendment from the constitution, it adds a single sentence that could radically change public education funding in Florida: “An individual may not be barred from participating in any public program because that individual has freely chosen to use his or her program benefits at a religious provider.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure (SJR 2550) along partisan lines this morning, with Democrats objecting....
House and Senate committees Tuesday approved identical versions of the proposed state constitutional amendment (HJR 1399, SJR 2550) on straight party-line votes - Republicans in favor and Democrats against. One more committee hearing is set in each chamber before floor votes can be taken.
The proposal would repeal a ban on taxpayer financial aid to churches, sects and other religious institutions similar to provisions in most state constitutions across the nation.
It would go a step farther, though, by adding a new provision prohibiting any other kind of ban on individuals, organizations or other entities "participating in any public program because of religion."
Supporters include former Gov. Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, the Florida Catholic Conference and Florida Chamber of Commerce. They argue it would strike a blow for "Religious Freedom," the title of the proposed amendment....
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/13/1576771/voucher-amendment-revived-in-fla.html
Voucher amendment revived in Fla. Legislature
By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
Posted on Tuesday, 04.13.10
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A constitutional proposal designed to protect religious school vouchers and other state-funded faith-based programs from legal attack is being revived by the Florida Legislature two years after the state Supreme Court took a similar measure off the ballot.House and Senate committees Tuesday approved identical versions of the proposed state constitutional amendment (HJR 1399, SJR 2550) on straight party-line votes - Republicans in favor and Democrats against. One more committee hearing is set in each chamber before floor votes can be taken.
The proposal would repeal a ban on taxpayer financial aid to churches, sects and other religious institutions similar to provisions in most state constitutions across the nation.
It would go a step farther, though, by adding a new provision prohibiting any other kind of ban on individuals, organizations or other entities "participating in any public program because of religion."
Supporters include former Gov. Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, the Florida Catholic Conference and Florida Chamber of Commerce. They argue it would strike a blow for "Religious Freedom," the title of the proposed amendment....
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/13/1576771/voucher-amendment-revived-in-fla.html
Crist: Thrasher hearing things on tenure bill
Sen. John Thrasher, sponsor of the so-called teacher-tenure bill, was clear last week about where Gov. Charlie Crist stood on SB6: “He told me he’s going to sign it. I take him at his word.”
There’s one thing odd about Thrasher’s statement: Crist seldom says anything so clearly. One notable exception was this morning, when we asked if Crist promised Thrasher he’d sign the bill.
“No,” Crist said.
Q: Thrasher said you promised him.
Crist: “I just said no.”
Q: Is Thrasher lying?
Crist: “I said no. Sometimes people hear what they want to hear.”
UPDATE: "I have no response," Thrasher said when asked to respond to Crist's comments. "He said he liked the bill and he couldn't wait to get it."
-- Marc Caputo, Steve Bousquet
Crist also said this morning that he got a voicemail from former Gov. Jeb Bush, asking him to sign the bill. Crist hasn't returned the call to his predecessor, who bashed Crist on Fox a few weeks back by saying that Crist's support of the stimulus was "unforgivable."There’s one thing odd about Thrasher’s statement: Crist seldom says anything so clearly. One notable exception was this morning, when we asked if Crist promised Thrasher he’d sign the bill.
“No,” Crist said.
Q: Thrasher said you promised him.
Crist: “I just said no.”
Q: Is Thrasher lying?
Crist: “I said no. Sometimes people hear what they want to hear.”
UPDATE: "I have no response," Thrasher said when asked to respond to Crist's comments. "He said he liked the bill and he couldn't wait to get it."
-- Marc Caputo, Steve Bousquet
It's the same Bush who a few weeks back was saying how he didn't feel the need to opine on the state of affairs in Florida (when we asked about the U.S. Senate race), and the same Jeb Bush who, last year, wouldn't comment about Crist and the stimulus. Apparently, it's an "unforgivable" act to back the stimulus 1) if Neil Cavuto is doing the interview and 2) your protege, Marco Rubio, is leading Crist in the Republican Senate-race polls. By Bush's side at the time he spoke to us last year, John Thrasher.
Thrasher's bill has unleashed a broad-based, teacher-union led lobbying effort that, Crist said, is the most intense he has ever experienced. He said it's more than lobbying, though, because lobbying sounds "pejorative." Wonder what all the lobbyists who helped pony up big cash for his Senate race think about that?
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2010/04/crist-thrasher-hearing-things-on-tenure-bill.html
Is that Crist's problem, he has been governing in the shadows of a former Governor that refuses to go away?
Jeb Bush's Ideas Are Flourishing In Legislature (see link below)
The Senate is more conservative than it was during Bush's tenure as governor.
Published: Monday, April 12, 2010 at 11:44 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 12, 2010 at 11:44 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 12, 2010 at 11:44 p.m.
TALLAHASSEE | At the Capitol, some days this session it seems like Elvis has re-entered the building.
Led by former Gov. Jeb Bush, the conservative side of the GOP has long sought to marginalize teachers' unions in Florida, which merged in 2000 to form the Florida Education Association.
Non-partisan but Democratic-leaning, it is Florida's largest and most politically powerful union, with about 140,000 members, including 100,000 of the state's 175,000 public schoolteachers.
Bush wanted to be known as Florida's "education governor," but his reform proposals, including private school tuition vouchers, more standardized testing and state-mandated merit pay plans, have put him at odds with the FEA. He has openly expressed his desire in the past to undercut its clout.
Key allies including state Sen. John Thrasher, sponsor of SB 6, the teacher tenure bill, and Marco Rubio, former House speaker now running for the U.S. Senate, helped push his initiatives through the Legislature – some seemingly aimed as much at the union as at reform.
SB 6 would abolish multiyear contracts for future teachers, base raises largely on student performance on standardized tests, and eliminate experience as a qualification for raises.
It passed on near-party line votes by the Republican legislative majorities.
But Gov. Charlie Crist, a fellow Republican who has clashed with Bush and is now battling Rubio in the Senate primary, is wavering in his support. He must sign or veto it by Friday....
Almost four years after he left the state Capitol, former Gov. Jeb Bush is hovering over this spring's legislative session, with measures sweeping through the Republican-ruled Legislature that appear ripped straight from his political playbook.
"I don't know if he's back, but a lot of his ideas sure are flourishing," said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, who as House Speaker from 1999-2000 was one of Bush's closest allies, likening their relationship to that of Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's longtime manager, and the King.
But whether the King is really back may depend on the fate of the teacher merit-pay plan sponsored by Thrasher. Bush's successor, Gov. Charlie Crist, has signaled he may veto the measure.
If Crist strikes down the legislation (SB 6) he's likely to draw the wrath of Republican leaders looking to impose a stricter standard on teacher reviews, expand standardized testing, and dilute the political strength of the Democratic-leaning Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.
House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, declined to speculate Monday on how lawmakers wouldreact to a Crist merit-pay veto....
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/13/jeb-bush-leads-move-marginalize-teachers-union/news-metro/
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/13/jeb-bush-leads-move-marginalize-teachers-union/news-metro/
Jeb Bush leads move to reduce teachers union's influence (click title to entry - thank you)
Published: April 13, 2010
The battle over the teacher tenure bill is the latest in a long-running war between the Florida teachers union and conservative Republicans.Led by former Gov. Jeb Bush, the conservative side of the GOP has long sought to marginalize teachers' unions in Florida, which merged in 2000 to form the Florida Education Association.
Non-partisan but Democratic-leaning, it is Florida's largest and most politically powerful union, with about 140,000 members, including 100,000 of the state's 175,000 public schoolteachers.
Bush wanted to be known as Florida's "education governor," but his reform proposals, including private school tuition vouchers, more standardized testing and state-mandated merit pay plans, have put him at odds with the FEA. He has openly expressed his desire in the past to undercut its clout.
Key allies including state Sen. John Thrasher, sponsor of SB 6, the teacher tenure bill, and Marco Rubio, former House speaker now running for the U.S. Senate, helped push his initiatives through the Legislature – some seemingly aimed as much at the union as at reform.
SB 6 would abolish multiyear contracts for future teachers, base raises largely on student performance on standardized tests, and eliminate experience as a qualification for raises.
It passed on near-party line votes by the Republican legislative majorities.
But Gov. Charlie Crist, a fellow Republican who has clashed with Bush and is now battling Rubio in the Senate primary, is wavering in his support. He must sign or veto it by Friday....
