Literacy still important enough to strip from Jacksonville budget

Mayor Peyton's fountain pen is talking again. Whenever that happens, books for kids disappear.

Peyton's 'wartime' budget scrimps on library books RON LITTLEPAGE The Times-Union July 17, 2008

In his budget message, Mayor John Peyton used the word "war" 13 times. He made another nine references to "taking back" Jacksonville from criminals. "There are good guys and there are bad guys," Peyton said. "Everyone has to choose a side." Unfortunately, our commander in chief isn't willing to pay for the ammunition needed to make the fight. If Peyton truly believes his oft-repeated statement that "we can't arrest our way of this problem" - that problem being that Duval County is the murder capital of Florida - then we must stop potentially good kids from becoming the bad guys. One of the tools for doing that are our public libraries. Yet, the budget Peyton proposed to the City Council on Monday actually reduces spending on libraries over what Peyton proposed last year... Peyton's budget for next year slashes that to $3.6 million, which is $1 million less than the library system had this year. Peyton says that state grants will make up for the $1 million cut. However, the budget he presented to the council isn't so clear on that point, saying the loss of $1 million "will be somewhat offset" by the state money.

Another politician's euphemism: "will be somewhat offset."

This is like your deadbeat cousin's promise that the I.O.U. "will be somewhat offset" by a big hot load of money on the way: the check's in the mail.

Final analysis requires the mayor to answer this question: How does it improve the city that your public libraries are books-free zones, just so that the honorable mayor can have a new hybrid SUV to save money with?

Literacy important enough to strip from budget

Budget Cuts Take Bite Out Of Library Hours July 9, 2007, Jacksonville News

Jacksonville book lovers recently got some bad news as the continuing story of the city's budget bind takes a bite out of local libraries. In response to the 2007-2008 budget cuts, the library will cut nearly $3 million by reducing services and programs. Last week, Mayor John Peyton pointed in his inauguration speech about how important literacy is to youth. "Literacy is the No. 1 predictor of educational success," Peyton said. "Therefore, I must now rip $3 million from kids and their families who want to use the library." Jacksonville News photo

That last quote is not the mayor. It was his fountain pen talking.

The old joke asks how one can tell that a lawyer is lying. Answer: his lips are moving. Similarly with this politician, his mouth says one thing and his actions say quite another thing.

He did have the decency to do it straight, and not hide behind a nefarious smokescreen of accounting.

However, Mayor Peyton will doubtless find a good reason for buying a new SUV to chauffeur him around town on official business, or for stipulating a pay raise for a nephew or some other politician trick.

Meanwhile, kids and their families are left high and dry.

Shifty-eyed politicians, vote-counting fish stories

Whenever a politician tells you he is an honest man, check quickly that your wallet is still in your back pocket. Abe Lincoln followed that principle.
This article describes the fog of rhetoric surrounding a Florida election recount, with politicians navigating by foghorn. Facts are optional.

Senators seek inquiry into GOP's Duval acts, 6/20/2007, J. Taylor Rushing, Capital Bureau Chief, Florida Times-Union

The U.S. Justice Department has been asked to investigate whether there were intentional efforts by the Republican Party to suppress Jacksonville's African-American vote during the 2004 election. The request, by Democratic U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse, suggests the Senate Judiciary Committee has uncovered e-mail evidence supporting an investigation. Kennedy and Whitehouse are members of the committee... "It's malicious and absolutely untrue that I tried to do this," said [Tim] Griffin, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas who resigned two weeks ago during the controversy over U.S. attorney firings. But Jacksonville's African-American community praised news of the request and eagerly backed an investigation. Juan Gray, board chairman of Jacksonville's chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said black leaders have long suspected Republican foul play in both 2000 and 2004. "I'm delighted that we have congressional oversight," Gray said. "It's way overdue." NAACP Jacksonville Branch President Isaiah Rumlin said he was personally unaware of the specific voter suppression tactic suspected by Kennedy and Whitehouse but said there were "significant problems" before and during the election. "We wouldn't be one bit surprised, and we welcome an investigation," Rumlin said. "If there's evidence out there, that needs to come forth. Just because I don't recall this specific tactic doesn't mean it didn't happen." Kennedy and Whitehouse accuse the Republican National Committee of "vote caging"... Both Hightower and Scheu, who was the interim supervisor of elections during the 2004 election, note they participated in daily meetings with local black leaders in which the subject of caging was never raised.

Trouble:

1. DOJ investigation requested but without evidence from anyone in Jacksonville -- Rumlin: "If there's evidence out there, that needs to come forth."  No offense to Mr. Rumlin, but probable cause is a normal part of an investigation.
2. Community leaders suspected foul play but nobody mentioned it in daily meetings with election supervisors.

Knowing a bit about pollwatching on election days, I would tend to believe the men and women from Jacksonville, not so much Rumlin or Hightower but the people at the polls: clerks, inspectors, deputies plus pollwatchers independent of the government. Unfortunately, nobody bothered asking them; the article mentions no pollworkers or pollwatchers. Least credible are the senators from D.C., neither of which is actually from Florida. What have Senators Nelson and Martinez got to say? That would be nice to know. Who benefits from the investigation? Some bigshots in D.C. or regular voters in Jacksonville? As always, when a politician shifts his gaze toward you, hold onto your wallet.

But Florida being what it is, there is probably a mare's nest of foolishness shared equally by mules and elephants ←the Theresa LePore tradition. If anyone has YouTube footage of a pollworker stuffing secret ballots into his socks or a pollwatcher nagging a voter like somebody's mother in law, then I hope punishment is savage: forcible conscription to work another election!

Great Wall of China not welcome in Jacksonville

It is always amusing to see citizens mobilize against the nefarious economic forces that want to pull a fast one. The unnamed lady (sixth paragraph) has the most powerful geometric objection to the storage facility.

Julington Creek residents voice apprehension about storage facility 6/20/2007, TIFFANY PAKKALA, The St. Augustine Record

Carrabas. A movie theater. A post office. There are plenty of neighbors Julington Creek Plantation residents said they would like to have. A 75,000-square-foot self-storage facility isn't one of them. That's the message that more than 100 residents of the master-planned community brought Tuesday to a meeting with Ash Properties. The company has plans to put a three-story, climate-controlled storage building within Julington Creek... [Julington Creek resident, David Taus] pointed out that the 35-foot-high building will be just 15 feet from the sidewalk. "It will be like walking right next to the Wall of China!" one woman cried out... [Ash Properties Vice President Randall] Whitfield said his company has already met with neighbors in the nearby South Bridge townhouses, and they gave Ash a relatively "good response." But then Annette Winter, who lives in one of the town homes, spoke up. "I was at that meeting, and there were only two other people there," she said, adding that none in attendance approved of the storage building.

Also lovely is Annette Winter, demolishing Whitfield's attempt at sleight of hand. Way to go, Annette!