I'm getting a raise!

(Get your minds out of the gutter ...)

Proof positive why Republicans so vehemently oppose the Obama stimulus: because it helps little people like me rather than their über-wealthy corporate CEO donors.

The AP reported that benefits in the state are based on a worker’s prior earnings. In 2008, the Florida unemployment benefits ranged from $32 to $275 per week. Under the new agreement, Florida’s weekly unemployment benefits will increase by $25.

According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, approximately $12.2 billion of the $787 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is set to be delivered to Florida over the next three years. Additionally, some of the funding in the stimulus is already included in Governor Crist’s proposed $66.5-billion state budget for the next fiscal year. The budget is expected to either create or retain 314,590 jobs in the state, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.

OK, so it’s only $25 a week individually. Still, $345 million put back into Florida’s crippled economy is a good thing.

Indeed it is. For me it means that I can afford an extra pizza every month. Whoopie!

Seriously, though, it gives some hope for us jobseekers that more jobs will be available soon. And while that's anathema to Republicans, it's good news for Florida.

I have to give credit to Gov. Charlie Crist (painful though that is) for supporting the stimulus and not following the lead of fellow GOP governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who want to reject the stimulus money. Here's hoping their constituents recognize how they're being sold down the (Mississippi) river. Even though their respective state legislatures can accept the money over the governors' objections (making said objections little more than crass political posturing), perhaps Barbour and Jindal are writing their own political epitaphs ... which can only be good news for their states.

Heckuva job, Haley and Bobby.

Chimpy needs to work on his timing

You ever have those days when you see something Drunky McStagger does and you just say, "What the fuck?"

This would be one of those days.

Bush works to assure Katrina victims they aren't forgotten

"Part of the reason I've come down is to tell the people here in the Gulf coast that we still think about them in Washington and that we listen to the governor when he speaks," said Bush, whose first stop was the Mississippi coast city of Long Beach.

"The other reason I've come down is, I want the taxpayers of the United States to see first hand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally wiped out because of a major storm," he said in his first visit to the region in six months.

"This is a hopeful day," he said, adding "there's obviously a lot more work to be done."

"But times are changing for the better, and peoples' lives are improving and there is hope," he said in a region of stark contrast between renewed communities and those still struggling to recover.

According to the article, it was his 14th visit to the area since Katrina. But note ... it was his first in six months. Oh, and Mississippi's governor? You have to listen to him, Drunky. After all, he managed your 2000 presidential campaign, thereby making it possible for you to destroy America.

We don't need photo ops 18 months after the fact, Drunky. We needed action. Unfortunately, you sat in Washington with your head up your ass most of the time, and the vast destruction you just toured is directly attributable to the malfeasance of your administration.

Thanks for nothing. I'll see firsthand how much the victims of Katrina appreciate you when I go to NOLA at the end of this month. Something tells me they won't be speaking glowingly of you, pal.