Could the Florida state senate drive 55?

Sometimes, celebrities from other fields get into politics. It's not unheard of and, often, it's a logical step from name recognition in another pursuit to being elected to office. Occasionally, those celebrities come from sports, as when former FSU and NFL football star Peter Boulware ran unsuccessfully for the state House as a Republican in 2008.

But now another even more prominent name has surfaced in a Tampa-area state Senate district...and this time, he's a Democrat.

Derrick Brooks [(right)] earned a reputation as a dominant linebacker and fearsome tackler for the Buccaneers.

But could he bring down a Republican opponent in a state Senate race?

Some Florida Democrats think so, and they're courting him to run for the District 12 state Senate seat.

When asked about it, Brooks said this: "I'm not at liberty to talk about that right now."

When pressed, he said that ever since then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the FSU Board of Trustees, people have questioned him about his political aspirations. If he does run, he said, it won't be a secret. "I'll let everyone know," he said.

"It's an interesting proposition, isn't it?" said Susan Smith, who chairs the campaign committee for the Hillsborough County Democratic Party.

(Yes, that's the Florida Progressive Coalition's own Susan Smith quoted there!)

So far, no Democrat has declared for the District 12 seat, currently held by Republican Victor Crist, who is term-limited out. As an FSU trustee and a well-known figure in the Tampa area -- not only for his gridiron exploits but also for having started a successful charter school and being an outspoken advocate on education issues -- Brooks certainly is an attractive option for the Democrats. Will he run? Only time will tell ... but I'm wagering that he will.

What hath tax cuts wrought?

Open up the paper today and you'll see more good times resulting from the odious Crist-Rubio tax cuts. And by "good times," I mean lost jobs, decreased public services, and personal hardships aplenty.

From today's Palm Beach Post:

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2 courts purge total of 27 jobs

Statewide budget cuts hit home Monday as circuit court officials announced how they trimmed more than $766,000 in salary costs: Eliminate 16 positions.

Among them are law clerks, case managers and administrative staff for magistrates - behind-the-scenes people who help judges and magistrates streamline the crush of cases.

It was not the dramatic furlough of many more employees, including judges' assistants, once considered. Nevertheless, Chief Judge Kathleen Kroll said it will have an impact residents will observe in delays and hindered public access to the court.

The staff cut comes as caseload continues to increase, Kroll said. Legislators created 38 additional crimes in the last session and as the economy falters, court business like foreclosures and domestic violence cases increases.

Chief Deputy Court Administrator Krista Garber said 10 court employees were notified Monday that they have their jobs until July 1. Other eliminated positions were vacant.

Some of the long-term state employees were stunned at the news, Garber said. But most agreed to stay until month's end to help in the transition to fewer staff.

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Attorneys for Dade's poor vow to spurn most felony cases
Underfunded and overwhelmed with cases, the Miami-Dade Public Defender's office plans to refuse certain cases.

[article appeared in the Post but link is to the original source, the Miami Herald]

The Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office plans to begin turning away thousands of cases in the coming weeks, arguing it is so short-staffed and underfunded that attorneys can't effectively cover their assigned cases.

"We're dancing as fast as we can. We can't keep this up. We don't have any alternative," Public Defender Bennett Brummer said Monday, noting that his attorneys are required by the Constitution to provide adequate representation for indigent defendants.

Brummer's plan: Refuse most felony cases. The office will continue to take cases in juvenile and misdemeanor court and the most serious felony cases -- first-degree murders and capital sexual batteries.

Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein is considering a similar measure.

"No public defenders office can provide effective assistance because we are overwhelmed with cases and have inexperienced lawyers and have high turnover," Finkelstein said. "There is a line as public defenders we cannot walk across. The judicial system is crumbling."

Brummer blames state legislators for creating the problem.

"These people have a choice as to how much conduct to criminalize," he said. "They should be living within their means, too. They can posture and be tough on crime without regard for their ability to support the courts that are necessary to process their cases."

But state Sen. Victor Crist [no relation to Gov. Crist, except that they're both Republicans], chair of the Justice Appropriations Committee, said Brummer is grandstanding "because the cuts weren't that severe and they can find better ways to deal with them."

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Way to go, Charlie! How nice that a former state attorney general can manage, as governor, to "crumble" the judicial system. Thirty-eight new crimes and millions of dollars less to prosecute them ... which is okay, because the defendants won't have their constitutional access to representation anyway.

And don't you love Sen. Crist's response? It's another version of "I've got mine, so screw you" -- the standard bleat of the overfed, selfish, rich-and-ignorant Republican.

Of course, the damage isn't limited to Florida, as the Bush Boom(!) has brought us this sampling of headlines and subheaders in today's Business section:

Construction bust takes toll across economy

Big losses force out CEO at Wachovia: Bank's shares plunged 58% in year

WaMu does corporate reshuffling

Economic lags, bank shake-ups blamed for Wall Street retreats

Boca-based tech firm reports loss

Airline losses forecast

U.S. Marriotts weak

Honestly, I can't understand how anyone in command of their senses can vote Republican this year ... well, any year, really, but especially this year. The economy in Florida and nationally is in the shitter, and it's Republican policies that have led to this near disaster.

At least in Palm Beach County, they're doing something about it, by considering an 8.3% increase in county property taxes to try to staunch the bleeding caused by the statewide GOP tax cuts. But the damage is done already, and if Sen. Victor Crist's callous disregard for the citizenry is any indication, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Natural born killers

I'm referring, of course, to Republicans. Whether it's an immoral and illegal war in Iraq or killing folks right here at home, the GOP is all about the bloodlust.

So that's why it's not altogether surprising to see a Florida Republican criticize an American Bar Association report that describes Florida's death penalty as "fall[ing] short" in providing "fair and accurate" treatment for those convicted of capital crimes.

Sen. Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican, said Florida has done what it can to eliminate problems.

"The criticisms are unwarranted and nothing more than an attempt to end the death penalty," said Crist, who chairs the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee and has made death penalty revisions his chief policy area. "No matter what we do, as long as we have a death penalty, they'll try to find fault with it."

[...]

The report also found that there is "inadequate compensation" for attorneys in the state-run offices that handle death penalty appeals.

But Crist said Florida is one of the few states that provide such attorneys.

"Every recommendation they've had, we've followed suit," Crist said. "It's just never enough. They're never satisfied and we never reach a resolution."

Sen. Crist, who is not related to Gov. Charlie Crist, is engaging in what psychologists call "projection." Here, we see Sen. Crist "projecting" his failure to compromise and to accept unfriendly facts onto the ABA, claiming that they are actually at fault for the death penalty problems in Florida. In short, he's not sorry about the death penalty problems; he's sorry that they were discovered in the first place.

And what's wrong with ending the death penalty? It's not like our record is scintillating here in America's Wang™. According to the article, Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations, with 22 since 1973. And remember that Gov. Bush even had to suspend executions for a time last year because of problems in administering the punishment.

Clearly, there's something wrong with the system -- that is, unless you're a Republican.