NRA and its "Hysterical Teen"

The students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida have presented themselves as a strong, cohesive, intelligent force in confronting the National Rifle Association and other gun rights' activists in their fight to bring about intelligent gun control measures aimed at limiting death and destruction due to gun violence.

In today's Tampa Bay Times, columnist John Romano asks the question, "Okay, Now Who Sounds like a Hysterical Teen Talking About Guns?". (Hint: it isn't the aforementioned intelligent Stoneman Douglas students, who have shown amazing grace under pressure.)

Romano points out that Former NRA President Marion Hammer, who has watched over Florida legislators for decades, is upset to find more and more Florida legislators backing away from the NRA's stance that everyone should be allowed ready access to guns, "ominously suggest(ing) some may never again get an 'A' grade from the NRA."

While many may argue that the Second Amendment allows for gun ownership, it is not a blanket "everyone deserves one right now, right here," as Romano points out.

To read John Romano's editorial in its entirety, click here.

Trump's HUD Cuts Would Hurt Pinellas, Hillsborough Counties

For the past few decades, several programs implemented by the federal government, have helped to "improve (the) living conditions for the poor" while rebuilding America's cities. These programs have "made a real contribution" in the Tampa Bay area.

However, these programs are in jeopardy due to President Donald Trump's proposed budget cuts for 2018, according to an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times ("Editorial: Tampa Bay Would Lose in Trump's HUD Cuts"). The Department of Housing and Urban Development would lose roughly $6 billion (13 percent) under Trump's proposed budget cuts. Half of that amount would eliminate the Community Development Block Grant, while another $1 billion cuts would come from eliminating Choice Neighborhoods and the HOME Investment Partnership program. The money would be redirected for a military buildup and his Mexican border wall.

The Times argues that Trump "is wrong that these housing programs have not proven their worth," citing ways in which Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, as well as the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa, have improved the lives of the homeless and helping neighborhoods.

To read the editorial in its entirety, check out "Editorial: Tampa Bay Would Lose in Trump's HUD Cuts".

Rick Scott - Worst Governer?

Is Rick Scott Florida's worst governor? That is the question Carl Hiaasen asks in his Miami Herald column ("Carl Hiaasen: Gov. Scott picks the public's pockets).

While Florida has had many governors since 1845, some good, some great, and some flat-out lousy, Hiaasen writes that, "Scott is certainly a prime contender for worst ever, and each new screwing of Floridians pushes him closer to the title."

"During the last few months, taxpayers have been soaked for more than $1 million to settle lawsuits in which Scott and his dim-bulb Cabinet flagrantly violated Florida’s open-records and open-meetings laws," Hiaasen continues. "No other sitting governor has used tax money to end public-records cases that were caused by his own secretive misbehavior. Scott couldn’t care less."

Hiaasen contines his case for Scott as "worst Florida governor ever." To read his column in its entirety, go to http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/carl-hiaasen/article31132001.html#storylink=cpy.