F.A.C.E. to FACE
F.A.C.E. BULLETIN
11/07/06
Don't Forget To Get Out and Vote TODAY!
On Sunday, October 29th St Pete Times ran photojournalist Chris Zuppa's PORTRAITS OF THE ISSUES which included Laquanda Fields (student on CTC) and school vouchers along with three other key election issues. This is a multimedia story and you can view audio and additional pictures at this link http://politics.tampabay.com. There is a link to post your comments as well.
Oh, and he kicks helpless puppies, St. Petersburg Times Columnist, and an editorial response (Letter to the Editor/LTE) by a CTC parent.
2 parties share time in same pigsty, St. Petersburg Times Columnist, follows up after receiving evidence that shows the both candidates and parties do the same thing.
Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director, F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education
ORIGINAL ARTICLEOh, and he kicks helpless puppies
By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Columnist
Published October 29, 2006
Charlie Justice, 38, is a mild-mannered Democrat from St. Petersburg. His job is to advise college students.
But according to the stack of campaign brochures sitting on my desk, he is a bad man.
Justice is a member of the state House. He is running for the state Senate in District 16, which lies on both sides of Tampa Bay. His Republican opponent is Kim Berfield, another state representative.
Here's the first mail piece. Its cover is a big radar picture of a hurricane hitting Florida.
The headline says, in big letters, "LIBERAL CHARLIE JUSTICE has an insurance scheme for you."
The next brochure has two poor barefoot girls on the cover. This headline says, "Charlie Justice turned his back on us." The inside says Justice won't help sick kids.
The next shows two children holding hands and wearing backpacks. The headline: "Are your children safe at school?" (Hint: No, and it's all Justice's fault.)
The next one: "Charlie Justice is putting our children in harm's way."
And the next: "Material Not Suitable For Children." That one says Justice won't protect kids from computer porn.
A second piece about porn has a picture of a kid sitting in front of a computer covering his eyes. "What is Charlie Justice allowing your children to view?" it asks.
The next is a sad-looking little girl sitting on a stack of books. "Going back to school is never so taxing," the headline says. Inside, it says Justice "taxes you coming and going."
By the way, one of Berfield's TV commercials criticizes Justice for running a negative campaign against her.
Let's check out the return addresses. "People for a Better Florida Fund Inc." That's a group largely funded by the medical and hospital industry. There's also the Republican Party of Florida, and a group called "All Children Matter."
I looked up All Children Matter. The Florida branch is headed by John Kirtley of Tampa, a leader in the school voucher movement.
That group has gotten more than $600,000 this year from All Children Matter-VA. The biggest contribution to that group, in turn, was a bequest of just over $2-million from the estate of John Walton of Bentonville, Ark., son of Sam, killed in a plane crash in 2005.
I suppose it doesn't matter that Justice has indeed supported filters on computers, money for sick and poor kids, background checks for school employees and sales tax breaks for parents. Just because he didn't like specific Republican versions of those things that contained other bad ideas, or voted against an overall state budget that he didn't like, it does not make him an enemy of the people.
Democratic candidates and their shadow groups do it too. Don't believe Democratic attacks either. The local one I liked the least this year was when Phyllis Busansky, running for Congress against Gus Bilirakis in the 9th District, took a Bilirakis quote out of context to try to make it look like he was indifferent to the Mark Foley sex scandal.
Neither is this an endorsement of Justice. If you like Berfield better or Justice less, then vote for her. Check out her mostly positive Web site at www.berfield2006.com, and Justice's at www. charliejustice.com.
But this cynical, sneering, dishonest style of politics is killing our democracy. Why do political professionals do it? Here's the worst part: Because it usually works.
RESPONSE
Subject: Issue on ScholarshipsDear Editor,
Chris Zuppa's Portrait of the Issues, October 29th, was very well done. As a parent with a child on a Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship, I find it exasperating that something that has been such a positive change for our children and for the future of our state has turned into a key political debate. Why is it that some politicians can't see that these scholarships are giving parents like me who don't have the money to buy a house in the neighborhood zoned for the best schools a chance to give our children what they deserve?
Laquanda Fields is a poster child for the success of these scholarships and she truly shows that these scholarships are giving children a second chance at an education and a future. It is my wish that people take a deeper look at how the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships and vouchers are giving children from all walks of life a quality education, which is something that all Florida citizens can agree upon.
Sincerely,
Tonja Anderson
A Caring Parent...Tonja Anderson
6415 W Clifton St
Tampa, FL 33634
(813) 679-9310
tanderson@computerone.biz
2 parties share time in same pigsty
By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Columnist
Published October 31, 2006
My column on Sunday criticized the vicious election brochures being sent by the Republican side of the state Senate District 16 race between Kim Berfield, the Republican, and Charlie Justice, the Democrat.
On Monday, I came to work and found the Democratic side had arrived. If anyone thought my Sunday column was evidence that Democrats are morally better than Republicans, reconsider.
The only difference I can see is that all the Democrats' brochures so far bear the return address of the Florida Democratic Party, as opposed to deceptive names such as "People for a Better Florida."
Let's see. Here's one with a big, unflattering photo of Berfield with her hand to her face. The headline says, "Kim Berfield Hopes You Don't Know What She Did."
Inside there is a list of Berfield's supposedly bad acts. As with the Republican attacks on Justice, the Democrats accuse her of hurting needy children, putting school kids in danger and helping insurance companies.
Interesting, isn't it? The two parties accuse each other of pretty much the same crimes.
Two items in the Democratic attacks bear special mention.
One brochure claims that "Berfield voted for record telephone increases" while Justice opposed them.
But on the 2003 law that raised rates in Florida, that simply is not true.
Both Berfield and Justice voted no. The worst you can say of Berfield is that she waited until after the floor vote and recorded a "no" later.
To make their claim, the Democrats reached back to an earlier year and an earlier bill that never became law.
A second item in the Democrats' brochure leaps out precisely because Justice cited it in a conversation with me last week as an example of an attack he wouldn't make.
That item says, without further explanation, that Berfield "voted to allow guns on school grounds." Technically true, but it was an exception meant for hunting weapons kept locked in cars during hunting season. If that's a bad policy, say so, but don't make it sound like she's pro-Columbine.
Don't feel too sorry for Berfield, though. Now her side has started a Swiftboat-style TV commercial accusing Justice of preferring the rights of predators to the rights of children. Very nice.
* * *
I have a stack of e-mails from unhappy readers asking: How do we tell the truth in Senate District 16, or in any race? How do we sort our way through all this filth?
First, just refuse to believe it. What possible credibility is there in one party's sneering, leering attack on the other?
Second, find out for yourself. You can use the (free) archives of the newspaper's Web site - www.tampabay.com - and find out everything ever written about Candidate So-and-So's record.
Third, I have a modest proposal. It is based on the idea that in the end, Berfield is your basic suburban, pro-business Republican, and Justice is your basic urban, save-the-world Democrat, that neither one is an idiot, and neither one would be a disaster in the Senate. Much of their job is not ideological anyway, as much as it is looking out for local interests.
Given that, were I a voter in District 16, I would be tempted to keep track of the slimy attacks over this final week, and then vote for the side that sent out the fewest.
8,000 New Scholarships Available
for Low-Income K-12 StudentsFlorida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida, Florida Corporate Tax Credit scholarship funding organizations, will award approximately 8,000 new scholarships for the 2006-2007 school year to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a public school, unless they are entering kindergarten or first grade. Those who qualify may receive up to a $3,750 scholarship for tuition at an eligible private school of their choice or a scholarship for up to $500 for travel expenses to an out-of-district public school. The scholarships provide a fresh start for students who are not succeeding in their current school setting.
This year, $70 million in scholarships will be awarded to qualifying Florida students until funding is exhausted so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Income limits for scholarship recipients are determined by household size. For example, a family of four can earn no more than $37,000 to qualify. To apply, log on to www.floridapride.org or call (813) 258-2700 for Florida Pride and www.scholarshipfunding.org or call (904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607 for a Children First Florida application.
The Florida Corporate Income Tax Credit scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow over 14,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships - not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.
Children First Florida - Serving Orlando, Central Florida, Jacksonville and Panhandle
P.O. Box 49099
Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240
(904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607
cforster@scholarshipfunding.org
Florida P.R.I.D.E. - Serving Tampa Bay, South Florida and Marion County
P.O. Box 1670
Tampa, Florida 33606
(800) 782-9140
info@floridapride.org
School Year 06 - 07 Income Eligibility Guidelines
Persons in Household
Annual Household Income
2
$24,420
3
$30,710
4
$37,000
5
$43,290
6
$49,580
7
$55,870
8
$62,160
9
$68,450
10
$74,740
11
$81,030
12
$87,320
13
$93,610
For each additional person, add
$6,290
Effective from June 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)
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