It was great that Mississippi State Representative John Read, a Republican, helped write a bill that would require restaurants to not serve people who are obese. What a hoot.

What was even funnier was the response from nutritionists and health experts as pointed out in a local editorial, "Weighing for a table".

According to the editorial, "The bill drew international attention, but mostly from health experts condemning his efforts with word[s] like "offensive" and "insane."

"Are these legislators fighting to get rid of soft drinks in schools? Are they working to stop the relentless marketing of unhealthy foods to children? Are they doing anything about the fact that poor people do not have access to healthy foods?" asked Kelly Brownell at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity."

The local paper opined, "Banning people from restaurants obviously isn't part of the answer. Removing unhealthful items from our personal diets is."

No where in the world is there more healthy food available to us and our children than in the United States. Kelly Brown from Yale needs to take me to a place where "poor people do not have access to healthy food". Even in McDonald's you can buy a very healthy salad and get a glass of water for free.

Where ever there are vending machines you can find a choice between regular Coke or Pepsi, diet sodas, water and juices. Marketing by restaurants, supermarkets, local health stores and fast food chains is common, we can listen to these ads or not.

The whole point is government cannot and should not try to protect us from ourselves. Families are best suited to promoting positive behavior. Let's make sure we have strong traditional families and most of our health and social problems will disappear.

This is a reprint of a speech to the Federation for American Immigration Reform in 2004 given by former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm a Democrat. We present this because immigration will be an important issue during the 2008 Presidential race.

I have a secret plan to destroy America. If you believe, as many do, that America is too smug, too white bread, too self-satisfied, too rich, let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. History shows that nations are more fragile than their citizens think. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and they all fall, and that “an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.” Here is my plan:

1. We must first make America a bilingual-bicultural country. History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. One scholar, Seymour Martin Lipset, put it this way: “The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with its Basques, Bretons and Corsicans.”

2. I would then invent “multiculturalism” and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal: that there are no cultural differences that are important. I would declare it an article of faith that the black and Hispanic dropout rate is only due to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out-of-bounds.

3. We can make the United States a “Hispanic Quebec” without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently, “The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved, not by tolerance, but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentrically, and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.” I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with a salad bowl metaphor. It is important to insure that we have various cultural sub-groups living in America reinforcing their differences, rather than Americans emphasizing their similarities.

4. Having done all this, I would make our fastest-growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50 percent dropout rate from school.

5. I would then get the big foundations and big business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of victimology. I would get all minorities to think their lack of success was all the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.

6. I would establish dual citizenship and promote divided loyalties. I would “celebrate diversity.” “Diversity” is a wonderfully seductive word. It stresses differences rather than commonalities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other–that is, when they are not killing each other. A “diverse,” peaceful or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together, and we can take advantage of this myopia.

Look at the ancient Greeks. Dorf’s “World History” tells us: “The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic Games in honor of Zeus, and all Greeks venerated the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet, all of these bonds together were not strong enough to overcome two factors … (local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions …)” If we can put the emphasis on the “pluribus,” instead of the “unum,” we can balkanize America as surely as Kosovo.

7. Then I would place all these subjects off-limits–make it taboo to talk about. I would find a word similar to “heretic” in the 16th century that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like “racist”, “xenophobe” halt argument and conversation. Having made America a bilingual-bicultural country, having established multiculturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of “victimology,” I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra –”because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good.” I would make every individual immigrant sympatric and ignore the cumulative impact.

8. Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson’s book “Mexifornia” –this book is dangerous; it exposes my plan to destroy America. So please, please–if you feel that America deserves to be destroyed–please, please–don’t buy this book! This guy is on to my plan.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in its editorial, "Hometown Democracy initiative" laments that the petition drive to put the amendment on the Florida ballot in November failed. We are happy it did because the initiative has nothing to do with hometown democracy, rather it would restrict our flexibility to adjust to local market conditions.

We have learned from our military experience that "no plan survives first contact with the enemy".

According to Tom Pelham, Director of the Florida Department of Community Affairs, "The problem is too many plan amendments. Although the Growth Management Act originally provided that local plans could only be amended twice a year, the Legislature subsequently created 32 exceptions to the twice-a-year limitation."

Tom that is not a problem that is what we call democracy working. Our legislators recognized that changes need to be made at the local level and therefore approved exceptions. That is what we elect them to do.

We do, however, agree with Tom that the so called Hometown Democracy initiative is "draconian".

There is no problem with our plan. The problem is no plan can predict the future.

As the Herald-Tribune admitted, "Cities and counties should be able to amend their plans to respond to changing economic conditions, demographics, consumer trends, community needs and other factors."

Comprehensive plans cannot anticipate all of these changes nor should they. That is what amendments to the plan, and other tools of local government such as zoning changes, are for.

Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton said: "It is the perception of ... voters that the current long-range planning process is neither long-range nor reliable."

Jon we would say to those voters they are right and wrong. Plans can be long range but never will be reliable. Get used to it.

Market demands should drive the comprehensive plan not government. Investors will not invest if they do not have the ability to quickly meet the demands of consumers. Government likewise should use every means available to adjust quickly to meet consumers needs.

We trust Commissioner Jon Thaxton and his fellow county commissioners to do what is right with the tools they have. We should not take tools away from them, like the ability to change the comprehensive plan. We have the super majority now in place in the city and county. That is enough.

We believe the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

Scientists around the world are putting more attention on the sun in trying to understand global temperature changes.

There are a growing number of important studies and theories that the sun is the greatest factor in determining heating and cooling periods over the centuries. More importantly these theories and the data indicate we are headed into a global cooling period.

According to Investor's Business Daily, "Canadian scientists are seeking additional funding for more and better "eyes" with which to observe our sun, which has a bigger impact on Earth's climate than all the tailpipes and smokestacks on our planet combined.

Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century. Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle. This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe."

Research by John L. Casey, Director of the Orlando, FL based Space and Science Research Center, has led to the "Theory of Rational Cycles of Solar Activity" or RC Theory.

The RC Theory is based on an independent analysis of sunspot records to the year 1610, solar activity proxy C14 isotope records for 1,200 years, temperature records for 2,000 years, using multiple sources, both chart extrapolated data and original data sets from other research sources.

"This research provides sufficient information to conclude that underlying and fundamental cycles of solar activity exist and are significant models of climate change on the Earth on multi-decadal and centennial scales." according to Mr. Casey's Report 1-2008, the RC Theory.

This research Mr. Casey says, "offers the scientific community as well as the general public, a plausible means for understanding the natural and predictable shifts from global cooling to global warming and back to global cooling that have occurred for thousands of years in the past and will likely do so in the future.

As a direct result of the theory, it is predicted that the Earth will experience a significant temperature decline beginning between within 3-14 years and lasting two or three solar cycles resulting in global temperature reductions of at least 1.0-1.5 C, a level not seen for over 200 years. The depths and extent of the predicted cold period has the potential to result in world wide agricultural, social, and economic disruption."

We have long believed that global warming is a natural phenomenon caused by solar activity and that it is cyclical. Recent studies are confirming these beliefs. This has serious implications for public policy on global warming.

It shifts the debate away from concerns about carbon emissions and global warming to the more important concern of global cooling and its impact on vast regions in terms of food production, human and animal migration to warmer zones and the need for cheap and reliable power to heat our homes and offices in the future.

Let the discussion begin.

We have been reading the editorials about the meaning of super Tuesday, the withdrawal of Mitt Romney from the race, the near certainty of a McCain win, and the virtual tie in delegates between Clinton and Obama.

What has struck us about all the pundit comments, predictions and analysis is that one party is internally arguing major issues and the other is fighting among themselves along race, class and gender lines.

On the Democratic party side the discussion is about what segment of Democratic voters each candidate won. As E.J. Dionne points out, "Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fought to a near draw in a series of Democratic primaries that revealed a sharp gender gap, a generation gap at least as deep as the age divide that was so widely advertised in the 1960s, and differences across lines of ethnicity, race and class."

Democrats are fighting over liberal voting blocks within the party. They are pitting black against Hispanic and white, old against young, rich against poor. They seem to be dividers within themselves. A long primary is expected, which most agree will hurt the Democrats. Are we seeing Democrats self-destructing before our very eyes?

What is not being discussed by Democrats is their stands on issues that are truly important to most Americans, especially independents. Does this mean that the Democrats don't need to because the far left of the party is in total agreement? What about appealing to the broader voting public - moderates, independents? The longer the primary fight goes on for Democrats the less time to re-adjust their message to bring in the great American center.

On the Republican side, John McCain is the winner. His challenge according to Michael Barone is, "the McCain aircraft can expect some turbulence before it gets its wheels down. Vocal conservatives, led by talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, insist that McCain isn't a proper conservative."

Republicans are arguing issues important to conservative voters. Senator McCain has the Independent vote and moderate Democratic vote locked. He now must assure the Republican party's conservative base that he will govern as a conservative. He began that process with his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C this week.

Conservatives are arguing over the soul of the party. They are having a family feud over major policy issues such as immigration, taxes, nomination of strict constructionist judges, the War on Terror and global warming. This is good for any political party. A re-affirmation of basic conservative principles has been why voters have put Republicans in the White House in seven of the past ten Presidential elections.

As Michael Barone points out John McCain must, "argue that he is like a United States Marine -- no better friend, no worse enemy -- and in the years ahead he is determined there will be no better friend for the causes they hold dearest."

Senator McCain will unite the party under his leadership. What pundits are not talking about yet are the real issues voters care about - where each party and their candidates stand. That is what wins Presidential elections - strong clear stands on key issues.

On this I give the Republicans a big lead and expect that lead to grow.

Barrak Obama and Hillary Clinton have both proposed raising the ceiling on the current Social Security payroll taxes to $200,000. There are some liberals in Congress and the media who have suggested this is not enough.

Remember a liberal is a man who will give away everything he doesn’t own. Well we now have a bonified liberal woman wanting to do the same.

Helen Rosen, writer for the Albany Times Union, says so in her column, "HOW TO FIX SOCIAL SECURITY - A fairer country for all citizens".

So what is Helen's solution? "Instead of having the Social Security tax cap go up from the $100,000 level, it should descend as far down as needed from the rarefied atmosphere of the very richest. To make that an effectively equitable tax, the money made from exercising stock options should be considered earned income, along with the monstrous bonuses corporate tycoons receive whether their business is doing well or not."

This solution makes for an "equitable tax" and a "fairer country"?

Let's look at the current Social Security system (the third rail in politics that Senator John McCain has pledged to fix).

Would you as a young person looking for a savings plan that you and your family will put 14% of your income into invest in a fund: that historically pays below average interest rates, your money once invested no longer legally belongs to you, the fund can take your money and spend it on whatever it wants and simply give you an IOU, if you die before your retirement date (which is set by the fund) you get none of the money you invested (if you are white you have a 1 in 5 chance and if you are black you have a 1 in 2 chance of dying before you can get any dividends), the fund unilaterally can reduce the dividends it pays out, it can raise the age at which you can withdraw your dividends, it penalizes you if you retire early and finally, the fund uses money from current investors to pay the dividends to older investors?

Of course not. You would be crazy to invest in such a fund. Well this is exactly what you are doing with 14% of your money by giving it to Social Security.

What is our solution? It is simple - give you total control and ownership of your money, and let you decide how to invest it.

We believe in making the current payroll taxes work harder for you by investing them through some form of personal retirement account (PRA).

Establishing PRAs is the only solution that will also give future retirees the option to receive an improved standard of living in retirement. These accounts would give you more control over how to structure your income and allow you to build a nest egg that could be used for emergencies during retire­ment, used to start a business, or left to your fami­ly. Establishing PRAs will be complex and—as experience from other countries shows— will require careful planning. We and Senator John McCain know that this is the best solution for the American worker.

This solution is much fairer and more equitable than Helen's. What do you think?

For more information on how to really fix Social Security go to the Heritage Foundation and read their comprehensive paper, "How to Fix Social Security".

The results are in and and Government Accounting Office (GAO) states, "the results of these [GAO] tests did not identify any problems that would indicate that the iVotronic DREs were responsible for the undervote in the Florida - 13 race in the 2006 General election."

This final report from the GAO stops the effort by Christine Jennings to steal the election and gives Sarasota voters a victory.

So, who are the losers?

Christine Jennings for her un-democratic attempt to steal an election for personal gain. She loses on several levels: character, personal and public responsibility, but most of all she has lost our trust to be a public official. Who could possibly vote for a liar, tax dodger and poor loser?

The Democratic National Campaign Committee and the Democratic controlled Congress, which tried by political fiat to steal the election from the voters of Florida. Their effort to have the Congress overturn the results went down in flames with the GAO report. Particularly egregious is the statement by Kyra Jennings that, "it was never about who won or lost". Of course it was. It was not about changing voting machines in Sarasota because the issue of going to a paper based voting system was on the same ballot as the District 13 race. It was all political.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, its editorial board and Jeremy Wallace lost their bid to get the election overturned and with it their credibility. For the past year they have consistently raised the issue of the "undervotes" and assumed that it was machine error and not the people speaking. They were wrong from the beginning, they made matters worse by continually raising the issue and they misled the public even after tests of the voting machines by Kathy Dent, the state of Florida and outside experts showed no machine errors. They started the conspiracy theory, were complicit in furthering the myth and deserve all of our scorn for not trusting the results of the election. I call on the entire editorial board and Jeremy Wallace to print a letter of apology to Sarasota and Congressman Buchanan on the front page of the Herald-Tribune.

The taxpayers are perhaps the biggest losers. We lost millions of dollars in money spent by our Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent, the Florida Department of Elections and Congress. Jennings started this wild goose chase, she should be made to repay the taxpayers. We can't recoup the money but we can reject her at the ballot box. Every vote cast against Jennings is a dollar recovered in my mind.

Who are the winners!

The voters of Sarasota who were vindicated. The results of the District 13 election were correct in November 2006. The people spoke and will again in November 2008.

Kathy Dent is a big winner. She withstood the pressures of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the national media, the Congress and Jenning's lawyers. She showed all of them that the voting machines performed flawlessly. She deserves all of our thanks for being strong, resolute and courageous in the face of overwhelming political powers. She deserves our respect and our votes in November 2008.

Finally, Congressman Vern Buchanan and his family are big winners. Congressman Buchanan and his family were the targets of personal attacks by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Democratic Party, Jennings and her lawyers. Through all of this withering criticism, Congressman Buchanan remained focused on the needs of his constituents. His strength, courage and will carried him and his family through this ordeal. Throughout he was a gentleman, a dedicated servant of the people and our duly elected Congressman. Vern above all deserves our thanks for his work in Congress for our children, our elders, and our veterans.

We of course endorse Congressman Vern Buchanan for re-election in 2008. He has earned our confidence and our vote.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial "Monumental failure" is a monumental joke.

In it they chastise the U.S. Park Police for not doing their job effectively according to a Interior Department's inspector general report on security at American historic sites like the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Let's see now where is the most likely threat from terrorists today? How about Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, and hundreds of other soft human targets around the world like schools, churches, airlines, and train stations.

That is where we most need to concentrate our security efforts, given our limited resources, stretched military and intelligence services. Forward deployment is the key to keeping us safe in America. Fighting terrorists in the mountains and deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan not in the streets of Washington, D.C. is the goal.

Have we become complacent as a nation since 9/11? Yes we have.

More threatening, however, are Democrats, the Herald-Tribune, MoveOn.org and the anti-war left who do not recognize that President Bush, the CIA, the FBI and our fantastic military have kept us from another attack for over six years.

What the Democrats and anti-war left want is surrender in Iraq and Afghanistan, legal rights for enemy combatants, the closing of Guantanamo, withdrawal from the world stage and a return to the failed foreign policies of the Clinton administration. Each of these is dangerous, taken together they are deadly.

My solution to the problem of some security guards, "chatting on a cell phone, doing a crossword puzzle and -- it appears -- taking a nap" is to fire them and their supervisors and replace them with combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. These veterans understand the threat and the absolute need for vigilance at all times.

I worry about those that don't take the threat seriously or even worse say that America is the problem, not Islamofacists and terrorists.

Complacency is the monumental failure and could be our undoing.

I can't believe this. In today's Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial, "Bacteria at the beach" we have another major health crisis that, "Governments whose economies depend on tourism and beaches should focus on keeping coastal waters clean and healthy."

Last week the Herald-Tribune wanted us to worry about more global warming caused hurricanes, yesterday is was pesticides in our produce and juices, and today it is bacteria on our beaches. I for one am going to lock myself in my house and become a hermit living on bread and water.

It seems the Herald-Tribune is again using the fear card - having earlier used the race and gender cards in their political editorials as we reported here. How many more cards do they have in their deck?

What is interesting about the study that they refer to done by University of Florida doctoral student Tonya Bonilla is that she states, "Our objective was to understand whether beach sand could pose a health risk to beach goers...What we found was that there was no increased health risk due to exposure to sand on the upper beach,”... “However, the longer the period of time people spent in the water and in the wet sand, the higher the probability that they would experience some gastrointestinal illness."

Tonya goes on to explain, "While fecal indicator levels in the near-shore waters of South Florida’s recreational beaches are routinely monitored, sand samples from the surf zone — the wet sand — and the upper beach are not." Solution found, right? Not quite.

Now where does this fecal coliform come from? According to Tonya "seagull droppings".

The Herald-Tribune editorial board takes Tonya's study then projects beach contamination from SE Florida to our area, and then blames multiple sources including agricultural, lawn, sidewalk and street run off from animal waste for fecal contamination of our beaches, all without proof.

The editorial board also makes light of the fact that the study was based on surveys given to beach goers, who volunteered to take them home and after four days returned them. This resulted in a "suggestion of an association between fecal indicator levels in sand and illness rates among humans". Note the word "suggestion".

Correlation does not mean causation.

We do not know if the source of survey reported illnesses were in fact caused by pathogen exposure from playing in the wet sand or water. How is a volunteer beach goer able to determine the cause of their illness without a medical examination? Their illness could have been caused by a bad hot dog for all we know.

So what is the final conclusion of Tonya's study? “At this point, we don’t know whether the increased health risk is due to pathogen exposure,” Bonilla said. “To really understand this, a more comprehensive and targeted epidemiological approach is needed.”

Bottom line we need to do more studies of beach sand.

Got that? We need to spend more of our hard earned tax dollars to find out that seagulls poop on the dry sand, the wet sand and in the water and we can possibly get sick from that. What a racket.

My suggestion to the Herald-Tribune is we kill all dogs, cats, cattle, goats, sheep, all wild critters like the Florida panther and bald eagle, and of course get rid of those pesky seagulls. That will solve at least some maybe even most of the fecal problem on our beaches.

I wonder what PETA and the Sierra Club would say about that. What do you think?

I love the fear mongering Herald-Tribune editorial staff. Last month it was lead in toys, this weekend it was hurricanes caused by global warming, today it is fruits, vegetables and juices. Will they ever stop? Nope because it sells newspapers. Fear = profit!

In their editorial Produce and pesticides they state, "schoolchildren who consumed produce and juice from Seattle [Washington] -area grocery stores had their urine and saliva tested on a regular basis. The scientists detected organophosphates, a family of pesticides that originated with the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II."

Guess what parents - don't go shopping for produce and juice in Seattle, WA because they are using nerve gas on you and your children!

I'll bet this is an evil conspiracy by the Bush administration, Haliburton, Blackwater, the CIA and Dick Cheney to get rid of all the liberals in Seattle. That's for you troofers.

According to Wikipedia - an organophosphate is the general name for esters of phosphoric acid. Phosphates are probably the most pervasive organophosphorus compounds. Many of the most important biochemicals are organophosphates, including DNA and RNA as well as many cofactors that are essential for life.

So there you have it. Organophosphates are "essential for life" and are naturally part of our DNA.

This editorial sounds like the scare tactics used by scientists, researchers, the media, government and environmental groups concerning the use of DDT. Remember in the 1970s the U.S. banned DDT followed by a UN world-wide ban. This led to the spread of mosquito born malaria, especially in Africa, and the deaths of tens of millions of men, women and innocent children. So now we must get rid of all pesticides used by our farmers?

So what to do, asked the Herald-Tribune?

Dr. Chensheng Lu, an expert on children and pesticides, "urged that parents not react by limiting children's consumption of fresh produce and did not recommend adopting a totally organic diet."

I agree with Dr. Lu (he sounds like he is from China, which sent us lead based toys and tainted beef). I think.

My take is that parents should feed their children only the three major food groups - a big Mac, fries and a Coke. This way you totally avoid the poison gas in your fruits, vegetables, and that evil Florida orange juice. It takes a much longer time to die from obesity than nerve gas.

Seriously, there are many dangerous chemicals that occur naturally in our world - opium, marijuana, cocaine, etc. We and our children consume them, inhale them and sometimes even inject them into our bodies.

There is a greater danger to us and our children from the use and abuse of these deadly chemicals than we will ever see from organophosphates, ever. What we need is more research on herbicides that destroy these plants, which are the scourge of the earth.

As for me, I am going to Publix today and buy some non-organic apples, lettuce, tomatoes and a carton of fresh Florida orange juice. I can't afford organic tomatoes at $5 a pound.

What about you?

Congressman calls for Bipartisan Medicare Reform

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL 13) issued the following statement today opposing President Bush’s proposal to cut $178 billion from Medicare. The fiscal year 2009 budget unveiled today by the President would freeze payments to hospitals and other health care providers.

“I strongly support the administration’s goal to balance the budget without raising taxes,” said Buchanan. “But it’s not fair to put the burden on our seniors who rely on Medicare for their health care coverage. The way to balance the budget is to promote economic growth and eliminate wasteful spending.

“My district is home to 176,721 seniors age 65 and over,” said the 13th District Congressman. “We already have a shortage of health care providers who are willing to serve elderly patients who depend on Medicare for their health care coverage. Freezing reimbursement rates will make the problem worse.

“What we need is meaningful reform to meet the needs of seniors today and in the future,” added Buchanan. “Each year we fail to address the issue, the worse the problem becomes and the more difficult the solutions will be. I look forward to working toward a bipartisan solution.”

Buchanan has introduced legislation to amend the constitution to require a balanced budget and cosponsored legislation to make permanent tax cuts for working families.

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) today urged House leaders to include much-needed relief for Florida seniors in the economic growth bill being drafted by Congress.

“Senior citizens living on a fixed income are feeling the pressure of high prices and the slowing economy,” Buchanan wrote in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). “Yet surprisingly, the bipartisan economic stimulus agreement ignores these older Americans.”

The 13^th District Congressman noted that according to the AARP, under the proposed stimulus package approximately 20 million senior citizens living primarily on Social Security will not be part of the rebate check program.

“That’s wrong,” continued Buchanan. “These seniors are most likely to spend any additional income on necessary resources such as medicine, utilities, food and clothing -- offering a short-term infusion of money into our economy.”

“Soon congressional committees will begin their work on the proposed stimulus package. I ask that you ensure that our nation's low-and middle-income senior households are included among those Americans expected to benefit from the tax rebate program,” concluded Buchanan.

Buchanan’s five-point economic stimulus plan submitted to House leaders and the Bush Administration would eliminate the 1993 tax on Social Security benefits from 85 percent to 50 percent.

“Thankfully, Congressman Vern Buchanan and other forward-thinking Members are asking their Congressional Leaders to remember America's retirees and their critical role in the nation's economy. RetireSafe salutes their efforts to include older Americans in the economic stimulus package,” said RetireSafe President Michelle Plasari. RetireSafe is a grassroots network representing almost 400,000 older Americans nationwide.

Buchanan is a former businessman and the only Florida Member serving on the House Committee on Small Business.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in its column "Healthy change in North Port" commends the building of a new "North Port Regional Medical Center. . .a significant step in the city's journey toward becoming a more self-contained place."

They also state, "North Port, which recent estimates show has about 50,000 residents, was founded almost 50 years ago by a development company that did not include much more than residential lots in its plans for a sprawling city."

Is the editorial board suddenly pro-developer or are they just recognizing that developers do good and create wonderful communities like North Port, Florida.

We commend Dr. Lee Gross, and Sarasota Memorial Hospital for their entrepreneurial spirit in building this much needed North Port Regional Medical Center.

Development and the growth of a city is always reason to celebrate. We wish the Sarasota Herald-Tribune would provide more of these positive stories about our vibrant and growing community.

We also commend the North Port City Commission for fast tracking this great medical facility. They understand the value of a healthy community - both medically and economically.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune's editorial board reveals its reading habits and prejudices in their editorial "A test for product safety chief - Lobbyists and industry representatives should not qualify."

The Herald-Tribune refers to the Washington Post, a bastion of liberal thinking, which was outraged that any government official would question increasing the budget for their department or the contents of a Senate bill prepared by Democrats. When Nancy A. Nord did both of these she was pilloried by the Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters, CBS and of course PBS.

If all of these liberal media outlets are against her then she must be doing something right. Go Nancy!

Well then the Herald-Tribune shows its prejudice against "lobbyists and industry representatives" being named to replace Nancy as interim Chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Let me see, the Herald-Tribune does not want anyone who has real world experiences with, has worked in or knows anything about the manufacturing industry to run the Commission. But they are more than happy to have President Bush appoint someone who hates or certainly intensely distrusts the manufacturing industry to Chair the Commission. They also want more money, more oversight and more regulation. Right...

As we pointed out in a previous column - how about with product safety we allow entrepreneurs to solve this problem. We currently have in other industries independent private sector non-profit organizations that look at products and services. We have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., National Safety Council, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Consumer Reports to name just a few.

Maybe we get the toy industry to expand its current efforts and create an independent non-profit corporation or support organizations such as W.A.T.C.H and HealtyToys.org that focus on toy safety. I have seen on Fox News where several toy retailers have purchased infrared lead paint detectors and will test toys for their customers for free. Talk about great ideas!

We believe that less government is good for consumers. Let consumers via their pocketbooks determine good products from bad products. We consumers are the best ones to determine if a product is safe for our children with the help of our local business owners, who have a vested interest in making sure what they sell is both needed and safe.

Milton Friedman, American Economist, said it best, “Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government."