Tag Archives: Florida

Economy, Florida, Politics

H.R. 4219, Audit The Stimulus

In one of the latest slap in the face to taxpayers, did you know that stimulus dollars, 6 million of them, were used to stimulate multi-millionaire and Hillary Clinton campaign pollster Mark Penn?

As for Mark Penn’s $6 million. That was pure and simple political payback. Not a job stimulus by any stretch of the imagination.

Hearken back to the last campaign. After it was clear that Hillary was not in contention, she made the statement that her campaign was in the hole for millions of dollars and that she would support Barack Obama if he would pay off her campaign debt. Well, it looks to me that this is just what happened, only I had to pay it with ‘stimulus’ dollars, not Barack Obama with his campaign dollars.

From my perspective, the only change I see that came to Washington with Obama’s election was that Chicago politics moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And I’m sick of it.

For an administration that SAYS they are going to be open, read bills, deliberate bills on C-Span, and make bills available online for the public to see, doesn’t it just take the cake that a bill has to be introduced to force some transparency? H.R. 4219 will open the books on the so-called job stimulus. Well, that is if it will ever see the light of day.

It’s long past time for some transparency here, before we go one step further. Time to pull the administration’s pants down and take a look.

See press release below over auditing the spending of the stimulus money, or more correctly, our money, our kids’ money, and their kid’ money.

endofstoryMiller Press Release on Audit of Stimulus, December 9th, 2009

Miller, Wilson, Kingston, and Souder Demand Audit of Stimulus Funds

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Jeff Miller (FL-01), Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), Congressman Jack Kingston (GA-01), and Congressman Mark Souder (IN-03) today demanded an audit of stimulus funds. Just this morning, reports showed that Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster, received $6 million in stimulus money to preserve three jobs. Furthermore, the Administration still hasn’t thoroughly addressed the major discrepancies and inaccuracies of reporting on Recovery.gov. With the Government Accountability Office stating that one out of every 10 jobs created by the stimulus are also fake, it’s high time for Congress to act. The National Commission on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will create a bipartisan commission to investigate the effects of this “stimulus” bill.

Congressman Jeff Miller: “In my home state of Florida 52 jobs were created in the 34th Congressional District, according to the Recovery.gov website. 46 jobs were created in District 00. However, these districts simply don’t exist. How can the Administration expect us to trust their dubious jobs created numbers when they can’t even manage their own website? We need an audit of this spending immediately.”

Congressman Joe Wilson: “It’s time for Congress to demand answers on behalf of the hardworking taxpayers that we represent. The misnamed stimulus is one of the largest spending bills in our nation’s history and it is critical that American taxpayers receive adequate answers as to the whereabouts of stimulus funds. I can not fathom how Hillary Clinton’s pollster received $6 million to preserve just three jobs when that could sustain dozens of South Carolina’s families for life. I urge Speaker Pelosi to consider our legislation to ensure full accountability of every stimulus dollar spent.”

Congressman Jack Kingston: “What do you get for $18 million? The Obama Administration’s website that creates phony congressional districts and fishy jobs numbers. It’s time to pull back the curtain and get some of that transparency and accountability promised on the campaign trail. Until this Administration can provide the American people with an accurate accounting of their record breaking spending scheme, Congress should dry out the trough.”

Congressman Mark Souder: “Not only has the stimulus failed in its goal of reining in rising unemployment, the published report tracking the funds revealed imprecise statistics, nonexistent congressional districts and significantly overstated the number of jobs created. I am pleased to join Congressman Joe Wilson on this important legislation to put an end to this unaccountable stimulus spending spree. During this time of economic recession, Hoosier taxpayers deserve to know where and how their dollars are being spent.”

H.R. 4219, the National Commission on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (text can be found here) will create a ten member panel, appointed by the President and Democrat and Republican leaders in the House and Senate, will investigate how many jobs have actually been saved or created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5); the circumstances in which those jobs have been saved or created; and, the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent the improper payment of funds. Following the investigation, the Commission will make recommendations on what changes could be made to save or create more jobs and what steps can be taken to prevent the improper allocation of taxpayer dollars.

2010 Election, Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Did You Mean Caviar?

Well, no. What I was searching for was all I could find in the Pensacola News Journal on a candidate for Governor of the State of Florida, Farid Khavari. Instead, what I got was, ‘Did you mean caviar?’

Dr. Farid Khavari is a candidate for Governor of the State of Florida. Like most serious candidates, they will travel the state and visit the folks, and issue press releases, all in an attempt to get the word out about their platform and to gain some name recognition, and ultimately your vote.

Isn’t it the role of the media to pass along information about such folks? It’s called news. It’s called informing the public, for the public good, and with the public trust, so that the electorate can be as well informed as possible when it comes time to exercise our right to vote.

You will be surprised to know that Khavari has visited the Pensacola area twice in the last month, has issued press releases, and was interviewed by another media outlet after he visited with the Democratic Executive Committee.

That’s why I was disappointed to learn that, aside from my own input in the online comment area of a few relevant newspaper articles, there is no mention about candidate Khavari in the Pensacola News Journal, our predominant and only local daily newspaper, or any other local media.

I happen to support him in his efforts. Yeah, I know, a conservative supporting a democrat. What’s that about? It’s about issues, that’s what.

For a quick primmer about Khavari and his platform for the State of Florida, check these links. You’ll be glad you did.

related links: Khavari for Governor | ‘Khavari’ on The Lunch Counter

2010 Election, Economy, Florida, Politics

What A Bank Of The State Of Florida Can Do

There are only two States in the United States that are not operating in a deficit, if not technically bankrupt. Montana because of their rich oil resources, and North Dakota, because of their implementation of a State Bank, the Bank of North Dakota.

Because most people are not economists and may well just fall asleep trying to read up on it, you can learn in this post and in one podcast all you need to know to understand why and how part of Dr. Farid A. Khavari’s platform as Governor of the State of Florida, the Bank of the State of Florida (BSF), will work.

How Floridians can have 2% fixed rate 15 year mortgages and how the State of Florida can make billions by providing them

A cornerstone of the economic plan is to create a Bank of the State of Florida. We will put the power of modern banking to work for the people of Florida, not for Wall Street.

Over the years, interest has been the biggest cost most families had. When you pay interest to the bank, that means less money for your family. Reducing interest costs can save a family hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Let’s take a $100,000 mortgage, for example. With a 30-year fixed rate 5.5% mortgage, your monthly payment is $567.79 and you will pay $104,404.40 in interest on that loan.

With a 2% fixed rate 15-year mortgage, your payment would be $643.51, the total interest would be only $15,831.80 – and the mortgage would be paid 15 years sooner! You save 88,572.60 in interest. If you then make 15 years of payments to yourself with 5% interest from the Bank of the State of Florida, you will have more than $160,000 after taxes in your account—just by having your mortgage from the Bank of the State of Florida.

How can we do this? It’s called “fractional reserve banking” and this is how all the banks do it. If you have $100 in reserves, you can loan out $900 or more. That means you collect interest on $900 but you pay interest on only $100 at most. If the bank pays you 2% for your CD and lends it at 5% on 9 times as much money, you can see this is a really good deal – for the bank.

Now our Bank of the State of Florida does not need to be greedy. It is not going to get involved in shenanigans like bundling and selling mortgages, taking out weird insurance policies and general practices that have caused the mess we are in today. When we make a mortgage, that asset remains right on our books and the paperwork is right there on file. We are going to pay good dividends and the highest rates in the market for long term deposits. We are going to loan out 9 times our reserves. And we are going to make billions of dollars for the State Treasury while we save Floridians a trillion dollars—and that trillion dollars becomes many trillions in Florida’s economy.

Let’s say we pay 5% for our $100 and loan out our $900 at 2%. We pay out $5 in interest, and we take in $18 in interest. Can we make money at that? You bet we can.

We could make the $3.6 billion we are short this year on just a couple of million 2% mortgages. We can do even better on 3 – 4% commercial financing and vehicle loans.

And all the money the bank earns goes directly into the State Treasury, to work for Floridians, not to Wall Street.

Where do we get the reserves? The State of Florida has billions invested with Wall Street. 5 or 6% guaranteed looks pretty good these days compared to a 50% decline in the stock market. Look at what long-term bonds are paying, look at CD’s—we will have no problem attracting all the long-term deposits we need to get started, simply by paying good rates.

Now look what happens. With a 2% fixed rate 15-year loan, the buyer has paid off over 11% of the principal within 2 years. That means we have more than enough reserves to make a new mortgage for someone else, without having to pay interest for the reserves! (In comparison, a 5.5% 30-year loan takes 7 years to pay 11% of the principal).

Now some people might think that low interest rates will just raise the price of homes. That would be true if the 2% loan was for 30 years. But the payment on the 2% loan for 15 years is a little bit higher than the payment for 5.5% 30 years, so this tends to hold prices down. It also tends to eliminate speculation that messes up the market every time. As long as prices are stable, we can offer mortgages with low down payments, so home ownership can be as easy as paying rent.

What the Bank of the State of Florida does is transfer hundreds of billions of dollars away from Wall Street directly into the pockets of Floridians by reducing interest costs… and it puts hundreds of billions into the State Treasury, too. We will have stable, fair prices for homes and take 15 years of slavery out of the process of owning a home.

Consumer financing is another area where Wall Street and the big banks are costing us way too much. Banks charge huge interest on credit cards, for example, where the cost of money to the bank is really zero. If a family has $10,000 in credit card debt at 25% interest, that’s over $200 per month in interest alone. At 6%, the monthly interest is only $50. This family could reduce monthly payments by $50 and pay off the debt years sooner. The State earns billions of dollars per year while saving Floridians billions and billions more.

The Bank of the State of Florida will earn billions of dollars per year for the taxpayers of Florida, not Wall Street fat cats. At the same time it will reduce interest costs and save Florida families hundreds of thousands of dollars per family. Who needs that money more? You or Citibank?

The Bank of the State of Florida can handle checking accounts and ATM’s too. The other banks will have to become competitive, and there is no reason why they cannot.

Couldn’t the federal government do the same thing? Actually, the federal government could do even better and they could do it immediately at huge benefit to the U.S. Treasury. Do you think we should wait around for them to do it? We can have this program in effect in Florida within a year, at no cost to the State.

Then there is this podcast hosted by Kim Greenhouse of It’s Rainmaking Time. It is an hour and fifteen minutes of a discussion entitled State Chartered Banks: A Solution for the US Economy featuring Ellen Brown and a panel of experts in the field. Dr. Khavari is one of those guests.

For the audio of Kim Greenhouse’s interview with Ellen Brown about State Chartered Banks, click HERE.

For Florida, and the rest of the country for that matter, this represents the light at the end of the deficit tunnel. Not an oncoming train.

related links:


2010 Election, Economy, Florida, Politics

Khavari: The Man With A Plan

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In a continuing effort to inform Florida voters about the only person running for Governor of the State of Florida who has an economic recovery plan, one that does not include more borrowing and taxing, meet Dr. Farid Khavari.  The beauty of his plan is that it represents a blueprint for long term economic prosperity instead of a pothole patch.

And, it is a plan that other states can also benefit from. Economic security is not exclusive to Florida. Expect other states to catch on to this Bank of the State of Florida concept too! More information about his platform is on his website and in his latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Please share this press release from the Khavari campaign.

Khavari: The era of commercial banks is over; state banks are the future.

Miami, FL  Nov. 23 — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a  Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national and international attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida.

“Not since the Great Depression has it been so clear,” said Khavari. “We need banks that work for the benefit of the people, not people working for the benefit of the banks. There is no mystery why we are facing another depression: the banks got greedy and stupid, and now they are making us pay for it.

“The economy is collapsing due to lack of demand. The economy needs money, but the banks are cutting credit, and then sucking all the cash out of the economy by raising interest rates to make sure no one has any cash left at the end of the month. The cost of interest is built into the cost of everything. People already work ten years of their lives just to pay interest in one form or another. The Bank of the State of Florida will end that for Floridians. And this model will work for every state.

“We can start the BSF at no cost to taxpayers. We can pay 6% interest on savings. Using the same fractional reserve rules as all banks, we can create $900 of new money through loans for every $100 in deposits. We can loan that $900 in the form of 2% fixed rate 15-year mortgages, for example, and the state can earn $12 every year for every $100 in deposits. That means Floridians can save tens of billions of dollars per year while the state earns billions making it possible for them.

“2% fixed-rate mortgages will create a thousand times more jobs than any so-called stimulus can.  By reducing the total interest cost on a home by over 85%, the average family will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that money stays in Florida,” Khavari said.

“State and local government budgets will balance without higher taxes when the BSF cuts interest costs,” Khavari said. “6% BSF credit cards will save people billions per month, money that stays in Florida instead of going to the big banks—and the state will make huge profits on that, too.  Saving billions in interest costs will create millions of jobs without subsidies just by keeping those billions circulating in Florida. Eventually the state will earn enough to reduce and eliminate state and local taxes while every Floridian has economic security in a recession-proof Florida.”

Asked whether a state-owned bank is socialism, Khavari smiled. “Are public schools socialism? Public roads, police and fire protection, municipal water? Socialism is where everyone works for the state. In these cases, and with our Bank of the State of Florida, the state is working for everyone. I call that general capitalism.”

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics, War On Terror

The Crist – Obama Political Dilemma

Hot topic in Florida politics is Gov Charlie Crist, that well-tanned guy with bright smile. Not so much for his collusion with the RPOF to derail his challenger for the senate seat, but for his attempt to re-write history in his support for Obama’s so-called economic stimulus bill and subsequent loss of support. Editors on the Gulf Coast say Crist should ‘man up,’ quit pretending, and ponder what he needs to do to stop his slide in the polls.

It is demonstrative of what happens when a ‘leader’ is politically driven, instead of driven by core principles, always measuring the effects of a decision on a political bloc instead of just doing what you believe to be right.

President Obama finds himself in the same situation right now over any number of subjects. The most blatant of which is the war effort in Afghanistan. His dithering over not just what to do, but whether to do, will bite him in the butt as well. His core beliefs on that subject are beginning to show and becoming harder to disguise. If he does what is right, he ticks off his anti-war, anti-military, anti-American (as we know it) far-left base. If he caves, he loses those high-valued ‘independent’ voters who elected him.

The ‘real’ Crist is a political chameleon. Obama is the wizard of OZ. The only difference is in their motivation. Crist is denying whatever he has to, to get elected to the Senate. Obama is trying, with the help of the media, to keep people from knowing what he is all about and what his goal of remaking America is, so he can permanently stifle capitalism and personal freedom. In other words, ‘social justice.’ It’s what Marxists do.

If Obama had the guts to run on what he is doing to the economy and the private sector, Hillary Clinton would most likely be President now. Crist should man up. Obama can’t man up. But the more the folks learn about each of them, the slimmer their chances of election or re-election. And in both cases, if both lose, America wins.

2010 Election, Florida, Pensacola, Politics

Who Has A Solution For Florida's Economy?

The political landscape in Florida is broad, but not very deep. There is more going on in the gubernatorial race and the Senate race than you know. More even than the media knows or is willing to share.

In the gubernatorial race, there is only one candidate that actually has a plan not only to fix Florida’s economy in the short term, but in the long term too. There is only one candidate that has a plan to maximize the health care dollars and health care productivity in the state, which will bring cost down, not up. There is only one candidate that is not running on endorsements and the boilerplate ‘I can do it better and smarter than him/or her’ but is running on a platform of real changes that will produce real and lasting benefits for Floridians, including jobs and lowering the costs of necessities like insurance, housing, loans and financing, energy and health care.

Did you know . . .

Florida is in a worse mess than you think. Our state’s economy is tanking, with 700,000 jobs lost, 300,000 foreclosures and more on the way. The banks just keep making it worse, and interest, insurance and energy costs keep going higher. This year’s $3.5 billion deficit got plugged by “stimulus” money, but next year’s will be worse. Most people don’t even know about the over $50 BILLION in losses at the State Board of Administration (SBA), for which Governor (and candidate for the U.S. Senate) Charlie Crist, Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Bill McCollum, and Chief Financial Officer (and gubernatorial candidate) Alex Sink are directly responsible. That’s almost $3,000 for every Floridian! They hope we won’t find out about this disaster until after the election. We can expect our taxes to go up by 25% in the next two years, because those same politicians are doing nothing to clean up the mess. They are too busy running for the next office. We can hardly look to them for solutions, because they are the problem! No one has offered a plan to fix Florida’s mess – until now.

The candidate with a plan is Dr. Farid Khavari. He’s an economist, not a politician. That’s probably why he has solutions that will work, instead of more of the same.

Don’t take my word for it though. Check out these three websites of the candidates, do your own research, and see who has a plan and who has more of the same.

Political Party Hardball. In an earlier post on how Florida’s Democratic Party is not Democratic, which was pertaining to the seven Democratic candidates for Governor, at which time you say ‘what? I thought it was only Alex Sink.’ I told you about how the party’s State Chairperson Karen Thurman chose Alex Sink at their state convention last month while ignoring Khavari and the other candidates. Well, the RPOF seems to be on the same track when it comes to picking their candidate for U.S. Senate. Don’t you want to have some say in this?

RPOF Chairman Bob Greer seems to have also taken sides on who he wants for Martinez’s senate seat, Gov. Charlie Crist. So much so that he is involved in some shenanigans to hurt Marco Rubio in an attempt to keep him off the ballot. And Crist and his hand-picked temporary senator George LeMieux have  been caught red-handed conducting a smear campaign against Rubio which includes of course, Hitler.

In an effort to bring party politics back into the open, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL, 01) is calling for the resignation of Party Chairman Greer. I concur.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: DAN McFAUL

November 7, 2009 850-324-4866

MILLER CALLS ON GREER TO RESIGN AS FLORIDA GOP CHAIRMAN

Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL-01) issued the following statement today:

“Jim Greer has shown on numerous occasions that he is incapable of running the Republican party of Florida (RPOF) and refuses to remain neutral in contested primaries. Mr. Greer has failed at managing the financial, political, and public relations aspects of the state party.

The latest scandal involving a RPOF operative and the use of a fake Twitter account to disparage a duly elected county Chairman is just another in a long list of management failures. Further, Greer has shown a bias in the primary of the United States Senate Seat in publicly supporting Governor Crist and has repeatedly ignored calls from county party organizations for neutrality. This behavior is inexcusable and Florida Republicans deserve better.

At a time when Republicans across the country are energizing and unifying to defeat the Democrats in 2010, Greer is dividing and deflating Republicans in Florida.

I call on Mr. Greer to resign as Chairman of the RPOF.”

Now who is going to call Thurman on her obvious bias?

Florida, Politics

Gov. Crist And Chicago Politics

Whether Crist is following Obama’s lead in the Chicago way of dealing with political opponents, or Crist’s true colors are beginning to show, it doesn’t really matter. What it shows is Crist is getting desperate, and dirty.

Red State details some facts of the smear campaign that Crist and his comrades in the Florida Republican machine are waging against Marco Rubio. And, of course, it includes Hitler.

link: Charlie Crist Gets Desperate. Senator George LeMieux Appears To Be Involved In the Rubio Attack Too.

Florida, Politics

"Florida's Democratic Party Is Not Democratic"

There is evidence of this all over Washington and the country during election seasons, which don’t seem to end anymore. But this is coming from Dr. Farid Khavari, Democratic candidate for governor of Florida. The news media is cheating you, not only on what happened last week at the State of Florida’s Democratic Convention, but in telling you who is running.

This press release from Dr. Farid Khavari’s campaign . . .

Florida’s Democratic Party is not democratic at all, says Khavari

Miami, FL Oct. 14 — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida. Khavari’s plan to create one million private-sector jobs in Florida without subsidies has won enthusiastic praise at each stop on the campaign trail, and in national media.

You might think Khavari would be a featured speaker at Florida’ s statewide Democratic Convention, but you would think wrong. Hundreds of delegates to last week’s convention in Orlando were surprised to learn that Khavari and six other candidates were running for governor. “State Chairperson Karen Thurman chose Alex Sink several months ago to be the anointed candidate for governor,” said Khavari. “She did not consult with any of the county party organizations. At the convention, neither I nor any of the other candidates for governor were even acknowledged or introduced.

“I met hundreds of delegates who thought Sink was the only candidate, and who were outraged that the state Party did not even inform them that there were other candidates,” Khavari continued. “It’s the same story when I visit the county party organizations. The members are angry that Karen Thurman is the dictator of the Democratic Party in Florida. They have no say in anything the state party does.

“The Democratic Party in Florida is as democratic as the former Soviet Union or modern-day Iran. The bosses choose the candidates. That’s not how it’s supposed to work in America,” Khavari said. “Meanwhile, as Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink allowed the state’s retirement funds to lose $60 Billion in phony deals that made hundreds of millions for Wall Street sharks. How could she ever top that as governor? Another million people unemployed, 300,000 more foreclosures, another $60 Billion lost?

“Sink’s famous plan to cut use of Blackberries by her employees covers the interest on $60 Billion for 34 minutes. What’s her plan to get a million Floridians back to work? What’s her plan to earn back $60 Billion before the taxpayers need to pass the hat and pay over $3,000 for every man, woman and child in Florida for her previous leadership?

“Fortunately, in spite of being crowned by Boss Thurman, it looks like Sink will not win in the primary next August,” Khavari added. “You can’t cover up $60 Billion forever.”

Besides Khavari and Sink, six other Democrats are running for governor: Joe Allen, Peter Allen, Michael Arth, Philip Kennedy, Anthony Knox, Sr, and Mark Shephard.

Candidates for the U.S. Senate were snubbed, too. “Thurman anointed Kendrick Meek as her choice for U.S. Senate, ignoring five others,” Khavari said. Also registered for the U.S. Senate race are Democrats Connie Brown, Tyrone Brown, Sr., Kevin Burns, Chuck Lunch and Lawrence Penpek.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero- Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Florida, Media, Politics

Grayson Gets His Street Creds Back

Taking hyperbole to a whole new, if not criminal level, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is in denial about the Republican alternative health care reform plan, which happens to be H.R.3400, and then some. Tuesday on the floor of the House, he comes out with charts that say Republicans want you do die quickly if you get sick. If that’s not desperation I don’t know what is.

No apologies or retractions coming. Not from him or Speaker Pelosi. That their reaction is what it is speaks volumes about their character and that of their leadership. The very same leadership that promised an open and ethical administration. As for Grayson, he must be feeling pretty secure in his district to think he can get away with a stunt like that. Or, he is rehabilitating himself under the thumb of Nancy Pelosi for his criticism of the administration last summer in an attempt to find out where trillions of taxpayer dollars have gone.

And isn’t it also instructive to see the media sit back and watch, as if marveling at the tactic. For them, and the Democrat leadership in Washington, the end justifies the means.

Florida, Pensacola, Politics

Trial Lawyers' Quid Pro Quo

Here comes the payback for the trial lawyers. When I say that taking away the tax hammer from the politicians in Washington, which is exactly what would happen if the FairTax were to become law, there is one other change for the better that the FairTax would do. It would end the manipulation of the tax code to favor special interests, like what Democrats in Washington are trying to do today for their most favored group of lobbyists, trial lawyers.

It’s about senate bill  S.437. Its purpose is to amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow attorneys a tax deduction in the current taxable year for reimbursable expenses and court costs which they pay or incur in connection with contingency fee cases.

It is not a coincidence that tort reform is not mentioned in Washington by Democrats when it comes to reducing costs of health care. Its absence in the health care bills, both real and imagined, is no accident. S.437 demonstrates just how much the administration is in bed with the slip-and-fall lobby.  And look who they get to sponsor it, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA).  Also note that Mel Martinez (R-FL) is one of eight primary sponsors.

Tough economic times are usually no problem for trial lawyers. Pain, suffering and liability abound even in a bad economy. Vioxx, defective products, bad hip replacement joints, video games that “cause” violence, perhaps even foods that “make” people fat — you name it.

Even so, the trial lawyer lobby is looking for a bailout of sorts. In exchange for the billion dollars that the legal profession has contributed to lawmakers since 1990 — the vast majority of it to Democrats — trial lawyers are gunning for a tax break that applies only to them, worth some $1.6 billion.

Their top lobbyist, Linda Lipsen of the American Association for Justice, remarked at a recent conference in San Francisco that the provision would have to be attached to another bill.

“You cannot have a stand-alone bill to help lawyers,” she explained, “so we have to tuck it into something.”{emphasis added}

So watch for the bill that they try to hide it in. It will most likely be a bill, like all others we’ve witnessed since January 20th of this year, that will be touted as an emergency. Another of those that won’t be read and shoved down America’s collective throat.

Everybody gets their payback in Obama’s administration. Especially the  lobbyists he said he would distance himself from when he was a candidate. You simply have to wait your turn. AIG, Freddie and Fannie, Wall Street, the UAW, and now the trial lawyers.

Where is the quid? Well, aside from the billion dollars of donations since 1990, there is this . . .

An Examiner analysis of National Law Journal’s “2008 Plaintiff’s Hot List ” shows that in the first six months of 2009, employees of the top 15 trial firms contributed $636,305 to federal politicians and political action committees.

Only $4,875 of that went to Republicans, meaning that trial lawyers at the nation’s top firms are giving more than 99 percent Democratic this year. Similarly, AAJ’s PAC gave Democrats 96 percent of its $627,000 in contributions in the first half of this year.

Trial lawyers are concentrating on the Senate, with the top 15 firms giving $236,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $54,000 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a former trial lawyer who faces a potentially difficult re-election. Reid collected $978,000 from the legal industry as a whole between January and June.

You may have heard a lawyer joke or two. Like 99% of lawyers give the rest of them a bad name. It’s hard to engender any sympathy for the slip-and-fall, mass tort class of attorneys when . . .

Their political standard-bearer, former Sen. John Edwards, admitted to cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, and is being investigated for his presidential campaign’s $100,000 payment to his mistress.

Last spring, four senior partners of Milberg Weiss, formerly New York’s pre-eminent class action securities firm, were fined and imprisoned for bribing plaintiffs in cases that had netted them $250 million in fees. (The firm since reorganized, and its remaining partners and employees have made $36,537 in political contributions this year, all to Democrats.)

And Dickie Scruggs of Mississippi, a master trial lawyer and architect of the billion-dollar tobacco settlement in 1998, received a seven-year prison sentence earlier this year for bribing a judge.

related link:  Trial lawyers’ gun for their own loophole