Florida Must Not Have Any Problems

It's nice to know there are no serious problems in the state of Florida. Evidently they have eliminated poverty, covered all their citizens with health insurance, created jobs for the unemployed, eliminated gas and food inflation, assured all workers a decent wage, made sure all students will graduate high school and provided funding for everyone who wants to go to college. Surely they wouldn't be dealing with trifling issues unless these problems had been solved.

But then I forgot that they, like Texas, are a state currently being ruled by the right-wing Republicans. So obviously, they would rather pass ridiculous laws than deal with the real problems their citizens are facing.

Last week, the Florida senate decided they needed to sponsor a religion. They approved the issuance of speciality license plates that would sport a christian emblem -- the cross. Even worse, the money raised by selling these plates would go to support some private religious (christian) schools.

I don't see how this could possibly pass constitutional muster. Can it really be constitutional for a state to pick a single religion to support publically and financially? I think they'll be spending a lot of state money to defend that in the federal courts.

Having picked their official state religion, this week Florida moved on to tackle another matter of public "decency". State Senator Cary Baker decided that the fake plastic bull testicles that can beseen dangling from the backs of many pickups and other vehicles are indecent. He introduced a bill to ban the fake "balls", and the bill actually passed the Florida senate.

I think the fake balls are silly, and I certainly don't want them hanging from the back of my vehicle. But this does strike me as a free speech issue. The balls make be making a silly statement, but aren't silly statements also protected by the first amendment? There goes more public funds to be wasted on another court battle.

What is wrong with these Florida legislators? I can hardly wait to see what basic constitutional right they will attack next week.