North Florida Writer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Life Around Us
  • Contact
  • MY BOOK PAGE

A Bad Day in Bed Rock (Tallahassee)

3/26/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever taken the time as a private citizen to go to speak before a body of your state legislature?  It's something that is not for the timid, but it is something that can make a difference in the outcome of things that truly concern us.  And we can't have any illusions of grandeur because we frequently can get shut down, looked at from the members of that august body with disinterest and sometimes even disdain but, remember, their job is to serve the people who elected them, which includes us.

Yesterday two of us made the trek to Tallahassee to present our concerns about legislation being considered, legislation which would seriously degrade the ability of the people to participate in the process of land development.  Land development in Florida is a huge issue as Governor Scott and the Republican majority seeks to make it simple for developers to expand their reach, including parcels of property that are clearly not suitable for high density development.  Being a resident of a rural area being impacted by these plans, we thought it important to be there, even if it did mean getting up at O-Dark-Thirty and making the one hundred sixty mile trip to do so.

This was our second trip, the first being two weeks ago before a State Senate committee.  This time it was to attend a House hearing and the difference in tone and posture was significantly noted.  One of the problems is that the amendment process goes on until the night before the meeting and it is very difficult for a regular citizen to do the last minute research that large corporations and developers can do with their lobbyist support.  In the case of the last trip, the committee was very open to our plight and paid rapt attention and while I know we face an uphill battle we did get good engagement, including comments from our State Senator that he would look into this in depth.

Yesterday was entirely different.  The committee sits at a table with half having the podium at their back and in this particular case the committee showed little if any interest in what was being said, even cutting my associate off in mid sentence by claiming his time was up.  This despite the fact that a previous speaker, one more supportive of his views went significantly overtime with his time but, of course, he was a lobbyist and lobbyists and lawyers  "rule the roost" in Tallahassee and other state capitols as well.  And we won't even bring up the subject of Washington, since the concern for the "average Joe" has long since passed.

I guess this was just a good example of why most say that the Senate is the deliberator while the House is a place of organized chaos and fast action.  I've seen this in Washington and in this case they were just true to that form.

So why do I bring this up?  I'm not naive and I know that most elected officials have pre-conceived notions on everything and they often have nothing to do with their constituents, but instead the lobbyists and special interests.  So here's the reason.  We Americans get what we deserve.  If we don't engage and speak up, things will always continue as they are and as we dumb down our kids it will only get worse.  It's important that citizens realize that what these elected officials do, be it at the local, state and federal levels has dramatic impact on our lives.  For as the separation of the people from their elected leaders gets broader, power is assumed by them because they know they can just use it and we pay the price.  Quality of life goes down, concern about constituents goes down, but the cost that we bear continues to go up.

Our local concern about what is happening to rural life is one that involves every state in the Union.  And, of course, development will always happen as a nation continues to grow, but it doesn't have to be done in a way that destroys all of our natural beauty and our God-given resources, especially water.  When the water is gone, it's gone and the grand schemes of land developers will leave an ugly scar in its wake, like the many vacant and boarded up shopping centers, office parks and strip centers that blight the land.

Sunday, my radio show on Conservative Report Radio, North Florida Writer Talks, will focus on what is happening here in Florida and where it might lead.  I will have two guests, both typical middle class citizens who will share their personal experience with what is happening.  Our plight is just a case study that probably is not dissimilar to other areas and I think we all can learn from it. Go to conservativereport.org and follow the link at the top menu (Conservative Report Radio) or you can call in at 914-338-1776.  The show starts at 3pm Eastern.

Now go have a wonderful day and help us keep America beautiful.  God bless you all.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ABOUT ME

    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

    Archive

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    America
    American Sports
    Animals
    Armed Forces Day
    Conservatism
    Doctorpatient0717615167
    Elections-2016
    Florida
    Florida-politics
    Freedom
    Freedom-of-speech
    Geese
    God
    Gods Glory0546cd6883
    Health Care
    Honor
    Integrity
    Jesus Christ
    Koch-brothers
    Leisure-time
    Love
    Military
    Nature
    Primaries
    Proverbs
    Safety
    Savior
    The Future
    Top-political-donors-list
    Tyrannical-government

    RSS Feed

Thanks for contacting northfloridawriter.com.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Arian Zwegers, trvlto, thomas pix, taberandrew, Justin A. Wilcox, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, ckay, phalinn, curtis palmer, bnpositive, oddsock, HooLengSiong, jespahjoy, illustir, ljlphotography, Out at Bob's, The Labour Party, ljlphotography, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, eli.pousson, JasonParis, Fibonacci Blue, wht_wolf9653, bsabarnowl, ` TheDreamSky, Ken_Hoffman, dsearls, NCinDC, James Byrum, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, cliff1066™, possan, dpape, David Holt London, akeg, Waiting For The Word, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, MilitaryHealth, yukali, infomatique, goforchris, cliff1066™, Wootang01, dctim1, Donald Lee Pardue, LizMarie_AK, campdarby, CedarBendDrive, bill85704, faeparsons, TMAB2003, cliff1066™, Rennett Stowe, KOMUnews, cliff1066™, chris.huggins, USDAgov, mat_walker, gruntzooki, DonkeyHotey, ljlphotography, Elvert Barnes, Paulsasleepwalker, facebook.com/snapshotsofthepast, foto3116, Miller_Center, digitonin, BostonCatholic, Watt_Dabney, jepoirrier, EpicFireworks, derekskey, cletch, DonkeyHotey, KOMUnews, DonkeyHotey, ravensong75, Alan Cleaver, Francisco Diez, hermmermferm, cod_gabriel, Marxchivist, Fibonacci Blue, dbgg1979, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, David Barrie, rjs1322, Just Another Wretch, Keith Laverack, Waiting For The Word, whoohoo120, AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, Brett Jordan, yisris, Michael Hodge, Waiting For The Word, MilitaryHealth, doceggman, AlmazUK, taberandrew, cliff1066™, krossbow, shinya, The Jewish Agency for Israel, kudumomo, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, cliff1066™, johntrainor, emilio labrador, cliff1066™, EraPhernalia Vintage . . . (playin' hook-y ;o), **emmar**, Mrs. Gemstone, Andrea Westmoreland, Jeff Kern, Waiting For The Word, Abdulsalam Haykal, Donald Lee Pardue, roberthuffstutter, Dougtone, b1mbo, DonkeyHotey, paularps, kaatjevervoort, Simon Davison, BONGURI, Marion Doss, ex_magician, Bergfels, Brett Jordan, Tim Evanson, Art4TheGlryOfGod, Jeff Kubina, sskennel, DonkeyHotey, VirtKitty, Rodrigo_Soldon, resistealeau, MilitaryHealth, edalisse, Mervi Eskelinen aka tasselflower, Kaz Andrew, nitram242, Andrew Aliferis, uitdragerij, Paul J Everett, Joe Shlabotnik, Jeffrey, Harry Thomas Photography, Tim Evanson, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Ron Cogswell, Nationalmuseet, escapedtowisconsin, Michael Cory, DonkeyHotey, timsamoff, mrbillt6, bnilsen, themonnie, valeehill, dichohecho, Waiting For The Word, technochick, cliff1066™, RTD Photography, Randy Wick, Enokson, Rising Damp, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, SteveNakatani, Fovea Centralis, Dru Bloomfield - At Home in Scottsdale, lisaclarke, Mulad, Roswell_UMC, Bengt Nyman, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, FreedomHouse2, SuperFantastic, Rory Finneren, Alaskan Dude, Larry1732, Mr. T in DC, ikewinski, Ivy Dawned, RLHyde, Waiting For The Word, heartajack, dyogi, dailymatador, David Paul Ohmer, Pleuntje, Leonard Bentley, midwestnerd, Donald Lee Pardue, DonkeyHotey, Oli-Oviyan, PatrikWalde, flamesworddragon, The U.S. Army, Zach Heller Photography, DonkeyHotey, EvinDC, Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections, Ronnie Macdonald, Gerry Dincher, The U.S. Army, Jeff Belmonte, DonkeyHotey, Texas Military Forces, jim.greenhill, Ben Sutherland, the Original Jeff Martin, Loz Flowers, CBP Photography, spbpda, OCVA, Hot Rod Homepage, brianholsclaw, dozodomo, quinn.anya, KOMUnews, wtstoffs, Leo Newball, Jr., lilli2de, dmott9, Justin A. Wilcox, sören2013, boboroshi, newagecrap, CoreBurn, simminch, ninahale, EvinDC, Mister Awesome, HeyRocker, beggs, Donald Lee Pardue