September in Florida is an election month. At one time September was remembered as the beginning of the school year. But Florida as usual has to be different, school this year started in the middle of August! There was a primary election on September 10th. The major race is for a nominee as governor. The democrats have former Attorney General Janet Reno, and a wealthy lawyer ex Marine (I really should say “former” since there are no “ex” Marines) Bill McBride. The republicans have no contest for governor. The present governor, Jeb Bush, the brother of George II in Washington, is running unopposed. There are numerous other contest in both parties for lesser offices right down to judges who run without a party label and on both tickets.
One of the major issues in the November election will be referendum approving or disallowing constitutional amendments. They are now being publicized and discussed (somewhat). There are eleven of them. Florida leans more and more towards California politically with its constitution being revised at nearly every election. One proposal concerns cruelty to commercial pigs! It is entitled: “Limiting Cruel and Inhumane Confinement of Pigs During Pregnancy”. It is the manner in which the sows are treated. It proposes: “that no person shall confine a pig during pregnancy in a cage or other enclosure or tether a pregnant pig, on a farm, so that a pig is prevented from turning around freely, except for veterinary purposes and during the prebirth period” So to keep them upright during pregnancy that is considered inhumane. Once on a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we visited an Amish farm. There was a sow of many pounds, maybe even 600 or more. She was upright only due to a yoke around her neck, which was fastened to either side of the enclosure. We learned that she was thus “inhumanely” treated so that the piglets could suck milk from her without being crushed to death! It seemed very sensible to us so that the little ones could obtain sustenance without the danger of being rolled upon my mom. But I suppose now there will be many saying here is a another reason for you to not eat pork, bacon, ham, etc. My real objection to this type of “constitutional amendment” is that the issue is something that could and should be handled with regulations from the Agriculture Department. It demeans the status of a constitution to have it altered for purely regulation type laws. Now there is one proposal of that quality, i.e., it proposes to amend the Florida Constitution’s language regarding cruel and unusual punishment to have it agree with the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It presently reads “cruel or unusual”. There is another proposed amendment that when an initiative is in the future placed up a ballot that the “economic impact” i.e. what it might cost to provide the suggested service, must accompany it. This is due to previous amendments being voted on and then the people learn that it will take millions to execute it. It occurred previously when there was an amendment, which passed ordering a monorail being installed across the state from East to West! The proposal was the dream of a multi millionaire who managed to get enough votes via publicity. Then the people learned how many millions it would take to execute the amendment. So now it is proposed that the “economic impact” be set forth along with any proposal. A problem with any proposals is that once passed the legislature is compelled by the same constitution to enact measures to bring the proposal to life.
Politics here is like politics in most places in that it is usually the last thing of interest to most citizens. I will be working at the Polls on Primary Election Day, September 10. We have new machines. There is no chance of “chads” since the voting will be done on touch screen machines. So I have lost my job as the “Ballot Assistant/ Greeter”. It has one consolation in that I won’t have to suffer the comments I received when I previously acted as such. I asked an incoming voter if he needed any assistance in understanding and using the ballot, the most common reply was, “I’m not a Democrat!” I will instead be working at the desk checking on the eligibility of the voter to vote, and if so in this precinct. It is a long day or as a supervisor friend says “It’s a lousy job and lousy pay, but you can’t believe the fun you’ll have!” Well, I can’t recall a lot of fun but I do enjoy the meeting of people who think enough of their freedom to exercise the right to vote, which that freedom freely gives. I always tell people who do vote that they now have earned the right to complain about “those politicians”. All those who don’t vote must keep quiet.
Politics in history and biography has always been a good part of my reading. The ideal and the practical conflicts are never better illustrated than in such lives. Jefferson the sage of Monticello forgot all about the constitution and the powers given to the President when it came to the Louisiana Purchase. Madison had similar problems with his office, which required action not legislation. The analysis by Gary Wills in his life of James Madison has a explanation of the mystery as to how Jefferson can be quoted by both liberal and conservatives. He wrote, “One problem with that gift (to act on only your ideals) is that Jefferson could not maneuver as pragmatically as most politicians are required to do. This did not mean he was incapable of taking opportunistic steps, as he did in the purchasing of Louisiana. But each change of course he had to invent a new set of absolute principles and elucidate it. That is why Jefferson can be so tellingly quoted on so many sides of various issues. Whatever he was doing at the moment had a radiantly eternal rationale.” Wills points out that what happen to Madison is he “shorted out”. He could not create a new rationale and thus his administration suffered by inaction.
My small world of politics had its comparison between the ideals I believed I saw in Clark and Dilworth as mayors. They brought a new life to the City of Philadelphia. But then I was able to watch the slow descent from any idealism through the administrations of James H.J. Tate down to the complete lack of it in his successor Frank Rizzo. Rizzo’s climax was a large headline in the Daily News, which read: RIZZO LIED! And he had.
September 11th will always be for all of us another Pearl Harbor Day. Number 911 will now be for me remembered because my beloved June and some good friends had to call 911 on September 1. I had some sort of TIA. (Most of the time here referring to the Tampa International Airport, but in my case to ‘Temporary Ischemic Attack’) It happened as we were finishing a great brunch-dinner celebration. We had as guests our interim Pastor Lin Houck and his wife Millie, Dick and Barbara Nummi, and Lou and Jean Rossetti. It was a ‘thank you’ to Lin and Millie who were leaving us since we now have a permanent Pastor on his way. We had just finished dessert when I was overcome with some strange feelings, vision blurred, and my speech slurred, and I had to be helped to the floor by Lin and Dick. They had called 911 and I was taken to the hospital where I remained over night. The diagnosis was never clearly ascertained but I had been going through several cardiac tests the weeks prior thereto in order to bring my data up to date for my new Cardiologist. There had been medicine changes and one of them was discontinued after the test in the hospital. We, June, the Pastor and I prayed a “thank you” to the Lord for giving me more time. I loved the comment of my daughter Suzanne on the day after I returned from the hospital, she said I wasn’t ‘old enough to die’. We laughed together when I remarked that I didn’t think you had any fixed age, like being old enough to drive, or to vote, etc. as to when you might leave this “bank and shoal of time”. On Monday September 9, the doctor’s news was not all good. I have an aneurysm in my abdominal aorta which is not large enough to risk an operation, but dangerous enough to limit my physical activities. It seems to be a family problem. I read recently where Frank had one and was operated on for it. Dick is about to have one by-passed on his leg. Anne put off any operation on hers until August of 2000. In addition an aortic valve is corroded and may need replacing if it results in a blockage. My blood pressure needs controlling too and it is being done with medication. We will abide by the good advice of the doctor and the directions of my beloved. I did get permission to work at the polls, and then due to another glitch in the Florida election system the Governor extended the time for the polls to stay open by two more hours. I had advised the boss at a my precinct about getting permission so he let me go at 7PM after only 13 hours, while the rest had to remain until 9 PM or 15 hours! We had a good turn out due to the governor’s race on the Democratic ticket between Reno and McBride. As predicted the newspapers, including the NYTimes, had a story about another Florida election foul up. Fortunately, September 11th being devoted to more important news the story of Florida’s election problems didn’t make much of ripple.
Until next time, Pax Tecum!