Some folks say that I am as subtle as a subway train. Which is to say, not very. You can hear me coming from a long way away.
I do not know how many readers have ever actually ridden on a subway. Generally, you ride either because you do not have time to wait for a taxi in traffic, or you do not want to spend the money.
But if you have ridden on a subway, one thing is clear: Some people cannot resist putting their mark on things. Subway tunnels and supports are generally covered with graffiti.
Some lunkheads with cans of spray paint will put their initials on every support column for three-block stretches.
Amazingly, very few of them get crushed by the trains. In better times, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might be just such a lunkhead.
Unfortunately, right now, he is governor instead of a tunnel decorator. He does appear to be qualified for the latter position, because he sure does like to scribble his name on things.
And, we taxpayers get to pay for that fondness.
The state received some money for teacher bonuses. The normal practice would be to send it to the districts for distribution to teachers along with their regular paychecks. Instead, DeSantis used public money to hire some cronies to send out separate checks, along with letters bearing his name.
Some of the checks bounced. I am not sure how well this reflects on the governor’s judgment in choosing the cronies to benefit from his public largesse. Normally you would think his fat-cat friends would be solvent.
Probably the teachers are expected to feel grateful for their checks. Personally, I am not sure how grateful the ones whose checks bounced will feel. Maybe there is some residual gratitude for good intentions.
Come to think of it, there is not much evidence of good intentions either. Really, we all know what the governor was thinking — what a great opportunity to have a friend send campaign mailers at taxpayer expense.
— Andrews is a DeLand-area attorney and a longtime government critic. For purposes of the column, he finds it convenient that there is so much government to criticize.
Wow, where has this Attorney been look a little further North if you are interested in finding incompetence. There will never be anyone in a position of power who will please everyone but I am more concerned about the ones making our Country a place we won’t recognize tomorrow
I recently had a conversation with an executive at The Beacon. He was correcting me for posting a comment that the Beacon was a worthless rag for not posting all recent obits of those who have died in the area. He was quick to inform me that only “paid for” obits were published. It was explained to me that the charges were necessary to keep the Beacon afloat. I argued that perhaps better content would be sufficient in increasing sales in order to allow the posting of all deaths as a goodwill service to the community. Obviously my idea was taken lightly. I don’t believe Mr. Tanners opinions or comments will be helpful in achieving my suggested remedy for boosting profits.
This news source is a full of shit liberal hack