The Florida quarter made its premiere today. Governor Bush unveiled it this morning at the Kennedy Space Centre complex. Inscribed with "Gateway to Discovery," the new $0.25 piece depicts the NASA Space Shuttle (which has been and continues to be grounded following the Columbia incident) and a Spanish Galleon sailing ship. Tickets to attend were free, but with my current financial situation I did not want to make the drive east.

What do you think of the new quarter?

So President Bush skipped out on his military duty?
Oh, he did not?

…

Who cares?

If I had breasts I think I would have to purchase the above.

Some of you may already have heard of the reported plans by President Bush to formally announce a reformation plan of action that would place as a primary goal America's return to the moon. Various news agencies and other public discussion forums have already starting asking questions about this plan and raising suspicions as to where this sudden shift in politics originated. Others are more concerned that the money being discussed for this plan could be better spent on needs closer to home.

While it is no secret my views when it comes to social policy and government are mostly liberal, I do not hold a strict loyalty to the Democratic Party. I vote on the issues individually, selecting the best candidate for the particular task at hand. I would also like to point out that in elections for my local City and County governments I have, on several occasions, voted to re-elect Republicans to continue doing the job they were adequately performing during their previous terms. I have also not made it secret that I largely disagree with the stances taken policy-wise by the current administration. I do primarily place my disgust with Republican leaders, but in many cases (such as the Patriot Acts and other similar anti-Constitutional legislative measures) Democratic officials are just as guilty.

With all that said, I offer up this theory regarding the new moon policy which I will admit sounds very exciting, especially with our space programme still laying in ruin after the unfortunate destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia nearly a year ago. It is my belief the sudden change of policy of this administration toward increasing the budget for NASA and its programmes is all due to politics and not an inherent desire to reunite the country with a goal that spans sex, race, religion and every other individual trait we possess.

A costly (fiscally and life-wise) invasion of Iraq coupled with the successive failures to complete very publicly made goals subsequent to the attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. on 11 September 2001 has certainly taken its toll on the public opinion of President Bush. While his public opinion rating did take a substantial hike after United States Military personnel located and captured Saddam Hussein, current local issues such as the return of the ever-growing national deficit (currently approximated around one-half trillion dollars), unemployment and the economy as a whole are going to be, or at least should be the ultimate deciders when Americans go to the polls.

And the polls they will go in just under eleven months. Public opinion will have its best opportunity to affect change in office from the time starting now all the way to 02 November. While opinion polls are important for every elected official at all times, the general public as a whole is more likely to remember things an official has said or done in the time immediately prior to an election.

I know most of the regular visitors who are likely to reply are probably going to lean toward this being a plan not for the overall good of the nation, but for the continued re-election efforts. I would be very interested to read some opposing opinions if people can mind their comments and keep the conversation to the topic without making personal remarks.

I am not sure why I found it so amusing, but while browsing around the IRS website looking for information on business tax procedure I stumbled upon a frequently asked questions page that discussed if you have not filed your taxes in some time. The last question answered is as follows:

Will I Go To Jail?

Our long-standing practice has been not to recommend criminal prosecution of individuals for failure to file tax returns- provided they voluntarily file, or make arrangements to file, before being notified they are under criminal investigation. The taxpayer must make an honest effort to file a correct return and have income from legal sources. A letter from your IRS Service Center concerning your taxes is not a notice that you are under criminal investigation.

Our effort to get people back into the system is part of a long-term plan to improve tax compliance. We want to get people back into the system, not prosecute ordinary people who made a mistake. However, we will continue to investigate flagrant cases involving criminal violations of tax laws.

In a somewhat surprising, yet pleasing victory I personally had no say in today, residents of Orange County in a vote of 54% to 46% rejected a measure to increase the sales tax in that county from 6.5% to 7.0% in order to raise revenue for improved transportation in the central Florida area.

While the tax increase seems small compared to the benefits of widening and improving local roads among other projects, the merits of these projects is skin deep. The plan called Mobility 20/20 was spearheaded by the County Chairman and endorsed by nearly every public official in Orange County along with lots of local companies and organisations with hefty bank accounts. That right there should raise some red flags.

I live in Seminole County which lies directly to the north of Orange County and Orlando where a similar tax increase was approved by the voters, including myself, twice. The improvements to our community have been greatly successful and this area is better because of it. The difference, you ask? The Orange County plan called for several specific measures to reduce congestion, widen roads and implement other traffic relief solutions. Aside from those few specific items, the remainder of the money was to be allocated to projects with more lofty, less specific goals.

For example, $400 million of the collected revenue would be allocated to the ever present idea of the installation of a light rail system in central Florida. Part of the existing plan for this rail network shows a reasonable path through what used to be existing rail lines. The only trouble is that those rail lines were torn out years ago and replaced with a County-wide walking and biking trail for pedestrians. Additionally, after having already spent $45 million dollars in planning a light rail system, no one has been able to come forth and specifically introduce a cost-effective plan that encompasses the entire project from speculation to public use. Until such a time as actual ideas come forth that has half a chance in hell of succeeding, it is not the business of our elected officials to collect and spend money needlessly.

Similarly an additional $300 million dollars was to be devoted to "dealing with the freight trains that run through Winter Park and Orlando." Unless we invent transporters or something similar, rail travel for cargo is inevitable. What are you going to do with $300 million dollars? Tell the train companies they can no longer run through our area because they cause too much traffic? Get real. The pro-tax campaigners also were sure to point out in every advert that new walking trails, sidewalks and other pedestrian and bike traffic lanes and paths would be created with this money. Of course, how much and specific projects were never outlined. How convenient.

Another major issue I have with this tax is that like bills running their course through the United States Congress, a coat-tail riding provision has been included that is unacceptable. The plan was to build several new lanes along the stretch of Interstate-4 that would be paid for by the Florida Turnpike Authority, but would also be toll roads. When the Greeneway Expressway (SR 417) was constructed around the perimeter of central Florida, it was said that its presence would help alleviate the traffic on I-4. Unfortunately the powers that be placed the tolls on SR 417 so high that the I-4 bottlenecks remain while it is driven lightly. At one toll booth alone there is a $1.50 charge. Some local proponents of this tax have stated they feel the tolls are justifiable to help alleviate traffic. I would agree with that if the actual result was less traffic. Converting part of a public highway system maintained by the Federal government is not the way to solve these problems. Aside from I-4 every other major highway in central Florida is a toll road and I do not see any improvement yet, with the exception of the expansions currently in progress. Those should continue as planned with the funds from the Federal government.

If the local government wishes to come up with a plan to help alleviate traffic then they need to design a full and complete plan, one with no ambiguity. Show the voters and tax payers exactly where every cent of the collected funds will be spent. Until these public officials can take some accountability into where and how they spend public moneys then they do not deserve to collect them. It is time some public officials stepped up to the plate and decided that accountability and responsibility were more important to them then winning an election. If you do you job the right way and treat the public with the respect they deserve, you will find you do not have to campaign much to get re-elected.