"Fla. lawmaker says dwarf tossing could help jobless" October 08, 2011|By Bloomberg News
MIAMI - Jobless dwarfs should have the option of being flung around a barroom for cash rather than standing in the unemployment line, according to one Florida state lawmaker.
Representative Ritch Workman has introduced a bill to undo a ban on “dwarf-tossing’’ as part of what he says is his mission to repeal overreaching and outdated laws. Although the dwarf-tossing measure is not a “jobs bill,’’ the Republican said, it may put a few people to work in a state where unemployment is 1.6 percentage points above the US average.
Dwarf-tossing, a competition in which bar patrons see how far they can throw little people in protective gear, was banned in Florida in 1989 after opponents complained that it was dangerous and dehumanizing.
While Workman, a mortgage broker, agrees that the practice is “offensive’’ and “stupid,’’ he thinks the ban keeps willing projectiles from gainful employment. “If this is a job they want and people would pay to see it or participate in it, why in the world would we prohibit it?’’ Workman said....
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That's the kind of thing Florida lawmakers are hard at work on, huh?
Maybe they should take a seat:
"Lawmaker favors firing squad, chair" October 14, 2011|Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - Saying it is time to stop letting convicted killers “get off that easy,’’ a Florida state lawmaker wants to use firing squads or the electric chair for those on death row.
Representative Brad Drake filed a bill this week that would end the use of lethal injection in Florida executions. Instead, those with a death sentence would choose between electrocution or a firing squad.
Drake, a Republican, said the idea came to him after having a conversation with a constituent at a Waffle House over the legal battles associated with the Sept. 28 execution of Manuel Valle.
Valle’s lawyers tried to stop the execution by arguing that a new lethal drug cocktail would cause him pain and therefore constitute cruel and unusual punishment. But courts rejected that argument and let the execution go forward.
But Drake said the person at the restaurant questioned why death row inmates should even be allowed to die by lethal injection. Drake said he agreed and decided to sponsor the bill that would mandate a switch. The GOP-controlled Florida Legislature will consider the bill during the 2012 session that starts in January.
He said government is spending too much time listening to advocacy groups and instead should put in place a death sentence that forces convicted murderers to contemplate their fates.
Lethal injection allows a person to die in their sleep, while a firing squad or electrocution would force inmates to think about their punishment “every morning,’’ Drake said.
Florida began using the electric chair on 1924 and switched to lethal injection in 2000. Jeb Bush, the governor, and the Legislature pushed through the change after several botched electrocutions raised concerns that the state’s death penalty would be declared unconstitutional.
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Time to go fish:
"7 survive 20 hours at sea clinging to boat, cooler" October 11, 2011|Jennifer Kay and Suzette Laboy, Associated Press
Eight relatives had set out to fish in less-than-ideal conditions off the Florida Keys. It was raining, seas topped 7 feet and winds were whipping up to 38 mph.
Before they knew it, two waves hit, capsizing their anchored 22-foot boat and knocking them into the sea about 3 ½ miles offshore Saturday. Seven, including a 4-year-old, survived by clinging to their capsized vessel and a small blue cooler for nearly 20 hours, suffering exhaustion, jellyfish stings and hypothermia. A 79-year-old woman, the matriarch of the group, was missing and presumed drowned.
“When the will to live kicks in, human beings can do amazing things,’’ Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said.
The women grabbed the girl and the 2 ½-foot cooler. One of the men tried to rescue his mother, but she slipped through his grasp and disappeared into the water. The women said the boat turned over so quickly that there wasn’t time to grab life jackets for anyone except the child, said Kendra Graves, a seaman with the Coast Guard. Almost immediately, the two groups — the three women and girl and three men — drifted apart.
Nearly a day later, they were rescued when a commercial fisherman spotted the men Sunday morning and alerted the Coast Guard, which found the women and the blue cooler several miles away in the warm waters. Those rescued were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries....
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