RattlerGator Blog

Traveling to Havana, Cuba

Thanks to a sister who should have attended the University of Florida but got scooped up by the Ivy League (Penn) and never left Philadelphia after graduation, I'm headed with she and the Penn Alumni Travel group to Havana, Cuba on Saturday for a solid week of cultural exchange lectures and performances.

This trip was planned a year ago, long before Barack made his executive decision. My sister has now retired and come back to Jax; this trip is her retirement gift to herself and she invited me to tag along. I said, of course, heck yeah! We'll be staying at various times at the Hotel Saratoga and the Melia Marina Varadero and I'm very pleased with the looks of the accommodations.

I'm a fan of Marco Rubio and tend to agree with his position on American outreach to Cuba but I do see the other side as well. Greater interaction could be our friend, as long as we aren't primarily propping up the dictatorship.

More in the coming weeks.

Jeb Can't Overcome His Obstacles

I'm a fan of Jeb Bush. He was an outstanding Governor for the State of Florida and I'm sure he'd make an outstanding President. But he has, unfortunately, the arc of history working against him and I'd like to think he's smart enough to conclude as much at the end of his "exploratory" period.

Jim Geraghty lays out serious problem number one:

More recently, former president George W. Bush has referred to Bill Clinton as “my brother from another mother” and to Hillary Clinton as his “sister-in-law.” On September 11, 2013, Jeb Bush, chair of the National Constitution Center, honored the former secretary of state with the organization’s Liberty Medal, marking Clinton’s “lifelong career in public service.” At a March conference on education, Hillary Clinton praised Jeb Bush as someone “who really focused on education during his time as governor in Florida, and who has continued that work with passion and dedication in the years since.”

Sigh.

Insert all the standard boilerplate about the joy of friendship and personal relationships, and how political opponents don’t need to be lifelong enemies. Yes, it’s nice that the 1992 election results didn’t cause these two families to hate each other forever. Yes, it’s nice that the former presidents have come together to help noble causes and can unite to help charities and the vulnerable when they need it.

But come on, man.

. . . Hillary’s philosophy of government, approach to public power, foreign-policy vision, vindictiveness to critics, and record of leadership matter, and the Republican party’s grassroots voters have good reason to require a nominee who doesn’t think of his Democratic rival as part of his family.

Over the past six years, we on the right -- and in particular, the previous Republican nominee -- have been proven right time and again. Russia is indeed behaving like our preeminent geopolitical foe. Negotiating with the Taliban was a stupid idea. We knew leaving absolutely no U.S. military presence in Iraq was a formula for trouble. We never dismissed ISIS as a “jayvee team.” Democrats didn’t need to pass Obamacare for us to know what was in it. The Obama team scoffed at Romney’s idea of giving veterans vouchers for care at private hospitals, assuring us that the Department of Veterans Affairs was reducing the backlog and giving our veterans the care they deserved. We talked about the need for a secure border decades before Central America decided to turn our border into a giant open-air day care center.

We do not like Hillary Clinton. We do not like her philosophies, her decisions, or the weapons-grade pabulum that she stuffs in her books and offers for six figures per speech. Perhaps in person she is warm and funny and all of those things her hagiographic media fans insist. But her record in public life -- and that of her allies, and her party -- has been an absolute disaster for the country for the past six years, and the 2016 Republican nominee needs to be able to make that case and win that argument six days a week and twice on Sundays.

Perhaps Jeb Bush can be that man. But to do so, he’ll have to bring his A-game to the task of thoroughly defeating his metaphorical sister-in-law.

And Charles C. W. Cooke accurately explains serious problem number two when he says Jeb is the wrong guy and the wrong time:

I am fundamentally opposed to his candidacy on more basic grounds: Namely, that he’s the wrong man, at the wrong time — and in the wrong country, too. “As loathsome and un-American as it may seem to hold someone’s family name against him,” Michael Brendan Dougherty wrote earlier this week, “this point needs to be emphasized: the GOP and the country don’t need another Bush.” Dougherty is right. The United States is a republic, and in republics the citizenry should be reflexively nervous about dynasties, regardless of how much they like their individual members. Certainly, America has survived the emergence of great and powerful families before. President John Quincy Adams was President John Adams’s son; President Benjamin Harrison was President William Henry Harrison’s grandson; and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President Theodore Roosevelt’s fifth cousin. (These relationships, you will note, get less and less intimate as times goes on.) But these were departures from the norm, rather than the norm itself. If Jeb Bush does manage to make it all the way to the top, we will be in uncharted dynastic territory — territory that, frankly, should begin to worry us.

Agreed.

In an era when the absurdities of a pre-ordained and partisan leftist political narrative (or three) are being brazenly asserted in the face of, and in contravention to, the objective truth -- well, this is not a time for a man from a Republican political dynasty. Period, end of story.

Jeb, you're a student of history & policy, and you fully understand the American experience: get behind Marco Rubio, man. Help us elect this worthy man to the presidency. Step away from the dynastic cloak that is inevitably associated with your name even though it isn't of your making. It isn't, however, an accident of your birth. You are still part and parcel of that dynasty and your ascension to the presidency isn't good for the country.

FSU Mess Serves as Vindication of Urban Meyer Era as Gator Head Football Coach

Some of you may remember the national beating Urban Meyer took during his tenure as Gator Head Coach when some lazy sportswriters clubbed him for running an out-of-control program full of thugs. It was an absolutely ridiculous assertion then and demonstrated a remarkable lack of insight into young males and the problems young alpha males get into with regularity.

Having been a Soldier, and to this day maintaining a great appreciation for Soldiers, I well remember the ease with which some young guys find their way to trouble. That kind of stuff is inevitable in any genuine collection of 85-120 young, athletic males. That's what the Urban Meyer transgressions were all about. None of the transgressions under Urban indicated any kind of problem within the program. They indicated you had young alpha males doing young and dumb stuff. That's mostly what you saw under Urban, and it wasn't swept under the rug by the Gainesville Police Department. That's what all those arrests proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This felonious stuff going on at FSU, however, and the brazen coordination between TPD and FSUPD, is entirely different. Here's the latest:

In the early morning hours of Oct. 5, as this college town was celebrating another big football victory by Florida State University, a starting cornerback on the team drove his car into the path of an oncoming vehicle driven by a teenager returning home from a job at the Olive Garden.

Both cars were totaled. But rather than remain at the scene as the law requires, the football player, P. J. Williams, left his wrecked vehicle in the street and fled into the darkness along with his two passengers, including Ronald Darby, the team’s other starting cornerback.

The Tallahassee police responded to the off-campus accident, eventually reaching out to the Florida State University police and the university’s athletic department.

By the next day, it was as if the hit and run had never happened.

The New York Times looked into how the police handled the case, reviewing law enforcement records and interviewing witnesses, lawyers, the police and a university representative. The examination found that Mr. Williams, driving with a suspended license, had been given a break by the Tallahassee police, who initially labeled the accident a hit and run, a criminal act, but later decided to issue Mr. Williams only two traffic tickets. Afterward, the case did not show up in the city’s public online database of police calls — a technical error, the police said.

That's their two starting cornerbacks, ladies and gentlemen, and it was just a couple of weeks before their big Notre Dame game. No news, no discipline. Hmmmmmm. I'm not sure that passes the smell test.

And that response by John Thrasher, the sitting President of the University, is nothing short of embarrassing for an institution telling anyone who will listen that they desire admission into the Association of American Universities. At this rate, that will never happen. I wonder if FSU officials have taken note that the AAU just announced they have contracted with a firm to design and construct a national sexual assault survey to be conducted at American universities? Florida State University, no doubt, will factor into that study in unflattering ways.

But President Thrasher's response says to me that FSU officials are rightfully spooked, and especially spooked that there might be some incriminating trail that leads not just to Seminole athletics but to FSU's central administration. Which would also implicate, perhaps, Eric Barron at Penn State.

Uh oh.

Everything the Noles do is a signal to the New York Times to remain steady on this case. It's also a signal to me that there are disgruntled parties within FSU that are disgusted with the goings-on and, because of hard work by the Times investigative reporters developing local sources, feeding the New York Times the necessary information related to questionable activities. TPD and FSU clearly tried to bury this incident, they coordinated things so as to make it damn-near invisible . . . yet the New York Times found it.

How?

Floridians should understand that the New York Times has placed their "A" team on this investigative story. Okay? These aren't sportswriters. That says they don't think this is an interesting story, they don't simply think it's a good story. At minimum, they think this is a great story that might be worthy of a Pulitzer. Bogdanich already has one from his work with the Wall Street Journal and one from his work at the Times. McIntire was nominated for one previously and probably sees this as the story that will bring home the prize.

Mike McIntire:

http://journalism.nyu.edu/faculty/mike-mcintire/

http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/qa_new_york_times_investigative.php?page=all

Walt Bogdanich:

. . . Before joining The Times in 2001, he was an investigative producer for 60 Minutes on CBS . . .

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/walt_bogdanich/index.html

http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/profile/79-walt-bogdanich/10

John Thrasher might want to stop with the silly press releases that endear him (primarily) to football-first Noles.

These national reporters based out of New York mix and mingle a bunch. It isn't outside the realm of probabilities that 60 Minutes, when the season is done, will join the party and do a segment on this foolishness. It is a story ready-made for investigative journalism on television. Think about that dumb-ass press conference with Willie Meggs and Al Lawson laughing it up after announcing that no charges would be brought in a rape allegation case that was clearly sabotaged by TPD.

You practically can't pay for that kind of authentic stupidity and 60 Minutes can chop it up and make it look even crazier. 

The Noles are in deep, deep trouble and would be smart to give up the ghost right damn now. But get ready for the crazy conspiracy Noles who see evil Gators behind every tree. Elijah Stiers, the attorney quoted in the story who said the basic facts clearly indicate that criminal charges were warranted *and* that a sobriety test should have been given? What about him, you ask? Yep, he's a Jacksonville kid, and a Gator grad -- undergraduate and law. That's really going to get the Noles all stirred up.

Politics and Sports then, Sports and Politics now

At the moment I'm too lazy to go back and verify my actual beginning date for blogging under the name of RattlerGator but I'm guessing it's somewhere around a decade. I've probably said in mulitple posts that I use it primarily as a conversation with myself and a means to document where my head was at a particular moment in time.

The original focus of most of my blogging was politics (after 9/11 I realized I definitely wasn't a Democrat and couldn't ignore what that party had become so blogging was a tool I used to help me find my voice as a Republican), with some sports mixed in. Primarily Florida Gator sports.

Then along came Twitter and my political itch has primarily been satiated there. 

I recently left a job with Florida's Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering and am taking a year or two to dabble at writing a novel (not surprisingly, it will be set in Jacksonville) and playing with a film script based on the same story as the novel. I tried to intrigue a radio station owner here in the Panhandle to allow me to do a sports talk show based in Tallahassee that revolved around the Jaguars (they broadcast them here in town), the Gators (they also broadcast them here in town), the SEC (huge amount of SEC fans in the Tallahassee area), the Rattlers (an underserved and under-discussed program locally) and, of course, the Noles.

He declined.

Dammit.

But that outreach on my part does represent a shift in focus for me. More sports and other stuff, less politics. Especially on this site. In addition to my fiction writing, I'm also doing some freelance work for GatorCountry.com, a site I still consider the leading private sports site dedicated to covering all things University of Florida sports.

So, I'm off into the wild blue yonder as I further "conversate" with myself.

Later, Gators.

I'm Ashamed of Black America, and You Should be Too

I'll likely write much more in the coming weeks regarding why I'm so ashamed of Black America but suffice it to say -- for now -- that it will be quite some time before we as African Americans live down the outrageous lie perpetrated in our name by the hustlers pimping the Trayvon Martin nonsense. Bill Whittle does a good job explaining why:

He's clearly outraged, and he should be. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. The level of willing ignorance is stunning. Absolutely stunning. And all across our community, good people have fallen for the lie because leaders they trust have failed them. The failures by our leadership class occurred for varying reasons. Some did so cynically, some did so unknowingly, some did so with the most evil of intentions.

Whatever the case may be, our admirable instinct to defend the defenseless -- here, a young black boy gunned down (by a white boy with a concealed weapon) for the crime of simply walking in white boys' neighborhood -- has been played for the fool. In truth, that admirable instinct has been manipulated by black and white hustlers for reasons that have nothing to do with justice. That's the cold, hard truth. And it's painful.

Enough is enough, and it has to stop. It has to. As the historic victims of unspeakable crimes at the hands of mob rule, it is especially sickening that we've now put ourselves in the position of essentially demanding mob rule when it comes to George Zimmerman.

How crazy is that? How sick is that?

Quite crazy. Quite sick.

Are black clergy honestly not troubled by this craziness? Are black Democrats completely blind to where they are leading us? Are white Democrats seriously unconcerned about throwing someone who voted for Obama (Zimmerman) under the bus, all because some personal injury trial lawyers working with and for the Democrat party told them to do so?

Really?

Heaven help us.

Barack Obama Re-elected

Yes, I'm incredulous.

And I am heartsick for my country.

I'm going to refrain from saying more now because I'm just that bent out-of-shape and the words I would surely use would be uncharitable. And that's an understatement.

I tried to tell Republicans I knew that it was not smart to select a northern guy as the number one on the ticket and then select a northern guy as the number two on the ticket. Why that wasn't obvious, I'll never know.

And yes, Marco Rubio would have won this damn election for the Republicans. Mitt Romney, we let the Democrats scare us away from making the obvious selection for Vice-President. 

I am 38-hot and supremely pissed. But we as Republicans should not freak-out. The unsustainability of the Democrats approach is still self-evident. The day of reckoning is coming.

The Genius of Clint Eastwood, Part One

I hope to post more thoughts on this topic later today in a "Part Two" version of this heading but I simply couldn't resist posting right now this gem of a takedown of Barack Obama, inspired by Clint Eastwood's historic evisceration of the President at the Republican National Convention, and courtesy of lucianne.com and Michael Heffelfinger:

They should have just shut the hell up but they just couldn't help themselves, could they?

I mean, they love / love / love to dish it out but man, oh man, they can't take a punch at all, can they?

It was just that damn good, that damn devastating, wasn't it?

And then to watch Fox News "Special Report with Bret Baier" the next day and realize -- once again -- how dense journalists can be (they, whether on the left or the right, completely missed how devastating that Eastwood skit was), well -- I had no choice but to post this.

Later today, a broader explanation for why the skit was so damn devastating to Obama and Obama sycophants (you know, those folks who went on and on and on about how incredibly historic basic BS speeches by Obama were during the 2008 campaign).

The upshot?

Clint removed color from the equation. He not only rendered Obama color-neutral (invisible), he pronounced him an empty suit and a failure. And as we all know, without color -- just who in the hell is Barack Hussein Obama ???

Quite simply and quite obviously, a failure and an empty suit. That's who.

Genius, Clint Eastwood, pure genius !!!

Ryan, Not Rubio

North, not South. Wisconsin, not Florida. Standard insider, not interesting newcomer.

I'm disappointed, naturally.

In my mind, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is still the better pick (yes, I'm *SERIOUSLY* biased). Michael Medved was correct weeks ago. But Mary Katharine Ham, a woman (and Southerner) I've loved for more than a few years now, hit me with a paragraph today over at Hot Air that squashed my disappointment. See what you think:

The political press and President Obama alike claim they want a campaign about big ideas, an adult debate about policy differences. Now they’ve got it in spite of, not because of, Barack Obama. With Ryan on the ticket, the debate should no longer be about contraception and the deferred cancer-causing capabilities of Bain investments. It will be about the budget and the $16-trillion debt, the unsustainable trajectory of the federal government and the promises it’s already breaking to generations to come. It will be about Simpson-Bowles and a federal government that hasn’t even bothered to pass a budget since before the iPad existed. It will be about how four years of grossly increased spending has stimulated us into the worst recovery in American history, unless you happen to be an Obama donor or crony. It will be about how creating new entitlement programs cannot possibly fix the ones that are already broken. And, it will be about whether we value an ever more dependent society or an ever more successful one.

Amen.

Game on !!!

Congressman Allen West's Weekly Review Submission to the CBC

Florida Congressman Allen West submitted today a timely article to the Congressional Black Caucus weekly review publication.

The article focuses on several topics including; the capture of Osama bin Laden, funding to the Palestinian Authority and Pakistan, National Debt Ceiling Crisis, and his most recent legislation, "The Small Business Encouragement Act." Presented in full below is Congressman West's article.

The Present Challenges of our

National and Economic Security

By: Congressman Allen West

This past week, our country for a slight moment was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The week ended with the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks finally meeting his maker and paying for the consequences of his decisions to attack the United States. The United States military served ultimate justice on this individual who personified evil.

Osama bin Laden did not die of natural causes. He died because our military led by General David Petreaus and assisted by our Intelligence Community, hunted him down and then took him down in a special operations attack at his compound in Pakistan.

We must acknowledge President Obama for giving the order and commend the US Navy SEALS who carried out this critical mission, as well as all of the Men and Women in uniform. Former President George W. Bush stated, "America has sent an unmistakable message... no matter how long it takes, justice will be done."

Although this is a time of exuberance, rejoicing and healing, America, as well as our allies, must be vigilant and on guard for retaliatory attacks from the Islamic terrorist groups. What strongly concerns me is that bin Laden was not found hiding in a remote cave, but in an urban area of Pakistan where Pakistani Army’s premier training institution operates. This is a war that is nowhere close to being over.

I, like many Americans, thought Osama bin Laden may be located in an isolated hidden place in the mountains of Pakistan's tribal northwest. However, we now learn that Osama bin Laden was living in a million dollar compound which was custom-built in 2005 in Abbottabad in northwest Pakistan. The heavily fortified compound, with 11- to 18-foot walls topped by barbed wire, is only a few hundred yards from the Pakistan Military Academy, described as Pakistan's West Point. The city, Abbottabad, is home to Pakistan Army 2nd Division, and is a cantonment under government control, and is located 75 miles from the Pakistan Capital of Islamabad.

It is not unreasonable for the American people to question if Osama bin Laden was located on government controlled land, next to a military academy, and so close to the nation's Capital. What real assistance was the Pakistan Government providing for the last 10 years to locate the al-Qaeda leader and bring him to justice?

Since the September 11th terrorist attack, the United States Government has provided an estimated $20 billion of assistance to the Government of Pakistan. Questions are arising on whether the Government of Pakistan may have aided and abetted this most wanted international terrorist.

I think it is quite clear that unless we get a clear explanation of what the Government of Pakistan knew about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, all foreign aid from American taxpayers to this nation needs to cease. We need to understand whether the Government of Pakistan was harboring Osama bin Laden for all these years. Further, did the Government of Pakistan always know where this terrorist was but instead did not want to bring him to justice in order to continue to receive foreign aid from the United States of America. This is either a case of serious ignorance or complicity, both equally troubling.

Along with the deepening concern about Pakistan comes more unsettling news from the Middle East. Two weeks ago the Palestinian Authority made an announcement that there will be a formation of a unified government comprised of Fatah and Hamas. This united front only adds to the overall unrest and instability in the Middle East and is the first step in the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.

Any government, in which Hamas - a terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel - plays a role, should not receive one dollar from the United States. The United States must remain firm in our commitment to the peace and security of the Jewish State and cease all funding to the Palestinian Authority immediately.

As we look at halting funds from being sent to the government of Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority, our main focus should be on the state of our current spending and economy. Back in 2006, as the vote on the debt limit came up, Senators Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Harry Reid all voted against it.

Before I pledge to vote against the debt limit, just like then Sen. Barack Obama did, let me quote the junior Senator from Illinois: "Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

I agree, we do need better leadership! I think we clearly get the picture here of duplicitous hypocrisy of the greatest degree. We are at this point due to the over $5 trillion of new debt added by the Obama, Pelosi, Reid machine. Leadership is about making tough decisions, not situational ethics.

My message to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Senator Harry Reid, and Secretary of the Treasury Geithner is simple, no raising of the debt ceiling unless we have spending control measures;

- Constitutional amendment for a balanced budget requirement on the federal government.
- Cap federal government spending at 20% of GDP, put into law.
- Cut the corporate/ business tax rate from 35% to 20% flat tax rate and remove loopholes.
- Implement a trigger control mechanism that at a certain % level of the debt ceiling being reached, automatic budget cuts kick in; this will preclude us ever having to revisit this issue again.

If we've learned anything during the recession, it's that we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity. The best way to get people working again is to rein in the growth of government and end the uncertainty facing small businesses. By addressing both issues, our plan revives free enterprise and moves America away from a debt-driven economy.

As our economy begins to recover from the past recession, it is important for us, as members of Congress, to pass legislation that helps our nation’s most effective job creators, our small businesses. Not only are small businesses the backbone of our economy, they are the backbone of our country.

Today we face staggering unemployment hovering near nine percent, a massive deficit, and an unprecedented $14 trillion in national debt. That is why I along with 9 of my fellow Members of Congress introduced The Small Business Encouragement Act (HR 1663), which will amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow small business employers whose gross receipts in the preceding taxable year did not exceed $20 million, or who did not employ more than 100 full time employees, a work opportunity tax credit for hiring unemployed individuals as full-time employees during 2012 and 2013.

This legislation would also double the rate of such credit for employers who hire individuals from counties with high unemployment rates.

Along with the support of my colleagues, The National Black Chamber of Commerce, and the numerous Small Businesses across America, this legislation will support many minority owned businesses that have felt the impact of the recession, and will encourage many others to become innovative with job creation. This legislation will push for a wave of job creation across the nation, setting conditions for economic improvement throughout America.

In closing, I am optimistic that our efforts in the United States House of Representatives can continue to help foster the growth of our economy and unleash the indomitable entrepreneurial spirit of each and every American.

Congressman Allen B. West (FL-22)

Indomitable !!!

First Day of the 2011 Florida Legislative Session

Today is the day, and this promises to be a most memorable legislative session. Tonight at 6 p.m. the Governor gives his State of the State speech; you can watch it online via The Florida Channel. Here are a few political links for readers who may want a quick cross-section of Florida politics:

The Shark Tank

http://shark-tank.net/

Sayfie Review

http://www.sayfiereview.com/

Fort Report

http://www.fortreport.com/

Of course, every major paper in the State has their own representative pages dedicated to state politics and are worth a look as well.

Below, I present dates that may be of interest as provided by the House and the Senate. If interested in this legislative session, first look to the chambers themselves. Both the House and the Senate have good, informative websites. Here are the 2011 dates:

Important Legislative Dates listed by the House

March 8; First Day of Session; [85th House since Statehood: 113th Regular Session since Statehood; 22nd House since 1968 Constitutional Revision] -- [Art. III, s. 3(b), FL Const.]

March 8; Final Member-Bill Filing Deadline: No general bill, local bill, joint resolution, concurrent resolution (except one relating to extension of a session or legislative organization or procedures), substantive House resolution, or memorial shall be given first reading unless approved for filing with the Clerk no later than noon of the first day of the regular session.

March 8; Day 1 [Art. III, s. 3(b), FL Const.; Rule 5.2(a)]

March 8; First day for committees or subcommittees to meet after giving notice no later than 4:30 p.m. of the 2nd day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and official state holidays) before the committee or subcommittee meeting for the purpose of considering legislation. Day 1-45 [Rule 7.11(e)]

March 11; Request submission deadline by 5 p.m for additional bill filed after favorable reporting of repealer bill by its first committee of reference.

March 28; Filing deadline by noon, for additional bill filed after favorable reporting of a repealer bill by its first committee of reference. [Rule 5.3(c)]

April 7; Ceremonial Resolution Request Submission Deadline: By 5 p.m., ceremonial resolutions to be submitted to Rules & Calendar Committee.

April 17; After the 40th day (April 16), no bill may be retained for the purpose of reconsideration in committee or subcommittee. Day 41 [Rule 7.16(b)]

April 21; Last day for committees or subcommittees to meet after giving notice no later than 4:30 p.m. of
the 2nd day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and official state holidays) before the committee or subcommittee meeting for the purpose of considering legislation. After the 45th day, the notice must be provided no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day (including Saturdays, Sundays, and official state holidays) before the committee or subcommittee meeting. Day 45 [Rule 7.11(e)]

April 21; Ceremonial Resolution Filing Deadline: No ceremonial resolution shall be given first reading unless approved for filing with the Clerk prior to the 46th day of regular session. [Rule 5.2(b)]

April 22; After the 45th day (April 21) of a regular session, by a majority vote, the House may, on motion of the Chair or Vice Chair of the Rules & Calendar Committee, move to Communications, Messages from the Senate, Bills and Joint Resolutions on Third Reading, or Special Orders. Day 46 [Rule 10.2(d)]

April 23; All measures transmitted to the Senate without delay. Last 14 Days [Rule 11.7(k)]

May 1; Last day of the regular session for the Special Order Calendar to be published in two Calendars of the House, and it may be taken up on the day of the second published Calendar. After the 55th day (May 1) of the regular session, the Special Order Calendar shall be published in one Calendar of the House and may be taken up on the day the Calendar is published. Day 55 [Rule 10.11(a)(3)]

May 1; Last day that main floor amendments must be approved for filing with the Clerk by 2 p.m. of the first day a bill appears on the Special Order Calendar in the Calendar of the House; and amendments to main floor amendments and substitute amendments for main floor amendments must be approved for filing by 5 p.m. of the same day. Day 55 [Rule 12.2(a)(1&2)]

May 2; After the 55th day (May 1) of regular session, main floor amendments must be approved for filing with the Clerk not later than 2 hours before session is scheduled to convene on the day a bill appears on the Special Order Calendar in the Calendar of the House; and amendments to main floor amendments and substitute amendments for main floor amendments must be approved for filing not later than 1 hour after the main floor amendment deadline. Day 56 [Rule 12.2(b)(1&2)]

May 2; After the 55th day (May 1) of regular session, no House bills on second reading may be taken up and considered by the House. Day 56 [Rule 10.18]

May 5; After the 58th day (May 4) of regular session, the House may consider only: Returning Messages, Conference Reports, and Concurrent Resolutions. Day 59 [Rule 10.19]

May 6; Last day of Regular Session, if Legislature completes work in 60 days

Important Legislative Dates listed by the Senate

March 8; Regular Session convenes (Article III, section 3(b), Constitution)

March 8; 12:00 noon, deadline for filing bills for introduction (Rule 3.7(1))

April 26; 50th day—last day for regularly scheduled committee meetings (Rule 2.9(3))

May 2; All bills are immediately certified (Rule 6.8)

Conference Committee Reports require only one reading (Rule 4.5(1))

Motion to reconsider made and considered the same day (Rule 6.4 (2)(b))

May 6; 60th day—last day of Regular Session (Article III, section 3(d), Constitution)

* * * * *

There you have it. Now we'll just have to see what the end's gonna be. Until we get there, however, buddy you can probably bet your bottom dollar that there are going to be some serious sparks flying.