Right now the Irish delegation holds the Presidency of the European Union, a position that rotates among member countries. The Irish EU Presidency has corporate sponsors and makes no bones about it. They even list those sponsors proudly on their Web site. Florida legislators ought to do this, too. For instance, Sen. Mike Bennett could proudly proclaim his sponsorship by construction industry groups, which would certainly explain his introduction of this bill, which helps shady contractors get away with duping his supposed constituents.

The U.S. health care system is sick and getting sicker. Here in Bradenton, one of two local hospitals has stopped delivering babies because half of their OBs took “early retirement,” theoretically because of high malpractice insurance premiums. I notice, though, that these poor MDs could afford to take early retirement, which most Americans can’t. It’s time to break our dependence on MDs and train more LPNs, Physicians’ Assistants, and other civilian equivalents to Army Medics to handle primary care.

Here’s a tip for anyone who plans to liberate a country from a nasty dictatorship known for torturing and killing dissidents: Don’t use that dictatorship’s most famous prison after the liberation. It may seem like the most perfect detention facility around — already equipped with cells and locks and walls and guard towers — but taking over the old dictator’s torture center and running it as your own makes it look like no true liberation has taken place; that one dictatorship has been exchanged for another.