After weeks of contentious debate, Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill today that would have tied teacher pay to student performance.

He made the announcement at a press conference at noon.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, was vocally opposed by teachers unions, who argued the legislation would have taken control away from local school districts. Supporters of the bill said it was a way to provide higher pay for good teachers.

“It goes without saying that I am disappointed this legislation has been vetoed by Gov. Crist,” Thrasher said in a statement released today by his office, “and I continue to think that one day it will be fully implemented in our state.”

The veto puts Crist, who is running for U.S. Senate, in an interesting political situation. The bill, SB 6, was largely supported by Republicans, including Crist’s primary opponent, former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio.

As Rubio begins to pull away from Crist in the polls, the veto has only fueled speculation that Crist will run for Senate as an independent. A Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday shows Crist leading in a three-way race with Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek.

Two-thirds of American adults are overweight—more of them women than men—yet fewer than one-quarter are dieting. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control found that women eat over 300 more calories a day than they did in 1971. Fewer than one-third of Americans get regular exercise.

Most Americans are fat and happy. Of course everyone would love to cut their cancer risk by one-third—unless it means skipping that extra scoop of ice cream, or jogging three times a week. Reducing cancer risk isn’t that important. Until you get it.

As Associated Press reporter Maria Cheng noted, there is a reluctance on the part of many doctors to make too much of this study: “Any discussion of weight and breast cancer is considered sensitive because some may misconstrue that as the medical establishment blaming women for their disease.”

No one should be “blamed” for getting a disease, but nor is it a good idea to simply ignore the person’s lifestyle choices that greatly increase their chances of getting that disease. If a person chooses an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc.), doctors should not be shy about warning them the risks they are assuming.
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Constance McMillen Couresy of thinkprogress.org

Recently, 18-year-old Constance McMillen has become the target of discrimination. She intended to go to her prom dressed in a tuxedo with her girlfriend as her date. The very religious school officials consider same-gender relations to be a sin and as such Superintendent Teresa McNeece told McMillen that she could not come with her female date. If they showed up they would be “ejected.”

McMillen contacted her local ACLU who notified the school that this kind of discrimination was unconstitutional and would be met with a lawsuit. The Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Mississippi in which McMillen attends, decided that it was better to cancel the entire prom for everyone rather than allow Constance to bring her girlfriend to the dance.

The school district however stated that they hoped that private citizens in the community would organize a dance. A private dance would be legally allowed to invite or in this case not invite who ever they choose. Presumably the school seemed to think that a Church or other religious organization would hold a dance which would exclude Constance and her girlfriend.

What they probably did not expect was that The American Humanist Association (AHA) would be the private group who would step in to organize the dance. Thanks to a $20,000 donation, the AHA is making preparations for an LGBT-inclusive dance. No discrimination, everyone is allowed to have fun.

Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the AHA had this to say, “It’s shameful that closed-minded members of the school board are prepared to deprive an entire class of students their prom over their outdated religious morals.” He went on to state that, “the ACLU is doing good work in Mississippi, and we humanists can also bring resources to the table that will defend students from a repressive school board.”

Philadelphia has a large gay community and so it is reassuring to know that should a similar situation occur in this city, atheists and humanist groups are out there that will protect the rights of all citizens against Biblically-inspired discrimination.
examiner.com