Charlie Van Zant's Stupid Anti-Abortion Bill

Florida House Rep. Charlie Van Zant is one of the dumbest elected officials in Florida. That is no small accomplishment. In 2009, Van Zant made a bizarre argument for drilling off the coast of Florida.

"God created oil and will create more once we pump what is there."

If we don't drill, China, Argentina and Cuba will so they can fund terrorists." "Drilling will provide more money for Florida than tourism."

None of these statements by Van Zant have any basis in reality. Once all oil is taken from the Eatch it is gone. If Van Zants plans on living until the fossils of current animals and humans turns into oil. I hope Van Zant has a few million years to spare.

The BP spill showed that the oil industry can actually hurt the Florida economy. Tar-stained beaches kept tourists away and hurt real estates sales in Florida.

The United States hardly has stellar relationships with China or Cuba. China gets a great deal of its trade from the United States. Cuba still is paid by the United State for Gitmo. Argentina is highly overstated as a security threat by Republicans. Only Argentina has becoming a giant is producing oil. None of these countries had citizens involved in the 9/11 attacks.

Van Zant is the sponsor of HB 845. The bill would forbid doctors from performing abortions based on the sex of the fetus. Van Zant told The Buzz that Florida has become a "safe haven" for foreigners wishing to have a abortion based on the sex of the fetus. Van Zant provides no evidence of this because there isn't any. I would not be surprised if Van Zant believes his own nonsense based on his idiotic past statements.

This bill isn't even a good way for anti-abortionists to prevent abortions. Not that you would expect Van Zant to come up with something clever. Women will just say that the sex of the fetus has no bearing on wanting an abortion. In Van Zant's mind, his bill is protecting Florida from illegal immigrants sneaking over the border just to come to Florida to have an abortion because of the sex of an unborn child. This is the kind of bullshit people tell themselves when their beliefs don't stack up against reality.

Natacha Seijas Slams Charlie Van Zant

Former Miami Dade commissioner Natacha Seijas (R) lit into Florida Rep. Charlie Van Zant. At issue is Van Zant's legislation HB 181. The bill would take away counties rights to impose a living wage for employees of government contractors.

The Miami-Dade laws require major contractors to offer a minimum wage higher than the one set by the federal government and offer their employees health insurance, and to provide victims of domestic violence up to 30 days off without pay to get their lives in order. The county also gives employees who have not been paid for their work a venue to denounce their employers for wage theft.

It is a good law. Which is exactly why Van Zant is trying to have working class people make less money during economicly difficult times. Seijas points out that Van Zant has been doing a poor job of taking care of his constituents in Palatka.

"I don't know how many of you have been to Palatka -- I've been to Palatka," Martinez said. "Palatka happens to be one of the poorest cities in the state of Florida."

There is more.

"Rep. Van Zant from Palatka doesn't think we need any local wage ordinances. Well, God bless Rep. Van Zant," Seijas said, pointing to Van Zant's legislative biography, which says he earned a doctorate in theology from the Western Baptist Theological Seminary in Havana from 1999 to 2001. "He probably thinks everybody in Miami-Dade County should live in poverty just like all those people he saw in communist Cuba."

Seijas really worked Van Zant over in this press conference.

Marion Hammer's Birthday Present

Some people get a cake for their birthday. Florida NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer gets two pro-gun bills passed.

During debate, several lawmakers paid homage to longtime Affiliated Sportsmen of Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer, seated in the House gallery and celebrating a birthday Tuesday. She described the timing as “coincidence.”

Moments later, the House voted 85-33 to OK another measure (CS/HB 45) prohibiting cities and counties from attempting to enact local gun laws tougher than state standards. State law already pre-empts such local measures, but several governments have attempted to impose restrictions, which typically lead to lawsuits.

Of course the passage of the bills was coincidence. It is not like Republican legislators are afraid of Hammer or pander to her. Except when they are afraid of her and pander to her.

There was a perfectly logical reason to pass HB 155.

“Owning guns is a fundamental right,” said Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Palatka. “It’s not to be infringed upon by your doctor.”

Doctors are a threat to gun ownership? This is the latest nutty thing Van Zant has said. HB 155 was an unnecessary piece of legislation. Doctors only ask gun-owners about firearms if they are near children or mentally unstaple people in a household. The NRA had a paranoid fear that doctors were keeping secret records of gun-owners. Despite not having any proof to back this claim.

The other legislation makes sense in terms of having local gun laws match state laws. What I find interesting about it is it goes against Republicans "less government" philosophy. Conservative ideology usually takes a backseat to lobbyists. And the biggest lobbyist in Tallahassee is The Hammer.

Would Rick Scott Make Abortion Illegal

State Rep. Charles Van Zant claims Rick Scott told him, that if elected, Scott would make abortion illegal in Florida.

In his e-mail to supporters, Van Zant, a minister and an architect, said he had talked to Scott twice about whether the Naples businessman would make abortion illegal in Florida: "He immediately said 'Yes, that's what I believe and that's what I will do.' He telephoned me last week to assure me that he would keep this issue before state government," Van Zant added.

There is good reason to take Van Zant at his word. Scott was the owner of Woman's Hospital of Texas. Karla Miller was having serious and potentially life threatening complications with her pregnancy. Karla and her husband Mark were informed their child had a eight out of ten chance of being born disabled. The Millers told the hospital not to use extraordinary measures to save the child. The medical translation is that Karla's life came before the child's. The hospital defied the Millers wishes. Scott brags about what Woman's Hospital of Texas did under his watch to anti-choicers.

Mark Miller lashed out at Scott for using his family and disabled daughter to strengthen his social conservative credentials.

"Mr. Scott, you've grossly overstepped the bounds of decency," Mark Miller, a father at the center of the controversial case, said in an interview. "I call on you to accurately reflect the facts. If you are going to run on the record, run on all of it, not just the parts that suit your needs."

Miller describes himself as anti-abortion. Miller's issue with Scott and his former hospital is him and his wife had no say on their own medical procedure. The hospital ignored the Millers wishes and did what they wanted. Karla Miller could have died because the hospital put ideology over sound medicine.

The Millers now support their daughter Sidney. The young woman cannot walk, talk and is blind. Sidney also suffers from brain damage and cerebral palsy. The Millers have sued and lost to Scott. If Scott was really pro-life then he should help pay for Sidney's medical expenses.

Scott has gone on-record saying he supports overturning Roe v. Wade. Scott stated if he was governor he would have signed the intrusive ultrasound bill that Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed. Pro-choice voters should be very concerned about Scott wanting to make abortion illegal in Florida.

Offshore Drilling Dead

The Florida Congressional delegation sent Gov. Charlie Crist a letter. The delegation urged Crist not to support allowing drilling three miles from the Florida coast.

Dear Governor Crist:

We write to commend you on your announcement voicing opposition to combining renewable energy legislation with a bill to open Florida's state waters to near-shore oil drilling. As you know, clean renewable energy is Florida's future, not oil rigs three-to-ten-miles offshore along our coast.

For decades, Florida's elected officials from both parties have stood together to protect our state's economy and environment from irresponsible drilling. Yet with just a few days left in the Florida Legislature's annual session, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow oil and gas companies to apply for drilling leases as close as three miles to Florida's shore. Thankfully, this measure was blocked in the Senate.

The bill is HB 1219. Rep. Charlie Van Zant made a series of bizarre remarks in support of offshore drilling. Crist and Senate President Jeff Atwater told the media there wasn't enough time to consider the House bill.

"I'm not receptive to it," Atwater said. "That is a really, significantly important issue. It'd be very difficult to imagine that's part of an end game for this session."

Crist Monday also told the Herald he was troubled by the "lateness of the hour" as well as by the "closeness to shore" of the bill's provisions, which would allow drilling between 3 and 10 miles off Florida's Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Expect another push for offshore drilling next year.

Will Crist Veto Offshore Drilling Bill?

Gov. Charlie Crist gave his usual dodging of whether he would sign or veto HB 1219.

Q: Concerned about the environment?

Crist: “That is my concern.... I’m sympathetic to the notion that we might be more independent in terms of weaning off our dependence on foreign oil, and having the opportunity to have more diver energy resources. But the lateness of the hour within it was brought up with in the session and the closeness, the proximity to Florida’s shores concern me greatly.”

Florida Energy Associates hired Florida's 20 best lobbyists to help push offshore drilling through the legislature. FEA is a LLC formed by self-employed Daytona Beach attorney Doug Daniels. Ron Sachs Communications is handling FEA's PR campaign. Sachs is best known as the host of the internet political show Power Play. I'm curious if FEA wrote Charlie Van Zant's bill.

Daniels said his group filed the original Van Zant bill earlier this year. That bill (H1219) would have directed the Department of Environmental Protection to come up with a plan for developing offshore oil reserves. That bill was expanded last week with an amendment filed by Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park.

The backers of FEA are unknown. "There is a lot more suspicion about this than there should be," Sachs insisted told the Miami Herald. "These are Americans who hope Florida will allow oil and gas exploration." The suspicion comes from these oil industry people hiding in the shadows. Their citizenship (thanks to Sachs) is the only thing we know.

Charlie Van Zant's Faith-Based Energy Policy

The media did no reporting on Charlie Van Zant's bizarro quotes. Van Zant argued in favor of HB 1219. The bill would allow oil drilling 3 miles off the coast of Florida. Blogger Bruce Ritchie has a full excerpt of Van Zant's rant from the floor of the Florida House of Representatives.

"Some people would like to think that (the world's petroleum supply is limited). Estimates might show that. But that doesn't mean that at all. We happen to worship a god who made it all out of nothing anyway. And if we ran out, I certainly believe he could make some more."

Forget what science says. Van Zant is running a faith-based energy policy.

Other factually incorrect statements from Van Zant.

"God created the oil and will create more once we pump what is there."

"If we don't drill, the China, Argentina, and Cuba will so they can fund terrorists."

"Drilling will provide more money to Florida than tourism."

I'm still trying to get a transcript and a Youtube video. If anyone has more on the story email me at Sullivan40@gmail.com.

Update: Van Zant spoke at a McCain-Palin rally. The hammered away about banning abortion and urging voters to support the anti-gay marriage Amendment 2. Van Zant shifted to the need for Florida to have nuclear power plants and (drum roll please) offshore drilling. Van Zant sold the false promise that drilling off of Florida's coast would drop gas prises in the state.



The oil from the outer coaster shelf would not greatly impact production. Oil companies would sell the crude oil and natural gas to a global market. Anti-regulation Republicans aren't about to force oil companies to sell only to Florida. I doubt that would be legal.

The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Total domestic production of crude oil from 2012 through 2030 in the OCS access case is projected to be 1.6 percent higher than in the reference case, and 3 percent higher in 2030 alone, at 5.6 million barrels per day. For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher—2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case (Figure 20). Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.

Similarly, lower 48 natural gas production is not projected to increase substantially by 2030 as a result of increased access to the OCS. Cumulatively, lower 48 natural gas production from 2012 through 2030 is projected to be 1.8 percent higher in the OCS access case than in the reference case. Production levels in the OCS access case are projected at 19.0 trillion cubic feet in 2030, a 3-percent increase over the reference case projection of 18.4 trillion cubic feet. However, natural gas production from the lower 48 offshore in 2030 is projected to be 18 percent (590 billion cubic feet) higher in the OCS access case (Figure 21). In 2030, the OCS access case projects a decrease of $0.13 in the average wellhead price of natural gas (2005 dollars per thousand cubic feet), a decrease of 250 billion cubic feet in imports of liquefied natural gas, and an increase of 360 billion cubic feet in natural gas consumption relative to the reference case projections. In addition, despite the increase in production from previously restricted areas after 2012, total natural gas production from the lower 48 OCS is projected generally to decline after 2020.

Below is an EIA chart of what oil and gas production would be if the restrictions on drilling in the United States outer continental shelf was lifted. None of the data matters to Van Zant. If believes God will make more oil.

Wingnut of the Day: Charlie Van Zant

I just confirmed Florida House Rep. Charlie Van Zant made these comments in favor of HB 1219.


"God created the oil and will create more once we pump what is there."

"If we don't drill, the China, Argentina, and Cuba will so they can fund terrorists."

"Drilling will provide more money to Florida than tourism."

Oil is a finite organic sources. Oil comes from dead dinosaurs, the fat of remains and plankton. Living entities have to die to create more oil. We can't just magically make it.