Beyond sadness, I was actually shocked by something I heard on my
drive home today. The story was on NPR's "All Things Considered":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94023551
It details how a company, Clear Channel Communications, lobbied the
Florida Legislature to make it illegal to plant trees in front of
billboards. As a result, our legislators, the people who are supposed
to represent us, actually passed a law to benefit Clear Channel in
2006. It requires that trees planted years ago to beautify Osceola
County (and elsewhere throughout the state) must be cut down because
they now block the view of Clear Channel's billboards. Can you believe
it?
Apparently one of this absurd law's congressional supporters
(Representative Randy Johnson of Celebration) has already been booted
from office.
I wonder. What else can we mere plebeians do to remedy such a sad
situation as this?