References:


“A Polk Perspective: Fix our bankrupt policy on student debt,” by Gordon Wayne Watts / Guest columnist, The Ledger, August 4, 2016 [700-words]


“Beware the debt trap,” by Gordon Wayne Watts, LETTERS, The Tampa Tribune, October 18, 2009 [377-words]


“Allowing Student Loans Increases the Cost of Education at All Levels,” LETTERS, by Gordon Wayne Watts, The Ledger, June 3, 2011 [299-words]


“Ross Has Heavy Hand Online,” LETTERS, by Gordon Wayne Watts, The Ledger, Jan 24, 2013 [247-words]


“Higher-Ed Tuition Costs: The ‘Conservative’ view is not on either extreme,” OpEd, by Gordon Wayne Watts, The Register, Monday, 28 September 2009 [2,095-words]


“Why College Prices Keep Rising,” by Alan M. Collinge (** StudentLoanJustice.org), Forbes, March 19, 2012 [966-words]


“Throughout his term as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, Dennis distinguished himself as a strong proponent of conservative principles and was well respected by members of both parties. In 2007, Dennis, along with Rep. Don Brown, were the only two legislators to vote against the property insurance bill that made Citizens the largest property insurer in Florida. For voting against his party and with his free market principles, Dennis was stripped of his Chairmanship and many said his career was over. But Dennis is a conservative leader, not only of independent thought but of independent action as well.”


“He also allowed state Senate Democrats considerable influence over the legislative process and then demoted the two Republican committee heads, Don Brown and Dennis Ross, who voted against the measure.” ** Source: “Marco Rubio's Insurance Spin: As speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, he ignored warnings that expanding the two taxpayer-backed funds would expose Floridians to fiscal risks when a big storm hit,” By Mary Kissel, The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2011


“[Florida Speaker of the House, Marco] Rubio, R-West Miami, removed two Republican lawmakers from their leadership positions after they voted against the insurance package the Legislature approved in its just-completed special session. The bill passed the House 116-2. [line-break] Reps. Don Brown of DeFuniak Springs and Dennis Ross of Lakeland were forced to give up their posts as council chairmen -- the small group of legislators who make up most of the speaker's inner circle. Rubio replaced them with GOP Reps. Ron Reagan of Bradenton and Charlie Dean of Inverness. [line-break] In a three-sentence statement, Rubio said Brown and Ross "offered" their resignations. But Ross said he offered his only after the speaker told him to, and that Rubio did so because of his insurance vote. Brown would not discuss the matter.” Source: “Speaker's moves leave a bad taste,” by John Kennedy and Jason Garcia, Tallahassee Bureau, The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 28, 2007


“TALLAHASSEE -- House Speaker Marco Rubio forced a pair of lawmakers from their leadership posts Wednesday, two days after they voted against a high-profile insurance package.


Rubio removed Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, as chairman of the House Jobs & Entrepreneurship Council, and Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, as chairman of the Safety & Security Council. The two also were stripped of seats on the powerful Rules & Calendar Council, which controls which bills make it to the House floor.” ** Source: “Speaker dumps pair for dissent: The only 2 `no' voters on the insurance bill lose their leadership posts in the House.,” By Jason Garcia and John Kennedy, Tallahassee Bureau, The Orlando Sentinel, January 25, 2007


“When former Republican state Rep. Dennis Ross of Lakeland formally kicked off his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday on the east side of Lake Mirror in Lakeland, a man with a Hawaiian shirt stood quietly in the audience with a smile on his face.


He was former state Rep. Don Brown, a DeFuniak Springs Republican and the only man other than Ross to stand up to House leadership in 2007.


That was when the 120-member House, with the two exceptions, blindly approved Gov. Charlie Crist’s property insurance plan that Brown and Ross said would put all Floridian insurance holders - property, auto, etc. - at risk for billions of dollars in special assessments in the event of a catastrophic hurricane strike.


Ross and Brown also said it would drive private insurance companies from the state and place more burden on the state insurer of last resort, and thus the taxpayer.


Both men were sacked by then-Speaker of the House Marco Rubio from their committee chairmanships in the Florida House for their stand against the 118 lemmings in the House.


Bills sought by Ross that had nothing to do with insurance were killed by Rubio as punishment for his independence.


State Farm is the most recent and largest of the private insurance firms proving Ross and Brown right on their second point that the state’s policies would drive major private property insurers from the state.”

Source: “Ross and Friend, Brown, Stood Alone,” by Bill Rufty, The Ledger, March 1, 2009


“...[T]he book, according those who have seen advance copies, will leave out some of the details of a key incident in Rubio’s career in the Florida Legislature when he acted less like a limited-government conservative and more like those who believe strong government action is sometimes necessary for the public good...But, as [Gary] Fineout [an Associated Press reporter] noted, the book [by Marco Rubio] omits any reference to two lawmakers who objected to the House’s decision to back the plan and were later punished by Rubio for opposing the bill.


Those two lawmakers were state Reps. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, who is now a congressman, and Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, an insurance agent who has since left the Legislature...Although it allowed Citizens’ rates to be rolled back and temporarily frozen, Brown said the legislation put the state and its taxpayers in a “very, very dangerous position” if Florida were hit by a major storm season again...For their defiance, Ross and Brown were punished by Rubio. They lost their chairmanships of House councils and Brown lost his role as a member of Rubio’s leadership team.”

Source: “Rubio book skips role in controversial Citizens' moves,” by Lloyd Dunkelberger , Herald-Tribune, Friday, June 15, 2012


PRESS INQUIRY: [the lawmakers about whom we write CAN'T say they weren't given a fair chance to respond to my concerns wit heither (1) proof I'm wrong or (2) an apology & assurances (backed up with action; legislation to correct) that they'll make corrections – lastly, (3) if neither of these happen, I am not wrong to hold them accountable in the Free Press of the News Media introduce (Cc's to Fla. Gubernatorial candidates in the “typo correction” follow-up)