Remember "I've Got A Secret?" ....It's Back....

In the 1950's and 60's there was a TV game show called "I've Got a Secret." A mystery guest would appear and whisper to the Host what his or her secret was, and the celebrity panelists would play a game of "20 questions" to try to guess the secret. The audience at home would be clued in by a message on the bottom of the screen.

Flash forward to 2009 for the current version of the I've Got A Secret game. In today's version, we know what the "guest" does, we just don't know who the "guest" is. The celebrity panelists are the members of the Florida Legislature and the Governor. And, unfortunately, the folks watching all of this at home aren't being given any messages on the bottom of the screen.

The guest is an agent for undisclosed parties. The guest's name is Florida Energy Associates, LLC, a company formed by a Daytona Beach lawyer in 2008 to represent unknown parties who want to drill for oil off the coast of Florida.

It's not a secret that Florida Energy Associates, LLC has hired lots of lobbyists and is reportedly spending lots of money to try to convince the panelists to allow offshore oil drilling within nine miles of our beautiful Florida coastline. So far, however, this guest hasn't answered any of the important questions--the most important one being--EXACTLY WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO GET OIL LEASES FOR?

And guess, what? So far, according to a recent St. Petersburg Times article, Florida Energy Associates has refused to say who they are representing, and furthermore, they don't intend to disclose the names of their principals who will apply for the oil leases until after the law is changed. (Talk about putting the cart before the horse....)

In other words, Florida Energy Associates believes that it's none of our business. They've got a secret.

All we have is a pristine coastline that's at risk of being irreparably destroyed. So I say that it's high time that the panelists on this game show (the Florida Legislature) REQUIRE THE GUEST TO ANSWER THAT IMPORTANT QUESTION or get sent home (without a copy of the home game).

Don't the members of the Florida Legislature care if the oil drillers have the financial wherewithal to pay for the clean up of their spills?

Do we even know how much it would cost in cleanup costs alone if they (WHOEVER THEY ARE) were allowed to put "new, state of the art, safe drilling platforms"-- like the one that is presently leaking off the coast of Australia (and has been for weeks)-- within sight of our beautiful beaches?

How can the Legislature even consider allowing drilling without knowing the costs of cleanup, the potential loss of sales tax revenue from a spill, the loss of property values from a spill, and the identity of the drillers who would be responsible?

Don't the members of the Florida Legislature want to know if the drillers might be the Chinese, the Saudi's, Hugo Chavez, Bernie Madoff, Kim Jung Il, al Qaeda, or anyone else???????

Don't we care who is "setting up shop" right offshore from Clearwater Beach?

We've now seen the pilot show of the new version of "I've Got A Secret." It's time to cancel this show. Let's face facts, it's been a bad concept since the 60's. Although I hear it's still running in syndication in Texas. Let it stay there.

It's called Due Diligence, and our Florida Legislature needs to engage in it and needs to start asking LOTS OF QUESTIONS and DEMAND LOTS OF ANSWERS, UNDER OATH. Let this bill never hit the floor of either house, or let the hearings begin (and televise them)!