Email insights: Hot diggity dog, Florida Sunshine Law manual now available digitally

in Apolitical/Top Headlines by

So, this exists: “Wish you had the Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual with you at all times but hate the idea of lugging around that heavy book everywhere you go? Good news! The 2015 Government in the Sunshine Manual is now available through Amazon.com for the amazingly low price of just $9.99!”

Well, holy crap. Now all of those people who had been lugging around the open-government bible can leave the muscle strain out and shift it to their smart phones and tablets. All for only ten bucks. Hot damn!

Even better, you can buy just one copy and put it on all of your devices! Wowzers!

The app is being pushed by the First Amendment Foundation in an email to subscribers.

Call me crazy, but wouldn’t the type of people who would purchase a Government-in-the-Sunshine manual be precisely the kind of folks who are ethical enough to not necessarily need it?

I mean, if you’re interested in making sure the public gets to see which of your I’s have been dotted and how many of your T’s crossed, wouldn’t you also be the same sort of person to not have secret email accounts hiding crucial government business from the prying eyes of the press?

Wouldn’t someone who would go through all the trouble of downloading an app to contain a reference with the intention of actually using it be the same sort of person not likely to knowingly break open government laws to can a guy who wouldn’t do your political building?

This is the type of person who probably wouldn’t hide $200 million in financial interests because common sense would probably tell them, hey man, that’s not cool.

Ooh! You know who needs a copy of this digital ethics bible? Rick Scott. The fearless leader of Florida and bona fide open government law-breaker!

Maybe if he had a handy little app on his phone telling him it’s not OK to use staff to discuss firing the head of the FDLE instead of talking about it in public forums.

Maybe if it were only a couple of taps of the screen away, Rick Scott would have found out that it’s probably a good idea to keep government conversations within public emails, not a personal Gmail account. Or, and I’m going out on a limb here, maybe he would have seen that hiding money from disclosure reports falls into a gray area probably not a good idea to start swimming through.

But hey, Rick Scott didn’t have this crazy-easy-top-use app to help him figure out all of those things. So, surely he can’t be blamed for firing Gerard Bailey and getting off with only an apology on the matter. Nope.

Since he has another four years in office and it looks like he’ll probably not get impeached for otherwise impeachable offenses, someone should probably gift one of these bad boys to our state’s leader.

Here’s an idea. If just 99-people can kick in one penny each we can make sure Scott gets a digital copy of this valuable resource thus far only available in back-breaking print.

But wait, there’s more!

To even further sweeten the deal, one subscription covers all of your devices. So, Rick Scott could have access to this handy dandy manual on all of his phones, computers, tablets, smart watches and whatever other gadgets a man with a net worth of over $300 million may have access to.

Who wants to kick off the go fund me page?

Here’s the email that went out notifying folks of this new resource:

The 2015 Government-in-the-Sunshine e-Manual is Finally Available!!!

Wish you had the Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual with you at all times but hate the idea of lugging around that heavy book everywhere you go?

 

Good News!

 

The 2015 Government-in-the-Sunshine e-Manual is now available through Amazon.com for the amazingly low price of just $9.99!  You can download the eManual on to any device – your desktop, laptop, iPhone, and iPad.  You can download the necessary apps for free on the Foundation’s website, by clicking here. Simply download the one you need and then go to www.amazon.com to purchase your copy of the eManual.  For only $9.99!  And the best news yet?  Buy one copy and put it on all your devices (iPhone, iPad, desktop, laptop, etc.).

 

Don’t leave home without it!

 

 

 

 

Janelle Irwin has been a professional journalist covering local news and politics in the Tampa Bay area since 2003. She also hosts a weekly political talk show on WMNF Community radio. Janelle formerly served as the sole staff reporter for WMNF News and previously covered news for Patch.com and various local neighborhood newsletters. Her work has been featured in the New York Daily News, Free Speech Radio News and Florida Public Radio and she's been interviewed by radio stations across the nation for her coverage of the 2012 Republican National Convention. Janelle is a diehard news junkie who isn't afraid to take on big names in local politics including Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, the dirty business of trash and recycling in St. Pete and the ongoing Pier debacle. Her work as a reporter and radio host has earned her two WMNF awards including News Volunteer of the Year and Public Affairs Volunteer of the Year. Janelle is also the devoted mother to three brilliant and beautiful daughters who are a constant source of inspiration and occasional blogging fodder. To contact, email [email protected]