My name is Joe Rugg. All my life my permanent residence has been in Florida. I went to the University of Florida (B.A. ’75 and M.A. 76), spent a year at Cornell working on a Ph.D. in political philosophy, and ultimately graduated for the University of Chicago Law School in 1981. I am a proud American, I believe in the Constitution and the rule of law. I have been working in Tampa as a lawyer since 1981 (except for a few years working in house at a client’s). I have been married for many years, have children, dogs, and cats. I also have a blog that discusses issues of health care law and policy — that is more work related. This blog is to talk about issues of the day — and the issues I choose to discuss may be important or trivial. In my life, I have been a Republican at times and a Democrat at other times (and currently). I suppose I am best described as a moderate. I am also a Christian. When George Wallace ran for President in 1968, he said that Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey, the Republican and Democrat candidates, respectively, were like Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (“not a dime’s worth of difference between them”). Fifty-seven years later the world is very different. It is unlikely that Wallace would say the same thing today. As with my other blog, the opinions here are my own, not my spouse’s, nor my children’s, nor my employer’s. I hope those who read my posts will not hesitate to engage in a discussion, to disagree, to agree, or to go in another direction. Let’s strive for a lively, friendly dialogue, even when we disagree.