Florida's Boondoggle

Florida’s Boondoggle
Fox 13 Investigates the failure and folly of the Cross Florida Canal. The ill-conceived project burned taxpayers, damaged our environment, and set off a dispute that's still playing out.

[@stancrawford2147]

This is proof that the people we elect are idiots! This is on us! We need to elect smart people- NOT baby kissing politicians!

[@deerjohn8041]

Also a great example of the damage the government can do. The Feds created a problem where people on both sides of the dam issue have legitimate claims.

[@murdelabop]

Especially politicians who kiss things other than babies.

[@ChrisBrown-hr6mc]

@@deerjohn8041the price of diversity

[@davidb.1218]

I had no clue, what an amazing piece of journalism. I would love to see that river brought back to its former glory.

[@powerguymark]

In this amazing piece of journalism THE COMMENT OF US REPRESENTATIVE LOUIE GOHMERT was completely taken out of context. #journalismisdead

[@JEB..]

​@@powerguymarkas was Hank Johnson's obvious joke. Funny how folks don't seem to question that. So weird.

[@vincenz5]

@@powerguymarkit’s really not controversial that Louie Gohmert is an idiot.

[@kristenrifenberg781]

I took Florida History with Dr. Noll. He is a fantastic professor.

[@craigpatricksmoneypowerpol7748]

Agreed!

[@user-ob5wr4mq3p]

I’ve seen videos about the cross Florida canal before, but this one was by far the most in depth and informative. Thank you

[@Patrick-yh5yd]

I thought it was the Florida barge canal not ship canal?

[@sheepdog1102]

Remove the dam and restore the river to its original state!

[@marksherman1887]

Dear Florida, I am sorry. Why did you have to be so beautiful?

[@dwtpa97]

This is an incredible documentary. Every Floridian should watch it. Thanks, Craig Patrick and Fox 13 !

[@Patrick-yh5yd]

They will look back on Climate Change B.S. like this story.

[@mattkeene]

Excellent interviews, archival footage and commentary, thank you for this.

[@extractedentertainment8213]

I was stationed in Yankeetown at the Coast Guard station there 2005-2007 Nobody there knew anything about the canal, other than it was called the barge canal and we didn’t go down it very often, except for area familiarity runs for new crew members. Pretty cool thanks for doing this!

[@richardnolan27]

We need to return nature back to its original as much as possible, and it took millions of years to get the way it was . And only a couple of poor decisions to get it the way it is today . Let’s wise up and do the right thing.🌎💦

[@thebigdog2295]

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.

[@Patrick-yh5yd]

Most likely Democrats. The ones who voted against Civil Rights.

[@katjones2781]

Yeah we will keep voting for the same people we need to vote them out no matter how painful it seems

[@eprofessio]

In college I thought it was free money from the government. Now that I am older and have a family I realize that’s our money that the government is constantly wasting.

[@lamontpearce170]

Yepper 35 TRILLION in debt

[@wisdomsleuth77777]

This is why it's so sad that very few people can have influence on very large things. It just takes one person being short-sighted with a goal in mind that can't be persuaded to destroy ecosystems and cause potential catastrophe

[@mikedee6974]

Bring it down!!!!

[@jul.escobar]

Fantastic journalism. Well written and discussed. Thank you for this!

[@kenbrown1440]

Great journalism, I wish more reporting was as objective as this piece.

[@murdelabop]

If the land owners along the reservoir want to keep the dam then let them pay to replace it. The entire state should not have to pay to pump up the wealth of a few people fortunate enough to own lakefront lots.

[@jdh23h]

And we have folks on the street with nothing to eat but they can build a ditch for 700 million

[@Patrick-yh5yd]

This idea made Orlando the hooker capital of America but no one will say this.

[@randalloliver3673]

I grew up in Citrus County and had many memorable nights as a teenager partying along the banks of the Barge Canal.

[@kd6281]

FREE THE OCKLAWAHA

[@festungkurland9804]

Florida actively searches for boondoggles, and never met a carpet bagger we didn't like!

[@puddingheart]

FDR was definitely a carpet bagger! Of the worst kind! It's why we love Gov. DeSantis!

[@brandonbloomquist3267]

That was well done. Thanks for sharing! Based on dam removals elsewhere in the country (see the White Salmon and Elwha in WA), the river and fish tend to go back to what they were doing before we built a dam in around 10 years. The mud and smell that the one man interviewed was worried about only last a month or two.

[@craigpatricksmoneypowerpol7748]

Thanks for watching

[@powerguymark]

​@@craigpatricksmoneypowerpol7748you completely took US Representative Louie Gohmert's comment completely out of context. Shame on you.

[@holymolar]

The Okeechobee waterway connects the Atlantic with the Gulf, via the Caloosahatchee canal.

[@TomSpeaks-vw1zp]

The definition of government is spend other people’s money.

[@user-dr6vs7ot3q]

Black bureaucrat was concerned that Guam would tip over if too many people went to one side?lol lol WTF? YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!

[@samjohnson9894]

Pretty sure that dude was indicted and home(s) raided. They found thousands of dollars just lying around in boxes and in freezers. For some reason. Typical democrat. This happened either under Bush2 or Obama. Don't recall which.

[@trubleSum1]

Thank you!

[@TheStormey]

Omg, I've been here since I was 13 years old and I am 60!! I live in Titusville I've lived in Bronson which is right outside of ocala, I've never heard about this! How in the hell have I never heard about this? Thank God they failed in their miserable endeavor😂😂😂

[@davidsauls9542]

Hindsight is beautifully Easy

[@bobyoung1698]

Florida has many boondoggles.

[@adamtedder1012]

We are fixing them slowly. The attempt to control water in a swampland was not well thought out and by the time we realized a generation or 2 down its a lot more costly to fix in some cases and we have to weigh property rights. The dam needs to go. It's a net positive to Florida as a whole even if some may feel they are losers. That's where the state has to come in with the federal govt and make them financially whole in regards to lost property value.

[@festungkurland9804]

Florida actively searches for boondoggles, and never met a carpet bagger we didn't like!

[@Translibtard]

The intercostal waterway by the Army core is a good example

[@TomSpeaks-vw1zp]

And most of them are voted in

[@user-md9yv7jx2c]

Ah yes, more adventures brought courtesy of the Bureau of Wreclamation.

[@UnkoHoloHolo]

Arent those that conduct such things, a stellar group. Of arrogant Brainy acts.....

[@rileyherzer9426]

Hell yea Craig

[@sueellenwalkerspencer5647]

How do you think they built the Caloosahatchee waterway. Same way.

[@holymolar]

Exactly, but no media ever covers it and they keep trying to shut it down, which is fine by me.

[@headbandbybrianlundeen3132]

Boondoggle!

[@jacobwhipple7848]

During the times they made decisions around the country that were similarly not necessary. Jobs were necessary though and they made it happen. Not saying it was justified, but it helped people survive and provide.

[@trinleywangmo]

No EPA and no environmental impact studies... no experts. Just politicians. We're going to go back to that once trump is "president" ... ehrm _supreme leader!_

[@purplerange210]

There is no way they thought Guam was going to capsize 😭😭😭

[@woonjake]

Not "they", just that one idiot

[@radioactivelight]

A black man thought that…

[@nsh1980gmail]

@@radioactivelightI seent it!

[@JEB..]

​@radioactivelight and the white guy thought the bureau of land management could change the orbit of the moon (much more recently, I might add and far more "educated"). Don't be selective in assigning stupidity to two men, regardless of race. It's not a good look.

[@buckshot6481]

Look at who said it 😂

[@consueloloftis5342]

Take it down

[@shirleywhite3280]

Uncle Sam doesn't won't to give that recreation money up. It was a scam.

[@deepflorida]

reminds me a lot of avatar, wonder what inspired that movie?

[@michaelcurrie6008]

If it is producing electricity. And ain't such a bad thing

[@darrenlane6316]

It isn't hydroelectric. It doesn't produce anything... It's a burden on taxes and the environment. Removing it would save millions of wasted dollars.

[@jul.escobar]

Remove the dam and let nature flow! It would be beautiful for all. The water would adjust life.

[@Patrick-yh5yd]

How about South Florida making canals that dump fresh water into the intracoastal. They should have been built to dump into the Atlantic.

[@RatherBeShredding]

I feel like something like this is going on in lake county / Polk county currently

[@Bardmusic66]

Boondoggle Saints

[@murdelabop]

Fortunately, Florida Governor Bob Graham put the final nail in the coffin of this disaster.

[@chefpontius6816]

FDR and LBJ were terrible for FL.

[@mtnman3MTA3]

Great video, very interesting and informative. I did find it strange that the tour guide driving a small pontoon boat was called a riverboat captain.

[@user-nx6qr1mt6f]

“Thriving African American town” is an oxymoron…

[@user-dr6vs7ot3q]

Lol.. ain't it

[@SteveStegmeier]

please elaborate

[@user-nx6qr1mt6f]

@@SteveStegmeier If you need elaboration on such a simple statement, you’re either joking or won’t get it anyway…

[@jmark7390]

I am a 72 year old lesbian. People tell me I am super hot for my age. I loved this video. I used to swim in the Ocklawaha River and feed the monkeys, I miss those days.

[@jaxdaggerthegreat]

Is Jim Picket doing the narration?

[@beboboymann3823]

Franklin Roosevelt pushed for the canal…….democrat. Richard Nixon canceled the canal project…….Republican.

[@johnparker4875]

Both criminals.

[@yoo1221]

dam

[@madjack8893]

Have you seen the most recent sinkhole map of Florida? The whole thing is going to break off. Concentrated where they were doing this. It’s bad.

[@poppaluke9991]

To much money tied into the lake to remove the damn now unfortunately.😢

[@beboboymann3823]

Put it on the next ballot and let citizens vote on whether to keep the Rodman dam or not. If they dynamite it and it creates huge problems then we will forget about the state’s attention to rescue our failing home insurance fiasco and redirect millions of dollars figuring out how to solve new problems caused by a different flow of water.

[@NoJobNoBoat]

Why should the state have to remove the dam when the um... other government funded it?

[@shipwrecked2211]

if you dont know how to pronounce OCK LA WA HA then ya shouldnt be handling any matters involving this

[@randythomas3478]

Yankees have ruined Florida.

[@woonjake]

Florida could pay to restore this beautiful waterway with taxes from legalizing cannabis.

[@adamtedder1012]

Don't need to tax more. Taxes rarely go to what they are intended. It's removal of a dam that the federal govt is at least 50% responsible for. It should not be overly expensive or 100% our bill. For every one dollar you take from the people 3 are spent. 2.5 on fraud, waste and abuse. The last .50 is spent on the project. The Indian river lagoon restoration is an example, the Everglades restoration is an example. Both of those massive projects cost too much and are simply overcomplicated for the sake of contracts and jobs. Same ole story. Never look to give your money to govt for a solution. Both of those mentioned projects could be done with 1/3 the cost and with a year. I worked for govt, multiple agencies and they all run the same. Your tax money might ad well go in the trash. It's waste waste waste, hooking up friends of friends, ect ect. Our govt is in the world's highest debt but it doesn't have to be. They waste about 60% of the taxpayers money every year. We could not only pay the national debt but have a surplus within just a few years if you cut the fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption out. It made me sick but I didn't make the rules. The way Both the federal, state and local govts do their budgets and the laws governing contracts is what allows it. Many many many years ago contracts were awarded at cost benefit but that has long gone away. We never choose the lowest bidder. We choose who knows who and how will a chunk of the money find its way to the people awarding the contracts. That incentivises larger monetary contracts. Until the entire system is revised from the top down I would strongly advise not supporting any new taxes and even lowering the ones we have. Every dollar in the hands of the person who earned it is a dollar spent in a business supporting jobs of other workers who can keep their dollar to spend in a business and so on. It's a better use of the money until government can be fixed to actually provide the services we pay for.

[@strayedarticle2838]

​@@adamtedder1012Now tell him about Fractional Reserve Banking.

[@strayedarticle2838]

Now tell him about Fractional reserve banking

[@woonjake]

@@adamtedder1012 Clearly y'all aren't paying attention to what happening in other parts of the country. MUCH worse fraud and abuse than in Florida.

[@CW0123]

Still better results than Disney world

[@calvingodfrey8504]

I spend time on the Rodman Lake and the Ocklawaha River. Removing the dam will ruin this beautiful place.

[@adamtedder1012]

No it will change it. Change it to the beautiful place it once was naturally. It will take time for it to heal but we've been shown time and again it happens faster than we expect. Within a few years we will realise it's all headed in the right direction. Man should have never attempted to control Florida's water system. Now we have to fix it. It's a net benefit to all of Florida even if it means a minority will lose. What needs to happen is the state and federal govt need to bring in the checkbook and pay property owners the current value of their property irregardless if they intend to sell or move. They have to make people whole. Then they need to remove the dam and let nature do the heavy lifting.

[@calvingodfrey8504]

If the dam is gone, the lake will be gone. The river is still there. @@adamtedder1012

[@katydavis4289]

That dam goes the fishing will be a lot better.

[@calvingodfrey8504]

@@katydavis4289 Now we got a lake and a river. If the dam is gone only a river.

[@calvingodfrey8504]

@@katydavis4289 If the lake is gone, how can fishing be better? There is still a river there

[@christianlorenzen7320]

So the only reason to keep the damn are for selfish reason? Yet "i CaN CaTCh MoRE FiShiES" has been the reason for keeping it yet the reason for making it was for shipping. Yeah that makes sense.

[@poppaluke9991]

It comes down to the money that the lake produces with fishing,boats,restaurants,property values,Taxes,ect.,ect.

[@markespich8574]

Democrats!

[@user-bd5nh5eb4b]

Forgive me Democrats, but here is another example of FDR s Gulags.❤

[@garydumoulin6318]

The true boondoggle is that the canal was never finished. The loss in economic prosperity to Ocala and Dunnellin are huge. Any one who knows how locks work knows that water flows to the sea not from the sea. As always a bunch of environmental extremists shut down something that would have been a boon to Florida.

[@powerguymark]

You totally misrepresented US Representative Louie Gohmert's comment. SHAME ON YOU.

[@JEB..]

True, though in fairness, Gohmert is an idiot. I'm sure you went and checked full context on the other fellas comment too right? No? Here ya go. From Hank Johnson's statement: "The subtle humor of this obviously metaphorical reference to a ship capsizing illustrated my concern about the impact of the planned military buildup on this small tropical island."

[@buddyjohn]

Thrrs more old bridge pillers hidden in woods cross the street from sherrifs substation by santos hwy 441 bellveiw fl.

[@truenorth3740]

Really

[@rileyherzer9426]

Hell yea Craig