FL Teabag Lawmaker: Photographing farm will be a 1st degree felony!

Part VIII of MY STUPID STATE:

You read the title of this post right. I am not exaggerating in the least. Just more wingnuttery from my state legislature. This time from new freshman teabagger Sen. Jim Norman.

Jim Norman of FL District 12 is one of those newbies pushed by teabaggers in the last election. Like many of his kind, he has a history of ethics problems. But in a state where a criminal can be elected governor, a state senator with a mountain of ethics complaints and an FBI probe gets a chairmanship.

And like the other new FL teabag (FLeabag?) legislators, like Jason "Fine Doctors $5 Million for Asking Mental Patients Anything about Guns" Brodeur, Jim Norman is making a name for himself.

Sen. Norman introduced SB 1246 last Friday, which would make it a 1st degree felony to photgraph any part of a farm (even from public property) without written permission of the farm owner first.

Lest you think I am prone to hyperbole, read the text of the bill yourself.

WHY is he doing this? Is he insane? No, the voters here are... but that's another post.

The intent of this stupid bill is to prevent someone from an animal rights group to pretend to be a farm worker and secretly film torturing or abusing of farm animals on private property. Now, this is already illegal here, mind you. The infiltration, that is: not the farm animal abuse. Animal rights here are looked down upon almost as much as worker rights. (When voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2002 to stop the practice of putting pregnant pigs in ultra-confining cages, the legislature went ballistic--long story short, the requirements for citizen intiatives now demand a super-majority.)

Yet, somehow, these videos are still getting made. Logically, the next step is to arrest someone with a wide angle lens who happens to snap a picture that includes an open pasture.

Seriously.

Last January, I took a picture of a church near Geneva. There is a cow behind a fence in the background. If this bill becomes law, I can look forward to being charged with a first degree felony on par with murderers and bank robbers.


Oh, here is one I found of a nearby farm with some horses I thought were adorable:


GUESS it will be jail for me!

I wonder if someone forgot to tell these FLeabaggers that the Constitution they profess to love includes a first amendment as well.

Florida Taxes: Rich Pay Nothing, Workers Support Everyone

Part VII of My Stupid State:
The title of this post says it all. But instead of a "Thank You for bearing all the load", the workers are pissed on, attacked, and lectured on the "need to sacrafice".

On the other hand, because of corporate tax loopholes, the corporations in this state don't pay. We have the highest concentration of rich people here because of three reasons:

1. The rich here don't pay any state income tax
2. Our legislature eliminated the intangibles tax on multimillionaires
3. Although we have a sales tax, it is not for the rich. We eliminated taxes for sales items only they can afford!

This lack of sacrifice is justified by saying they are the "job creators"--even though they aren't hiring. We have the 3rd highest unemployment rate in the nation.

Thanks to our new governor, its going to just get a lot worse.

In less than one month in office, Rick Scott ranks the most unpopular newly elected governor in U.S. history, with a favorability rating of just 28 percent. (Although the WI Scott is giving him a run for his money.)

Rick Scott proposed to absolutely decimate education here in florida, while slashing thousands of government jobs that benefit the most vulnerable among us. He has proposed cuts to every government agency across the board (oh... except his own. He wants to double his own office).

In addition, Florida heroes such as school teachers, health care providers, corrections officers, police and firefighters face severe cuts in pension and health care benefits.

Gutting jobs seems to be all he is good at. Exactly one week later, Mr. "Let's Get to Work" made up lies and then threw away a fully-funded high speed rail project that would have brought tens of thousands of jobs to the state in our construction industry alone--just because he hates Obama. (Even Jeb Bush scratched his head on that one.)

Big surprise: on Monday Governor Skeletor, who up till now has only met and consulted with Teabaggers, lectured a group of corrections officers in Tallahassee on the need to sacrifice. Forgetting that he wasn't talking to his lap dogs, one employee spoke up and hit him with facts (rated truthful from Politifact):

"You said to hold you accountable," the employee, speaking from the audience, said to Scott. "State employees have seen, since the Bush administration, a reduction in state employees. I have been with this agency for many years. And I've seen where our staff has been significantly cut. We are required to do more with less. State employees haven't received a raise in five or six years. You're asking us to contribute to our pension plan and contribute more to our insurance!"

Then he hit him with this nugget:

My question is simple: What have you required for the wealthiest Floridians to contribute to the state revenues?"

Rick Scott took a day to answer-literally. The next day he spoke to another group and started by saying someone had asked him why he didn't want to "tax rich people more." (Yes, he lied again...but get used to it.) He answered his own question by saying he needs to cut taxes for the wealthy so that (get this) rich people will live here and create jobs.

PROBLEM with that, tricky ricky, is that the superwealthy DO live here, including the GOP's richest patrons, like fat-ass Limbaugh.

As I mentioned, the superwealthy love living here because they don't pay any state income tax, our legislature eliminated the intangibles tax on multimillionaires, and we eliminated taxes for sales items only they can afford. Thank God... now they can buy that Yacht, which is tax-exempt by the way.

That's right, the main source of revenue for this state is the sales tax, and by sheer coincidence we exempt most things that only benefit the wealthy. Here are some examples:

-University stadium skyboxes
-Yachts
-High-end legal fees
-Accounting fees
-Charter fishing-boat fees
-Ostrich and racehorse feed
-Complimentary meals served by hotels
-Wine bought for taste testings
-Racing dogs
-Tickets for the Super Bowl

And while lobbyists for special-interests are able to exempt everything from bottled water to space planes, a low-income single dad buying a used pair of kids sneakers gets hit with a 7% sales tax. Its his fault for not being rich.

But these uber-wealthy folks ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT CREATING JOBS. Our unemployment rate is 12%, much higher than the national average. Certain industries it is even worse (construction is at 20%). I guess giving Rush Limbaugh even more money does not mean he's going to hire more people. (He's got all the drug mules he needs, I guess.)

But the hundreds of millions we lose in not having the rich pay taxes is nothing compared to our lousy corporate tax loopholes. 98% of corporations pay nothing! We already have one of the lowest corp. tax rates in the nation, but Rick Scott wants to completely eliminate it. Doesn't matter since some our biggest employers don't pay a dime in corporate taxes anyway. Why should they?

By the way...this costs us over $1 billion a year!

Again, our low corporate tax rate that nobody pays anyway IS OBVIOUSLY NOT CREATING JOBS! That's because we have a severely lacking supportive infrastructure, very low education funding, a very high drop-out rate, high poverty, and a state government that doesn’t know how to govern wisely or effectively. Given Rick's latest decisions, he is making each one of these points even worse.

Businesses are not coming here. The super wealthy already don't pay taxes. But SOMEBODY has got to start plugging this hole.

SO what does Scottie do?

As all teabag governors do.. try to "balance the budget" on the backs of the most vulnerable among us, along with the evil government workers. Over 70% of our state employees make UNDER 40k. So taking from their retirement seems like the logical thing to do in this bizzaro world we live in here.

Then there is the REAL money savings!

Under Scott, here is wasteful spending that needs to be tackled:

-Poor, elderly and disabled citizens would no longer be provided eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures. (Get a job, freeloaders!)
-Severe cuts in Medicaid (What.... ever)
-Services for abused and disadvantaged children (Buck up, punk!)
-Programs that combat homelessness and suicide prevention would be cut. (Cost savings if they are successful.)
-Florida will no longer cover kidney dialysis or organ-transplant medication. (But if you want to buy a racing dog, we got your back!)
-And, of course, lets not forget to wipe out the Office of the Homeless, which creates programs and shelters for the state's RAPIDLY EXPANDING homeless.

That last one is particularly disturbing. Rick Scott, a billionaire who made his fortune stealing from the elderly really does hate the homeless. He hates them so much it is almost cartoonishly evil:

He wants to end Homelessness Memorial Day... [Laura Hansen, CEO of the Coalition to End Homelessness] said "strikes me as particularly absurd," adding that no state costs were tied to the date.

Nice! Scott is trying to out teabagger the others. (Take that Wisconsin!--NOBODY touches my governor!) My man creates more homeless and THEN kicks them in the stomach by cutting their lifelines. And just for laughs, he takes away a day that only recognizes that homeless people exist, which costs NO money! Next year he plans on urinating on them when they sleep. (Gotta stay on top if you want the teabaggers to stick with you.)

Speaking of sleep.....WAKE UP FLORIDA!

2 FL Teabag Lawmakers Hire 60+ "assistants" at $100K+ each!!

This really "Grinds My Gears":




Quick recap:

A few weeks ago, Teabag Guber Rick Scott released his budget, which guts children's healthcare and education, along with cuts in every state agency sans one--his own. The bastard is requesting 420 staffers and a $343 million increase for his OWN budget.

Well of course, you say. It's Rick Effin' Scott. Shamelessly stealing from old people for years means its no big thing to kick kids in the teeth while simultaneously looking out for #1.

BUT it's just Rick right?

If only. Our top two legislators: the ethically-challenged FL Senate President Mike "Hair"idopolos and the power-hungry FL House Speaker Dean Cannon where not to be outdone in douchebaggery.

These two teabaggers have backed up their man Rick Scott in every way...all the while crowing about cutting spending and lecturing Floridians on the need for painful sacrifice.

Of course, these lectures on sacrifice are only meant for the working class. You know, the freeloading teachers, firefighters, health-care workers, etc. I think we can all at least agree that we have way too many of these fat cats in Florida. And I for one am sick and tired of teachers always flaunting their wealth in my face.

Slash them all, I say. (And they say too.) Of course, to help them with all this fiscal belt-tightening, Dean and Mike obviously needed to hire a slew of assistants. These included 61 who are who are now paid over $100,000 each with taxpayer funds.

Naturally, the salaries went up across the board in this tea party legislature. However, the top aides to Dean and Mike are now raking in $146K and $175K respectively. In other words, 3.5 and 4 times respectively the amount Dean and Mike are paid! (Cripes, if we really want to save money, Mike and Dean should quit and let these two "advisors" actually take over their damn jobs. It would be a lot cheaper for us!)

The video above is laughable, but the money shot is when Cannon talks down to us simple-folk and explains that we obviously "don't understand the experience and qualifications" of the people who are getting these big six figure salaries. Right--including his new highly-paid spokeswoman who apparently has NO prior experience. (P.S., if she is the spokeswoman, why is she letting Dean defend her salary? DAMMIT, Dean, what am I paying her for?)

Hey Florida?

HAD ENOUGH?

It's our turn to get angry. The Awake the State rallies are across the state on March 8! Click the link to find the closest near you!

Our Turn To Get Angry! Awake the State--March 8!

Cutting to the chase.. the organizers of labor, civil rights, and Dem Party groups under the banner of AWAKE THE STATE are organizing Florida statewide protests on March 8, the start of the legislative session. Because of Florida's geography and the difficulty of getting working people to the Capitol, the rallies will be at various sites in major cities accross the state. It has gotten attention in our local media, by several prominent Democratic legislators, and is even now being targeted by the Koch-headed teabaggers, who are planning counter-protests.


Across the world, ordinary hard working people are standing up to their dictators. In our own nation, specifically Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio: unions, teachers, service workers, and many other employees who sacrifice so much and get pissed on and scapegoated by the GOP are FINALLY standing up the puppet teabag dictators in the statehouses.

If people can come out in subzero weather in the cold states, we can come out in 70% weather to turn up the heat on our right-wing legislators and corrupt governor. It's our Turn.

Have you had enough? You didn't vote last November, so at least take time to fight back now!



STEP 1:

Go to facebook, select LIKE for the Awake the State Protests

STEP 2:

JOIN the Awake the State protests, March 8, 2011.

ONE last thing. Email Gov. Lex Luthor and your Florida state senator while you are here and let them know that this nonsense is unacceptable.

Let's try to bring back some pride. Come out March 8! See you there.

AWAKE the STATE Protests March 8!

Awake the State Protests

Across the world, ordinary hard working people are standing up to their dictators. In our own nation, specifically Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio: unions, teachers, service workers, and many other employees who sacrifice so much and get pissed on and scapegoated by the GOP are FINALLY standing up the puppet teabag dictators in the statehouses.

Come out and join us March 8, the first day of the legislative session. Allowing exemptions and loopholes for the superwealthy and big corporations while trying to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable, the suffering middle-class, and our public servants is deplorable.

If people can come out in subzero weather in the cold states, we can come out in 70% weather to turn up the heat on our right-wing legislators and corrupt governor. It's our Turn.

For Orlando:
Click here for details

Tuesday, March 8 · 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Location Senator Beth Johnson Park (adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce)
59 South Ivanhoe Blvd
Orlando, FL

For Upper Orange County and Seminole County, here's an alternate location if you can't make it downtown:

Tuesday, March 8 · 5:30pm - 6:30pm
University of Central Florida Main Entrance
Intersection of Alafaya and University (grassy knoll)

BRING A CLEVER SIGN! (and an American/Florida flag if you got one)!

TIME TO BE HEARD!

Rick Scott's 7 Biggest LIES on RAIL (Before Killing It)

Welcome to Post V of My Stupid State:


By now you know that our Voldemort-looking and acting guber killed the rail project.

I predicted that he would on the Jan. 12 post of my blog. Not because I am clairvoyent, but because I know him. It didn't matter that the federal government was willing to pay nearly all the cost nor that private companies were willing to cover any additional costs.

It was Obama's idea. And for this crook, that was enough.

Rick Scott couldn't just out and out say NO, although he wanted to. He had to go through the motions and say he was giving it "serious" consideration, although the ones who were paying attention knew all along that he was looking for excuses to kill it without having it look blatantly ideological and partisan.

So he started to do what he does best. What all crooks do. LIE.

You don't need to look far to see how well he does it. There is no shortage of material. Heck, you can see it in the clip I have of him in the introduction of this diary, where he won't even acknowledge his own damn signature on incriminating documents.

You can see just last week in my last post, where the SOB vowed not to cut education... and then proposed to gut it almost completely to the tune of $3 billion.

So Rick Scott kept making arguments, some of them recycled in his hastily organized "press conference", (where he never takes questions). All Lies. Let's review:


LIE #1: Governor Voldemort claimed that cost overruns would put Floridians on the hook to fork over $3 billion in matching funds.


UN-F&^King-BELIEVABLE. The federal government has already put aside $2.4 billion in stimulus funds for Florida's portion of the national project. Worst case scenario would be $280 million, and the consortiums of companies set to bid on the line had indicated a willingness to put up their own money in return for a contract! In all, eight consortiums made up of international companies representing 11 countries had lined up to bid on the train that would have run from Orlando International Airport to downtown Tampa, with stops at the Orange County Convention Center, Walt Disney World and Lakeland.

Here's the other thing, the company chosen to build the train would have been contractually bound to cover any cost overruns in construction, as well as any operating deficits for up to 20 years! Companies had said they were willing to accept those terms!



LIE #2: Few would use it, and low ridership would have required state subsidies.

This one really pissed me off. Rick Scott compared the high-speed rail to Amtrak in certain cities. OF COURSE no one rides Amtrak! They don't own the damn railroads! In the most bass-ackward outdated arrangement, Amtrak has to work around the more profitable freight-carrying trains, and this means simple trips can take days and costs tons of money. Anyone with any knowledge would know this and to use that comparison to a dedicated HIGH SPEED RAIL LINE is blatantly misleading. But again, Scott is trying to make excuses.. not look at facts. (When he slammed the Amtrak ridership from Washington to Boston, PolitiFact Florida noted that an 7.15 million people rode regional rail lines in the Northeast last year.)


By the way, the bid documents mentioned in the debunk of LIE#1? They were being written to obligate the bid companies to cover operating losses due to low ridership. (Which again, they indicated they would agree to).



LIE #3: If the project was shut down, the state would have to return the $2.4 billion to Washington.


A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Transportation called him out on this lie. This issue is one that could have been negotiated... if Scott had ever even bothered to raise it with federal officials. Of course, if you've already made up your mind...

LIE #4: His phony concern about government spending and the deficit.


Hey Gov. Skeletor (and you stupid teabaggers who put him there): Rejecting these federal funds for transportation and infrastructure will NOT reduce the deficit one penny! The funds have already been allocated!! They are just going somewhere else....like wine country.

As far as waste goes, did I mention that we already spent $66 million on this project?


LIE #5: It's better to invest in our ports and expand our highways instead of rail.

First off... Ports? How the F*&K is that going to solve our congestion problem?! For when I travel from Orlando to Tampa taking a fucking canoe from the Atlantic to the Gulf? And you can bet that if Obama HAD offered to upgrade our ports with stimulus funds, this teabagger wouldn't have had any of it.

The highway argument has been used REPEATEDLY by anti-rail advocates, including the guber. In just about every op-ed by these jokers (most with ties to the auto or oil industry), they argued that we should expand I-4 instead.

Okay, here's the problem geniuses. Orlando to Tampa is 84 miles driven. According to figures by Rethuglican Congressman Mica: 73 miles of I-4 will cost $2.9 BILLION dollars (in 2000 dollars). So the entire amount we would receive wouldn't even cover it, and WE ARE GETTING NOTHING AT ALL from the feds to build an extra lane! That's kinda like someone offering to buy either your family or someone else's family a 4-bedroom house and willing to cover almost all the cost, but you turn it down because you want your own family to pay for a used mobile home that costs more. Savvy business man my ass.

PS... don't look for any investment in any transportation project anytime soon. The Florida Dept. of Transportation is rudderless because it is one of Scottie's botched appointments.

LIE #6: He would wait until the FDOT updated ridership and revenue projections -- scheduled for completion within two weeks.

No dice. He couldn't be bothered to wait for the report he said he was waiting on.

Tricky Ricky is basing all of these "facts" on information provided by a Glenn Beckian, Libertarian think tank--the "Reason Foundation", which is known for being anti-rail. (Several commenters pointed out that a certain Koch brother sits on the Board of Trustees.) He also received advice and information from the ever-so-slightly right-wing Heritage Foundation. (I get my own "facts" from Fox News, thank you very much.)

So to recap, he dismissed the entire project with NO ridership study, NO contruction bids, and not even consultation with the FL Senate or House! Yes they are wingnut, but they are none too pleased.

Sen. Thad Altman, R-Vier: "There's no rational reason at all not to allow that to happen -- unless you're afraid of what you might here. We might hear that this thing will work."

LIE #7: "Let's Get to Work!" He will create 700,000 jobs in 7 years.

Oooooooookay. In the short time he's been guber (one month), he is proposing to cut hundreds of state jobs, including teachers and those who serve the neediest among us. With today's announcment, you can add an estimated 48,000 jobs to the pot. These were desperately needed in a state where unemployment is a whopping 12% (and 20% in the construction industry).

Maybe dumbass meant to say LOSE 700,000 jobs in 4 years.

Barely ONE month in office, and already he is the most unpopular governor in our history. And this unilateral dismissal was so shocking, without even consulting his supposed GOP "allies" in the wingnut legislature, that he is being attacked by both the left AND the right on his sudden action. Not that it will make a difference.

And the saga continues.... One month down, 47 to go...

UPDATE: At least we have ONE legislator who is fighting for Florida jobs. It's the lone statewide Democrat: Senator Bill Nelson. He is working with several lawmakers, including the mayors of Tampa and Orlando, to see if he can do an end run around the governor. STOP and think about this for a second. A US Senator is doing the governor's job--working with local leaders to try to bring jobs and economic development to Florida--because our OWN governor is trying to take it away.

Rick Scott to Black Legislators: "I'm just like you... My dad had a sixth grade eduction!"

Welcome to Post 4 of My Stupid State:


This is a re-post from Kossack appledown.

Governor Rick Scott did not stop at rejecting what he & his bosses at the Tea Party and his communication team now is trying to brand as “Obamarail” (to maintain the indoctrination of the Tea Party faithful) and before whom he presented his budget.

Oh No! Scott went on to insult the 20 black lawmakers at a luncheon, all Democrats, at the mansion Tuesday, Scott saying that he grew up in public housing “just like you” when speaking to the Black Legislators and said he supports diversity, regardless of race, he doesn't believe in quotas and defended his decisions such as cutting funding to workforce education.

Miami NewTimes

I grew up probably in the same situation as you guys,” Rick Scott said yesterday while addressing a group of state legislators. “I started school in public housing. My dad had a sixth-grade education.”

In the same breath Scott went on to further insult the lawmakers with the follwing:

1. That he is ending the state’s support for the only 2 historically black colleges: Florida A&M University and Bethune Cookman University.
   
2. Abolish a state office that helps minority-owned businesses get state contracts
   
3. He will lower unemployment benefits and health care funding for the poor
   
4. He also refused to appoint more minority judges and officials

"If you think I'm going to pick someone who's different from my judicial philosophy, it's not going to happen."

Reid Report

It has been said that Scott is assuming that all blacks grow up poor and their parents are uneducated which upset some of the Lawmakers in the room who comes from all spectrums of life, not just public housing.

Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, whose mother has a master’s degree, said he was shocked at Scott’s comments at yesterday’s lunch and considered walking out.
“He just assumed because he was sitting with a bunch of black people that we had all grown up in public housing,” Smith said.
Scott is “tremendously disconnected” from the realities of being black or Hispanic in Florida, Smith said.
“He doesn’t see the need for diversity or inclusion,” Smith said. “Any diversity that happens (in his administration) is going to happen by happenstance.

This guy does not stop. He just keeps on giving, so sit back-grab the popcorn and watch him work. He has already lost 30,000 plus jobs by turning down $2.4 billion in federal funds for high speed rail.

Florida cannot recall a Governor, but thanks to Rick Scott, a new recall bill is being proposed (another gift from Gov. Scott).

Rick Scott Deposition Video

MY STUPID STATE SERIES

This series is where I document what happens when a state full of Democrats elect a veto-proof, right-wing legislature along with a teabag, CRIMINAL governor to lead us. (Once again, yes--an actual bona-fide criminal who literally stole from seniors, who subsequently elected him.) This is my documentation of my beloved but idiotic state of Florida's slow descent into chaos.

It begins... That Didn't Take Long--Rick Scott Scandal First Day

I. Florida Tries To Become the Wild West

II. Doctors Thrown in Jail for Asking about Guns?


III. FL Teabag Governor Proposes Killing Education, Doubling His Office!

IV. Rick Scott to Black Legislators: I'm Just Like You, My Dad Had a 6th Grade Education!

V. Rick Scott's 7 Biggest LIES on Rail (Before Killing It)

VI. 2 FL Teabag Lawmakers Hire 61 "assistants" at $100K+ each!!

VII. Florida Taxes: Rich Pay Nothing, Workers Support Everyone

VIII. FL Teabag Lawmaker: Photographing Farm Will Be A 1st Degree Felony!

IX. Scott breaks law ousting state's long-term-care ombudsman

X. Radio Advertisement for Florida Drug Tourism (Scott Shops)

XI. Taxpayers paid $152,000 for a single copy of a book

XII. Do Not Let Rick Scott Get Away With Ignoring Fair District Amendments!

XIII. Rick Scott Would Tear Down State Parks and Put in Golf Courses??

XIV. Stop the GOP's Forced-Rape Bill!

XV. Jon Stewart Slams Rick Scott on Drug Testing

XVI. Rick Scott Uses His Office to Rake in BILLIONS!

XVII. Make. It. Stop. FL Teabag Legislators LEGALIZE payoffs!

XVIII. Gov. Voldemort Uses Emergency Powers TO CUT PROGRAMS FOR DISABLED

XIV. FAIL!: Rick Scott Can't Get His AZ Law Passed (Even With White People Exemption!)

XX. Gov. Scott Gives Huge Raises to Staff After Kicking Disabled Kids in the Teeth

XXI. Florida Chamber of Commerce Thinks We're Stupid: Runs Ad Saying Teachers/Firefighters HATE Their Unions!

XXII. FL Supreme Court: Scott Lawyer LIED On THE Critical Fact for High-Speed Rail Decision!

XXIII. 30 Mill Buys Off Rick Scott: FL ONLY Gulf State to Pull Out of BP Lawsuit

XXIV. Florida GOP Legalizes Voter Suppression, Including a Return to Jim Crow

XXV. Teabag Lawmakers Attempt to Dismantle 3rd Branch of Government

XXVI. How Can They Sleep At Night?

XXVII. Two Rick Scott Scandals on Same Day!

XXIV. Rick Sneaks Out of State to Meet Koch Brothers While State Burns!

XXV. Rick Scott's New Florida: State-Sponsored Intimidation!

XXVI. Florida ER: "Good Thing You Aren't a Teacher!"

XXVII. Florida GOP Jobs Bill: Legalize Dwarf-Tossing! (not kidding)

XXVIII. Rick Scott Attacks the Elderly

XXIV. Florida Secretary of State Argues 1965 Voting Rights Act is Unconstitutional

XXX. FL Teacher Face $1000 Fine for Registering Students to VOTE!

XXXI. FL GOP Legislature: Rich Men who Cheat Will Be Protected

XXXII. Next Up for Rick Scott: Handwriting Analysis for Voters! (no snark)

XXXIII. "Truly Terrible": Daily Show Hits Rick Scott Hard

XXXVI. Owned by the FL NRA: Shooting neighborhoods up "for funsies" now legal

XXXV. REST EASY FLORIDA: New Bill Prevents UN-World Government Takeover of Our State

XXXVI.   Rick Scott Attempts 2nd Takeover of Florida Supreme Court

XXXVII. Rick Scott Rejects All Branches of Government; Appoints Himself Dictator

XXXVIII. Another New Low for FL GOP:  Spring Destruction

XXXIX.  Rick Scott Shuts Down TB Hospital Amid Worst Outbreak in 20 Years

XL. The Unbelievable Disaster that is Rick Scott's Lt. Gov

XLI.  Make Some Noise:  FL GOP's Sneak Attack to Outlaw Abortion

XLII. Rick Scott Threatens Firing of Elections Supervisor for the Crime of Encouraging More Voting

XLIII. Justice Department: Florida dumping disabled kids in nursing homes for adults

XLIV. FL GOP Spends YOUR Money to Fight Latino Resident Citizens from Claiming In-State Tuition!

XLV. Great Week for Rick Scott: Got to Screw Over Teachers AND Unemployed

XLVI. Want to know HOW FAR Florida's governor will go to STOP you from asking a question?

XLVII. "Conservative Values" FL State Legislator Linked to Prostitution Ring

XLVIII. Help Me Fight 3rd ATTEMPT by Rick Scott to Replace Supreme Court Justices

XLIV. Still Wondering How Rick Scott Won the Election? You Need to Read This...

L. Rick Scott Crosses the Line from Crime to Treason

LI. Democrats Blast Rick Scott for Helping Allen West's Quest to Overturn Election

LII. Satan Worshippers Hold Rally for Rick Scott

LIII. The Cruel Tale of Rick Scott's Rescue Puppy

LIV. Mental Health/School Safety Funding CUT to Pay for Gun Maker Tax Subsidies (Thanks Rick)

LV. Rick Scott claims he "didn't have anything to do" with voter suppression law that he signed!

LVI. Rick Scott Spends 500k Just to Piss Off Women

FL Teabag Governor Proposes Killing Education, Doubling His Office!

Welcome to Post III of My Stupid State:

When running for guber, Rick Scott repeatedly said on the campaing trail that he would NOT cut school spending.

He vowed over and over again that there would be no cuts, that he would keep the budget the same.

But our Lex Luther looking and acting governor lied. That's a big word to use, but its true.

If you live here in Central Florida, you know columnist Scott Maxwell. For the first time in his writing career, he said that he is forced to call someone a flat out LIAR. No surprise it would be Rick Scott.

I guess if you take the fifth 75 times, you get pretty good at it.

That bastard is proposing the deepest cuts in our state's history...and the overwhelming brunt of it is EDUCATION. THREE BILLION in education cut across the board: general revenue, state revenue, and per pupil funding.

BUT these cuts are really, really needed, says the GOP. Times are tough, and we all have to tighten our belts. (Unless you are the superrich, who received a desperately needed massive tax break on Yachts.)

Education bears the worst of it, but struggling agencies across the board are proposed to be cut: mostly those that cater to the most vulnerable. He also proposed cutting our already underfunded prisons, and practically abolishing the one toothless agency we have that regulates growth.

But you gotta look out for number one. There was ONE increase in ONE government agency that the governor is seeking to grow — the executive office of the governor. The budget would more than double and add almost 100 employees to his already bloated staff.

Yeah.. nice teabagger. Because if there is one thing our state can agree on, its that we need less education and more government spending for YOUR office.

Cripes! Our state is already in really BAD shape for education, and ranks next to the bottom on per pupil funding. But I guess that's the reason the conservatives want to keep it that way.

What better way to ensure we elect these losers than to keep our people stupid?

Obama v. Reagan: Fun comparison to piss off a wingnut on Reagan's B-day

Imagine a world that never knew Ronald Reagan. No Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove, or Saddam Hussein (Reagan propped him him big time). A world where the labor movement wasn't attacked, and the middle class wasn't systematically dismantled.

Under Reagan, corporations gained real political power, unions were severely weakened, and the socioeconomic gap widened more than at any other time in history (until W).

He created the modern plutocracy. He invented the "take from the poor, give to the rich" supply-side economics that still haunts us today. He poured billions in wasteful spending, like Star Wars. All in just 8 short years.

CEOs before Reagan made 78 times their minimum wage workers. Today, its 4000 times! If the USA had the same income distribution we had in the 1970s, we would be averaging $120,000--not $40,000. Bottom Line: Reagan was a bastard.

And we are still suffering. So when I hear the idiot conservatives longing for him on the radio and the "specials" on Faux News, I want them to hurt. And the best way to do that? HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS.

Next time someone starts revising history or just starts a syrupy tribute, hit them with this. Comparing their St. Ronnie with the man that literally drives them insane... Mr. Barry himself. Shoot them the following information...then just watch them squirm and enjoy the fireworks:


REAGAN CUT AND RUN, OBAMA DIDN'T COWER
Remember when the GOP loved to say "cut and run" as an excuse to keep our troops in Iraq forever? Even after they said "Mission Accomplished"? But who invented cut and run? The Gipper.

REAGAN: Reagan retreated from Lebanon immediately after the 1983 terror attack by Hizbullah that resulted in the murder of 243 Marines. According to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 68), Reagan's cut and run INSPIRED Bin Laden, who viewed the United States as a “paper tiger” because of its rapid withdrawal after the attack.

OBAMA: Our troops are repeatedly attacked in Afghanistan, yet Obama increased our troop strength by 30,000.

I'm waiting for the response, Mr. GOPer.


OBAMA KILLED TERRORISTS, REAGAN GAVE THEM WEAPONS

OBAMA: Gave the naval commander the go ahead to kill several pirates, which resulted in saving the life of Captain Richard Phillips.

(PS--Even though terrorists were killed and the captain rescued, fucking Rush Limbaugh, who originally accused Obama of dithering on saving Capt. Phillips, then cried that Obama killed teenagers when the snipers took out the pirates. Obama-Derangement-Syndrome.

REAGAN: Traded FUCKING arms for hostages! DO I really need to say more?? Oh yeah, he met with our enemies without preconditions (1985, Soviet Union)... something that Obama is attacked for wanting to do, even though he has never done it. But again, giving weapons to terrorists pretty much takes the cake.

AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS:
Hey Mr. wingnut? Why do support an amnesty-lover like Reagan?

I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.
-Ronald Reagan 10/28/1984

No matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these law should be held accountable.
-Barack Obama July 2010

Made that up, did I? Watch it yourself then!


REAGAN RAISED TAXES 11 TIMES, OBAMA NEVER
OBAMA: Refused to raise taxes on anyone making more than a quarter of a million dollars... and wound up not raising taxes on anybody.

"Let me be absolutely clear ... if you are a family making less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes go up: not your capital gains tax, not your payroll tax, not your income tax, no taxes, your taxes will not go up."

OH..and he never raised taxes on those making over $250,000 in an historic compromise that was reached in December 2010.

(By the way, he was in favor of letting the Bush tax cuts EXPIRE for the super wealthy, which is hardly a tax raise. But regardless, he didn't do it.) Obama has consistently CUT taxes, not raised them.

REAGAN: He got through a big tax cut once he took office. But to hear conservatives talk, that's where the story ends. Actually, the rest of his years in office he RAISED taxes... 11 times, including four massive tax increases!



DEFICIT SPENDING


Whether you are looking at the economic policies of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, reining in the deficit was clearly of no concern

REAGAN: Until W., the result was unprecedented government debt. Reagan tripled the Gross Federal Debt, from $900 billion to $2.7 trillion. Ford and Carter in their combined terms could only double it. It took 31 years to accomplish the first postwar debt tripling, yet Reagan did it in eight.

Another stat for ya:

Public debt to GDP ratio:

Before Reagan 33%
After Reagan and Bush I 64%
After Clinton 57%
After Bush II 69%
--www.usgovernmentspending.com


Reagan soared the spending, Clinton brought in back down a bit, and W. took it way back up.


To be fair to the Gipper, NO ONE did deficit like W. He spent the Clinton suprlus like a drunken sailor. And by the way, Obama's spending initiatives were less than half of his predecessor. (Where were the teabaggers yelping then?)


OBAMA: Even though Obama inherited a massive debt from W., and focused on a stimulus that benefited the people instead of Bush's stimulus for Wall Street, he still has a much better record on spending than the Gipper and much better than W. Obama did not triple the gross federal debt like Reagan did. Obama is following the Clinton model of spending up front and then focusing on deficit reduction. I predict at the end of Obama's term in 2016, the deficit will be cut drastically--but it can't be anywhere close to what Reagan or Bush had at the end of their two terms. Why? Because the GOP loves to throw money at their base...tax cuts for Big Oil and the wealthiest amongst us which add hundreds of billions to the debt but create nothing. That ain't happening--you are welcome teabaggers.


GUN CONTROL
Props for this. Conservatives sweep this under the rug.

REAGAN: COMPLETELY supported the Brady Bill, the holy grail of gun control. Reagan even wrote an op-ed piece for it in the evil NY Times.

OBAMA: The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence flunked Obama on every single gun control issue. Proposed nothing for federal gun control laws even with a super majority Dem Congress.

Yet the NRA hates Obama? Obama Derangement Syndrome strikes again.


So what's the verdict? Conservatives love affair with Reagan and their hate affair with Obama seems to be bassackwards. I submit it was REAGAN who was the illegal amnesty-supporting, gun control loving, deficit spending, tax raising, terrorist coddling coward. (As for family values, he was estranged from his children to boot.)

Challenge a conservative to disprove anything I mentioned here. I supported it with the facts. Just be prepared for all kinds of name-calling.

OH.. and just to turn the screws... presidential scholars think Obama outranks Reagan as president. So in a few years I expect to be flying into Obama National in DC!

Enjoy the birthday!!