Romney to "CARPETBOMB" Obama with $100M in Ads Starting Sat.; but why U should feel good

Crossposted as recommended diary on DKos



First the bad news:

Our gleeful friends at RedState and Fox:

Aides said more than a dozen new ads, each tailored to different regions and segments of the electorate, will begin airing Friday, aimed at dramatically shifting the dynamics of a contest that Romney-Ryan aides acknowledge, in terms of the hard realities of the electoral map, have until now favored the Obama-Biden ticket.

"Time is short," said one campaign aide. "We have $100 million we've just raised. If you look at our burn rate to date and our cash on hand, there's not much more we can spend on infrastructure. So we've got to start spending our general election funds in a big way, because you know what the value of that money is on the day after the election? Zero."

Yes, Romney is getting 9-figure donations (no, that is not a typo). He is going to saturate the TV, radio, websites, etc., with expensively researched ads hitting Obama hard. It is nothing to sneeze at. Whereas Obama gets most of his money from small donors, Romney has almost all of his coming from 32 billionaires donating to his campaign and the myriad of SuperPACs.

BUT now the good news:

Sure, I think it will have an effect, but I'm not worried. Here's why.

1. Money means less in a presidential race than other races. People know who Barack Obama is; and by now they know who Mitt Romney is. (My God, they've had how many "re-introductions" of this guy? If they don't like him now, they aren't going to.) The media coverage of the presidential race is unrelenting and saturating. It leads every news story... and Obama seems to know how to set a narrative a lot better than his opponent.

2. There isn't that many swing voters. The margin is a percentage point or so in the swing states. Most people have already made up their minds and according to the polls, aren't likely to change them. Romney will be spending a few thousand on each swing voter to try to swing them back to his camp. But what is going to swing the election isn't the handful of undecideds who decide to vote, it's the get out the vote operation of each camp's base. This is where Obama has the advantage. Besides, undecideds are like everyone else, they ask their friends and colleagues their opinion. This carries a LOT more weight than an ad. (I am always happy to dispel any misinformation by friends on facebook... and the lies they tell are easily disputed.)

3. Their ads have really, really sucked so far. They run welfare ads featuring Clinton (which is telling--Romney NEVER mentions W. But I digress.). The ads are lies, which becomes the story. Then they have to defend them in interviews and come across as liars. (Wait till the debates.) The Crossroads Ads that Karl has spend tens of millions of dollars on so far have all flopped. Even Erick Erickson thinks they suck:

In the meantime, the GOP Super PAC ads continue to be mostly forgettable while the Super PAC’s themselves continue to raid the pockets of GOP multi-millionaires.

So they love to run ads (countering the claims made by GOP guvs) that the economy is in ruins. Yes, that's the narrative, but they never NEVER NEVER mention what they will do differently from Bush, which is why they aren't trusted.

4. Their candidate sucks. Romney. He is really bad. You can spend 10 million propping him up and all it takes is for him to say "I like to fire people", "My wife owns a couple of Cadillacs", or make a 10,000 bet, or go to London, or talk about his wealthy friends, try to joke about layoffs or peasant raincoats and cookies... the list goes on and on... He has made more gaffes in one year than Obama has his entire career. He relates to people as a man who has lived in sheltered priveledge his entire life, and that awkwardness cannot be media-handled. ALSO, the GOP itself sux. You can't hate immigrants, Muslims, gays, brown people, women, etc. and think that a few ads will change that. Todd Akin told the truth about the GOP/Paul Ryan platform, and millions of women became Democrats. Millions and millions of dollars spent reaching out to women... undone in one interview.

5. There are fewer swing states. There are 8-9 swing states: NV, OH, FL, IA, CO, VA, NH and NC. MI and PA are written off Dem. MO is written off red. WI has been pretty solid blue but you can throw that on for #9. THere are only SO MANY ads you can buy. Now if there were 30+ swing states, Romney would defintely have the advantage. But there are only 8-9 this round. Obama can afford to compete in a handful of states. Here's an analogy... let's say you are selling 10 slices of pizza. Obama can only afford 5 slices, and you can afford 100 slices. But there are ONLY 10 slices! Obama will be outspent in the swing states, but he will be able to hit back. Even if its 1-3 ratio or 1-5, it should be enough. (Romney is still not running ads in Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin, BTW.)

Still need your help:

If someone brings up politics, or if you are on Social Media, don't be afraid to engage. My friend was appalled by Todd Akin, but loved Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. I had to let her know that it was Paul Ryan who tried to alter the language in the House by inserting the word "forcible"; and supports rapists getting visitation rights. That is the man he is. She is no longer a Romney supporter, and no ad is going to change that.

Historically, the candidate who projects optimism wins the election. After the convention of doom and gloom; America was treated to a convention that lifted spirits and fired up the base. I am hoping those of you inspired will devote a small bit of time, even one lousy weekend, to either canvass or get out the vote. (PS, here in Florida we need pollwatchers. contact your local dem party.) A small effort by you is worth more than a 2 million dollar ad on the TV.

The billionaires have the money, but we have the truth and the passion. So let's make it happen. An Obama victory will be SOOOOOOOO SWEET when the billionaires realize Nov. 7 that Karl Rove pissed away all that money.

Powerful Video at DNC: Ted Kennedy, Romney, Obama

Polls are in: NO CONVENTION BOUNCE! (w/ funny GOP reaction)

Crossposted as a Recommended diary on DailyKos.

Couldn't have happened to a more awful person:

A modest bump in popularity for U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney from this week's Republican Party convention looks to be short-lived, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Democratic President Barack Obama regained a narrow lead on Saturday by 44 percent to 43 percent over his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Romney, in the latest daily installment of the four-day rolling poll....

"This wasn't a lightning bolt convention," Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said. "Comparatively speaking, this was a more muted convention in general ... So it doesn't surprise me that (the bump in polls) wasn't a great deal bigger."

Gallup Poll showed no bounce at all.

Analysis on the Gallup Poll from Mr. Nate Silver:

The most sluggish of the tracking polls is from Gallup, which reports its results over a lengthy seven-day window. That means that only about half its interviews occurred after the start of the convention, and a smaller fraction than that will represent people surveyed after Mr. Romney’s acceptance address.

However, the trend so far in the Gallup poll is a bit disappointing for Mr. Romney; the survey still shows Mr. Obama one point ahead. By comparison, the Gallup poll has had a 46-46 tie on average over the past 60 days.

Here is what you need to take away from this.

THIS IS THE PEAK FOR MITT ROMNEY!

After a disastrous summer, August was to be the month of Mitt. First with his veep announcement, and then the convention. The convention has just ended.... which means we had an entire week of unfiltered Mitt Romney propoganda covered by the news media. The Dem convention hasn't started yet, so THIS LABOR WEEKEND should be Mitt at his absolute highest.

And he is still losing....

Hundreds of millions spent by a few billionaires, voter suppression, scare tactics, racism, and nonstop lies. Even with a sluggish economy, the American people know they don't want to go back to the trickle-down, Romney-Hood policies of what made this economy sluggish in the first place.

People do not like or trust Mitt.

He made his extreme fortune forcing companies to take on extreme debt, and having OTHERS try to pay it off... but only after he and his vulture buddies got paid their management "fees". Sort of like his economic plan.... increase the deficit and have the middle class pay a lot more so he and his buddies can pay A LOT less.

And THIS is the man the GOP picked. The man to "solve" our deficit?

What makes this very sweet for me is the fact that conservatives are in extreme denial. Several, like this clown and this one, are not only projecting a RMoney win, but a BIG RMONEY LANDSLIDE! They saw something at the convention no one else saw (like an invisible Obama), but also are bolstered by this University of Colorado "analysis":

A University of Colorado analysis of state-by-state factors leading to the Electoral College selection of every U.S. president since 1980 forecasts that the 2012 winner will be Mitt Romney.

The key is the economy, say political science professors Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder and Michael Berry of CU Denver. Their prediction model stresses economic data from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including both state and national unemployment figures as well as changes in real per capita income, among other factors.

“Based on our forecasting model, it becomes clear that the president is in electoral trouble,” said Bickers, also director of the CU in DC Internship Program.

Using ONLY historical data is a problem, professors. Mitt hasn't led in the electoral college at ANY point in this election. Even McCain led Obama ONE WEEk after the GOP convention. No historical data will match the suck factor that is Romney. Historically, there was never such a disparity in likability, trust and competence.

BUt please, PLEASE, keep believing in your alternate reality fantasy that somehow Mitt will sweep all the states. That would be keeping within your beliefs that the president is an alien, Kenyan, Socialist, Aethist-Muslim who owns a time machine to plant fake birth announcements. Your strong beliefs in the face of facts are what gives snake oil salesmen like Rove the ability to piss billionaire's money down the drain.

Thank you.

One last thing, professors. If you want historical data, I have a better one. The worst pundit in America, the troll who is Dick Morris, (who recently said that Akin was a boon for RMoney), and has made every wrong prediction for every election......(wait for it).... just predicted a landslide for Romney.

Now that's data you can use.

UNBELIEVABLE! RNC Delegates Heckle/Boo Puerto Rico Representative. Lead Chants of "USA!"

This is disgusting.... RNC Delegates, LOTS OF THEM, heckling and booing the Puerto Rican representative. Welcome to today's GOP!

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

Crossposted as a Recommended diary on DailyKos

The Florida Keys elections supervisor is a man named Harry Sawyer. He represents Monroe County, is a lifelong Republican, and has held this seat for 24 years. Rick Scott threatened him a few days ago.

First, let me catch you up.

Florida's new Jim Crow laws cut early voting everywhere in Florida with one exception: the five counties that require federal preclearance due to their history of discrimination under the Voting Rights Act.

Rick Scott and his GOP minions are doing everything they can to limit opportunities to vote. In particular, they specifically ended the decade-long practice of being allowed to vote the Sunday before the election. You can vote the day before AND after, but NOT that Sunday. Why that day? Because that is the day that has the highest turnout for Latinos and African-Americans in this state: 30% of African-Americans voted that day in 2008. Churches organize a "Souls to the Polls" effort to get everyone in their congregations to the polls to vote: especially the thousands without cars or transportation, and those who have to put in long hours during the work week with several minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet. (Getting rid of that Sunday was such a victory for the GOP that I have heard it gleefully referred to as "Color Free Sunday").

Jim Greer, the former FL GOP chairman who was later kicked to the curb, talked openly about GOP strategy sessions to curb minority voting. Greer said the GOP in Florida has essentially given up on garnering minority votes, so it instead decided to limit their participation. This included a DEC 2009 meeting he spoke about in a court deposition:

“I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting.”

One could have easily figured this out regardless, with the GOP legislature passing ridiculous laws such as putting a 48-hour deadline on registration forms (that had massive fines attached for each one received late), purging voters (87% minority), and significantly cutting early voting times.

But a federal court has said that the five Florida counties that fall under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, including Sawyer's Monroe County, could NOT limit the times that it has cut in every other county in Florida. The state failed to prove its case that limiting the hours wouldn't hurt minority voters (ya think??).

Rick Scott's voter suppression team, including Secretary of State Ken Detzner, (the last Secretary of State resigned in disgust over Rick Scott's voter suppression BTW), desperate to limit the days, proposed to have the five counties keep the shorter time span of only 8 days of early voting BUT keep the polls open 12 hours a day in those counties. They would accept longer voting hours as long as the days could be curbed, including the Sunday before election day.

Since it is technically the same amount of hours, the Court said they would agree ONLY if the supervisors of elections in each of those 5 counties all agreed. Rick Scott's Secretary of State held a conference call and tried to bully the five supervisors. Four out of five agreed, except for Harry.

He said the old early voting days worked great, and this new ploy would be less effective, disenfranchise minorities, and would also cost Monroe County taxpayers more in overtime pay. On the conference call the Secretary of State even admitted that their ploy would cost a lot more money.

Harry Sawyer was disgusted by the phone call, and said that the attempted suppression was not the legacy he wanted to leave.

The court clearly said that all five supervisors had to agree. Harry Sawyer said NO.

Rick Scott responded exactly how you would expect a criminal to respond. He decided to threaten to fire Harry if he didn't play ball. Scott promised to take "all necessary and appropriate action" to ensure that the days of voting are limited, and if that meant removing an elected Supervisor of Elections, he was prepared to do it.

Ironic. The Teabaggers in this state who claim to masturbate to the Constitution are very silent about practicing our fundamental right to vote. Yet this lone Supervisor of Elections is the only elected GOP official I have seen standing firm and fighting for our fundamental right to vote.

Harry retires this year, so Rick Scott's threat to remove him is pointless. It needs approval by the State Senate, and they don't convene until next year. However, Rick Scott could still cause havoc, such as possibly suspending Harry from his position.

Part of me hopes he does. Rick Scott is just tone deaf enough to make a martyr out of a fellow Repbulican who refuses to disenfranchise the very citizens he is standing up for; a man who is already becoming a national voice against the GOP's mission of voter suppression.

No doubt it would end up in court, as many of Rick Scott's initiatives do (costing us a ton of taxpayer money in the process). But the result oftentimes is Rick Scott getting humiliated. (This is why he is keen on attacking our courts). Usually Rick Scott is given a humble reminder from the bench that Florida is not one of his corrupt corporations where he can play CEO. He works for us, not the other way around.

So go ahead. Make my day, governor.

Last Week's Post Inspires Performance by OLB in WI

My previous post from last week included bumper sticker slogans that I had received from various readers. One of them was an anagram of the phrase "Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan". It was very clever: "MY ULTIMATE AYN RAND PORN".

An activist that goes by the moniker of Noise of Rain represents the Overpass Light Brigade that gained noteriety during the Walker Recall in Wisconsin. They often hold lighted displays over various overpasses throughout the area. Noise of Rain let me know that they planned on doing a performance using the anagram....

CHECK IT OUT!

Winners: Anti-Romney bumper sticker slogans!! (Full List)

Crossposted on DailyKos:


Hattip Ismay and everyone who entered. This is something we do every election. The full list is below:

Some you have heard before, most you haven't. Most are original, others can be found on websites from other progressives.

These slogans can be made into bumper stickers, T-shirts, signs for rallies, tags for blogs or facebook, or WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO...

If you actually want any of these slogans to be on an item, first Google the slogan to see if someone is already selling what you want. For original slogans, there are several places on the web you can make your own stuff: Places like makestickers.com, bumperactive.com, zazzle.com or cafepress.com.

Please let me know which ones you like, or give new ideas in the comments that I will update and display.





Together We Can Build A Medicare-Free Future!

RepealReplaceRomneyRyan

Pharaoh was a Job Creator, so why did GOD side with a Community Organizer?

Mitt Romney thinks HIS tax history deserves more privacy than YOUR vagina.

ROMNEY/RYAN=VULTURE/VOUCHER 2012



Keep your Mitts off my college kid's Obamacare!

Hey Mitt, Show us your worth certificate!

GOP = Goodluck Old People

Romneys Tax cuts don't trickle down - they just float offshore

Romney: People like him don't care about people like you

Romney: That guy just gives me the Willards


F@ck the truth - Vote Romney/Ryan

Romney: I invented Obamacare before Obamacare was cool

A Danceyhorse in Every Car Elevator!

Mitt for Swiss Banker

Gekko/Galt 2012: Greed Is Good

Romney(R), brought to you by Wall Street

Romney: It's going to be his money soon anyway.

Romney/Ryan: Yes, We cOn.

Obama kills terrorists, Mitt kills jobs

ROMNEY-RYAN: FIRST SEAMUS. THEN GRANDMA. YOU'RE NEXT.




Romney/Ryan: Hand Over Your Medicare!

Tax The Poor For Tax Cuts For The Rich - Vote GOP

Where are the tax returns?

Romney/Ryan=More Tax Breaks for Millionaires

Does Romney vote in the Caymans?

Romney: Kochsucker

Kill Medicare. Vote Mittens/Ryan.

The Buck Stops In Switzerland

Romney: No plan, No tax returns, No way!

ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 - Let 'you people' eat cake!

Photo ID Mitt's tax returns

Help Mitt pay less than 1% in taxes!  Romney 2012.

Restore aristocracy. Romney-Ryan

Strapping granny to the roof of the car

The country is like a car - If you want to go forward, put it in D. If you want to go backwards, put it in R(omney)

Outsource Romney

Prevent truth decay

Mitt got rich helping China spy on dissidents

Romneyhood steals from the middle class and gives to the rich

"I don't care about the very poor"-Mitt Romney

Romney/Bush: Same bad ideas, different spoiled rich kid

I'm from Wall Street and I'm here to help.

Hey Mitt: Corporations aren't people, and dogs aren't luggage!!

Ruh-roh. RomRy? No!

Romney: Doing you doggie style

Mitt: Another mega-millionaire who paid no taxes

We work and pay taxes so Mitt doesn't have to

Mitt's a Twit

Bin Laden is dead, Auto industry is alive

Romney: A guy with that much to hide ought to be invisible

Romney=Bush III
Romney stands for nothing

Guys like this don't help people like us

Believe in greed

Mitt doesn't just happen

If corporations are people, then the Mitt is a serial killer

DON'T make America Mitt's new dog!

Romney's Plan: WE pay higher taxes so HE can pay less

Made his money by outsourcing jobs and raiding pensions

No Medicare; No Pell Grants; but another Tax Cut for the Rich.

Vote Romney-Ryan 2012

Vote Romney: F**k GM

Why should we be taxed more so they can pay even less?

Austerity for you, more breaks for them. RR 2012

Romney-Ryan: Because things can get sooo much worse.

Return to the great days of "W": Vote R-money

Screw "you people". Vote Mitt.


Vote Mitt, because all scary brown people should be asked for their papers.

Tired of presidents with conviction? Vote Mitt.

Ayn Rand: Jesus was "weak" & caring for the poor "immoral". NOW do you understand these guys?

Romney/Ryan supports green policie$ -- for the 1%.











Romney: Putting the CON in eCONomy

Dogs for Obama - we ride inside

I'd rather Romney fail now than later! Vote Obama.

Social Security is an earned benefit NOT an entitlement!

Romney = Citizens United
Obama = United Citizens

Romney: Standing strong for/against everything

Vote for me or I'll cut your hair too.


 
If you think "illegals" are taking our jobs, then why do you support a "pioneer outsourcer" for president?

THEIR tax cuts are more important than YOUR grandmas

RR: We'll tell you our platform on 1/20/2013.
Heh heh.

Romney delivers Medicare to the Caymans

Restoring Royalty to America

We're buying the government. We'll buy you next.

RRx Couponcare

R & R for the 1% - Slavery for the rest

"I Got Mine" is not a national economic plan!

Bain and Pain

Hands Off My Obamacare!

 

Jesus said feed the poor and heal the sick, NOT bleed the poor to feed the rich!

Stop the GOP War on Voting!

Vote GOP: Because blocking EVERY jobs bill to stop our recovery is a winning strategy.

People who can't afford health care should die or go broke trying. Romney 2012.

Romney: Obama is the most "Dangerous" president in America.
U know who else thinks so? Al Qaeda!

Next year, when the IRS asks for your tax returns, just moon them and tell them you've shown them enough.

We PAID $70,000 for WHAT?!?!

China: We Love Romney's Job Creation Plan!

Romney's "job creation" plan

Romney: "Corporations are people"

Name me one GOP president who has cut spending or the deficit...

Lying Sack of Mitt


UPDATED: Some new ones from comments:

Romney Fired Your Dad

Romney: First Republic Steel, then the USA

Paul Ryan:  Romney's mudflap

The wealthy want us poor and powerless
Don't vote against our own self interest.

Yes we Cayman

ROMNEY/RYAN: WE'RE THE WHITE GUYS!

Obamacare vs. Vouchercare

You pay taxes so we don't have to.

Romney/Ryan: Obey Your Superiors!

Romney/Ryan: The Power of Crass Commands You!

Mitt Romney '12: Berlusconi without the sex and alcohol!

Romney '12- Bully for America!

 

Mitt - I usually fake laugh right before I lie

Romney 2012: Because $200 Million Just Isn't Enough.

Romney and Ryan: Inhuman and Inhumane

RomneyHood: Straight Outta Cranbrook

R-money: NOW HE'S COMING FOR YOUR LUNCH MONEY

Romney said he will cut the NEA: I guess ballet is only for horses


Romney: Because Scrooge Was a Rookie.

Run government like a Bain business: Cash out and drive it into bankruptcy

Fifty Shades of White

We whine harder

Mitt Romney has friends who own what you do

Memo to Paul Ryan: Ayn Rand or Jesus, pick one.

My way: No highway

No voting for you!

Mitt the Twit & Lyin' Ryan 2012

R/R: VOTE FOR PROSPERITY. OURS, NOT YOURS.

Romney/Ryan: Only you little people pay taxes

R/R: GOVERNMENT SUCKS, WE'LL PROVE IT!

Romney/Ryan: Because Social Darwinism is Back in Style

MITT ROMNEY The more you know The less you like

Rmoney/Ryan Road To Ruin

Romney: The Great White Dope

Corporations Are My Friends, You People

Obama cares, Romney scares





UPDATED: Hey Girl slogans for the big eared sexpot Paul Ryan:

Hey girl, I hope you're middle class because I'm totally ready to screw you.
xo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, got birth control? Not for long.
xo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, choose me, lose choice.
xo Paul Ryan

Hey Girl You'll love my choices for your body
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey Girl, lets get rid of Social Security.
xo Paul Ryan

"Hey girl, you don't need Medicare for that hip replacement. You just need one of my hugs."
xo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, you look so cute when you're losing your reproductive rights.
xo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, you know what makes me swoon? Tax cuts for millionaires.
xo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, I know I'm only 42, but my ideas on women's rights are over 500 years old.
xoxo Paul Ryan


Hey girl, I would have voted for the Fair Pay Act, but Lilly Ledbetter? I hardly know her!
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, don't let the personhood issue get you down. You still get to choose what to make for dinner tonight.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, I'm pro-life. But not necessarily yours.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, let's get rid of Medicare!
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, admit it, vouchers are sexy.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, I LOVE your body, I just don't trust you with it.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, let's get rid of granny so we can be alone.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey girl, you're pretty fine but fertilized eggs should have more rights than you.
xoxo Paul Ryan

Hey Girl, I'm the last choice you'll ever be allowed to make.
xoxo Paul Ryan



ONE LAST GIFT: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is an anagram for....
"MY ULTIMATE AYN RAND PORN"

August 14 Primary: Seminole Democrat Blog Endorsements

Only a few races this year... and fewer endorsements.   Two to be exact.  Although I'll give some thoughts on each. 

MAKE SURE you vote on August 14th; for anything to ensure you are good to go for voting in the main election Nov. 2.   The GOP-controlled legislature made it very difficult to vote:  they cut early voting, they made registration difficult, don't have to give you information at the ballot box; and if you changed your address OR changed your name within the past four years, you will get a PROVISIONAL ballot, which almost never counts.

MAKE SURE YOU CAN VOTE.   Vote in the primary.  If you just can't make it Tuesday, at the very least check your information to make sure you are good to go for November at http://www.canivote.org/.
Now here we go:

ENDORSEMENT FOR SENATE:  Bill Nelson.

There is somebody else running (Glenn Burkett).  I don't care.   Bill Nelson can defeat Cornilius McGillicuddy IV (Connie Mack).  That is who we need.

ENDORSEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY DISTRICT 7:  No endorsement.

You can go for Jason Kendall or Nicholas Ruiz.  Nicholas Ruiz is definitely the more progressive of the two, but Kendall might stand a better chance in this gerrymandered, made for the GOP district that includes all of Bithlo.  Either one would be a good Democrat and a vast improvement over Mica or Adams.  Either one is also facing an uphill battle:

Compare for yourself here

See responses here

NO ENDORSEMENTS FOR JUDGES

For the 18th Judicial Circuit, Group 26:   Personally, for me, I cannot find any reason to not continue to support Jim Earp for Circuit Judge. He has done well and has a solid platform. I have nothing against his Challenger, Matt Aungst, and I like to have a choice (Earp has run unopposed before). I don't see anything in Aungst's platform that would give me concern, but I am confused why he hasn't been willing to face any editorial boards, like the Orlando Sentinel, to explain why he is running. Here are two comparisons side by side, read them and make your own decision. 

For County Court Judge Group 2:  I really have no strong feelings in this race.   Any of them I think would do a fair job.   Sometimes a Judge is a political hack who has an agenda, which needs to be called out.  That is not the case here.

For an endorsement, I would need to at least send a questionnaire or contact each candidate for a response, which I didn't do this year.  However, there is only so much they can tell you.  These roles aren't partisan, and they cannot talk about how they would have handled certain cases.   For a comparison,  I urge you to look video of their interviews before the Orlando Sentinel editorial board.  For what it is worth,  the Sentinel has endorsed Jeff Dowdy.



ENDORSEMENT FOR SCHOOL BOARD District 4:  Amy Lockhart. 
Mostly because her opponent is Sylvia Pond.  Four years ago I endorsed a Republican, Barry Gainer, over Sylvia Pond. I complained that Sylvia Pond was a right-wing radical who wanted creationism taught in science class. and that she had no business on the school board.    Unfortunately, she eventually did get elected (gotta hand it to her for persistance.)  In 2010, the Sentinel said Sylvia and the rest of the board deserved an “F” for their lack of honesty in statements  made about the half-cent sales tax for schools.  That is probably why she didn't respond to the Sentinel's questions this year.   Yes, I am sure that Amy is a GOPer as well, but between the two, I would pick her.

13+ Reasons I am STOKED about Paul Ryan Pick

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Wus

Dodging the press, hiding his tax returns, and fearing the base...

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

Florida is one of only 10 states that includes an explicit right to privacy in its State Constitution. It gaurantees:

"the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life."

Sounds like a post from one of your teabag friends on facebook, eh? In actuality, it was a Democratic legislature and Democratic governor that inserted that statement decades ago. That's right, that verbiage came from Democrats... not from an idiot dressed in a tricorne hat with teabags fighting against his own healthcare.



No, that idiot voted in right-wing legislators that are, in fact, DESPERATELY trying to get rid of that statement.



You see, the right to privacy is interpreted in our Federal Constitution, but Florida Democrats wisely enshrined it in our State Constitution. It gives our citizens the right to refuse medical care (which was key in the Terry Schiavo case); and ensures women are protected from government intrustion. Despite the super GOP majority and thier herculean efforts to limit abortion with dozens of bills, they have only been partially successful in limiting access because of our State Constitution and our impartial Supreme Court. (Which is also under attack by Rick Scott and his allies, but that's another post).



The problem, you see, is even if Romney is elected, and he replaces Ginsburg on the Supreme Court with a wingnut who joins 4 of the 5 (or 5 of the 5) conservatives in overturning Roe, Florida still CANNOT outlaw abortion because it enshrined the right to privacy. Furthermore, Florida voters have made it clear they do not want new restrictions on abortions.



So the Florida GOP does it always does. Lies to get what it wants.



This November, you will be treated to Amendment 6, which is entitled "Prohibition on Public Funding of Abortions; Construction of Abortion Rights".



Read through the title again.



Notice anything about taking away your right to privacy? That's right, its not there. Just reading the title, which many voters do, it sounds all well and good.



Even those who bother to read through the text might not get its true intent. Here is the summary they will see this November. First part:

This proposed amendment provides that public funds may not be expended for any abortion or for health-benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. This prohibition does not apply to an expenditure required by federal law, a case in which a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, or a case of rape or incest.

This first part is pure and utter BULLSHIT. The amendment is written to seem like it is all about a prohibition on public funding for abortions, which is absurd because that is ALREADY ILLEGAL under state and federal law!



It is to disguise the true intent of the bill, which is vaguely included in the second part:

This proposed amendment provides that the State Constitution may not be interpreted to create broader rights to an abortion than those contained in the United States Constitution. With respect to abortion, this proposed amendment overrules court decisions which conclude that the right of privacy under Article I, Section 23 of the State Constitution is broader in scope than that of the United States Constitution.

It specifies the state constitution can't be interpreted to give more abortion rights, but what it actually does is STRIP AWAY THE STATE'S PRIVACY CLAUSE.







Of course, having an amendment that says "Deletion of your right to privacy granted by the state; with intent to end abortion rights" would not get the 60% required to amend the state's constitution.



The state GOP is counting on the plethora of other issues, including other evil amendments (like Amendment 8) along with the national election to overshadow attention given to the Trojan Horse that is Amendment 6.



Given the apathy of today's Florida voter, they are smart to attempt this. But I still have to try. Please educate your friends on what Amendment 6 is truly about. There already is a prohibition on public funds for abortion, but you are sacrificing your own right to privacy so the state legislature can intrude into your personal affairs.



Even a teabagger should shudder at that.

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

First off, the entire position of Florida Lt. Governor is completely useless. It was created in 1968, and is unique in that no job description for it exists anywhere in state law. The LG literally has no responsiblities whatsoever but to draw a six-figure salary, maintain a massive and equally pointless staff, and step in if the governor dies. (Before '68, it went to the Senate Prez.) For all the whining the state GOP does about the budget, they never consider cutting this position.




So it boggles the mind that anyone with half a brain cell could screw this up. Just sit on your butt and feed at the government trough. How freaking hard could that be?



If you are successful, it means no one has heard of you. Toni Jenning, Jeb Bush's lackey, was successful. She never made the news. Charlie Crist's #2 was a failure: he made headlines for flying all around the state on a government plane for personal outings.



Then there's Rick Scott's fiasco, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll.



Jennifer Carroll was a state rep who was not known for her legislative record, but was certainly known for her ethical lapses. She was nowhere on par with her boss and his greatest Medicare fraud in history, but an impressive resume of shadiness nonetheless. There was her using a fake diploma; filing bills to benefit her public relations firm, and that memorable time she falsified records to scam a government program.





Still, all she had do as LG was attend state dinners on time, meet and greet some girl scouts, and don't do anything stupid. Unfortunately, that was asking too much. It happened:

A one minute and 20 second recording, captured sometime in the summer of 2011, is at the heart of a controversial criminal case rocking the state Capitol.



The quality is poor, but in it you can hear John Konkus, Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll’s Chief of Staff, and Carletha Cole, a Carroll employee fired in September.



The conversation is about a rift between Carroll’s office and the governor. It was given to a journalist after Cole was fired. After its release, Cole was charged with distributing the illegal recording. She wasn’t charged with making it.



That’s because Cole claims Konkus made the recording. She says he carried around a smart-pen that, with a click, would turn into a microphone, and secretly tape anyone within an ear shot.



According to a motion filed by Cole’s attorney, Steve Webster, the governor’s office instructed staff to “covertly record communications within the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.”

First off, yes... there is a "recording war" going on between the governor's office staff and the LG's staff. They are not getting along well.



Second, Carletha Cole is an African Methodist Episcopal minister, grandmother, and former magazine publisher. She has no criminal record whatsoever and was offered entry to a seminary prograam at Harvard. She instead foolishly took a job with Jennifer Carroll as a senior program analyst. She is now looking at several years in prison for giving a reporter that recording.



The Leon County state attorney has a personal vendetta against her and even said he is going to "war" with Cole.



You see, Cole made several public statements about the awful conditions in Carroll's office before she was fired. She said the infighting in the office made it akin to working in “a juvenile school” where staffers are “conspiring against one another.”



After she was fired, she dropped a bombshell: she claimed that she walked in on Jennifer Carroll and her travel aide, Beatriz Ramos, while they were in a "comprising position" in Carroll's office.



Ramos, according to Cole, carried on a lesbian love affair. Carroll, like her predecessor, had a penchant for excessive travel and according ot the Palm Beach Post, required Ramos to have an adjoining hotel room when they traveled.



Cole said when she discovered the affair she was made a target since that day.



In one incident, Capitol police were called to investigate a fire that had broken out in a trash can beneath Cole's desk after a cigar was thrown in there. Beatriz Ramos admitted to setting the fire:

Ramos has refused comment, but told investigators that she accidentally set the trash can on fire with a cigar she had been given during a St. Patrick’s Day party.

Cole said it was harrassment, but FDLE said the fire was just an accident. (PS, an article about FDLE shennanigans under this governor could stand on its on. Coming soon.) Given the fact there are several trash bins closer to Ramos' workstation, not to mention that the Capitol building is a No Smoking area, why would Ramos throw a lit cigar in Cole's private waste basket?



The court file also includes the results of a 2011 polygraph test that indicated Cole was truthful about everything she saw. The test was conducted by a retired polygraph expert who used to work for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.



Even without the lie detector test, I am inclined to believe Cole over Carroll just based on what I know about the character of both them. However, a compelling arguement could be made that the bombshell she dropped was just a vendetta Cole cooked up to carry out against Carroll for being fired. I'll leave that up to you to judge.



What this unquestionably shows is a chaotic office filled with distrust and unprofessional behavior, to put it lightly, that we are all paying for. Again, getting rid of the LG office, with all of her "travel aides" and webpage builders and whatever else would save the state enough to hire back all the useful public servants it fired; or perhaps go towards reopening the TB hospital Scott shut down during the worst outbreak in 20 years.







I should rephrase my original statement. A compelling arguement could be made against Cole by a COMPETENT person. Never to miss an opportunity to turn a scandal into an insult, Carroll decided to fight Cole by making this statement:

Usually black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that.

Yes, Jennifer. Only ugly, fat people must be lesbians. You might be a pretty woman, but you are very ugly to me.



The HuffingtonPost asked Florida lesbians to post pictures showing her what lesbians look like.

Another New Low for the GOP: Spring Destruction

Since the 1980s, back when Jerry Falwell declared that respecting the environment was tantamount to worshipping nature, hating our natural resources seems to have rooted into modern GOP dogma. Of course, destroying Gods' creations always had more to do with the mistaken belief that it hurts corporate interests as opposed to blasphaming Christian belief, but nonetheless has persisted to this day.

For those of you not fortunate enough to see one of God's natural wonders, Florida has the most beautiful springs in the world. Florida is home to over 700 artesian springs, more than any other place on the planet. Some are large and popular, like Silver and Wakulla; many others are smaller and hidden. They are not only scenic. They are crucial to our economy (Silver Springs alone adds 61 million a year and supports over 1000 jobs) and, even more importantly, they are critical to our freshwater supply.

Naturally, they must be destroyed.

The photos of several of these springs today are heartbreaking. Yes, there has been unusual drought. Yes population is certainly a factor... but nothing can come touch the damage by our state leadership.

I wish I could say the problem was ONLY inadequate planning and protection. But that would mean the mindset would at least be to help these vital resources. No, the GOP's contempt for regulations has allowed nitrogen, phosphoruous, and other nutrients contained in run-off from storm drains, fertilized lawns, and septic tanks to completely slime them with algae and weeds. This has meant not only a nasty film on previously crystal-clear water, it also means choking the streams. Silver Springs has dropped to its lowest level in recorded history, and now has a green tint due to algae and weeds.

Naturally, Rick Scott and his teabag allies severely slashed funding for the state's water management districts. The limited money they have has so far been used to FIGHT environmental groups trying to reduce the nutrient pollution. Seriously.

If you think that is bad, consider this. The water management district Governing Board Members who hand out the permits are all appointees of Governor Cromedome.

Naturally, in thier zeal to allow as much overdevelopment as possible, we have a foreign company who actually expects crap that this to get through:

Now, a large-scale cattle operation and slaughterhouse is seeking a permit to withdraw over 13 million gallons of water a day from the aquifer -- more water than is used by the entire city of Ocala. Adena Springs Ranch would include up to 30,000 head of cattle in the springshed of Silver Springs, an area prone to runoff and leaching of nutrients and pollutants.

It will be allowed, that much I assure you. Why the hell shouldn't it? Horsby Springs at Camp Kalaqua was healthy and beautiful until a Walmart distribution center was permitted to be built in it's spring-shed.

And of course, do you guys remember this other GOP fiasco with Nestle not so long ago:

Nestle came into Florida and managed to pull off quite the coup.

The company got a permit to take water belonging to Floridians — hundreds of millions of gallons a year from a spring in a state park — at no cost to Nestle.



No taxes. No fees. Just a $230 permit to pump water until 2018.

Nestle bottles that water, ships it throughout the Southeast — much of it to Georgia and the Carolinas — and makes millions upon millions of dollars in profits on it.

Madison Blue Spring was already stressed... so the GOP allowed Nestle to pump millions of gallons from it... for $230... for the right to sell it back to us.

That's GOP leadership.

Time to Get Involved is NOW!

I never have any shortage of material for the My Stupid State series.

We are facing an unprecedented amount of money from the other side coupled with voter suppression we haven't seen since Jim Crow.

If you haven't ever gotten involved, I urge you to do so now.

Registering new voters and GOTV is critial.

League of Women Voters, Obama's FL Team, Fla Dems or your local party are just a few avenues. Whatever it is, for however long it is, just please... Do Something.

Rick Scott Rejects All Branches of Government; Appoints Self Dictator

Ever since Gov. Smeagol took office, he has made a nasty habit of making arbitrary decisions. One of the first things he did was to announce that he himself would stop all pending regulations for his "personal" review, even routine and necessary ones. He had no authority to do so and our state Supreme Court handed him his ass.

Rick Scott responded the way one would expect him to: with not one, but two schemes to dismantle the Court. (One last year to literally dismantle it that failed, and one this year that goes after all Democratically-appointed Justices.)

But the state Courts were not alone: he showed no regard for any other state institution. Not the Cabinet, the media, and certainly not the citizenry.

You may recall during the budget signing ceremony at the Villages, several residents who dared to wear anti-Scott T-shirts in a PUBLIC square were threatened with criminal charges of "tresspassing" by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office on the orders of one Rick Scott. He said he was justified by being the "chief law enforcement officer"; which I guess doesn't require knowing the law.

And so on... he tried to push through a horrible plan to force drug testing on all state employees (but himself). He decided to kill thousands of jobs by single-handedly killing high speed rail. And most recently, you might have heard, he is attempting to purge thousands of eligible voters while even daring the Justice Department to do anything about it.

Now, we see it with Health Care.

The Affordable Care Act was passed in Congress, with a supermajority in the Senate, signed by the President, and now UPHELD by a very conservative Supreme Court. It has been the "law of the land" since it passed; now it is confirmed.

Rick Scott promised last November, in talking with the Palm Beach Post, that if the Supreme Court upheld the law he would implement it:

"It's my job, if it's the law of the country, to be ready when it's the law … when it's the law of the land, we'll implement the law.''

As early as last Wednesday, he said he acknowledged that he would have to comply with the law "if it’s declared constitutional" by SCOTUS.

But now? After spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fight it in Court; after turning down more than $100 million in federal funds to set up health care exchanges; after promising repeteadly to implement it if its "the law of the land"; Rick Scott said yesterday that Florida WILL NOT implement the health care law.

Just like that.

Because he hates it and he says so. So there.

He is Dictator, after all. With a compliant right-wing legislature, who are we, the citizens, to complain?

Scott also said he is not going to expand health insurance through Medicaid, regardless that the federal government is paying almost entirely for the plan and a million people need it.

Of course, he has NO PLAN for the 4 million people in this state without insurance, although he has been in office for 1.5 painful years. (Actually, he sort of has a plan, but can't come up with a formal way to say "screw 'em".)

All he does is make the rounds on right-wing talk shows and lie, lie, lie. Just yesterday on Fox "News" he relayed a phony story about a mysterious "business owner" who told him he has to lay off 20 employees because he can't afford health care. Nevermind that the law specifically exempts any company with fewer than 50 people. This is Greta's Fox crowd he was talking to.

Dictators don't care about truth. They also don't care about the rule of law, much less the plight of suffering people.

The only good news is that Rick Scott is not actually a dictator... he only thinks he is. We do still have elections. Granted, they are MUCH more difficult with all the registration restrictions, handwriting analysis, purging and other roadblocks put in place the past 1.5 years, but they still exist. No matter how much money the Kochs give to Rick, no matter how many restrictions they place at the ballot box, there is no amount of pressure or suppression that is going to keep that bastard in office past 2014.

Maybe then Floridians can get the health care they deserve.

Democrats: U have a 2nd chance. Try to tout the healthcare law this time!

The GOP opposition to "obamacare" was always phony. Obama based it on the Heritage Foundation's idea (adopted by Mittens Romney who defended it vigorously until 2010) because he thought it would get bi-partisan support in Congress. Afterall, the conservatives loved the independent mandate: conservative, free-market, and "no free riders".




Only after Obama pushed for it did it suddenly become socialism.



Once Obama scored the big victory in 2010, many House and more than a few Senate Dems did their typical squishiness and let the GOP define the law. This was in part due to a "messaging conference" that did anything but help.





A "messaging conference" was held by Families USA based on polling by the Herndon Alliance for Democrats in 2010. What they told Democratic officials should be the central theme of the law was the following:

"The law is not perfect, but it does good things and helps many people. Now we'll work to improve it."

Wow. That showed confidence.



They continued with what NOT to say:

”Keep claims small and credible; don’t overpromise or ‘spin’ what the law delivers,” it advised. Its “to don’t” items include offering “a long list of benefits” or claims that “the law will reduce costs and the deficit,” even as “Voters are concerned about rising health care costs and believe that costs will continue to rise.”

Somehow, that didn't work. Bill Clinton, who knows something about winning elections, argued the opposite: To tout the damn benefits of the law. And there are MANY:

-No more denial of claims after paying premiums for decades



-No more denial of health insurance for PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS



-Coverage for your kids until 26 years old



-Free health checkup every 6 mopnths



-Free preventative health screening procedures for cancer and heart like mammograms, colonoscopies etc.



-Lower seniors' prescription-drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole.



-Moving forward means insurance companies can no longer charge a woman more just because of her gender.



-It saves money. (When Republicans threatened to repeal health reform, the CBO determined that a repeal would increase the deficit by $147 billion!)



-No lifetime caps anymore.

There are many, many more... I just picked a few to focus on.



Not many times in politics do you get a second chance to make a first impression. But for the next several days or even weeks, all the talk will be on health care.



WE CANNOT DECLARE VICTORY AND LEAVE. The fight is just beginning!



The GOP is going to be throwing everything at this. Hundreds of millions will go to TV ads saying "death panels" and "skyrocketing costs" and "government takeover" BS. They don't shy away from their opposition and are willing to lie to win in November.



Democrats in office only need to tell the truth. But it helps if you have a spine and actually stand up for it. Some tried even running from it in 2010, and you see how will that worked.



Democrats: There are A LOT of great things about the AHCA, not the least of which is that for the first time in our nation's history, everyone has a modicum of protection.... and it didn't cost us anything extra. You should be screaming about this from the pulpit.



This isn't just our victory, this is a victory for every American. Don't be afraid to talk about it and run on it. Own it. I'm proud of it, hell, I'm elated. I would love the opportunity to talk about it, and you should be too.
9:17 AM PT: PS... I can't WAIT to see what Rick Scott has to say about this...

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

Don Gaetz is the not just another Florida politician, he will be the new Senate President in 2013.

He was the chair for the powerful reapportionment committee. You know, the one responsible for the legendary gerrymandering maps that give an overwhelming GOP edge to a state with more Democrats? (Also where he told black leaders who complained they were drawn unfairly that "Some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope".)

That guy.

So powerful is he that he actually got donors to give tons of cash to his completely idiot son, soon after he finished college, so his fellow FL teabaggers could elect him to the state House. (Here's the dumb kid's mug shot).

Don Gaetz is what passes for leadership in the GOP.

Power abuses, insentive bigot, and slightly loony.

His top priority as incoming Senate prez seems to be a bill he has been touting, which is finally a jobs bill bill that caters to the underrepresented paranoid, conspiracy nuts:

Expect a bill that shelters private property in Florida from takeover by a United Nations-led world government effort, Senate President-designate Don Gaetz said Tuesday.

And expect that bill to receive favorable support.

Appearing on Fort Walton radio station WFTW 1260 AM, Gaetz said he expected Florida lawmakers to introduce and approve a bill similar to Senate Bill 477 that has been approved by the Alabama Legislature.

Yes, let's follow Alabama. That's a recipe for success.

Gee, if ONLY our Constiution provided some sort of protection against seizing private property, something like this:

Private property shall not be taken for a public use, without just compensation.--5th amendment

Teabaggers who claim to be experts on the US Constitution must have skipped that over that one.

So your state has birthers? I just wish our legislators where that grounded.

Funny: Romney Tells Rick Scott To Downplay Job Gains

From Bloomberg:

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Scott, a Republican, was asked to say that the state’s jobless rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency, according to the people, who asked not to be named.

Don't worry, Mittens. It's nothing Rick Scott can take credit for anyway. Not at all.



What has happened is part of a national trend, the jobless rate is slowly improving. But I challenge you to tell me anything the state GOP has done to help with that.



Here is what the Tea Party legislature has given us since last year: 17 bills to restrict abortion, the largest cuts in education and health care in our state history (along with thousands of government jobs cut), and then passed a slew of voter suppression laws you've heard about.



On top of that, Rick Scott turned down High-Speed Rail last year, instantly costing us 48,000 jobs which were desperately needed in the construction industry where unemployment was at an all time high of 20%...for the sole reason that Obama was behind it. It was our only Democratic Senator, Bill Nelson, who was fighting OUR OWN governor to KEEP those jobs in Florida.





Not ONE jobs bill in two years, unless you count that one dwarf-tossing bill as job creation. (Yes, they really did say that.) So they can take credit for the 10 people who got work out of degrading themselves.



Everything else is Obama's recovery, who seems to be the only one fighting at all for the middle class. Naturally, Rick Scott, who is now ferociously backpedaling his claim that he would create 700,00 jobs, is nonetheless trying to take all the credit for the uptick in growth:

The state Republican party ran a television ad in March crediting Scott, who is a year and a half into a four-year term, for drops in the unemployment rate.



“Companies are hiring, expanding, putting more Floridians to work,” the ad narrator said. “Florida’s unemployment rate continues to get better.”

Unfortunately, this causes Mittens some problems:

“The first time I saw that ad I initially thought it was an Obama ad,” said Brad Coker, managing director of the Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. “They’ll have to tamp it down.”

Yes, they will have to tamp that down to help poor Mittens. My God, if people get back to work, how we will ever justify giving extra tax cuts to billionaires that has worked out so well?



Nobody is buying that Monty Burns impersonator Rick Scott can take any credit, including Mittens himself. Rick Scott remains wildly unpopular and Mittens refuses to campaign with Rick Scott when he visits Florida. But he can't avoid him forever:

This is unwelcome news for Mitt Romney: Florida Gov. Rick Scott expects a high-profile speaking slot at the Republican National Convention...



Nothing says "Elect Mitt Romney!" like an unpopular multimillionaire awkwardly making the case on national TV.

Ha!

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

#37 of My Stupid State

An incident happened recently in a nearby neighborhood... a man fired at and killed some Muscovy ducks at a retention pond. (The ducks are pretty but not a protected species.) He fired repeatedly, surrounded by houses and children playing. No one called the cops this time. It is extremely dangerous, but thanks to the new law signed by Rick Scott, not illegal. In fact, if he was even to shoot across a road or "over any occupied premise", it would only be a misdemeanor.

The new law is forcing all counties and cities to repeal ALL of their gun ordinances by October 1 of this year. If they don't, they will be fined up to $100,000 for each ordinance that is stricter than Florida's (an EXTREMELY low bar--shooting at my house is only a midemeanor?). Orange County employees have already taken down the "no firearms" signs at county parks. In Groveland, they repealed an ordinance that banned firing a gun into the air. You can now do that in downtown Orlando as well. And the Orlando Sentinel added this nugget:

During the hurry, local governments also quietly rescinded ordinances that made it illegal to whip out the AK-47 and blast away for funsies in populated areas.

That same article talks about a poor woman who is forced to listen to rednecks shooting at her neighbor's property for 12 straight hours in an east Orange County subdivision. Certainly what our founding fathers had in mind.

Many people to thank for this genius-ness. But primarily, you can thank the second most hated person in Florida right now after Rick Scott. This person is someone you may not have heard of. She is a 4-foot-11, 73-year-old grandmother... and a sweet, little thing according to her gushy wikipedia page. But she is as close to evil as you might ever see.

She has also done more to enable the killing of innocent Florida citizens, and put many more lives in danger, than any other person in this state. She is Marion Hammer, the top lobbyist for the National Rifle Association in Florida.

Florida has the dumbest and most lax gun laws in the nation. We are a breeding ground for gun stupidity and danger. Yes, we were the first in the nation to try "Stand your Ground/Castle doctrine", which was used by Zimmerman to hunt down and kill Trayvon Martin. (Apparently, your "castle" includes any sidewalk or street.) Justifiable homicides have skyrocketed, which is JUST WHAT WE PREDICTED would happen when asshat Jeb legalized Marion's shoot first law:

Not be content with the extra killing, Marion went on a rampage when a Tallahassee pediatrician asked her granddaughter about having a secured gun in the house. (Those pediatricians like to ask standard "invasive" questions like if a pool is fenced in or if dangerous chemicals are locked up.). Her minions in the legislature worked to restrict doctors from asking about guns in the home: “Docs versus Glocks” law. Leading Marion's call was my own state rep, idiot and complete liar Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, to sponsor a bill where a doctor who dared to ask if a gun was locked up would be thrown in prison for five years and fined ... up to $5 million freaking dollars! Thankfully, the Courts sided with the physicians, but Rick Scott promised to appeal. (Might as well, since he'll be in Court fighting the Justice Dept. on the purge anyway.)

On average, the legislature passes 1-2 gun friendly laws a year, each one crazier than the last. Many are to blame: the subjugated legislators, apathetic voters, and cowardly candidates for local office who are now for the first time being forced by Marion to fill out intimidating questionnaires with loaded questions like this:

"Do you agree that no victim of crime should be required to surrender his life, health, safety, personal dignity, autonomy, or property to a criminal, nor should a victim be required to retreat in the face of an attack from any place he or she has a right to be?"

a. "Yes, I believe the 'Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground' is appropriate and victims have a right to fight back without a duty to retreat."

b. "No, I oppose the 'Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground' and believe victims should surrender to criminals or retreat to avoid fighting back."

Answer the question their way, or be a target. And don't think about not answering: "Questions that are not answered will be graded as a response against Second Amendment rights."

SO thank you Marion and Rick, for your strong advocacy for the 2nd amendment. I hope there is a retention pond near your houses so someone can show off the sounds of freedom to you as well.

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"Truly Terrible": Daily Show Hits Rick Scott Hard

Every now and again, a politician comes along who is just truly terrible and really deserving of more scorn than even we can go out with our nightly 21 min, 30 second wise-ass-athon. I give you Fl governor and Mr. Clean impersonator (if Mr. Clean had for some reason reduced his caloric intake for a period of time) Rick Scott. --Jon Stewart

I'm not as good at this as BruinKid is, so I won't transcibe much. Jon Stewart really hit Rick Scott hard. He has hit him before, such as when he tried to make state employees (with the exception of politicians like himself) perform expensive, unnecessary drug tests. But this was in the context of other horrible governors. But last night Jon really took the gloves off and focused on our nightmare that is Rick Scott. He mentions Scott's dehumanizing campaign to test welfare recipients, which he pointed out saved our state government.... NEGATIVE $45,000. Then pivoted to why Rick Scott is making news today. His campaign to purge voters from the voting rolls, which has ensnared thousands of eligible people, (mostly Hispanic, Democrat, and Independent) to go after that small segment that Jon described perfectly:

Those people who live in fear of deportation but insist on voting.. there must be tens of those.

Noting that black Floridians were not forgotten: besides cutting down early voting, our legislature eliminated the Sunday RIGHT BEFORE ELECTION DAY for one reason: that particular day is the largest day that African-Americans vote because it is the day that black Churches organize drives to get out the vote. They didn't even try to hide it. Which brought Jon to the last target: newly registered voters, which overwhelmingly skew Democratic. Again, if you have paid attention at all in Florida, you realize that it was made a crime to turn in a registration form after 48 hours. This had the effect of all nonpartisan registration outfits like the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote leaving Florida. (Thankfully, there is an injunction against that madness and most returned, but the effect the GOP wanted succeeded... registration is down over 20% from last year). John Oliver talked with Fox News contributor and writer for American Spectator John Fund, who tries like hell to spin the 48 hour time limit law as a good thing and gets his ass handed to him. John Oliver nails him several times...It's worth the watch.

Next up for Rick Scott: Handwriting analysis for voter signatures (no snark)

If you are not paying attention in Florida, you need to. If you are, you will forgive the quick rehash of what has happened up till today. It is important in the context of what this diary is about: Right now, under Rick Scott’s Florida, you can be declared a "non-citizen" with no repercussions... and the onus is on YOU to prove otherwise. The self-proclaimed superpatriot TeaBags in the Legislature are surprisingly unconcerned about the trampling of our fundamental Constitutional right to vote. However, today in Florida, an eligible Democratic voter who has voted his entire life, such as a 91-year old war hero, is declared a "non-citizen", given a few days to drive to the Supervisor of Elections office and “request an administrative hearing to present evidence”. (Good thing Obama is not from here, since Birth Certificates don’t count anymore with the GOP.) The 2012 voter purge we are all discussing is the middle step of a highly coordinated effort. (Google “voter purge” and see Florida in all its glory). Rick Scott was obsessed with creating a “non-citizen” database soon after he took office. Don’t take my word for it: his own former Secretary of State, Ken Browning, admitted as much when he turned from the Dark Side and resigned rather than comply. The purge is based on old driver’s license data with the excuse that if you are snagged, you can just make a lot of unnecessary effort and get your Constitutional right back again. (JEEBUS... we're only talking your right to vote! not your right to carry a gun!) An analysis by the Miami Herald showed that the list was predominantly made up of Democrats, independents and Latinos. Coincidence, no doubt, but there are also plenty of "helpful" private efforts to purge legitimate voters coming from Republican hate groups. Now, Rick Scott could have done a database over a year ago, but the idea is to purge people as close to an election as possible. Besides, last year was the FIRST step of the process: Voter Suppression. In 2011, Scott disenfranched 100,000 previously eligible ex-felons who'd been granted the right to vote under GOP Governor Charlie Crist and signed the most sweeping voter suppression bill in our state’s history. You know, the one that shut down non-partisan voter registration drives; levied thousand-dollar fines for turning in registration forms late (something a teacher found out when she tried to criminally register her students), shred early voting, force provisional ballots to those who changed their name (women) and moved (college students), and allowed vote-caging operations. Which brings me to today. There are plenty of diaries and a lot of outrage on the voter purge, as there was a lot of anger with the voter suppression efforts last year. But I wish to talk a bit more about what I see as the final bullet coming from last year's law that received little attention. The one bullet that alters the standard for review of the voter signature. From a recent article by Adalia Woodbury:

Florida Concocts Signature Test to Purge Democratic Voters Even if you survive seriously flawed basis by which Florida is purging people from the rolls, you still need to contend with the signatures please law. This law requires voters to register their signatures with the government because signatures change with age…. ...let’s consider who will be deciding IF your signature matches the one on file. I’m guessing the same people who have done such an awesome job in the battle of nonexistent voter fraud so far will also be assessing your signature. Will they have the training needed to assess whether your signature is a match with the one on file with the Scott regime?

Folks, there will be thousands upon thousands of provisional ballots cast this election year. Before the teabag takeover of 2010, if you had changed your address or changed your last name you could sign an affidavit and vote normally. The 2011 Voter Suppression law changed that and now forces you to use a provisional ballot, which are not counted the majority of times. However, if we are in a tight election, these provisional ballots, along with the thousands of absentee ballots, might be pivotal. The GOP already succeeded in getting these likely Dem voters off the regular voter rolls... so what would be the best way to stop the provisional ballots from tipping an election? You can prove new residence or new name... but how can you stop someone from saying your signature doesn't match? Granted, I'm being cynical. Voter abuse here in Florida? Perish the thought. Okay...so lets assume everybody who works at SOE is above reproach and will simply honor the new law requirements for my signature and the upgraded standard for review. It begs the question, who deemed these people experts in handwriting analysis? I doubt most of them have a Graphology degree. Heck, I'm not even sure I have a signature on file with the SOE… and I know for a fact that I never "update" it. It's a fact that signatures change as we age, and I don't think anyone has ever thought to visit an SOE office just to "update" a signature. Yet any SOE website has the fine print: Volusia Co. SOE:

Signatures on your registration record are used to verify signatures on petitions, absentee ballots and provisional ballots. If your signatures do not match, your petition or ballot will not count. To update your signature, submit a Florida Voter Registration Application Form to the Department of Elections.

Alls I know is that I nor anyone else voting in this election here in Florida is going to have any chance to fight an injustice, such as having a provisional ballot thrown out because it didn't match a signature block. Since that awful day in Nov. 2010 you'd think we'd be used to this by now. What the GOP is doing is beyond brazen, and here I am on Dkos being asked to petition Obama's own DOJ to even bother to fight these efforts. (It's here if you want to.) But what really teas me off is my state Dem party won't even attempt a citizen initiative to reverse the Voter Suppression law or for that matter, do a damn thing about anything, except make crappy web ads. If we are ever gonna win here in Florida, we have only ourselves to count on.

Enough!

Seminole's "Senator" Deserved Better

Having the oldest and largest Cypress tree was a source of pride for us in Seminole County. We don't have a lot of landmarks, but that tree could compare to any of the natural wonders of the world. It certainly did for those blessed to see it for the first time.

My sadness of the loss is almost matched by my anger for the apparent incompetence in the investigation. Almost immediately, an investigator from FL Department of Agriculture ruled out arson, saying it was likely either a lightning strike or "friction". Really? Does anyone remember any lightning the past few days? So out of nowhere there was a lightning bolt that happened to hit only the Senator in the middle of the night and nothing else? The other explanation is equally preposterous. We are supposed to believe a tree that stood 3500 years spontaneously combusted?

Maybe they did happen, but I would bet targeted arson is a heck of a lot more likely, and it certainly should not have instantaneously been ruled out. If it was arson, I'm sure the perpetrator is laughing his head off... and pondering now if he can get away with attacking the sister tree, Lady Liberty.

Hopefully our officials will realize the danger and at the very least have a motion sensor around Lady Liberty to alert if someone gets close at night. Unlike man-made national monuents, these can never be rebuild.

Mitt Romney and Rick Scott Have a LOT in Common

Medicare fraud and corruption run hand in hand with these guys. No wonder they endorsed each other...