"Rick Scott Should Inspect FL Prisons...from the Inside"

Moving on with my list of reasons to dis-elect Rick Scott in November, we come to the topic of Corrections. That's ironic, because just yesterday I found a headline for this topic that pushed my list to 230 reasons -- just in time for this entry.

The big news from here is Scott's desire to please corporate donors by privatizing prison services (an example of the "pay to play" atmosphere his opponents refer to). At first he wanted to privatize all prisons in south Florida, but that plan fell through when it was realized how expensive it would be to pay off the vacation and sick time of employees laid off from the Department of Corrections as a result of that move.  So Scott settled for privatizing medical services, hiring two different companies for two different parts of the state, and you can see below that it was in good measure done with little in the way in ethics in mind.

Prison privatization has a very poor record of success. One website even collects stories about it, and you'd spend a few good afternoons reading them all. It's also a nonsensical idea: Why would you pay a middleman (especially one from out of state) to provide a service you can do yourself? Because it's cheaper? That's what the claim is, and it is said that this privatization will save us at least 7% on costs a year. But hold on there. The middleman has extra people who want a salary (like CEOs who make a million a year). So how can they provide the same services for less?

The  answer is that they don't. They cut services and staff to make up for the shortfall -- and that's exactly what's happening now in Florida. The horror stories are rife from states that have already tried this, and starting to grow in Florida. Arizona is the wost case right now. It's a state where both of the companies Florida hired have had a go. One failed and quit after a year. The other is now in charge and is reportedly doing even worse.

And if you think that saves taxpayers money, guess again. You actually end up paying for inmate medical care twice. You pay once through taxes, to pay these companies. Then you pay again when the inmates are released -- as most will be -- suffering from the same medical problems that the private companies neglected to take care of. Released inmates will  generally need social services, because most of them won't be able to get a high paying job out here. That means the taxpayer will foot the bill AGAIN when they show up at community health centers, or sign up for Medicaid -- or even turn back to crime to pay for their medical bills.

Scott is enabling a humanitarian crisis of his own here in Florida with these alleged cost saving measures. Unlike the much larger crisis on the border, however, this one happens in slow motion. And Scott knows it's easy to get away with, because many people, especially his Tea Party base, won't shed a tear over injury or death to a prison inmate.

That's the main news about Scott and prisons, but the most recent news is even more disturbing. Just in time to make this posting, I found a story about how problems with inmate abuse are growing, to the point that the feds are stepping in.Don't eat lunch before reading -- it will make you sick to your stomach, if you aren't already.

90) Rick Scott caused Florida to lose a talented leader for the Department of Corrections.

Scott’s first choice to head the Florida Department of Corrections was Edwin Buss, a talented reformer. Buss resigned from the position after only six months because he could not tolerate Scott’s policies.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/edwin-buss-abruptly-resigns-as-florida-prisons-chief/1187802

91) Rick Scott ordered the privatization of prison medical services, handing contracts over to companies with an extended record of human rights violations.

Under the premise of saving money, contracts were handed to the private prison medical firms Wexford and Corizon. Both have dismal records for providing medical services, and each has been thrown out of multiple states and counties for providing inadequate care.


http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/2014/05/22/12news-death-sentence-prison-healthcare-costly-ineffective/9395497/

http://www.privateci.org/rap_wexford.html

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/mar/18/trial-arguments-begin-Fields-paralyzed-lee-county/

92) Rick Scott laid off prison medical workers as part of the process of privatization.

Wexford and Corizon pledged to employ most of the state employees in prison medical departments. Most were re-employed, but that is small comfort to those that were not, and who were thrown into one of the worst long term unemployment situations in the nation. Those that did receive jobs with the private companies were subjected to cuts in net pay, because of the greater expense of health insurance, and were also removed from state employment just before all other state employees received their first raise in six years.

93) Rick Scott tried to privatize all prison functions in South Florida.

Scott desired to turn prison functions over to a private company like Geo or Corrections Corporation of America. Like the medical companies, these companies also have an extended record of violations
.
94) Rick Scott achieved most of the prison health privatization by way of an unethical legislative and judicial “back door.”

The southern portion of Florida’s prison health departments were privatized and turned over to Wexford Health by way of a normal legislative process. But because the Legislature as whole would not approve the process for the whole state, Rick Scott, by way of his handpicked Corrections secretaries, resorted to a questionable back door method: The whole body of the Legislature was evaded, and the decision for the rest of the state was turned over to the select Legislative Budget Committee, so that a second company, Corizon, could be hired. Although a court eventually decided that the move was legal, this did not make it ethical: The fact that the normal legislative process was used to hire Wexford shows that Scott and corrections leaders were well aware of how the process was supposed to be done.

In addition, one objecting Republican member of the Committee, Mike Fasano, was kicked off the Committee to assure the results Scott wanted.

http://www.weartv.com/template/cgi-bin/archived.pl?type=basic&file=/news/features/top-stories/stories/archive/2013/07/JwehsKvx.xml#.UopQwuJKjxE

http://floridaindependent.com/70538/mike-fasano-budget-amendment-private-prisons

227) Rick Scott has enabled a culture of corruption in the Department of Corrections.

Clearly these issues began before Scott, under Crist, but Scott has allowed abuses of inmates to continue and grow. And Crist at least hired a reformer (McDonough) who temporarily cleaned up the mess.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/14/4179151/questionable-prison-death-is-one.html

FL GOP Busted for Gerrymandering!

That newsworthy case has been decided and it's a winner! Read about it here.

Rick Scott Uses Our Environmental Agency to DEFEND Everglades Fracking with "Bogus" Report

#135 of My Stupid State

In case I need to say it again, I will. Because of Rick Scott, we now have an oil company that is currently conducting fracking in our Everglades. This, plus the fact that Rick Scott has a large financial stake in the fracking effort, should have ended any hope of re-election he had. But so should have his financial stake in the company that was to drug test every state employee; or his financial stakes with his wacky Medicaid privatization scheme. I've honestly given up waiting for Florida to wake up.

Is it any wonder then that the cronies he picked to run our agencies, such as the now-corrupt Department of Environmental Protection, don't even bother trying to coverup that they think we are all stupid?

Case in point: Collier County is outraged at the DEP, and justifiably so for giving the Everglades oil permits in the first place, for their handling of unauthorized fracking activities, and their attempt to sweep it all under the rug. The County filed a legal challenge to pull the permits. The oil company doing the acid-fracking, Dan A. Hughes Drilling Co., did not even bother to attend the Commission hearing to defend themselves; but incredulously, the DEP apparently sent someone for them.

Because that's how things work now in Rick Scott's Florida.

The DEP essentially asked the County to back off and let the company frack away. They then said that they conducted several water quality tests on the groundwater and, rest assured, issued a clean bill of health to the poor, oppressed oil company.

One problem.

An environmental group hired their own court-certified expert, biochemist Dr. Ron Bishop, who said the chemicals tested for by the DEP were "carefully chosen" to "avoid any which are commonly used by the petroleum industry". The list of chemicals they tested for were for all sorts of organics that wouldn't be used by drilling companies, but no tests were done for common ones that are. The DEP had "arguably intended to obfuscate the purpose of the tests".

You can read the full text here.

There is only way to prevent fracking of the Everglades, and that's to get rid of Scott.

Rick Scott and his people really do think we are idiots. Don't prove him right. Our environment deserves better.

The first time I knew teachers were in trouble with Rick Scott

I visited the ER this weekend. It will cost me thousands this time.

Three years ago, I visited after a heart attack. I was mad about the cost, which had gone up, and was told by the ER Nurse "Good thing you aren't a teacher".

Click the link for the story that still makes me seethe.

Ten Questions Rick Scott and His Supporters Can't (Or Won't) Answer

Dueling with Scott's fanatic base can be a source of entertainment. I especially like to post items like these and watch them ignore it. Feel free to use this and pass it around.

1) Why did Scott wait three years to reverse the auto tag fee increase signed in by Crist (but enacted by the Legislature, which is pretty much the same bunch of people there now)? He criticizes Crist for it, which doesn't make sense unless it wasn't needed. But if it wasn't needed, why did Scott keep it for three years?

2) Why did Rick Scott lie about his promise to bring 1.7 million jobs to Florida? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5c5ALe-Br0

3) If Rick Scott is such a jobs master, why is FL ranked so low in this list? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/recovery-lost-jobs-states-glance-24404317?page=2

4) Is't it hypocritical for Rick Scott, who at last count had a net worth of $132 million, to refer to Charlie Crist derisively as a "millionaire"?

5) If Charlie Crist is to blame because he "oversaw" the loss of 800,000+ jobs in Florida, that doesn't Rick Scott belong in jail because he "oversaw" the largest case of Medicare fraud (at the time) in history?

6) What specifically did Crist do (or not do) to cause Florida to lose 800,000+ jobs? If you are able to answer this, what other state governor did (or didn't) do the same thing to save jobs in their state?

7) If Scott is such a jobs master, why does he have a 96% failure rate when it comes to bringing jobs here, where he is most directly responsible for bringing them (e.g, with tax incentives)? http://www.miamiherald.com/static/media/projects/2013/rick-scotts-jobs-record/part-1/

8) Rick Scott says that Democrats shouldn't bring up his pleading the 5th 75 times because it happened 20 years ago. But he brings up allegations regarding Charlie Crist and Scott Rothstein, which happened in 2009. That was five years ago. When does the charge concerning Crist and Rothstein become old news? 7 years? 10 years?

9) Why, in his first budget year, did Rick Scott veto $1.5 million in spending for building new rape crisis centers?

10) Why do you trust Scott even though he is willing to lie, on natiowwide TV, about something as simple as whether a company received tax incentives to move here? http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jun/25/rick-scott/gov-rick-scott-sidesteps-question-about-incentives/

Today is Hobby Lobby "Sidewalk Counseling" Day

SCOTUS recently made the decision that your 1st amendment rights include "sidwalk counseling", which was intended to allow harrassment at women's clinics by abortion protestors. But those kinds of protestors shouldn't have all the fun.

In what is a clear, political decision, (falling down with the 5 male coservative majority against the 4 liberal minority), the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a woman now can have her health care decisions made by her boss.

I want to protest, but let's do it "forced-birther style".

So I am calling on everyone today who is upset about the Hobby Lobby ruling to go to their local Hobby Lobby and counsel everyone walking in about their store's products all being made in China--where one-child rule, forced abortions, and forced sterilizations are routine.

Be sure to yell that they are going to hell and compare the customers to Nazis. Call them murderers and butchers and throw baby doll parts at them.

Go nuts. Remember that you are truly a counselor are probably really getting through to them.

I look forward to seeing you out there.

Just How Clueless is Rick Scott?

From a recent interview:

With the St. Petersburg Pride Parade on the books for this weekend, his stance on gay-marriage was the first topic addressed.

“People have different views, but by constitution in Florida- there was an amendment in 2008- the voters said marriage is between a man and a woman,” he said. “Now what’s important to me is that we don’t discriminate against anybody, but I’d be surprised if a court is going to overturn the people.”

He'd be surprised if a court is going to overturn the people....?

Utah?

California?

And how many more? On just THIS issue? Never mind other issues in past!

Like I have said, this is a man who has no idea what is happening more than 5 feet in front of his own nose.
 

Rick Scott's fake "Progressive Group" launches race-baiting ad against Crist

Rick Scott has no trouble running racially offensive ads, like this one.

Yet even someone as thick-skulled as Rick Scott knows that he isn't in ANY position at all to run an ad to say he is a champion of African-American rights. You see, if you are primarily known for fighting the Justice Department and Civil Rights groups to make it harder for minorities to vote, while simultaneously targeting them for purging disproportionally from the voting rolls (in the area of 87%!!), it's kinda hard to make that claim.

Also, ending state support for our only two historically black colleges, abolishing a state office that helps minority-owned businesses outright refusing to appoint more minority judges, doubling-down on our awful "Stand Your Ground" killing laws, and assuming most blacks are poorly educated and come from public housing probably doesn't help your image much either.

So Scott is trying to do for his election the same thing he wants to do in every election: keep the African-American vote light. Suppression and purging will only do so much. People here have showed they will vote if they are angry enough--no matter how many polling places you close or how many hours you make them stand (or how many bathrooms you close at polling places.)

And how does he do this? By doing THE WORST thing he could do to Charlie Crist: convince people that he is just like Rick Scott.

The following despicable ad isn't directly from Rick Scott's campaign. It's from a fake front group that calls itself "Progressive Choice Florida". This is an underhanded strategy that Scott's own campaign manager admitted that he would do last November. I already wrote about this phony group back in May. It refuses to list donors, has no contact information, and supports conservative causes like local anti-tax initiatives and school vouchers.

Then outright offensive ad targets African-American voters and accuses Charlie Crist of being everything Rick Scott actually is: anti-black and pro-NRA:

The punishment fits the crime. It's enshrined in our Constitution -- the essence of American Justice, unless you live in Florida and happen to be black."

"Under Gov . Charlie Crist, the NRA called the shots in Tallahassee, giving Crist big money and an 'A' rating, stopping even the most sensible gun control bills, allowing weapons to flow into our cities, even permitting concealed guns at work."

"But while Crist was coddling the gun lobby, he was cracking down on us -- passing maximum sentencing laws, signing the nation's harshest marijuana laws, and enacting the country's strictest penalties against non-violent offenders, many of whom just happen to be black."

"It's time Charlie Crist answer to Floridians for his record, for a lost generation of African-Americans and for trampling on the ideal that the punishment fit the crime."

What liberal African-American is going to hear this and say, "Yeah! I DO want a governor who won't coddle the NRA and will stand up for us! That's Rick Scott in a nutshell"!

Charlie Crist called the ad "a new low for Rick Scott and his special interest donors".

I couldn't disagree more. After four years, I've seen how low he can go and believe me, this doesn't come close.

Rick Scott's Flip Flop Circus

Whether you plan to support Crist or Rich in the Democratic primary upcoming (as an "indie" I have to sit it out -- sorry!) you have to be less than tolerantly amused by how often Rick Scott's manic supporters make an issue of Crist "flip flopping". In the main, they get upset about his changeover from R to D, and it usually involves one or more slogans of this type:

"He doesn't even know what party he's in!"

"He's a traitor!"

"He's switched parties TWICE!"

On that last one, it's always fun to inform them that "Independent" is not a party. 

On the first one, I usually remind them of party switchers past, including Ronald Reagan (D to R, and one of their heroes). Others include Hillary Clinton (R to D, like Crist), Teddy Roosevelt (R to Bull Moose), and many more.

Then they might complain the Crist switched parties during an election. Again, not really, because Independent isn't a party. They also say that he switched because he was "loosing" (sic) and trying to win another way. That's only partly true, because as anyone with  the barest political knowledge knows, switching to "Indy" mid-race is about the same as trying to thread a needle with a sledgehammer. It has very little record of success, and the more likely reading, given Crist's impetuous nature, is that he felt the need to take a stand and made what was, politically, a rash decision.

The closest analogy to what Crist did is probably from the 1980 Presidential election, where John Anderson pulled out of the GOP to become an Independent. Like Crist, Anderson had a history of rethinking his beliefs over time. 

But anyway...for this entry, the theme is flip flops, and Rick Scott has plenty of his own. His followers like to use slogans of him like, "promises made, promises kept" as though he's never changed his mind in his life, much less while Governor. The record shows otherwise. Here's a version from my list, which I use on Scott's Facebook page.

 Rick Scott's Flip Flops

A lot of Scott supporters make a big deal about Charlie Crist as a "flip flopper." It's too bad they can't see the same circus act in their own candidate. Here's a list of issues Scott has flip-flopped on, which include things related to the core principles he ran on as a candidate in 2010.

1) Early voting http://www.theledger.com/article/20130521/POLITICS/305215008

"Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill late Monday night that will allow supervisors of elections to restore the early voting days he and the Legislature cut just two years earlier.

"The 2011 law was partly to blame for the long lines last November that once again made Florida voting a national laughing stock.

"Throughout last year's election, Scott vigorously defended his decision to sign a bill that, among other things, cut early voting days from 14 to eight and eliminated early voting on the Sunday before Election Day. Then in January, after critics lambasted Florida's voting, Scott said he supported more early voting days and sites and shorter ballots.

"The Republican governor quietly signed the bill right before he left on a trade mission to Chile. His office didn't notify the media that the bill had been signed."

2) The pill mill database http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/apr/18/rick-scott/rick-scott-cites-virginia-drug-database-failure-co/

"One way Florida is hoping to combat the over-prescribing of pain medications like oxycodone, Scott said, is by implementing a statewide drug database that will track prescriptions that pharmacists fill for patients. The hope is that law enforcement officials can spot doctors who are prescribing too many drugs, or patients who are hopping from doctor to doctor satisfy their fix.

"Scott initially opposed the database, saying he was concerned about the privacy rights of law-abiding patients -- and asked the Legislature to repeal a 2009 law that created the computer monitoring program.

"But his position put him at odds with leaders in the state Senate, whose support would have been required to nix the database. So the database is moving forward."

3) Campaign donations from big sugar http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-10-12/news/os-scott-maxwell-rick-scott-sugar-money-20131012_1_rick-scott-least-popular-governors-democrat-alex-sink

"Three years ago, when Big Sugar was financing the campaign of Rick Scott's GOP opponent, Scott called the sugar money "disgusting."

"He's owned by U.S. Sugar," Scott said of veteran Republican Bill McCollum. "They've given him nearly a million dollars for his campaign. And it's disgusting."

"Flash forward to last month — when U.S. Sugar gave Gov. Scott's re-election fund $100,000.

"After giving him another $100,000 back in June. And another $100,000 in March. And another $100,000 before that.

"Plus $150,000 from another sugar giant, Florida Crystals.

"Apparently the money is a lot less disgusting when it's coming your way."

4) E-Verify http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-27/news/os-scott-maxwell-florida-immigration-20120627_1_e-verify-rick-scott-illegal-immigrants

"Back when he was running for governor, his campaign vowed: "Rick will require all Florida employers to use the free E-Verify system to ensure that their workers are legal."

"Now he says he won't. What's more, he now calls the idea of forced E-Verify "foolish."

"That's the word he used when he appeared before a bunch of agriculture interests — an industry reliant on cheap and illegal labor.

"It would be foolish to put Florida companies at a disadvantage," he said over lunch with the Florida Citrus Commission, according to The Ledger in Lakeland.

"Yes, he used the word "foolish" to describe his own promise — one he made two years ago."

5) Medicaid expansion http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/florida-gov-rick-scott-agrees-to-expand-medicaid-coverage-87874.html

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott — a fierce foe of Obamacare who fought it all the way to the Supreme Court — on Wednesday announced that he would accept the Medicaid expansion under the health law.

"Scott had campaigned against the health legislation even before he began running for office, and Florida led the 26 states that fought it in court.

"On Wednesday, that changed as he agreed to take the federally financed expansion that would cover more than 1 million people — at least for the first three years."

6) Common Core http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/gov-rick-scott-calls-for-changes-to-common-core-plan/2143383

7) tuition hikes http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/gov-rick-scott-signed-onto-tuition-hikes-in-past-now-calls-them-a-tax/2124229

"We owe it to the families in our state who are paying tuition today and those planning to pay tuition for the next generation of Floridians to be direct: Raising tuition is a tax increase," Scott wrote in the National Review Online. "And, unfortunately, it is a tax increase that directly affects whether Floridians can achieve the American dream of earning a higher-education diploma."

"If true, count Scott among the tax raisers.

"While Scott proudly vetoed a 3 percent tuition hike last month, his 2011 budget included an 8 percent hike for students, at a cost of roughly $50 million. Scott also approved a 5 percent tuition increase for state colleges in 2012, saying that "colleges remain best positioned to weigh the needs of their institutions against the burden of increased student costs."

When called down on this, he claimed the hike was part of a larger bill he didn’t want to veto. Apparently he forgot (just for that moment) that he had line-item veto power.

8) transportation spending http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/in-far-cry-from-2011-rick-scott-proposes-another-boost-in-transportation/2160856

You think Scott is a guy who keeps his promises? You think Crist is a flip flopper? Compared to Crist, Scott is a circus acrobat!

The Next Scott Scandal

Late breaking news. Scott is such a decent, kind hearted man, he'd never encourage an atmosphere like this at one of his agencies...would he?

A former employee of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity who uncovered "systemic" fraud within the agency has won a whistleblower lawsuit against the state, her attorney said Monday.

 

The whistleblower, 30-year state employee Dianne Parcell, discovered 97 instances in which the agency had inappropriately reported Floridians to collections agencies for alleged unemployment overpayments. Parcell reported the findings to her supervisors, but was told to drop her investigation, she said...

A subsequent investigation revealed that as many as 19,000 Floridians had been wrongly reported to collections agencies, attorney Keisha Rice said.

What's Behind Rick Scott's Insulting Spanish Ad

To say Rick Scott has a small problem with the Hispanic community is sort of like saying Cheney has a small problem with self-reflection. There is plenty of examples of legislative action (or inaction) to see why this is the case. If that doesn't convince you, then you need look no further than the kind of antics Rick Scott tolerates from his senior staff. (Note: Personally defending staff who make fun of Mexican accents is a pretty big freaking clue.)

Yet not too long ago, the FL GOP realized that thier unpopular, crooked governor might not luck out with another incompetent opponent and might just need more than the ignorant hillbillies he relied on last time to push him over the finish line. Hence, the Florida GOP has poured millions in an "Hispanic Outreach" effort. (Or as the RNC calls it, "Hispandering".) It's big folks. In fact, the FL GOP appointed an "Hispanic Outreach" director. Ok, sure, he switched parties because of the GOP's bigotry last year, but still...effort made.

To hear them tell it, the FL GOP knows Latinos; and they get that no one understands what they like more than rich, white political consultants. If television has taught these consultants anything, it's that Latinos like them some soccer. We take that, then combine it with a fake conservative platitude, like lowering taxes. Oh, and if you could make it both condescending AND insulting, I think we'd have a homerun.

Or as you Hispanics like to hear: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLL:

(Translation)

ANNOUNCER #1: We are at the beginning of this extremely important match for Florida.

ANNOUNCER #2: On one end, Charlie Crist, who abandoned us as Governor when things got difficult. On the other end the current governor, Rick Scott, who keeps working to get the state's economy on the right track.

ANNOUNCER #1 : Crist is issued a red card ... (Whistle blows) ... For worrying more about his political future than about us. With Crist, 800,000 jobs were lost in Florida. Here comes Rick Scott through the center, focused on fixing the mess Crist left. He cuts taxes 40 times for Floridians! Scott advances and scores a GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!

ANNOUNCER #2: 600,000 jobs created in the private sector under Scott in only three and a half years. The highlights of this match. Charlie Crist, 800,000 private sector jobs lost. Rick Scott, 600,000 private sector jobs created.

ANNOUNCER #1: With Rick Scott, let's keep working!

ANNOUNCER #3: Sponsored by Let's Get to Work

Cheeso Peezo, Rick. How many millions did you spend on this? Rick has been so desperate lately to improve his image with Hispanics that his campaign demanded a local TV station give him an Hispanic interviewer and only discuss his love of all things Hispanic. (The station wisely declined--and were understandably insulted.)

Ironically, I was originally not going to talk at all about Rick Scott for this post and instead focus on the GOP's overall pathetic effort to woo Hispanics. Yet when researching offensive ads, Google instantly gave me this gem from Rick Scott's campaign so I couldn't resist. It encapsulates the point I was going to make.

The Establishment GOP is well aware that the "Southern Strategy" is now an albatross around their necks as our nation grows more tolerant, and more diverse, every day. Their voter suppression strategy is backfiring, so they are recently making real efforts to change course. They are also failing.

The main reason is that minorities have always been their scapegoat. Their base is made up of ignorant white poor people who have been told for years that they would be well off if it wasn't for those all powerful, poor nonwhites that are somehow stealing their imaginary jobs, resources, and money. The rich corporations would gladly give these highly paid jobs to them if only our gubmint didn't make them support the "welfare queens" along with the massive "invasion" of brown people.

The challenge the GOP has was on full display in a tweet I recently received from conservative troll and Scott supporter Amy Mek. She was ranting about the outrage dejour of Valerie Jarrett discussing immigration with Rupert Murdoch. She decided to post this picture. The message is very clear. In the conservative mind, these people are representative of the Latino people and their culture. This is what we can expect if we let more of "those people" in.

Just a few years ago, the only Hispanics you ever saw on a GOP campaign were exactly that stereotype. David Vitter used this outrageously, racist ad. Then there was this equally offensive one from Senate candidate Sharon Angle.

Now, the conservatives who ran those campaigns are the same ones attempting these positive "outreach" campaigns.

Yet even if they managed to make ads that were not stereotypical, insulting, or embarrassing, they would still fail. The bigotry and ignorance of the Hispanic community within the GOP is too well entrenched. This is exactly what fundraiser Mike Fernandez tried to warn Rick Scott before he quit. Rick Scott's campaign response smearing him is all you need to know about whether they can do it.

GOOOOAAAALLLl!!!

Breaking: Rick Scott Has Ties to Company Fracking Our Everglades

#134 of My Stupid State

The Everglades is sacred to native Floridians. So much so that politicians on both sides of the aisle ran on protecting it, including Jeb, his idiot brother, and even the environment-hating Allen freaking West. No politician in Florida has ever actually run against the Everglades--until now.

We were shocked in September 2011 when Rick Scott said he supported drilling in the Everglades. Today under Rick Scott, FRACKING is now a reality in the Everglades. I wrote about Rick Scott's record and the illegal fracking that has already been done, along with the Department of Environmental Protection's embarrassing response, on my blog last month. Scott's corrupt DEP actually issued 10 oil and gas exploration permits for that region to the Dan Hughes Drilling Company, Breitburn, Burnett Oil, and others. The DEP, which is supposed to protect the environment, (which I shouldn't have to say because it's in the damn name!), was run by Scott appointee Jeff Littlejohn, the son of the Chamber of Commerce president.

The bastard had no trouble demanding the state's leading wetlands expert approve permits even though they violated state law. He resigned earlier this month for a more lucrative job. He left saying his proudest accomplishment in defending the environment was reducing "unnecessary regulatory burdens", because apparently every person Rick Scott appoints to an agency thinks their mission statement was written on "opposite day".

All of this was bad enough. But as always with our crooked governor, it gets worse.

A local TV station looked at Rick Scott's documents for a blind trust created after he won the governor's office. Even though the account is managed without his involvement, Rick Scott knows the companies that are part of the investment. Rick Scott, who has never had an issue using his office to enrich himself, his donors, or his his big donors, apparently owns six-figures worth of stock with Schlumberger.

Sclumberger is the subcontractor who has participated in the fracking process with Dan Hughes Drilling.

The governor didn't respond to questions, BIG surprise. But his re-election campaign spokesman did, (because that's appropriate), by saying that the governor ensures that oil companies comply with the regulations set by...... the DEP.

If embedded video does not appear below, click HERE

Ok, maybe hiring a right-wing nutjob who made his fortune off of scamming Medicaid recipients to be our leader wasn't the best idea we had. But surely, you would think after all of the scandals, cronyism, bigotry, corruption, record number of resignations, clear contempt for his citizens, or any of the other 220 reasons we were given that at least we wouldn't elect him again.

You would be wrong. The latest poll shows him all tied up with Charlie Crist.

JEEBUS, what does this guy have to do? Kick a disabled kid in the teeth? (Oh wait, he actually did that..).

I'm gonna need a bigger webpage.

8:48 AM PT: As always, don't just get angry, get active.

BTW, even though Collier Co. is GOP territory, the citizens there are so outraged by this they are organizing against Rick Scott. If I was advising Crist's campaign, I'd tell him to speak there to support their efforts. He could simply say the truth--that if they are shocked by this now, what the hell do you think he'll do when he has no election to worry about?

Rick Scott -- Pro-Life, or Pro-Votes?

My next entry in this series discussing my list of non-partisan reasons to vote out Rick Scott concerns the issue of abortion, and will be short. Some who have read my comments will be aware that I would be classed as pro-life. But I also acknowledge as legitimate the criticism of pro-choice position-holders, that many pro-life advocates only seem to care about life when it is inside the womb, and after that, you're on your own! Nevertheless, Scott's record in this regard should be disturbing to you no matter which side you're on.

I'd say Rick Scott is an example of that, but in fact, he is even worse. Rick Scott claims to be pro-life, but his actions show that he is only “pro-life” to the extent that it helps him gain votes. He did sign some pro-life legislation into law, including in this latest session, but his actions speak louder than a mere swipe of a pen, and show that he is a hypocrite on this issue. 

Scott is using and manipulating the pro-life movement for votes. The pro-life movement is undermining its credibility by supporting him.  In biological terms, this would be called an unhealthy symbiotic relationship.

From a non-partisan standpoint, objections from this category are:

81) Rick Scott, as head of HCA’s hospital chain, profited from abortions.

Scott has not denied that HCA provided abortions under his tenure, but has claimed that his company was “subject to” what was set up by medical staff beforehand. This is nonsense. Rick Scott was the owner and boss and it was within his authority to “knock down” anything that had been “set up.” No law requires private hospitals to provide abortions. But even if this were not the case, he could have spoken up as an alleged pro-life advocate to have abortions removed as one of HCA’s services. He did not.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jun/19/rick-scott-interviews-governor-candidate-hca-oil-s/

82) Rick Scott falsely used a tragic example of a family’s suffering to pose himself as pro-life.

On the campaign trail, Scott alluded to a situation in Texas which allegedly showed he was committed to pro-life causes. The case was that of Mark and Karla Miller, and it had nothing to do with pro-life issues, and did not involve abortion specifically. Scott used this family’s tragedy for political gain, and did so even though his own involvement in the situation was marginal at best.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/rick-scotts-pro-life-boasts-hinge-on-texas-familys-preemie-turmoil/1108122

83) Rick Scott misrepresented the pro-life credentials of Bill McCollum.

During the governor’s campaign, Scott’s campaign ran an ad claiming that McCollum had accepted money from lobbyists for Planned Parenthood, a chief abortion supporter. This is not only false in terms of details, it also ignored McCollum’s rating of “zero” from Planned Parenthood, as a staunch pro-lifer.

In reality, the donation came from a lobbyist organization that had, at one time, represented Planned Parenthood – as well as pro-life candidates. But that donation also came at a time when the lobbyist company wasn’t representing Planned Parenthood.

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/jun/25/rick-scott/bill-mccollum-and-his-supposed-planned-parenthood-/

The List Hits 220!

My list of non-partisan reasons to dis-elect Rick Scott has hit 220. Seminole Democrat blog readers will be pleased to know that a local TV personality to your area put it over the top of the latest number with this:


Rick Scott is known for dodging tough questions, but this is a whole new level. His campaign demanded an Hispanic interviewer and said they would only discuss Rick Scott's awesome Hispanic outreach effort. No questions on his budget, his scandals, or anything that would show the governor in a negative light--which is almost everything. The TV station essentially told him to stuff it. They expect to do interviews, not ads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GdzZJUizwg

Rick Scott is a LIBERAL!

I get a lot of political e-mail I don't ask for. One of them was something from some group calling itself the Tea With Every Re-election Party (TWERP). It's very interesting, so I thought I'd share it.







RICK SCOTT IS A LIBERAL!

Friends, I used to support Rick Scott 100%, but now, I support him ZERO PERCENT!
Why? After he signed that bill to give in-state tuition to illegal aliens, I finally realized that Rick Scott had tricked us! He's no conservative. He's not even a RINO! He's nothing but a full-on LIBERAL!

I figured this out, finally, after looking back at his record. Suddenly, everything he did appeared in a new light! This guy is more liberal than a Red Commie! 

First of all, like I said, he approved in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens!

Then there's that budget he signed -- 77.1 BILLION dollars, the largest in Florida history! I can't believe this is the same guy we voted for who called a 70 billion dollar budget "bloated"!  I agree with my friend Henry Kelley of the Tea Party Network in Fort Walton Beach: "Charlie Crist was more of a fiscal conservative than what Rick Scott has turned out to be." Scott has to be a closet liberal!

As part of that budget, Scott also included record spending on education and the environment.  On education, he admitted in a press release: "The $18.8 billion in funding for K-12 education funding is the highest in Florida history and includes a record $10.6 billion in state funds." In his State of the State speech, he said on environment: "we have invested record funding in protecting our environment....." These are two of the biggest issues for liberals! He also restored funding to the Department of Children and Families, and wanted to spend $100 million of state money on tourism advertising!  Let the private sector handle that!

How else is Scott a liberal? He's supporting Common Core, that's how! Sure, he's changed the name and added a few things, but at its heart, it's still Common Core! 

I'll give you another reason he's a liberal -- he's a pro-choicer! He says he's pro-life, but back when he ran HCA, he didn't do a thing to stop abortions there. Clearly a left-winger on abortion! 

Need more reasons? He promised us an immigration law like Arizona's! Well, it's been over three years now, and we still don't have one!

Then there's a really big one -- Scott supports Obamacare! Sure, as Governor, he can't do much about it, but he can accept the Medicaid expansion, and he's said he's in favor of it! I like what Kelley said on that one: "Will Medicaid expansion cover me for the knife @FLGovScott just buried in my back?"

Freinds, after all of this, there's no way you can tell me that Rick Scott is anything but a RINO, card-carrying liberal! I can tell you I won't be voting for HIM on election day! I'm writing in, "Ichabod Spitfizzer" instead!

Yours truly,

H. Radbolt Muckfutter
Chairman, TWERP

Why are Rick Scott's Supporters So Surprised?

Something very strange is happening, sort of a slow motion train wreck, with Rick Scott's campaign. His formerly loyal adherents are dropping him in droves. 

Why?

Because he signed the Florida DREAM Act. 

Really, they were already pretty pissed before that, about Common CORE. (Makes their kids get stressed out, you know. Not nice and relaxed any more, the way those starving kids in the Third World are.) But now it's like a bunch of miniature nukes went off. Just look at these samples from Scott's Facebook page, which I'll allow to speak for themselves:

 How about getting the illegal immigrants OUT, rather than subsidizing them with OUR tax dollars?

 you can take every measure to keep roaches out of your house but if you create an environment that is hospitable to the roaches, they will always find a way inside.

Kick this RINO out and vote Adrian Wyllie! Let's pull a "Cantor Upset" right here in Florida.

  I am disgusted that you are catering to illegals You will not get my vote in the next election. I am also going to convince all of my friends that you need to be removed.

Selling out his constituency to buy a few more votes from the brown skinned people using our money = 1 step forward, 3 steps back = one DUMB politician 

 In light of all of this, the main question I have here is -- why are these people so surprised?

Before he was elected, everyone knew Scott oversaw the largest case of Medicare fraud in history at the time, and had pled the 5th more than 70 times during a deposition. No problem, said the people who voted for him.

Before in office, Scott fought Obamacare tooth and nail. Once in office, Scott flipped on the most critical part of that a state governor can impact, the Medicaid expansion. One member of the Tea Party here famously quipped, "Will Medicaid expansion cover me for the knife @FLGovScott just buried in my back?" No one else remembers this?

All politicians lie, but Rick Scott has told whoppers, especially about critical election issues, that would allow Pinocchio to go pole vaulting. The number of jobs he promised to create. Florida's credit rating. Not cutting the education budget. Incentives for Deutsche Bank. (He did that one on national television, no less.) Bill McCollum's record. The cause of the recession. The effects of Obamacare. 

And how many more signs were there he wasn't trustworthy? What about constantly dodging questions from the media? Keeping his travel records secret? Violating the Sunshine law five ways till Sunday? Giving special favors to donors? The whole scheme where he tried to keep Solantic tied behind his back while governor?

From the time before he was elected up until now, Scott's walk has been paved with bricks like these. But only now, it seems, have a raft of those who voted for him woken up and said, "Hey, hold on..." Even the Heritage Foundation has slammed Scott for this signature, and has suggested that in so doing, he broke a law signed by Bill Clinton in 1996. (Which, if true, could make for yet more state money wasted by Scott as he defends himself in court; but that's another issue.)

If we are sympathetic to those who will benefit from the Florida DREAM Act (as I am), we'll watch all of this with a certain detached wonder, tinged with disgust. Scott's signature has brought out some of the worst in those who voted for him. We can also wonder of, indeed, the possibility of a Cantor-like defeat for Scott, who is no doubt asking himself right now if $100 million really will be enough to buy the governor's seat again, even before he faces the Democratic challenger. True, unlike Florida, Virginia has open primaries, which may have had some effect there. But as you can see from one of the comments above, the seed has been planted, and Scott not only will have Wyllie to worry about, but also three other Republican primary candidates who up until now, most of his followers may not even be aware were running.

The next poll should be, to put it mildly...interesting.

Rick Scott's Crazy Laws

A long time ago I made reference to "crazy laws" like the ones that forbid people to spit in the town square on Saturdays. I said a lot of those sometimes had a useful purpose that has been lost to us. In Rick Scott's case, the opposite is true. Since he's the executive branch, not the legislative branch, he's not responsible for introducing these crazy laws, but he did stand behind them, and made Florida an embarrassment by doing so. From my list:

76) Rick Scott has signed legislation allowing advertisements on state nature trails.

You also don’t need to be an environmentalist to find this disturbing. One of the main points of a nature trail is to get away from things like advertisements, not have them shoved in your face. Scott has cheapened the experience of such trails by selling them out.

It should be noted that this is not comparable to things like gift shops at ranger stations. A ranger 

station is not meant to be “unspoiled” and visitors have a choice to avoid it as a very small part of a park, not as a chief feature of it. It is also a form of blackmail to say that it was either this, or not maintain the trails. Too much of Scott’s budget cutting comes of a manufactured crisis and a refusal to levy taxes for legitimate governmental functions.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/324823/250/Florida-prepares-to-place-advertising-signs-at-some-state-trails

77) Rick Scott has backed and fought in court for the “docs vs glocks” law.

This is a poorly designed law that never should have been passed, as it pits First Amendment rights (of doctors to speak and ask questions) against what amounts to nothing more than what some gun owners think of as a nuisance question. (I say this as someone who is closer to what the NRA believes in terms of rights for gun ownership.) The only reasons for this law amount to paranoia (e.g., fear of such information being used for a national gun registry) rather than evidence.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/18/3505391/its-round-two-of-docs-vs-glocks.html

http://rickscottmustgo.blogspot.com/2013/10/why-vote-not-scott-part-2.html

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/article/209459/3/Governor-Rick-Scotts-Robocalls-Anger-Constituents-

78) Rick Scott has wasted taxpayer funds with invasive, ineffective, and unconstitutional drug testing of welfare recipients.

Less than 3% of persons tested were positive for drugs, while the tests of the other 97% had to be paid for by the state – a net loss of revenue. That doesn’t count court costs to defend what was obviously a violation of the 4^th Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

In addition, Scott has wasted taxpayer dollars fighting this clearly unconstitutional mandate in court. Scott has also cluelessly said it is to ensure that poor children don’t grow up in families that use drugs. Does he have some reason to think the middle class or wealthy don’t use drugs?

http://rickscottmustgo.blogspot.com/2013/10/reminder-of-failure-drug-testing-of.html

http://spacecoastdaily.com/2013/12/gov-rick-scott-to-appeal-welfare-drug-test-ruling/

79) Rick Scott sought unconstitutional drug testing for all state employees.

While drug testing is reasonable in many cases (such as law enforcement employees), Scott’s desire to have all state employees drug tested was an overextension, and a violation of constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.  Scott has also wasted taxpayer funds fighting a lawsuit to stop this measure.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/29/us-usa-florida-drugtesting-idUSBRE94S1EV20130529

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/blogs/political-pulse/os-scott-loses-another-appeal-of-a-ruling-disallowing-random-drug-tests-of-state-employees-20130822,0,3569490.post

80) Rick Scott has opposed a “pill mill” database.

In this case, Scott later did a flip flop and approved the database. Again, even Scott’s own party recognized that his original stance was a foolish, as did law enforcement.

Scott’s alleged reason for opposing the database was that a Virginia database of similar nature was hacked, and patient information could have been compromised. While it was true that a hacking had occurred, no patient information was lost. At the same time, Scott’s concern for a well-designed website didn’t seem to be in effect when the Florida unemployment website was put online, and his desire to eliminate the state cybercrime unit shows that he certainly didn’t conceive of any such danger in other circumstances.

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/governor-rick-scott-doesn%27t-want-pill-mill-database

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/apr/18/rick-scott/rick-scott-cites-virginia-drug-database-failure-co/

148) Rick Scott pandered to an absurd idea to build golf courses in state parks.

This was a sop to Jack Nickalus, who is now holding a 10K a plate dinner to raise funds for Scott’s election. As this Golf Week article points out, the idea was an absurd one: Florida has enough golf courses as is, and the legislation indicated a no-bid contract for Nickalus.

http://golfweek.com/news/2012/may/17/gov-scotts-interest-adding-state-run-courses-ignor/

211) Rick Scott is grandstanding on Veterans Affairs.

Crist is too, but Scott has him beat.


Politicians often treat veterans more like campaign props than real people with unique issues. We hear grandiose promises during campaigns — yet much less during the four years in between.
Scott, for instance, may be loudly proclaiming his commitment to veterans now. But it stands in stark contrast to his very first budget when he proposed gutting the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs' budget by 45 percent.

Scott followed that by vetoing $12 million designated for helping homeless veterans in Brevard County.

Now Scott — who served 29 months in the Navy before leaving for college on a G.I. bill that he often touts — is asking state health officials to inspect VA hospitals and clinics.

It pure gimmickry. And Scott knows it. The state has no authority over federal VA's. It would be like the Florida Department of Law Enforcement demanding to inspect the FBI.

But let's say for a moment that Scott is right — that his staff has the authority and obligation to watch over veterans care in this state. Then where the heck was he before now?

 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-veterans-charlie-crist-rick-scott-maxwell-20140529,0,3934304.column

212) Rick Scott is wasting taxpayer dollars with a frivolous lawsuit against the VA.

While the VA issue is a serious one, state inspectors simply have no jurisdiction.

  http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/at-gov-rick-scotts-behest-state-sues-feds-for-right-to-inspect-va-hospitals/2183135

THIS Is How Low the FL Lawmakers Sunk To Deny Us Fair Districts

In 2010, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed the Fair District amendments that required legislative and congressional districts to be fair, compact and sensible. Districts had to be drawn with existing geographic boundaries and keep communities intact. The amendments passed well over the mandatory 60% threshold. This was during the teabag takeover, so it was clear that the majority of Floridians of both parties wanted to end the selfish practive of gerrmandering. Everyone celebrated.

Except the legislators.

The GOP legislators knew Democrats outnumbered Republicans by half a million in this state. Fair elections were the last thing they wanted. Of course, a few selfish Democratic lawmakers incredulously fought the fair district amendments as well. This included the awful Corrine Brown, whose current district was carved to be the MOST gerrymandered in the nation. That's it below:

Pretty isn't it? This GOP-carved district bobs and weaves 160+ miles through NINE counties and shoves every single black neighborhood from Jacksonville to Orlando into it. This is the primary reason why the minority party has been able to have a supermajority in this state: they create a few massive Democratic districts to shove all the minorities into which allows thm to "bleach" all of the surrounding districts. These few Democratic districts have overwhelming advantages of 41 or even 58 percentge points! The GOP gets to rule Florida, and sellouts like Corrine get to keep their seats.

These rat bastards tried to run a Rovian smear campaign against the amendments. They failed. Then they tried to sue, with the GOP claiming its all about minority representation. (Because we all know that's the GOP hallmark). That also failed.

That should have been the end of it. But this is Tallahassee we are talking about. What happened next made be utterly sick, even by my state's low standards. And it was all exposed recently in a lawsuit with the League of Women Voters.

It was ugly.

First off, the "new" map the GOP approved is the most gerrymandered map ever created. That's not me saying that. That was from the nation's foremost expert on gerrymandering. He said the map was the most biased he'd ever seen. Another expert testified the district map would be "virtually impossible" to draw without intentional bias.

So OK, they are bastards. We get it. But then the story of how the maps were developed came to light.

The GOP set up a website for "public input". A young college student by the name of Alex Posada made a submission at 4:42am in the morning, right before the deadline. You can see his entry here. Now to hear the GOP legislators tell it, they stumbled across this map submitted by Mr. "average citizen" and totally ran with it.

One problem.

The young Mr. Posada, who was a member of FSU's College Republicans, at first told the prosecutor that yeah, he just whipped up a district map. All the kids are doing that these days.

But when he was called to the stand to testify under oath, he suddenly got his memory back. He swore under oath that he never drew the map and never submitted it! Not only that, the gmail account in his name wasn't even his!

DOH!

And then things got weird. From the trial we learned:

-The kid now has a cush job at a firm founded by the current House Speaker's brother
-Former Speaker (Dean Cannon) deleted emails related to redistricting
-An employee of the former Speaker shared draft maps with a well-paid political operative
-Several secret meetings were held with operatives in violation of our state's Sunshine Laws
-Internal data and drafted maps were shared with paid political consultants
-Several documents were destroyed by both the consultants and the legislators

So amazingly, no one knows how that final map, which was the basis of our current districts, was submitted.

I'm sure this is a coincidence, but Alex's "mystery" map looks surprisingly identical to the well-paid political operative's map (from the GOP firm Data Targeting).

Say, you don't suppose....? NAH.

I wish I could tell you more but the presiding judge agreed with the GOP defendants that the rest of the trial should be held in secret. Because.... stuff.

But at least it's not like the GOP is spending a small fortune of OUR money to defend this crap... ohhhh wait, they are.

Look, I doubt we'll get justice in this state. But I'm damn proud of the people who put this lawsuit on the front burner. And kudos to the prosecutor for calling out the GOP's BS on the stand.

Mind you, we'll still get screwed. This is Florida, after all. But at least this may make the GOP put just a little more effort into their future scams.

UPDATE: the judge caved, we're essentially keeping these illegal districts. fuck me.