Battle To Save The South's First Water Park

Wild Waters in Silver Springs, FL has been a summertime fun tradition since 1978 and it has also provided summer jobs. It is one of the South’s first and oldest Water Parks and with large live Oaks and Palm trees, it’s one of the most beautiful in the US.

Wild Waters and Silver Springs, home of the world famous Glass Bottom Boats and place where movies such as Tarzan, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Legend, the Sea Hunt TV Series where made, was being managed by Palace Entertainment for the past 20 years.  Prior to that is was owned by ABC Entertainment.

Governor Rick Scott let Palace Entertainment out of their contract last year which was supposed to run until 2029. He then put our Water Park & Silver Springs under the control of the Florida Park Service. That has turned out to be a huge mistake for the people in Central Florida.

Since the Florida Park Service took over Silver Springs, we have suffered a considerable downgrade in services and entertainment. They eliminated the small zoo, the animal shows, rides like the safari ride, boat rides, kids attractions and more. Now there is barely anything left worth going to Silver Springs to see other than an occasional concert on the weekend.

Recently, the same Park Service bureaucrats who ruined Silver Springs has recommended closing our Water Park, Wild Waters. It is important to note that some of the management of the Florida Park Service are also members of the Silver Springs Advisory Group.

In the Star Banner article, “Wild Waters days are numbered”, Mr. Lew Scruggs who’s position is the Chief Office of Park Planning, stated that they plan on spending 15 – 20 Million Dollars on Silver Springs.

That statement proves money is not an issue.

The same article states that they plan to "phase out" Wild Waters within 3 to 5 years and State officials have "come to see it as an eyesore”.  Advisory Group members have also stated in public records that Wild Waters is "Not compatible with park service mission" and “contributes to blight”.

With statements like those, it appears that the real reason the Advisory Group want to close our Water Park is that certain members are biased against it and just want it gone because it doesn't fit into their "Park Service" mindset.

They plan on replacing our Historic Water Park with a "swimming hole" in Silver Springs Park.  Most of the people who attends the Water Park do not want anything to do with a place like that and will not go there. We already have swimming in places like Juniper Springs and they are not well attended. 

There is no comparison between water slides, wave pools and a park “swimming hole”.  A Water Park is a much more safe and clean environment which is preferred by families for their small children.  It’s far more enjoyable to slide down a water slide and be in a wave pool than a park “swimming hole”. The idea that creating swimming in the springs is what everyone wants is absurd and proves how out of touch the Advisory Group and Park officials are.

It's rather incredible that the Advisory Group is proposing to spend 15 – 20 Million dollars on Silver Springs which is usually empty except during concerts, while wanting to close our water park which is jam packed during the summer.  A fraction of that 15 – 20 Million dollars would go a long way towards restoring and preserving Wild Waters. 

We have received almost 3,000 signatures in the past 60 days in support of keeping Wild Waters open and comments from people all over the United States (including our troops in the Mid East) condemning the Advisory Groups recommendation of eliminating our Water Park.  I’m sure we could easily get 10,000 signatures if more people knew the petition existed.

Our water park is loved and well patronized so this is not a matter of there not enough income to sustain it's operation. The fact that thousands of people patronize Wild Waters each year proves people wants this Water Park to remain open.

Additional proof that more people supports Wild Waters than the Advisory Group plans it is the fact that 3000 people signed a petition to keep Wild Waters open. The Advisory Group and Florida Park Service has not obtained one (1) signature which support their plan to close it.

The ultimate purpose of the Park Service is to serve the people.  The Advisory Group and Florida Park Service plans to eliminate Wild Waters are in direct opposition to what the people want. 

It would be a travesty if their plans become reality and are forced upon the people of Central Florida.

Members of the Advisory Group and other State officials including Governor Rick Scott, Silver Springs Park Manager Ms. Sally Lieb, Republican House Majority Leader Mr. Steve Crisafulli, Republican Senate Majority Leader Ms. Lizbeth Benacquisto, the Ocala City Council and the Marion County Commissioners have received copies of the petition. Their response has been to completely ignore the pleas from citizens to keep our Water Park open.

On the Save Wild Waters facebook page and in the petition comments, people are expressing that they have cherished memories and a strong attachment to this incredible place.  They want it to stay open from now on.

I'm a firm believer in Democracy and feel the will of the people should prevail. Every state official is paid by taxpayers and are therefore Public Servants. These Public Servant State Officials should be doing what the majority of the people want instead of trying to cram what they want down out throats.

Tax payer subsidized Golf Courses are being provided for the more affluent and senior citizens of Ocala.  If there’s money for Golf Courses, there should be the same for Wild Waters so families have a local place to take their children, and people of all ages can enjoy water slides and the wave pool during the summer.

Daytona Beach, Orlando and other cities have Waters Parks…  there is no legitimate reason why we shouldn’t be able to keep ours. Losing our Water Park would be a huge step backwards for the people of Central Florida.

It seems to me that ultimately, Governor Rick Scott is responsible for the potential loss of our Water Park and jobs. After releasing Palace Entertainment from their contract which would have ran until 2029, he should have made sure Wild Waters was preserved until at lease 2029 for the people in Central Florida instead of putting it under the control of Park Service People who see it as an “Eyesore”.

Scott is always taking about creating jobs... this will cost jobs.

He’s planning on spending 100 million dollars to get himself re-elected but failing to take action to keep our Water Park open for families and children in Central Florida who need it.

If our Water Park is closed it would be devastating to thousands of families and children in Central Florida who enjoy going there every year during the summer. There is very little entertainment here in Ocala as it is.

There are over 90 pages of signatures on the Save Wild Waters facebook petition and over 40 pages of comments.

People are literally pleading for Wild Waters to remain open but no one is listening or respecting our wishes.

If this travesty is not exposed by the news media soon, these bureaucrats will move forward with their plans and the South’s First Water Park will be lost forever.

Our facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/wildwaters2

Sign our petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/save-wild-waters-petition

Finally! Trial Begins Over FL-5: Most Gerrymandered District in the Nation

Florida Voters in 2010 passed the “Fair Districts” amendments for both legislative and Congressional races in our Florida Constitution. The amendments were very clear that districts could not be gerrymandering when drawn. It is important to note that these amendments passed was supermajorities in 2010, the year of the GOP/teaparty wave, which shows that they had strong bi-partisan support among voters in this state. Both Democratic and Republican voters made it clear... play fair.

Unfortunately, legislators did the opposite. They drew the maps in secret using a "shadow process", and completely ignored the will of the Florida voters. Case in point, Florida District 5-Corrine Brown's district. This monstrosity packs every minority cluster from Jacksonville to Sanford, which allows the surrounding districts to be "bleached" for the GOP base.

The Democratic party of Florida said FL-5 “as enacted by the Florida Legislature stands out among all of the districts as presenting both the most numerous and most flagrant constitutional violations”.

If you want to see what a fair district map SHOULD look like, Click here.

Incredibly, Corrine Brown is fighting alongside the GOP with this battle. Sure, gerrymandering hurts voters and is illegal; and sure, it manages to give the GOP a guaranteed majority despite the state having more Democratic voters by a 2-1 margin. But hey, she might have to fight in a fair district so screw the party and screw the voters. Despicable.

No sane or fair judge can say FL-5 is in anyway not drawn to cluster as many Democrats into one district as possible, a flagrant violation of the Florida Constitution. We either have laws in this state or we don't. It's cut and dry. Believe it or not, I'd be screaming the same thing if the situation was reversed and Democrats were gerrymandering, which by the way, they did back when they had the power. If the Democrats back in the 90s did the right thing and ensured fair districts, it would have been a hell of a lot harder for the GOP to do what they are doing to us today.

I don't mind losing, but we Floridians deserve a fair fight.

Rick Scott's Florida: Fracking in the Everglades Now a Reality

#CXXX of My Stupid State

As I have mentioned here many times, Florida's environment is under assault. Under Rick Scott, Florida has become the 2nd most polluted state in the union.

In Rick Scott's first year in office, environmental protection fell to a an all-time low. Charlie Crist's Environmental Commissions were eliminated. The agencies charged with protection were slashed or abolished, and employees from those agencies who did their job safeguarding our wetlands were severely punished or fired. Our natural springs, which are critical for our freshwater supply, are dying from algae and slime thanks to slick Rick allowing large batches of wastewater discharge and "combustible fossil fuel" disposal.

However, fracking is one thing we thought we were safe from. Our media told us it wouldn't happen here:

“I think it’s possible, but when you look at the other plays in the U.S. and North America where those resources will be more attractive than Florida,” [UNF Professor Christopher Brown] says. “I believe the panhandle of Florida if any of this were to happen. I think Southwest Florida will be a lot less likely. Not impossible, but a lot less likely."

Florida currently does not have a law banning fracking in the state. Officials have said in the past that there is no law because the state does not need one.

That is one reason why the media blew off Rick Scott, an avid climate change denier, when he said that he not only supports fracking, but supports fracking in our own Everglades!!

But don't worry, we were told it could never happen.

Except.....

Pamela Duran of Naples recently received an odd letter concerning an emergency evacutation plan. She called the number listed, and was told of Hughes Oil planning to drill a well 1000 feet from her home and warned her of a potential "hydrogen sulfide explosion or gas leak". This freaked out Ms. Duran. She teamed up with other concerned citizens, like Karen Dwyer, to fight what we were told was unthinkable:

Texas-based Dan A. Hughes Oil Company recently used a form of “enhanced extraction,” which fits the description of fracking, in Naples, the gateway to the Everglades. The drilling took place in the Sunniland Trend, an underground limestone formation with an oil reserve stretching from Fort Myers to Miami....

The drilling is also happening in the endangered Florida panthers’ habitat and the Collier-Hogan well, now shut down, is next to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a 5,000-year-old-forest with the last remaining old growth cypress trees in the world.

“Drilling three miles deep through all our fresh water aquifers in the Big Cypress Swamp watershed is not safe,” Karen Dwyer wrote in a letter urging the state to deny the drilling permit next to the Durans’ home.

“If something goes wrong, the watershed that feeds the Picayune Strand State Forest, 10,000 Island National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park could all become contaminated.”

Now, to be fair, Hughes Oil is arguing that they aren't "fracking" per se. They were just injecting "a dissolving solution at sufficient pressure to achieve some openings in the oil bearing rock formation that would be propped open with sand in pursuit of enhancing oil production".

You might say to yourself "that sounds like the very definition of fracking". But Hughes Oil is arguing that fracking uses water mixed with chemicals to cause fractures. They, on the other hand, aren't using water.

They are using acid.

So that should make you feel much better.

Hughes Oil was allowed to perform one of these totally non-fracking "acid treatments", which have never been done in Florida before, by our own Department of Environmental Protection (headed by Scott's crony Jeff Littlejohn). Our fiercesome environmental agency asked for some information before they did a second one, but the company essentially said "screw that" and did a second one anyway. Those rapscallions. Oh well, they can be forgiven for thinking officials wouldn't care... because they really don't. They were given a slap on the wrist (25K fine) and then kissed and made up.

Democratic politicians are trying to fight this. Senator Bill Nelson is strongly opposed to Everglades fracking. Florida state senator Dwight Bullard called this the “absolute worst area to begin a drilling project in the history of drilling projects.”

Naturally, Rick Scott thinks its just fine. Florida's oil lobby are big fans of Rick.

The rest of us, not so much.

Don't Get Mad. Get Active. Get Rid of Scott This November

Rick Scott's Secret Travels

Before Rick Scott, we all had access to the itinerary of our sitting governors. But Rick Scott's travel, which YOU are paying for by the way, is a state secret. When challenged on this, Rick Scott said it was a "security" decision by the FDLE. This is balderdash--because no one can get access to any trip he as taken, even if its months or years ago! What possible security risk is knowing what restaurant you ate at in February?

The places that weren't blacked out, such as a nearby Panera Bread, had the people he was meeting with blacked out. That is a consistent item hidden. Who is our governor meeting with that he doesn't want us to know about?

Rick is so secretive, Channel 9 had to do an investigative report on the whereabouts and meetings of our own damn governor:

Common Core Test Questions To Make Sure Your Kids Don't Turn Gay

By now you may have heard about Florida's Rep (R-Looneyville) Charles Van Zant. He is the teabagging genius who said commmon core supporters are attempting to "attract every one of your children to become a homosexual as they possibly can".

(He doubled down on that wackiness just yesterday.)

I had no idea consistent testing standards could simultaneously turn a kid gay. Shame on you, CC supporters. (I'm looking at you, Jeb!)

Bill Cotterell had the same concerns. He helpfully wrote a few test questions for Common Core that will keep our kids on the straight and narrow:

• If you find yourself developing “double-mindedness,” what is a quick, effective way to become narrow-minded?

• John and Mike have lived together 19 years, are productive, law-abiding citizens and aren’t hurting anybody. List three things we can do to get them out of town.

• Which of the following will make you gay:

A) Elton John music

B) Watching “Ellen” in the afternoon

C) Subscribing to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker

D) Voting for Hillary Clinton

E) All of the above

• John begins to suspect that some of his co-workers might be gay. He should immediately:

A) Mention to them that hetero-conversion therapy is covered by your company’s insurance

B) Ask the boss to fire them

C) Discretely warn everybody else about them

D) Find another job

E) Mind his own business

• Rank the following in order of the threat they pose to society:

A) International terrorism

B) Global warming

C) Political corruption

D) Drug addiction

E) Rachel Maddow

• You’re the clerk of court and a 19-year-old stripper brings in a mildly intoxicated 81-year-old rich guy for a marriage license. Behind them in line are two young women who have filled out the same application. Explain why only the first couple should be allowed a civil marriage license.

• Write a limerick starting with, “A sultan who rules in Brunei/Was really a heck of a guy ...”

• What are the three most dangerous items on the “gay agenda”?

• President Obama scrapped the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, because he wants to:

A) Weaken our national defense

B) Improve choreography of military bands

C) Increase recruiting in San Francisco and Key West

D) Enhance cuisine in the mess hall

• Research project: In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Florida Senate had a special committee to investigate communism and the civil rights movement, but it quickly turned into a witch hunt for gays in government and universities. The Charley Johns Committee recklessly smeared people, invaded privacy, violated civil rights, drove good professors out of their jobs, spread fear among public employees and made Florida a laughingstock.

Explain why we need a committee like that now.

A 500K donation to Rick Scott meant the utilities got EVERYTHING they asked for

Rick Scott appointee with shady past just got busted for bribery...

Suspended Orlando Expressway Authority board member Scott Batterson offered the agency's lucrative engineering contract to another company – if the firm was willing to hire some of his friends, according to documents released moments ago by State Attorney Jeff Ashton.

READ MORE

Rick Scott Makes us First...in Foreclosures!

This speaks loudly but not just for itself. It's no doubt happening for a lot of reasons, but one of them is undoubtedly that middle class families can't make enough to pay the bills. Naturally it also raises the question of how this can be happening if things are as rosy as Rick Scott makes them out to be.

I'm thinking Scott will say what a great thing this is -- because it keeps bankers in a job.

Everything you need to know about "Benghazi"...

PSA from FL House Rep: Common Core Will Make You Gay

#129 of My Stupid State

The following can be considered a public service announcement brought to you by Florida Rep. Charles Van Zant (do you really need to for me to tell you the party he's affiliated with?)

In a breaking development, it turns out that Common Core and its supporters are "promoting as hard as they can any youth that is interested in the LGBT agenda".

Yes, my fellow Floridians, that is just the kind of intellectual debate that is typical from our teabagging GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee. So threatcon normal.

But then he went on to say something crazy:

These people, that will now receive $220 million from the state of Florida unless this is stopped, will promote double-mindedness in state education and attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can. I'm sorry to report that to you."

See for yourself:

You might be asking yourself, how do you get as homosexual as you can? Is there some kind of gay meter?

Yes there is. You can be low-gay, elevated-level gay, and, if you work hard enough, severe gay. (Anything over that is Marcus Bachmann territory).

You might also be asking yourself, does this mean current GOP frontrunner for prez, one Mr. Jeb Bush, is promoting children to become as gay as possible?

Yes he is. He is so pro-Common Core/gay agenda he even defended it at an ALEC meeting!

Stay away from Jeb Bush at ALL COSTS!

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by the Florida GOP: Bigoted rednecks with legislative power can make a difference.

The more you know.

Florida’s First Lady invests quietly in investment firm that mirrors governor’s old company

Florida officials are not required to disclose a spouses assets. First Lady Ann Scott has taken full advantage of that and has kept quiet on the 10's of millions of assets Rick Scott transferred to her after the election in 2010.

READ MORE

Just Sad: Tea Partier Goes Nuts No One Showed Up (Video) #AmericanSpringExcuses

I admit, I haven't had this much schadenfreude pleasure since watching the insulated GOPers cry on election night 2012. There is something just awesome when they are forced to confront reality outside the protective bubble of propaganda, skewed polls, conspiracy theories, and misinformation they are constantly fed (so they can be scammed off of later).

It was a little too much for red shirt guy on this video. For those of you who can't watch youtube, he literally screams in the camera: “WHERE ARE YOU AT? Where are you at? We put the call out last week, two months ago, five months ago. You talk about being here–Where you at? Cause we’re HERE!”

It is followed by someone even better...she said the revolution is "unstoppable" except for that drizzling rain. She explains on camera that millions are coming but they are currently "trapped in the camps" due to the rain and flooding. (Should have stayed in the FEMA camps. They are built better.)

Please Enjoy!

The trending hashtag on the Twitters has been #AmericanSpringExcuses

It is utterly hilarious. Some good ones:

1. They couldn’t figure out a way to get there without using a government-built road.
2. They were there, but you couldn't see them because of the cammo
3. BENGHAZI
4. It’s meth-cooking season, so couldn’t leave their meth labs.
5. It was national discount day at Golden Corral.
6. There were too many puddles to navigate around.
7. COPS was being filmed in their trailer park that day and didn’t want to miss an opportunity to be on television.
8. There was a Duck Dynasty marathon on A & E all day.
9. Saw a rainbow over Washington, and turned around, thinking that getting near it might make them gay.
10. They were given ultimatums by their cousins that they’d break up with them if they left for a day or two.
11. Roadway sign said "Washington Left", so they did
12. Illegal to ride lawn mowers on the streets of Washington.
13. They couldn’t find their teeth, and they don’t go out without them.
14. If you count the voices in the heads of the people who showed up, there were 30 million people there.
15. Just finishing up the signs. How many "K"s in Amerikka?
16. Wanted to march against tyrannical min.wage but can't afford it. Thanks Obama!
17. Had doctor's appt. I have health care now for some reason.
18. Told Librl troll I'd show up after the first nonwhite person did.
19. Our grassroots funding from the Kochs were late to arrive.
20. Everybody stayed home for fear the internet comments would be left untended.
21. Truck is on concrete blocks in front of our house.

Save Our Internet

I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on Net Neutrality on the Leslie Marshall Show out in Los Angeles. I not only favor it, I think it is one of the most important issues of our time.

Internet Service Providers are NOT going to build a "faster" lane, they will put speed bumps on our service till it slows down to dial-up and give the current broadband to the big boys. Take a moment and tell the FCC to reclassify broadband internet as a title II common carrier telecommunications service: http://goo.gl/xHnB4n.

Share Your Story

If you've already decided to cast a vote for Charlie Crist for the primary, and/or for the next election, you may be interested in taking part in this, where his website is collecting stories of why you want to support him. They're also interested in stories of people who have been hurt by Rick Scott's policies. I sent him one of mine.

Meanwhile, I'm working on my project to buzz bomb county Florida Republican Facebook pages. I'm posting a question asking why Rick Scott didn't lower the auto tag fees earlier. So far, Dade County Republicans erased my post, and so did the ones in Collier County.  That's only two but something tells me there's a pattern brewing.

Top Conservative Blogger Gloats to "Libs" That Nigerian Girls Have Probably Been Sold

Jim Hoft, (@gatewaypundit), is one of the top conservative bloggers and is often quoted by Fox News--which says a lot about them since his trademark is to write anything without verification or even proofreading. His track record of being wrong and his sheer incompetence has earned him the appropriate title of the dumbest man on the Internet.

And that was before today, when he showed that he is also a complete bastard:

#BringBackOurBalls ➙ Sorry Libs, The Schoolgirls Have Already Been Sold, Put on Canoes & Shipped to Chad

He went to mock Michelle Obama for tweeting the viral photo of her holding the same sign as the parents of the kidnapped children: #BringBackOurGirls. And then closed with this gem:

So good luck bringing “our girls” back. You’re too late.

Ha Ha... suck it Obama! Those 9 to 12 year old girls will be made into sex slaves! That'll show us "libs"! (and the quotes around "our girls"--nice touch.)

Hey asshole! We didn't start the tag, but we did promote it to bring worldwide awareness. Without it, it is unlikely the Nigerian government would be as cooperative as they've been lately.

And Obama is providing military support. After all, Obama, unlike his predecessor, has a pretty damn good track record of tracking down and killing terrorists.

But seriously, conservative celebrities can be some of the most vile people on the planet. The left does not have an equivalent of a Jim Hoft or Ann Coulter. We don't have radio talk show hosts who would ever tell Sandy Hook parents to go to hell.

I know the rightwing has to oppose everything the president does, but when you are gloating that those poor girls are enduring unspeakable horrors as somehow a "win" for your side, you know that your Obama Derangement Syndrome has reached a psychopathic level.

We May Be Stupid, But We Aren't Idiots. New, Fake "Progressive" Group in Florida...

Rick Scott's campaign manager said last November that he would attack Charlie Crist from the left. And ta-da...a "liberal" group calling itself "Progressive Choice Florida" has suddenly arrived on the scene: a group which refuses to list their donors, has no contact information, and uses an insulting shell website (http://www.progressivechoiceflorida.com/).

No real progressive group in Florida has ever heard of them, much less worked with them. However, they are VERY flush with cash. This mystery group in its brief existence has already conducted a statewide mail campaign, bought tons of ads, and put out robocalls in South Florida smearing Charlie Crist.

The group incorporated in Delaware recently, and has rather bizarre ideas of what "progressive" means. I heard about this group in a visit to a Seminole County meeting yesterday, where members told me the group was fighting a local penny infrastructure tax. Their mailers are nasty in attacking Crist, but they also run ads like this one:

Odd. Supporting school vouchers and Florida's disastrous charter schools are not known to be "progressive" causes.

The group said its leader is Jamie Fontaine. Even after repeated requests, she won't disclose the donors:

I will not at this time provide the names these supporters because their only motivation is to engage and have a meaningful impact.

Sure. Ya now, secrecy in campaign donations is very GOPish.

You know what else is GOPish? Deception. They were already busted for collecting donations from fake Democratic websites. So this is par for the course.

The group has tried to buy ads on numerous sites, like this one. But many weren't having any of it because besides refusing to say where all this money came from, the group uses deceptive practices like lying about being part of a national effort and not putting any citations or references in their mailers.

Ms. Fontaine apparently has been engaged in liberal causes in the past. My educated guess is that she was thrown some moolah to give the group some credibility and she convinced herself that she's actually helping Nan Rich, Crist's more liberal challenger.

Ads against Crist without citations saying he fails a "progressive litmus test" is probably not the best strategy if everyone wonders if you are really a GOP front group.

If your real goal is to help Nan Rich, you are failing miserably.

If your real goal is to help Rick Scott, same deal.

One FL Teabagger Stops Popular and Desperately Needed Financial Literacy in Our Schools

#118 of My Stupid State

One reason so many Americans are in trouble financially is the fact that Americans lack the most fundamental financial skills. It's never taught to us. The results speak to this ignorance. American students face mountains of debt and most older folks aren't anywhere close to being able to retire. There are few places in America worse off than Florida. Florida ranks number one in credit card delinquencies and has the most cities in trouble with credit card debt: Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville. We lead the nation in foreclosures and have higher-than-average amounts of auto and student loans.

One reason for our sorry shape is there are those who want to keep us ignorant of finance. This is especially true if your entire economic platform is dependent on convincing people that its in their best interests to give the wealthy even more of your money. (Suddenly, trickle-down economics might seem stupid.) So yes, teabagger, an ignorant populace is critical to your base--I get it. But I submit that in the long run it is ruining the very economy we all depend upon. There's only so much people can borrow to make ends meet and we are hitting that limit. That is why basic finance should be taught in all American high schools. They don't need to know complex formulas involving derivatives, spreads, and ratios.. just basic skills like how to balance a checkbook or how credit works.

Our GOP-led House was supposed to approve a required financial literacy course this session, but it was blocked by one member: Marlene O'Toole (R-33rd District)

O'Toole is the one our genius republicans put as chair of the Education committee. She couldn't very well say that she didn't want people to remain financially stupid, so she gave what she thought was a brilliant defense: she supported it but didn’t have time to hear about it on her own damn committee. So she voted against it.

Her name is fitting. She is a tool.

(NOTE to Florida Democratic Party, I know you've never done this before in her multiple runs for House, but do you think MAYBE this year, just this once, you could find one f**king Democrat to run against her? I know its GOP territory but cripes, even if we lose this is the only time we get coverage to hold some of these idiots accountable!)

I admit that a class isn't a silver bullet to fix our financial problems. Heck, the deck is already stacked against the middle class and our plutocracy makes it damn near impossible to raise a family and save any money. Our three-legged stool of Pension, 401k, and Social Security has been systematically dismantled to funnel even more money upwards: pension plans are virtually nonexistent without unions, Social Security is constantly under assault, and our 401ks are being drained by large fees on our returns--which the bastards don't eve have to disclose. (Some Dems are fighting this, but the other side is sticking with the billion-dollar Wall Street lobbyists).

Yet it's something we can do and needs to be done. I recall being a young, teenage airmen and getting sucked into putting my phone bills on a phone company credit card instead of just paying them off. I got a bottle of soda out of it so it seemed like a good deal to me. The monthly minimum got higher and higher until my monthly payment was as much as a regular phone bill--except it went to pay off the interest and didn't make a dent in the premium. Maybe somebody at school could have taken a few minutes out of obsessing about a standardized test and told me about credit cards.

BTW, I was the smart one. Florida payday scams and title loan companies preyed on my fellow airmen mercilessly. Although Florida limits the fee on a payday loan, it charges for short-loan terms and applies verification fees. In applying an annual rate, the 10% fee is equivalent to an interest rate in excess of 500%. (For crying out loud, don't use those people!) Title loans are also horrendous. They give a few lousy bucks at sky-high interest rates... and if you miss a payment, BAMMO, your car is taken. They are scum, and BTW, LOVE themselves some Rick Scott. ick Scott is a freaking hero to these criminals: Here's one title loan ad that waxes on about him. And why wouldn't they? Rick Scott completely gutted business oversight and consumer protections for all of us.

Under Rick Suck: Movers can now change their prices mid-move, mechanics don't have to give written estimates, dozens of professions (like mold inspectors) no longer need a license, and the protections in place against our longtime problem with shady timeshare companies and loan scams have vanished.

So thanks Rick and Marlene. Keep fighting to keep Florida stupid. We'll all suffer but at least it will help ensure your re-election efforts.

Greer's World

It's sure to be a high time for some Rick Scott supporters soon, and not because he's supposedly about to sign a medical marijuana bill.

I'm talking about the upcoming "kiss and tell" book by former FL Republican Party chair Jim Greer (titled The Chairman), in which he supposedly will have a lot of dirt to shovel about Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, and some other big names. It's being released this summer, just in time for Greer to do a book tour on the way out of his correctional hidey-hole.

A few Scott fanatics are slavering over this release, although they probably shouldn't. For one thing, Greer may also have a few things to say about their hero. For another -- how should I put this tactfully? Greer's not exactly what you'd call a forthright citizen. He's not wearing blue right now because it matches his necktie collection. There's a reason our prisons have those special doors on them.

It's tempting to point out that Scott fanatics would especially love Greer: After all, if they voted for a felon, they certainly would have no qualms about believing one. 

But is there really any promise of some earth shaking scandal being unmasked about Charlie Crist, thereby upsetting the apple cart of his governor's campaign? Book sellers usually try to put something juicy in the copy, and there's a bit of juice here from Amazon Books:

"Greer trusted Crist to protect him from the onslaught of the Tea Party wing of the party, only to watch as Crist stabbed him in the back and helped send him to prison in order to try to save his own political career."

This is more than a little fouled up. First of all, Greer is a grown adult man. He shouldn't have had to hide behind Crist or anyone else to be "protected" from the Tea Party. Second, Greer committed a crime; the evidence shows that, and he pled guilty, his excuses for doing so notwithstanding. How in the world is it being "stabbed in the back" for Crist to have not backed this? Is Greer so morally obtuse that he expected Crist or anyone else to save him by, say, lying under oath? Or by letting him off the hook for his crimes?  Or is he now going to have the temerity to claim that everyone else was guilty, and he got framed?

No doubt Greer will have a lot to say that's bad about a lot of his former team mates. But if Scott fanatics take him at his word, they'd probably better check their moral compass at the door with him.

Looking for complaints, Rick Scott instead finds praise for Obamacare

Gov. Rick Scott visited a senior center Tuesday to warn about cuts he said Obamacare is forcing in a popular version of the Medicare health program and to collect their horror stories.

What he found was a satisfied group with few complaints.

The 20 seniors assembled for a roundtable with Scott at the Volen Center were largely content with their Medicare coverage and didn’t have negative stories to recount.

And some praised Obamacare – a program that Scott frequently criticizes.

“I’m completely satisfied,” Harvey Eisen, 92, a West Boca resident, told Scott.

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After 40 deaths, Rick Scott fights to WEAKEN child safety bill "to save money"!

#117 of My Stupid State

The Department of Children and Families has had a rough couple of years. The guy Scott appointed to run it resigned in disgrace. (One of 17 record resignations under Scott, BTW). The agency was woefully mismanaged and is severely underfunded. In just the past few years hundreds of children have died preventable deaths due to failed background checks, no oversight, and poor social worker training.

Rick Scott responded by laying off HUNDREDS in of critical positions in the DCF. His budget also completely eviscerated children's welfare, even beyond what the teapublican FL Senate wanted.

Scott told critics that he believed in the "power of prayer and hope". So they don't need money.

Simultaneously, I will point out, this complete asshat asked to increase HIS office by $343 million and add 91 positions to HIS staff. Recently, he had no problems asking for 100 million in taxpayer money to be donated to the very powerful tourism industry. (Coincidentally, 100M is the same number Rick said he plans to spend on his re-election campaign.)

But Rick Scott thinks powerless children can survive on prayer and hope. The result: 40 children were killed under DCF JUST last year. Atrocious.

Asphyxia, drowning, physical abuse, and the list goes on. They were preventable. The red flags were glaring. Rep. Perry Thurston (D) wrote to Scott that many of the system failures noted in the report are linked to "diminished resources."

It would horrify a normal person. But Rick Scott is not normal.

Because of public outrage, the Senate tried to tweak the state's child welfare laws (SB 1666).

On Friday, Rick Scott weighed in. He has an election coming up. So one would think he would at least give the appearance of giving a damn. What does Sick Rott do?

At the very last minute, Rick Scott tried to sneak in seven different ways to weaken the DCF even further!!! It was all about cost-cutting:

The "strike-all" amendment would make several significant changes aimed at tamping down some of the provisions and oversight over the department, according to a document obtained by the Herald/Times. The summary of the amendment says many of the reforms would cost too much money. The proposed amendment would do the following:

* Eliminate the requirement that members of DCF's Rapid Response Teams travel to the site of a child's death in order to conduct a case review. The idea is to save money.

* Give the response teams more time to conduct the review and eliminates an outside review committee intended to provide oversight to DCF's work. The department says this is "redundant."

* Eliminates the requirement that the Death Review Committee provide training. The department considers this an onerous requirement since the committee is made of volunteers.

* Eliminates a loan forgiveness program intended to encourage people with social work and other social services degrees to work as child protective investigators. The department and governor consider this "expensive and will require additional staff and infrastructure within the department."

* Deletes a requirement the Community Based Care organizations post their executive salaries on the web site.

* Changes the liability limits on CBCs by requiring them to obtain less insurance in the event they get sued for malpractice, . The measure reduces the caps on liability to their 1999 levels by resetting them form $1 million per person, $3 million per incident for economic damages, $200,000 for non-economic damages and removes the cost of living adjustment that allows damage caps to rise according to the consumer price level industry. The current bill sets the damage caps at $2 million per claim; automobile liability cap at $200,0000 per claim and the non-economic damages cap at $400,000 per claim.

* Eliminates the Institute on Child Welfare at FSU because it "will drain resources from child welfare services."

Scott defenders say there are "charity groups" that can handle this (and NO, there aren't) or, like Scott, just don't give a damn. (For crying out loud, he let a man who oversaw the physical and mental abuse of 100s of kids hold a fundraiser for him!!

Scott may not give a damn, but we do. If you haven't already, please do something about this. These small, abused children are the most vulnerable people in the world. Unless they suddenly become rich, white campaign donors, you can't count on Rick Scott looking after them anytime soon.