Rick Scott

Florida Governor Rick Scott Demonstrates A Racist Power Grab Over Florida A & M Hazing Death Incident!

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Florida Governor Rick Scott, already extremely unpopular in public opinion polls, with a terrible public reputation, has now worsened his image further by an attempted power grab over the state university system!

A tragic event took place at Florida A & M, a leading historically black university, with great academic results. A student in the marching band for the university was murdered in a hazing incident, and this tragic event was made worse by the intervention of Governor Scott into the situation, attempting to fire the university president over the issue.

This was a shocking intervention, as hazing, as bad as it is, occurs at many universities all over the country, and we don’t see the firing of university or college presidents over that tragic set of events, particularly without an investigation and due process!

Interesting development, which makes one wonder IF this event had occurred at a university such as the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, or any other branch of the state university system, would Governor Scott have been so quick to intervene, as he does at a black university campus?

This incident can only be seen as racist, and undermines the whole state of Florida and its university system, as the old South seems to be arising again, the era where racism and lynchings occurred regularly!

What Scott attempted to do was a “lynching” of the university President in a different form, and must be condemned as an abuse of power! If there is a problem with any branch of the state university system, there is a Board of Trustees and a whole administrative network that can deal with any issue that arises!

It is NOT the business of the Governor of Florida or ANY state to interfere with educational matters, even those that are legal problems! That is up to the judicial system, not a governor out of control and overly egotistical and narcissistic as Rick Scott is!

Florida Governor Rick Scott Pitting Educational Funding Against Medicaid!

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Florida Governor Rick Scott, a favorite of the Tea Party crowd, has made a bad name for himself among many Floridians who wish they could remove him from office, but so far an attempt at a recall vote has gone nowhere, unlike what Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is facing.

After gutting educational funding in the first year of his term, now he is calling for $1 billion increase in support for the educational system under the college level, but still would leave Florida behind its all time high funding, and leave Florida one of the worst states in education support and educational results.

But what he is also doing is pitting education, the future of the young, versus Medicaid, the health care system that comes to the support of the poor, the chronically ill, disabled, and elderly.

So he is showing no conscience about the most vulnerable among us, while suddenly trying to make himself look good on education.

It is immoral and unethical for Governor Scott to be calling for drastic cuts in Medicaid spending ($2 billion), while creating the image that he cares about education!

Hopefully, the Republican controlled legislature will NOT agree to such drastic cuts in Medicaid spending, as to attack the most vulnerable among us is totally unacceptable!

MASSIVE Victory For Workers’ Rights, Women’s Rights, And Voting Rights!

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A massive victory for Democrats, progressives and liberals, and the American people, occurred tonight on the 2011 Election Day, and it augurs a progressive victory in 2012!

In three states, particularly, conservative Republican and Tea Party forces were set back in their power grab to take away basic rights of workers, women, and voters!

Ohio rejected the anti public union bill passed by the Republican legislature with the backing of Governor John Kasich by a vote margin of about 60-40, therefore restoring collective bargaining rights for police, firefighters, teachers and other public employees. This is a warning to Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Rick Snyder in Michigan, Rick Scott in Florida, and Paul LePage in Maine, who also have been working against the rights of public employees, that the people will NOT tolerate the loss of labor rights won over the years, which have helped to grow and sustain the middle class! It also shows that conservative talk radio, Fox News Channel, and even the Koch brothers and other greedy, selfish, self centered billionaires are not going to be allowed to shape the country in their image. The Republican Party in Washington, DC should see this as a warning that if they continue to refuse to help job creation and just set out to defeat Barack Obama, they will pay the price in next year’s election!

At the same time in the conservative state of Mississippi, the proposed “personhood” amendment that would define a fertilized egg as a person was also soundly defeated by about 57-43 percent, a tremendous victory for women’s rights and Roe V Wade, and a strike against the extreme anti abortion fanatics who have no concern for the health and well being of women, and wish to take away their privacy rights!

And in Maine, we saw the defeat of legislation that ended the practice of allowing registration on the day of the election, a move being copied in other states to cut back voter registration and participation. This is another Republican and conservative attempt to cut back on voting rights with the false claim of massive voter fraud, which has never occurred anywhere in reality!

So it is clear that the conservative and Republican victories in 2010 and their abuse of power in the months since has been rejected. So in a way, it was necessary to have this occur to wake people up as to the need to be involved, to participate, to pay attention, to organize, and to realize that if one does not work at protecting their basic human rights, those rights can be taken away from them!

It is certain that the 2010 Republican victories will be overcome by a tremendous counter reaction in 2012, with 2011 being the first strikes against the right wing!

Florida Republicans Attempting To Prevent Young Voter Registration And Prosecute Teachers Who Promote Good Citizenship!

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The Republican Party of Florida and Governor Rick Scott are in the process of promoting prosecution of teachers who encourage their high school seniors to register to vote, the ultimate lesson in good citizenship.

The new voter registration law in Florida, very similar to that in other GOP governed states, makes it much more difficult for people to register to vote, requiring government sponsored ID cards; making it harder for college students to vote on their campuses; cutting down the number of days of voting ahead of Election Day; requiring people who change counties to cast a provisional ballot at the polls, which might not be counted; discouraging the League of Women Voters from promoting registration due to a demand that all signed applications must be handed in no later than two days after applications are completed; and assessing fines of up to $1,000 for delayed submission of applications.

Two teachers are facing fines for having missed the 48 hour deadline for student applications, which prosecutes teachers for promoting good citizenship, and discourages new, young voters.

It is clear that the GOP and Governor Scott are trying to intimidate minorities, young people, the elderly, and the poor so as to manipulate the vote to favor the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012. This is a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the 14th Amendment; the 15th Amendment; the 19th Amendment; the 24th Amendment; and the 26th Amendment; and is being pursued in court as a corrupt attempt to fix election results in Florida, as well as elsewhere, by the Obama Administration.

Meanwhile, however, two teachers face fines, and this is another slap in the face to educators, who already have been shown lack of respect by other legislation in Florida which demeans their profession!

Florida Governor Rick Scott And Education Goals: War On The Social Sciences And Humanities!

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Florida Governor Rick Scott and other Republicans in the state legislature have declared “war” on the Social Sciences and Humanities areas of the college curriculum, claiming that they wish to emphasize areas of knowledge, including science and technology majors, which are easier fields to promote job growth in the state.

Since when is it the role of politicians to dictate fields of study for students, as if that is the only purpose of education and learning? Scott’s suggestion to work against anthropology as a major, and other legislators’ attempts to undermine psychology and political science fields, is only the beginning of the promotion of mind control by people who do not give a damn about the purposes of higher education!

One should pursue his or her dreams and interests in colleges and universities, as the purpose of education is to open up one’s mind to new ideas, and the ultimate reality is that, as Steve Jobs said in his Stanford University commencement speech in 2005, that pursuit of one’s interests has a role in making one happy, that one must love what he or she does to be productive!

Times may be difficult now, but to work to destroy or de-emphasize whole fields of learning is anti intellectual and anti education to the extreme! Not everyone is motivated to go into the areas of science or technology, and society needs a mix of people with all kinds of interests and passions!

Education is not just based on job needs, and politicians should not have the power or authority to dictate budget cuts, which should be left to faculty and administrators at the institutions!

Universities that would gut whole programs because of the issue of money or immediate employment would be a travesty of the whole concept of education, which is to prepare for LIFE, not just employment!

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: Being Wooed As The Savior Of The Republican Party

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in office less than two years, is being wooed by Wall Street Republicans and conservatives on talk radio and Fox News Channel as the savior of the Republican party, and being pressured to get into the Presidential race.

There has not been such a draft movement in the GOP since Dwight D. Eisenhower was successfully brought into the Presidential race in 1952.

But is Chris Christie another Dwight D. Eisenhower? Is he the “knight in shining armor”, or is he just the flavor of the month, a desperate attempt by Republicans to find a winning candidate who can unite the Tea Party Movement and Establishment Republicans, which no one else seems to be able to do?

After all the glamor is stripped from the excitement around Christie, is he the answer for the beleaguered GOP? The answer is NO, as despite what many might think, the odds on Christie winning the White House are extremely low!

What makes people in the party so excited about Christie?

1. He is very blunt and forceful in his language, but some would say overly confrontational and crude.

2. He attacks labor unions, which make Wall Street and big business thrilled.

3. He is the original “Bully” Governor, a model for Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio, Rick Snyder in Michigan, Rick Scott in Florida, and Paul LePage in Maine.

4. He attacks public education in favor of charter schools, which pleases many conservatives.

5. He promotes budget cuts, which ultimately means the promoting of cuts in state support of social services, a popular move with the right wing nationally.

But why is he a horrible choice for President?

1. His “in your face” personality is precisely what we do NOT need in the White House!

2. His anti education, anti teacher, anti union agenda would solidify the right wing agenda in other states and harm the nation’s future.

3. His personality would undermine American foreign policy, as he would antagonize even friendly nations with his pompous, aggressive manner.

4. While a federal prosecutor in his past, he has only been Governor of New Jersey for less than two years, giving him very little elected experience, far less than Barack Obama, who had been in elected office for twelve years in Illinois state government and the US Senate.

5. He would be a terrible choice on the basis of physical fitness and health, has obvious health issues including a recent asthmatic attack, and while it could be said that we had William Howard Taft and Grover Cleveland in the past, it would not be a positive to have a person of his girth in the White House.

While many would see Christie as the ideal choice, he would be a bad model for the nation’s future in so many ways, and might even flop, as Rick Perry seemingly has, once we and the party and the nation had a better look at him!

Christie is more realistic than most when he says he is not ready for the Presidency, so let’s take him at his word and stop wooing him to enter the race!

The Republicans, Barack Obama, And The 2016, NOT 2012, Presidential Election!

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All of America is focused on the 2012 Presidential Election, as the Republicans compete over who should oppose President Barack Obama for re-election.

There are a lot of people who seem to think that Barack Obama will be easy to defeat, because of the high unemployment rate, which will be the highest for a President running for re-election since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But these are not ordinary times, and the thought that Barack Obama is going down the road of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush is a false premise!

Remember that Ford, Carter and Bush I all had strong primary challenges, with Ford having to deal with Ronald Reagan, Carter with Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown, and Bush I with Pat Buchanan in the primaries and Ross Perot in the general election.

Also remember that none of those three Presidents had a record of domestic accomplishments that Barack Obama has!

Also remember that none of those three had the charisma or oratorical ability of Barack Obama!

Also realize that Obama has foreign policy accomplishments in the fight against terrorism, unmatched by any of those three, except briefly with the Gulf War under George H. W. Bush!

Although there are those competing for the Presidency in the Republican Party, actually, on the sidelines, there are others who desire the job, but either are not ready yet to run for the office, or are smart enough to realize that the odds of ultimately defeating Obama are long, so better to wait to 2016, when Obama would be finishing his two terms of office, if he is reelected.

It is a gamble, of course, to sit back and wait, but likely a good gamble, and if it is an open Presidential election, the odds of success for the Republicans grows by 2016.

So who is sitting on the sidelines, salivating for the Presidency, and secretly hoping no Republican is elected in 2012?

In no special order, here is a list of ambitious Republicans:

1. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
2. Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
3. Former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida
4. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
5.Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts
6. Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia
7. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin
8. Governor Rick Scott of Florida
9. Governor John Kasich of Ohio
10.Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina

Notice particularly THREE Floridians who have ambitions–Bush, Rubio and Scott, and realize the fact that Florida will have 29 electoral votes, the fourth largest number, as Florida is the fourth largest state.

So, particularly among Republicans in Florida, there are those who secretly hope that 2016 will be an open election, and are willing to sit back and wait for just that reason!

The Republican Center Trying To Save The Republican Party With New Yorkers George Pataki And Rudy Guiliani?

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What remains of the Republican Center–what the author would call the Rockefeller-Bush wing of the party–is exasperated by the Republican Presidential contenders!

They are not happy with Mitt Romney, and wonder if Jon Huntsman can become a major factor, although Huntsman is starting to get noticed and being more aggressive in his criticism of the far Right trend of the party.

So as a result, speculation is growing that former New York Governor George Pataki and or former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani may enter the race very soon, with both not discouraging mention of their names.

Pataki is the new face on the block, as Guiliani is famous or infamous for his total collapse during the 2008 Presidential campaign.

But both of them have major problems in being accepted by the GOP primary and caucus electorate. They are simply too “liberal” on social issues, including abortion, gay rights, and union rights. In the party of Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Scott, John Kasich, Rick Snyder, Paul LePage, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, et al, how could they possibly win the Republican nomination for President?

Ironically, were they to win, they would have a real chance of defeating President Obama, but the road to the nomination just simply seems impossible.

It is, however, a sign of the recognition by the Bush-Rockefeller wing of the party that the future of the Republicans is clouded, indeed, unless they come to their senses and go toward the center, where the general electorate is!

The Wisconsin Recall Elections: Good Sign For The Future

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In the past 100 years before yesterday, there were only 20 state recall elections, and only 13 officeholders were removed.

Yesterday, in Wisconsin, in reaction to Republican Governor Scott Walker’s anti labor, anti education, and anti public worker legislation forced through the legislature, we saw six Republican state legislators in the state Senate face a recall, and two were defeated, narrowing the Republican edge to one vote, 17-16.

While it was disappointing that the Democrats failed to win control of the state Senate by one vote, needing three seats, and only winning two, one must recognize the massive amounts of money brought in by corporate interests, including the Koch Brothers, and the fact that the six state Senate districts had been solidly Republican for years, in some cases more than a century.

So winning two seats was close to a miracle, and it shows that the labor and progressive movement in Wisconsin begun more than a century ago by Robert La Follette, Sr. is alive and well.

It is a sign that when people organize and fight, progress can be made, and the hope is that the recall movement can lead to an election to attempt to force Governor Scott Walker out of office next year, instead of completing his term at the beginning of 2015.

It is also a warning to John Kasich in Ohio, Rick Scott in Florida, Rick Snyder in Michigan, and Paul LePage in Maine, as well as Chris Christie in New Jersey, that the middle and working class will fight their reactionary, fascist like attack on ordinary citizens and workers!

Six Months Of Rick Scott As Governor Of Florida: What Hath The Voters Wrought?

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It has now been six months for Rick Scott as Governor of Florida, and he stands at a low point in public opinion polls, recently 29 percent, but now down to 27 percent, the lowest of all Governors of the 50 states!

Scott, who came from a corrupt background of Medicare fraud into politics, and spent over $70 million of his own fortune to win the Governorship by about 50,000 votes statewide and less than a majority of all votes cast, has set a horrific record as Governor, but is arrogant enough to claim he does not care about his public opinion ratings!

As a recent Miami Times article outlined, Rick Scott has been responsible for the following tragic developments in the Sunshine state:

1. Mandated drug testing for state workers and welfare recipients, although there are law suits in process against these tests, and he seems to have backed off on state workers taking such tests.

2. Enacted Jim Crow style voting laws, creating new restrictions on voting, and undermining the Voting Rights Act of 1965, while bringing back memories of the voting restrictions that existed before that federal law went into effect under Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidency.

3. Fought a Prescription Drug Database, even though Florida is the state with the most drug abuse, but finally backed away after a lot of pressure was brought, even by his own Attorney General.

4. Privatized Medicaid, causing confusion and loss of services and funding for severely disabled Florida citizens, with cases now in court against this, and appeals by individual families in process.

5. Outsourced prisons to his political supporters, who want to privatize them, despite fact that Florida already has more prisoners than any other state except Texas, and has made no prison reforms which are badly needed, so instead prisons are being made a profit industry.

6. Cut jobless benefits to 23 weeks in a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

7. Gave tax breaks to large corporations while not being concerned about the survival of unemployed people.

8. Slashed public education funding dramatically in a state which ranks among the worst in educational standards, but at same time took away tenure from teachers, and required ALL public workers to pay three percent of their income for their pension plans, a pay cut in difficult times, and undermining morale.

9. Worked aggressively against environmental protection programs statewide, ignoring the significance of the Everglades and other environmentally sensitive lands, instead promoting development. by private corporations.

10. Rejected high speed rail development funds from the federal government for expansion in the high traffic area of Central Florida.

11.Refused to be interviewed by the news media, comments only in Twitter style, and set up signing of bills to include only friends and supporters of what he is doing.

Governor Scott has shown the height of arrogance and insensitivity to groups that are being victimized by his policies, and Florida must, somehow, bear three and a half more years of this, unless Scott can be found to have done something illegal, leading to impeachment, or IF a recall movement can be brought about, but unlikely since it is not provided for in the state constitution.

This is the result of citizens NOT paying attention, and either not voting, or not understanding the issues when they do vote!

It is a good lesson in the importance of citizens paying attention to politics and public issues in the future, so as to avoid the nightmare Florida is going through right now!