Rick Scott

Florida And Its Teachers And College Professors: Total Destruction Of Education In The Name Of Governor Rick Scott And The Republican State Legislature!

Ronald 1 Comment

The state of Florida has always had problems with providing its children and college students with a decent, world class education.

Always unwilling to have a state income tax and desirous of avoiding any tax they can avoid, the state legislature and its Republican Governors since 1999 have bled the public school system dry and refused to recognize that its students, as a result, score terribly on competitive exams in all fields of knowledge, as compared to many states in the rest of the country.

Students too often come to college without any general knowledge base, and are ill prepared to do college work, and the economy offers mostly low wage employment, and promotes an anti labor bias, priding itself on being a “right to work” state, meaning exploitation of workers!

With Florida near the bottom in most statistics educationally, Governor Rick Scott now wishes to bleed over $3 billion out of the state education budget, while providing further tax cuts to the wealthy and the corporate and business world, and therefore, is doing everything possible to punish educators, along with other public servants, including police officers, fire fighters, nurses, social workers, librarians, sanitation workers, prison guards and others.

Regarding education, Scott and his party are working to end tenure, and to use testing that will cost money, that does not exist in the education system, to eliminate experienced teachers whose students do not perform well on state mandated tests, failing to understand that how a student performs is much more based on his or her work habits and parental influences than being in a classroom for a few hours per day!

Also, all state workers will have to take a pay cut, after years of low wages and inadequate pay increases, to pay for their Florida Retirement System pension, plus greater costs for their medical benefits. Sick Leave not used will be forfeited, instead of being paid out at retirement.

And the worst thing of all, particularly involving education, is that after July 1, 2011, when a teacher or professor retires, he or she will NEVER be able to be employed part time at any educational institution covered by the Florida Retirement System, instead of the earlier one month and then one year limitation!

This draconian cut off of talented educators from any ability to teach part time is not only denying talented retirees the opportunity to contribute their skills to the younger generation, and locking them into an inability to pursue their profession and improve their economic status by being able to earn part time income!

It will also create a major educational crisis within a short period, as there will be a rapid depletion of available adjunct professors and teachers, who are particularly the lifeblood of any educational institution at the college and university level!

With growing enrollments expected to continue, how will college administrators and public school administrators be able to staff classrooms and provide education if the pool of available talent is so limited by forced retirement from any involvement with the educational system, simply because one wishes to retire from full time?

This is stupid, asinine policy, which will contribute to the further deterioration of Florida educationally, and will have a tragic economic effect on the future of the Sunshine State, and this all to benefit a small elite of wealthy and business people who could not give a damn about the future of anything other than their own greedy, selfish aggrandizement!

Focus On Bullying: Schools, State Governors, Tea Party Congressional Republicans, And A Supreme Court Justice!

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It is very sad that this nation is witnessing so many examples of bullying as a method of taking advantage of others.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama held a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention today to draw attention and concern to the growing bullying problem faced by young children, teenagers and early 20s youths in schools and colleges, either because of social pressures, or their sexuality, physical characteristics, or ethnic or religious heritage, often leading tragically to suicides. President Obama even said he had been bullied as a child because of his big ears. A lot of this bullying also occurs on the internet.

But it is not just an issue of young people being bullied. It manifests itself in so many other ways in our political system today, with bad manners and rudeness becoming endemic!

We have Governors such as Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida, Chris Christie of New Jersey, and John Kasich of Ohio, among others, who are bullying public servants who have dedicated their lives to working for their communities as teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, prison guards, social workers, librarians and other fields of public service, and now are facing the loss of basic labor rights to collective bargaining that have been long held.

Workers having basic rights of organizing is a human rights issue for anyone in a democracy, and for Wisconsin to bypass the Democrats in their State Senate and strip workers of their basic rights in an unethical and slimy way is despicable beyond belief! Scott Walker is clearly a bully and a political thug, and the other Governors are no better, as they all proclaim, as do Republicans nationally, that we all have to “share the pain”, with the wealthy and corporations however not part of that equation, just the middle class and the poor. There is no sense of morality or decency in these men and their party as they take us back to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, when labor was first trying to organize to protect the rights of workers.

One hundred fifty years of progress is being wiped out by these right wing fanatics who will stop at nothing to give tax breaks to the rich and the corporations and harm the masses of the nation, who are facing attacks both on their homes and their employment, and being expected to pay more and get less, squeezing the middle class down into poverty!

But the same tactics of confrontation, arrogance and belligerence are also demonstrating themselves in Congress, as the Tea Party freshmen in the House and a small band of Tea Party supporters in the Senate are showing their disdain for civility and rational thought!

And even the Supreme Court is witnessing bullying, primarily by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, becoming more contemptuous of his fellow Justices when they go against his views. As he nears the 25th anniversary of his elevation to the Court, he is becoming more obnoxious and insufferable than ever!

When will civility and decency return to America in its schools, its government leaders, and even the Supreme Court? Unfortunately, it seems not anytime soon!

The Tea Party Movement Declares War On John Boehner! The True Insanity Destroying The Republican Party!

Ronald 3 Comments

If the Republican Party did not process the reality of the danger of the Tea Party Movement on their party and its future, it should now be very clear!

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips has declared war on Speaker of the House John Boehner, due to the fact that Boehner seems not to understand that the Tea Party Nation means what it says, that $100 billion must be cut from the present fiscal year budget, and instead the House majority Republicans have settled on $61 billion instead.

The fact that the $61 billion is a reckless cut that will hurt the poor, the sick, the elderly, the young, and veterans has no effect on Phillips and his ilk, so therefore he now suggests that John Boehner himself seems not to get the message, and that someone needs to come along and challenge Boehner in his congressional district in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area to teach Boehner a lesson, and make clear to the GOP who is the boss of the future!

The Republican party has gone to bed with a radical right faction that is very willing to destroy the party in its mad race to the 19th century Gilded Age!

If Boehner and other GOP leaders allow this insanity to continue, and if the state governors continue to follow the destructive path of Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio, Chris Christie in New Jersey, and Rick Scott in Florida, then the Republican Party will be totally destroyed by this cancer eating it up alive!

It is time to take a stand and say NO to this destructive, anarchistic movement which has no good purpose except to destroy the middle class, and put all of it into total poverty!

But the good thing is that the Tea Party Movement will discover it has met its match, as the middle class and the poor will organize and back the Democratic Party as the true promoter of the interests of the vast majority of the American people!

Florida Governor Rick Scott: The “King” Vs. The Legislature And The People!

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Today marks the beginning of the Florida legislative session, with more than a two thirds majority of Republicans in both houses, but a new Republican Governor who fought the establishment and won the Governorship, and has acted as if he is a monarch, since he became Governor nine weeks ago!

Despite his involvement in Medicare scams in the 1990s, for which he should have gone to federal prison instead of paying heavy fines, Scott utilized $73 million of his own fortune to win the Governorship by the smallest margin in Florida history, about 50,000 votes. He was the only Governor candidate nationally, and actually the only wealthy person to win public office mostly based on his personal fortune, other than Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. Like Ron Johnson, he ran as the anti establishment candidate of the Tea Party Movement, and he has already shown evidence that he does not wish to cooperate with his own party leadership, and to act stubborn and inflexible, and ignore the news media as much as he can.

Scott has enraged many, including his own Republican Party, by canceling the bullet train project from Orlando to Tampa, turning down $2.4 billion, which now will go elsewhere, while Florida lags on planning future transportation needs in central Florida.

Scott has refused to allow a prescription data base to keep track of pill mills, which have become endemic in South Florida, and with Florida leading the nation with drug addicts based on illegal pill prescriptions, on the basis of privacy rights, even though 42 other states have such databases. This is insane, with the reality that there are more pill mills in Broward County, Florida, alone than there are McDonalds or Starbucks in that county, with its main center being Fort Lauderdale.

Scott sold two state jet airplanes without legislative permission, and that will lead to increased costs for future Governors when they need to purchase a plane, as Scott is using his own private plane, and not thinking of future costs.

Scott unveiled his two year budget plan before a Tea Party crowd, rather than before Republican colleagues or the mainstream news media. He is calling for more than $3 billion in cuts in education and health care, while drastically decreasing corporate income taxes and property taxes by $1.7 billion, and cutting state regulation of utilities and insurance companies. College tuitions would skyrocket, and Scott has rejected taking federal funds to start implementation of the Obama Health Care Plan, and is fighting in court to repeal it.

Scott also wants to end teacher tenure, force major pension contributions by state workers, cut unemployment benefits and Medicaid, privatize state prisons, and end collective bargaining as is being attempted in Wisconsin and Ohio, and already exists in Indiana.

Scott is a nightmare even to his own party, and although they are very conservative, many of them are upset at his haughty, arrogant, dictatorial approach, as if there is no legislature or courts, and that somehow he expects that everything he wants to do will be done because KING RICK wants it so!

There is, as reported earlier, a move to pass a recall law, and some even wonder if Scott could someday face impeachment if he refuses to recognize the role of compromise, even within his own party in the legislature, let alone considering the opposition.

Florida seems to be on the road to total disaster, with the state, already in the bottom ten in education and other social services, about to face a political, social and economic crisis that will put it front and center, even ahead of Wisconsin and Ohio and other states with “bully” Governors!

Support In Poll For Public Sector Workers As Republican Governors Work To Destroy Unions

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As Scott Walker, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Rick Scott, among other Republican Governors, make clear their campaign to undermine labor unions and strip public service workers of their benefits, a New York Times-CBS News Poll shows the American people oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions, and are against the cutting of pay and benefits of public workers to reduce state budget deficits.

By 60-33, Americans oppose taking away the bargaining rights of workers, and by 56-37 they are against cutting of pay or benefits to reduce deficits, with larger majorities of Democrats and Independents, and slight plurality favoritism among Republicans of what these governors are attempting to do.
By a slight margin, the poll also supports ability to retire early for police officers and firefighters, and even teachers.

A plurality of 40 percent supported raising taxes to deal with the deficit, and 71 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of Independents opposed weakening collective bargaining rights of public employees.

The only group that had a substantial support for cutting pay and benefits, but even then not a majority (45 percent), were those earning more than $100,000 per year.

A Wisconsin poll also shows nearly 60 percent oppose what Governor Scott Walker is trying to do to destroy collective bargaining, and a recall movement is developing against him and many leaders of the GOP in the legislature. And a poll shows if Walker was running now for Governor, four months after he was elected, he would easily lose!

So with strong Independent support for labor rights, and polls showing great anger against GOP Governors, the Democrats may be able to utilize the anti labor fight in a productive way in 2012!

The Plight Of Organized Labor From The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Of 1911 To Wisconsin In 2011

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One hundred years ago, on March 25, 1911, 146 workers, mostly female, were killed in the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City, spurring the beginning of labor reforms.

Promotion of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and other unions moved ahead after this tragedy, and finally, in the 1930s under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, organized labor finally received recognition as an equal in collective bargaining.

By the 1960s and 1970s, about one third of all workers were in labor unions, and the middle class grew in size and prosperity as never before.

But starting with the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers Strike under President Ronald Reagan, where all the strikers were fired, leaving the nation in a dangerous, reckless situation regarding air safety, unions rapidly declined, and now are as low as 6-9 percent of the population, much of it public workers unions. Many states have become “right to work” states, or states that have worked against unionization, particularly in the South and Mountain West.

Now Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio, Chris Christie in New Jersey, Rick Scott in Florida, and other Republican Governors are declaring war on public service unions, and this may be the turning point where the collective bargaining rights of 1935 are lost in 2011 and beyond, and just on the centennial of the horrible tragedy of the Triangle fire coming up in a few weeks.

Before that complete collapse of labor rights occurs, one can watch a documentary on PBS on Monday night, relating the terrible events of the Triangle Fire, and that event’s centennial should make us reflect on how far we have come and how far backward we seem to be headed!

Have we learned from history, or are we again ignoring history in the name of “bully” Governors who speak for the Koch Brothers and other extremely wealthy corporate interests, who do not give a damn about the rest of America in their mad dash to obscene profits and greed?

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Scandal: Resign, Be Impeached, Or Face Recall Vote!

Ronald 10 Comments

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker has been shown today to be a complete fraud, a liar, under the control and influence of corporate interests including the Koch Brothers, and having delusional ideas comparing himself to Ronald Reagan.

In a fake phone call, a person supposedly David Koch, communicated with Walker who discussed the goal of destroying the labor movement and collective bargaining, willing to do the bidding of the Koch brothers, ready to trick the 14 State Senate Democrats who have boycotted the legislature and are staying in Chicago, considering setting up confrontations between thousands of demonstrators and corporate supporters, and comparing what he is doing to Reagan firing 11,000 air traffic controllers in 1981.

He also showed he is totally warped on history, as he claims that the air traffic controllers firing in 1981 led to the Berlin Wall’s collapse in 1989 and the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Walker’s behavior requires one of the following: either withdraw the destructive labor legislation from consideration, or resign as a scandalous governor, or face impeachment, or utilize the Recall mechanism devised by Governor Robert LaFollette, Sr. a century ago to remove this disgraceful power grabber.

And while we are at it, let’s work to remove all of the “bully” Governors, including Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rick Scott, all of whom are setting out to destroy state government and make for the most corrupt series of Governors we have seen in many generations!

The Move Is On: RECALL RICK SCOTT As Governor Of Florida!

Ronald 40 Comments

Florida Governor Rick Scott has managed to alienate just about everyone in seven weeks in office, with his outrageous budget proposals that would destroy the Florida Retirement System and demonstrate total disrespect for the hard work and sacrifices of Florida’s public servants; his arrogance toward the news media and refusal to communicate with the public; and now his rejection of $2.4 billion for a high speed rail project from Orlando to Tampa, as part of the federal commitment to the future of transportation in the United States.

He has succeeded in alienating not just labor, progressives and Democrats, but his own party in the state legislature, which although more than two thirds Republican in both houses, has witnessed shock, dismay and anger at this man who ran against the Republican establishment, basically “bought” the governorship with a $73 million personal fortune investment in the campaign, and now seems not interested in working in a cooperative manner with state Republican leaders.

It is now clear that the legislature, when it meets in March and April, will NOT go along with much of what Governor Scott wishes to impose on the state. With his scandalous and corrupt involvement in Medicare scams in the 1990s, and now his hard line stubbornness and insistence on things being done his way, there will be major battles within his own party as to the direction of the state and its finances!

And now there is the beginning of whispers and more about the idea of passing a state law allowing recall of state officials, something not allowed in the Florida Constitution, but permitted in 18 other states.

If the legislation, proposed by a Democratic state legislator were to be adopted, there would be a four month period to circulate petitions, with signatures required in all 67 counties. At least 15 percent of the total number of votes in the last election would have to be gained. All state officials, including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state cabinet officials could be recalled.

Since Scott won the Governorship by only about 50,000 votes statewide, it would seem likely that if a recall campaign was mounted, that it would be likely to succeed, because one must remember, many Republicans in the legislature and statewide are clearly uncomfortable with the arrogance and abusive manner of Rick Scott!

Recall is a progressive reform first adopted in Wisconsin under the great progressive governor, Robert LaFollette, Sr. in the early 20th century, and the voice of the people should be heard, not only in Florida, but also in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, Texas, and other states where the Republican governors are acting in an arrogant, abusive way which harms the states and the citizens they are supposed to serve!

The Age Of The Bully Governors! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

The nation is now faced with the age of the Bully Governors with Chris Christie of New Jersey, Rick Scott of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio, and Scott Walker of Wisconsin getting the most notice.

Backed by big business corporations and the wealthy, and conservative activists, these and other bullies are staging a frontal assault on the rights of organized labor and the working class, and undermining respect and appreciation of workers who make our country operate, at wages and working conditions far less than they are entitled to–teachers, firefighters, police officers, prison guards, nurses, librarians, paramedics, sanitation workers and others!

The quality of life is rapidly disintegrating, not only for these dedicated workers who are taken for granted by most of the citizens, but also for the citizens themselves.

This new style of “in your face” bullyism is best exemplified by Chris Christie, who seems to think that politics is “my way or the highway!” 🙁

The thought that such a bully could be considered by many for the Presidency demonstrates how far we have declined in our politics! 🙁

Apparently, being a bully like Chris Christie, Rick Scott, John Kasich or Scott Walker is applauded, and being an uninformed, ignorant person such as Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann is also admired!

This nation is in deep trouble because of the low caliber of the opposition party’s icons in 2011! 🙁

The Outrage Of Rick Scott, John Kasich, And Scott Walker: Rejection of High Speed Rail Train Funds For Future Infrastructure Economic Growth! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

It is shocking news that Florida Governor Rick Scott has joined Ohio Governor John Kasich and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in the rejection of billions of dollars of high speed rail train funds for future Infrastructure economic growth! 🙁

This all comes after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has rejected the building of new interstate roads between the high traffic states of New Jersey and New York.

Building and expanding transportation infrastructure is crucial for future economic growth and prosperity and the continued rapid growth of our population, and many European countries and Japan and South Korea are way ahead of us in that regard.

And yet these four Republican Governors, already infamous for attempting to crack down on public service employees and destroy labor rights, including collective bargaining, are so short sighted that they will reject federal funding, which will simply go elsewhere.

The Democratic Governors of New York and California has open arms extended to accept money rejected by these other states. Andrew Cuomo and Jerry Brown are not about to reject the chance for further long range economic growth, and it is essential for the future that the nation rely more on trains to cut down automobile traffic and save energy.

Florida could have had $2.4 billion to develop high speed train traffic between Orlando and Tampa, the high traffic corridor of I-4, and even many Republicans in the state, along with Democrats, including Senator Bill Nelson, are going to work to get the project done by working around the state government.

Scott took the lead of his Tea Party supporters, and is rejecting the future. In six weeks in office, Rick Scott has come across as a total “train wreck”, no pun intended, and yet there is no state mechanism to push for his recall, as only 18 states allow recall, and Florida is not one of them! 🙁

It is clear that Scott is going to be a very controversial and divisive Governor, and the question is how much his own party in the Florida legislature will fight him before he destroys the future of the Sunshine State! 🙁