Progress Florida Blog

Progress Florida Education Center's Best of the Blogs for the week ending 1-27-12
Best of the Blogs is featured weekly as part of Progress Florida Education Center's popular free Daily Clips service.

Reduced and Uneven Hours for Early Voting in Florida's Presidential Preference Primary
By Dr. Daniel A. Smith
Election Smith
As I've written before, under Florida law the state must provide uniform standards for the proper and equitable implementation of voting laws.

HB1103 / SB1362 - Public Ripoff...In Perpetuity
By Sandspur
SWFWMD Matters
Ever heard of the phrase "Ordinary High Water Line?"

Four health care stories to watch for in 2012
By Darden Rice
Saint Petersblog 2.0
What will the big stories be for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2012?

Are the Koch brothers teaching you? [VIDEO]
By Robert Greenwald
Daily Kos
What's happening to academia in Florida demands national attention.

Rick Scott Shifts Medicaid Funding To His Former Company: HCA
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
In an effort to bolster his image, Florida Gov. Rick Scott this year is holding himself out as a sort of "champion" for education and said in his State Of The State address how important it was to put more funding into education, funding which he slashed from last year's budget.

Progress Florida Education Center's Best of the Blogs for the week ending 1-20-12
Best of the Blogs is featured weekly as part of Progress Florida Education Center's popular free Daily Clips service.

Math Test: Breaking down Scott's "billion dollar boost"
By Julie Delegal
Folio Weekly
When Gov. Rick Scott announced his proposed $1 billion increase to education funding, it raised a lot of concerns about where the money would come from.

Wetlands in South Florida: a case of the runs
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
As president of Friends of the Everglades (note: at our request, there will be a status conference in the Miami courtroom of federal judge Alan S. Gold this morning, more than a year after the U.S. EPA and State of Florida pledged to expedite "enforceable remedies" according to the 2008 ruling in favor of Friends and co-plaintiff, the Miccosuckee Tribe), I know something about wetlands.

Romney, Full Sail, Subprime Mortgages, and a Lazy Campaign
By Bryan Eastman
Bryan Eastman's Blog
A recent New York Times article delved in to the confounding decision by Mitt Romney to praise Full Sail University here in Orlando as an achievement of higher education.

NRA Lobbyist Hammer Wants Guns In Hospitals
By Kenneth Quinnell
Florida Progressive Coalition
Current Florida law prohibits guns in most common sense places, even with a concealed carry permit, including schools, stadiums, jails, government buildings.

Will Florida's Titanic Endorse The SS Romney?
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
As we watch the Republican party slug it out amongst themselves to choose the nominee who will drive their clown car into a ditch this coming November, Florida has high stakes in the game with our upcoming primary.

Gov. Scott's proposed budget would dramatically cut health care for children in an effort to replace only a small portion of the cuts he made to public schools last year. In the meantime, big business continues to enjoy generous tax giveaways and loopholes that cost Florida badly needed revenue. Don't fall for Rick Scott's false choice. Read the email we sent out this morning and take action:

Friend,

Cut children's health care to replace a fraction of his cuts to public schools while not making wealthy corporations pay their fair share? That's Gov. Scott's budget plan, and we need to stop it right now.

Sign our petition to the Florida Legislature telling them to reject Gov. Scott's unfair budget.

After proposing to cut more than three billion dollars from our public schools, laying off teachers, and stuffing more students into crowded classrooms in 2011, Rick Scott now says he wants to increase funding for public education. If you're suspicious, you should be. Not only would Scott's proposal not replace all of the funding he cut last year, he's cutting health care for children to get this "new" funding, and letting special interests off the hook in the process.

Let's be clear: Florida's budget problems are the result of an unfair tax system built mostly by special interests to ensure that the biggest corporations and rich don't pay their fair share. What are Gov. Scott and his allies in the Legislature doing about this? They're working overtime to make the problem worse by rubber stamping more corporate tax giveaways, including the possibility of eliminating Florida's already low corporate profits tax. This isn't how Florida's budget should be balanced.

Take action: Sign our petition to the Florida Legislature and demand a fair budget, not cuts to children's health care.

When so many special interest tax loopholes exist, it is unconscionable to slash health care for Florida's children or undercut their education. It's a false choice that Floridians and our elected representatives in Tallahassee should reject.

Thanks for standing up for a fair budget that takes care of Florida's children.

For progress,

Mark, Ray, and the rest of the Progress Florida team

Progress Florida Education Center's Best of the Blogs for the week ending 1-13-12
Best of the Blogs is featured weekly as part of Progress Florida Education Center's popular free Daily Clips service.

IG Report Whitewashes Firing of Foreclosure Fraud Investigators in Florida
By David Dayen
Firedoglake
A remarkable report from an Inspector General in Florida not only clears the state Attorney General's office for the firings of two foreclosure fraud investigators, it accuses bloggers and advocates of dictating and controlling investigations, sometimes for nakedly personal reasons.

If Doughnuts Were Jobs: Rick Scott's State Of The State 2012
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
Florida Governor Rick Scott gave his 2012 State Of The State speech this morning, but excepting some minor rhetoric, he didn't say much of anything new.

Florida Republican Muslim Declared A 'Terrorist' By Own Party: 'There Was A Well-Orchestrated Campaign Against Me'
By Tanya Somanader
Think Progress
The Republican Party's dogmatic Islamophobia is increasingly self-destructive.

The First Speech of the Rick Scott Re-Election Campaign (or Let There Be Donuts)
By Benjamin Kirby
The Spencerian
Auguste. Hospital grifter Governor Rick Scott's grandson is named Auguste. He's 8 weeks old, apparently.

Rick Scott's State Of Denial Speech Spurs Brave FL Cop Into Action (New Video)
By Daniel Tilson
West Palm Beach Liberal Examiner
In delivering his 2012 Florida State Of The State address, Governor Rick Scott kept pitching for less taxes and regulations.

Progress Florida Education Center's Best of the Blogs for the week ending 1-6-12
Best of the Blogs is featured weekly as part of Progress Florida Education Center's popular free Daily Clips service.

The State of the Florida Progressive Movement 2012
By Kenneth Quinnell
Florida Progressive Coalition
I started getting a little involved in politics in the state of Florida around 2002, getting my toes wet both writing about things and participating in some events here and there.

Florida Bill Would Make Abortion A Felony With A Maximum Sentence Of Life In Prison
By Tanya Somanader
Think Progress
Florida state Rep. Charles Van Zant (R) is starting 2012 with yet another radical effort to ban all abortions in the state unless the woman's life is in danger.

Fanjuls and U.S. Century Bank: connections that rarely surface
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
Florida's billionaire sugar barons, the Fanjuls, are in the news despite best efforts to stay off any but the social pages of Vanity Fair or Women's Wear Daily.

FL's "Religious Freedom" amendment would fund religious schools and churches with taxpayer money
By Floridagal
Daily Kos
A columnist in the Miami Herald recently explained how misleading language is being used in this state to direct public money to religion.