Bondi Argues For Her Political Career

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today on a medical marijuana ballot initiative proposed for the upcoming 2014 election. Backers of the proposed amendment, People United For Medical Marijuana,

say the politicians arguing against it are twisting the truth in the amendment's wording to prevent the ill and suffering from legally benefiting from relief that medical marijuana provides. But that's not the only reason they oppose it.

Over 80% of Floridians favor legalizing medical marijuana, as does Democrat Charlie Crist. For years, legislators in Tallahassee have blocked laws for it, but as other states legalize it, it's only become more popular. Yet

 

Pam Bondi, House Speaker Will Weatherford, Rick Scott,

and others are actively opposing it. Why? Do they believe, as they claim, that it could lead to de facto "unfettered" marijuana legalization under the guise of compassionate medicine?

"The proposal hides the fact that the Amendment would make Florida one of the most lenient medical-marijuana states," says Bondi's initial court brief.

Hardly. Bondi's public reasoning against it hides the fact that those opposed to the amendment are Republicans who back Rick Scott and Pam Bondi. That is the actual driving force behind their opposition. Those who favor it tend to vote for Democrats, which could translate to larger Democratic turnout......more 

The Countdown Begins

The end of political careers

Countdown Clocks

www.pambondi.info

www.kenhagan.info

www.willweatherford.info  

www.alhigginbotham.info

www.stevesoutherland.info 

Florida's Right Wing Infestation

Two more Florida right wingers have come out against the medical marijuana ballot initiative. On Wednesday afternoon, Florida House Speaker 
Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz submitted a notice of intent to file a brief to the Supreme Court as “interested persons” opposing the ballot initiative. They join Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi......more

Governor candidate Nan Rich supports medical marijuana
They are  scared that if the amendment makes it to the ballot, it is widely expected to draw voters to the polls who may not normally vote in mid-term elections and who could potentially send  Gov. Rick Scott and other Republicans packing.
Visit Mr. Weatherford's countdown clock here
www.willweatherford.info
And Ms. Bondi's here
www.pambondi.info

Democrat Amanda Murphy Wins

What makes Murphy’s win impressive is Gunter had support of the state GOP, including a full-throated voter drive by state heavyweights Attorney General Pam Bondi, House Speaker Will Weatherford and Rep. Richard Corcoran. Gunter had a solid fundraising session, with a total of $165,440, including $211,423 of “in-kind” contributions, with state party and House leadership funds. Towards the end, the race against Murphy became negative, especially when two groups – Florida Jobs First and Citizens for Fairness — paid for pro-Gunter negative attack ads that may have helped Murphy more than hurt. One round of television spots attacking Murphy came from Florida Jobs First, a PAC started by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, which spent $75,000 in the last weeks of the campaign. The republican stench will linger. Congratulations Ms. Murphy!

here

Bill Gunter: Marching Orders From Tallahassee

Florida republicans Pam Bondi, Will Weatherford and Richard Corcoran will be in Port Richey for fellow Republican Bill Gunter.......more The political committee of billionaire Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, is funding a closing days TV ad blitz to help Republicans win. We intend to engage in House and Senate  races around the state in both general elections and primaries to ensure Gov. Scott has the partners he needs to create goods jobs for the people of Florida," On WEDU's Florida This Week Friday, Mike Fasano, who use to have the job but is now Pasco County's tax collector, formally endorsed Amanda Murphy over Republican Bill Gunter:

"She is a person that's way above Bill Gunter. She understands the issues. She gets it.... She will be that consumer advocate that we don't want to lose out of House District," said Fasano, who estimates Gunter will have $1-million spent on his behalf by the time the votes are counted. "He's a good guy, but there's no question he's getting his marching orders from the leadership and special interests out of Tallahassee........more

Sick of the GOP? Vote for Democrat Amanda Murphy

Will Weatherford Loves Jesus?

He’s a Republican. Which is going to become painfully obvious after you hear what he wrote to a public school superintendent the other day......here What does this man know about Jesus. Read our post of March 8, here Also visit willweatherford.info

Florida Counties Defy Scott On Affordable Care Act

Individual counties in Florida are resisting Gov. Rick Scott’s ban on a program designed to help Americans better understand their options under the Affordable Care Act. The Republican governor issued an order earlier this month to bar “navigators” trained to help people sign up for health insurance in Florida. Broward County, which contains 31 cities, is just one of the Florida counties defying the governor’s order. Both Pinellas County and Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous county and the state’s second-highest uninsured population, have also announced they will allow navigators to assist residents in enrolling for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act........more

Where is Hillsborough County? Watch video here. 

Florida's Right Wing Infestation

With Obamacare about to be implemented, Republicans are desperate to deny health care access to the uninsured. The deputy secretary of Florida’s Health Department has now ordered state health facilities to ban federal outreach workers—called “Navigators”—who are trying to sign people up for Obamacare subsidies. That’s right. The Florida Health Department—whose mission is to “protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida”—wants to deny the uninsured access to learning about federal health care subsidies they may be eligible for. Sign our petition, demanding that the Florida Health Department rescind this order—and allow health care Navigators in state health facilities to discuss the Affordable Care Act. here

Grand Theft Tampa Bay

In 2006, the GOP controlled legislature, at the behest of an army of utility lobbyists and their wads of campaign cash, passed a law allowing utility companies to charge customers upfront for the future construction of nuclear plants, even if they don’t actually build one. And get this, now that Duke Energy has finally declared that they won’t be building any new nuclear plants, we don’t get any of our money back. Even more absurd, we’re going to continue to pay Duke Energy $108 million dollars a year for the cancelled nuclear plants. Join us this Saturday, September 28^th at 10:30 am in downtown St. Petersburg in front of Duke Energy of  Florida headquarters and tell them, and the politicians and regulators in their back-pocket, “enough is enough!” It’s time to tell Duke Energy, their bought and paid for elected officials in leadership, and the so called “Public Service Commission” to stop ripping us off.

Who: Everyone! Florida Ratepayers, Small Business Owners, Concerned Citizens
What: Rally for Ratepayer Refund and Teach In
Where: 299 1st Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida
When: Saturday Sept 28^th @ 10:30am

info

Don't Let Rick Scott Fool You, He Has Been A Disaster For Our State

Must Read

Household income remains stagnant in Florida almost five years from the depth of the recession as the state's largest cities rank at the bottom in income levels for the nation's most populous metro areas, according to U.S. Census figures released Thursday. Three Florida metro areas ranked at the bottom of the list for household income in the nation's 25 most populous cities. The Tampa metro area was last with a median household income of about $44,000 -- half that of Washington, D.C., the city at the top of the list. Metro Orlando was the next lowest at $46,000, followed by South Florida -- made up of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach -- at $46,600. labor activists say Florida's leaders are partially to blame for giving tax breaks to corporations instead of investing more money in education, Medicaid expansion and public transportation. .......more

2014 can't come soon enough!

Right Wing Love Fest In Tampa

A "hometown campaign kickoff" at a waterfront home in Tampa for Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled for Sept. 10. the same night that Rick Scott had once set as the execution date for Death Row inmate Marshall Lee Gore. The execution was moved to a later date at Bondi's request. Among the members of the event's host committee are republicans Will Weatherford, Wesley Chapel, Jack Latvala, Clearwater, Bill Galvano, Bradenton, Tom Lee, Brandon, Wilton Simpson Trilby, Jeff Brandes, St. Petersburg, and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.......more>
At Pushing Rope.

Local Views: The Florida Legislature

The Times continues to publish stories about our Florida Legislature that should make us stand up and take action. Legislators let Progress Energy (now Duke) collect billions of dollars for something that will never be built. These are the same people who scream about taxes. Is this not a tax on the poor to give money to the rich? Then there are the articles about the House speaker. It seems that Will Weatherford has done extremely well on his paltry state salary while denying any income from a myriad of shell companies that he seems to be involved with. Many of these involvements were not disclosed. What do the voters do? Like lemmings they just re-elect these people. It is time to say enough is enough, throw the bums out and start with a new slate of representatives who have morals and standards above reproach and are not "in bed" with big business.
Phil Altus, Tampa
Visit Mr. Weatherford's countdown clock at www.willweatherford.info

Will Weatherford's Countdown Clock

www.willweatherford.info

None Of The Above

Right Wing blogger Javier Manjarres has a poll on his blog Shark Tank on who should run For president in 2016. Here are his choices.
 Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Allen West, Donald Trump or Rick Santorum. Right now Rand Paul is winning. If this is all they got, they are in trouble.
here
Sorry, none of the above was not listed.

Local Views: Florida's Culture Of Corruption

Maybe you are one of those 1 million low-income Floridians who are uninsured and were just informed by the Florida Legislature that if you get sick in this state, buster, you're pretty much on your own. And that's why House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Simon Legree, stuck to his guns in rejecting $51 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, which would have covered those medical moochers. After all, there are more important things state government should be doing with taxpayer resources — like allowing utility companies to gouge customers for nuclear power plants that don't work and/or will never be built.
Daniel Ruth

Sweet deals are business as usual in Florida government
John Romano
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will never win any popularity contests, and here is another reason why. The state-run insurer's board narrowly decided Wednesday to give away $52 million to a new St. Petersburg insurer with no track record and questionable leadership. Gov. Rick Scott, who defends this corporate welfare, and Citizens board members keep finding more ways to hurt consumers.
A Times Editorial
Locals
Voters are watching: Lucy Fuchs, Brandon
Protect pensions from politicians: Susan Greenbaum, Temple Terrace
Disconnected thinking:Donald Ruths, Brooksville
In plain English, it's called bribery: Peter Newton, Clearwater

Culture Of Corruption: Florida House Republicans

House members say yes to cheap health insurance — for themselves

Florida House Republicans last month loudly and proudly rejected billions of dollars in federal money that would have provided health insurance to 1 million poor Floridians. Quietly, they kept their own health insurance premiums staggeringly low. House members will pay just $8.34 a month for state-subsidized health care next year, or $30 a month to cover their entire family. Eleven of Tampa Bay's 13 Republicans voted against accepting federal Medicaid money and are receiving state-subsidized health care. Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness, voted against taking federal money but does not participate in the state health care plan. Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has the state health care plan but wanted the state to take the federal money. The area's House Democrats receive subsidized health care but voted to accept federal money.

more
Pic: Will Weatherford, Land O' Lakes wake up, send this man packing at the end of his term.

America: What A Country

Former Disgraced Republican South Carolina Gov. and adulter Mark Sanford on Tuesday won back his old congressional seat in a district that hasn't elected a Democrat in three decades. I am sure he is headed to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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It must be true what they say that GOP voters will vote for anybody as long as there is an R at the end of their name.
 Locally see vern buchanan or Will Weatherford.

DFA Launches the Purple to Blue Project

Contact DFA and tell them we need help in Florida

Forget John Boehner and Paul Ryan -- Republicans don't need Congress to push their radical right-wing agenda. They're doing it right now, state by state: That's why DFA is launching the Purple to Blue Project, a new multi-year effort dedicated to winning state House and Senate chambers across the country.

here

The Paul Ryan of Florida

Will Weatherford
This post is not about cronyism, $2,005 monthly mortgages, his troubles in Ybor City, his beautiful family or his parents giving him a fundamentalist education steeped in Scripture. 
(See How Can You Love Jesus And Be A Republican?)
This post is about Democrats. When i said the other day that the reason people like Mr.Weatherford get elected is becouse people don't get out and vote, i was wrong. According to the Times
When he first ran in 2006 Weatherford faced someone his own age: 26-year-old Donovan Brown, a Zephyrhills insurance agent who, during the home stretch of the campaign, was hospitalized for a bipolar disorder. While Democrats didn't give Brown any money, Republicans contributed $70,000 to Weatherford. He outraised Brown 575-to-1. His campaign mailers highlighted Brown's opposition to jail time for people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana."Don't let our values go to pot," the mailer stated, with Brown's face printed on a marijuana leaf.
Democrats didn't oppose Weatherford's re-election in 2008, and he still raised $214,000. When he did face opposition in 2010, he raised nearly $1 million. Weatherford won 66 percent of the vote.
Last year, he was re-elected without opposition while sitting on a war chest of $427,000.
"I've never been ashamed to ask people for big checks," he said
My point is where are the Democratic candidates, where are Libertarians, the Greens. Having a two party system is bad enough but when it becomes one well we have a
problem.Don't you think?
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Will Weatherford: What A Funny Guy

"You're just funny, y'know, the story. It's funny. You're a funny guy." Henry Hill
I read with great amusement this morning

Will Weatherford piece in The Tampa Bay Times. He is trying to explain why he and his Republican cohorts in Tallahassee voted against Medicaid expansion in Florida. He states that he is not confident in the feds given the track record of the federal government, which hasn't balanced a budget in years.
(I have smoked a lot of weed in my life but my memory is still sharp) if i remember correctly bill Clinton not only left a balanced budget but a surplus. if it wasn't for the Republicans reckless spending ( Wars on credit, Tax breaks for the rich and corporations) we would not be in the mess we are in. Then he mentions future funding for our schools, public safety, and protection of our beaches and springs. When the hell did his party ever care about teachers or the environment. He keeps trying to dig himself out of the hole he is in and it is not working. Wesley Chapel is just up the road, i will make it my goal to send this man home after his term is up.
here