madfloridian

Retired teacher who is feeling great anger at the use of public funds to benefit private companies who want to profit from education. here

Pre-Iraq War Views Of Florida Legend Bob Graham

"On Oct. 9, 2002, Graham — the guy everyone thought of as quiet, mild-mannered, deliberate, conflict-averse — let loose on his Senate colleagues for going along with President 
Bush's war against Iraq.

"We are locking down on the principle that we have one evil, Saddam Hussein. He is an enormous, gargantuan force, and that's who we're going to go after," Graham said on the floor. "That, frankly, is an erroneous reading of the world. There are many evils out there, a number of which are substantially more competent, particularly in their ability to attack Americans here at home, than Iraq is likely to be in the foreseeable future."

He told his fellow senators that if they didn't recognize that going to war with Iraq without first taking out the actual terrorists would endanger Americans, "then, frankly, my friends — to use a blunt term — 
the blood's going to be on your hands." here

Howard Dean Called It Right Years Ago

Right after the 2010 elections Democrats had absolutely nothing to lose at all by taking the liberal stances on issues that mattered to people and affected their lives.
Instead...all we got was preaching about more "bipartisanship", getting along with the other side, bite the other side, without the involvement and commitment of people at the ground level, you don't really have a party. Look what happen to Sink. Be proud to be a liberal You have no pool from which to draw future congresspeople, senators, and presidents.

And you have no genuine excitement...."He says "the truth is when you trade your values for the hope of winning, you end up losing and having no values--so you keep losing.

We have to reconnect to the base.......more>

 We have tried cautious, centrist, moderate, bipartisan. We have tried being careful not to take strong stands. We have gone along with right wing policies trying to please.
It hasn't worked very well. 

The Florida Charter School Scam

Dunedin's Life Force Arts and Technology

One of the most egregious cases of mismanagement in Florida charter school history: a public elementary school that enriched its administrators, impoverished its teachers, failed its students
and collapsed in disgrace......more>

Hanan Islam and her company, Art of Management, fired teachers, starved classrooms of supplies and distributed books and pamphlets written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
For months, Islam evaded warnings and visits from Pinellas County school officials, all the while steering more than $100,000 from the school to her private business accounts.

'Parent Trigger' Bill Dies On Tie Vote

The chief advocate, former Gov. Jeb Bush, told reporters as late as February that he was confident the trigger would become law.

 Even though the bill was not the supported by the Florida Education Association and most Florida parent organizations, such as the Florida PTA. These bay area men still voted for it. Please remember them next time you go to the polls.

John Legg, R-Trinity; Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg; Tom Lee, R-Brandon;

Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton.

more

Culture Of Corruption: Michelle Rhee

Very iffy Parent Trigger petition in Florida

Florida Republican legislator Kelli Stargel had a lot of trust in Michelle Rhee and her Students First group when she announced their petition in committee debate. She said she had 1200 signatures in support of a Parent Trigger law in Florida. As Kelli Stargel take to the Senate floor today to defend her Parent Trigger bill, she will be wondering whether or not it was a good idea to get involved with Michelle Rhee.
more
Rhee submits Parent Trigger petition with names who did not sign it?
more

Downgrading Ed Schultz

Did Obama Administration Have Something To Do With It?
Ed Schultz is telling everyone that it was his idea to be reassigned from his prime-time 8 p.m. show during the week on MSNBC to a two-hour time slot late Saturday and Sunday. After telling listeners about the change last Wednesday, Schultz said he’s happy about it because now he’ll have the time to do more in-depth stories on issues, which he couldn’t do before. maybe he really means it. But I’m not sure. Schultz had been getting increasingly agitated over the possibility of President Obama and the Democrats caving in to the GOP to allow cuts in social safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as part of a “grand bargain” for reducing the deficit. One week before the change was announced, Schultz said he had always supported Obama, but now was wavering. One night before he announced his change, Schultz said
"President Obama may really be the president who starts the undooing of the New Deal."
more
I do not like Chris Hayes. I guess i will watch the crazy guy on FAUX..

Madfloridian's 9 Year Journey

Going from too moderate to too liberal to fit in. It's been a strange trip.
here

An Atheist-Free Polk County

The Atheists of Florida's filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd that alleges her recent arrests are retaliation against her secular views. EllenBeth Wachs, jailed twice this year, is seeking an injunction to stop Judd from arresting her or launching new investigations about her. She claims the charges she currently faces are a result of her "assertion of a non-religious,
atheist viewpoint in the predominantly Christian-oriented Polk County.
more

George Will Attacks Howard Dean

"And I say good for them. Greg Sargent of The Plum Line and Dave Cook of the Christian Science Monitor call out George Will on what he wrote on Dean's words about the Tea Party.".......MadFloridian

"For too long the dangerous propagandist tactic of mixing of truth, half-truths and lies has been used to inflame popular sentiments and fear. It was therefore disappointing to see The Post contribute to this cycle of vitriol in our public discourse with a column by George F. Will that erroneously claimed I called the Tea Party racist. In fact, as Post blogger Greg Sargent pointed out by fully citing my comments, I specifically said that I did not consider the Tea Party to be racist.
It's time we each do our part to stop this cycle of vitriol.".......Howard Dean

Robert Gibbs And Howard Dean

On November 7, 2003, a strange new group no one had ever heard of called "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare" was quietly formed and soon thereafter began running a million dollar operation including political ads against then-frontrunner Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
here
Robert Gibbs, was the spokesman for the group.

The Abuse Continues At Florida's Dozier School

When the group of men who call themselves The White House Boys
Gathered last year at the school for a long overdue reunion....they did not know that there was still abuse going on there. They witnessed the sealing of the infamous building called The White House.......here

Democrats, In Pursuit Of Big Dollars

Have Neglected The People We're There To Serve.

These words were written in 2004. I see the same things happening now that have happened the last few years in our party. It angers me and it saddens me. Those who spoke truth are seldom heard, and those who push a rather pandering sort of middle ground get all the attention...........madfloridian