IG Report: Enterprise Florida’s corporate welfare process a mess

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Governor Rick Scott today released the Florida Chief Inspector General’s report on Digital Domain. Digital Domain received $20 million in taxpayer funding to “create jobs” in the state. According to the Executive Summary:

The process designed to award economic development incentive funding under the Quick Action Closing Fund (QACF) statute did not result in a recommendation by Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED). Concurrent to that statutory process, Digital Domain sought alternative means to obtain funding. In 2009, the funds for QACF that were unexpended in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-2009, were reverted by the Legislature, appropriated within the same fiscal year to OTTIED and were awarded to recipients including Digital Domain, without the requirement to follow the statutory process for awarding QACF awards.

Although a statutorily prescribed process in place for determining Digital Domain’s eligibility for a QACF award did not result in a recommendation to fund Digital Domain an award of $20 million to Digital Domain still occurred. [My emphasis]

“There needs to be more oversight and accountability of the public’s money,” said Dan Krassner, executive director of the independent government watchdog group Integrity Florida.

Krassner states, “The report makes it clear that Enterprise Florida offered Digital Domain more than $6 million from the closing fund. Unfortunately, Enterprise Florida still appears to be utilizing an insufficient vetting process. Enterprise Florida made several incentive deals with companies just in the last year that have gone bankrupt, including one headed by a convicted cocaine trafficker.”

Companies should not be allowed to circumvent the process but they continue to do so.

“Gov. Scott guaranteed 1,000 new jobs from Northrop Grumman in his State of the State speech. After the speech, Enterprise Florida sat down with the company to negotiate how much money the company wants. How could taxpayers possibly get a good deal with that flawed process? Integrity Florida is encouraged to see bipartisan efforts by lawmakers to increase accountability and transparency of incentive deals,” notes Krassner.

The IG report states, “Testimony supported that although improvements have been made to statutes and processes since 2009, an award similar to the one to Digital Domain could happen again today if the Legislature appropriates funds and gives the Executive Branch the discretion to expend those funds.”  [My emphasis]

The Chief Inspector General made the following recommendations:

Therefore, We recommend that the DEO conduct a formal evaluation of the current statutory provisions to ensure the incentive authority, waiver authority and time frames for evaluation and decision making adequately protect the state’s interests and determine if recommendations for enhancements should be made to the Legislature.

We also recommend that DEO and EFI conduct a review of the economic development incentive processes so that recommendations for improvement may be considered such as documentation and codification of the complete decision making process.

Finally we recommend that DEO and EFI define and codify the process to be followed when DEO’s Division of Strategic Business Development and EFI staff disagree on whether to fund a project. At a minimum, this process should include full disclosure in writing to ensure transparency of the rationale for the ñnal decision.

Governor Scott issued the following statement:

“This Inspector General report shows two things – first, our current economic project vetting process is in place for a reason, and second, that process was clearly circumvented by the previous administration for the Digital Domain deal. We must ensure Florida has the tools needed to compete for economic investment, but we must also ensure that competitive process includes protocols to safeguard taxpayer dollars by focusing on a return on investment.”

Author Challenges ACLU in New Book

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The ACLU is ingraining itself in the very fabric of everyday life. From topics such as education, abortion, marriage, and even the Super Bowl, the organization is leaving its mark. But some argue that their effort impacting the freedom of religion is the area of greatest concern. In March 2013 alone, a case was brought forth to challenge a portrait of Jesus Christ at a middle school in Ohio, a North Carolina county has been sued over its traditional Christian invocations at meetings, and Mississippi’s pending school prayer law is being threatened.

In a new book releasing in April, Bad Samaritans: The ACLU’s Relentless Campaign to Erase Faith from the Public Square (Thomas Nelson, Inc.), New York Times bestselling author Jerome Corsi dares to tackle the issues to enlighten families about things they need to know about the ACLU to protect their rights.

Since the organization was created in 1920, so many constitutional battles have been lost to the ACLU that time has grown short to stop the onslaught. Over its history the ACLU has been the archetypal Bad Samaritan-a stranger to the nation’s religious tradition, whose founders instilled within the organization values designed to erase all vestiges of the nation’s Judeo-Christian roots and replace them with a transplanted godless vision that draws its energy not from Moses or from Jesus Christ, but from Marx and Lenin. Even more insidiously, the ACLU strategy devised by its founders was predicated on a determination to wage its War on God in a stealth fashion in which the ACLU intends to destroy religious freedom by appearing on the scene as a defender of religious freedom.

“For decades, the Bad Samaritan of the ACLU has beaten and robbed the First Amendment’s statement of religious freedom to the point that Judeo-Christian believers have been left lying by the side of the road, as if abandoned to die,” notes Corsi. “Our Founding Fathers aptly reminded us, only a moral people can preserve the liberty required to build a bright future for America in which individual initiative and free enterprise can thrive once again. In a Judeo-Christian nation, Good Samaritans are not only welcome; they are possible. In the world desired by the ACLU, Good Samaritans will not only be rare, they are likely to be persecuted, if not prosecuted.”

Since its founding, the ACLU has set out to pervert the First Amendment, written to preserve religious freedom, into a twisted interpretation where “freedom of religion” is now read to mean “freedom from religion,” a reinterpretation made necessary if the ACLU is to accomplish its long-standing goal of removing God from America’s public square. The founding principles of the ACLU make it apparent that their goal is to wage a War on God and undermine liberties.
Cont.

“The protection and rights of the individual-conceived as an eternal soul given life by a Supreme Being, endowed with unalienable rights, and governed by a code of natural right built into human consciousness by our Creator-are the fundamental construct that drove our Founding Fathers to write the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights,” says Corsi. “The ACLU understands correctly that attacking God is the only way the American people would ever permit these sacred documents to be so deeply rewritten as to subvert their original meaning. If the American people can be driven from believing in God, the consequence is that our rights are no longer unalienable, but instead our rights, such as they may be, are bestowed by a state that can as easily take away the rights as grant them in the first place.”

“The point of the Bad Samaritans book is that the hour is late, but the battle is not yet lost,” explains Corsi. “It’s not intended as a comprehensive compendium of Supreme Court cases dealing with religion. Instead, I want to unmask the ACLU’s hypocritical fade of defending civil liberties that the organization strives to sell to a secular public unable to appreciate how deeply liberty will be lost if God is abandoned. I will expose the secret history of the ACLU in order to encourage supporters of our faith to enter the war on God’s side. We must win the war against our faith if we are to preserve for future generations the heritage of liberty our Founding Fathers so generously left for us. If the ACLU wins its War on God, our founding documents-including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights-will not be worth the parchment on which they were written.”

Told in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, Corsi lays out the history of this struggle, its communist roots, and the court cases that are serving to slowly erode the foundations of our freedom. Today we see the fruits of the ACLU’s master plan-a culture flooded with pornography, placing little worth on the value of a human life, and one in which protection and special treatment seem to exist for everyone except those of a Judeo-Christian background.

Bad Samaritans looks behind the headlines and shows the ACLU’s fingerprints as it works to destroy freedom and enslave our constitutional republic to the demands of a Marxist state. It’s time to fight back.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jerome Corsi has written and coauthored many books and articles, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, Unfit for Command (Regnery, 2004). Corsi is the founder of the Iran Freedom Walk. He has appeared on Fox News and MSNBC regarding Iran, as well as hundreds of radio interviews.

Parents and Scoutmasters launch OnMyHonor.net in Florida

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Orlando, FL – Today, parents, Scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts and other Scouting leaders from across the country announced the launch of OnMyHonor.Net, a coalition of concerned Boy Scouts of America (BSA) members who affirm Scouting’s timeless values and will work to keep open homosexuality out of the Boy Scouts. The announcement coincided with the Central Florida Council’s Town Hall Meeting in Orlando, FL which was attended by BSA CEO Wayne Brock and National Commissioner Tico Perez.

Representatives from thirteen different states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Utah attended the launch and gave brief statements of disagreement with a membership policy which would inject sex and politics into the program.

“The Boy Scouts are one of the great jewels of American culture,” said John Stemberger, Eagle Scout and National Spokesperson for OnMyHonor.Net. “We support the current policy of Scouting, which is backed by over 100 years of tradition and allows anyone to participate irrespective of sexual orientation, only disallowing the open and aggressive promotion of homosexuality and political agendas. When it comes to young boys, parents have the final say on the issues of sex and politics.”

Former U.S. Congressman Dick Schulze from Pennsylvania who is a recipient of the rare Distinguished Eagle Scout award was on hand and made the following comment:  “What kind of a message are we sending to our young people if the very leaders who are teaching Boy Scouts to be brave, cannot even find the courage to stand firm and avoid caving to peer pressure from Hollywood and political activists?”

The Boy Scouts of America lawyers are expected to draft a resolution to be released on April 22 to be voted on by the national council on May 22-23 in Grapevine, Texas as to whether or not to allow open homosexuality in the Boy Scout program.  In February 2013, BSA leaders instructed committees to “further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns.”

The coalition, which gathers parents, Scout Leaders, Major Donors, and Eagle Scouts in all 50 states who are united in their support of the current membership policy, announced plans of its national campaign of rallies, petitions, speaking out at BSA meetings and other activities to influence the resolution committee, the BSA voting delegates and the general public regarding the legal, social, political and financial implications of changing the membership policy.

ABOUT ONMYHONOR.NET 

OnMyHonor.Net is the official coalition of concerned parents, Scout Leaders, Scouting Donors, Eagle Scouts and other members of the BSA who are united in their support of Scouting’s timeless values and in their opposition to open homosexuality in the Boy Scouts. More information at www.OnMyHonor.net. 

Florida college student suspended for refusing to stomp Jesus

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FAU Professor Deandre Poole

When a Florida Atlantic University (FAU) student refused a professor’s direct order to stomp on the name of Jesus during an Intercultural Communications class, he was suspended.

“I’m not going to be sitting in a class having my religious rights desecrated,” said student Ryan Rotela.

The assignment required Rotela and other classmates to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, place it on the floor, and then stomp on it.

A synopsis of the lesson plan in question, obtained by Fox News, states:

“Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”

Rotela told the instructor, Deandre Poole, that the assignment was insulting and offensive.

Rotela told television station WPEC, “I said to the professor, ‘With all due respect to your authority as a professor, I do not believe what you told us to do was appropriate. I believe it was unprofessional and I was deeply offended by what you told me to do.'”

Photo courtesy of CBS – WPEC Channel 12

When Rotela went to Poole’s supervisor, he was immediately barred from returning to the class.

The Florida taxpayer-funded university is defending the assignment and the professor’s directive to demand that students violate their religious principles – or face suspension.

The American Family Association in an email is asking its members to, “Urge Florida Governor Rick Scott and your state legislators to demand immediate and corrective action be taken against Professor Poole and involved FAU staff.”

FAU recently hosted Israel Apartheid week run by the Muslim Students Association, which is siding with Arab Palestinians and demanding the end to the state of Israel. Watch the video here.

UPDATE:

It turns out, the “stomp-on-Jesus” professor, Poole, also has a prominent position in local politics. As BizPac Review reports, Poole is vice-chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.

Moreover, this isn’t the local party’s first brush with negative publicity.

The former chairman of the county Democratic Party was forced to resign in September after comments he made at the Democratic National Convention last year in Charlotte, N.C.

As WND reported, Mark Siegel reportedly told an interviewer Christians who support Israel want to see Jews “slaughtered.”

Siegel was quoted as saying, “Oh no, the Christians just want us to be there so we can all be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ.”

FAU apologizes:

Tom Tillison from BizPac Review reports:’

Public outrage over the controversial “Stomp Jesus” classroom assignment has forced Florida Atlantic University to issue an apology.

“We sincerely apologize for any offense this has caused,” the university said in a prepared statement to Fox News. “Florida Atlantic University respects all religions and welcomes people of all faiths, backgrounds and beliefs.”

RELATED COLUMN: Dem official to students: ‘Stomp on Jesus’

Florida: Court Approves Detaining Motorists at Toll Booth

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US Court of Appeals upholds right of toll road operators to detain drivers for using large denomination currency.

Toll BoothMotorists can be held indefinitely at toll booths if they pay with large denomination bills, according to a federal appeals court ruling handed down Wednesday. A family of drivers — Joel, Deborah and Robert Chandler — filed suit last year arguing they were effectively being held hostage by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the private contractor in charge of the state’s toll road, Faneuil, Inc.

Under FDOT policies in place at the time, motorists who paid with $50 bills, and occasionally even $5 bills, were not given permission to proceed until the toll collector filled out a “Bill Detection Report” with data about the motorist’s vehicle and details from his driver’s license.

Many of those who chose to pay cash did so to avoid the privacy implications of installing a SunPass transponder that recorded their driving habits. They were likewise unwilling to provide personal information to the toll collector, but they had no alternative because the toll barrier would not be raised without compliance. FDOT policy does not allow passengers to exit their vehicle, and backing up is illegal and usually impossible while other cars wait behind. FDOT dropped the Bill Detection Reports in 2010.

A three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals did not buy the argument that these motorist detentions rose to the level of a constitutional violation.

“The fact that a person is not free to leave on his own terms at a given moment, however, does not, by itself, mean that the person has been ‘seized’ within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment,” the court wrote in its unsigned decision. “In Florida, a person’s right and liberty to use a highway is not absolute; it may be regulated in the public interest through reasonable and reasonably executed regulations.”

The judges found it was reasonable for Fanueil to set regulations for use of the road — including the types of acceptable payment. The court decided that drivers implicitly agreed to those conditions by choosing to use the toll road.

“The Chandlers have not alleged that they were forced to pay their tolls with large-denomination bills, thereby subjecting themselves to whatever delay was caused by completion of the Bill Detection Report,” the court ruled. “They chose to pay their toll with large-denomination bills.Nor have they alleged that they asked to withdraw the large report-triggering bill in favor of a smaller delay-free bill and were denied that opportunity.”

The court dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety. A copy of the decision is available in a 100k PDF file at the source link below.

Source: PDF File Chandler v. FDOT (US Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 9/19/2012)

Rep. Vern Buchanan to Hold Forum on Tax Reform

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Sarasota, Florida – U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan announced today that he will host a forum on tax reform. Buchanan is Florida’s only member of the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, which is reviewing current federal income tax law and chairman of the small business working group.

“The current tax code punishes everyone from families to employers trying to compete in the global marketplace,” said Buchanan. “I am working in Congress to fix our broken tax code. My goal is a simpler, fairer, pro-growth tax code that helps get Americans back to work.”

Buchanan noted that various proposals have been put forth for tax reform in the United States, including a flat tax, a sales tax or keeping the present code with some simplification or modification in the tax structure.

The panel for the forum includes:

  • Neal Boortz is a former nationally syndicated radio talk show host who co-wrote the Fair Tax Book with former Congressman John Linder. The book calls for the replacement of the income tax with a consumption tax.
  • Dan Mitchell is a senior fellow with the Cato Institute, which is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principals of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Mitchell is an expert on tax reform and a strong advocate of a flat tax.
  • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)/Florida Chairman Jerry Pierce. The NFIB is is the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. The NFIB supports modifications to provide tax relief and certainty to small businesses.
  • Susan Nilon is the general manager of WSRQ radio, a radio show host and writer who advocates a progressive tax that taxes wealthy individuals at a higher rate than low income individuals.

The forum will be moderated by WWSB/ABC 7 news anchor John McQuiston.

The event will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 29, 2013 at New College of Florida’s Mildred Sainer Pavilion, 5313 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243.

The event is free and open to the public. Please call 941.951.6643 or click here to RSVP.

Second Florida Senate Committee to vote on anti-Sharia legislation

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The Florida Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability will vote on SB 58 – Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases during the scheduled March 21, 2013 10:00 to 12:00 am meeting.  

SB 58 Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases reads:

Clarifies that public policies expressed in act apply to violations of natural person’s fundamental liberties, rights, & privileges guaranteed by State Constitution or U.S. Constitution; provides that act does not apply to corporation, partnership, or other form of business association, except when necessary to provide effective relief in proceedings under or relating to chs. 61 & 88, F.S.; specifies public policy of this state in applying choice of foreign law, legal code, or system in proceedings brought under or relating to chs. 61 & 88, F.S., which relate to dissolution of marriage, support, time-sharing, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act, & Uniform Interstate Family Support Act; declares that certain decisions under such laws, codes, or systems & certain choice of venue or forum provisions in contract are void; provides for construction of waiver by natural person of person’s fundamental liberties, rights, & privileges guaranteed by State Constitution or U.S. Constitution; declares that claims of forum non conveniens or related claims must be denied; limits construction of provisions in certain circumstances.

The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6 – 3 on March 6, 2013 to approve SB 58.  Click here to read the article and vote record.

All committees in the Florida House of Representatives have approved this legislation (HB 351).  Click here to read the article and vote record.  HB 351 is pending a second reading before the full house.

If Florida courts accept provisions of Islamic Sharia law or other foreign laws and legal codes which are inconsistent with American laws it will undermine public policies enacted by our representative form of government and change our value system.

Florida Family Association has sent an email asking supporters to send Senators on the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability to support Senate Bill 58. The link is here.

UPDATE 3/22/2013:

The Florida Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability voted on SB 58 – Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases during the scheduled March 21, 2013 10:00 to 12:00 am meeting.  The committee voted as follows:

Chair
Senator Jeremy Ring (D) No
Vice Chair
Senator Alan Hays (R) Yes
Senator Aaron Bean (R) Yes
Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) Yes
Senator Rob Bradley (R) Yes
Senator Dorothy L. Hukill (R) Yes
Senator Bill Montford (D) No
Senator David Simmons (R) Yes
Senator Christopher L. Smith (D) No

Miami/Dade reveils first ever election fraud cyber-attack

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Tom Tillison from BizPac Review reports:

A cyber attack against an online election system in Florida last year appears to be a historic first in terms of voter fraud, NBC News reports.

More than 2,500 “phantom requests” for absentee ballots were made through the Miami-Dade County elections website,according to a grand jury report on problems in the Aug. 14 primary election.

The attempt to illegally obtain absentee ballots using a computer program is the first known case in the U.S., according to computer scientists and lawyers working to safeguard voting security.

NBC News reports that “because of the enormous number of requests – and the fact that most were sent from a small number of computer IP addresses in Ireland, England, India and other overseas locations – software used by the county flagged them and elections workers rejected them.”

. . .

There are few answers about who was behind the “phantom requests,” which targeted Democratic voters in the 26th Congressional District and Republicans in Florida House districts 103 and 112, according to the Miami Herald.

Read the full column here.

Florida Democrats file 50 anti-Second Amendment bills

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Senator Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville)

Under a bill proposed by Senator Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville), a person could not purchase any firearm ammunition without presenting a certificate showing that the would be purchaser had completed an Anger Management Course — which must be renewed every ten years.  Representative Perry Thurston (D-Ft. Lauderdale and also the House Minority Leader) filed the companion bill in the state House.

This is one of nearly fifty gun control bills filed by Florida Legislators — all bills have been filed by Democrats.

The NRA in an email to members states, “These Democrats are working to ban your freedom, your rights and your ability to defend yourself and your family.”

FLORIDA SENATE BILLS:

SB-136  Self-defense (Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground)
SB-314 Repeal Privacy of Firearm Owners/Doctors
SB-344  Assault or Battery on a Utility Worker
SB-362  Use of Deadly Force (Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground)
SB-374  Authority for Gun Control by Local Governments
SB-622 Repeal of Castle Doctrine
SB-1000 Regulation of Firearms
SB-1018 To Allow Local Governments to Adopt Gun
SB-1208  Taxes on Guns & Ammunition
SB-1234 Special 4% Tax on Firearms And Ammunition
SB-1272 Prohibit Firearms Sales at Gun Shows
SB-1426 Trespassing on Railroad Property
SB-1488  Licensure to Carry a Concealed Weapon or Firearm
SB-1582 Assault Weapons/Culpable Negligence
SB-1640 Firearms “Universal Background Check Act”
SB-1670 Assault Weapons and Magazine Ban
SB 1678 Anger Management/Sale of Ammunition

Rep.Perry Thurston, D-Ft. Lauderdale

FLORIDA HOUSE BILLS

HB-97  Authority for Gun Control by local governments
HB-123 Use of Deadly Force (Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground)
HB-325 Sales Taxes on Guns & Ammunition/School Safety
HB-327 Creates Trust Fund for Guns & Ammunition Taxes
HB-331 Self-defense (Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground)
HB-501 Possession or Discharge of Firearm
HB 511 Assault or Battery on Utility Worker
HB-799 Use of Force in Self-Defense
HB-993 Authority for Gun Control by local governments
HB-1051 Prohibits Firearms Sales at Gun Shows
HB-1209  Special 4% Tax on Firearms And Ammunition
HB-4009 To Repeal of Castle Doctrine
HB-4017 To Repeal Privacy of Firearm Owners/Doctors
HB-1229  Anger Management Course Required to Buy
HB-1343 “Universal Background Check Act”

White House video shows Israel with 1967 borders

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Atlas Shrugs reports:

Why is Obama going to Israel? The Muslim-Brotherhood-advocate-in-the-White-House refused to speak to the Knesset. So what is he doing there? He is going on the offensive against Israel, and he is doing it from the Jewish homeland. Expect the notorious leftist Israel press to applaud Obama’s land confiscation policy.

Obama is going to Israel with $500 million cash in hand for the Muslims in the terror statelet of Gaza. Brilliant.

Obama’s Middle East Map Erases Israeli Territory

Free Beacon, March 18, 2013

See: Comparison between the maps

WH

The map of the Middle East displayed in an Obama administration video released days before President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel shows the Jewish state dispossessed of substantial parts of its current territory, including its capital.

The map of Israel, displayed repeatedly during the video, shows the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, northern Israel, and areas surrounding what is currently the West Bank as non-Israeli territory. The Golan Heights is shown as part of Syria; Jerusalem is shown as part of the West Bank; and northern Israel is shown as part of Lebanon.

The itinerary on the White House website also implies that Jerusalem is neither Israel’s capital nor even part of Israel.

The president’s schedule lists two stops in “Tel Aviv, Israel” and one in “Amman, Jordan” but his activities in Israel’s capital city are identified as taking place only in “Jerusalem” — with no country name attached. This keeps with a reluctantly-acknowledged administration policy of denying that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital or even a part of Israel.

Click to enlarge (Interior map via AIPAC)

Click to enlarge (Interior map via AIPAC)

This entry was posted in Middle East, Obama Administration and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Florida Atlantic University Continues to Invite Campus Hate

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In response to a new online video documenting the anti-Semitic messaging and extreme anti-Israel activism of a campus hate group at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is again demanding that FAU publicly condemn anti-Semitic bigotry on campus and take other steps to remedy the hostile environment. The video can be seen at www.exposingfau.com.

Less than a year ago, FAU was the site of a highly publicized incident, where the campus’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization posted hundreds of anti-Semitic fake eviction notices on student dorms. The fake notices made false and demonizing allegations against Israel.

Simulated bloody infant body bags at FAU – Feb. 7, 2013

At that time, ZOA warned that the FAU Administration’s improper handling of the incident would invite SJP to continue promoting anti-Semitic messages on campus. As expected, in one of several recent incidents, FAU’s SJP chapter set up a display of bloody infant body bags on campus that were intended to promote the falsehood that Israel massacres innocent babies. As the online video points out, such rhetoric constitutes a blood libel – a classic anti-Semitic tactic that is intended to demonize Israel and Jewish people. Nevertheless, FAU’s Administration has continued its refusal to condemn SJP’s anti-Semitic actions.

Joseph M. Sabag, Director of ZOA’s Florida Regional Office, stated: “We again reiterate that the situation at FAU has nothing to do with the SJP’s right to free speech. This is about the FAU administration’s right to free speech, and its obligation to exercise that right by forcefully and publicly condemning bigotry on campus. Whether intended or not, FAU is sending the message to naive and unsuspecting students that the SJP’s promotion of hateful lies about Israel is acceptable and not even worth mentioning.”

The ZOA reiterates its demand that Florida Atlantic University take several steps to safeguard against an anti-Semitic environment on campus, including:  (1) immediately speaking out and publicly condemning the anti-Semitic acts of Students for Justice in Palestine, which occur both on and off campus; (2) applying strict scrutiny to all of SJP’s activities; and enforcing appropriate disciplinary measures against the SJP under the University’s code; (3) implementing all necessary protocol and procedures to prevent any apparent endorsement by FAU of any of SJP’s hateful activities; and (4) providing education to administration officials and staff about the University’s obligation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to ensure a campus environment that is physically and emotionally safe and conducive to learning for Jewish students.

About FAU’s Legal and Moral Responsibilities

In November 2005, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recognized that anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiment can cross the line into anti-Semitism, and in the Commission’s words, “should be distinguished from legitimate discourse regarding foreign policy.” The Commission clearly stated: “Anti-Semitic bigotry is no less morally deplorable when camouflaged as anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism.” The Commission specifically called on university administrations to publicly speak out and “set a moral example by denouncing anti-Semitic and other hate speech, while safeguarding all rights protected under the First Amendment and under basic principles of academic freedom.” The U.S. Department of Education’s Office on Civil Rights has made the same recommendation to university administrations.

About the ZOA

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. With offices around the country and in Israel, the ZOA educates the public, elected officials, the media, and college/high school students about the truth of the ongoing Arab war against Israel. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations through educational activities, public affairs programs and our work on Capitol Hill, and to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias in the media, in textbooks, in schools and on college campuses. Under the leadership of such presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver and Stephen Wise, and current President Morton A. Klein, the ZOA has been – and continues to be – on the front lines of Jewish activism.  www.zoa.org.

Phyllis Schlafly asks: What happened to the loyal opposition? (+ video)

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Joe Miller from Restoring Liberty reports, “Conservative legend Phyllis Schlafly told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday that the Republican establishment had given America a series of losers as presidential candidates over the last two decades–and the last time they picked a winner, George W. Bush, he was a bigger spender than the Democrats.

“Why is it that the establishment has given us this bunch of losers?” Schlafly said. “The establishment has given us a whole series of losers: Bob Dole and John McCain and Mitt Romney.

“And even when they picked a winner–George W. Bush–they picked somebody who spent more than the Democrats,” she said.

Watch the video of Phyllis Schlafly’s speech at CPAC 2013, which begins at the 2:30 mark:

Did you know al Qaeda started in the United States?

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Many do not realize that the ideology of al Qaeda started in the United States in 1987, ten years before Osama bin Laden declared war on America.

The ideology of al Qaeda in America may be traced back to the May 19, 1991 document An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America written by by Muslim brother Mohamed Akram.

The Explanatory Memorandum has been characterized as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Declaration of Independence from the US and the US Constitution. Mohamed Akram, its author, is referred to as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Thomas Jefferson.

According to Steve Emerson and the Investigative Project, “This May 1991 memo was written by Mohamed Akram, a.k.a. Mohamed Adlouni, for the Shura Council of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the introductory letter, Akram referenced a “long-term plan…approved and adopted” by the Shura Council in 1987 and proposed this memo as a supplement to that plan and requested that the memo be added to the agenda for an upcoming Council meeting. Appended to the document is a list of all Muslim Brotherhood organizations in North America as of 1991.”

Mohamed Adlouni is currently Secretary General of Al Quds International Institution (AQI).

Adlouni states, “Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning: establishing an effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims’ efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic state, wherever it is.”

“Expand the observant Muslim base” means expand al Qaeda, a Muslim Brotherhood organization, in America.

The memorandum requires the Muslim Brotherhood establish “settlements” in the US. A settlement is defined as “That Islam and its Movement become a part of the homeland it lives in.” Establish is defined as, “That Islam turn into firmly-rooted organizations on whose bases civilization, structure and testimony are built.”

The Memorandum requires the “absorbing of Muslims” and “requires from us [the Muslim Brotherhood] to learn ‘the art of dealing with the others’.”

In order for Islam and its Movement to become “a part of the homeland” in which it lives, “stable” in its land, “rooted” in the spirits and minds of its people, “enabled” in the live [sic] of its society and has firmly-established “organizations” on which the Islamic structure is built and with which the testimony of civilization is achieved, the Movement must plan and struggle to obtain “the keys” and the tools of this process in carry [sic] out this grand mission as a “Civilization Jihadist” responsibility which lies on the shoulders of Muslims and – on top of them – the Muslim Brotherhood in this country.

The process of settlement is a “Civilization-Jihadist Process” with all the word means.

The Memorandum states:

The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal.

The settlement of America is in full swing. Following are some of the action items listed in the Explanatory Memorandum:

  •  The establishment of an Islamic Center or Mosque in every city.
  • The “building of a county of organizations” (ISNA, MSA, CAIR).
  • Creation of a television station (Al Jazeera America).
  • Establishment of “Islamic schools (Gulen schools).
  • Creation of “The Islamic Organization to Combat the Social ills of the U.S. Society.”

To accomplish the above actions the Memorandum lists twenty-nine “organizations and organizations of our friends” including the: Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim Students Association (MSA), The Muslim Communities Associations (MCA), The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS). The Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE), Islamic Medical Association (IMA), Islamic Teaching Center (ITC), North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and the ISNA Fiqh Committee (IFC).

The Memorandum requires, “A shift from the mentality of caution and reservation to the mentality of risk and controlled liberation.” Qu’ran 8:60 states:

“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.”

The Memorandum and all Muslim Brotherhood organizations are in full compliance with The Memorandum and The Book.

Click on image for a full report on the Muslim Brotherhood in America.

Watch this video of Robert Spencer  of Jihad Watch explaining the problem:

Marriage: What It Is, Why It Matters, and the Consequences of Redefining It

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Ryan T. Anderson from The Heritage Foundation has released a comprehensive report on marriage. Here is the abstract:

Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father.

Redefining marriage does not simply expand the existing understanding of marriage; it rejects these truths.

Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. By encouraging the norms of marriage—monogamy, sexual exclusivity, and permanence—the state strengthens civil society and reduces its own role.

The future of this country depends on the future of marriage.

The future of marriage depends on citizens understanding what it is and why it matters and demanding that government policies support, not undermine, true marriage.

The report addresses three important questions: At the heart of the current debates about same-sex marriage are three crucial questions: What is marriage, why does marriage matter for public policy, and what would be the consequences of redefining marriage to exclude sexual complementary?

To read the full report click here.

RELATED COLUMN: The Well of Lonliness by Mary Kay Ruppel

Rubio: We don’t need a new idea. There is an idea. The idea is called America, and it still works. (+ video)

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Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) visited Sarasota, FL on March 15, 2013. He was greeted by over 50 donors at a private event hosted by Jesse Biter, a local entrepreneur. During his remarks at the Sarasota event Senator Rubio restated his belief that “We don’t need a new idea. There is an idea. That idea is called America, and it still works.” This was what he said at CPAC 2013.

Watch Senator Rubio’s CPAC 2013 remarks:

Senator Rubio was introduced at the Sarasota event by Representative Vern Buchanan (FL-13). Rep. Buchanan noted that he has traveled across the globe looking at what other countries are doing to promote economic growth. Rep. Buchanan noted that China is doing better at growing its economy than the United States, noting that China is on track to create 20 million jobs annually.

Senator Rubio during his remarks spoke about the $1 trillion in outstanding student loans, half of which will be in default. He said that this student loan burden impacts the middle class and our youth most of all. He also raised the specter of a rising China and its impact on the global economy. Rubio warned of not having enough workers skilled to fill 3 million of today’s jobs. He touched on the national debt, Congressional spending and an intransigent White House.

Those in attendance at the Sarasota event and those at CPAC 2013 were impressed by Senator Rubio’s “the American idea” comments. However, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, the spiritual leader of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, New Jersey does not agree with Senator Rubio’s outlook.

Rabbi Pruzansky states in an email, “The simplest reason why Romney lost was because it is impossible to compete against free stuff.”

Rabbi Pruzansky notes, “Every businessman knows this; that is why the “loss leader” or the giveaway is such a powerful marketing tool. Obama’s America is one in which free stuff is given away: the adults among the 47,000,000 on food stamps clearly recognized for whom they should vote, and so they did, by the tens of millions; those who – courtesy of Obama – receive two full years of unemployment benefits (which, of course, both disincentivizes looking for work and also motivates people to work off the books while collecting their windfall) surely know for whom to vote. The lure of free stuff is irresistible.”

“During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai Stevenson: ‘Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!’ Stevenson called back: ‘That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!’ Truer words were never spoken,” states Rabbi Pruzansky.

Will there ever be a majority of thinking persons?

Rabbi Pruzansky does not think so. He closed his email with, “If this election proves one thing, it is that the Old America is gone. And, sad for the world, it is not coming back.”