Check cashing anti-fraud bill passes Florida legislature

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Representative W. Travis Cummings

Tallahassee, Fla. – The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) today commended the Florida Legislature for the passage of House Bill 217, which if signed into law, will require check cashiers to log check cashing data into a statewide database designed to prevent fraudulent activity.

“It has been a pleasure working with the various stakeholders on this very important legislation that is long overdue,” said Representative Travis Cummings, sponsor of the bill.  “I am convinced that the use of technology via this real time database will significantly combat fraud that is currently costing our state roughly $1 billion annually.”

The new legislation will require check cashiers to log any checks cashed in excess of $1,000.  In addition to the check amount, each business will be required to submit traceable information such as payer  payee, fee charged, type of identification presented and payee’s workers’ compensation insurance policy number, if the check was made out to a business.  The bill also provides that multiple checks accepted from any one person in one day, which total $1,000 or more, must be aggregated and reported in the database.

“This legislation allows our state agencies to work together to prevent and fight fraud,” said OFR Commissioner Drew J. Breakspear. “The new database will allow the OFR to efficiently and effectively track and investigate potential fraudulent activity with real time information from our partners at the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the Department of State (DOS).”

This legislation is one of the recommendations from a work-group convened by Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater, to look at the complicated and organized premium avoidance scheme that is pervading the workers’ compensation insurance market.  In some cases, check cashing store owners are being used to accomplish this fraud.

“This work-group brought together all stakeholders to develop recommendations on how to clean up the industry,” said CFO Atwater. “I applaud the Florida Legislature for passing this bill and look forward to working with the OFR to prevent and prosecute fraudulent activity.”

The check cashing database created by this legislation will have the capability to interface with the Secretary of State’s database for purposes of verifying corporate registration and articles of incorporation.  The database will also have the capability to interface with the DFS database for purposes of determining proof of coverage for workers’ compensation.

“Florida’s financial service centers have worked hard to help ensure passage of House Bill 217 to provide regulators with a real-time database of check cashing transactions,” said Corey Mathews, Executive Director of the Financial Service Centers of Florida.  “This critical tool will help law enforcement to identify and prosecute criminals who are attempting to invade the financial services industry.”

“Workers’ Compensation fraud is a problem that negatively affects consumers and taxpayers every day,” said James Banks, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Florida Carpenters Regional Council.  “Florida’s Carpenters applaud the steps the Legislature has taken to level the playing field in the construction industry by creating additional tools for our law enforcement community.”

Army officers career ruined in the name of Islam

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In light of the recent terrorist bombing in Boston, national attention is refocused on the case of Thomas More Law Center client, Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley (pictured above).  In 2012, LTC Dooley was fired from the National Defense University’s Joint Forces Staff College for teaching an elective course on Radical Islam because it was offensive to Muslims.

LTC Dooley was reassigned to a weapons integration unit at Fort Eustis, VA.  In this new position, Dooley again received an outstanding Officer Evaluation Report (OER).  Click here to read LTC Dooley’s most recent OER.

Moreover, LTC Dooley’s case went before the Army Command Selection Board comprised of three generals and two colonels.  The board recommended he be retained on the Battalion Command selection list.

However, political correctness again ruled the day.  Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, ordered Lt. Col. Dooley’s name removed from the command list.

In the Sunday April 28th article, Washington Times reporter Rowan Scarborough reported on these latest developments.   Click here to read the entire article.

ABOUT THE THOMAS MORE LAW CENTER

Thomas More Law Center is renowned as a national nonprofit public interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Thomas More Law Center’s mission is to restore and defend America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values, and to preserve a strong national defense, and a free and sovereign United States of America.  In courtrooms throughout our Nation, Law Center lawyers fight for the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, the sanctity of human life, and a strong national defense. The Law Center does not charge for its legal services, and relies on tax-deductible donations from concerned patriotic Americans and charitable foundations. To learn more click here.

Common Core: Subversive Threat to Education? (+ video)

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Karen Bracken ( http://tnacc.weebly.com ) presented Common Core: Subversive Threat to Education on 18 April 2013 at the Chattanooga TEA Party meeting. Introduction is by Mark West, President of the Chattanooga TEA Party.

Bracken states, “Jeb Bush is deeply embedded in this [Common Core] process”.

Karen Bracken with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

ABOUT KAREN BRACKEN:

I am almost 64 years old and the grandmother of 4 almost grown grandchildren.  Gladly I won’t have to worry about Common Core affecting them.  But lord knows the indoctrination of our children has been going on in our public school system for many years.  But at least I won’t have to worry about my grandchildren getting sucked up in to Common Core.  BUT they will have children someday and I just felt I had to do something.  I am already very active in my community.  I have a national Agenda 21 coalition, a Tennessee Legislative Team, speaking engagements on Agenda 21 and Common Core, local and state politics and just day to day life.  My goal is to educate people about what is happening in our country.  What shocks me most is how many people refuse to admit or to see what is taking place.  It is a true indication that our public school system has been failing students for many years.  I learned about Communism in school.  I learned what it was and how it destroys free will, free thinking and freedom in general.   Whether we want to admit it or not Communism is what we are fighting in our country right now.  It might have names like Agenda 21, Sustainable Development, Smart Growth, Biodiversity, Common Core but at the end of the day it is Communism just dressed up in a new wrapping.  They keep changing the names when people start to catch on.  Think about it.  We had Global Warming and when it was exposed for the lie it is they changed the name to Climate Change in order to keep the hoax alive.  I pray ever day that people get their heads out of the sand and stand up for our country because once freedom is lost it can never be regained.  Our children are what they want.  They know that in one generation they can brainwash enough children to finally get what they want.  The total destruction of America and freedom.  Remember “Freedom is never more that one generation away from extinction.”  Ronald Reagan.

To learn more about Karen Bracken visit her website by clicking here.

Miami FBI informant: Taliban walking freely on American streets

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David Mahmood Siddiqui an FBI informant. Photo CBS Channel 7, Miami, FL

Michele Gillen from CBS Channel 4 in Miami, FL met with South Floridian David Mahmood Siddiqui an FBI informant involved in the case against Muslim Cleric Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan. Gillen reports, “Following a 29 day trial, the 77 year old former head of the oldest Mosque in Miami was convicted last month of supporting terrorism and conspiracy.  Khan awaits sentencing and could end up spending the rest of his life in prison.”

What is striking are Siddiqui’s comments during the interview.

Siddiqui states, “I am an informant and all I can tell you is that Talibans are walking freely right here in the soil of America right now, right now.”

Asked by Gillen what he thinks the risk of having Taliban living in America is, he responded; “They can commit a jihad at any time, they hate America, you have an enemy living here in American soil, do not know when they will take action to kill innocent Americans.”

“In a review of court documents and records, it appears Saddiqui and his undercover work resulted in key evidence in the case against Muslim Cleric Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan,” notes Gillen.

Watch the interview and read more by clicking here.

Curt Anderson from The Huffington Post reports, “The jury returned its verdict [on Monday, March 4, 2013] after the two-month trial of Hafiz Khan, the 77-year-old imam at a downtown Miami mosque. Khan was found guilty of all four charges: two conspiracy counts and two counts of providing material support to terrorists.”

“Despite being an imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was by no means a man of peace,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer, whose office prosecuted the case. “Instead, he acted with others to support terrorists to further acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming.”

“Prosecutors built their case largely around hundreds of FBI recordings of conversations in which Khan expressed support for Taliban attacks and discussed sending about $50,000 to Pakistan. There were also recordings in which Khan appeared to back the overthrow of Pakistan’s government in favor of strict Islamic law, praised the killing of American military personnel and lauded the failed 2010 attempt to detonate a bomb in New York’s Times Square,” notes Anderson.

“Khan, who testified over four combative days in his own defense, insisted the money he sent overseas was for family, charity and business reasons – above all, his religious school, known as a madrassa, in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Khan also said he repeatedly lied about harboring extremist views to obtain $1 million from a man who turned out to be an FBI informant wearing a wire to record their talk,” Anderson reports.

NOTE: The featured photo shows President Reagan sitting with members of the Taliban in the White House.

Bill repealing ethanol standard passes Florida legislature

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Representative Matt Gaetz (FL-District 4)

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz sent out this email to his constituents:

Today, the Florida Senate passed SB 320 sponsored by Senator Evers.  This language is equivalent to the House bill that was passed two weeks ago and repeals the ethanol mandate in the state of Florida.  I am proud to say that both chambers of our Legislature agree that consumers in Florida should not be subject to oppressive mandates.

This legislation will now be sent to Governor Rick Scott. We are hopeful that after this long battle, the faithful patrons of our great state will be relieved of the overwhelmingly negative effects of ethanol. Following two years of fighting for this repeal, there is only one step is left before it will officially become law.

I cannot thank you enough for your endless support.  It is an honor serving you and I look forward to the final weeks of a successful legislative session.

Very truly yours,

Matt

THE BOSTON BOMBINGS: HISTORICAL TIES TO JIHADISM IN MASSACHUSETTS

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A new Henry Jackson Society (HJS) analysis reveals over two decades of Massachusetts links to al Qaeda-inspired terrorism

DOWNLOAD THE ANALYSIS HERE

The alleged Boston bombers – Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – are the latest in a broader pattern of militancy in the state of Massachusetts. 26 other individuals closely tied to jihadist activity have been based in Massachusetts, including 15 individuals who lived there, with offenses going back over 20 years.

Based on analysis from the new HJS report Al-Qaeda in the United States: A Complete Analysis of Terrorism Offenses, these individuals include:

  • Those who have fought jihad abroad – including a Boston cab driver ‘martyred’ fighting Lebanese forces in 2000
  • Those who have fundraised for jihad via Care International – a Boston-based charity  acting as a front group for the al-Kifah Refugee Center, itself the U.S. branch of Makhtab al-Khidamat – an organisation co-founded by Osama bin Laden and key jihadist ideologue Abdullah Azzam
  • Eleven of the 9/11 hijackers, who hijacked planes leaving from Boston Logan International Airport, used Boston as a base prior to their attack
  • Aafia Siddiqui, a female al-Qaeda associate who attempted to murder U.S. officers and employees in Afghanistan
  • Rezwan Fedarus, who plotted terrorist attacks using explosives on U.S. soil

Robin Simcox, research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and co-author of Al-Qaeda in the United States, has commented:

While not previously the target of a terrorist attack, Boston – and Massachusetts more broadly – has been a hive of militant activity for over two decades. Al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda inspired operatives have used Massachusetts as a base from which to plan, finance and commit acts of terror.

The U.S. has been largely successful in degrading al-Qaeda’s capacity to commit coordinated, mass casualty acts of terrorism. However, there is a clear need to remain vigilant against those who have been radicalized in the U.S. and aspire to smaller – but still deadly – terrorist acts. The al-Qaeda inspired threat is ongoing, and should continue to be treated with the utmost seriousness.

The full analysis, Historical Ties to Jihadism in Massachusetts, can be read here.

Conciliatory FBI policies toward Islam hampered probe into Boston jihad bombers

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Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch reports:

Spencer Ackerman, stand up and take a bow. Fatima Khera and John Brennan, you too. Salam al-Marayati, don’t get left out. You’re all responsible for the scrubbing of counter-terror training materials of the truth about Islam and jihad. Stand up and be recognized. But try to wash the blood off your hands first.

“Blind Eye: Conciliatory FBI policies toward Islamism hampered probe into Boston bombers,” by Bill Gertz for The Washington Free Beacon, April 23 states:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counter-terrorism analysts.The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links.

“The fact is religion has been expunged from counter-terrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counter-terrorism specialist with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The FBI can’t talk about Islam and they can’t talk about jihad.”

Added Patrick S. Poole, another counter-terrorism specialist, about FBI policies on Islam: “I have zero doubt it affected their investigation of Tsarnaev.”

A U.S. official said FBI policies of playing down Islamic links to terrorism resulted in the FBI not identifying Tsarnaev, 26, or his brother, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, who was charged with last week’s bombing, as Islamist terrorists.

Instead, the FBI is limiting its description of the two men as ethnic Chechens who became “radicalized” prior to the April 15 bombing of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and more than 200 injured in the attack using two homemade bombs placed in pressure cookers and remotely detonated.

Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R., Mich.), who until he retired in 2011 headed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said an investigation into the FBI’s questioning of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is needed.

“I think that is one of the things that we’re really going to have to take a closer look at,” Hoekstra told the online intelligence newsletter Lignet….

RELATED COLUMNS:

Boston jihad bombers and their family got Massachusetts welfare benefits

Boston jihad bomber was “angry that the world pictures Islam as a violent religion”

Boston jihad murderer’s name was on classified government watch lists

American Freedom Defense Initiative Announces Platform for Defending Freedom In Wake of Boston Jihad

Boston jihadis’ mother: “I don’t care if my youngest son is going to be killed today. I want the world to hear this. And, I don’t care if I am going to get killed too. And I will say Allahu Akbar!”

Florida legislature passes ethics and campaign finance reform bills

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Dan Krassner, executive director of the independent government watchdog group Integrity Florida issued the below statement on the passage of historic ethics reform and campaign finance reform bills by the Florida Legislature:

“Lawmakers are beginning the process of cleaning up the government and restoring trust with Floridians. Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford promised sweeping ethics and campaign finance reform and they have delivered. After a 36-year drought, Florida lawmakers should be commended for advancing good government reforms in our state Capitol. Integrity Florida is grateful to see most of our research recommendations included in the ethics and campaign finance legislation that has been passed. While there is still more work to do to make ethics laws stronger and to fix a broken campaign finance system, Florida is finally moving in the right direction on these issues.”

“Integrity Florida wishes to thank Phil Claypool, the retried executive director of the Florida Commission on Ethics for his contributions to our research and expert legal analysis throughout the legislative process. We greatly appreciate our ethics reform coalition partners, including Progress Florida, The Tea Party Network and Common Cause Florida for their great work to improve the ethics reform bill. Former State Senator Paula Dockery paved the wave for ethics reform to be realized by advocating for the issue for many years and we are honored for her guidance and contributions to the cause,” stated Krassner.

Highlights of the ethics reform legislation (SB 2 and SB 4):

  • The public would have four new ways to start ethics complaints through U.S. Attorneys, State Attorneys, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Governor’s Office. Those four entities could refer credible complaints to the Florida Commission on Ethics. While not the full self-initiation of investigations that the ethics commission should have, this process is a good step to fight corruption and reduce frivolous complaints since these agencies would provide an additional vetting process for higher quality complaints to reach the ethics commission. Integrity Florida encourages U.S. Attorneys, State Attorneys, FDLE and the Governor to create “report corruption hotlines” via phone, web and email to collect anonymous tips from the public to address public corruption.
  • Financial disclosure forms will be posted online in a searchable database for the public to access.
  • The Florida Commission on Ethics will begin moving towards an electronic filing system for financial disclosure to make the process smoother for filers and to provide better quality information for the public to access in an easier to read format.
  • More ethics training for public officials will be required.
  • Fine enforcement will be enhanced by allowing the ethics commission to garnish wages of officials owing fines to the commission and it extends the collection period from five to twenty years.
  • Voting conflict standards and disclosures have been strengthened.
  • Expands ethics code restrictions on gifts from vendors to state officials.
  • Strengthens revolving door rules to limit legislators from lobbying for two years after they leave office.
  • Creates new restrictions to prohibit officials from obtaining crony jobs based on their public office.

Highlights of the campaign finance legislation (HB 569):  

  • Raises contribution limits to $3,000 for statewide candidates and $1,000 for legislative and local candidates.
  • Requires 24-hour disclosure of contributions and expenditures in the final days of state-level campaigns and a more rapid filing schedule for campaign reports year-round for candidates and committees.
  • Streamlines independent committees by eliminating committees of continuous existence.
  • Directs the Florida Division of Elections towards creation of an enhanced statewide campaign finance database. 

Related Integrity Florida research:

Corruption Risk Report: Florida Ethics Laws
June 6, 2012

Corruption Risk Report: Financial Disclosure
July 30, 2012

Florida’s Broken Campaign Finance System – Integrity Florida Report to the Florida House of Representatives Ethics & Elections Subcommittee
January 16, 2013

Florida doctor loses license in botched abortion

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Esther Rachwal in an email to WDW states, “Here is the story of a Florida doctor that loses his license over a botched abortion. Ironically people are led to believe that abortion is safe and legal, but there have been dozens of women who have either died or developed severe medical problems from so called “legal” abortions. This information is rarely reported.”

“Even now with the Gosnell trial going on 5 weeks, with gruesome details, there is very little reporting. Yet in today’s paper (Monday), a Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida held a baby shower for young animals, as reported in the Pensacola News Journal. About 700 visitors brought various things and food donations to help care for the animals. And on April 7th, a large article reported on the abuses of farm animals which were video taped by animal rights activists. These tapes drew swift response from Federal prosecutors in Tennessee. Local authorities in Wyoming charged farm employees with cruelty to animals. So, can you imagine how media would have covered this Gosnell story if it were animals beheaded, and their spinal cords severed while alive?” notes Rachwal.

Cheryl Sullenger | Tallahassee, FL | LifeNews.com | 4/22/13 3:11 PM

The Florida Board of Medicine took action to suspend the medical license of late-term abortionist James Scott Pendergraft, IV on Friday after he failed to pay the board fines from a previous disciplinary action that totaled over $120,000.

The settlement agreement reached between the board and Pendergraft orders that his medical license “shall be indefinitely suspended until such time as [Pendergraft] complies” with the order to pay his fines.

This is the fifth time that Pendergraft’s medical license has been suspended by the Florida Board of Medicine. He continues to operate five abortion clinics in Florida, primarily in the Orlando area.

The fines resulted from a 2010 case where Pendergraft was heavily fined and placed on suspension related to a 2006 botched elective 19-week abortion.

Patient S.B went to Pendergraft for the second trimester abortion on Feb. 3, 2006. He prescribed doses of Cytotec, a drug that is known to cause severe and unpredictable uterine contractions and sent her home for three days to take the medication on her own. Pendergraft did not have a valid DEA number at the time.

When S.B. returned to the clinic, he further illegally administered doses of Cytotec, Demerol, and Phenergan. He attempted the abortion before the patient was adequately dilated, lacerating her cervix and sending her to the hospital where she underwent an emergency hysterectomy.

At the hospital, staff delivered the remains of S.B.’s baby and found that it was missing a lower limb. Efforts were made to locate the limb in the abdominal cavity to no avail. There were no indications on the patient’s chart. Later, it was discovered that the limb had been removed at the clinic. This lack of documentation caused issues in providing the patient with proper emergency care.

Pendergraft was suspended and ordered to pay fines in excess of $122,000. Pendergraft failed to pay, resulting in another disciplinary case attempting to seek payment. Finally, Friday’s action suspended his license until further notice.

Pendergraft has a long history of abortion abuses. An Operation Rescue undercover investigation discovered that he was working illegally in Maryland with another abortionist Harold O. Alexander, to offer late-term abortions while his license was under suspension in Florida and filed complaints. Alexander was later disciplined for destroying patient records related to his business with Pendergraft, closing down Pendergraft’s Maryland operation.

In 2011, Pendergraft was hit with a whopping civil medical malpractice judgment of $36,737,660.16 in compensatory and punitive damages in a case involving a botched 20 week abortion that resulted in the live birth of a child physically damaged by Pendergraft’s incompetent abortion process amid what was described as “third world conditions” with virtually no counseling.

Kermit Gosnell

“Pendergraft is a prime example of how an abortionist operating outside the law in a manner that is reminiscent of the Kermit Gosnell murder case. He is proof that Gosnell is not an outlier, but is a snapshot of degenerate nature of the abortion cartel in America today,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “Pendergraft belongs in prison just as much as Kermit Gosnell, but the reticence of the Board to revoke his license means he will be back to wrecking more havoc on women. People wonder how Gosnell continues to operate for so long, but the Pendergraft case explains it. Oversight agencies are just too slow to revoke abortion offenders.”

More about Pendergraft’s sordid background can be found at AbortionDocs.org.

LifeNews.com Note: Cheryl Sullenger is a leader of Operation Rescue, a Kansas-based pro-life that monitors abortion practitioners and exposes their illegal and unethical practices. The group is known for serving as a watchdog of Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses.

Florida’s Senators far apart on recent gun legislation

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According to Congress.org Senators Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R) are polar opposites when it comes to votes on gun legislation. The following is a list of bills recently considered in the US Senate and how Florida’s Senators voted on each.

Legislation – Concealed-Carry Reciprocity Amendment – Vote Rejected (57-43)

This proposal from Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas would allow someone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon the right to carry it in any state which has a concealed-carry law. The amendment states that permit holders from other states must abide by the laws of states in which they are located, though it would prohibit states from placing restrictions on individuals with out-of-state permits, treating such individuals as if they carried an “unrestricted” permit. The remainder of the failed amendments included proposals to reinstate and expand a ban on so-called assault weapons; to ban ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds; and to prevent veter ans from being deemed “mental defectives” – thus losing their ability to own firearms – without a court decision. Two amendments did pass muster. The first, offered by Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, would penalize states and localities for publicizing gun ownership data. The second, from HELP committee leaders Tom Harkin, D-Iowa and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., would overhaul the nation’s mental health system. (Roll Calls 100-105)

Sen. Bill Nelson voted NO
Sen. Marco Rubio voted YES

Firearms Legislation – Background Checks Amendment – Vote Rejected (54-46)

The Senate voted on a flurry of amendments to the first major legislative response to last December’s massacre in Newtown, CT. In a sign of the difficulty facing proponents of stronger gun laws, most of the amendments were defeated, beginning with a proposal by pro-gun senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Pat Toomey, R-Pa. to strengthen background checks. The Toomey-Manchin amendment would have expanded the current system to include all sales at gun shows and on the Internet. Though initially hailed as a critical breakthrough, the amendment’s prospects died a slow death in the days leading up to the actual vote, as fence-sitting senators from both parties declared their oppos ition one by one. Ultimately five Democrats opposed the amendment – Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. (Reid voted “no” for procedural reasons which would allow him to call up the amendment for a vote at a later date.) Baucus, Begich and Pryor all face difficult re-elections next year in states that favored Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential contest. Four Republicans supported the amendment – Susan Collins of Maine, Mark Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona, and co-sponsor Toomey.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES
Sen. Marco Rubio voted NO

Firearms Legislation – Republican Substitute Amendment – Vote Rejected (52-48)

The second failed amendment was a Republican substitute offered by Judiciary committee ranking member Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Most Republicans have decried Democratic proposals for reducing gun violence as threatening to Americans’ Second Amendment rights and have emphasized in their own proposals a “law and order” approach. This is reflected in the Republican alternative, which would make it a federal crime to purchase guns on behalf of those legally barred from owning them; expand the scope of mental illnesses barring some individuals from owning firearms; and create a special task force focused on attempted firearms purchases by felons and fugitives. Nine Democ rats supported the Republican proposal, while two Republicans opposed it.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted NO
Sen. Marco Rubio voted YES

Firearms Legislation – Straw Purchases Amendment – Vote Rejected (58-42)

Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt. co-sponsored an amendment that would make it a federal crime to buy guns on behalf of someone legally barred from possessing them, a practice called straw purchasing. The amendment fell just two votes short of adoption. (In a concession to the reality of a likely Republican filibuster, Majority Leader Reid agreed to raise the threshold for adoption of all amendments to 60 votes instead of the usual 51.)

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES
Sen. Marco Rubio voted NO

Senator Nelson has a mixed record in support of the Second Amendment. The Political Guide reports:

In 2004, Senator Nelson supported the Assault Weapons Ban and stated that AK-47s and assault rifles are for killing, not for hunting. He asserted that law enforcement at every level of government is against terminating the assault weapons ban. He also stated that he was a defender of the constitutional right to bear arms and a defender of the right to have guns of all kinds except when getting to the common sense that it is not worth it in our society to be able to purchase AK-47s. In addition to supporting the Assault Weapons Ban, Senator Nelson voted in favor of the Protection in Lawful Commerce Act.”

This issue is not going away according to President Obama. Let us see how Florida’s Senators vote on future Second Amendment related legislation.

Rubio: The Boston bombing has a bearing on the immigration debate

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio issued the following statement regarding comments by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy that it’s “cruel” to use the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing to halt immigration reform, as well as comments by those who say this attack should derail entirely the current effort underway to fix our immigration system:

“I disagree with those who say that the terrorist attack in Boston has no bearing on the immigration debate. Any immigration reform we pursue should make our country safer and more secure. If there are flaws in our immigration system that were exposed by the attack in Boston, any immigration reform passed by Congress this year should address those flaws. Congress needs time to conduct more hearings and investigate how our immigration and national security systems could be improved going forward.

“The attack reinforces why immigration reform should be a lengthy, open and transparent process, so that we can ask and answer important questions surrounding every facet of the bill. But we still have a broken system that needs to be fixed.”

SB 58 American Laws for American Courts is in jeopardy

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According to the Florida Family Association, “SB 58, American Laws for American Courts, did not make it on the agenda for the Senate Rules Committee for Monday, April 22, 2013.  This is the last Rules Committee meeting for the 2013 Florida Legislative Session.”

The Florida House of Representatives passed American Laws for American Courts (HB 351) by a vote of 79 – 39 on April 18, 2013. SB 58 has passed all other Florida Senate Committees.

David Caton of FFA notes, “The failure of SB 58 to be heard in the Committee on Rules was unexpected.  There are enough votes in the Florida Senate to pass SB 58.  Additionally, Governor Rick Scott has said that he will sign the legislation. So why is the bill not going to be heard there?”

One Senate leader is reported to have received 300 phone calls in opposition to SB 58 during the week of April 15, 2013.  The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida web site is devoted almost entirely to defeating the American Laws for America Courts legislation (SB 58, HB 351). 

“It would appear that those who advocate (CAIR) for Sharia law are influencing top Florida Senators to derail legislation that would prohibit Islamic law from being considered in Florida Courts,” states FFA.

FFA notes, “Time is running out. The 2013 Florida Legislative Session ends May 2, 2013.”

“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,” states FFA.

Constitution Doesn’t Apply to Boston Bombing Suspect

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Joe Miller from Restoring Liberty reports:

By Jeremy Herb and Mike Lillis from The Hill. Two powerful GOP senators are calling on the Obama administration to treat the captured suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings as an “enemy combatant” and deny him counsel even though he is reportedly an American citizen.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, captured Friday night outside Boston after a tense daylong manhunt, should be questioned for intelligence purposes and not read his Miranda rights.

[…]

With Tsarnaev in custody, the lawmakers said, “the last thing we should want is for him to remain silent.”

[…]

The Department of Justice indicated Friday that the administration would not read 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights, citing a public safety exception.

But Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, said Saturday that the immediate threat is over and that Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who became a naturalized U.S. citizen last year, should now be treated like any other suspected criminal.

Read more.

Pinellas County politicians wasting money defending themselves in lawsuit to limit their terms

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Philip Blumel from Florida Term Limits Blog reports:

May 2nd is approaching and four Pinellas County commissioners are worried. In December, a circuit court judge refused to dismiss the suit against them for violating their legal term limits. Now they face a judge again on May 2 in the final hearing of the case.

In 1996, 73% of Pinellas voters passed 8-year term limits but these renegade commissioners refused to insert the term limits amendment language into the charter as required by law. Then when term limits went into effect 8 years later, they refused to step down.  After all, the language isn’t in the charter!

Citizens were outraged and, after friendly court decisions around the state including a unanimous Florida Supreme Court decision that term limits are constitutional, they filed suit. The three plaintiffs on the people’s side represent diverse political, ethnic, professional and geographical faces of Pinellas County. This is appropriate as term limits are not a Republican versus Democrat issue but one of the people versus unchecked political power.

Shortly after the adverse decision in December, the commissioners doubled their legal team adding four additional lawyers. Yes, that’s right, they spending an enormous amount of the people’s money to fight the clearly expressed will of the people. And why? To directly benefit themselves.

In addition to lawyering up, commissioner Ken Welch publicly declared in February that he is seeking another position in local government and may not serve his full term. One of the reasons, he said, is that the judge may decide he cannot serve his full term. The plaintiffs hope part of the reason also is that he knows resigning is the right thing to do. Fellow scofflaws Karen Seel, John Morroni and Susan Latvala should follow Welch’s lead.

Citizens may attend the hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2nd at the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Courtroom C, Clearwater.For more detail on the case, go here.

Of Florida’s 20 charter, or “home rule” counties, 12 have term limits. Miami-Dade voters just approved 8-year limits last November. In all but one of the dozen, the popular term limits laws are respected and enforced. It is hoped that on May 2 the citizens will triumph and a decade of political corruption in this beautiful county will be swept away.

(Pictured, the three plaintiffs Maria Scruggs, H. Patrick Wheeler and Beverley Billiris.)

Russia warned US about Chechen immigrants

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Russia Today reports:

The US may be shocked that the terrorist suspects behind the Boston bombings are Chechen natives, but Russia has long cautioned Washington about giving asylum to Islamists from the North Caucasus, political analyst Dmitry Babich told RT.

Two bombs exploded in Boston during the city’s Marathon on April 15, killing 3 people and injuring 176 others.

The suspects in the attack were identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his brother Dzhokhar, 19, Chechen natives, who lived in the US for some time. The elder brother was killed in a stand-off with police on Thursday, while the younger one is still at large.

The Voice of Russia radio station’s political analyst, Dmitry Babich, believes that it’s time for the West to understand that the Islamist activity in the North Caucasus is a threat not only to Russia, but the US and Europe as well.

RT: Much is being made of the links of those men to the Caucasus where they briefly lived. How important a factor might this be?

Dmitry Babich: Well, I think that indeed it’s a surprise for many people that these two men happened to be out of North Caucasus. But I think it’s not very surprising because, actually, the Russian government has warned a lot about the kind of refugees, about the kind of immigrants that the US and Western European countries are ready to accept. I mean I didn’t interview these people in Europe or in the US, but read a lot of reports from Russian reporters and from Western reporters actually interviewing those people. And a lot of them didn’t change their convictions. A lot of them are die-hard Islamists. They didn’t change after leaving Russia and I can easily imagine that a lot of them consider both Russia and the US parts of the same western decadent civilization. In this situation they can wage their jihad not necessarily in a place like Syria or Iraq, but also in the US.

RT:Why would these men turn on a country which gave them asylum?

DB:Unfortunately, it happened in many countries that people, who got asylum in the West later turned against their hosts and against their benefactors. It’s enough to remember that Ayatollah Khamenei, the founder of modern Iran, was a political refugee in France before he came back as a victor to Iran. If you expect any kind of gratitude and thankful thinking from these people you’re dead wrong. Most of the jihadists are egotists in their convictions. They think that they have the right to ascertain their convictions, they have the right to commit violence acts if they feed their cause. And their cause is the creation of this Islamic State. Maybe it could be an Islamic State in the North Caucasus. It could be a universal Islamic Caliphate. But that’s their thinking and I’m afraid in Boston they are dealing with exactly that kind of thinking.

RT:How would you assess levels of home-grown terrorism in the US right now?

DB: It’s very hard for me to speak from Russia about the level of terrorism in the US, but I think that for many years it was clear that the foreign policy was, at least, strange. Although Russia never made any hostile moves towards the US since 1987, probably – since Gorbachev came to power – the US continues suspecting Russia of having different values. And it always supported groups, sometimes militant Islamic groups, which challenged Russia. I mean, of course, president Clinton didn’t support the Chechen separatists, but then if you read the American press of the time and if you read even certain articles, which appeared on the website of the New York Times today, you can see a lot of simplistic thinking about the so-called Chechen Uprising and the Islamist groups in the North Caucasus.

The American newspapers say that Russia is to blame for all of these terrorist activities. Well, I don’t agree with that. I think that Russia was actually fighting a genuine international Islamism threat in the North Caucasus, at least, during the second Chechen War (in 1999-2000). Obviously, this Islamist activity in the North Caucasus is not only a threat to Russia. It’s also a threat to the US. It’s also a threat to Europe, but somehow the Western countries just refuse to recognize it.

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