Tag Archive for: florida

America’s Defend Freedom Tour Coming to Tampa July 31

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Concerned Veterans for America’s Defend Freedom Tour is coming to TPepin’s Hospitality Centre in Tampa on Friday, July 31st, from 6:00–9:00 p.m.

CVA will rally support for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care reform—among other pressing issues affecting veterans, members of the military, and their families—at this event.

It’s been a little over a year since news broke that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals across the country put veterans on secret waiting lists to give the appearance of access to timely medical care. While VA administrators pocketed bonuses for fudging the numbers, veterans faced excessive wait times and in some cases even died while waiting for an appointment. However, the issues with the VA do not end there.

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U.S. veterans face radically different waits for benefits depending on where they live. An interactive map created by The Center for Investigative Reporting has tracked that phenomenon for the last three years. Credit: Shane Shifflet for Reveal.

To view the interactive map click here.

A little over a month ago, The James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa was pointed out as having a major pest control problem. An infestation of rats, rodents, roaches, and feces were found in their facilities. Employees knew about the infestation problem, which included kitchen and food service areas. Shockingly, the Infection Prevention Coordinator was more concerned with ending up on the news for these problems than risking patient safety.

“It is shocking and quite frankly it is disgusting that we are allowing VA hospitals to remain open while rats, rodents, and cockroaches infest their facilities,” said CVA Military Advisor and Navy SEAL Veteran Jason Redman.  “These men and women fought for our great country and risked their lives time and time again only to come home to second class treatment.  Fundamental changes and reforms need to happen at VA hospitals across the nation, but they need to start right here in Tampa.”

Through the Defend Freedom Tour, CVA is bringing together veterans, military families, and patriotic Americans to preserve the freedom and prosperity that we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.

Event Information

Admission to the Tampa Defend Freedom Tour is FREE and includes a complimentary barbecue dinner.

This event features an amazing lineup of inspirational speakers: Gold Star Mother Karen Vaughn; decorated Army Ranger and New York Times best-selling author Sean Parnell; Green Beret and Stability Institute Founder Scott Mann; and Navy SEAL and author Lieutenant Jason Redman. Madison Rising, the nation’s most patriotic rock band, and Ayla Brown, country music performer, will perform live.

Register on Eventbrite. For more information, go to www.DefendFreedomTour.com.

RELATED ARTICLE: VA struggling with promise to end long benefits waits this year

Florida: Stop Iran Nuke Deal Rally in Fort Lauderdale Highlights

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As we conclude our penultimate week we bring you the highlights of our Stop Iran Rally in Fort Lauderdale, FL and direct from Israel, Michael Ganoe, founder of Face Book – Insight to Israel and Hershey’s for Heroes.

Our Rally has some powerful moments and in Israel, Michael is a Christian who worked for many years in politics in Washington, D.C. but followed God’s call and packed up, moved to Israel, with NOTHING, and for the past few years has been an Ambassador of Good Will all over the great country of Israel.

Please follow Michael’s amazing work with the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces and support his work with a monthly donation that you can make on his Face Book page.

Integrity Florida Releases Research Report on Minimum Wage

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Integrity Florida, the nonpartisan research institute and government watchdog, released a new report today that examines minimum wage policy in state and local governments and the effect that increases in the wage have on employment.

The research report does not take a position on either side of the ongoing minimum wage debate. Rather, it seeks to add independent and unbiased context to that debate and answer the question “does increasing the minimum wage result in job loss?”

“We wanted to take an objective look at the claim made by some that an increase in the minimum wage means employers will cut jobs,” said Ben Wilcox, Research Director for Integrity Florida. “Our research found no evidence that claim is true.”

The report contains three major components: (1) a review of existing studies on the issue; (2) comparing job growth in states that have raised the minimum wage since January 1, 2014, with states that have not; and (3) comparing the current number of jobs in cities and counties where a minimum wage increase has been in effect at least a year with the number of jobs before the raise went into effect. The research is based on employment numbers provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We found no evidence of job loss in states, counties and cities where the minimum wage has increased,” said researcher Alan Stonecipher. “Everywhere we looked there were only varying degrees of employment gains.”

Key Findings

  • The preponderance of research finds that raising the minimum wage does not cause job loss.
  • Economists cite several reasons why increases in the minimum wage, which raise employers’ cost, generally do not cost jobs.
  • In the 25 states plus the District of Columbia where the minimum wage has increased since January 1, 2014, through recently in 2015, job growth has been higher than in states where the rate did not go up.
  • Similarly, in all of the five cities and counties where increases in the minimum wage had been in effect for more than a year, the number of jobs has grown.
  • The results of the state and city case studies do not prove that a higher minimum wage results in job growth.  But the results provide no indication that a higher minimum wage is associated with job losses.

ABOUT INTEGRITY FLORIDA:

Integrity Florida is a nonpartisan research institute and government watchdog whose mission is to promote integrity in government and expose public corruption. more information at www.integrityflorida.org.

Florida Governor Rick Scott Takes Action to Expedite Concealed Weapons Licenses for Military

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA — Alarmed by a shooting rampage in Tennessee that killed four Marines and a sailor, Gov. Rick Scott on Saturday issued an executive order designed to increase protections for members of the Florida National Guard.

Scott directed Adjutant Gen. Michael Calhoun to temporarily move National Guard members from six “storefront” recruitment centers to armories. Also, he ordered Calhoun to work with local law-enforcement agencies to arrange regular security checks of armories and said the state will expedite processing of new concealed-weapons licenses for members of the National Guard.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that all of our National Guard members are safe,” Scott, who was scheduled to hold a late-afternoon news conference in West Palm Beach, said during a CNN interview.

The executive order said Guard members will be moved from the recruitment centers to armories until Calhoun “can fully evaluate and make recommendations for improving the security” of the centers. It said possible improvements could include installing bulletproof glass and enhancing video-surveillance equipment.

The move to expedite new concealed-weapons licenses would apply to Guard members who do not have such permits. Scott said during the CNN interview that the move is designed for “personal protection when they are not on duty.”

Scott issued the executive order two days after 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at a military-recruiting center and a Navy Reserve facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. Abdulazeez, whose name has been spelled in different ways by news organizations, killed four Marines, and a Navy petty officer died early Saturday of wounds, according to the Washington Post.

The shooting spree has spurred investigations into whether Abdulazeez, who also died, had links to terrorist organizations. In a Twitter post Saturday, Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said he supported Scott’s executive order to “help protect our military from acts of terror.”

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose agency administers concealed-weapons licenses, issued a statement that said he is “fully committed to supporting our military members, and we look forward to expediting their concealed-weapon license applications.”

Forget Sanctuary Cities — Florida has 7 Sanctuary Counties

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The brutal murder of 32 year old Kathryn Steinle by Francisco Sanchez, a 45-year-old illegal alien, repeat drug offender and felon who was released from jail on April 15th, 2015 after San Francisco law enforcement officials declined to prosecute him, has become the eye of the storm in the public debate on immigration. Sanchez was in San Francisco because it is a “sanctuary city.”

Breitbart reports:

According to a March 2, 2015 “ICE Weekly Departures and Detention Report” obtained by Center for Immigration Studies expert Jessica Vaughan and shared with Breitbart News, there were 168,680 convicted criminal immigrants who had final orders of removal but who remained at large in the U.S.

Another 179,018 convicted criminal immigrants with deportation cases pending also remained at large.

Well San Francisco has nothing over the Sunshine State. Florida is home to seven “sanctuary counties.” The sanctuary counties are: Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

These counties are perfectly located along Florida’s East and West coast lines to allow illegal felons, like Francisco Sanchez, to enter with ease.

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Map of sanctuary counties (yellow) and cities (red) in the United States. Map courtesy of the Center for Immigration Studies.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies:

More than 200 cities, counties and states across the United States are considered sanctuary cities. These state and local jurisdictions have policies, laws, executive orders, or regulations allowing them to avoid cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement authorities.

These “cities” ignore federal law authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to administratively deport illegal aliens without seeking criminal warrants or convictions from federal, state, or local courts.

Although federal law requires the cooperation, the Department of Justice has never sued or taken any measure, including denying federal funds, against a jurisdiction. On the contrary, the present administration has made it difficult for the states and localities which choose to aid in enforcing immigration laws. Federal law was labelled voluntary by the administration in a November 2014 policy memorandum signed by the Homeland Security Secretary.

Perhaps it is time for these seven counties to rethink giving aid and comfort to those who have at the least violated the law, and at the worst are criminal felons looking for their next victim?

UPDATE: The Center for Immigration Studies now lists only Clay and Alachua counties as sanctuaries for illegal aliens. Here’s the link: https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States

EDITORS NOTE: It was San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who allowed five time deported illegal alien Francisco Sanchez to allegedly kill helpless, unsuspecting Kate Steinle. If readers wish they may click here to send an email that admonishes and challenges San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and Board of Supervisors regarding their sanctuary immigration policy.

RELATED ARTICLES:

AZ Sheriff: Obama Has Made US ‘A Sanctuary Nation’ – Breitbart

Obama Writes Personal Letter to Nearly 50 Felons, But Continues to Ignore Family of Murder Victim Kathryn Steinle [+video]

You’ve Heard of Sanctuary Cities. But Do You Know What They Are?

Rick Perry on Sanctuary Cities: ‘This Is About the Security of This Country’

How Sanctuary Policies Have Directly Led to Thousands of Crimes Against Americans

Illegal immigrants responsible for almost three-fourths of federal drug possession sentences in 2014

FLORIDA: City of Temple Terrace Promotes Marijuana Abuse

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Lee Bell

Lee Bell, Chairman of the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce.

The Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce allowed a float that promoted the use of marijuana be included in their 4th of July parade.

Operators of the float, which included a giant ten foot long joint, claimed that they are “promoting a safe and effective medicine”, yet the medical community does not stand behind smoked marijuana as a medicine. No major health association supports the use of smoked marijuana as a medicine.

Last week, the Journal of the American Medicine Association published a review of the research on marijuana as a medicine and concluded that there is insufficient evidence that marijuana is effective in the treatment of conditions for which some state laws are allowing its use.

Marijuana is not a harmless substance.

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly can have many of the same respiratory problems as cigarette smokers. Persistent coughing, bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds are possible symptoms. Regular use of marijuana compromises the ability to learn and to remember information by impairing the ability to focus, sustain, and shift attention.

Long term use reduces the ability to organize and integrate complex information. Research increasingly shows that intensive marijuana use often meets the technical requirements for addiction (or dependence). More and more studies are showing addictive qualities in the drug. Marijuana use is the number one reason adolescents
are admitted to treatment and ranks number two (behind alcohol) for adults.

Save Our Society From Drugs states:

It is disappointing that the Chamber allowed marijuana activists to further normalize the commercialization of marijuana. According to a new RAND study, adolescents who saw advertising for medical marijuana (like that in the Temple Terrace parade) were more likely to either report using marijuana or say that they planned to use the substance in the future.  Youth are bombarded by pro-drug messages on social media and we should be working to counter those messages and encourage our youth to make healthy choices.

Contrary to what Lee Bell, Chairman of the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce said, marijuana is illegal for all purposes here in Florida and should not be promoted. What other illegal activity would be okay to promote at a public family-friendly event?

If you would like to prevent the promotion of drug use from being included in future City of Temple Terrace events contact the City Mayor, City Council and Chamber of Commerce:

Combat Veterans For Congress Endorses Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL 6) for U.S. Senate

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Congressman Ron DeSantis twitter profileThe Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is supporting the 63rd endorsed and elected Combat Veteran For Congress to run for the United States Senate in Florida; he is the 28th endorsed Combat Veteran For Congress to serve in Congress. His policies mirror those of President Reagans, “Peace Through Strength” on national defense, supports a “Don’t Tread On Me” foreign policy, and as his fiscal conservative voting record has supported the reining in of out-of-control and unnecessary federal spending.

He has been rated as the #1 Taxpayer Hero in Florida by Citizens Against Waste. Congressman Ron DeSantis, Lcdr-USNR (JAGC) (R-FL-6), a resident of Ponte Vedra Beach in St John’s County, is running for the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Senator Marco Rubio, who is running for U.S. Presidency, and by doing so is leaving a CRITICAL Republican Senate seat up for grabs in a critical swing state.

The 2016 election could well rest on the shoulders of Florida-–again—and on the caliber of the Republican senate nominee.

Congressman DeSantis has faithfully been protecting and defending the U.S. Constitution, led efforts on the House floor to call attention to Obama’s lawlessness, authored & passed the “Faithful Execution of the Law Act” to rein Obama’s repeated violation of Federal Laws, and supported efforts to defund the unconstitutional executive amnesty of 5 million Illegal aliens.

In July 2007, Lt DeSantis received orders to report to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group ONE in Coronado, California; he was assigned to SEAL Team ONE and ordered to deploy to Iraq on October 7, 2007 with the troop surge. Lt DeSantis was assigned as the Legal Advisor to the SEAL Commander, Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah in support of the counterinsurgency missions during the combat deployment of SEAL Team ONE with additional duty in Ramadi, Al Assad, Balad, and Baghdad.

He returned to CONUS on April 15, 2008, at which time he was reassigned to the Naval Region Legal Service Office SE and earned an appointment with the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida until his orders elapsed on January 3, 2009.

Lt DeSantis was assigned as a Trial Defense Counsel for the Naval Region Legal Service Office SE until he left active duty and was Honorably Discharged on February 28, 2010; he accepted a commission as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

For his duty assignment with SEAL Team ONE in support of counterinsurgency operations in Iraq, Lcdr DeSantis was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (Meritorious), in previous assignments he was awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (Gold Star in lieu of 2nd award), the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Medal, and various Service and Campaign Medals.

Congressman DeSantis was first elected to the 6th Congressional District of Florida in 2012, and was re-elected in 2014. Congressman DeSantis was selected as Chairman of the National Security Oversight Committee, has highlighted the threats posed by an EMP attack, and has helped lead efforts to protect critical infrastructure.

Congressman DeSantis also holds a seat on the Congressional Oversight Committee, and has been relentlessly investigating scandals concerning the Obama Administration, including the Battle of Benghazi where four Americans, including two Navy SEALs, lost their lives because of the failure of Obama to execute “Cross Border Authority” so Military personnel at the ready could be sent to rescue them.

He has also been involved in investigating the IRS’ violation of the right of conservative Americans citizens to exercise their Constitutional right to organize to participate in the election process, and has led the effort to hold IRS Commissioner Koskinen and Lois Lerner accountable for the cover up and obstruction of justice. Congressman DeSantis has also been investigating the Obama administrations retaliation against whistleblowers, which is another the Obama administration’s violation of Federal Laws enacted by Congress.

Congressman DeSantis has demonstrated that he stands with Israel, is a leading opponent of Obama’s policy of nuclear concessions to Iran, which is permitting Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Congressman DeSantis helped defeat efforts by liberal Democrats to defund operations against ISIL, and their attempt reduce the US Navy’s carrier fleet.

He believes ISIL should be stopped by finally providing self-defense arms to the Kurds & Christians in the Plains of Ninveh, and providing them with effective close air support. He opposes the Communist regime of Castro’s Cuba, and joined another elected Combat Veterans For Congress, Senator Tom Cotton, Cpt-USA (R-AR), to author a bill to prevent the release of dangerous Radical Islamic Terrorists from GTMO.

Since his election to, Congress he has led by example to reform Congress by declining pension and taxpayer-financed health insurance subsidies for Congress, authored a bill to end pensions for members of Congress, authored a bill to force Congress to live under Obama Care as it is written, supports term limits for members of Congress, and supports prohibiting Congress from exempting its members from generally applicable laws.

Congressman DeSantis has supported every effort in the House to stop Obama Care, and helped defeat the Internet sales tax in the House, He authored a bill with Senator Mike Lee to pop the higher education bubble and promote alternative (and cheaper) forms of higher education beyond traditional brick-and-ivy schools. The American Conservative Union, Heritage Action, and Freedom Works give Congressman DeSantis an outstanding ratings for his voting record in Congress.

Congressman DeSantis is often interviewed on the FOX National News TV Network seeking his invaluable opinion on controversial issues of the day.

The Combat Veterans for Congress PAC is pleased to endorse Congressman Ron DeSantis, Lcdr-USNR (JAGC) (R-FL-6) who will bring to the United States Senate extraordinary public sector and private sector skills and wisdom to better solve problems and represent his Congressional District and the Republic.

If you review Congressman DeSantis’ positions on his Congressional Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement. We look forward to working with Congressman DeSantis, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for the U.S. Senate.

If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in Florida, kindly pass this column on to them, and ask them to support Congressman DeSantis by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.

The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness our Founding Fathers envisioned. We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of. He is a Veteran who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.”

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on the Combat Veterans For Congress website.

New Gun Ownership Study is ‘bunkum — pure fiction’

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The NRA-ILA in an email writes, “Once again we owe thanks to reporter Lee Williams, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, for his willingness to expose the agenda of those who are the enemies of Freedom and the Second Amendment.  On the day before Independence Day — July 4th, he released an article exposing the agenda of those who conspire against the Second Amendment.”

Below is the column by Williams which shows a recent study is “bunkum – pure fiction.”

Study: Gun control groups should undermine our ‘gun culture’ to reduce gun ownership

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Lee Williams  Sarasota herald-Tribune

There’s a dangerous scientific study making the rounds, even some pro-gun websites have featured it, titled “Gun ownership and social gun culture.”

It’s bunkum — pure fiction.

It’s an insidious piece of work, written by four academics who used firearm policy information from the Brady Center and the CDC’s Injury Prevention and Control Center — two groups well known for their opposition to the Second Amendment.

The gist of the study appears to say that since gun control supporters’ long term goal is to reduce gun ownership, they ought to consider not only campaigning for gun control laws that make it more difficult to acquire or possess guns — background checks, gun registration, gun owners licensing, etc. — but focusing on policies that could undermine the social aspects of gun ownership.

To be clear, the authors say gun control groups need to undermine our “gun culture.”

The study does not describe these social aspects in much detail, but you can guarantee they mean everything from hunting, to target shooting competitions and clubs, to marksmanship training classes and gun shows.

This is not a new approach.

Since the 1980s, gun control groups have realized that once a person becomes part of the gun culture, they’re likely to become a single-issue voter focused on protecting the right to keep and bear arms.

This is why anti-gun activist groups are now pushing the lie that — even though Americans have been buying guns in unprecedented numbers — gun ownership is declining.

They hope other people will essentially say, “Well, if no one is owning guns, I guess I don’t need to own guns either, or fret about additional restrictions.”

This new tact coincides with an admission by gun control supporters that pushing for extreme restrictions — handgun bans of the 1970s, “Assault Weapon” bans of the 1980s, “cop killer” bullet legislation of the 1990s, and more recent magazine restrictions — has failed.

None of these tactics worked.  In the 1970s, when they claimed more handguns would mean more crime, Americans tripled the number of handgunsthey owned in little more than a generation.

In the 1980s, gun control supporters started trying to stop states from adopting Right-to-Carry laws. But Florida ignored them, adopting its law in 1987, 32 states followed Florida’s lead, and now nearly every state has right-to-carry legislation, and the nation’s murder rate is
at an all-time low.

In 2012, the administration and its gun control supporters in Congress tried to convince Americans that support for gun control was overwhelming, and no further debate over the subject was necessary. But Americans responded by buying guns in unprecedented numbers, and
Congress rejected the President’s agenda.

The Pew Center reported in December 2014 that among nearly all demographic groups, support for gun ownership is rising and support for gun control is decreasing. Gallup showed that self-defense is the primary reason why American own guns.

The ultimate goal of the study is obvious given its use of the anti-gun Brady Campaign’s scorecard to assess the gun ownership culture in the states.

The Brady Campaign gives most states school grades of “F” or “D,” because they don’t have the myriad of gun control laws that Brady wants.

Finally, I should point out that in the 1990s, several anti-gun groups tried to funnel taxpayer money to their like-minded pals in academia — an effort thwarted by Congress.

Maybe now the four academics responsible for this little study are hoping to carve themselves a lucrative niche in the anti-gun research cottage industry.

Is There a Middle Road between Marijuana Incarceration and Marijuana Legalization?

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As part of its special series titled Race Matters, an investigation by Miami’s CBS4 News this week, provides an opportunity to consider new ways to think about marijuana and racial imbalances in the way our laws are enforced.

CBS4 News gathered and analyzed police records of every misdemeanor marijuana case in Miami Dade County between 2010 and 2014. They found:

  • Misdemeanor marijuana arrests accounted for ten percent of all cases filed in the court system.
  • Of 44,860 closed cases, 55 percent had African-American defendants, even though the county is less than 20 percent black.
  • Just two percent of these cases resulted in a conviction.
    • Of these, 74 percent were black.
  • Prosecutors dismissed or dropped 49 percent of these cases.
    • Of these, 56 percent were white.
  • The other 49 percent of cases were settled by a “withhold of adjudication,” an admission of guilt but not a formal conviction. However, the admission stays in a person’s permanent record, hurts his or her ability to find work or housing, and can prevent the person from enlisting in the military, receiving student loans, or becoming a citizen.
    • 65 percent of these were black.

CBS4 News writes, “Miami Dade Police Director JD Patterson and others in his department have argued police officers are not targeting blacks, they are merely making stops and arrests in neighborhoods with a high crime rate. And those neighborhoods just happen to be predominantly black.”

“Donald Jones, a constitutional and civil rights law professor at the University of Miami, says that may have been the initial intent of the police, but what has happened over time is that officers begin looking at everyone in those neighborhoods as a suspect and begin treating them differently as well. ‘It says to me that we’re profiling,’ Jones said. ‘We’ve gotten to a point where we criminalize whole communities. We see certain communities as being communities of criminals and we police them that way.’ Jones said it can have a chilling effect on the relationship between the police and the community. ‘It creates an atmosphere as if this is a different America,’ he said.”

We note that the 44,000-plus marijuana cases CBS4 News examined are only 10 percent of all cases that went through the Miami Dade County court system over the five-year period.

Proponents have built their case for marijuana legalization on racial inequities in the enforcement of marijuana laws like these in Miami Dade County, implying that legalizing pot will end unequal enforcement of the law. But the problem of racial disparities in the criminal justice system is much deeper than marijuana alone, as Professor Jones explains. Until we can see that, we won’t be able to change it effectively.

Few Americans believe that putting low-level marijuana offenders, black or white, in jail is appropriate. Few believe that straddling them with lifetime criminal records is fair or just. Judges in Miami Dade County hope the county commission will adopt a proposed civil citation ordinance that would give police the option of issuing a $100 ticket to marijuana offenders. This would keep them out of the criminal justice system and reduce costs to taxpayers.

We believe that is a good first step, but it does not go far enough. Despite denials from legalization proponents, marijuana is addictive. Some nine percent of people who try the drug will become addicted. The number rises to 17 percent if use begins in adolescence and to 25 percent to 50 percent for daily use. We would like to see a public health/social justice system replace the criminal justice system for low-level marijuana offenders. Its goal would be to provide public health and social services to them after they pay their fines. Such services would medically assess them to determine if they are addicted. Those who are would receive treatment. Those who aren’t would receive educational and social services to help them pursue more productive lives. Money saved from removing marijuana cases from the courts could be used to finance this system.

Or we could do away with the marijuana laws, legalize pot, and ignore the consequences. To do so would be to allow a commercial marijuana industry to emerge that will rival the tobacco and alcohol industries, as all three prey on children, the addicted, the poor and the vulnerable, while simply discarding the victims who can’t handle their products.

Read “Race Matters: Marijuana Cases Flood Court System” here.

THIS COLUMN IS COURTESY OF NATIONAL FAMILIES IN ACTION

National Families in Action and partners, Project SAM and the Treatment Research Institute, welcome our new readers. We hope you enjoy this weekly e-newsletter to keep up-to-date with all aspects of the marijuana story. Visit our website, The Marijuana Report.Org, and subscribe to the weekly e-newsletterThe Marijuana Report to learn more.

National Families in Action is a group of families, scientists, business leaders, physicians, addiction specialists, policymakers, and others committed to protecting children from addictive drugs. We advocate for:

  • Healthy, drug-free kids
  • Nurturing, addiction-free families
  • Scientifically accurate information and education
  • A nation free of Big Marijuana
  • Smart, safe, FDA-approved medicines developed from the cannabis plant (and other plants)
  • Expanded access to medicines in FDA clinical trials for children with epilepsy

Collier County, FL: Climate Propaganda Video Shown to Students – Demands Action

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The Collier County School Board has drawn fire for showing the controversial film Disruption: A Call To Act On Climate Change.

Doug Lewis, a parent with a child in the Collier County public schools, wrote the School Board in an email dated May 27th, 2015:

I trust that you can appreciate my concerns as a father pertaining to the use of this [Disruption: A Call To Act On Climate Change] video that (in my opinion and by any fair measure) clearly tends to indoctrinate him and the viewers to a particular point of view.  It even goes beyond this by calling my son and other viewers to do three (3) specific things to act on the controversial issues presented in the video.

As you know, Policy 2240 provides that, “a controversial issue is a topic on which opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion or likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.”

The video Disruption: A Call to Act on Climate Change (click on the following link to see the ENTIRE video for your-self (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQsIErJ7-yk), contains many controversial issues and was shown to my son (and I presume other Collier County public school students) without any prior parent notice or parent consent.

Collier County School Board Policy 2240 states:

“The School Board will permit the introduction and proper educational use of controversial issues provided that their use in the instructional program:  A.  is related to the instructional goals of the course of study and level of maturity of the students; B. does not tend to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view; C. encourages open-mindedness and is conducted in a spirit of scholarly inquiry. [Emphasis added]

After reviewing the controversial video Lewis noted:

For example, the issue of whether or not the Keystone XL pipeline should be supported is clearly a controversial issue under [School Board] Policy 2240.  Also, the issue of whether or not we should demand that our nation gets off fossil fuels now is clearly a controversial issue under [School Board] Policy 2240. However, the video attacks the Keystone XL pipeline and encourages its viewers (in this instance, Collier County public school children) to get to work and to get in the street and stand up and say “no more.”  Further, the video promotes the anti-fossil fuel social movement and calls for the globe to “get off fossil fuels now.” By any fair measure, this video tends to indoctrinate and persuade students to a particular point of view.

A significant contributor in the video is a man with known communist ties named Anthony Kapel “Van” Jones.  He is perhaps the last person that Collier County parents would want teaching their school children at taxpayer expense.  Mr. Van Jones is himself a controversial figure.

The video concludes with a demand for action from Collier County students.  Its viewers (in this instance, Collier County public school children) were asked to do three things:

  1. Here is what you can do right now…. “join the march www.peoplesclimate.org (by the way this organization is organizing for future marches and events of civil disobedience),
  2. Send a message to Text DISRUPT to 97779,
  3. and Share this video.

Lewis asks, “On what legal basis, can this School Board permit, at taxpayer expense, my son and Collier County children to be invited in the classroom and during the video to join this radical organization and participate in and facilitate civil disobedience/public protests on these controversial issues? In view of the foregoing and Policy 2240, on what basis did the School Board permit the introduction of this video containing many controversial issues?”

The Collier County School board was already in hot water for placing on their summer reading list pornographic reading materials. Now they are in hot water on global warming (no pun intended).

EDITORS NOTE: To date Mr. Lewis has not received a reply from the Collier County School Board on the showing of Disruption: A Call To Act On Climate Change. We will update this column as new information becomes available.

FLORIDA: Luz Gonzalez New State Coordinator for Parents Against Common Core

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Miami-Dade, FL – Today Florida Parents Against Common Core announced Luz de los Angeles Gonzalez as the new State Coordinator for the largest anti-Common Core parent group in Florida. The group began three years ago with four moms and became an explosive statewide anti-Common Core movement encompasses activists in all 67 counties in the state. Ms. Gonzalez has been working as Florida Parents Against Common Core – Southeast Coordinator since October of 2014.

Ms. Gonzalez says her first mission as State Coordinator will be to ignite forces with other anti-Common Core leaders and groups from across the state in hopes of rallying activists, in collaboration with Florida Parents, prior to the 2016 presidential primary. She says, “The group’s continued focus will keep sight on implementing effective education reform that sets policy for state and local control of education by assuring Washington D.C.’s long distance government coercive and grinding bureaucracy is out of Florida’s classrooms.” Acknowledging that education expenditures in Florida are approximately one-fifth of the state budget, Florida Parents Against Common Core is looking forward to the ongoing and needed conversation on education. Ms. Gonzalez is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Political Science. She is currently a resident of Miami, FL, where she continues her love of education by tutoring students from middle-school to freshman in college in the subject matters of English Language Arts, Civics, and History. She additionally devotes much of her time to increasing school choice opportunities, and has in the past served as Miami Dade County (with the 4th largest school district in the country) National School Choice Week Representative. Consistent with Ms. Gonzalez’s philosophy of putting students, parents, teachers, and families first, she has challenged and will continue to vehemently oppose the State of Florida’s implementation of Common Core State Standards.

Original founding member and outgoing State Coordinator Laura Zorc says “The decision to step down was not easy but with Luz’s background in education and political science, her experience proved to be a dynamic addition to the group while serving as our South East Coordinator and this is an exciting next step.” “Luz has a gift of connecting with parents and with her zeal, passion, and commitment, I am very comfortable with my decision and without a doubt I know she will hit the ground running in her new leadership role”.

Ms. Zorc, the mother of four from Vero Beach, continues by saying “Over the last three years I have been traveling the state and country educating parents, groups, and legislatures about the ills of Common Core.” “With three elementary school age children it’s time to bring my traveling down a notch.” In closing Zorc says, “I intend on remaining involved with education on a state and local level and will not be going away but rather shifting my focus towards efforts closer to home.”

FLORIDA: Collier County School Board Defends use of Pornographic Materials by Students

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boardmembers14Two weeks ago, Florida Citizens Alliance reported that The Collier County School District was caught promoting pornographic material on its “Summer Reading List”. This list had been promoted as a PDF for several weeks on their trusted CCPS website to parents and students. Concerned citizens led by Parents ROCK, a local watchdog group, held a press conference, inviting all the local reporters for News and TV. The School district took down their summer list and replaced it with the “Florida State” recommended “Summer Reading List”. CCPS spokesman agreed it was pornographic, but claimed this was a one-off occurrence.

However, no one knows how many parents or students downloaded these recommendations for grades 6 thru 12 yet they chose NOT to send a warning to all Parents.  Here is the Link to an excerpt from just one of the several obscene books on the List. This was recommended for 6-8 graders, so for children as young as 11 years old. Open with Caution – http://goo.gl/cUzCsX

Five (5) days later, Collier Citizens and Parents ROCK reported the following books are in the Collier Media Centers for all Collier High Schools and even some Middle schools. This is not a complete list but it shows that many obscene books are in the Collier School Media Centers- these are clear pornography bought at taxpayer expense. This is also clear evidence of a systemic break down in trust that parents place in the Collier School District. The spokesman for the CCPS District and now some of the CCPS Board members are defending this content in the Media Centers. Open with caution – http://goo.gl/yG0eVT

On June 9th, many parents and community members attended the Collier School Board Meeting.  Several, who believe that Common Core is good and removing these materials is censorship, spoke in support of keeping pornographic for under-aged children to read. However, many parents and community members who believe under-aged children should be legally and morally protected from pornographic materials spoke against the approved reading list.

Watch this YouTube video:

This is a fascinating exchange between Chairwoman K. Curatulo and Board Lawyer Jon Fishbane.  Chair Curatulo refused to approve reading some of the pornographic content into the public record and then Fishbane over-ruled her on First Amendment grounds.  The result, however, is that some of the School Board members, District Superintendent and staff are now defending pornographic materials in Collier County school Media Centers.

Chair Curatulo first ruled the reading in a School Board meeting were inappropriate and now she and the District are defending this pornographic material as appropriate for access to Middle and High School students.

Florida Citizen Alliance states:

This is a usurpation of parental controls over what their children are subjected to in our government schools, all at taxpayer expense. Parents can no longer trust that CCPS has the best interest of their children at heart!

Most importantly, how can parents trust that these pornographic materials are not in all Florida County Public Schools or used in on-line lesson plans throughout the State? These materials are endemic of Common Core. Now that 80% of all instructional materials across the USA are provided by Pearson, PLC; and Pearson, PLC was funded $350 million by the U.S. Department of Education to make all Pearson materials Common Core compliant, it is almost a certainty that these materials have already crept into most, if not all of our Florida Public Schools!

Parents, Grandparents and taxpayers, are urged to do their own homework. Read the books your children are reading.

This cartoon is courtesy of Nick Lichter from Facebook:

collier schools porn cartoon

UPDATE: The following was received via e-mail on June 24th from the Florida Department of Education:

Thank you for your letter with your concerns addressing titles of books found on the Collier County School website.  I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Commissioner and am happy to do so.  The Florida Department of Education does not regulate district websites or links to websites listing suggested books for summer reading.  I was informed however that as soon as the district was informed of the controversial and/or inappropriate titles, the link to the website was removed and currently the district only provides the Summer Reading List provided by the Just Read, Florida! office.

Both private organizations and school districts are independently operated and do not seek the approval of reading lists from the Department.  In addition, many organizations include a disclaimer concerning any recommendations and selections, leaving the responsibility of choosing appropriate reading materials to the individual.

Thank you again for contacting the Department of Education regarding this issue.  We appreciate you taking time to express your concerns.

Best regards,
Wendy Stevens
Just Read, Florida!
Florida Department of Education

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FLORIDA: Republican Paul Spain Announces His Candidacy For District 18 Congressional Seat

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PALM BEACH, Fla., PRNewswire/ — Paul Spain, the Republican 2014 Florida District 22 Congressional Candidate and the most successful Republican by percentage of votes cast in South Florida(North of Miami) formally announces his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida Congressional District 18 (www.paulspainforcongress.com).

Spain will run for the seat currently held in District 18 by Congressman Patrick Murphy (Democrat), who is relinquishing the seat to run for the U.S. Senate against Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator.

“I believe I have the right background to be an effective and sensitive representative for District 18 residents.  I’m a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and a successful businessman with a lifetime of community service.  That service includes Chambers of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, a current member of the College of Financial Planning with Advanced Planning Certifications (AAMS, CRPS), and a member of Maggie’s List, which promotes and supports efforts by women to hold public office,” said Spain,  the father of two with three grandchildren.

“Paul is just the kind of leader needed in Washington today as he is a seasoned financial advisor with many years of business and community experience in the areas of finance, investments, healthcare, energy, technology and transportation,” said Tom Madden, CEO of TransMedia Group (www.transmediagroup.com), which will be handling Spain’s public relations.

“Spain has vital experience working with local, state, and federal agencies and perceptively understands Washington, which is no easy feat these days!  He will work only for the people and not be influenced by outside interests,” said Adrienne Mazzone, president of TransMedia Group, a multi-lingual PR firm serving clients worldwide since 1981.

“Paul will also be an advocate for women,” she said.  “He will be our best representative in seeing we have an effective and efficient government, accountable immigration policies, support for Israel, term limits, and he believes all Americans should have access to affordable healthcare.”

Spain believes a strong military is critical to our national defense, police officers and teachers are vital to their communities and that protecting the environment should be a national priority.

 

FLORIDA: Another Double Standard in Miami-Dade Public Schools

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Alberto Iber the principal of North Miami Senior High School was recently fired by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho of the Dade County School District. According to Christina Veiga of the Miami-Herald Iber’s crime was that he, “inadvertently injected himself into the racially charged national debate over police treatment of blacks with a social media comment.”

Iber wrote in support of McKinney, Texas Police Officer David Eric Casebolt in a Facebook comment, “He [McKinney] did nothing wrong. He was afraid for his life. I commend him for his actions.” Iber responded to a call of a disturbance at a pool party and was video taped subduing a black woman in a bathing suit. This led to accusations of racism and death threats against Officer Casebolt and his family. Casebolt subsequently resigned because of concerns for the safety of his family. Casebolt is a Navy veteran.

Superintendent Carvalho in a press release about the firing of Mr. Iber stated:

The Principal of North Miami Senior High School, Alberto Iber, has been removed from the school. Miami-Dade County Public Schools employees are held to a higher standard, and by School Board policy, are required to conduct themselves, both personally and professionally, in a manner that represents the school district’s core values.

“Judgment is the currency of honesty,” said Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho. “Insensitivity – intentional or perceived – is both unacceptable and inconsistent with our policies, but more importantly with our expectation of common sense behavior that elevates the dignity and humanity of all, beginning with children.” [Emphasis added]

If Superintendent Carvalho is a man of his word then why did he not fire Ms. Christine Jane Kirchner, a language arts teacher and union steward at Coral Reef Senior High School, Miami-Dade public schools. Ms. Kirchner in 2008 was appointed by the Miami-Dade School Board to the Lesson Plan Development Task Group. Kirchner was also elected Vice President At-Large and sits on the Executive Board of the United Teachers of Dade (UTD). So what did Ms. Kirchner do?

According to the April 4, 2014 DOE Education Practices Commission of the State of Florida report:

  1. During the 2012-2013 school year, Respondent [Kirchner] discussed inappropriate topics, such as sex, virginity and masturbation, with her language arts class. The conversations made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
  2. During the 2012-2013 school year, during a lesson with her language arts class, Respondent [Kirchner] simulated having an orgasm. The simulation made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
  3. During the 2012-2013 school year, Respondent [Kirchner] gave massages to students of her language arts class. The massages made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.

Shouldn’t Ms. Kirchner be held to the same high standards of honesty, common sense behavior, dignity and humanity as Mr. Iber? Why didn’t Superintendent Carvalho fire Kirchner immediately and issue a similar press release?

We have also reported on the test cheating scandal in Miami Norland Senior High School. This is another example of a double standard in the implementation of the high standards used to justify the firing of Mr. Iber and not all of those teachers who took part in the cheating scandal known as “Adobegate.”

Is there a double standard in the Miami-Dade school district? You be the judge.

RELATED ARTICLES: 

Hey, look! A Cop yelling at a black girl in a bikini!

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Florida Voters Refused To Listen – Now They Have Been Taken Again!

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Many of us have done the research and then try to teach exactly what is happening with our lawmakers. Florida’s reputation for corruption and deceit is at the top of the charts. There is a great deal to be said regarding one party being in control for far too long – and that is certainly the case in Florida.

We have been lied to over education, environmental issues, Enterprise Florida, Charter School legislation, Public Private Partnerships and the list goes on.

Today we find out the Florida lawmakers have made very little progress in regard to budget negotiating sessions and their special session is almost over. Standing at the fore front of the disagreements between the Florida House and Senate are health care, education and the environment.

Now comes the truth – House members want to borrow nearly $300 million in bonds for projects related to Amendment 1, a referendum passed by the very voters we tried to educate before the last election showing the false statements being made in relationship to the environment. Legislators were contending they were going to use the money for conservation and environmental clean-up projects.

Voters didn’t listen to the warnings!

Sen. Alan Hayes, R-Umatilla doesn’t want to use any bonds in relationship to any Amendment 1 projects. “B-O-N-D is a four letter word” Hayes said.

House environmental budget chief Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, withdrew bonding from the House’s latest offer Sunday, calling it an “olive branch.” “I cannot be any more clear: the House is very interested and supportive of bonding as (budget negotiations) go forward ,” Albritton said.

Now why would the legislators want to do this when Amendment 1 didn’t call for raising taxes one nickel; using bond money or borrowing any funds? Amendment 1 was merely about prioritizing, forcing the state to set aside a tiny percentage of its massive budget for clean water, fresh air and preserved land. (Specifically, we’re talking a third of existing doc-stamp taxes on real-estate, which equals about 1 percent of the state’s $77 billion budget.)

At least that is what the legislators wanted us to believe. Today, June 7, 2015 Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel did a marvelous job of exposing the Florida legislators and the massive shell games they continue to play:

Remember the Lottery?  Florida Politicians May Try the Same Shell Game With the Environment!

by Scott Maxwell

Most Floridians are painfully familiar with the Florida Lottery shell game.

It was the political con of the century — one that involved tens of billions of dollars.

It started in 1986 when voters were told that, if they approved a lottery, the money would go to education.

We even called it “The Education Lottery.” That way, when you plunk down 10 bucks for a scratch-off, you’re not really gambling … you’re donating to a scholarly cause. How altruistic of you.

Well, folks started “donating” by the droves. A billion bucks. Then $10 billion. Then $20 billion … all of it supposed to improve our schools.

But Floridians didn’t notice much change in education. We still had one of the lowest-funded school systems in America. We still do.

In fact, 20 years after the lottery started, the Sentinel did an investigation and determined that education funding had actually dropped from 59 percent of the state budget in 1987 to 51 percent in 2007.

Yes, after the “Education Lottery” raised billions of dollars, the percentage actually went down.

How? Well, politicians played shell games.

Yes, they spent the lottery money on schools. But they took money they had previously spent on schools and started spending it on other things.

Admittedly, it was important things, like renovating the Legislature’s dining room, but it was other things, nonetheless.

Now, we may be doing the whole sick shell-game thing again … only this time with the environment.

Last fall, Florida voters approved Amendment 1 to demand that Florida spend more on the environment.

The amendment didn’t call for raising taxes one nickel. It was merely about prioritizing, forcing the state to set aside a tiny percentage of its massive budget for clean water, fresh air and preserved land. (Specifically, we’re talking a third of existing doc-stamp taxes on real-estate, which equals about 1 percent of the state’s $77 billion budget.)

It’s hard to overstate how overwhelming the support was. Amendment 1 passed with 75 percent. No statewide candidate got anything close to that.

But Legislators are once again playing shell games.

For instance, the House budget proposes spending $38 million of this money on existing payroll for the state’s park services and $40 million on existing forest service employees.

Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal included $17.5 million for a wastewater-treatment project in the Florida Keys.

The Senate has $10 million for salaries in the Environmental Protection division.

Were you able to keep your eye on the pea? Did you see the shells move?

Most of those endeavors aren’t new. None of them involve land preservation.

Environmental groups are crying foul. So are government watchdogs. The Florida Today newspaper in Melbourne took the rare step of running a front-page editorial last week demanding that lawmakers “Respect voters, Obey Constitution on Amendment 1.”

Many critics complain there isn’t enough money for Florida Forever land preservation — practically nothing ($8 million-$15 million) this year compared to the days when Jeb Bush was governor ($300 million).

I don’t think we should be buying land simply for buying’s sake. But I do think we need to honor the amendment.

That means protecting natural areas, restoring wetlands and cleaning up our water supplies. Fixing the Everglades, improving the Indian River Lagoon and providing recreational trails.

There is no shortage of worthy ways to spend money in a state where water is both polluted and scarce enough that we have restrictions.

The amendment’s title was clear: “Water and Land Conservation: Dedicates funds to acquire and restore Florida conservation and recreation lands.”

And this time, those pushing it were smart. They included a provision that said this money can’t be “comingled” with the general funds the state had already been using.

That means if legislators play shell games with this money, there may be grounds to sue them.

It needn’t come to that.

Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott are looking at a record budget. And they are free to spend 99 percent of it on education, roads, incentives, public safety, their own health-care plans — or whatever else they want.

They simply have to dedicate 1 percent to the environment.

It’s what voters wanted — and now what the constitution demands.

Scott Maxwell June 7, 2015 Orlando Sentinel  smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com

I smell a lawsuit in relation to the use of the funds to be collected from the doc-stamp taxes on real-estate. The Florida legislators have proven to us numerous times they are not to be trusted and this reaches to Governor Scott’s office also.

The lies, deceit, manipulation and corruption have been on-going for far too many years. Time for them to have to answer to the people who not only pay their salaries, but put them in those seats in Tallahassee.