Hands Across The Sand held it's first protest against offshore oil drilling in Florida on February 13, 2010 when 10,000 Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling.
In May of 2010, after the BP oil spill, I met and interviewed the founder of Hands Across The Sand, Dave Rauschkolb, in Seaside, FL. I wrote about Rauschkolb and the story behind what inspired his organization on my original blog site, where I later wrote and covered the oil spill on a trip to the Panhandle not long after the disaster began.
In honor of the fourth year of Hands Across The Sand protests, I'll be re-posting that original piece on Dave Rauschkolb here tomorrow.
This comes after a long fight between workers who only want what's fair, and "Big Mickey" and other businesses who pocket huge profits at the expense of those workers who already forego benefits.
While legislators pat themselves on the back and claim victory, this was also a victory for ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) who are behind a larger push for “preemption bills,” laws that override any efforts to implement paid sick days, and write the laws that Florida legislators "adopt" as their own. For them it's as easy as "cut and paste." They do little work at all to pass it, and reap rewards from those businesses, while the workers who will suffer from it work long hours in return for very little.
The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott's desk for his signature, but he should veto it. For once he should actually "do the right thing" rather than merely using the phrase as a campaign slogan.
Call Gov. Scott and ask him to REALLY "do the right thing" and veto HB655.
Did you know that 4% of voters say they believe “lizard people” control our societies by gaining political power, 5% of voters believe that Paul McCartney actually died in 1966, and that 5% believe exhaust seen in the sky behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed by the government for sinister reasons? They do. Scary, huh?
Those, and more conspiracy poll results are here, along with a few more Wednesday leftover news items:
If you want a clue as to what a second term for Rick Scott would look like for Florida's future, you can get some idea by following the money. During the first three months of 2013, Scott's "Let's Get To Work" fund brought in $4.6 million. Some of his biggest donors so far this year: Bill Edwards $500,000, Blue Cross Blue Shield $237,500, Florida Power & Light $250,000, H. Wayne Huizenga $250,000, Sheldon Adelson $250,000, and Donald Trump $50,000. If you have the stomach for it, the entire list is here.
Another fake fiscal conservative: U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, a Republican from Panama City, gave $26,000 in taxpayer money for bonuses to 16 of his staffers as he told the Panama City newspaper that the federal government is “spending money we don’t have.”
Oops. Hialeah and Miami-Dade politicians name a street after a sugar processing company, "Banah Sugar Way." Be careful what you wish for when naming a street after "white powder."
Sen. Bill Nelson remains a holdout along with Republicans on marriage equality. Progress Florida and others are encouraging calls for Nelson to reconsider, and "evolve." Tweet @SenBillNelson or call him at (202) 224-5274.
I hear from so many people who are sick of what Rick Scott and Republicans in the legislature are doing to them and to our state asking what they can do about it.
For those of you who have asked, here's one more:
Pink Slip Rick is launching another campaign allowing Floridians to reverse robo-call members of the Florida legislature who rubber stamp Rick Scott's agenda. Florida Watch has a tool that allows you to record your message for lawmakers, who they refer to as "The Dirty Thirty" listed below.
That’s right, back by popular demand is your favorite tool to reverse robo-call the job-killing, anti-middle legislators that have voted 100% with Pink Slip Rick. If you’re tired of being terrorized by Rick Scott and his anti-middle class puppets in the legislature then this is the perfect tool for you!
The Dirty Thirty
Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff Sen. Charlie Dean Sen. Greg Evers Sen. Don Gaetz Sen. Andy Gardiner Sen. Alan Hays Sen. Jim Norman Sen. David Simmons Sen. Stephen Wise Rep. Dennis Baxley Rep. Rachel Burgin Rep. Matt Caldwell Rep. Marti Coley Rep. Richard Corcoran Rep. Jose Felix Diaz Rep. Chris Dorworth Rep. Eric Eisnaugle Rep. Clay Ford Rep. Matt Gaetz Rep. Bill Hager Rep. Matt Hudson Rep. Dorothy Hukill Rep. Seth McKeel Rep. George Moraitis Rep. H. Marlene O'Toole Rep. Ray Pilon Rep. Steve Precourt Rep. Bill Proctor Rep. Will Weatherford Rep. Ritch Workman
You can link to Pink Slip Rick's robo-call tool here.
The first health care company he ran became famous for Medicare fraud. He had to leave that company, and while he was never charged with anything, he claimed he didn't know what was going on. Then he went on to start another one. He's also famous for taking the fifth 75 times in a civil suit involving his company.
Now Rick Scott has moved on to what he sees as his next project. He spent millions to buy his way into office in an attempt to govern the state of Florida. Long before he became governor many shared the view that he was either incompetent or worse. Either way, that's bad news for Florida, and we're only just beginning to see the consequences of his actions.
You could say his draconian budget are similar to a death by a thousand cuts. Like his national GOP counterparts, he proposes spreading around tax breaks and goodies like deregulation for big businesses, then claims he has to cut anything and everything that would benefit workers and families. He wants to gut education, privatize prisons and build casinos. He's also a big fan of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and they share ties to the Koch brothers. Last week Scott said that collective bargaining prevents his being able to pay hard workers properly, and that he would like to remove collective bargaining from the constitution altogether. Of course, then there's health care. We've seen the consequences of his "experience" with health care. As a governor who may well direct managed care in his state, how convenient that his current health care company runs a chain of private clinics in north Florida.
Rick Scott's campaign promises were all about creating jobs and moving Florida forward. But like Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, Scott's promises fell flat once the votes were counted.
"Let's Get To Work?" In his latest move, Scott "got to work" by destroying decades of planning and hard work to bring high-speed rail to Florida. Scott "got to work" by killing jobs and turning away billions of badly needed federal stimulus funds that leaders and voters alike cheered for last year.
Why? Because President Obama was the one trying to move Florida forward. Plain and simple. Because Scott, the Republican party, and their corporate Tea Bag wing want nothing but power for themselves, and defeat for the President and the Democrats. They're perfectly willing to let workers and families suffer even if they have to bring down the economy and the country as they wait it out.
While those in Florida who still have jobs sit in traffic choking on exhaust fumes, Gov. Scott flies over them in his private plane jetting off to Washington to play his part in their "hostile takeover" plans. Oddly enough, they seem to think we'll want them back in charge when it's clear they're incapable of governing.
Rick Scott is in over his head and that's more obvious now than ever before. There's a good reason why so many other states are clamoring for those high-speed rail funds that everyone but Scott and his lapdog Mike Haridopolos wanted here. Scott is just as clueless about that as he is about Floridians who are tired of watching him attempt to destroy our state. We're all suffering in this economy, but Scott has thrown away the very opportunities for infrastructure, growth, and job creation that we desperately need, and he's just getting started. How many more times will we have to watch while he says "no" merely out of revenge against a President he doesn't like? ("ObamaCare! ObamaRail!") How long will Floridians be held "hostage" to his warped ideology?
Scott shouldn't be surprised that he'll be facing more and more opposition to his failed policies, because people ARE pushing back. This week, statewide rallies have been organized for Tuesday, March 8. The protest effort, called "Awake The State," which began less than a month ago grew quickly. It started as a Facebook page and in no time boasted over 5,000 members. At last count there were at least 30 statewide rallies organized for the Tuesday event.
If you'd like to learn more and get involved, find a rally near you or organize one yourself, you can do so at the Awake The State website. As the video below illustrates, while families and workers in Florida are facing the worst of the budget cuts, the leaders who lecture them on the need to make those sacrifices are making none of their own. Quite the opposite.
Rick Scott and the Florida legislators are the ones who need to wake up.
