Beach Peanuts

Koch's Comments On Need For "Agenda-Free Newspapers" Are Unconvincing

Flee The Press, Be The Press?

Recently the word got out that Koch Industries was considering the purchase of Tribune Co. newspapers, which includes The Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, setting off protests and alarm that the move would turn newspapers into propaganda machines fueled by the Koch ideology.

Charles Koch recently addressed the issue in, where else, The Wall Street Journal:

“There is a need for focus on real news, not news with an agenda or not news that is really editorializing,” Mr. Koch said in an interview.

Mr. Koch added in a follow-up statement to The Wall Street Journal that the editorial page of any newspaper his company acquired “would be a marketplace of ideas where all sorts of approaches to public-policy issues are vetted and contrasted, and there could be ongoing debate.” That, he predicted, “would ultimately improve newspapers as a business proposition.”

The first comment is laughable considering the source. Yes, there is a need for "real news" without an agenda." But does anyone who knows anything about the Koch brothers, and their partnership with ALEC, (informally known here as The Florida Legislature, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and his cabinet) who write virtually all Republican legislation in the country right now, really believes he means that? Of course not.

Given that they own most of the Republican Party, and spend millions during election season to "acquire" more members, and any other time they want to muscle through policy issues, it's a real stretch of the imagination that they would refrain from "editorializing" if they were to get into the newspaper business. They created the Tea Party after all, and were the leading force to kill ObamaCare before it became law, just for starters. 

As far as honoring the separation of editorial departments from the news departments as newspapers do, I don't see any hope of that in a "Koch Sentinel" (or a "Daily Bircher?"). Koch all but gives that one away in his gushing statement concerning policy issues and debate in improving "newspapers as a business proposition.” Somehow I don't see much "debate" over an issue that would benefit a Koch Industries competitor popping up in a Koch owned newspaper. Business is business.

Florida already has Rick Scott at the helm in what he thinks is the job of CEO of Florida, Inc., and who sees the State in terms of profits and privatization, and its people as trapped, but expendable consumers. To aid him further with propaganda factories, including one in the now Democratic I-4 Corridor, would only hasten the disaster. 

Floridians have had it with Rick Scott as it is. The last thing they want is more of the same in the form of Koch propaganda masquerading as "real news."

(Photo: Martha Jackovics)

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GOP Trading Hurricane Safety For Tax Cuts As Overactive Season Looms

Hurricane Charley Makes Landfall In Florida, 2004 (Photo: NOAA)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration came out today with their predictions for the 2013 hurricane season, which begins June 1.

Thursday's outlook calls for 13 to 20 named storms, 7 to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and 3 to 6 that become major hurricanes.

The prediction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is more than what's considered an average Atlantic season.

Unfortunately, as I wrote recently, the Republicans in Washington (including 16 from Florida) have held tax cuts for the wealthy hostage and the result was the forced sequester that has had devastating cuts for many in everything from Medicare cuts for the elderly, leaving some without cancer treatments to head start programs and more.

Now the sequester is about to impact Florida and other states in the path of those predicted storms:

Federal officials say they have the resources to warn storm-prone Florida and other vulnerable areas about weather emergencies, but a federal union representative warns that a hiring freeze plus furloughs threaten public safety.

Officials say they can maintain adequate staffing at the National Hurricane Center nearin [sic] Miami, though its forecasters will be forced to take off four unpaid days by Sept.ember 30. Staff at the National Weather Service already is depleted because of a hiring freeze.

“This could have a detrimental effect on everybody’s public safety,” said Bob Ebaugh, the steward in Miami for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. “Once you start limiting staffing, you start raising the potential for disaster.”

The furloughs will put stress on staffing for the hurricane hunter aircraft.

That's added stress as we're facing a hurricane season with above average activity. Sen. Bill Nelson voted against those sequester cuts, while Marco Rubio and those 16 House Republicans voted in favor of them. 

Also bear in mind that Marco Rubio voted against giving disaster aid to victims of Sandy last year not once but twice, and his habit of voting against the best interests of Floridians is nothing but consistent.

For Rubio and these Florida House members, keeping taxes low for the wealthiest in the country is of much greater value to them than keeping Floridians safe when the next hurricane hits:

Gus Bilirakis (R)

Jeff Miller (R)

Steve Southerland (R)

Ted Yoho (R)

Ander Crenshaw (R)

Ron DeSantis (R)

John Mica (R)

Bill Posey (R)

Daniel Webster (R)

Rich Nugent (R)

Bill Young (R)

Vern Buchanan (R)

Tom Rooney (R)

Trey Radel (R)

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R)

 

 

 

Fed Up With Being Used In Political Campaigns, Jesus Finally Puts His Foot Down

Divine Intervention?

After years of political candidates claiming that "God told them to run" or convincing voters that Jesus favors gun ownership, but opposes ObamaCare, it appears Jesus has finally put his foot down. 

A North Miami mayoral candidate, Anna Pierre, announced that Jesus had endorsed her, and she promptly lost the election with only 56 votes:

Anna Pierre, who previously said she was a victim of Vodou sorcery, posted the message in a campaign-style flier featured on her Facebook page.

Reached on Monday, Pierre said Jesus came to her in a dream.

“I had a revelation when I was going to give up on this race. I had a dream. I know what I saw,” she said. “A figure I can’t explain told me, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am your friend. I am walking with you side by side. You are not alone.’ I felt it was from heaven. It was an endorsement by Jesus.”

If this was indeed Jesus' doing, I'm not sure why, exactly, he waited until now to take a stand and say "Enough already!"  I can think of at least three recent, and more suitable cases in which much damage could have been avoided had he stepped in earlier.

Luckily, Jesus came to an "unnamed source" in a dream and the source had the opportunity to ask him:

US: Why not step in when George W. Bush said you told him to run?

Jesus: I honestly didn't think he would ever actually get elected.

US: What about his reelection?

Jesus: Well, I thought what were the chances of it happening a second time?

US: With all due respect, it was Florida, after all. What about that? The Supreme Court? Ohio?

Jesus: I know. Again, my bad.

US: Can you explain Michele Bachmann? Louie Gohmert?  

Jesus: Don't tell anyone this, but I really can't be everywhere at all times. You can't imagine the pressure I'm under. Look at what I'm up against in Congress for Go...for heav....for goodness sake!

US: Oh, come on! What about Sarah Palin?

Jesus: Are you kidding? I actually did quietly step in on that one, but I didn't make a formal announcement. Still paying for that decision...

US: Why now? Why this race in particular?

Jesus: Quite frankly, I'm tired of political parties claiming I'm really "on their side." I felt it was important to choose a nonpartisan race.

US: You claim you're not partisan, but your excuse for George W. Bush seems a tad flimsy. That is, if you really do exist, so I'll ask again. Are you really non-partisan? Do you actually exist? Asking for a friend.

Jesus: Jesus! What is this, an inquisition?? Oops, I mean.....uh.....

US: Wow. I'll ask you again. Do. You. Exist?

Jesus:.......Uh.......

Poof!

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Because He's Not Unpopular Enough Yet, Rick Scott Says Allen West Would Make A Great Lt. Governor!

Mixed Nuts: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

It appears that one of the most unpopular Governors in the country, and perhaps history, is looking to see if he can beat his own record for low poll numbers.

Rick Scott said he wouldn't deal with his hunt to replace his last scandal-ridden Lt. Gov. until after the legislative session was over. Now it's decision time, and he's floating the name of a possible replacement that would most certainly rival Jennifer Carroll in the scandal, and WTH? department:

Allen West.

Yes, really:

Governor Rick Scott hasn't picked a new Lieutenant Governor, and it's not clear whether he will, but he says at least one Florida politician would make a superb choice. 

On AM Tampa Bay, the governor responded to a question by saying West "is a great American and a great patriot... he'd be a great Lieutenant Governor."

Well, he's certainly a favorite of the hard-core Tea Party extremist wing, and has so many qualities that the Republican Party values and requires these days: Intolerance, hate, being an avid Obama-basher-for-big-bucks, inability to focus on facts and the issues that are important to Americans, and a spinner of conspiracies that would rival Glenn Beck on his more severely incoherent days.

Here are just a few examples, in case you were somehow able to erase them from your memory. Although, if you did and prefer to keep it that way, I would recommend you not take this stroll down memory lane hell.

To those who like to live dangerously, well strap on that tinfoil hat! Here you go. 

May the farce be with you.

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GOP Intolerance Alienates Their Own Florida Hispanic Outreach Director

Pablo Pantoja

(Photo: Kevin Cate, The Florida Nation)

How badly is the Republican Party's so-called project on "outreach" to Hispanics going?

This badly:  Citing the "culture of intolerance surrounding the Republican Party," and the recent report from the Heritage Foundation, and one of it's now former members, Jason Richwine's views, the State Director of Florida Hispanic Outreach for the Republican National Committee, Pablo Pantoja, has now become a Democrat. 

It's understandable, given that their so-called savior on immigration, Marco Rubio, seems to set up more roadblocks on immigration reform than actual solutions, like warning that green cards for gay couples is a deal breaker, and saying the only reason he's jumped into immigration reform in the first place is because "the President and the Democrats who control the Senate were going to bring this issue up" anyway. (Although he may have other reasons entirely.) He's also said that he will "strongly oppose" the confirmation of President Obama's Hispanic labor secretary nominee Thomas Perez, merely because he's a "liberal" Democrat.

But it goes much deeper than just Marco Rubio's numerous immigration barriers, and the Republican Party seems to have little interest in really reaching out to Hispanics. (Beyond window dressing, re-branding, and voter suppression.) As the director of their outreach in Florida, Pablo Pantoja's reasons for becoming a Democrat couldn't make that more clear.

It also goes beyond just immigration, as the GOP is alienating more voters every day. 

Here is Pantoja's letter in full, from Kevin Cate at The Florida Nation:

Friend,

Yes, I have changed my political affiliation to the Democratic Party.

It doesn’t take much to see the culture of intolerance surrounding the Republican Party today. I have wondered before about the seemingly harsh undertones about immigrants and others. Look no further; a well-known organization recently confirms the intolerance of that which seems different or strange to them.

Studies geared towards making – human beings – viewed as less because of their immigrant status to outright unacceptable claims, are at the center of the immigration debate. Without going too deep on everything surrounding immigration today, the more resounding example this past week was reported by several media outlets.

A researcher included as part of a past dissertation his theory that “the totality of the evidence suggests a genetic component to group differences in IQ.” The researcher reinforces these views by saying “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.”

Although the organization distanced themselves from those assertions, other immigration-related research is still padded with the same racist and eugenics-based innuendo. Some Republican leaders have blandly (if at all) denied and distanced themselves from this but it doesn’t take away from the culture within the ranks of intolerance. The pseudo-apologies appear to be a quick fix to deep-rooted issues in the Republican Party in hopes that it will soon pass and be forgotten.

The complete disregard of those who are in disadvantage is also palpable. We are not looking at an isolated incident of rhetoric or research. Others subscribe to motivating people to action by stating, “In California, a majority of all Hispanic births are illegitimate. That’s a lot of Democratic voters coming.” The discourse that moves the Republican Party is filled with this anti-immigrant movement and overall radicalization that is far removed from reality.  Another quick example beyond the immigration debate happened during CPAC this year when a supporter shouted ““For giving him shelter and food for all those years?” while a moderator explained how Frederick Douglass had written a letter to his slave master saying that he forgave him for “all the things you did to me.” I think you get the idea.

When the political discourse resorts to intolerance and hate, we all lose in what makes America great and the progress made in society.

Although I was born an American citizen, I feel that my experience, and that of many from Puerto Rico, is intertwined with those who are referred to as illegal. My grandfather served in an all-Puerto Rican segregated Army unit, the 65^thInfantry Regiment. He then helped, along my grandmother, shatter glass ceilings for Puerto Rican women raising my aunt to become the first Puerto Rican woman astronomer with a PhD in astrophysics (an IQ of a genius as far as I’m concerned). Puerto Ricans, as many other Americans still today have to face issues of discrimination in voting and civil rights.

Regardless of what political affiliation people choose, my respect for some remains. I don’t expect all Hispanics to do the same (although I would hope so) but I’m taking a stand against this culture of intolerance.

I am also making a modest contribution (here: http://bit.ly/12uf3g8) to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for the efforts in helping protect the rights of immigrants and civil liberties in general.

With warm regards,

-pablo

Pablo Pantoja should be commended for taking a stand.

Too bad the rest of the GOP can't do the same.

 

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Timely Injustice? Faster, Easier Executions Just A Signature Away In Florida

Executing Another Bet With Texas?

Despite a history of wrongfully convicted Death Row inmates, and objections from Democrats, a bill that will make executions in Florida faster and easier is on it's way to Rick Scott's office for signature:

The “Timely Justice Act,” approved by the House last week, creates shorter time frames for death penalty appeals and take away the governor’s discretion about when to order an execution.

If Scott signs the bill or allows it to become law without his approval, 13 Death Row inmates would fit its criteria, meaning the governor who has signed nine death warrants in the 29 months since he took office would have to order 13 executions within six months.

.......Twenty-four Florida Death Row inmates have been exonerated, the most of any state in the nation.

.......Florida is the only state in the nation that allows a simple majority of the jury on capital cases. Critics of the bill had tried to change it to require a 10-2 majority of the jury as Alabama requires. All other states with the death penalty require unanimous jury decisions.

Scott has declined to comment on where he stands with this legislation, but should he sign it, it could place him in yet another competition with rival Rick Perry of Texas, who openly brags about the number of executions his state carries out.

(Photo: Gov. Rick Scott, Flickr)

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Florida In Flames?

Today Rick Scott added Illinois to the list of states he's trying to lure businesses from, by sending out letters filled with flowery optimism to business owners in the Land Of Lincoln.

I've written before that businesses might not be so attracted to Florida what with all the really bad policies Scott and the Republicans in the legislature have ventured into in terms of quality of life. Sure, big businesses get huge tax giveaways, but how good are your workers when you don't pay them a living wage, or provide sick time?

How good is it for business when the state cuts education and it's quality, when you can't get from point A to point B without the benefit of good mass transit and high-speed rail, can't afford the high cost of health insurance and medical care? It's hard to run a business when all your customers are fleeing a state that's run on the cheap at the hands of people like Rick Scott who cater to the rich and have no idea how to govern.

Sure, those few who run all those big businesses can afford all of the above, but they have to live here too.

I doubt Rick Scott would mention to Illinois businessmen and owners that the Florida legislature is debating another obstacle to the quality of life as I write: Hydraulic fracturing.

If fracking comes to Florida as they hope, does Scott plan to mention in the future that in addition to further polluting the water already endangered by development run amok, those captains of industry may well be sucking down a scotch and fracking liquids during happy hour after a hard day at work? What about the kids sipping lemonade made with chemicals protected as trade secrets? Well, unless the drinks burst into flames before they can drink them.

Will he mention that a dip in the backyard pool could be more of a dip than they bargained for as it, and perhaps the entire mansion, slips into a sinkhole?

Will he mention that soon they may not have to go to the nearest theme park for their kids to "experience" a man-made earthquake in Florida?

Just a few things to think about before businesses decide to sink serious money into Florida, because after Rick Scott, and the Republicans in Florida are finished pillaging and profiting by squeezing out and destroying every last resource that's left, not everyone will be able to afford to get out and move on like they will. 

Marco Rubio To 91% Of Americans: Take Your Freedom Of Speech And Shove It

After cowardly threatening to filibuster any debate on gun legislation and refusing to take calls from the daughter of a Newtown victim, Marco Rubio proudly put his vote where his mouth was to vote against a debate on guns laws in the presence of Newtown victim families on the Senate floor today. He doubled down to thumb his nose at the families, and his constituents in Florida, 91% of who favor tighter gun restrictions. 

In spite of Rubio and 30 others, including Democrats Mark Begich (AK) and Mark Pryor (AR), who voted to filibuster, it failed 68-31. It's just the first step, but still a failure by Rubio and the others to block any discussion, much less any changes in legislation that could work to prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Arizona, and Colorado, to name only the more recent in a long and growing list of gun deaths and mass shootings.

Republicans who voted to begin debate: Sens. Lamar Alexander (TN), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Richard Burr (NC), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Tom Coburn (OK), Susan Collins (ME), Bob Corker (TN), Jeff Flake (AZ), Lindsey Graham (SC), Dean Heller (NV), John Hoeven (ND), Johnny Isakson (GA), Mark Kirk (IL), John McCain (AZ), Pat Toomey (PA) and Roger Wicker (MS).

However, some of those same Republicans signaled that they may indeed filibuster legislation moving forward, and there's no doubt Rubio will be among them. He's made it perfectly clear that he thinks not only that Newtown families don't deserve to be heard, but that his constituents don't deserve to be heard either. 91% of Floridians favor tighter gun restrictions like background checks, but instead of listening to them, he's listening to lobbyists and those who stand to profit from gun sales. Those same people fan the flames after every mass shooting in order to sell more guns as they stoke fears that are unfounded. Those are the ones Rubio stands with. Those 26 deaths in Newtown didn't even register on Rubio's radar. They don't matter to him. Anyone who thinks otherwise should ask Erica Lafferty who he refused to speak to. (As of this writing, Rubio has yet to issue a statement on his vote. Apparently he doesn't feel Floridians, nor the rest of the country deserve an explanation either.)

Rubio, it seems, doesn't care about the deaths in Newtown, or Arizona, or Colorado any more than he cares what the people he's supposed to represent in Florida want. (If anyone from Florida who has tried to speak with him or contact him and been successful hearing back from him, I would love to hear about it.) He's turned a deaf ear on every one of them who feel gun laws need to be tightened. He proved it by proudly bragging that he'll do what it takes to prevent that and any discussion of it off the table in Washington. This shouldn't come as a surprise to Floridians. When he was running for office, he absurdly said he wanted to go to Washington to "shut it down." He also made this statement at CPAC during his campaign:

"First, we have to understand what’s happening. Leaders at the highest levels of our government are undertaking a deliberate and systematic effort to redefine our government, our economy and our country."

A fine example of projection if I've ever heard one. Perhaps lost on some voters was that Rubio was describing exactly the kind of leader he aspires to be. What better way to "redefine our government" than to block even a debate on something 91% of the country and his constituents want? If you thought Rubio believed in "freedom of speech," the joke is on you. Freedom of speech comes at a price in Marco's world, and you can't afford the price of a seat at his table. That seat is taken by the likes of the NRA.

Boom. You lose.

Since Rubio announced his filibuster intentions 14 days ago, there has been a gun death for every one of those days in Florida, 14, adding to the total of 211 gun deaths nationwide. Just 14 days. Since Newtown, the totals are now 3,370 gun deaths nationwide, and 217 in Florida.

The longer the inaction of Rubio and others, the more numbers will be added to that list. If Rubio gets his way in Washington and nothing is done, our already record-breaking numbers of gun deaths worldwide will mean even larger profits for the puppeteers holding Rubio's strings as they fuel his political ambitions which know no bounds. Rubio takes this stand as he condemns other countries, calling them cruel and repressive regimes. For a man who sees this as a way forward to becoming a potential Presidential nominee, what does that make him?

Today's failed filibuster is just a first step, but a positive sign that, in spite of those like Marco Rubio who ignore the will of 91% of Americans in favor of tighter gun laws, their voices will still be heard, and pushing back does, and will make a difference. 

As President Obama said, "the time is now," and every voice will need to be heard to make positive changes to thwart more gun violence and deaths in the future. Those like Rubio who want to silence those voices can't be allowed to do so while claiming to stand for freedom of speech. 

That's not what Democracy looks like.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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Yesterday, after Marco Rubio and 14 other Senators threatened to filibuster any debate over new gun bills, the effort failed when several Republicans said they wouldn't join them shortly after Mitch McConnell also signed on. McConnell is facing bottom of the barrel poll numbers, and since he remains to be the most unpopular Senator in the country, fears a challenge for reelection. Naturally, he'll stand with the NRA and their money rather than do anything that could prevent another mass shooting.

Of course, Rubio has made it pretty clear that he feels the same as McConnell does, and his political ambitions trump doing anything to protect Americans, children and adults, from gun violence. To that end, Rubio illustrated his cowardice with the filibuster threat.

Yesterday he doubled down on that when the daughter of the Sandy Hook principal who was killed attempted to contact him. Rubio continued to run scared when he refused to even take a phone call from Erica Lafferty. Lafferty also sent Rubio a message on Twitter, along with the others, saying that she deserved to be heard. When that too was met with silence, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy sent out his own plea on Twitter to Rubio and the others asking them to at least call her back.

The answer? Crickets. Only one, Republican Ted Cruz, eventually did call Lafferty back.

Meanwhile, in Florida there have been 216 gun deaths, and 3,349 gun deaths nationally since Sandy Hook. Since Rubio and the Republicans announced their filibuster intentions, there have been 192 gun deaths nationwide, and 13 in Florida. Those numbers will continue to grow the longer we wait for officials in Washington to do something about them.

The pressure on Rubio continues to mount as debate on gun legislation begins today in the Senate, and as outside groups begin running ads focusing on he and others who continue to stand with gun manufacturers and groups like the NRA, rather than enacting common sense measures to prevent the next Sandy Hook.

This week, Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced that they will begin "grading" lawmakers on their gun related votes and issues just as the NRA does. Their latest ad shines the spotlight on Marco Rubio.

Rubio may well continue to ignore victims, anyone pleading that he do something to curb gun violence, and the real life consequences of his inaction, but 91% of the country, and his constituents won't. They see him for what he is, and come the next election, he won't be able to ignore the results.

 

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Your Freedom At Gunpoint

Last week, President Obama gave another emotional speech asking lawmakers to pass sensible gun legislation in the wake of the Newtown shootings.

The same day, Connecticut's State Prosecutor Stephen Sedensky revealed that it took Adam Lanza less than five minutes to fire 155 bullets at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown and kill 26 children and adults that day. Less than five minutes. Some of those children had 11 bullets in their small bodies.

This was the day that Marco Rubio chose to take a stand for the "rights of of gun owners" by joining several other Republican Senators to sign a letter stating they would filibuster any gun legislation in the Senate:

“We, the undersigned, intend to oppose any legislation that would infringe on the American people’s constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance,” he wrote in a statement on his website. 

“The Second Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens’ right to self-defense. It speaks to history’s lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times, and history’s warning about the oppression of a government that tries.”

Rubio and his co-obstructionists are now on the record saying they will do anything it takes to stand up for the rights of the Nancy Lanza's in this country to own an entire arsenal just in case they have to defend themselves from imaginary tyranny. Rubio is on the record saying even if the Adam Lanza's happen to have easy access to that arsenal, kill their own mother with her lawfully owned gun (a lot of good those weapons did her), and then head out to a school and proceed to kill 20 children and two of their teachers in less than five minutes, he will do anything to protect the shooter's rights to do so. Not the children's rights. Not the teachers and administrators rights. The gun owner's rights, and anyone who can get their hands on those weapons.

This, apparently, is Rubio's infamous idea of "American Exceptionalism." It's exceptional all right. No other civilized country on the planet have lawmakers who would stand up for the rights of an individual to take a weapon of war to a school or a mall or a movie theater and murder as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time and call it "freedom." But this is exactly whatMarco Rubio represents.

As for "who" he represents? Not the people who voted for him. The latest poll on gun control among Florida voters shows overwhelming support of universal background checks, the current legislation that has a glimmer of a chance to pass in Washington. 91% of Florida voters support it.

91%.

Nationwide, the latest poll is the same: 91% favor background checks for all gun buyers, and 88% support universal background checks. A majority of Americans rarely agree on all the issues, but 91% is an amazing number. There is no poll that says a large percentage favor a Rubio filibuster of any new laws that would protect them from the next massacre. Yet that is how Rubio has responded to the will of the voters, many of who put him in office: To support stronger gun measures would be a form of oppression for the next Adam Lanza, and for that, Rubio will not stand.

He represents the gun manufacturers and their representatives, the NRA. The NRA doesn't really represent the gun owners. That's not where the money is. It lies with the weapon profiteers, who fund the NRA, who fund puppet Representatives and Senators, who will legislate for a price. Follow that money and you'll find Rubio holding a pot of gold at the end of his rhetorical rainbow of freedom. It wouldn't be worth the lives of the next 20 babies to change anything, even if the next poll were 100%. Boom. Rubio couldn't care less.

For all his speeches about freedom, the bottom line is what it's all about. Money. All that money from the gun lobby, the Koch brothers, Wall Street, and the list goes on. All that money gives Marco Rubio the "freedom" to tell the American people to put their beliefs in Democracy where the sun don't shine. He's got his, stinks to be you. He's just another sellout with no principles whatsoever. He's taken a stand against everything that a civilized society would want. Violence against women? He stands with the abuser. Health care? He's with the insurance companies. You lost everything to a natural disaster? Sorry, any disaster aid would be a "handout." Social Security, Medicare, student loans, legal status for immigrants? Rubio and his family are entitled to those things, but you? Prepare yourself for the new definition of an "entitlement" according to Marco. Sorry, to expect those things would be to trample on freedom. And let's not forget the big one: Abortion. Rubio will protect a fetus, no exceptions. However, once that child is born, if he or she falls victim to the Sandy Hook massacre, so be it. Freedom!

It's one thing to be a shameless hypocrite like Rubio, but it's another to say your "heart goes out to the victims and their families" yet do nothing to actually prove it. He's a father too, which makes it all the more shameless and disgusting. Imagine one day being asked by one of his children why he made sure that no protections from gun violence could pass. Anyone who has a child knows that if you tried to explain that all those children's lives were the price of freedom, they would see that twisted logic for what it is. Nonsense. Then imagine explaining his filibuster to them when the next shooting happenes. And the next. And the next. 

Also released on the day that Obama made that plea for gun legislation and Rubio vowed to block it no matter what the cost, was information from search warrants along with an inventory of what police found in Lanza's car and home after the shootings. It's quite a list. It's an arsenal. And yet, it's still not enough. Rubio stands by those who will never be able to sell enough weapons, who will never have enough profits to make it worth Rubio's while to finally take a stand for the rights of school children to feel safe in their classroom without the fear that a madman will show up and start shooting. Or the fear that they'll be hit by crossfire or by accident because Rubio stood for the right to bear arms for profit, and now armed guards are "mandated" by the NRA. That may be Rubio's idea of freedom, but 91% of the American people don't agree, and they, we, are the ones at risk. 

So let Marco Rubio pretend to have principles, and boast of his "love of freedom" all he wants. No sane person would believe it in the face of all the evidence. No child would buy that argument either. As a father, let him explain how someone else's children's right to live doesn't trump the rights of a gun owner and those who stand to profit when Rubio filibusters any gun law changes.

20 children and two adults died in under five minutes one morning in December, at the hands of someone who should never have had access to a weapon of war. But he did.

Let Rubio explain to his own children how preventing someone from gaining access to, and owning even a small percentage of the items below is oppression, and an infringement on their rights to use them.

Tell them that this is what freedom and "American Exceptionalism" represents to him. Any decent human being would be ashamed. Not Marco Rubio. He proudly put it in writing.

Found in the home of Nancy and Adam Lanza:

Item #6 - One small caliber bullet (live round) labeled "C".

Item #9 -(5) Winchester 12ga. shotgun shells, cut open, with buckshot.

Item #13 - Contents of brown gun safe to include the following:

-One white plastic bag containing (30) Winchester 12ga. shotgun shells.

-Black leather handgun holster.

-"Planters" can with numerous .22cal. and .45 cal. bullets.

-Box containing (8) boxes of Winchester Windcat .22cal. bullets with 50 rounds per box.

-Box with 20 "Estate" 12ga. shotgun shells.

-(4) boxes of "SB" buckshot 12ga., 10 rounds per box.

-Box of "Lightfield" 12ga. slugs.

-Box of 20 "Prvi Partizan" 303 British rifle cartridges.

-Box of 20 -"Federal" 303 British rifle cartridges.

-2 boxes of 22 long rifle "Blazer", 50 rounds each.

-Small plastic bag of screws and allen.

-Small blue folding knife.

-Wooden box with numerous rounds of ''Winchester'' .45cal bullets.

-(2) boxes of 50 rounds -"PPU .45cal. auto.

-Box of 20 rounds "Remington" .223cal.

-(3) boxes of "Blazer" 40 S&W, 50 rounds each.

-(2) boxes of "Winchester" 5.56mm, 20 rounds each.

-Box of "Magtech" 45ACP with 30 rounds.

-Empty box of "SSA" 5.56mm.

-Box of "Fiocchi" .45auto with 48 rounds.

-Box for "Battle Tested" vest accessories.

-Leather Dual magazine holder.

-80 rounds of "CCI" .22 long rifle.

-(6) boxes of "PMC" .223 rem, 20 rounds each.

-"Safariland" holster paperwork.

-(6) "Winchester" 9 pellet buckshot shells (12ga.)

-(2) "Remington" 12ga. Slugs

-3 "Winchester" .223 rifle rounds.

-(31) .22cal. rounds.

Item #14 -One Enfield Albian bolt action rifle, .323 caliber, model no. 44MKI, SN HC22273A

Item #15 -Contents from second shelf in bedroom closet to include:

-(2) boxes of "Underwood"10mm auto each with 50 rounds.

-(130) rounds of "Lawman" 9mm luger in 3 boxes.

-Handwritten note card regarding ammunition and magazines

-"Glock" handgun manual

-MD-20, 20 round shotgun magazine manual

-MD Arms V-Plug guide

-Plastic bag of misc. parts.

-"Peltor" ear plugs.

Item #17 -Contents from third shelf in bedroom closet to include:

-(2) spent shell casings from factory for Glock 10mm, SN -SMA461.

-"Bushmaster" XM15 and C15 instruction manual.

-"Savage Arms" bolt action rifle manual.

-"Glock" paperwork.

-(1) "Promag" 20 round, 12ga. drum magazine.

-(1) "MDArms" 20 round 12ga. drum magazine.

-(1) "Uncle Mikes" Sidekick nylon holster.

-(1) Metal Bayonet

-Small box of misc. rounds.

Item #20 -Contents of top drawer of filing cabinet to include:

-Empty box of "Gold Dot" 9mm luger.

-(2) empty boxes of "Winchester" 9mm luger.

-Box of "Underwood" 10mm auto with 34 of 50 rounds.

-Magazine with 10 rounds of .223cal bullets.

-Box of misc. 9mm rounds (29 total).

-(3) "AGP Arms Inc"12ga. shotgun magazines (empty).

-(1) "Surefire GunMag" magazine with 8 rounds of Winchester 12ga. 9pellet buck.

-(2) "AGP Arms Inc"12ga. shotgun magazines, taped together, each with 10 rounds

Winchester 12ga. 9 pellet buck.

-(1) "High Sierra" fanny pack.

Item #21 -One "Savage Mark II" .22cal rifle, SN 1605038, with magazine, 3 live rounds, and 1 spent cartridge.

Item #22 -(1) spent .22cal shell casing.

Item #26 -One cotton swab of BlS (Blood Like Substance).

Item #30 -(1) tan sheet with BlS.

Item #36 -(1) tan fitted sheet with BlS.

Item #37 -(1) orange towel with green and white stripes, and BlS.

Item #42 -(5) paper targets.

Item #45 -One cardboard target.

Item #47 -Contents of "Nike" shoe box to include:

-One small plastic bag containing numerous .22cal. bullets.

-(2) empty "Ram Line" magazines for Ruger 10-22.

Item #48 -Tan bag containing personal hygiene items, ear protection, and plastic bag with numerous "Blazer" .45cal. bullets.

Item #54 -One "AGP Arms Inc" Gen 212ga. shotgun magazine with 10 rounds of Winchester 12ga. 9 pel. buck.

Item #57 -One blue and white duffel bag containing the following:

-Full box of "Blazer" .22callong rifle (50 rounds).

-lightening l3 ear protection.

-(2) sets of eye protection.

-"Simmons" binoculars.

-Box of "PPU" 303 British cartridges with 9 rounds.

-(2) 'Win 9mm" rounds.

-Numerous paper targets.

-Adam Lanza National Rifle Association certificate.

Item #65 -One brass colored shell casing.

Item #66 -One brass colored shell casing.

Item #91 – One digital image print of a child and various firearms.

Exhibit #613 -One (1) knife with a 12 inch blade and a sheath.

Exhibit #614 -One (1) wooden handle knife with a 7.5 inch blade and a sheath.

Exhibit #615 -One (1) wooden handle knife with a 10 inch blade.

Exhibit #616 -One (1) black marksman BB gun, serial #32814.

Exhibit #617 -One (1) knife with a 5.5 inch blade and a sheath.

Exhibit #618 -One (1) black handled knife with a 7 inch blade and a sheath.

Exhibit #619 -One (1) Busnnell sport view rifle scope, 4x32mm.

Exhibit #620 -One (1) black rubber handled knife with a 9.5 inch blade and a sheath.

Exhibit #621 -One (1) white and brown handled knife with a 5 inch blade and sheath.

Exhibit #622 -One (1) brown wood handled knife with a 1Q.25 inch blade.

Exhibit #623 -One (1) clear plastic Ramline magazine for an AR15.

Exhibit #624 -One (1) Panther brand brown handled folding knife with a 3.75 inch blade.

Exhibit #625 -One (1) Volcanic.22 revolver sterter pistol with 5 live rounds and 1 expended round.

Exhibit #626 -One (1) six foot ten inch wood handled two sided pole with a blade on one side and a spear on the opposite side

Exhibit #627 -One (1) Samurai sword with a canvas wrapped handle and a 28 inch blade with a sheath.

Exhibit #628 -One (1) Samurai sword with a canvas wrapped handle and a 21 inch blade with a sheath.

Exhibit #629 -One (1) Samurai sword with a canvas wrapped handle and a 13 inch blade with a sheath.