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.
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.
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:
The sun is about to set on the 2013 Florida legislative session, and there is little doubt that uninsured Floridians with low incomes will once again be left in the dark with no good health care options. The Senate refuses to budge on taking any federal money for Medicaid purely for political purposes.
We've heard all the excuses from House Speaker Will-Medicaid-For-Me-But-Not-For-Thee-Weatherford, one being time constraints. He's said there's no urgency to doing anything about it now, and if Medicaid goes nowhere this year it "won't be the end of the world." True, it won't be the end of the world for him, he pays just $8 a month for health care, thank you very much.
While Medicaid is such a long slog and a heavy lift, it's funny how fast Weatherford can move when a bill that greases the skids for him needs to go through. In fact, he jumped so quickly yesterday to speed a bill through giving away a big tax-break for manufacturers that it may well be unconstitutional.
And you thought that "Mary" the auto reader was fast.
Earlier in the day, Scott said he was still reviewing the bills. He previously questioned why campaign contribution limits needed to be raised. The ethics bill (SB 2) was a priority of Sen. President Don Gaetz and the campaign finance bill (HB 569) was important to House Speaker Will Weatherford. The House and Senate sent him the bills knowing they would have to be signed by or vetoed before midnight Wednesday, two days before the legislative session ends.
All three had something they really, really wanted, but they had to act fast to get them. And work fast Weatherford did. The man who has no time for Medicaid suddenly moved at lightening speed to seal a deal in order to get what he wanted: To raise campaign contributions to $1,000 for legislative and local races and $3,000 for statewide races, and a few other goodies.
So in "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" fashion, Republicans quickly produced a 96 page bill that many hadn't read, and that included language many had never seen before. Weatherford then pushed it through with no debate. The bill "passed" 68-48. But did it really pass? Democrats say no because the bill did not get the two-thirds majority required to constitutionally change local government tax rates.
Yes, they rammed through a potentially unconstitutional bill to get Scott to sign ethics and campaign finance bills into law.
But House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, a lawyer, said that was plainly wrong, and a lawsuit challenging the tax-change would be coming "immediately."
"The legal implication is that it requires a two-thirds vote on at least on bill in the package. We don't know everything that as in there. They did not get two-thirds vote," Thurston said. "Unfortunately, it looks like that is something that has to be challenged, and we're sure it will be challenged with all due speed."
The section of the constitution relevant states that "Except upon approval of each house of the legislature by two-thirds of the membership, the legislature may not enact, amend, or repeal any general law if the anticipated effect of doing so would be to reduce the authority that municipalities or counties have to raise revenues in the aggregate."
Surely Will Weatherford has a good answer to charges that in his haste he passed a bill that wasn't constitutional and possibly illegal? Well, funny story there.....no, he doesn't:
"We looked into that very closely. We do not believe it needs a two-thirds vote," Weatherford said, although his office declined to release any legal opinion.
"I disagree with [Thurston]. I think the bill is extremely constitutional," he said. "We do not believe [that section of the constitution] applies. I can't give you all the specifics. We talked with our attorneys. We had an entire team that looked at it and studied it. We do not believe it required a two-thirds vote."
After the brief media interview, Weatherford's office declined to provide any more specifics about the legality of the bill.
So Weatherford says it's not only constitutional, but it's extremely constitutional. So extreme in fact that he cannot give any details or specifics, but he believes this, and you'll just have to take his and some attorneys word for it.
Dare we ask, is this due to some sort of "double secret extreme constitution" we don't know about? Of course we dare not, because Weatherford is not discussing the matter further.
Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott told reporters this morning that he decided to sign a bill raising campaign contribution limits – after saying repeatedly that he didn’t like the idea – because he listened “to a lot of people.”
“Like everything, you listen to a lot of people and try to make the best decision I can for every citizen in the state, so I made that decision to sign that bill last night,” Scott said.
“I look at everything but I made the right decision for all Floridians,” he said.
Oh, right. It's those "lots of people" he talks to again. We hear a lot about those guys, but oddly, we never see them. They must be in an extremely secret location somewhere hanging out with Weatherford's phantom attorneys, those scamps.
And how thoughtful of Scott to make sure he acts on things that are of the utmost importance to Floridians everywhere: Raising campaign contribution limits.
Ask any Floridian what matters most to them: Jobs? High-speed rail? Health care? Clean air and water? The right to vote? The desire to foot the bill for nuclear power plants that will never materialize? Protection from oil spills and hurricanes? Good education? Payng the bills? Nope.
What matters to them most is that politicians can be purchased at even higher prices by those who really run the show in Tallahassee. Just ask Rick Scott, Don Gaetz and Will Weatherford, they'll set you straight.
Yup. That's how Republicans do "ethics" in Florida.
Scott and Weatherford: Conflicting Priorities In A Race To The Bottom
Things are getting interesting, and a little heated, between Rick Scott and Republicans in the legislature in a fight over priorities and power struggles. If the problems didn't pose such serious consequences for Floridians who at this point merely pawns to the ruling party, their donors and lobbyists, it would be time to get out the popcorn. Unfortunately, any celebrations will only result from lessening the damage from this year's legislative session.
Scott has claimed he prefers the Senate version of Medicaid which would take $50 billion in federal funds, but the House version uses only state funds and the coverage is inadequate and would extend to less people. The Senate passed their version, but the House has so far refused to adopt the bill, which set off a standoff in the House today when Democrats called for the use of their "nuclear option" of reading the bills in full, causing more tension in the chamber between parties.
Scott turned his forced acceptance of Medicaid expansion into a campaign issue hoping that voters would "believe" his flip-flop was genuine, which of course, hasn't worked. Voters haven't forgotten that his entire career before running involved trying to kill off ObamaCare. If the legislature does nothing about Medicaid, which appears to be the likely outcome, they will drag him down with them in defeat. Unfortunately many Floridians will still go without insurance coverage and health care as a result of what House Speaker Will Weatherford says won't be "the end of the world." While his own family benefited from Medicaid, he has denied it to others, and in doing so, it's not a stretch to say people will die without it. For them it will be the "end of the world."
Adding to the tension, Charlie Crist, the potential challenger and spoiler to Scott's reelection pipe dreams, jumped into the fray today with a critical posting on Facebook:
It is really disappointing to watch the Legislature, particularly the Florida House of Representatives put ideology over the health care needs of working uninsured Floridians. The plan the Florida Senate has designed will build on one of the best public private health care partnerships in America, KidCare, and would provide more than 1 million working uninsured Floridians access to real private health insurance.
I know one thing, if this debate had happened during my term as Governor, the Legislature and I would have spent all summer in Tallahassee until we had done the right thing by the people that we all serve.
There has also been disagreement between Republicans and Scott over his education priorities, on everything from teacher raises to tuition hikes, more campaign fodder for Scott. With those in jeopardy thanks to the GOP, Scott has threatened to veto special projects of theirs.
"They have to explain what they meant. I know that we had an agreement, a three-year agreement."
An analysis says repeal of the tax would result in a loss of about $140 million in sales tax revenue to the state, cities and counties. The budget before lawmakers is $74.5 billion, and is about $4 billion higher than current spending.
Scott didn't stop there: He directly criticized the Legislature for writing a budget that includes a 3 percent tuition increase on in-state students. To Scott, raising tuition is the same as raising taxes, which he also called "ridiculous."
"I'm reviewing the bills. I'm going to make the right decision for 19.2 million Floridians," Scott said. "I don't look at this as politics. I look at this as, how do you take care of people in our state?"
Hanging in the balance as leverage for Scott are three GOP legislative priorities, which Scott has to act on by Wednesday, campaign finance "reform," ethics, and in a new twist on the war on women, a law that would end or restrict alimony.
As Scott and Republicans fight it out among themselves, sadly the losers in either battle will be Floridians.
After the sequester began in March, Americans all over the country began feeling the cuts that Republicans forced on them because they wanted to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy while killing Social Security and Medicare. While Medicare patients were being turned away from cancer clinics, all Republicans were worried about were White House tours.
Then it was flight delays due to air traffic controller furloughs that were causing Republicans pain, so they complained this week while trying to place the blame on President Obama, knowing full well that the sequester was pushed and voted for by them. (Rick Scott tried his hand at it too, as noted here earlier.)
Sequestration's full impact on the intelligence community and U.S. national security will not truly be felt by Americans until the next terrorist attack happens or the next bomb goes off.
"Unlike more directly observable sequestration impacts like shorter hours at the parks or longer security lines at airports, the degradation to intelligence will be insidious," Clapper told Senate Armed Services Committee members.
"It will be gradual and almost invisible until, of course, we have an intelligence failure," he added during Thursday's committee hearing on emerging national security threats.
These cuts are just the beginning of some of the things Americans are having to give up merely because the now radical Republicans in Washington want to prevent the rich from paying their fair share of taxes while killing social safety nets.
Yes, Republicans are putting national security at risk so they can keep their precious tax cuts.
It's nearly a certainty that before long we will hear the next round of complaints and false finger pointing from Republicans (probably accompanied by a catchy Twitter hashtag) just in time for Hurricane season. When that happens, just remember who really put Floridians and others around the country in danger just as we're seeing larger and more devastating weather events on a regular basis.
When Hurricane season arrives and those cuts to weather forecasting and hurricane monitoring place Floridians in danger, Sen. Marco Rubio, and these House Republicans from Florida are the ones who are holding public safety hostage to protect tax cuts for the wealthy (and yes, in most cases, that includes them.)
Give them a (courteous) call and thank them, or let them know what you think. House numbers here, Marco Rubio's number here. (Sen. Bill Nelson voted against the sequester.)
We're constantly told by Rick Scott and the Republicans in the Florida legislature that the state "can't afford" things like health care and education, things that would improve our lives and create jobs like high-speed rail, and we have to cut regulations for clean air and water, just to name a few. And yet those same politicians think when it comes to corporate welfare, the sky is the limit.
The Major League Soccer provision, HB 219, sponsored by Central Florida lawmakers, is widely expected to help draw a new soccer team to the Orlando area. It would offer up $60 million in tax subsides to the new stadium, over 30 years.
The International Speedway bill, HB 1049, would help the Daytona racetrack do a major renovation, providing up to $60 million in taxpayer subsidies.
The Jaguars bill, HB 721,would increase a tax subsidy that currently goes to the Jacksonville stadium from $2 million per year to $4 million per year, kicking in up to $60 million for the team over 30 years. The stadium has already received some $37 million in tax support since 1994, part of more than a quarter billion dollars that have gone to Florida 's pro sports franchises in the 20 years.
If legislators think that those "poor" corporations are in such dire need of our tax dollars to our detriment, then in the spirit of NASCAR, who they're apparently so fond of, and the interest of "government in the sunshine," why not go a step further and let them dress the part? Since they have to fork it over anyway, I'm sure most taxpayers wouldn't mind a little of that money going towards suits adorned with logos of all the corporate beneficiaries to be worn by lawmakers while they hand them out.
Sure, it would be a tight squeeze combined with all the campaign contributions, but at least Floridians would get to see where their money was going and who was benefiting from the legislation they have to live with.
Besides, they'd have plenty of room to add the new Jaguar, Major League Soccer and Daytona logos after they rip out the old ones from Allied Veterans of the World.
Back after a vacation from politics and spending time with my family. Hope you all had a nice holiday and a Happy New Years.
I must say I was not the least bit sad to say "Don't let the door hit you" to 2012 and the most worthless Congress in recent memory. (Oh, I'm sorry. I meant EVER.) Let's hope that 2013 brings an improvement. (Right. But I did say "hope.") While the Republican obstruction machine promises threatens to do even worse in the New Year, and I have confidence they mean it, we do have things to be thankful for. For instance, we gained some sane lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren and lost many a wingnut, including one of the biggest: Allen West, who predictably didn't go quietly. I assume he will continue howling at the moon on FOX-GOP-TV, perhaps with his own time slot, but at least we can turn him off knowing he can't actually vote on things anymore.
I did not shed a tear when Republicans began whining their way back to Washington over the weekend, complaining that they had to actually govern lest we go over the fake fiscal cliff of their own creation. As they complained that they had to miss some of the holidays with their families, many more families were missing things like meals, health care, and shelter of their own thanks to those grumbling blowhards. Still, a few rushed back to happily vote against the poor and the middle class so that their overlords could recoup their investment in them (looking at you Marco Rubio) in spite of some who actually voted for the fiscal cliff fix. Not so shocking, considering that they're planning to make up for it by taking Americans and the economy hostage once again over the debt ceiling in a few short months. Because nothing says "fiscal conservative" like defining the term as not paying your bills at the expense of the poor, the elderly, and the nation's economy (again, looking at you and your little credit card and foreclosure problems there Sen. Rubio, among other things.) As I write, it isn't quite over yet. The Republicans in the House and their "leader" (wink, wink), John Boehner, the man who requested a super sized gavel he has yet to use if you don't count the photo op when he took over with it, have not yet voted. Will he use it now on the knuckles of the Senate as they hang onto that cliff by their fingers? Maybe, maybe not. Either way he'll probably still drop it on his own foot just to be consistent. Stay tuned...
So yes, 2013 will undoubtedly bring more of the same obstruction from the far right wingnut Tea Bag Republicans (because now there really is no other kind left) but we return more resolved than ever to fight back. The majority spoke again in 2012 and gave President Obama another four years in spite of the voter suppression tactics and big spending for $0 return thanks to con men like Karl Rove, the Koch brothers, and The Dick Armey. They'll keep at it and we'll be on our toes. Florida Governor Voldemort has been busy continuing to build his State of Denial around his record (just because I've been silent the past week doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention) and the GOP case of Charlie Cristaphobia has nearly sent the Republicans completely around the bend, so it promises to be an amusing, but at the same time sobering New Year for Floridians.
For that reason alone, 2014 can't come soon enough when we finally say "Don't let the door hit ya'" to the worst governor in the history of governors ever recorded in the history of governing.
So as they say, strap yourselves in folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride....
On Holding Middle Class Tax Cuts Hostage, An "Unfiltered" Response For Bilirakis
As Republicans in Congress continue to refuse to cut taxes for the middle class by using misleading language and reasons for doing so, the middle class will no longer take their inaction sitting down. They're actively fighting back and letting their representatives know how they feel.
In his district in Florida today, Congressman Bill Young's office will be the site of a "Day Of Action" by the Tampa Bay Bush Tax Cut Coalition Florida, where they will hold a press conference followed by a meeting with Young.
Meanwhile, in Rep. Gus Bilirakis' district, constituents are receiving the typical one sided emails from Bilirakis, a message which asks for "input" from recipients. The only problem with his message is that any "input" requested must be in the form of his already dictated multiple choice questions and answers. This is a typical response and "request" from Bilirakis that those in his district are used to getting.
In this message, he uses the same false talking points to mislead voters that all the Republicans are touting to scare and intimidate those who would benefit from the tax cuts, when he's actually holding them hostage to protect the wealthy.
These are the only questions Bilirakis offers to his constituents, and the only answers permitted in the lists are "Yes, No, and Unsure:"
Again, this is a typical message from Bilirakis, and emails sent to his office either get only a vague response, one informing the recipient that he's already doing quite enough, thank you very much, or no response at all. Bilirakis has a "safe seat" in the House, and therefore apparently doesn't feel the need to reach out further.
From the looks of the sign above which I spotted on the street in his district over the weekend, that may no longer be the case.
Make no mistake, Bilirakis and his fellow Republicans in the House could vote for those tax cuts for the middle class right now, but instead they're holding them hostage because they want to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires, and they know it. Bilirakis knows it. If he doesn't vote for the tax cuts, the middle class will see an average increase in their taxes of $2,000 a year.
What's going on is simply this: President Obama is asking Congress to move forward on a plan that would prevent 98 percent of American families from paying higher taxes next year. The Senate has passed that bill, and the President is ready to sign it -- but the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives won't even bring the bill to the floor for a vote. House Democrats have filed a petition that would force a vote if it attracts 218 signatures. If a bill has enough votes to pass, Congress should vote on it and pass it.
Problem is Bilirakis, Young, and all House Republicans are sitting idly by and refusing to sign, or do anything to help the middle class. In other words, Bilirakis is not acting in the best interests of the voters who put him in office. As that handmade sign illustrates, he's acting in the best interests of Grover Norquist who says no tax cuts ever, for any reason, and he continues to work for the wealthy and will protect them from having to pay their fair share of taxes just like the rest of us.
Voters in his district are fed up with Bilirakis' inaction, and aren't willing to be dictated to by him any longer. He may not care to hear what his constituents have to say, but that's too bad. They should continue to do so, and give him a call:
Republicans and Florida Governor Rick Scott continue to ignore the clear message voters sent them in Tuesday's election.
In spite of tax cut giveaways he already gave big corporations in Florida, while he cut nearly everything else to pay for them, Gov. Rick Scott is about to give them even more.
Gov. Rick Scott is planning to cut business taxes further this year, announcing a new proposal Thursday to raise the exemption on corporate income taxes from $50,000 to $75,000.
Scott spoke to the Florida Association of Realtors, and said his plan would help cut taxes on about 2,000 businesses. The total tax cut would amount to about $8 million, a fraction of the roughly $2 billion that the state collects in businesses taxes each year.
In his first year in office, Scott raised the exemption from $5,000 to $25,000, then followed up in 2012 by doubling the exemption to $50,000.
One of Scott’s campaign pledges was to eliminate the corporate income tax, which provides about 8 percent of the state’s annual general revenue.
“Today, I am proud to announce that in the upcoming legislative session, we will work to further eliminate the business tax for another 2,000 small businesses,” said Scott. “Everything we do must be tied to helping families get jobs, and eliminating this tax will ensure more small businesses can hire people.”
"On election night, the people of Florida sent a clear message that they have rejected Gov. Rick Scott's failed priorities and policies which have slashed funding for our public schools while giving hand outs to the corporate special interests who epitomize the broken politics of Tallahassee," said Scott Arceneaux, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party.
Scott continues to spin the false tale that tax cuts create jobs and stimulate the economy:
Governor Rick Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that in the upcoming legislative session, we will work to further eliminate the business tax for another 2,000 small businesses. Like many Florida families, I want my children and great grandchildren to grow up with even more opportunities than I had. That’s why I’ve worked to make Florida the number one state in the nation for job creation by cutting burdensome regulations and cutting taxes. I’ve made a commitment to the people of Florida to eliminate the business tax over seven years – and over the past two years we have been able to eliminate the tax for more than 75 percent of businesses that fall under it. Everything we do must be tied to helping families get jobs, and eliminating this tax will ensure more small businesses can hire people.”
Like Republicans in Washington, Scott is ignoring facts. A week ago, Republicans in the U.S. Senate received a report from the Congressional Research Service that showed tax cuts have have had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth.
Luckily for those of us who DO like the facts, Klein uploaded the report here. You can read it yourself, while Rick Scott gives those who don't need it another tax break, at the expense of the rest of us in Florida.
Bill Herrle, NFIB/Florida Executive Director said, "With the Governor's initiative, we have a real opportunity to grow jobs and businesses in Florida. Florida business leaders want to grow and hire more employees, but they need the resources. Governor Scott's plan to let more small businesses keep more of their bottom line will go a long way in making Florida the best place in the world to grow businesses and find a job."
The Romney-Ryan's mysterious tax plan that the latest upgraded version of Mitt Romney claims doesn't exist, and that pseudo-wonk and self proclaimed "math guy" Paul Ryan dismisses an explanation of because "there just isn't enough time to explain the math"* has finally, FINALLY been revealed!**
In it, former President Bill Clinton explains how Romney’s $5 trillion tax cut gives multimillionaires like him a new $250,000 tax cut, even with closing upper-end loopholes and deductions, and how it is mathematically impossible to pay for the $5 trillion tax cut without cutting deductions for the middle class, like the home mortgage, charitable, and state and local taxes deductions.
Romney won't give details on his tax plan because if he did, this is exactly what would be revealed to voters, and that's also why "the new Mitt Romney" denied that this tax cut even existed in his first debate with President Obama.
There's simply no way to give Romney's tax cuts to the wealthy without the middle class taking the hit. The math doesn't add up.
It's a simple explanation and worth taking the time to watch, and worth passing along.
