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Does Governor Scottdemort have a wake-up call scheduled for March 8?
On the heels of massive public demonstrations in Wisconsin and Ohio after Republican governors over-played their hands in seeking to destroy collective bargaining for public employees and make punitive cuts to education, Florida may be next in line. Tuesday, March 8 has been designated the day to “Awake The State“, with over thirty demonstrations planned across the state, spanning from Key West to Pensacola. There will even be multiple demonstrations in Tallahassee and Miami.
Ray Seaman, online director for Progress Florida, provides this description of the demonstrations and how they came into being:
After Gov. Scott released his budget at a Tea Party event that proposed to cut a massive $3 billion from education, among other devastating measures, Floridians stood up and said “Enough.” The Awake The State rallies are the result of these built-up frustrations. Since the Awake The State facebook page launched just a few weeks ago, everyday Floridians have taken it upon themselves to organize rallies in their own communities.
What local organizers and participants are looking to accomplish is to make it very clear to our legislators as well as Gov. Scott that Floridian’s won’t tolerate more unnecessary budget cuts, whether it’s firing their local public school teachers or damaging the retirement security of our public servants.
I will pile on to the documentation of Scott’s bad behavior, noting that he may have a $62 million conflict of interest prompting his actions to protect pill mills that are responsible for the deaths of seven Floridians a day due to pain medication overdoses and his rejection of $2.4 billion in federal funding that would have provided 50,000 job-years (a job-year is the equivalent of one person employed for one year). For a state that still struggles with double-digit unemployment, that’s a lot of jobs to turn down.
On Tuesday, will Tea Party-panderer Rick Scott see the effects of his over-stepping to further enrich the ultra-rich at the expense of ordinary working Floridians? When the livelihoods of teachers, firefighters and police officers are threatened, people notice and respond. It happened in Wisconsin and Ohio and appears to be happening next in Florida.
28 Comments
We can hope. Good luck, Florida!
Go Florida!
I like the cockiness of the TeaScrotes. Some may call it Bravado. Others like myself think of it as being “Stump Stupid”. Whatever. I’m glad they’re laying their cards on the table rather than bluffing about what they’re trying to do. Spit it out stupid. Lay out the whole ignorant plan. Hope to God Fox will cover up for you. Oh they’ll try 24/7. They created you, they want to protect you. So act and speak retarded as much as you want.
We’ll take over from here. Thank you. Now sit down and shut up.
Is every state in our Union suffering from Kochitis?
Go, Florida! Demand what you need and what you deserve.
If anyone has pictures or video from a Florida demonstration tomorrow, we would love for you to share them in a diary.
While I hate the pill mills a 5 cent a tax per pill on Oxy I wouls think might solve all Florida’s problems and the tax would fall on drug addicts mostly a group the GOP has shown no problem taxing in the past.
At least the Koch financed PR hacks writing their agitprop are presumably professionals. They made the wingnut Teabaggers and got the cameras pointing at them, now everyone can see their illiterately paraphrased talking points regurgitated without the PR gloss, and the Koch Kool-Aid all over the camera lenses ain’t a pretty sight.
Like most business types, I don’t think the Kochs have thought this or anything else through any further than the next quarterly.
I think the GOP must be wondering if they have gone to far but of course that just means they will double down their bet. How they plan to double down would be interesting I expect an Empire Strikes Back moment.
“While I hate the pill mills a 5 cent a tax per pill on Oxy I wouls think might solve all Florida’s problems and the tax would fall on drug addicts mostly a group the GOP has shown no problem taxing in the past.”
They could prevent a child from being left behind just on Rush Limbaugh’s Oxy jones alone.
The demonstration will be small in numbers because the public employees were reminded that any demonstration on work hours is by law a strike that terminates job and gives up all pension earned to date – at the discretion of management.
Florida’s work rules are as tough as any state that I am aware of.
Perhaps an evening March that is not during “work hours”.
The other problem is the state capital being away from population centers – and no one is paying for buses.
Maybe the Koch Bros are the sacraficial lambs of the MOTU. Wouldn’t that be funny!
Muuhahawwwww!
I think you could send several kids to tutors on his tax alone.
It seems the Left might have finally found what we have been waiting for the point where American voters say enough is enough.
Who cares about a “wake-up call” (or whatever) for Florida?
These people VOTED for this GOP/TP fool.
I hope he robs them blind.
When ARE people going to learn? “One lump or two?”
Bring the vasoline for 2012. These SAME citizens are going to GIVE UP the Senate and the Executive, watch.
They are too stupid. This is just a fact.
yeah because it was so effective in Wisconsin and Ohio.
“When the livelihoods of teachers, firefighters and police officers are threatened, people notice and respond. It happened in Wisconsin and Ohio and appears to be happening next in Florida.”
“People respond,” USUALLY only when it directly effects them. They are mostly lazy, selfish, arrogant, and misinformed. This has been intentional.
“People?” Many of those “people” got “knocked in the head,” by the folks THEY voted for. Serves the “people” right.
As far as the comments about “teachers, firefighters, and cops.” WHY, the USUAL “trifecta?”
What about ALL the other “Workers?” What makes “teachers, firefighters and cops,” so darned important? Actaully, MANY of these groups got into the “profession” because it paid well and they had security for THEIR families and themselves NOT to “serve the public.” GET REAL.
Also, in Wisconsin, the “firefighters and cops” SUPPORTED Walker in the election. So “Why?” are they INCLUDED in anything? Now, again they are “heroes>’ That is ALL we see from the “protesters” These “teachers, firefighters and cops.”
You “progressives” are sissies.
~~~ModNote: best practice – remain constructive.~~~
All “eyes” on the “Wisconsin 14.” Those people are READY to CAVE.
“Miss their little familes?”
The GOP/TP find sociopaths and “hardcore, slash-and-burn” folks with good “public images.” The “Progressives” and the “Liberals” field “sissies” and “we-are-the-world, flip-floppers.”
Throw-in-the-towel, you sissies.
~~~ModNote: best practice – remain constructive.~~~
Do you not approve of them having a change of mind?
You have a typo in your handle. You forgot the “n”, that belongs right before the “i” and after the “oo”.
You might want to fix that to make your post more valid.
thanks I appreciate your posts.
Recommended and Tweeted… and I “liked” Awake the State on Facebook, too.
The sad thing is, there’s no recall process for the governor in Florida.
Sorry it came to this, guys! Here’s hoping for the best!
Photos from todays protest in Tallahassee can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikafowler/sets/72157626019660417/with/5453523569/
I will take that under consideration, coming from you, this “witty” comment MEANS much.
“Change of Mind? Come on. This country is being held “hostage” by an oligarchy. Who does NOT know that? The problem is that the conditions for “change” (true change for the better) is NOT going to be a reality ANY time soon.
Many reasons for that, but some of the more salient:
1. Citizens “changing their minds” EACH election. You know, “I like the way so-and-so looks,” I will vote AGAINST my best interest because he/she SOUNDS good.” (Screw the facts).
You know, “change my mind,” WHEN MY “livelihood” is threatened? What about the COLLECTIVE LIVELIHOOD?
Change my mind? This is NOT “wishy-washy” sit-on-the-fence stuff. You either are in ONE camp of the other?
This is a cultural/class war that the LIBERALS and the open-minded are losing.
We don’t have time for an ignorant citizenry to eventually Change its mind” about issues of major importance. THEN “change its mind,” a couple of years (decade, score, whatever) later.
This is not “I will change my mind” and become a fAN of team X.”
No, you either SEE this mess for what it is and RESNET the fact that NOTHING (very little) is being done LOGICALLY to “repair the problems,” OR you “go along with the program,” and COMPLAIN when the PARTICULAR issues concern you.
One “changes their mind,” REALLY “changes their mind,” when it becomes APPARENT through EDUCATION oneself that this system, this corruption, these lies, this misinformation, greed, lies and theft, is CONTRARY to ANY attempt to “fix the problems” in this country. Too much RHETORIC.
“Change my mind?” NEVER. It is TOO obvious to even DOUBT the reality around us.
The same fools who vote for these ‘grifters” will be the same who will vote them out the following cycle. tThe PROBLEM is they will vote them BACK in!!
That is flip-flop, “changing one’s mind.” No, TIME to vote these GOP/TP snakes out and KEEP them out.
LOTs of typos, oh well.
This blogger over at Dailykos has quite a bit on the Scott pill mills.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/05/952889/-FL-Gov-Scotts-pill-mill-posturing-opens-Republican-rift
Thanks. Great pictures!