Florida Congressionial Delegation Don't Care For You If You Are Palestinian

Tariq Abu Khdeir is a 15-year-old Tampa resident and Palestinian-American. Khdeir was pinned down and repeatedly kicked in the head by Israeli police in East Jerusalem.

Max Blumenthal reports that Khdeir was jailed in a Russian compound. According to Khdeir's family, he was beaten again while held in the compound.

According to Israeli police, Khdeir was involved in a violent protest. Police allege that Khdeir threw molotov cocktails. Khdeir denied participating in the protests to ABC News. If the allegations by the Israeli police are true then why hasn't Khdeir been charged.

Khdeir's family lives in Rep. Kathy Castor's district. Blumenthal reports that Castor's office has been less than helpful.

While sources close to Abu Khdeir's family say Castor's staff has treated the family with respect even as they rebuffed their demands, a distant relative who visited Castor's field office in Washington D.C. to plead for help said she was "yelled out, intimidated, and insulted" by a staffer.

Despite my repeated requests for an interview, members of Castor's staff have refused to discuss the case with me.

In a private letter to Abu Khdeir's family, Castor pointedly stated that she had not called for the teen's release and return to the US. Instead, she assured them that she "requested for Tariq to be provided with the appropriate and needed medical care and for [her] to be kept apprised of any plans of his return to the United States." In a separate letter to the US consulate in Jerusalem, Castor merely stated that she would "appreciate being kept apprised of any plans for the return of Tariq and his parents to the United States."

Rep. Dennis Ross accused Khdeir of being guilty without complete facts.

Though all of the facts surrounding the incident remain somewhat unclear," Ross wrote, "it is widely reported that Tariq was participating in a protest in Palestine in response to the kidnapping and murder of his cousin, a Palestinian teenager."

Sen. Bill Nelson has not issued a statement on Khdeir.

Khdeir gives a more detailed account to the Washington Post.

Assuming that Khdeir was involved in the protests it still doesn't explained why Israeli police continued to kick him in the head after he was already restrained.

Can Castor, Nelson or any other member of the Florida Congressional delegation look at that video and say the police force used was justified. Members of the Florida delegation rather do nothing for a constituent than risk being attacked for being anti-Israel. Leadership is about doing what is right. Leadership is not living in fear of the next two Fox News cycles.

Bill Nelson On Florida Voter Suppression

Sen. Bill Nelson calls the Rick Scott administration for voter suppression on the floor of the Senate. Scott appointed Secretary of State Ken Detzner. The result has been Detzner frustrating both Republican and Democratic Supervisors of Elections officials. The long lines of the 2012 election made Florida a joke. Detzner declared mission accomplished during his listening tour.

On restoring early voting times: "When you look at the turnout, which was larger than it was in 2008, that obviously speaks to the point that people were satisfied with the current law. People responded, reacted and turned out in greater numbers."

Florida voters were anything but satisfied. Now Detzner will not allow the the Reitz Union on the University of Florida campus to be used as a voting site. According to the Center for Research and Information on Civic Learning and Engagement, President Barack Obama easily won the youth vote by 67 percent to 30 percent. The youth vote helped Obama win Florida. The Republican controlled state legislature wrote the language that no educational facility can be used for early voting. This was merely to suppress the youth vote. Republicans have gave up on trying to win the youth vote.

Bill Nelson Becomes ENDA Co-Sponsor

Equality Florida did a Twitter campaign to make Sen. Bill Nelson become a co-sponsor of ENDA (the Employment Nondiscrimination Act). The Twitter campaign worked. ENDA now has 56 co-sponsors.

"I am pleased to have Senator Nelson’s support on thisbill. Momentumisbuilding to end LGBT discrimination in the workplace," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), thebill's sponsor. "This is anissue of fundamental fairness.”

ENDA will have 57 co-sponsors when Cory Booker is sworn into the Senate. This is why elections matter. We wouldn't be talking about the potential passage of ENDA if there were 50 tea party Republicans in the Senate.

Bill Nelson Endorses Amanda Murphy

Things are looking up in the endorsement department for Florida. House District 36 candidate Amanda Murphy. Nan Rich recently endorsed Murphy. Senator Bill Nelson has now endorsed Murphy.

“The voters of Pasco County deserve a representative that will be an independent voice in the Florida Legislature, and Amanda Murphy will do just that. Her experience in the private sector will make her an effective leader in Tallahassee who will protect Pasco’s middle class,” said Senator Nelson.

These big endorsements means to Florida Democratic establishment is behind Murphy.

Bill Nelson Endorses Rick Kriseman

Rick Kriseman, Democratic candidate for St. Petersburg mayor, received a huge endorsement from Sen. Bill Nelson. The only bigger endorsement a Florida Democrat can receive is from Bob Graham.

“Rick Kriseman is a strong leader who will bring people together to find solutions for the challenges facing St Petersburg,” Nelson said in a statement. “As mayor, Rick will do well for St Petersburg.”

Early polls showed Democrat Kathleen Ford leading Republican incumbent Bill Foster and Kriseman. Ford has imploded. Nelson's endorsement of Kriseman is the Democratic establishment abandoning Ford. Kriseman is also much more apart of the establishment than Ford will ever be. Kriseman recently served in the Florida legislature. Ford hasn't held office in years. The Democratic establishment knows Kriseman. The same can't be said of Ford.

Rick Scott Should Fact-Check Himself

It would be nice if Florida had a governor that actually knew what he was talking about about. Gov. Rick Scott has been complaining that Florida would have to pay for calling up the National Guard, in the event of an emergency. Scott was wrong before about the cost of Medicaid expansion.

Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott has rejected the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. And now he’s in hot water for apparently inflating the cost of the expansion to Floridians in order to justify his decision.

The website Health News Florida reported Tuesday that Scott was warned in letters by the state legislature’s top economist and budget analyst that his administration’s figure — that the expansion would cost the state $26 billion over 10 years — was false.

Scott was forced to backtrack on his overblown estimates on what Medicaid expansion would cost Florida. Once again Scott is fact-checked. This time by Sen. Bill Nelson. In a letter, Nelson informs Scott that FEMA would pick up the cost of calling up the National Guard.

June 7, 2013

The Honorable Rick Scott Governor of Florida The Capitol 400 S. Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399

SENT VIA EMAIL WITH HARD COPY TO FOLLOW

Dear Gov. Scott:

I appreciate your letter of June 5, echoing the concerns Maj. Gen. Emmett R. Titshaw Jr. publicly expressed about sequestration in his opinion column published last month by the National Guard Association of The United States.

I have had my staff examining the Florida National Guard’s risk assessment and requests for relief, as well as the Department of Defense’s consideration of those requests; and, any actions taken by authorities so far to mitigate possible readiness risks during the 2013 hurricane season.

As was reported today by Gannett newspapers in Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio and I both agree nothing can be changed right now with only a few months left in this fiscal year.

Instead, you could be enormously helpful by urging some of the Florida Republican members of Congress to get rid of the sequester by exploring with us more sensible and strategic ways to reduce the budget for the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1.

Regarding your concern about increased costs to the state, let me share with you what I have received from the legal office of FEMA Director Craig Fugate. If you as Governor activate the National Guard in anticipation of a federal disaster, the state’s costs, including the costs to recall any furloughed Guardsmen, will be fully reimbursable by FEMA.

Specifically: “For the purposes of FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Emergency Work reimbursement, the National Guard must be activated by the Governor to conduct disaster related emergency work. This would include the activation of National Guardsmen who are on furlough (dual status technicians).

“Under a Presidential disaster declaration, FEMA reimburses the State (Grantee), subject to the State cost-share, for costs in excess of those incurred for weekend drills and annual training and other non-disaster related activations.”

Again, thank you for your letter in support of our ongoing efforts to define and explore alternatives.

Sincerely,

Bill Nelson

It is embarrassing Florida has a governor that is this constantly misinformed. Doesn't anyone in Scott's office clear the governor's statements? It would save Scott from making a fool of himself.

Bill Nelson Questions Air Force on Sexual Assault Case Reversed

During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Bill Nelson asked military officials if they have ever decided to not prosecute an accused enlisted man or officer because of an outstanding service record. Nelson didn't completely buy it. Nelson asked Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh about a sexual assault conviction that was reserved by Lt. Gen. Susan Helms. Ignoring her own legal advisers, Helms overturned the conviction of a captain. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has let Gen. Welch know her displeasure of the Air Force's handling of sexual assault cases.

At a widely watched committee hearing last month, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, narrowed her eyes with disdain as Michael B. Donley, the secretary of the Air Force, expressed regret about recent assault cases. She then excoriated him and Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the chief of staff of the Air Force, when they suggested that they were making progress on the problem.

“I do not think you should pat yourself on the back,” Ms. Gillibrand admonished them. Sexual assault, she said, is “undermining the credibility of the greatest military force in the world.” She has since introduced legislation that would give military prosecutors rather than commanders the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. Her goal is to increase the number of people who report sex crimes without fear of retaliation.

Pay no attention to the happy talk by generals at the Armed Services Committee hearings. There is still much work that needs to be done to make women safe in the military.

Bill Nelson Urges Donor Disclosure

Sen. Bill Nelson urged the FCC to use its legal power to force the disclosure of donors behind PACs.

As the result of a Supreme Court decision, we have been beset upon in the political sphere with an avalanche of undisclosed, unlimited money," Nelson said during a Senate oversight hearing of the FCC, referring to the court's Citizens United decision.

Nelson noted that FCC regulations currently require TV broadcasters and cable providers to "fully and fairly disclose the true identity" of sponsors of ads.

Only one commissioner on the FCC expressed interest in making political action committees disclosing major donors.

Bill Nelson Wins

Sen. Bill Nelson wins a third term. Early reports are that Nelson beat Connie Mack by 800,000 votes. That is what you call an ass kicking. Blogger Peter Schorsch had a harsh assessment of Connie Mack.

Congratulations to Bill Nelson, GFY to Connie Mack, the worst Fla. Senate candidate in years.

First Katherine Harris. Now Connie Mack. Does the Florida Republican establishment go out of their way to find the worst possible candidate to run against Nelson? Can we expect Alan Keyes to run against Nelson in 6 years?

Update: Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, released this statement.

The people of Florida should be very proud to have re-elected a fierce advocate for their state in Senator Bill Nelson. Senator Nelson has always put Florida first, and fought tirelessly for Florida’s economy and for the seniors and middle class families of his state. Even though deep-pocketed Republican special interests spent many millions trying to deceive voters, Senator Nelson’s optimism and relentless drive won the day. I look forward to continue working with him in the United State Senate.

Sen. Bill Nelson's Letter to Gov. Rick Scott

Sen. Bill Nelson wrote to to Gov. Rick Scott and asked him to extend early voting. Scott has already said that early voting will end today.

Nov. 3, 2012

The Honorable Rick Scott Office of the Governor The Capitol 400 South Monroe St. Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Dear Gov. Scott:

Reports are that early voting has reached record levels and that long lines have formed at many of the early voting sites.

Combined with too few polling locations and a lack of adequate parking at many of them, an untold number of Floridians may be deprived of an opportunity to vote.

You should be doing everything in your power to make sure everybody has the chance to vote, and that their vote is counted. Instead, Gov. Scott, you are allowing people to be turned away and jeopardizing the credibility of Florida’s election.

You should act in the interest of all Floridians to be able to cast their ballot and not for partisan reasons to suppress the vote.

To ensure the maximum participation in this election and to provide the means for every citizen to vote and have their vote counted, I request that you issue an executive order extending early voting hours at least through Sunday.

Shorter Bill Nelson: Don't Mess With My Cow

The funniest part of last night's Senate debate was Connie Mack constantly going after Bill Nelson's cows. Mack went after a property tax cut for cows on an owner's land. Nelson owns cows. Whether or not you think the tax cuts should be law is a worthy discussion. However, this has to be the first debate I've seen where cows became a heated issue. Mack twice went after Nelson's cows. Nelson finally had enough. Don't fuck with a man's cows.

Nelson responded that his family has pastured cattle on the land for 60 years. The second time Mack brought it up, Nelson shot back, "Not only has it been a cow pasture for 60 years, why don't we ask him why he takes two homestead exemptions, which is directly contrary to the Florida Constitution?"

Pat Boone: Health care Expert

Watch out Sen. Bill Nelson. Republicans are pulling out the big guns to take your seat. That is right. I am talking about Pat Boone.

Boone made the ad for the 60 Plus Association. The organization was foolish enough to back SOPA. 60 Plus also backed President Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security. 60 Plus may bill itself as an advocacy group for senior citizens. Privatizing Social Security helps Wall Street; not American seniors. The idea that Wall Street can manage the retirement portfolios of seniors after the bailout is a laugh.

Boone attacks Nelson by stating that the Affordable Care Act would make patients lose their doctors. 60 Plus made the same attack against Democratic congressional candidates in 2010. FactCheck.org found the 60 Plus claim to be false.

Although the ads cite an April report from the office of the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as support for this claim, that report actually discusses cuts the law makes in payments to other providers, such as hospitals and nursing homes – not doctors. The required cuts could make it difficult for some such providers to stay in business, the report says, "possibly jeopardizing access to care" from those institutions for seniors.

But that report and another CMS document issued in August also note that Congress has a habit of negating such cuts. In fact, the August report says with respect to the legislated payment cuts to hospitals and other such non-physician providers, "Congress is very likely to legislatively override or otherwise modify the reductions in the future to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to health care services."

60 Plus contradicts itself, in the add, with lamenting that Medicare will be cut by $500 billion. Boone then makes this statement.

BOONE: Medicare will be bankrupt in nine years, but Washington politicians like Bill Nelson are ignoring the problem.

60 Plus can't seem to decide whether Medicare fundings needs to be cut or maintained. The people whom made this ad weren't interested in getting the wonky policy right. 60 Plus just wanted to use buzz words to scare seniors. Democrats have four effective words to do that. Those words are "the Paul Ryan plan."

Bill Nelson Asks For Hearings on Florida's Voting Laws

Sen. Bill Nelson is asking Congress to hold hearings on the new voting laws Florida and several other states have passed.

“No state should have the right to make a law if it abridges people’s basic rights,” said Nelson, who wants the hearings held in Florida and 13 other states that have enacted new voting laws.

The new laws would make it harder for people that have recently moved or charged their name due to marriage to vote. The law also hampers voter registration drives. The League of Women Voters no longer registers new voters in Florida.

At issue in the case, League of Women Voters v. Cobb (case no. 06-21265), was a punishing and tiered regime of deadlines and fines for groups engaged in non-partisan voter registration in the State of Florida. Under the law, (Fla. Laws 2005-277, Secs. 2 and 7), which went into effect on January 1, the government would have imposed a mandatory fine of $250 for each and every voter registration form submitted more than ten days after the form was collected from a prospective voter, $500 for each registration form submitted after the passing of a registration deadline, and $5000 for each registration form not submitted, for any reason.


Most chilling to plaintiffs’ activities was the law’s adoption of a “strict liability” legal standard, meaning that no extenuating circumstance -- not even destruction of an office by a hurricane – would have excused the failure to submit a registration form within the law’s deadlines.

The new voting laws hit a snag with the Federal District in the District of Columbia. At issue is the new voting laws must be reviewed by the Justice Department. Gov. Rick Scott and Republicans in the Florida legislature put the voting changes into effect January 1st, before the Justice Department had a chance to review. The Florida Republican establishment wanted to avoid a Justice Department review. This is in defiance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Michele Bachmann Supports Everglades Drilling

Transcript:

"The United States needs to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy and more dependent upon American resourcefulness. Whether that is in the Everglades, or whether that is in the eastern Gulf region, or whether that's in North Dakota, we need to go where the energy is," she said. "Of course it needs to be done responsibly. If we can't responsibly access energy in the Everglades then we shouldn't do it.

"From there, though, that doesn't mean that the two have to be mutually exclusive. We can protect the environment and do so responsibly, but we can also protect the environment and not kill jobs in America and not deny ourselves access to the energy resources that America's been so blessed with."

The reporter should ask Bachmann to explain how that oil wells could be build in the Everglades without affecting the water or ecosystem. Roads and shipping docks will have to be built to transport the oil. How could that be done without damaging the wetlands. The state of Florida bought land from U.S. Sugar to restore the wetlands. Bachmann's proposal runs counter to years of Florida environmental policy.

Update: Sen. Bill Nelson responds to Bachmann's Everglades position.

"We don't need to be drilling for oil and gas in the middle of the Everglades," he said. "There is a 150-year supply of natural gas on land in non-environmentally sensitive areas from Louisiana to New York. So to go in the middle of the Everglades and to spoil the river of grass just because somebody wants to, that's not a wise thing to do."

The Tea Party Emails Bill Nelson

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack awarded $100 million to Florida for Everglades restoration. This sent tea party activist "The Rogue Patriot" into a tizzy. Mr. Patriot sent an email to Sen. Bill Nelson voicing his displeasure over "Communist horsecrap" plan by "the United Nations" to spread their "collective Marxist Agenda."

Hilarity ensues under the fold.

Read more »

Allen West Hints At Senate Run

I give Rep. Allen West credit for this. West knows how to keep his name in the press. Never mind that he is a freshman Congressman. Never mind that West lose his seat through redistricting and has some in the tea party turning on him for voting to raise the debt ceiling. West hinted to Politico that he might run for Sen. Bill Nelson's seat.

“If people want to talk to me about something like that it would be very disrespectful and rude for me to slam the door in their face,” West said on Monday night at a sold-out Palm Beach County tea party meeting, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“I cracked it open enough so that people can slip a note under the door and I can read the note and I can write back on the note ‘probably not’ and send it back out under the door,” the newspaper quotes West saying

Considering how Gov. Rick Scott has left Florida constituents with a bad taste for tea; it is hard to imagine how West's anger problems and voting for cutting Medicare. The last hard-right Republican to run against Nelson was Katherine Harris and we know how that went. I doubt West will fire his campaign staff like Harris did. However, the Nelson campaign will hammer West on Medicare.

More likely, this is West trying to garner himself publicity.

Will Justice Department Challenge Florida Election Law

The Florida Congressional delegation asked the Justice Department to investigate the new election law signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida Democrats Seek Investigation of Radical Elections Overhaul

Deutch Authors Letter to Department of Justice

(Boca Raton, FL) Today, the Democratic congressional delegation of Florida united to express their serious concerns over H.B. 1355, the radical and far-reaching overhaul of Floridians’ voting rights currently awaiting Governor Rick Scott’s signature. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (FL-19), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-23), Kathy Castor (FL-11), Frederica Wilson (FL-17), Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) request an evaluation of the bill to determine possible violations of the Voting Rights Act. The Department of Justice has the authority to review state law and block implementation if provisions are determined to disenfranchise voters.

“The role of government should never be to curtail the registration of newly eligible voters or hinder Americans from exercising the most fundamental democratic right afforded by our Constitution,” the delegation writes. “We are confident that any honest examination of this legislation will determine that it is in clear violation of the Voting Rights Act.”

H.B. 1355 contains unprecedented restrictions of the voting rights of Floridians. It all but eradicates voter registration drives conducted by volunteer-based, third party groups like the League of Women Voters, the Boy Scouts of America, and the NAACP. The legislation will also force dozens of legitimate voters to cast provisional ballots by eliminating a decades-old law enabling Floridians with proper identification to update their names and addresses at the polls due to a military family move, marriage, or divorce. H.B. 1355 also slashes the early voting period from 14 days to 6, posing a special challenge to working Floridians and elderly voters who cannot wait on the long lines of Election Day. Additionally, the bill places new restrictions on the validity of absentee ballots, determining them illegal if signatures do not closely enough match those on older state documents.

Read more »

DEM Senators Letter to Biden

Democratic senators Bill Nelson, Sherrod Brown, Ben Cardin, Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester have sent a letter to Vice-President Joe Biden. In the letter, the senators say that the Paul Ryan plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program should not be included in any budget deal. Biden is involved in budget negotiations with Congressional Republicans. Biden has been open to cuts in Medicare. The senators are urging Biden to walk back his previous position.

All the Senators that signed the letter are up for re-election. The letter is good politics for them. It also means that if the senators stick to their position the Obama administration won't be able to cave in the the Republicans.

Rick Scott's Staff Avoid Sunshine Law

It is public knowledge that Gov. Rick Scott does not use email. Sen. Bill Nelson discovered that Scott's political adviser Mary Anne Carter doesn't use her state government email.

"I rarely check and almost never respond to work e-mail because of the open record law," Carter wrote from her private e-mail account.

Nelson was shocked to receive this email.

Government officials using private email accounts was a trick used by Karl Rove during the U.S. Attorney scandal. The Bush administration used a non-government server to fire U.S. Attorneys not going after Democrats or prosecuting immigration caees that didn't exist. All the U.S. Attorneys were given good performance reviews before they were fired. The firings happened because Rove felt these U.S. Attoneys weren't furthering the Bush administration's political agenda.

The blog Talking Points Memo started investigating the U.S. Attorney scandal. Congress started holding hearings. 22 million emails on the server were deleted.

Scott has given an embarrassing deposition and had his health care companies investigated for criminal wrongdoing. Scott's former company Columbia/HCA was fined 1.7 billion for stealing money from Medicare. Scott was never charged but was forced to step down. Needless to say, there is a reason Scott doesn't want public records.

Money quote from Brian Burgess.

"Are there things we don't want to you to know? Yes," Burgess said. "There are things we don't want to broadcast to our opponents."

Sadly, Team Scott considers their opponents the people of Florida.

Another Day, Another Rick Scott Poll

A Suffolk University poll shows 53 percent of Florida registered voters disagree with the way Rick Scott is governing Florida. 41 percent of respondants have a "negative or damaging" view of Scott. Only 26 percent had a positive view of Scott.

The sample was only 600 registered voters. 57 percent of the voters were Democrats. (Only 18 percent were registered Republicans.) So it was unlikely for the poll to come out in Scott's favor. The poll does reaffirm that Scott is not popular.

The Florida Obama 2012 campaign should worry that a poll with so many Democratic respondants shows the president only 1 percent above Mitt Romney in a general election match-up.

Good news for Democrats is no one has any idea who is running against Sen. Bill Nelson.