Protecting Our Treasured St. Lucie River Environment

South Florida is home to one of the most fascinating and unique natural environments in the world.  While the tourists are often attracted to our beautiful beaches, it is our wetlands and estuaries that make Florida so unique.  There is nothing like the Florida Everglades.  It is a treasure, and MUST be protected and properly nourished.  The same is true of the Caloosahatchee River, the St. Lucie River, its estuary, and riverine environment. And yet, all three ecosystems are being endangered by the current water management scheme for Lake Okeechobee.  The lake is fed ...

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IF PUTIN WANTED TO DESTROY THE UNITED STATES FROM WITHIN

If I was Vladimir Putin, and the POTUS was my asset (we are trying to ascertain if he might be), and undermining the US was my objective (which it has always been), then... I would get my asset to engender mistrust between the American people and their government; I would undermine the effectiveness of America's intelligence community; I would decimated America's international reputation by reducing foreign aid, disabling its foreign service and driving its allies away (Germany goes first). To sow discord in American society, I would tell my asset to exacerbate divisions ...

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Why PRIVATIZING is NOT the Answer

Let's get clear about what the word "PRIVATIZE" really means. The GOP LOVES this notion, and they peddle it as how "free market ideas" and "competition" create productivity and innovation. What it REALLY means is "structure it so that a few people can get VERY rich off of it." I am NOT anti-business. I am a big fan of free enterprise. But some PUBLIC functions should NEVER be privatized because creating a profit-driven structure would directly impede the service-oriented nature of the enterprise. Private prisons is a perfect example. When our prisons were re-structured to ...

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On “IDENTITY POLITICS”

Here is my "IDENTITY POLITICS." I am NOT Jewish, but if you're anti-semitic, I will NOT tolerate you. I am NOT gay, but if you seek to diminish LGBT-Americans, I will NOT agree with you. I am NOT an immigrant, but if you demonize immigrants, I will NOT support you. I am NOT Muslim, but if you are bigoted towards Muslims, I will NOT validate you. I am NOT poor, but if you belittle those who struggle to get by, I will NOT condone you. My "IDENTITY POLITICS" are simple: I care for other Americans. And I could give a damn about someone's "policy" if their purpose is to ...

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LET’S START WINNING AGAIN

MY WISH LIST FOR THE FDP: (Caveat, I am not running for leadership, I am not eligible to be chair. I am putting this out for discussion and reflection. This is a conversation starter, not an indictment or criticism of ANYONE). I. MOVE THE HEADQUARTERS TO ORLANDO: The office should be more accessible to all Floridians. It should also be in a space that can be used for regular (quarterly) meetings of all the DEC chairs. II. PURSUE SMALL-DONOR FUNDRAISING: I would love to see the FDP have a VERY robust small recurrent-donor program, where folks can choose to donate 3, 5, ...

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Florida Politics: Outraged by health care vote, Pam Keith considers facing Brian Mast in CD 18 next year

SOURCE LINK   MITCH PERRY May 5, 2017, 10:10 am Pam Keith has formed an exploratory committee to consider facing Brian Mast in Florida’s 18th Congressional District next year. Keith, who received over 15 percent of the vote in last summer’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, made the announcement at the Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee meeting Thursday night, just hours after Mast voted with the majority of his fellow Republicans for the American Health Care Act. “The response has been phenomenal,” Keith said Friday to Florid...

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The Miami Herald Endorses Pam Keith

“This long-shot candidate brings one of the freshest perspectives to Florida politics heard in a long time. She is accomplished, credible — and has been left out in the cold by state Democratic leaders and her two better-known opponents. And that, too, is a shame for democracy.” “Ms. Keith has an engaging personality and a world view that cuts through that political fog. She’s a realist and knows she’s a long-shot, but makes a good case for the seat she’s pursuing: “The military, foreign policy, labor policy — these are federal issues,” she told the ...

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Gun Violence in the US

This week, we lost 49 Americans to a senseless act of gun violence.  The shooter’s motives are hard to fathom.  He was an ISIS sympathizer and a homophobe. He was also a domestic abuser, a roid-head and an asshat.  He could have gone on his shooting spree for any number of reasons.  Indeed, the night before, a promising young musical artist was shot by someone for no apparent reason at all.  The issue is not that these men were crazy, or evil, or just deluded.  The problem is that they were lethal.  We made it WAY too easy for them to walk into a gun store, buy a ...

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MISSION 22 and ENDING VETERANS’ SUICIDE: JOIN THE CHALLENGE

  Every day, we lose 22 veterans to suicide.  It’s the internal battle that is unseen and often not discussed.  Those who return from battle and suffer from PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury often suffer from depression and social isolation.  While there are resources available to veterans, many find it difficult to seek that help, while others have to wait for a long period of time to get help through the VA. As a U.S. Navy Veteran myself, these veterans are my bothers and sisters, and I am committed to do all I can to reduce suicide in our ranks.  As a ...

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The Misguided Targeting of Transgender Americans

Feeling the need to chime in on this. FACT: Transgender is not about one's sexual orientation (i.e. who one is attracted to), it is about gender identity (i.e., what you feel like in your skin). It is a VERY difficult thing to have physical attributes (i.e. sex organs) that do not jibe with one's thoughts, feelings, aspects and character. That incongruity causes people deep emotional pain. It is SO difficult that for many, the only tenable solution is to change their outer aspect to conform to their inner one, that is . . . . after they try, sometimes for years, ...

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