FOR THE RECORD... we'll be in Afghanistan FOR MINERALS (I mean Forever)

We've heard this song before, carefully enunciated lip-service to eventually "rebuilding" our nation [as an alternative to rebuilding the nation we've been blowing up]  (promises - promises)


We must [the Precedent says] honor the sacrifice of the young men and women we have previously sent to protect our economic interests. And out of respect for the destruction and havoc wreaked upon those young lives so cavalierly spent, we must, we must, we must, continue to spend EVEN MORE young lives [equally casually]. 


We heard it in Viet Nam, we've heard it in the glorious and noble battles throughout our many many many glorious wars. We heard it about the glorious wars in Iraq. [We're still there, biggest embassy ever built - Or have you forgotten by the way.]  


And now we're hearing it again, this time in (mineral rich) Afghanistan. [Luckily most people have zero attention span, and less historical knowledge.] Let's not forget our very important secret wars in Columbia, Honduras, Chile, and one of my favorite SECRET WAR the War in Yemen. Which as Secret WARS go, is quite a HIT! - Number One with a DRONE MISSILE.


Won't it be great when ALL OUR ONGOING WARS can be run from strip malls by kids trained on VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES and all the boots on the ground will be filled by ROBOT FEET. BOY-OH-BOY will we be having some fun then.


Personally I was surprised, President "O" only once mention our noble struggle to defend the Afghan women the right to become CONSUMERS... Which we know, it the most important role a citizen can fulfill. Especially if they can buy DUCT-TAPE! About those Saudi women hoping for the freedom to drive... they're on their own.


solidarity & peace
Rick@AveryVoice.com

LOCKSTEP KOCH-WALK of Gov. Scott

Gov. Scott  with the lowest approval in the UNITED STAES. Has the "rating for a reason". The UNPOPULARITY stems, not from a modest electoral margin but from his CORPORATION FIRST POLICIES. 

His purging of a "public" meeting of all but the TEA PARTY TRUE BELIEVERS is more than an accident. It is the approach used by more and more republicans to shut down participatory democracy. LOCKING OUT DEMOCRATS and INDEPENDENTS is an profoundly ant-democratic approach to governing.  

The republicans in Florida have committed themselves to a course so radical that their only constituency are the CORPORATIONS and their Tea Party adherents. The republicans have bled government dry of revenue, by gutting all taxes and using this as a bludgeon to eliminate any services that might help working citizens in favor of their CORPORATE MASTERS.  The purchasers of YACHTS and PRIVATE planes must get a tax break, too bad it's at the expense of the elderly and the infirm, but for the social darwinists in the KOCH-LED republican party, the price for a tax-free corporatist gold-lated life style is not too high. It only requires the gutting of infrastructure for the working class. Luckily with the privatization of prisons, and the addition to the slave labor workforce will lower the pressure for more jobs.

One positive result of this LOCKSTEP KOCH-WALK style of governance is they have so energized Independents and Progressives, a new movement has spring up in response. Uniting like never before independents, Environmentalists, Democrats, Progressives, Economic Justice and Union-workers - Say hello to the Awake the State movement. 

Activists have come together across the state to oppose the wholesale give-away of public resources and Government fire-sale to corporate interests. Privatization of SCHOOLS, PRISONS and POLICY has been based on a strickly FACT-FREE Ideology-Only bias. And all of these public decisions are made and implemented in a monolithic corporate sanctioned privatized governance. WHen you purge access to the governance. When the reins of government are isolated in one corporate clad glove the public good, cannot be served. Ask around the privatization of the prisons has been brought to Florida by one powerful constituency... WHO? follow the money...   

[GREGG ALLEN] your reporter seemed content to accept the official view that he's disliked not for his mono-maniacal imperial corporatist style of governance but because he won his seat with a narrow margin.. His stepped up thwarting of electoral access... is merely just a side benefit of his TIN-EAR for democracy.  

solidarity & peace

Rick Spisak

www.AveryVoice.com

St. Lucie Government Center ALL-LIES AT 6:30pm

Treasure Coasters - You missed a real prime time DOG & PONY show tonight

A very light turn out less than 50 souls showed up at Port St. Lucie city hall chambers to be serenaded by a real comedy song and dance team. It was spectacular, not a wit, not a lick, not an infinitesimal speck of truth in the whole evening.

The "honorable" Gayle* [I was once for planned parenthood-before it counted] explained that the WHOLE LEGISLATIVE SESSION WAS UNBELIEVABLY FOCUSED, on ONE THING, and ONE THING ONLY. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS JOB (Sung to the tune of SPAM-SPAM-SPAM-SPAM).

The only problem, of course its just not true. She somehow didn't mention 18 anti-abortion bills. The privatization of prisons based on NO FACTS AT ALL! She did speak to privatization when she said - if a company does it, then GOVT - Shouldna!

She wax enthusiastically about the incredible effort the LEGISLATURE MADE to focus, on NOTHING BUT JOBS. When they mandated a requirement that all students take an online course with no funding that must've been a jobs bill. When they cut hundreds of jobs in social services and slashed school budgets that must've been a jobs bill too eh? You think?

Oh, and improving education by giving less money to students, and limiting teachers salaries and the unfunded mandates to require DIGITAL CLASSES. We all know how pervasive technology is, how many have computers, she positively twinkled. (SHE's so very cute - Just ask her!)

She also told the story about how small government republicans forged one GIGANTIC DEPARTMENT from 15 former agencies. It's all about transparency she said. And she said, coquettishly drawing an arc with the tip of her shoe...  just like a family we all have to live within our means. Just like a family... Does everybody understand?

And we here to talk about the Medicaid changes just signed by the governor today. 

 A FLORIDA HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER [Homecare]  characterized part of the MEDICAID REFORM  this way 

"A final appropriations bill approved Friday also moves the Sunshine State to a single-source supplier for all Medicaid incontinence supplies. Schwinghammer called that move an "inappropriate, sweetheart deal" that amounts to lost incontinence supply business for HME providers in the state. According to Schwinghammer, the decision is the result of a major out-of-state company's long-term efforts to corner the market by advocating a competitive bid system that only it can likely win."

In a Georgetown University study of the medicaid pilot program (started by Jeb Bush) states "Children, parents and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid have experienced enormous disruption as a result of plan turnover in Broward, Duval and surrounding counties. ... There is no clear evidence that the managed care pilot programs are saving money, and if they are whether it is through efficiencies or at the expense of needed care"

Clearly like the "LETS PRIVATIZE ALL THE PRISONS (South of Lake Okeechobee)  DIRECTIVE" (by the grace & lobbying MUSCLE of Wakenhut) this Legislation is driven completely fact - free,  strictly at the behest of the lobbyists checkbook.

The New York Times reported it this way "The pilot program appears to have been far from successful, according to the Georgetown report: H.M.O.’s fled because of low reimbursement rates. Among those leaving was WellCare, which left 55 percent of Duval County’s Medicaid patients in limbo. The company was later accused of cherry-picking Medicaid patients to maximize profits, and five of its former executives were indicted on fraud charges."

When after a thoroughly rote description of how we all must do more with less Senator Negron was asked since the republicans are so quick to compare the constraints on government to the same constraints on a family budget, why is the solution that every family uses to solve budgetary shortfalls that of adding more revenue - Why are additional revenues OFF THE TABLE. When floridians are told they must pay more for less services how are TAX BREAKS for LUXURY YACHTS and PRIVATE AIRPLANES off the table. 

Looking nervously around for the nearest exit, he said, I can't speak for anybody else, but I told my constituents I would never raise taxes, then he broke out the OLD REPUB SAW - "we don't have a revenue problem we have a spending problem"... and besides he said, I never heard anyone in the minority side of the aisle, demanding taxes. No one stood up on the other side and demanded more taxes for my constituents.

You'll... want to continue... your presentation now Gayle, he said emphatically and dashed from the room. I had early congratulated Senator Negron, for taking spoken questions from actual constituents. I had spoken too quickly, Ms. Harrell had gotten the memo, she would only be taking written questions. Her aide read one softball after another. 

When during the absolutely neutered question read by her aide the issue of electoral reform arose she said, once there were some people who tried to change their status - in the future our elections will be fairer. Less republicans? I said to hopefully?

There was one, useful fact, she told us that there would be a REDISTRICTING HEARING in Stuart in Early August 15th, 6-9pm  at the Blake Library in Stuart. So there was one little fragment of fact provided after all.

Remember we don't tax corporations and YACHT SALES because we must all sacrifice... It's not a revenue problem its a spending, its a spending... its a spending problem.

* She is an honorable woman, like all the proper oligarchs.

solidarity & peace

Rick@AveryVoice.com

Protect Social Security for all the Mothers & Daughters

We must never ever flag in our efforts to win pay equity for women. We owe those who  bore us, those who raised and taught us. Our Grandmothers, our Mothers and Sisters, our Aunts and nieces.

Those who would strap the BUSH budget deficit to the poor with their deficit lash, must be asked, why did they only find their voice when President Obama took office. If they had spoken out against BLOODY WAR PROFITEERING. and Against the BU$H Weekend BANKER$ GETAWAY. I would pay them some respect. It was not the poor who handed out tax money to the Bankers. It was not the elderly who colluded with the ENERGY INDUSTRY to spike their profits. It was not the school children who let the Mortgage Bankers bundle American Homeowners equity into their limousines  and drove it out to their billion dollar estates.

This sudden discovery of a debt crisis that must be "fixed" by gambling with the equity in the Social Security Trust Fund... that was never be considered as part of the Federal Government debt load. And one last point on Social Security... The same crowd of spoiled rich kids and wild eyed speculators have been trying to get their filthy money  grubbing paws on since this modest protection was created by FDR. So don't tell me your surprised that they have 50 arguments as to why it must handed off to GOLDMAN $ACH$.

Yes there is a demographic bump with the Baby Boomers... but you know what ...the Baby Boomers have been paying into it their whole working lives. The cynicism, of the bloodsuckers who say to the 50 and 60 year old of today... don't worry  were only going to "SCR*W those a few years younger... yours is safe. Sounds like it makes sense to them. BUT UNLIKE these platinum plated tin hearts - We care about the generations after us.

Care for your mothers and your daughters - Support Strengthening Social Security and remove the tax on it - those earnings have already been taxed! THANK YOU VICKI Another thoughtful piece -  you are an asset to thinking Floridians.

RE VOICELESS