FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott Signs Bill Requiring Drug Test To Receive Welfare

Tea Party hero FL Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott has signed a bill requiring welfare recipients to pass a drug test before receiving any checks. Applicants must pay for their own tests. The ACLU isn't having it.

"The wasteful program created by this law subjects Floridians who are impacted by the economic downturn, as well as their families, to a humiliating search of their urine and body fluids without cause or even suspicion of drug abuse," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. "Searching the bodily fluids of those in need of assistance is a scientifically, fiscally, and constitutionally unsound policy. Today, that unsound policy is Florida law."

I'm betting that the governor also has his fingers in the companies that would be providing these millions of drug tests.

Northeast To Benefit From FL Gov. Rick Scott's Rejection Of Rail Money

After Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected billions in federal funding for high speed rail development, the feds invited other states to apply for the money. And as it turns out, the primary beneficiaries of Scott's short-sightedness will be commuters on Amtrak's northeast rail corridor.

The largest share of the money—nearly $800 million—will be used to upgrade train speeds from 135 mph to 160 mph on critical segments of the heavily traveled Northeast corridor, the department said in a statement. Another $404 million will go to expand high-speed rail service in the Midwest, including newly constructed segments of 110-mph track between Detroit and Chicago that are expected to save passengers 30 minutes in travel time. Nearly $340 million will go toward state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars for California and the Midwest. California will also get another $300 million toward trains that will travel up to 220 mph between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Two other GOP governors also rejected federal rail money.

FLORIDA: House GOP Speaker Seeks To Enforce Gay Adoption Ban

Even though district courts have overturned Florida's ban on gay adoption, state House GOP Speaker Dean Cannon wants Gov. Rick Scott to enforce the ban still on the state books.

Cannon said the Legislature may reassert its position affirming the prohibition if that becomes necessary, but is awaiting word whether the Scott administration will continue to enforce the ban. “The tactical calculus is to make a change [in the law] would almost imply that you agree that there was some flaw identified by the Third DCA,” Cannon said of the Legislature’s options after the Third District Court of Appeal overturned the law last year. “Because that’s just in one district, it may make sense to wait and see if that Third DCA opinion is eventually brought up with another case and either overturned or affirmed by the Supreme Court,” he said. “Until we know how the governor and DCF secretary are going to apply it, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Legislature should step in,” he said. “If we think we should, we’re certainly prepared and willing to do so.” Asked if the governor should enforce the law, Cannon replied, “Absolutely.”

Earlier this month Tea Party-backed Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott tipped his hand on gay adoption when he appointed an anti-gay adoption activist to head Florida's Department of Children and Families.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott Appoints "Christians Only" Activist To Head State Agency On Adoptions

Florida Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott has appointed Christian activist David Wilkins to head the state Department of Children and Families, which is in charge of adoptions. Wilkins is the former head of a Baptist adoption agency which states that only "professed Christians" are eligible for consideration as parents. Gay rights groups are concerned that Scott's move signals an intent to overturn the recent advances for gay families in Florida. The Miami Herald reports:

Some children's advocates find Wilkins' ties to fundamentalist religious groups unsettling, particularly coming only months after a Miami appeals court declared unconstitutional a Florida law -- the only one of its kind in the U.S. -- that banned adoption by gay men and lesbians. Both Sheldon and then-Attorney General Bill McCollum chose not to appeal the Third District Court of Appeal's ruling to the Florida Supreme Court, saying the decision held sway throughout the state. Sheldon ordered his leadership team to cease enforcing the ban. But Wilkins and Scott could challenge the Miami ruling by refusing to allow a gay man or woman to adopt elsewhere in the state -- which could trigger an appeal to the state's highest court. On its website, the Baptist Children's Home says that "in order to adopt through the Florida Baptist Children's Homes we require that you be a professing Christian, be active in a local Christian church, and follow a lifestyle that is consistent with the Christian faith.'' Howard Simon, head of of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represented Martin Gill in his successful challenge to the law banning gays and lesbians from adopting, said, ``we're certainly concerned about whether this might mean the state might try to undo our historic adoption victory."

RELATED: Today Florida parent Martin Gill and his partner were able to finally officially adopt their two foster sons. It was Gill's ACLU-backed lawsuit that overturned Florida's ban on gay adoption.

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott Proposes Radical School Voucher Program

Florida Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott is proposing a radical school voucher program that would pay parents 85% of the cost of their child's public education. Parents can then use that money to move their children into private and religious schools. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a similar proposal was unconstitutional. Critics argue that Scott's plan would mostly benefit families who can already afford private schools.

"I don't necessarily think I should have $6,000, or whatever the per pupil charge is, to take with me to send my (child) to Tampa Prep or Berkeley Prep or Jesuit, when I have the means," said Lincoln Tamayo, the head of Tampa's Academy Prep, a high-performing private school that accepts tax-credit vouchers for low-income kids. "Why would I take that away from the public coffers? I don't need the assistance." Tamayo - who for what it's worth is a Republican - is from the wing of the "choice community" that believes vouchers should be a limited tool, one aimed at giving more options to low-income students. Giving vouchers to all could affect the funding available for low-income students, he said. And it could take the focus away from helping them.

Florida has one of the lowest-ranked public school systems in the United States.

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott Begins Tenure By Banning LGBT Rights

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, the teabagging founder and former CEO of a hospital group found guilty in the hugest Medicare scam in history, began his tenure today by issuing an executive order limiting the state's non-discrimination law to cases involving race, gender, creed, color and national origin. South Florida Gay News reports:

"Governor Scott did not even include all of the classifications listed in the Florida Civil Rights Act -- let alone sexual orientation and gender identity," said Rand Hoch. As President and founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Hoch has become a familiar voice on behalf of equality issues in South Florida. He called Scott’s view of diversity “limited and very discouraging” according to an article by Steve Rothaus with the Miami Herald. By ignoring the categories of “handicap” or “marital status” in his new non-discrimination policy, Scott has actually managed to add discrimination to the Florida Government policies which was not previously there. Those two categories are protected by Florida Law under our Civil Rights Act and many advocacy groups have been working tirelessly to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the language as well.

RELATED: In 2002 the hospital group founded by Scott pleaded guilty to the largest Medicare fraud scheme in U.S. history, eventually paying an all-time record $2B in fines and settlements. Following a raid at his office by the feds, Scott was forced to resign, taking with him a mere $350M in stolen government money.

Politifacts' Lies Of The Year

Fact-checking site Politfacts has released their Biggest Political Lies Of 2010 list. Here's their readers' picks. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the liars are Republicans. Surprisingly, Crazy Eyes isn't the #1 GOP liar.

1. ObamaCare is a "government takeover" of health care. -- Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; the Republican Party of Florida; Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch, R-Wis.; and others: 43.9 percent

2. "The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day." -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., 19.2 percent

3. "The stimulus has not created one private sector job." -- Gov.-elect Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others: 13.9 percent

4. "Ninety-four percent of small businesses will face higher taxes under the Democrats' plan." -- Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and others: 8.8 percent

5. The ethics report "exonerates me." -- Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 6.7 percent

John McCain's claim that Phoenix, Arizona is "the #2 kidnapping capital of the world" came in at #9.

FLORIDA: Democrat Alex Sink Concedes To Teabagger Medicare Fraudster Rick Scott

Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink just conceded the race to teabagger Rick Scott, who spent $75M of his stolen-from-the-people fortune to buy his way into a slim victory. In 2002 Scott's hospital group paid the largest federal fine in history, a multi-billion dollar judgment assessed for pervasive and systematic Medicare fraud, yet Scott still walked away with $350M of that stolen money. (Scott invoked the Fifth Amendment exactly 75 times during the trial.)

Rick Scott is also the founder of the astroturf group, Conservatives For Patient Rights, which pretends to be a citizens group advocating for less government oversight of the health care industry. He has vowed to sue the federal government to overturn health care reform in Florida. And as you'd expect, he is also a vicious homophobe who opposes any LGBT rights law you've ever heard of. It's a terrible day for Florida.

FLORIDA: Democrat Alex Sink Improves To Tie With Teabagger Rick Scott

Some good news out of Florida, where the latest polls show Alex Sink improving to a toss-up with teabagger Rick Scott, whose hospital chain paid the largest federal fine in history for medicare fraud. Unsurprisingly, Scott is also the founder of an astroturf group lobbying for removing regulations on the hospital industry. If elected, Scott vows to block health care reform in Florida.

FLORIDA: Show Us Your Papers (Unless You're Canadian Or European)

According to Florida's proposed Arizona-style immigration law, if cops suspect you of being in the country illegally, they will release you if you show a Canadian or European passport. Passports from other nations? That calls for further investigation.

​Florida state Rep. William Snyder, the slow-drawling ex-Miami-Dade Police officer who has drafted Tallahassee's version of the hotly debated Arizona immigration bill, is adamant that his law would not lead to racial profiling. "Race, ethnicity, and national origin cannot be used in making arrests. It's immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional," he said in a recent radio interview. So why does his bill explicitly offer a free pass to Canadians and Western Europeans, who need only show a passport to be "presumed to be legally in the United States"? "That language makes it clear that police are targeting only a specific minority," says Susana Barciela, policy director at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. [snip] Even if an officer has "reasonable suspicions" over a person's immigration status, the bill says, a person will be "presumed to be legally in the United States" if he or she provides "a Canadian passport" or a passport from any "visa waiver country." What are the visa waiver countries? Other than four Asian nations, all 32 other countries are in Western Europe, from France to Germany to Luxembourg. In other words, Snyder's bill tells police to drop their "reasonable suspicions" of anyone hailing from dozens of countries full of white people. How is that not racial profiling?

Teabagger gubernatorial candidate Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott has promised to sign the bill if elected.

FLORIDA: Teabagger Medicare Fraudster Rick Scott Leads Democrat Alex Sink

Tea Party candidate Rick Scott, whose hospital group paid the largest federal fine in history for defrauding Medicare, has a small but growing lead over Democrat Alex Sink. The averages still call it a toss-up, but the two most recent poll show Scott pulling ahead. Scott is also the founder of the astroturf group, Conservatives For Patient Rights, which pretends to be a citizens group advocating for less government oversight of the health care industry.

FLORIDA: Scott Vs. Sink A Toss-Up

Democratic nominee Alex Sink is barely leading teabagger and scam artist Rick Scott in the polling for Florida governor. As the co-founder and CEO of Columbia/HCA, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, Scott was at the helm of the largest Medicare fraud case in American history, with his company eventually paying the largest federal fine of all time, $1.7B.

Scott is also the founder of the astroturf group, Conservatives For Patient Rights, which pretends to be a citizens group advocating for less government oversight of the health care industry. That's all fine with the teabaggers, who wouldn't mind seeing the all-time biggest defrauder of Medicare running the state of Florida.