WELCOME TO FLORIDA

Governor Rick Scott has a million of ‘em . . . jokes? NO! Not a jokin’ around man our Gov. These are Special deals for Special folk - corporate type folk, that is. His latest little "gimmick" is the "WELCOME TO FLORIDA" sign with his name on it. It should say: "WELCOME TO FLORIDA, CORPORATE AMERICA; HAVE WE GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!" And, I believe it should be posted alongside another sign that reads: "GOODBYE, LOSERS - TEACHERS, STUDENTS, ELDERLY, UNDER-EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED. DON’T LET THE DOOR SMACK YOUR BEHIND ON THE WAY OUT!"

Were the Florida voters asleep when this man was elected? And are we still sleeping? Something needs to be done! In a very short time, he has managed to cut jobless benefits and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and passed nearly $4 billion in budget cuts that will result in the lay-off of thousands of teachers and government employees. Not one bill has been passed to create jobs, which was what he promised to do when he campaigned. The cuts to Medicaid Reimbursements affect our elderly in a big way - and not in a good way. Nursing homes are losing their Medicaid reimbursements to the tune of $180 million – but not to worry because at the same time, a bill has been passed which lowers the minimum number of hours of direct care that homes have to provide for their residents – in other words, we’re giving you less money with which to care for your residents, but you will be allowed to spend less time caring for them.

And how about education? Have we lost sight of the fact that our children and grandchildren will be America’s leaders in the not too distant future? Don’t you think we should provide for them the best teachers and schools so that they will receive the kind of education they need to become enlightened citizens and leaders of a great country. It boggles the mind to know that we can raise incomprehensible amounts of money to fund a political campaign, but we can’t come up with enough money to keep our schools open or pay our teachers a living wage. Potentially great teachers choose careers other than teaching because they (who knew?) need to be able to pay their bills and put food on the table. When did we decide that paying less taxes was more important that educating our children and insuring this country’s future?

Oh, and yes, our illustrious Gov. returned a basketful of $$$$ to Washington, depriving Florida of high speed rail and the thousands of jobs that would have been created through that project . Way to go, Gov. – creating new jobs and all.
Time to wake up and smell the stench! Something’s rotten in Tallahassee - and it isn’t fish.
"WELCOME TO FLORIDA - WE USED TO BE PROUD"

WHERE'S THE LOVE?

Yesterday, I received another email oozing hatefulness against our President. It’s not that this person, a dear friend of mine, simply dislikes our President or disagrees with him. The email, which had been forwarded, and who knows how many other people have received it, was spewing hatred loud and clear and was outright disgusting. I’m deeply disturbed by this type of message which exhibits a complete lack of even elemental respect for the Office of the President of the United States of America.

I’m not suggesting that we should all line up to pat him on the back and give him kudos for the great job he is doing. We may have huge differences with him regarding his policies and/or politics. But he IS the duly elected leader of this great country and as such should be treated with a modicum of respect. But more than that, the question arises: “Where’s the love?”

Are you laughing out loud? Sure you are. But, let me ask it again: “Where’s the love?” I’m standing out here on a limb now and it’s creaking, but I just can’t sit back and pretend I’m not bothered by the hatefulness that is being circulated, affecting my relationships and my respect for the people of this country. I believe that God created us all and I believe that He created us all to work together under His guidance and with His purposes in mind. It was Jesus who told us to give Caesar his due – in other words pay your taxes and don’t undermine your government (the Gospel according to Lois). If we believe that ultimately God is in charge, then we must know that no matter who is in the office of the President, we should be praying for him and if not supporting him, at least not inviting outright “assassination” and that includes character assassination, spiritual assassination and even physical assassination which is entirely possible with all the “patriots” out there who espouse Obama’s evil nature and intent.

Do you disagree with Obama? That’s certainly your privilege. And it’s a wonderful privilege, granted by virtue of being a citizen of the United States of America. We are free to voice our opinions and we are privileged to vote for our leaders. I certainly had issues with the previous Administration and intensely disliked Cheney and the way he operated. And while many felt as I did, there was never the level of outright hostility that there is today. I believe that Obama has had to deal with a boatload of problems created by the Bush Administration. Has he done everything right? No. Could you? Could anyone? This is not a job for Sissies and if nothing else, I respect Obama’s willingness to try to climb a mountain that most of us would never consider. This is not an evil man. This is a man trying to do what he thinks is right.

Instead of constant criticism and fault-finding, the people of this country need to go down on their knees and pray for America; pray for our President; pray for our environment; pray for our troops; pray for Love to gain victory over the Hatred that is so prevalent today. We need to focus on what is good about this country. We need to focus on our hope for the future of this country and the future of our children and grandchildren.

Let’s raise ourselves out of the dung heap and become the people we were created to be. Let it be said that America leads the way toward world peace. That journey must begin here, in our homes, in our churches, temples, synagogues, on the job, on the internet, on the phone, on the roads, in our city, county, state. It can’t be legislated. But it can be achieved. We can choose love over hate.

Come on, Friends, let there be peace in America.