veterans
Today, Americans remember and celebrate the millions of fellow Americans who put on a military uniform in defense of our great nation.
Veterans Day was originally named Armistice Day on Nov.11 1919 because of the signing of the Armistice that ended WWI.
President Donald Trump will make history today by being the first ever sitting U.S. President to accept and attend the open the New York City Veterans Day Parade.
“Trump will open the 100th edition of the parade with a speech addressing veterans and military officials at Madison Square Park in Manhattan,” wrote the Epoch Times
The Gipper
Who can forget President Ronald Reagan’s epic tribute to veterans many, many moons ago. Here’s a taste:
"We're surrounded today by the dead of our wars. We owe them a debt we can never repay. All we can do is remember them and what they did and why they had to be brave for us. All we can do is try to see that other young men never have to join them. Today, as never before, we must pledge to remember the things that will continue the peace. Today, as never before, we must pray for God's help in broadening and deepening the peace we enjoy. Let us pray for freedom and justice and a more stable world. And let us make a compact today with the dead, a promise in the words for which General Ridgeway listened, “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee....”
Read the whole speech here >>>
Navy veteran Governor Ron DeSantis will join Lee Health for the Home Base Southwest Florida Mental Health Clinic grand opening today.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $380 million in grant funding for Florida’s timber industry following the impact of Hurricane Michael. The chuck of cash is part of an $800 million federal package allocated to agricultural producers from that states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
More DeSantis...
Florida's First Green Governor started up the pumps at the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area, to begin "the process of filling the manmade wetland with water" in an effort "highlight" the ongoing Everglades restoration effort,
Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced that she has entered into a "partnership to bolster ongoing efforts to protect Florida veterans and service members. The partnership between the Florida Attorney General’s Military and Veteran Assistance Program and Bay Area Legal Services’ Florida Veterans Legal Helpline will allow for a more rapid response to fraud, identity theft and other legal issues confronting current and former military members."
“Florida veterans and service members risk their lives to protect this great country, and as a state, we must do all that we can to make sure these brave men and women have access to legal support in their time of need. By coordinating efforts between MVAP and the Helpline, we can bolster the ongoing efforts of our organizations and hopefully improve outcomes for military members and veterans targeted by scammers or confronted with other legal challenges.”- Ashley Moody
Dems vs Repubs
Florida Democrats hone in on FL GOP Chairman Joe Gruters. Apparently they too smell the blood in the water.
"As part of his campaign of lies and attacks on immigrants, Florida GOP Chair Joe Gruters distorted the reality about the healthcare plans proposed by the Democratic presidential candidates, and specifically how undocumented immigrants will be covered by such plans. Politifact ruled Gruter’s claim as Mostly False and explains why Senator Gruters, like President Trump, are twisting what the Democratic presidential candidates said in a debate in June".
Florida GOP and Trump team hold another "Stop the Madness" protest outside of Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala's office. The first rally took place about a month ago and was headlined by, you guessed it, Joe Gruters, as well as Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“Voters are tired of the Democrats’ endless witch hunts and want a Congress that works for them. Key legislative items including ratifying the USMCA, critical defense spending, and $1.7 billion worth of tax breaks are being left on the table while Democrats pursue this impeachment sham. Democrats, like Donna Shalala, will have to answer to their constituents in November 2020.” – Trump Victory Spokesperson Danielle Alvarez
Meanwhile, the internal audit research dump that the DeSantis administration is said to have ha still not been released. The research is expected to outline the outlandish spending by consultants tied to the the state GOP, and my even include Gruters and some of the people he has place in his inner circle.
Fairwell, for now...Veteran journalist Nancy Smith has announced that she is hanging it up and will close down Sunshine State News. SSN and Smith became staples in Florida media about the same time that Shark Tank launched in late 2009.
“De La Rosa’s win was a family affair” by THE FLORIDIAN’S Javier Manjarres – The tight-knit Cuban-American community has come together again in Hialeah, Florida to see one of their rising political proteges take the oath of office for one of the open seats in that municipality’s city commission. Oh, and Cuban pastelitos were served. Oscar De La Rosa, the son of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban Bovo and Viviana Bovo, was sworn into office by Senator Marco Rubio, who has been part of De La Rosa’s extended family since the age of 5.Cuban-American community has come together again in Hialeah, Florida to see one of their rising political proteges take the oath of office for one of the open seats in that municipality’s city commission.
Lt.Gov.Jeanette Nunez, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Oscar De La Rosa with Rubio, has been tapped to lead a trade mission to Colombia later this month. According to the News Service of Florida, the move is to, what else, try to recruit business to Florida
The Eagle has landed...
State Rep. Dane Eagle (R) has announced his run for congress in FL CD 19 (Rep, Francis Rooney's seat) and is now being considered as the frontrunner in a race of several Republicans that may or may not decide to jump into the race at all. State Reps. Byron Donalds and Bob Rommel told The Floridian they are strongly considering congressional runs.
Eagle is the current House Majority Leader who will surely use his position to raise campaign cash, and considering that he has lived in the congressional district for the entirety of his life, his name recognition could put him over the top in a contested GOP primary race.
Fins up!
The Miami Dolphins have won their second straight game and the team's biggest fan, Senator Marco Rubio, couldn't be any happier. It's safe to say that Rubio's TV did not feel the stress he projects with the accent pillows that adorn his couch.
“STATE, GROUPS WAGE COURT FIGHTS OVER SOLITARY CONFINEMENT” by The News Service of Florida’s Ana Ceballos – Tallahassee --- In separate but parallel lawsuits, civil-rights and legal groups are challenging Florida’s use of solitary confinement in prisons and juvenile detention centers —- but are facing pushback from state agencies..
The Southern Poverty Law Center, Florida Legal Services and the Florida Justice Institute this year sued the state Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice in federal court in Tallahassee, contending the agencies’ practices on isolation are unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.
But the agencies are fighting back against the allegations, with the latest salvo coming last week as the Department of Juvenile Justice filed a motion to dismiss the juvenile detention case and questioned the motives behind the lawsuit.…
“Giuliani Associate Says He Gave Demand for Biden Inquiry to Ukrainians” by the New York Times’ Ben Protess, Andrew E. Kramer, Michael Rothfield and William K. Rashbaun – Not long before the Ukrainian president was inaugurated in May, an associate of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s journeyed to Kiev to deliver a warning to the country’s new leadership, a lawyer for the associate said.
The associate, Lev Parnas, told a representative of the incoming government that it had to announce an investigation into Mr. Trump’s political rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and his son, or else Vice President Mike Pence would not attend the swearing-in of the new president, and the United States would freeze aid, the lawyer said.
The claim by Mr. Parnas, who is preparing to share his account with impeachment investigators, challenges the narrative of events from Mr. Trump and Ukrainian officials that is at the core of the congressional inquiry. It also directly links Mr. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, to threats of repercussions made to the Ukrainians, something he has strenuously denied.
“Bolivia’s Socialist President Evo Morales resigns” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Another one bites the dust. Bolivia’s socialist government led by President Evo Morales appears to have lost power. Reports coming out of Bolivia state that President Morales has left office after the head of Bolivia’s armed forces called for his resignation. President Morales wasn’t smiling and holding up his fist when he formally resigned on Sunday, saying that he did it “for the good of the country” after Bolivians took to the streets to protest last month’s election results
What Rubio said:
“The resignation of Evo Morales is a testament to the strength and the will of the Bolivian people. As I stated earlier this month, Morales was illegitimately holding on to power in Bolivia after the recent presidential elections.”- Sen. Marco Rubio
"Rubio supports subpoena of whistleblower if it’s deemed relevant" by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – As the House Judiciary Committee, which is led by Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff, calls its first to witnesses to an open impeachment inquiry hearing later this week, House Republicans have stated that they will be subpoenaing the whistleblower and Hunter Biden to testify in front of the committee. House Democrats have rejected the Republican witness list, which includes Hunter Biden, form Democratic National Committee consultant Alexandra Chalupa, Devon Archer, and the whistleblower.
“Rubio leads group of senators interested in allowing college athletes to make money” by The Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty and Brian Murphy – Florida’s football-crazed U.S. senator is drawing up plans to create a national standard for compensating college athletes for their names, images and likenesses weeks after California passed legislation and a similar bill in the Florida Legislature received the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said in an interview this week that he supports college athletes getting paid, the latest high-profile lawmaker to advocate for an overhaul of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a governing body for college sports that has long prevented athletes from making money from their athletic achievements
“Omar appears to make another anti-Semitic remark” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – After receiving significant pushback for making anti-Semitic comments prior to entering the U.S. Congres, and for her “all about the Benjamins” comment she made after arriving in Washington, D.C., Muslim-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) tweets are once again at the center of the anti-Semitism argument. After business Leon Cooperman announced that he would be supporting billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s presidential candidacy in 2020, Rep. Omar tweeted “I wonder why?” and included the “thinking” emoji.
“Wasserman Schultz says Trump’s border wall “ineffective” as smugglers cut through” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – A recent Washington Post story detailing how criminal drug smugglers are sawing through portions of the newly-erected Trump border wall has some House Democrats saying “I told ya so,” as the news somewhat makes their case that the border wall would be ineffective. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (R), who is one of those critics that oppose Trump’s border security wall, tweeted that the president’s “monument to ego and xenophobia” was “clearly ineffective” and a waste of “taxpayer dollars.”
“Haley says Tillerson, Kelly tried to recruit her to subvert Trump to ‘save the country’ by the Washington Post’s Anne Gearan – In a new book, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley slams Rex Tillerson as “exhausting” and John Kelly as suspicious of her access to the president, and argues they should have quit if they disagreed with him.
“Mast Wants Whistleblower and Bidens Subpoenaed” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – This week, the Ukrainian controversy took a turn as it was announced that the whistleblower would be issued a subpoena.Rep. Jim Jordan, the highest-ranking GOP members of the House Oversight Committee, declared that Republicans intended to subpoena the whistleblower for questioning. Moreover, lawmakers have kept quiet since the announcement was made, but Florida has been the first to declare its support from the House.
“Whistleblower’s Attorney gets defensive after his tweets are questioned” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – The attorney for the whistleblower at the center of the House impeachment inquiry, Mark Zaid, got a little defensive today when former Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly called his 2017 anti-Trump tweets “clearly partisan” and “harshly anti-Trump & reveal an unambiguous desire to oust the prez.” The defensive Zaid tweeted that he found it “amazing how many ppl completely misunderstand def of “partisan”. I have zero affiliation w/politics other than holding all public officials accountable. I wasn’t aware in America citizens had to like their president. Those are dictatorships.” Zaid included in his tweet a link to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition of the term “partisan
“Steve Bannon testifies Roger Stone was Trump campaign link to WikiLeaks” by the Associated Press’ Ashraf Khalil and Michael Balsamo – Donald Trump’s campaign viewed Roger Stone as an “access point” to WikiLeaks and tried to use him to get advanced word about hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton that the anti-secrecy group released during the 2016 presidential race, a former top presidential adviser testified Friday.
In reluctant testimony, former campaign CEO Steve Bannon told a federal court that Stone, on trial for lying to Congress and witness tampering, had boasted about his ties to WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, alerting them to pending new batches of damaging emails.
"The campaign had no official access to WikiLeaks or to Julian Assange," Bannon told the court. "But Roger would be considered if we needed an access point."
@realDonaldTrump -A great new book just out, “The Plot Against the President. The True Story Of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal In U.S. History.” Shows very bad and corrupt people on the other side. Check it out!
@SpeakerPelosi Our inquiry has uncovered some profound betrayals of our Constitution, but it has also uncovered acts of profound patriotism by public servants who stood up for what was right. We will continue to conduct our inquiry aspiring to the same ideals. #DefendOurDemocracyt\.
@RepValDemings Impeachment inquiry moving to open hearings next week. Joining @TheRevAl right now to discuss.
@marcorubio You see unheralded players no one else wanted schemed into position to make place
You see development, individual young guys getting better every week.
Which other franchise does that remind you of?
Imagine this coaching with 7 of top 96 picks in 2020 draft on the roster.
@RepStephMurphy - I’m pleased the Trump administration has finally recognized how important public notification is to the integrity and credibility of our elections and established a framework for when and how notification should occur.
@MarioDB - I remain profoundly concerned for the welfare of #JoseDanielFerrer, who has been detained for more than a month. The brutal regime in Cuba has the blood of thousands of innocents on its hands. We cannot remain silent in the face of this egregious injustice to one of Cuba’s heroes
·President Trump’s pressure campaign was undermining our elections & undermining democracy around the world, hurting our national security. We must #DefendOurDemocracy
Happy birthday, U.S. Marine Corps!
Thank you for 244 years of service to our country.
Marines’ bravery and resolve are world-renowned, and we’re lucky to have you!
@bfgpollara What the 2020 Presidential campaign really needs is another old white guy
Said no one
“Two Disney employees among 17 arrested in child pornography sting in Florida” by NBC News’ Nicole Acevedo – A child pornography sting operation in Central Florida has led to the arrest of 17 people, including two Disney employees.
One man was caught as he was attempting to meet a child for sexual favors, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement Friday. Two other men were in the middle of trying to get nude pictures from two different teenage girls using Snapchat and Facebook. Another man said that if he didn’t look at child pornography, he would sexually batter children.
Those arrested as part of the monthlong police operation range in age from 19 to 77 and face a total of 626 charges, all of them felonies except two misdemeanors, the sheriff's statement said.
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