HE JUST WON'T GO AWAY
Disgraced former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is exhausting all of his options to get his old job back.
After being suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis and then smacked down by the GOP-lead State Senate, Israel has filed a federal lawsuit last Friday night against both DeSantis and Senate President Bill Galvano.
"DeSantis sued by Scott Israel over removal," by The Floridian's Javier Manjarres - Arguably, one of Florida’s most hated, if not the most hated politicians, Scott Israel, has filed a federal lawsuit to get his old job back. Israel has filed suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and Senate President Bill Galvano, saying that he was not afforded his “due process” when the Republican-led Senate voted to uphold DeSantis’ suspension. Israel has cried foul, saying that he did nothing wrong, but DeSantis and most of Florida saw his handling of the 2018 Valentine’s Day Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 students and teachers dead, as well as the 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting that left 5 dead, as good enough reasons for his removal.
2020 will surely bring some popcorn-worthy fireworks as Israel, a former Republican will face off with Sheriff Greg Tony, DeSantis' man in Broward. Could there be a spoiler in the race or a candidate that flies under the mudslinging that will certainly be flung by Tony and Israel?
Oh, let's not forget that Florida State Senator Lauren Book (D) warned that this would happen if the senate upheld the suspension.
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President Trump Rallies in Broward County
Shrugging off the House impeachment inquiry brought on by Rep. Adam Schiff in the House Intelligence Committee, President Donald Trump is all business as usual and continues holding rallies around the country.
His campaign is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, so why not hold an event there?
Blue Florida – Democrats greet President Trump by calling him out on “broken promises” he’s allegedly made to Floridians. U.S. Reps. Wasserman-Schultz, Lois Frankel and Donna Shalala will be on a call with reporters Monday morning.
Red Florida – The Republican National Committee (RNC) is laser-focused on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Florida Reps. Charlie Crist, Stephanie Murphy, Donna Shalala, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, accusing them of putting off the USMCA for political reasons.
Broward is still an embarrassment for Trump, Republicans as the Broward GOP continues being the laughing stock of the state.
“LOL! Broward Republican court jesters want to rally prep Trump supporters,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – You can’t help but laugh at the already laughable Broward Republican Executive Committee (BREC) over their very questionable and ridiculous call to help Trump supporters “prepare” for President Trump’s arrival.No need to go listen to food-deprived, helmet haired and pencil-necked stooges tell you how to comport yourselves at an always off-the-cuff Trump event. Let us help all of you Trump supporters who need assistance in preparing for Trump’s rally on Tuesday. (Sarcasm)
“Scott Israel sues in federal court to be reinstated as Broward sheriff” by the Sun-Sentinel’s Mario Ariza – Calling his suspension from office “little more than a sham and mockery of fairness and due process,” Scott Israel, the former sheriff of Broward County, has sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senate President Bill Galvano in federal court.
The lawsuit, filed at about 11 p.m. Friday in the Northern District of Florida, asks U.S. District Court Judge William Stafford to reinstate Israel to his post, or — barring that — to set up an adjudication process that does not violate Israel’s due process rights.
Speaking of DeSantis...
Last week, Governor Ron DeSantis joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the groundbreaking ceremony of a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) located in St. Augustine.
“The groundbreaking and establishment of St. Augustine’s Community-Based Outpatient Clinic has been a long time coming, and I’m honored to be a part of this project that will provide healthcare services and support for the men and women who have honored our country through military service,” said Governor DeSantis. “I will continue to work to ensure that Florida remains the most veteran-friendly state in the nation. Our veterans will always have my support.”
Order me a BLT, but hold the lettuce…
Florida’s AG Commissioner Nikki Fried has given Floridian’s some peace of mind after announcing that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration declared that the E. coli contaminated romaine lettuce came from a region of California and nothing “Florida-grown” was “implicated.”
“Ensuring food safety and protecting consumers from foodborne illnesses are some of our most important responsibilities, especially with pathogenic E. coli bacteria,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nicole “Nikki” Fried. “We strongly advise consumers to seek romaine lettuce with the “Fresh From Florida” logo ensuring its Florida-grown, and to avoid products that state and federal inspectors have found to carry risk of illness.”
“Gillum calls Gaetz a “criminal,” forgets he plead guilty to ethics charge,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Days after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) called out failed gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s apparent inflated voter registration numbers in Florida, Gillum decided to take a dip in the political gutter. Gillum’s recent tweet where he called out House Republicans and their position in the ongoing impeachment inquiry was met with another response from Gaetz. Gaetz. “All Andrew Gillum knows about history he learned from the Hamilton musical… After taking the tickets illegally from an undercover FBI agent,” stated Gaetz. The tweet tipped Gillum over the edge, prompting the former Mayor of Tallahassee to apparently lose his cool when he responded, ” There is only one criminal between the two of us…YOU,” before posting Gaetz’s mugshot from when he was arrested for DUI.” In true “Open Gaetz” form, Rep. Gaetz responded to Gillum, telling The Floridian that comparing his arrest for DUI when he was 26-years-old (case dropped) to Gillum “pleading guilty to the ethics commission” was like comparing apples to oranges.
E. Warren - New Florida Majority grassroots org is backing Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sanders others in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. This is not good for Bernie.
ICYMI—“Bondi debuts as Trump's defender-in-chief,” by the POLITICO’s Matt Dixon – Tallahassee — Pam Bondi on Wednesday made her debut as President Donald Trump’s attack dog, hammering the impeachment hearings and saying she didn't expect Trump to testify. “The president has done nothing wrong,” the former two-term Florida attorney general told CBS This Morning. “It’s a sham, yet the president has continued to run our country.” It was her first interview since being hired two weeks ago as a White House senior adviser. The role was crafted specifically to allow Bondi to do one thing: push Trump’s message on television.
During her brief inaugural interview in that role, Bondi hit on familiar talking points used by critics of the impeachment process. She said she didn't think Trump would testify in the impeachment inquiry.
Oye Papo, que tu haces?
Miami Dade Commissioners reject Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s Cuban Family Reunification Program
“After decades of addressing U.S.-Cuba politics from the dais, Cuban-American Republican commissioners rejected a resolution in support of a bill in Congress that would restore the Cuban Family Reunification Program.”
“High hopes, no cash: Florida’s homegrown pot amendment withers while industry initiative sprouts,” by the Sun-Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher and Aric Chokey – Michael Minardi has been working toward his dream of giving the marijuana plant back to the people one hundred bucks at a time. Over the past four years, the Tampa attorney slowly raised about $450,000 for his constitutional amendment petition to legalize recreational marijuana, with most donations at $100 or less. It adds up to a fraction of the $5 million he needs to get the issue on Florida’s ballot. Then an industry-backed campaign swooped in with a bigger supply of green four months ago. Two marijuana companies have poured $2.8 million into a campaign called Make It Legal Florida since August. Both petitions want to legalize pot, but the amendments would result in vastly different futures for Florida’s recreational marijuana market. Minardi’s proposal, dubbed Regulate Florida, would let Floridians grow a personal supply of marijuana and doesn’t limit where marijuana could be sold. The industry-backed initiative would mean marijuana could only be bought at a limited number of licensed medical marijuana treatment centers and doesn’t allow smokers to grow their own.
Floridians Against Recreational Marijuana (FARM) is off and running to “combat the mega-marijuana, out-of-state corporate interests driving the 2020 ballot initiative attempting to bring recreational marijuana to Florida.” Well, that was a mouthful.
“Our coalition has come together to defeat this dangerous ballot initiative, which will drive an increase in healthcare prices, increase costs on businesses and kill jobs, and increase the burden on tax payers that will pay for the costs associated with recreational marijuana,” said Brian Swensen, who will be leading the statewide effort to defeat the ballot measure.
OPINION: “Metastatic breast cancer patients not getting the legislative support they need to survive” by The Floridian – When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was given information about a support group by a social worker. Before I had a chance to go, I found out that I was actually metastatic, meaning the cancer had left my breast and spread to my bones, which is the definition of Stage IV.
The next time the social worker called me to see if I would be attending, I told her about my updated diagnosis, and I was uninvited from the support group. Her exact words were “the other women would be too scared.”Those of us with metastatic, or Stage IV, breast cancer like to call ourselves the pink elephants in the room because no one wants to talk about or, sometimes, even to us. I get it, to a certain extent. Metastatic breast cancer has a higher risk of fatality than other stages, and knowing that someone is going to die is awful. Knowing that you might be next is even worse. You see, 30% of men and women diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer will go on to be metastatic.
“Nearly half of medical marijuana users in Florida smoke it,” by News Service of Florida’s Christine Sexton – Tallahassee ― Almost half of the 291,865 patients in Florida certified to use medical marijuana as of Sept. 30 are smoking it, a recent report shows. In all, more than 1.82 million ounces of smokable medical marijuana were ordered for 128,040 patients over a six-month period, a recent state report shows. That translates to 113,922 pounds, or 57 tons, of flower marijuana. The report, compiled on behalf of the state Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, shows that 44% of patients were smokers of medical pot. “I thought it would be more,” medical-marijuana lobbyist Ron Watson said of the number of patients who smoke cannabis for medicinal purposes. Florida voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the state, but lawmakers initially banned smokable marijuana. That changed after Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in January and pushed lawmakers to eliminate the ban.
More Impeachment Inquiry Talk (We're all bored of it)
“Democrat Schiff vows to continue investigating Trump,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Even though House Democrats, namely Rep. Adam Schiff, struggled to make a clear and definitive case for impeachment against President Donald Trump during the recent House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearings, Schiff says he will continue investigating the president even after his committee turns in their final report. Schiff told CNN’s “State of the Union” Jake Tapper that he would press on with his investigation. “We’re going to continue our investigation,” said Schiff “We’re going to continue to pursue the documents.”When Tapper asked specifically if he would continue the investigation even after he turns in his report, Schiff stated…
“Majority of Independent voters don’t support impeaching Trump,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Bad news for House Democrats. As the latest impeachment inquiry hearings wrap up in the House Intelligence Committee and Democrats pat each other on the back for a job they think was well done, a new poll of independent voters shows a decline of support for impeaching President Trump. The NPR/PBS/Marist poll shows that right before the hearings began, 51-percent of independents polled on N0v.-11-15 did not support impeachment. Is the Marist poll a sign of a trend against impeachment? It could possibly be as the latest Monmouth poll shows that only 45% of Independents supported impeachment, and the latest Gallup poll also showed that only 45% of Independents wanted to see the president removed. In October, both the Monmouth and Gallup polls showed that the majority of Independents supported impeachment, those numbers are obviously changing in support of Trump.
“Trump calls “Bull Schiff” over House Democrat’s impeachment inquiry,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – As the House impeachment inquiry concludes, President Donald Trump, who was not afforded representation at the hearings, continued his condemnation of Rep. Adam Schiff’s “witch hunt.” President Trump has relentlessly gone after Schiff, House Democrats pushing for impeachment and the witnesses themselves over what he says is a disservice to the American people. But Trump’s latest impeachment smackdown is not BS. Actually, it’s “Bull Schiff.” Trump’s release of this new campaign t-shirt all-but ties all of hit thoughts about Rep. Schiff’s impeachment hearings. The House is expected to release (4) potential points of impeachment, with a probable vote coming down sometime in December.
“Republicans buy into Trump conspiracies to blunt impact of impeachment hearings,” by CNN’s Stephen Collinson – Two weeks of dramatic and incriminating public impeachment testimony did little to sever the strong bond between President Donald Trump, his Republican supporters and conservative media propagandists. In fact, the more damning the suggestions of an abuse of power become, the deeper it forces Trump's defenders into his wild brew of conspiracy theories, disinformation and distortion. Trump is facing accusations that he withheld nearly $400 million in military aid and other recognition for Ukraine to try to force it to investigate a domestic opponent -- Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden -- and 2016 Democrats. But despite an impeachment case that solidified in two weeks of public testimony, there are increasing signs that the President's aggressive approach and mastery over the Republican Party in Washington is preventing any slippage of support from allies as Democrats prepare to pause the inquiry for Thanksgiving.
Bipartisanship? -- “Democrat Murphy pushes Trump’s new USMCA trade deal,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – President Donald Trump has renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and has penned a new United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), a measure that both Mexico and Canada have agreed on and shares extensive bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress. Mexico has already ratified the agreement. The USMCA will make trade between the three countries fairer, but according to House Republicans, the bill is now being held up in the House of Representatives over political reasons. House Republicans blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic House leadership of not putting the bill up for a vote because it would give President Trump a victory they don’t want to give him. Democrats say that they are holding up the vote for nothing more than they want to iron out some labor issues that they would like addressed.
Because she's "Young & Dumb" --“Popstar Ariana Grande called “Young & Dumb” for supporting Bernie Sanders,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Outside of Rapper Kanye West, it is fair to say that most, if not all, politically opinionated pop singers are liberal-minded and are actively seeking President Donald Trump’s demise. Ariana Grande is as Socialist-minded as they come and has been actively registering young voters at her concerts in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders. “MY GUY. thank you, Senator Sanders, for coming to my show, making my whole night and for all that you stand for !” Grande tweeted last week. “@headcountorg and i are doing our best to make you proud. we’ve already registered 20k+ young voters at my shows alone. also i will never smile this hard again promise.” Grande’s tweet was met by harsh criticism from Republican congressional candidate Irina Vilarino, who labeled the pop singer as being one of those “young & dumb” kids who don’t know any better when it comes to politics.
“U.S. says Mexico threatening American farmers,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – With a unanimous vote of 4-0, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Mexico’s continued tomato imports were being sold in the U.S. under fair market value, undercutting American farmers and threatening their livelihood. U.S. Lawmakers have been asking the Trump Administration to help curb Mexico’s unfair agricultural trade practice, and the president has responded by rewriting NAFTA with the USMCA, a trade deal that would significantly even the playing field with all imports from Mexico and Canada, including agriculture. House Democrats have refused to put the USMCA up for a vote, a move that as political in nature because it would be seen as a win for Trump. But as Democrats stall the USMCA vote, Trump is pushing back hard against Mexico’s trade with all of the tools he has at his disposal.
@realDonaldTrump -Democrats going back to their Districts for Thanksgiving are getting absolutely hammered by their constituents over the phony Impeachment Scam. Republicans will have a great #2020 Election!
@RepDonBeyer - There is a direct and unacceptable line between the white nationalist views expressed in Stephen Miller's emails and the discriminatory policies he conceived and promoted at the White House, including family separation, the Muslim Ban, and enormous cuts to refugee admissions.
@marcorubio - Today’s #USITC vote confirms U.S. #tomato growers were injured by unfair Mexican trade. Credit @POTUS & @SecretaryRoss for strong suspension agreement to curb abuses. Rest of U.S. seasonal produce sector still vulnerable w/o effective trade law reform.
@SenRickScott - Democracy at work! The people of #HongKong’s voice is being heard loud and clear today as votes are counted. Communist China should take a close look and reconsider their current posture. Autonomy and human rights belong to HK!
@RepDMP- This last week in Washington was busy and important — from fighting for equal pay to urging the President to take action to keep tobacco out of the hands of our children.
@USRepKCastor - The RAISE Family Caregivers Act supports vital home & community-based services for seniors, including meals-on-wheels, elder abuse prevention & caregivers support - all important steps in allowing our parents & grandparents to age with dignity and independence in their own homes.
@RepRossSpano - 56 years ago, on what was supposed to be a joyous day in Dallas, things quickly turned disastrous. Using today as a time to reflect, let us remember the life and legacy of President Kennedy. “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on forever.” #JFK
Woof Woof! - @JimmyPatronis - Congratulations Nita! She just completed her first level of obedience training.
@AGAshleyMoody - Encouraging news coming out of the second meeting of the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse this week—but we still have a long way to go.
@CarlosGSmith - 18 LIES from the POTUS during a single interview can only mean one thing — it’s Friday
@BillGalvano - I am pleased to announce the appointments of former State Senator Lisa Carlton and @Dr_Haridopolos to the Tobacco Education and Use Prevention Advisory Council.
@AnnaForFlorida - Our mom loved Fred Rogers, she found his voice to be comforting & when she was sick I remember turning the TV on loud so she could hear his voice from her bedroom. If our feelings are mentionable then they are manageable— such incredible advice.
“104 Arrested in Undercover Florida Trafficking Operation,” by The Epoch Times’ Bowen Xiao – More than 100 people were arrested during an undercover human-trafficking sting dubbed “Operation Trade Secrets II” in Tampa, Florida, authorities announced earlier this week. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said in a Nov. 18 statement that of the 104 people arrested, 75 were men purchasing sex, and 28 were women who engaged in the trade. The sting, the second of its kind, took place between June and November. The operation was designed to focus more on the buyers, commonly referred to as “Johns,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the statement. “Like any business, the human trafficking industry boils down to this: supply and demand. I strongly believe that in order to eradicate human trafficking, we must continue to focus on reducing the demand,” he said. “People who profit from trafficking women and children, along with those who pay to engage in this awful trade, must always be held accountable.” From January to June, Florida authorities were completing “Operation Trade Secrets I,” which culminated in 85 arrests. The sheriff’s office said the name of the sting “reflects the Sheriff’s continued efforts to combat human trafficking in Tampa Bay.”
“Night out ends in death for 21-year-old and murder charges for 51-year-old,” by the Sun-Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan, Brett Clarkson, and Dan Sweeney – About half past one in the morning Saturday, Yvonne Serrano, 51, and Daniela Tabares Maya, 21, were among friends and fellow gym members at World of Beer in Coconut Creek. Hours later, Maya lay in Serrano’s driveway, a single bullet hole in her forehead.
Maya’s body lay next to her Nissan Kicks, the driver’s side door still open, her right foot still inside the car. Serrano called the police about 6 a.m. She said she didn’t know Maya, then said she did, police say. She told police she had no memory of what happened after World of Beer but woke up in her bed. Then, after they took her to a police station, she said she woke up in the car next to the body. Serrano is charged with murder and tampering with evidence. She is being held at the Sheriff’s Office’s Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach. Serrano deleted footage from her Ring door camera and washed her clothes before calling police, said Carla Kmiotek, a police spokeswoman.
