Peter King Mad at Marco Rubio

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) urges New York donors not to give a penny to Sen. Marco Rubio. King's reason is Rubio's vote against Hurricane Sandy relief.

"Rubio and these other Republican candidates are coming to New York to raise money," he said. "I don't think any Senator or congressman who voted against aid for Sandy should get one nickel for New York."

I have said this before, Rubio is a short game pol. Rubio will have a hard time explaining his votes on Hurricane Sandy relief and the Violence Against Women Act in a presidential election. His votes shows someone with outright extremist views. Rubio is worried about appeasing a dead tea party. The tea party (if the tea party is still around in 2016) is not going to deliver a general election victory to Rubio.

Alan Grayson & Luis Gutierrez Immigration Rally

Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, and Luis Gutierrez will hold a rally together for immigration reform.

“The time for commonsense immigration reform is now. We must set forth a straightforward route to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants who already live in our communities, work for our businesses, and want to give back to the country that they call home,” said Grayson.

Information on the rally.

Grayson and Gutierrez will appear at 11 a.m. Friday at Asociación Borinqueña in Orlando. At 3 p.m., they’ll move to an appearance at the Zocalo Square Supermarket in Haines City. In addition to remarks by Reps. Grayson and Gutierrez, attendees can expect to hear first-hand accounts of the many individuals impacted by this complex issue.

Rick Scott Runs From Austerity

There was a time when Gov. Rick Scott sent out press releases bashing federal government spending.

FROM GOVERNOR SCOTT

“I applaud the proposal released today to require a federal Balanced Budget Amendment as a part of the debt reduction package in the House of Representatives. It is time for the federal government to begin making the tough choices Americans expect to end irresponsible spending and the crushing national debt.

“I am committed to working with our legislative leaders to ensure that if Congress passes a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution, Florida will be the first state to set a Special Session to ratify it. This is exactly the type of reform that Floridians have been asking for from Washington, D.C., and the type of leadership our state and nation need to continue growing jobs and the economy.”

Turns out that Scott is now terrified of the sequester. Rupublicans have been planning the sequester since 2011. The Daily Beast broke the story of The PowerPoint House Speaker presented to fellow Republicans in 2011.

Sets up a new sequestration process to cut spending across-the-board—andensure that anydebt limit increase is met with greater spending cuts—IF Joint Committee fails to achieve at least $1.2T in deficit reduction. If this happens, POTUS mayrequest up to $1.2T for a debt limit increase, and if granted, then across-the-board spending cuts would result that would equal the difference between $1.2T and the deficit reduction enacted as a result of Joint Committee. Across-the-boardspending cuts would applyto FYs 2013-2021, and apply toboth mandatory& discretionary programs. Total reductions would be equally split between defense and non-defense programs. Across-the-board cuts would also apply to Medicare. Other programs, including Social Security, Medicaid, veterans, and civil & military pay, would be exempt. Sequestration process is designed to guarantee that Congress acts on the Joint Committee’s legislation to cut spending.

Austerity policies hurt an economic recovery. Hopefully, President Obama can break the Republicans and pass a infrastructure bill.

Quote Of the Day

"Joe Biden Debuts New Official Portrait, Sans Schlitz Malt Liquor Bottle."

Josh Marshall, on Twitter.

The official Joe Bidden profile.

Robert Gibbs Says He Was Told to Lie About Drone Program

It is amazing what happens when Obama administration officials resign. They start sounding rational. Lawrence Summers now backs regulations on the financial industry. Former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs expresses his displeasure on being instructed to deny the existence of the drone program.

“When I went through the process of becoming press secretary, one of the first things they told me was you’re not even to acknowledge the drone program,” he explained on MSNBC. “You’re not even to discuss that it exists.”

“Here’s what’s inherently crazy about that proposition,” Gibbs continued. “You’re being asked a question based on reporting of a program that exists. So you’re the official government spokesperson acting as if the entire program — pay no attention to the man behind the certain."

It is hard to deny the drone program when there is documented evidence of the bombings. In June of 2012, Nick Sibilla put the civilian death count at possibly 500.

according to analysis by the New America Foundation, approximately 11 to 17 percent of all those killed by drone strikes in Pakistan have been civilians. Meanwhile, the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that since President Obama took office in January 2009, anywhere from 282-535 civilians have been killed by drone strikes, including more than 60 children.

I am not arguing to protect terrorists. I do want transparency on the legality of the drone program.

Game Of Thrones Season 3: Trailer

I am excited about season 3 of Game of Thrones. Word is George R.R. Martin's third book in the series is being split into two seasons.

How Glenn Beck Has Fallen

The WWE has invited Glenn Beck to appear on the wrestling show Raw. Beck has described himself as a rodeo clown. Here is his opportunity.

The WWE press release.

WWE has extended an invitation to talk show host and political commentator, Glenn Beck to appear live this Monday on Raw, in response to a segment that aired on TheBlaze TV yesterday. In the segment, Beck references WWE as "stupid wrestling people," when criticizing a recent WWE storyline involving WWE characters Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio®, Jack Swagger® and Zeb Colter®. WWE is giving Beck the opportunity to address our 14 million weekly viewers and our global fan base, as he believes we are offending our "conservative" fans with this storyline.

Similar to other television shows and feature films, WWE is in the entertainment business, creating fictional characters that serve as protagonists or antagonists. To create compelling and relevant content for our audience, it is important to incorporate current events into our storylines. WWE is creating a rivalry centered on a topical subject that has varying points of view. This storyline was developed to build the Mexican American character Del Rio into a hero given WWE's large Latino base, which represents 20 percent of our audience.

I wonder how many of Beck's listeners know that professional wrestling is fake. I am being serious about that question. To say that Beck's audience is low info political news followers is a mild understatement.

Health Care Is Not A Job Killer

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam furthers this Republican talking point on health care.

The expansion of Medicaid in FL does not create jobs or strengthen our infrastructure. And it will cost cost Florida $5B over the next 10 years

Why is Putnam tying Medicaid to infrastructure. I would love Putnam to explain why he is tying health care for the poor to building new roads. As for Putnam's jobs claim, Putnam needs to read a book on economics. More people getting access to health care creates the need to hire more doctors, nurses and medical technicians. Jonathan Gruber made a good case on how the health care industry will need to hire people to meet the demand of 30 million new health care customers.

By now, most people who follow politics know that the law will result in more than 30 million additional Americans getting health insurance. But what few realize is that, by expanding insurance coverage, the law will also increase economic activity. These newly insured individuals will demand more medical care then when they were uninsured. And while it takes many years to train a family phyician or nurse practitioner, it doesn't take much time to train assistants and technicians (and related supporting staff) who can fill much of this need. In many cases, these are precisely the sort of medium-skill jobs that our economy desperately needs-and that the health care sector has already been providing, even during the recession

More immediately, the increase in economic security for American families will also mean an increase in consumer spending. Many uninsured consumers are forced to set aside money in low interest liquid accounts to make sure they have enough to cover unexpected medical costs. With the security provided by health insurance, they can free that money up for consumption that is much more valuable to them. When the federal government expanded Medicaid in the 1990s, my own research has shown, the newly insured significantly increased their spending on consumer goods. More purchases of consumer goods will provide short-run stimulation to the economy and more hiring.

The likely reason the Obama administration never countered the Republican "job killer" attacks is because the Affordable Care Act was designed to make money for the health care industry. That is why Mitt Romney signed Romneycare into Massachusetts state law.

Friday Cat Blogging

This Savannah mother cat is having trouble giving a kitten a cleaning. Kids will be kids.

Support For Chuck Hagel

Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has endorsed Chuck Hagel to be the next Defense Secretary.

Chuck Hagel has spent his entire life in service to his country. He volunteered to fight in Vietnam and did so bravely, side-by-side with his brother and earning two Purple Hearts. He served as Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration for President Ronald Reagan and was President & Chief Executive Officer of the World USO.

He represented the people of Nebraska in the Senate with honor for twelve years and was a coauthor of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Hagel's wisdom and courage make him uniquely qualified to be Secretary of Defense and lead the men and women of our armed forces. Chuck Hagel will be an exceptional leader at an important time.

Retired Maj. Gen. Roger Blunt has also endorsed Hagel.

Among seasoned security professionals, there is little question Hagel is the right man for the job. He has received broad support from leaders on both sides of the political spectrum, including more than 50 U.S. ambassadors and numerous former national security advisers, including Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski, James Jones and Frank Carlucci. Retired Gen. Colin Powell noted that he’s “a guy who knows veterans, knows the troops.”

This is not idle praise. Hagel’s understanding of the military is informed by his service to this country. He earned two Purple Hearts as a volunteer infantry squad leader in the Vietnam War. When a land mine exploded and nearly killed his younger brother, Hagel dragged him to safety, suffering blown eardrums and severe burns. Reflecting on that experience, he noted, “I’m not a pacifist. I believe in using force, but only after a very careful decision-making process.” Contrary to some of his critics, Hagel will not shoot first and ask questions later on issues of war and peace.

Sen. John McCain admitted that holding up Hagel's confirmation was political payback for Hagel's criticism of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Senate Republicans are now using an alleged Hagel link to the terrorist group Friends of Hamas. The only problem is Friends of Hamas doesn't exist. It is a bogus organization created by Andrew Breitbart lackey Ben Shapiro. Dave Weigel fact-checked Shapiro's story and could find no proof that the organization actually exists. That didn't stop right-wing media and bloggers from once again being suckered by the people at Andrew Breitbart's blog empire.

Republicans are so obsessed with blocking Hagel's confirmation that they are resorting to conspiracy theories. Hagel is likely going to get confirmed. Republicans made fools out of themselves for nothing.

End Florida Polytechnic University

I wrote recently that Florida Polytechnic University was created to increase the property value of former State Sen. JD Alexander's housing project. FPU was formerly a part of the University if South Florida. Alexander cut the USF budget to force the school to give up the polytechnic campus. FPU is now an independent university without accreditation, a student body or classrooms. It takes money to start a new university. FPU has gone over budget and is requesting $25 million.

The Board of Governors want Florida Polytechnic Chairman Rob Gidel to give the BOG a status update. his should be ugly.

"Those benchmarks include expectations regarding accreditation, academic programming, staffing, student enrollment, and facilities," Colson said.

What accreditation and student enrollment. FPU has about as much credibility as the University of Phoenix. The Florida legislature needs to pull the plug on FPU. This bogus university is going to be a drain on tax dollars.

Marco Rubio/NRA Petition

CREDO is running a petition urging Sen. Marco Rubio to condemn to Wayne LaPierre's ""ugly racism." I doubt Rubio will ever say a cross word towards LaPierre. In 2010, Rubio backed harsh anti-immigration policies. Rubio's State of the Union response is testiment that the Senator isn't known for his courage.

LaPierre went on a bizarre conspiracy theory rant against Hispanics.

Mr. LaPierre

Latin America drug gangs have invaded every city of significant size in the United States. Phoenix is already one of the kidnapping capitals in the world, and though the states on the U.S./Mexico border may be the first places in the nation to suffer from cartel violence, by no means are they the last.

I recently talked to someone moving back to Phoenix. He told me it is nicer than Tampa. He never once mentioned kidnapping. LaPierre never cites statistics to prove his kidnapping or drug cartel invasion theories.

Exactly why would drug cartels stage a military invasion of the United States? Cartels kill people in Mexico that intervere with their drug trade. If the cartels would be staging mass killings and kidnappings, it would be against U.S. law enforcement. Furthermore, LaPierre is citing a kidnapping myth started by Pheonix Police Sgt and pathological liar Phil Roberts.

The Phoenix New Times found Roberts lied to propel his career. Roberts told the media and lecture audiences that there were 359 kidnappings in 2007. What should have set alarms is that Roberts said every one of those kidnappings involved drug cartels. The chances of that are nearly impossible. However, Phoenix was now being labeled as America's kidnapping capital. The actual number of kidnappings was between 20 to 30 a year.

LaPierre would deny that the Phoenix kidnapping numbers were made up. THere is just one problem Sgt. Roberts admitted he inflated the number after reporters started asking questions.

In 2009, Roberts announced that the Phoenix PD task force handling kidnap and home invasion was nothing more than a "golden ticket" for detectives to build their resumes. He started downplaying the figures he'd been touting. In his voluminous memos, Roberts claimed that Phoenix kidnapping statistics were bogus and intentionally inflated by police officials to defraud the federal government of grant money.

LaPierre is citing a scam artist police detective to defend his imaginary war. This is the man Marco Rubio and other Republicans fear.

Charlie Crist Democrat 2.0

Former Gov. Charlie Crist's rebranding as a Democrat continues.

Crist will be the keynote speaker at the Manatee County Democrat’s annual awards dinner and dance on March 15 at the Fete Ballroom of the Polo Grill in Lakewood Ranch.

I wonder are we going to eventually see Crist wearing a Daily Kos T-shirt and quote Noam Chomsky. That would be hysterical.

Quote of the Day

"[The Second Amendment] is for our protection and the founders’ quotes make that very very clear and including against a government that would run amuck. We’ve got some people who think Sharia Law should be the law of the land, forget the Constitution. But the guns are there… to make sure all of the rest of the Amendments are followed."

Rep. Louie Gohmert.

Sadly, I actually believe Gohmert is dense enough to believe Sharia law is taking over the land. House Republicans were wondering what Gohmert was smoking when he nominated Newt Gingrich to be the Speaker of the 113th Congress. Never mind that Gingrich hasn't served in the House of Representatives since 1999.

John McCain's Meet the Press Benghazi Hissy Fit

I am no fan of David Gregory. Sen. John McCain has accused the Obama administration of covering-up what happened during the attack on the Benghazi consulate. Gregory asks McCain a fair question about what the Senator thinks the administration is concealing from the public. McCain goes on a tirade and questions whether Gregory cares about the Americans killed at Benghazi. McCain never gets around to answering the question.

McCain: Do you care....do you care, David....do you care, David....do you care....I'm asking you, do you care....I'm asking you, do you care whether four Americans died?

Gregory: You said there's a cover-up. A cover-up of what? A cover-up of what?

There are actually legitimate questions about why Christopher Stevens requests for extra security were ignored. Unfortunately, we have a Republican Congress that is incapable of governing and congressional Democrats that do not want to make President Obama look bad. It appears we will never get those answers. John McCain doesn't even know what the questions are.

Biden: "Buy A Shotgun, Buy A Shotgun"

Republican political consultant Rick Wilson tweeted me that Vice-President Joe Biden is beyond parody. I'm afraid I have to agree. If Biden is going to be President Obama's point man on gun control, he shouldn't start urging people to shoot guns if they think they hear something spooky.

Michael McDonald: Family Guy Parody

This is one of my favorite television comedy moments. There is just something funny about Michael McDonald. SCTV also mocked McDonald.

JD Alexander's Legacy

JD Alexander used his position as Florida Senate budget chairman to help his private businesses and enact revenge on the University of South Florida. Alexander's past legislative moves are still costing the Florida taxpayers.

Alexander attempted to move the USF College of Pharmacy to Lakeland. When that failed, Alexander cut 58 percent of the USF budget. Alexander then successfully made USF's Polytechnic school an independent university. The new school would not be accredited, students or a campus. Former State Sen. Paula Dockery summed it up best.

"So there's $10 million for USF students, then $22 million for Polytech, which right now doesn't have any students," Dockery said.

Alexander didn't care about these problems. A new university would forward plans for road construction for Alexander's plans to build a residential community. A nearby university would also increase Alexander's property values. This is nothing more than crony capitalism. TBO.com reports that the taypayers will have to pay for Alexander's real estate ambitions.

As the Tribune's Jerome Stockfisch reports, Florida Polytechnic University's trustees are asking for an additional $25 million this year, though it has about $109 million to get the university running by 2014. Most of that money was left by USF.

But now the trustees of the unaccredited school with no students say they need more for infrastructure, including landscaping, roads and furniture.

If this university does get off the ground; who wants to attend a school that offers a worthless degree?

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Never Go Back

Grace Potter is my new guilty musical pleasure. Her music is very mainstream but so what. She has a million dollar voice.

Alex Sink May Not Run Again

I am sorry about the death of Alex Sink's husband Bill McBride. However, I hope Alex Sink does not run for governor again. Sink hinted to AP that she is not likely to run.

"Without a husband, without the person that I relied on the most to shore me up and give me good advice. That's changed. That's changed everything," Sink said. "Right this minute, if you're asking me, it's off the table. I'm not prepared to say, 'No I'm not,' but I'm much further away from a run today than I was three months ago."

Truth be told, Charlie Crist will have a huge fundraising advantage over Sink. Democrats may not be happy about Crist switching parties but the desire to beat Rick Scott will outweigh their grievances. Sink lost once to Scott. There is no reason to believe she will inspire the base or voters a second time.

Quote of the Day

"But to be honest with you, Neil, it goes back to there’s a lot of ill will towards Senator Hagel because when he was a Republican, he attacked President Bush mercilessly and say he was the worst President since Herbert Hoover and said the surge was the worst blunder since the Vietnam War, which was nonsense. He was anti-his own party and people — people don’t forget that. You can disagree but if you’re disagreeable, then people don’t forget that."

Sen. John McCain

There you have it. John McCain and his fellow Republican filibustered the first Defense Secretary nomination in history for merely payback. Republicans have gave up pretending they have serious policy differences with the Obama administration.

Gay Man Vs Subway Preacher

Via Americablog: a gay man in the New York City subway takes on an annoying street preacher. I cannot stand these preachers that yell their bigotry at people.

Dancing Rick Scott

GottaLaff has made a gif of a dancing Rick Scott. All you need is the Harlem Shake song and you got yourselves a party.

Update: GottaLaff informs me that she didn't make the gif. Anybody out there have an idea who made the gif?

Friday Cat Blogging

The relationship Kevin Richardson has with lions is a sight to behold. I wouldn't feel so confident getting into a confined space with lions.

Mitch McConnell Thongs

I couldn't make this up if I tried. Someone had the bright idea to sell Mitch McConnell thongs on Cafe Press. Exactly who is the market for these thongs? I am also wondering why these female thongs look like used jock straps.

Friday Cat Blogging

This adorable Himalayan kitten, Marie, does some basic commands for tasty treats. I'm amazed the owner could get a dress on Marie.

Quote of the Day

"If somebody is dumb enough to ask me to go to political convention and say something, they're gonna have to take what they get."

Clint Eastwood, on his disasterous appearance at the Republican National Convention.

A Youtube commenter noted that the Republican audience applauded when Eastwood said that there were 23 million unemployed Americans.

Charlie Crist Uses the Wine Excuse

This is too funny. Attorney John Morgan is claiming that Charlie Crist remembers nothing about about the compenstation received by former Republican Party of Florida chair Jim Greer and Delmar Johnson. The reason being is Crist couldn't defend himself from all the wine Jim Greer was pouring down his throat.

"Well it sounds like if your client (Greer) was buying all the wine, he was drunk and doesn't remember what happened," suggested Crist's attorney, John Morgan. Morgan is the founder of Morgan & Morgan, the firm where Crist now works.

The testimony happened June 26, 2012. Crist contends that he did not know that Greer and Johnson had used Victory Strategies. Alleged, Greer and Johnson set up Victory Strategies, billed the RPOF for no services and then paid themselves. Johnson ended up testifying against Greer.

Greer was politically toxic by the time Crist had his wine-filled meeting with Greer. The Florida Republican establishment wanted Greer gone and were willing to pay. Lobbyist Brian Ballard has stated that Crist was aware of the compensation deal for Greer and Johnson. Crist testified, "I don't believe that is truthful." Of course Crist cannot be sure. Greer was making consume gallons of wine.

News Flash: Dick Morris Was Wrong

Dick Morris admits to Piers Morgan that he was wrong about saying Mitt Romney would win the election.

Morris: "I was wrong at the top of my lungs."

You don't say.

Protesters at John Breenan Hearing

Spencer Ackerman took this picture before the start of the John Brennan confirmation. There is already a huge crowd of protesters.

Update: Politico reports that the hearing was temporarily suspended because of the Code Pink protest. How those women are able to sneak into high security places continues to amaze me.

Soledad O'Brien and Tony Perkins Interview

Soledad O’Brien called out Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council for accusing all gay men of being a pedophile.

“A pedophile has sex with children,” O’Brien pointed out. “Are you saying that someone who’s gay is a pedophile?”

“No, I never said that,” the Family Research Council president insisted. “I’m saying that they’re trying to create an environment that is protective the children. This doesn’t make it more protective. There is a disproportionate number of male on boy pedophilia — when we get into pedophilia, it’s male on boy. There’s a higher incident rate of that. We never said all homosexuals are pedophiles or all pedophiles are homosexuals.”

Perkins quickly backtracks from calling gay men pedophiles.

Brien's question answers itself. Perkins doesn't give a damn about discriminating against gays and lesbians.

“Because it’s discriminatory,” O’Brien observed. “Do you worry you’re on the wrong side of history on this? Do you think that you’re going to look up and say, ‘We were on the wrong side in this debate, that this was an organization that ultimately stood for discriminating against some people.’ Don’t you worry about that?” “The question for the scouts is, are we going to continue in our mission and are we going to provide the safest possible environment for these boys or are we going to cave in corporate dollars?” Perkins replied. “That’s the question before the board today.”

Perkins doesn't give a damn about history or facts. What is really pathetic is Perkins keeps accusing gays and lesbians of being pedophiles. When pressed he isn't courageous to say it outright.

The Smiths - Hand In Glove

Morrisey could be pretentious as hell. However, the Smiths were a groundbreaking band. They did jangled as well as R.E.M.

Gun Documentary on Sarasota, Florida

Vice shot a documentary about the gun loopholes in Sarasota, Florida. The filmmakers went around Sarasota to see how easy was it to get ammo. One person in the documentary bought an AR-15 at a garage sale.

The documentary Gun Crazy does not mock gun owners or gun merchants. The reporting is fairly balanced.

The Benchwarmers

People wonder why Majority Leader Harry Reid did not push for real filibuster reform. The same reason why House Speaker John Boehner's 112th Congress passed the lowest amount of bills since the 1940s. It goes beyond ideology and partisnship. Congress doesn't want to have to have tough votes on the roll call. Political cowardness trumps politics.

Remember the vote for the Iraq Resolution. The legislation was based on fiction.

Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism and Iraq’s ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through the use of force if necessary;

Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the President to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized,

committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations; Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40); a

Whereas it is in the national security interests of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region: Now, therefore, be it

The kicker is Congress never declared war. The Constitution clearly states only Congress has the power "to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." Congress gave Bush the power to decide if he wanted to invade Iraq.

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to— (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant

Senators like John Kerry tried to escape responsibility for their votes.

"We should not have gone to war knowing the information that we know today," Kerry said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Knowing there was no imminent threat to America, knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction, knowing there was no connection of Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda, I would not have gone to war. That's plain and simple."

That is what Senate hearings are for. Don't give President Bush a blank check and expect him not to use it.

Harry Reid is doing everything in his power to avoid gun control legislation. Reid will likely use the excuse that his caucus doesn't support the legistation. This will save Democrats and Republicans from having to vote. Their is bipartisan support in ducking gun control.

“Something will happen. The question is what,” says one senior Hill aide. “What matters to Reid is trying to protect his caucus. I don’t think he is going to want to put Democrats in conservative-leaning states taking votes on something that won’t have a clear pathway to success.”

Sen. Marco Rubio said Congress is too busy to take on gun control. This is coming from the same man that never introduced his immigration bill because he went on a book tour.

Congress can't get anything done because they have no desire to. We don't have elected leaders. WE have benchwarmers collecting a government paycheck.

Get Educated on HIV/AIDS

Have questions about #HIV #AIDS? Join @ppfaq & PP's Dr. Cullins for an #HIVaware town hall tomorrow at 11:30am EST!

— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) February 7, 2013

Planned Parenthood will have a town hall on Twitter tomorrow with Dr. Cullins. Too many teenagers live in red states that do not educate them on the spread of sexually transmitted deseases. If you miss the town hall, you can check out to Planned Parenthood page on HIV. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention also has information.

Was Redistricting Gerrymandered?

I am not shocked that former Florida House Speaker used a private email account to dodge Florida's Sunshine law.

But some emails show legislative employees exchanging information with these same consultants. In one example, a top aide to then-House Speaker Dean Cannon used a personal email account to send a consultant a link to a congressional district map. The aide, Kirk Pepper, did not respond to a phone call or email requesting comment.

There is good reason Republicans didn't want the emails. made public. Gary Fineout reports that party officials and lawyers had strategy sessions on redistricting.

The emails show that in December 2010 Republicans set up a meeting to "brainstorm" with nationally-known attorney Ben Ginsberg along with several party employees, party political consultants, two lawyers advising the House and Senate on redistricting, the staff director of the House committee redrawing lines and an aide to the chairman of the Senate committee overseeing the process.

The League of Women Voters, La Raza and Common Cause is now considering legal action. At issue is the voter approved fair district amendments that are now part of the Florida Constitution. The amendments were created to end gerrymandering. President Barack Obama won Florida but Republicans still hold both chambers of the legislature. Districting isn't entirely the reason that Democrats are in the minority. The Florida Democratic Party has been disorganized and has failed to field candidates for races.

Kenn Kweder - Heroin

Philadelphia music legend Kenn Kweder. The man turned down a recording contract in the 70s because he didn't want a record company having control over his music. Kweder was indie before there was indie rock. There literally wasn't no original music scene when Kweder started in the early 70s. Kweder decided to announce his arrival by plastering the city with flyers of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. The flyers offended many people. It did get people to start talking about Kweder.

Nicki Jaine accompanies Kweder on the musical saw.

Speaker Boehner's Survey

House Speaker John Boehner's office has sent out this hysterical survey. We are to believe that House Republicans do not want to cut Medicare and Social Security.

Do you support House Republicans’ efforts to save critical programs like Social Security and Medicare from bankruptcy – and protect seniors from drastic benefit cuts?

Let's go back to the recent fiscal cliff negotiations.

As part of a broader budget deal, Boehner is still seeking more spending cuts than Obama has proposed, particularly in mandatory health care spending. Boehner has asked for a long-term increase in eligibility age for Medicare and for lower costs-of-living adjustments for Social Security.

Boehner and other Republicans are brazen in their lies. Social Security is not even in immediate trouble. Yet Boehner would rather make cuts to entitlements than actually address job creation.

Boehner continues to further the talking point that the Affordable Care Act will kill jobs.

10. As Republicans continue to press for ObamaCare’s repeal, do you support vigorous Congressional oversight to expose the impact of the law’s burdensome mandates and jobs-crushing tax hikes?

More people having access to health care will create a demand for more jobs in the health care industry. Amy Howell Hirt has a good article on health industry jobs that will see an increase in hiring because of the AFA. Republicans haven't been able to produce a nonpartisan study on how AFA will decrease jobs because none exists.

After the Bush years, Republicans are suddenly fiscal hawks.

5. Do you agree that spending cuts – not tax hikes – are key to solving our debt crisis?

The Congressional Budget Office released a report saying that deficit reduction has hurt the economic recovery.

“[E]conomic activity will expand slowly this year, with real GDP growing by just 1.4 percent,” according to CBO’s projections. “That slow growth reflects a combination of ongoing improvement in underlying economic factors and fiscal tightening that has already begun or is scheduled to occur-including the expiration of a 2 percentage-point cut in the Social Security payroll tax, an increase in tax rates on income above certain thresholds, and scheduled automatic reductions in federal spending. That subdued economic growth will limit businesses’ need to hire additional workers, thereby causing the unemployment rate to stay near 8 percent this year, CBO projects.”

Interest rates are near zero right now. The federal government can afford to borrow for stimulus funding. Without job growth the tax base and gdp will not grow. Without that the national debt will never be paid off. Boehner continues to preach trickle down Laffer curve nonsense.

Update: The Christian Science Monitor has a graph showing several health care jobs has the fastest growing industries. The Adam Smith rule about the free hand of the market doesn't really apply to health care. People get sick during good and bad economic times. People can't afford not to go without health care when they are seriously ill. Health care isn't the same has deciding whether or not you should shop at a cheaper grocery store. The demand for health care will always be there. The argument by Speaker Boehner and Gov. Rick Scott that the ACA will kill jobs is nonsense.

Why VAWA Has Helped Women

Sen. Mark Udall released this helpful graph on how the Violence Against Women Act curtailed domestic violence.

Quote of the Day

Elise Foley sums up the lack of substance from the Marco Rubio press conference.

Rubio: Blah blah football blah blah

Rubio is going to cling to his talking points for dear life. Rubio tells the media nothing should be done on gay marriage, carbon emissions or making NFL football safer. Rubio is a legislator that doesn't want to legislate. Rubio is perfect for our current do nothing Congress.

Dubious Rubio

Sen. Marco Rubio makes the argument that Congress is too busy to pass new gun regulations. The last 112th Congress was known for a lack of productivity. The current Congress doesn't promise to be any more productive. Rubio never got around to producing his much touted immigration reform bill during the last Congress. Rubio did find time to go on a book tour.

In other Rubio related news: Florida's junior senator was one of eight Republicans to vote to block the Violence Against Women Act.

Eight Senators on Monday voted not to consider the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that protects victims of domestic violence. The Senators who voted against moving to debate on the bill were: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Rand Paul (R-KY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and James Risch (R-ID).

It says something when Rubio is to the right of the Republican caucus. Jezebel is urging people to contact Rubio and other senators to voice their displeasure. Contact Rubio at www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/mobile/contact.

The answers Rubio gave were at the Buzzfeed Brews. Rubio said at this event that he didn't like beer. Nothing wrong with that. Perhaps Buzzfeed should have asked Rubio first.

Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien

I went from hating OK Computer to it being an album that I can listen to all the time. Go figure.

Skeet Shooting Fiasco

Note to White House political team. President Barack Obama is not running for the Republican nomination to become Florida's next Agriculture Commissioner. Republican Adam Putnam can pander to the conservative base by doing photo-ops and telling Floridians how easy he made it to put guns into the hands of Floridians. The White House is attempting to pander to NRA members by showing the President skeet shooting. These people will never support gun regulations.

To make matters worse, the White House forgot they live in the internet age. Only after releasing the skeet shooting photo did they ask people not to photoshop the image. We can look forward to future photoshops of the President shooting school children or any other offensive madness. The photoshops have already started.

This falls under Obama's instincts to pander to demographics that aren't part of his political base. Polls show that even Republican voters support gun control. We have a President that thinks appealing to a powerful political base is by declaring he is either a Blue Dog Democrat or a moderate Republican. Obama should ask Lincoln Chafee how well things are going for moderate Republicans or perhaps Heath Shuler on how the past few election cycles have been to Blue Dogs. Obama crafts his message for political coalitions that are nearly extinct.

If Harry Truman were alive he would tell President Obama to say he is a proud Democrat. Whether Obama likes it or not he is the leader of the Democratic Party. Truman made this famous quote about how to handle Republicans.

"Carry the battle to them, don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything."

Litbrit Published on Salon

Litbrit, aka Deborah Newell Tornello, has had a limerick she penned published on Salon. Congratulations, Deb.

Quote of the Day

"All I was doing was trying to get home from work."

Rosa Parks.

No person of color will ever have to give up their bus seat because of the courage of Rosa Parks.

Stupid Florida Law

Lazaro Sopena lost his driver's licence when he changed his last name from Sopena to Dinh. He changed his last name when he got married to Hanh Dinh. Florida doesn't not allow a married man to change his last name to his wife's maiden name.

I'm glad this law his on the book. This is so much more important than crazy people getting guns.