WalMart to Be Built on Florida Rain Forest Land

The Miami Herald reports that the University of Miami has come to an agreement with Ram to develop 40 acres of a rain forest preserve. The land will be used for a Walmart, LA Fitness center, Chik-fil-A, Chili’s restaurants and other box retail stores. Needless to say, environmentalists are not happy.

“You wonder how things end up being endangered? This is how. This is bad policy and bad enforcement. And shame on UM,” said attorney Dennis Olle, a board member of Tropical Audubon and the North American Butterfly Association, who wrote to Florida’s lead federal wildlife agent Friday demanding an investigation.

The proposed land for development contains many endangered plants and species. Conservationists were sent in last month to rescue plants and other rare life. They found more than what they bargained for.

To their surprise, rescuers picking their way through the forest in June and earlier this month found a trove of rare plants outside land staked off for preservation, including the tiny, endangered polygala smallii, a small flowering herb. They also spotted rare butterflies, including the Bartram’s hairstreak, one of the butterflies expected to be named to the endangered species list this summer, and the Atala hairstreak, which almost went extinct in the middle of the 20th century.

Environmental protection is next to nonexistent under the Rick Scott administration. The oil industry wants to drill in the Everglades. Even the environmentally unfriendly Jeb Bush was never that bold.

Hillary Clinton Speaking At the University of Miami

Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the University of Miami. Clinton spoke on social equality. Clinton stressed that there is more work to be done to ensure that people of different ethnicity, religions, and sexual identity are given the same rights as all Americans.

Clinton stressed that America needs to stop subsidizing oil. Clinton stressed the need to move to clean energy. I hope Clinton is sincere. However, Clinton comes from the corporate wing of the Democratic Party.

The funniest part of the Q and A is Clinton being asked about her Twitter bio.

Hillary Clinton Coming to the University of Miami

From the University of Miami website.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (January 16, 2014) — The University of Miami will welcome Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator from New York, to deliver remarks at a special event for the University campus and invited guests on February 26 at the BankUnited Center on the UM Coral Gables campus.

When: February 26

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are likely to go to the most well connected students, facility and community leaders. Short answer: you likely have no chance of attending this event.

Marco Rubio's Double Standard

Marco Rubio lectured counties to make budget cuts. This same man who lavishly used taxpayer dollars for his own staff.

Press Sec. Jose Fuentes - $119,484

Staff Director Todd Reid - $103,008

Consultant Donna Arduin - $10,000-a-month

Rubio has awarded his alma mater, the University of Miami, the money for it's medical school. The state legislature is asking other universities to cut $188 million from their budgets.

the University of Miami, a private 11,000-student school in Mr. Rubio's political district, is in line to get not only $12.5 million in annually recurring money for its medical school, but also $80 million that is tucked into the general government budget to establish a new program at UM called the Institute of Human Genomics.

I am not shocked by the hypocrisy. Rubio is on an anti-gambling crusade and has received $4,000 in campaign contributions from gambling organizations.

Update: Rubio talks about the need for budget cuts.

"We need to get this $1 billion spending reduction squared away," the West Miami Republican said. "It's a big task, an important one. Once we've done that, those other issues could come into play."