Big Sugar’s political shills turn Florida into its sacrifice zone: voters needs to reject them all ... by gimleteye

Thursday, March 01, 2018         Mark Perry of Florida Oceanographic Society says this all better than we could. Scientists estimate that the Everglades reservoir plan needs another 6,500 acres to work properly, and the sugar industry warns any expansion better come from public land. This is after Florida turned 60,000 acres into filtration for the industry's pollution and invested billions to help it meet legal requirements. Despite some Florida lawmakers' push to extend corporate welfare to billionaire sugar families, more people are asking whether it's finally time to wean the industry off public assistance. Make Agriculture Clean Water on its Own Land South of Lake Okeechobee By Mark Perry (reprinted with permission, first appeared in TCPalm) Discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee totaled 832 billion gallons in 2017. The majority of those discharges, 650 billion gallons, went east and west causing massive environmental destruction to the northern coastal estuaries: the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon and the Caloosahatchee River.  Billions of gallons of precious freshwater resources were dumped to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Of the 182 billion gallons of lake water that went south, the Everglades Agricultural Area used 142 billion gallons for irrigation and only 39 billion gallons went south to the Everglades.  Historically, all of the water from Lake Okeechobee used to flow south to the Everglades as a “River of Grass," 112 miles long, 35 miles wide and 1.5 feet deep. The river flowed slowly south from the lake, taking about 16 months to reach Florida Bay.  The sawgrass of the river took up the nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), and the clean, freshwater finally mixed with the ocean saltwater of Florida Bay. This was one of the most productive estuarine environments on our planet, a thriving nursery for abundant aquatic life. It must have been absolutely beautiful. Due to major hurricane flooding in 1928, the government built a dam around Lake Okeechobee to stop the flooding (which stopped the River of Grass) and built channels to direct the water east to the St. Lucie estuary and west to the Caloosahatchee estuary instead of south to the Everglades. The 700,000 acres just south of the lake became the Everglades Agricultural Area where the private agricultural industry, primarily sugar cane, controls the water for their irrigation — keeping the crops dry and land drained for perfect conditions resulting in a profitable harvest.  The runoff water from the EAA basin is huge and has high amounts of phosphorus. Several decades ago, the state of Florida bought 57,000 acres in the EAA and built stormwater treatment areas, which are manmade marshes, operated to take out the phosphorus before it could go south to the Everglades.  The state has spent over $1.8 billion on the STAs and millions each year to operate them to clean up the EAA basin runoff. In fact, we as state taxpayers are spending an additional $880 million on “restoration strategies” to expand the STAs just to meet the water quality standards for discharging the EAA basin runoff water to the Everglades. From May through October 2017, about 418 billion gallons of EAA basin runoff went through the STAs, while only 7 billion gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee were treated on the way south to the Everglades. Since 1995, the state’s STAs have treated 5.7 trillion gallons, with only an average of 10 percent coming from Lake Okeechobee and 90 percent from EAA basin runoff. Now we are trying to build the EAA Reservoir project, as called for in Senate Bill 10, to store and treat more water from Lake Okeechobee.  Well, perhaps we should use the state-owned and operated lands, including the stormwater treatment areas, to treat our state water from Lake Okeechobee — and tell the agricultural industry in the EAA to use their own land to store and treat their runoff to the Everglades. For too many years, state taxpayers have covered the costs of treating billions of gallons of agricultural runoff and removed thousands of tons of the industry's phosphorus.  Isn’t it time we tell them to store and treat their water on their own lands, just like we require other land development to do now? Shouldn’t we use our state-owned STAs for the goal of restoring the River of Grass and stopping the damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries? Shouldn’t we require the EAA agricultural industry to store and clean up their own water, as the Florida Constitution requires?  -Mark Perry, executive director of Florida Oceanographic Society P.S. If you can, please click here to become a Bullsugar.org member and help us fight for a fair solution for the Everglades and Florida's fisheries.         Bullsugar.org http://www.bullsugar.org/     This email was sent to  style="color: #1ec3bd; text-decoration: none;">alanfarago@me.com

The Clusterfuck That is Senator Marco Rubio. By Geniusofdespair

Miami Herald (too hard to find the link, I just have so much time Miami Herald)

 Marco Rubio is wrong on so many things it is hard to pin down one thing, he is just a clusterfuck of bad decisions and votes, one after another he disappoints. Today in the Miami Herald he said "Gun limits can't pass congress, so why bother?" Maybe because your constituents want it? Can't find the link for the Herald article.

Here is Vox on Rubio:

Marco Rubio’s case against gun control defies simple logic

It’s basically an argument against having any laws.

Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) argument against gun control is, essentially, the “too long; didn’t read” of policymaking: It’s too hard to properly enforce gun laws, so why even bother?

“If someone’s decided, ‘I’m going to commit this crime,’ they’ll find a way to get the gun to do it,” Rubio said on Thursday, a day after a shooter killed at least 17 people in a high school in the state that Rubio represents. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a law that makes it harder. It just means, understand, to be honest, it isn’t going to stop this from happening.”

Rubio explained that if you ban certain types of guns (like the AR-15), people will still be able to find older versions of it since so many of those guns are already out there. He also claimed that if you impose harsher background checks, chances are a lot of people would pass, erroneously or not, the check anyway. And if they don’t pass a background check, they’d find another way to get a gun.

He is the worst Senator, we have to dump him but unfortunately he is safe to wreak havoc on us and the country until 2020 (shit, just looked it up his term is until 2023). He is always on the wrong side of every issue, and is oddly spending a lot of time addressing Venezuela. Why? Can we all chip in and hire a private investigator to dig up dirt? It is the Democrats fault he won, they gave up on their own candidate (who was admittedly weak).

Meanwhile, YOUR PRESIDENT has reversed himself on yesterday's support of gun control since meeting with the NRA.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
11h11 hours ago

Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!

Not your imagination: this winter has been really, really hot ... by gimleteye

On Twitter from Brian McNoldy, at UM Rosensteil.

“The avg temperature over the past 4 weeks in #Miami is 76.5°. That obliterates the previous record high avg temp for February (74.9°), and is *66 DAYS* ahead of climatology. In other words, Feb 1-28 of this year was the same as Apr8-May5 in an average year! #Climate #SummerIsHere. “

Separately: a recent satellite image from the western side of Florida Bay choked with algae. A bloom covers pretty much the entire bay extending well out in the the Gulf of Mexico. This is NOT NORMAL and yet the GOP Congress, Senator Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott continue to DENY the need for change. 

In November 2018, voters need to #VoteThemAllOut.

Let's Talk About Guns...again. By Geniusofdespair

Rubio - a total disaster on guns.  But this is not about him.

Donald Trump said he would have run into a school without a gun (I really don't think he can run) to save children being shot at with a high powered rifle. Yes I do think that Donald Trump can block at least 3 children with his fat body, but he would quickly be in a heap on the ground with the rest of the dead.

I was a teacher. I would take the $500 and the training but I would never carry a gun. Does anyone realize that some teachers are unstable? That being said, I would not like some to be armed. Students today can get you really, really angry. In Florida we have that pesky stand your ground law.  Unarmed Trayvon Martin was gunned down for going to the convenience store and the killer got off. I think a student attacking a teacher would be enough to get the teacher off for killing the violent unarmed student - and there are violent students, abusive in words and behavior.

Travon Martin Dead

The legislature wanting to arm teachers goes down in history as one of the dumbest ideas ever. The bill has passed the Appropriations committee in the Senate and House and is moving its way through the legislature.

Where are are the teachers going to keep the gun? I doubt If I could hit anything. I have guns in my home and I am deathly afraid to even look at them. Although I do like my Zombie Killing Hunting Knife with a compass built in.

So Legislators, are you going to arm church members and pastors, people going to see Batman or going to a Country Western Concert? Tell me how anyone being armed would have had any difference in the Las Vegas massacre. It isn't just schools where people are being killed.

As the arming teachers movement passes along in our State Government I can only shake my head. Who the hell voted for this crappy bill? Apparently not the Democrats.
 

"THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE WOULD BE A HIGHLY TRAINED PERSON IN THE SCHOOL", SAID REP. JOSE OLIVA, REPUBLICAN OF MIAMI LAKES, REFERRING TO TEACHERS WITH GUNS.

LOL. Really? Highly trained?

They didn't listen to one word from the public that traveled to the State Capitol to speak including the children and parents from Parkland.

Florida Bay: Dead? ... by gimleteye

Reports filtering in, from fishermen using Florida Bay, say that the water is choking in a toxic algae bloom.

A week and a half ago, flying into Miami from the southwest, the passenger jet carried me straight up Florida Bay and, looking, down, the water looked clouded with algae.

Recent photo of Florida Bay taken from a passenger jet, looking east toward the Florida Keys. The spit of land in the center is Cape Sable. The dusty colored water in Florida Bay is a vast algae bloom.

Over the weekend, a friend reported fishing in this same area we flew over; nearly eighteen miles west of Islamorada in the Gulf. The captain wheeled the boat into twenty foot depth where he stopped, surrounded by thousands of dead fish. He didn't take photos, unfortunately, or we would post them. What my friend did say was that the three began to cough; slowly then harder. The toxic algae that killed the fish was choking them, too. The captain spun the boat up on a plane and scooted away.

Since the first massive algae bloom in Florida Bay in the late 1980's, serial and repetitive outbreaks have vastly disrupted the food chain; thinning out the natural habitats where fish and crustaceans thrive. (Just one example, since the 1970's the price of colossal stone crab claws has climbed nearly fifty fold. The bonefish and permit and tarpon that once habituated the channels, bays and sea grass meadows have largely disappeared -- returning only when the water is algae-free -- , putting a billion dollar fishing and tourism economy at real risk.)

I don't use the term "dead", lightly. There are some alive things in the bay, like catfish, that NEVER were there before, when the water was right. Catfish feed on dead stuff at the bottom. Lots of that. Also, we know that ecosystems can revive -- the Kissimmee River project is just one example, where returning a semblance of natural flows brought conditions back to a semblance of what they had been before the river was straightened by the US Army Corps.

Florida Bay is a much different and larger-scale task. It is the drainage basin for 2 million acres of drastically altered upstream wetlands including about 600,000 acres of monoculture, industrial sugarcane that drains phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur additives used to maximize crop yield. We are not even close to "getting the water right" in Florida Bay, and the further away we grow from the first insult, the harder it is to conceive a way through. It is not for lack of effort.

Everglades Restoration was supposed to address the water quality problems in Florida Bay. Lawsuits against the state of Florida and Big Sugar in the 1980's, levied by the federal government, the Miccosukee Tribe and environmental groups, yielded the federal state partnership to fix the Everglades in 2000. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was a horrendous compromise because Big Sugar insisted that the issue of water storage and cleansing be booted to the indefinite future.

Subsequent plans to rehydrate the upstream Everglades with clean, fresh water at the right time of year turned into engineering fiascos because they routinely under-size land buy-outs needed for sufficient storage and treatment marshes. Bad faith is thick as cattails in once-pristine Everglades.

Last year's promise by Gov. Rick Scott and Senate President Joe Negron to fix the problems "once and for all" are another tranche in the category of "shamefully inadequate". The multi-billion dollar plan -- approved by the state legislature but not yet the federal cost-sharing partners -- will only deliver certainty to one constituency; billionaire Big Sugar campaign contributors.

Florida Bay? Scarcely at all. Florida Bay is not the only slow motion tragedy in Florida's waterways and natural habitats. It is a highly visible one. Curious that voters seem incapable of barring from elected office so many politicians who claim to care but are as cowed by Big Sugar as Congress is, by the NRA.

Apple Store Workers, Don't be Satisfied Being Geeks and Civic Morons. By Geniusofdespair

APPLE STAFF:

I took lessons at the Apple Store at Dadeland, Brickell and Aventura. Only one peep out of the dozens I asked knew who the governor was. Two instructors yesterday could not name one Senator.

THEY SAID THEY DON’T VOTE, “voting is a personal thing” said the kid. He said his vote doesn't count. I would have liked to have told him about the 300 or so votes in Florida that decided the election in Bush/Gore. I said “I don’t care who you vote for, just vote.”

Let’s target the Apple workers. This is unacceptable. Kids are not being taught. We have to inform them. They have to know more than how a phone works. Maybe we need to all go in and ask them civic questions in between Apple-Speak. Do the Apple Store test where-ever you are.

Maybe we can get the League of Women voters to hold a civics meeting for Apple Staff. This really makes me despondent.

And, I know it is not YOUR kids who are this civically challenged, as  you have reminded me on Facebook, but that any kid is, makes me despondent. A few more terms and I will be gone to carry water for those who don't.

Spam Folder. By Geniusofdespair

I don't know why but some of you end up in our spam folder. Occasionally I look through the hundreds of spam comments to see if anything REAL is there. Sometimes I delete the whole damn list without looking. I am sorry if this has happened to you but don't give up commenting.

One way to guarantee you get in the spam folder, add a link to your comment. Links are not helpful.

Will Corporate America Make The Same Mistake As It Did In The 1960's? ... by gimleteye

The historical record is clear. In response to perceived threats to social order in the 1960's, corporate America was lead into a wilderness -- to blindly support right-wing, Republican think tanks and message machinery -- that pointed the nation to exactly this outcome: a democracy severely deformed by an extraordinarily narrow group of wealthy, special interests. Donald Trump, the most incompetent and disliked president in modern US history, is a manifestation of that outcome.

Today, the first cracks are appearing: big American corporations have withdrawn support for the NRA, the organization that fronts for billionaire manufacturers of guns.

Earlier this week, longtime NRA kingpin Wayne LaPierre affirmed this point of view when he reached to the back of the bag of dirty tricks and darkly summoned the image of "socialism's return" if AR-15's were banned. An NRA spokesperson looked even loonier, brandishing automatic weapons in a photo like a terrorist.

LaPierre is working from the same story line that motivated corporate America to support the Powell Memorandum in 1971. An attorney at the time, before his appointment to the US Supreme Court, Powell sincerely sucker punched logic:

In all fairness, it must be recognized that businessmen have not been trained or equipped to conduct guerrilla warfare with those who propagandize against the system, seeking insidiously and constantly to sabotage it. The traditional role of business executives has been to manage, to produce, to sell, to create jobs, to make profits, to improve the standard of living, to be community leaders, to serve on charitable and educational boards, and generally to be good citizens. They have performed these tasks very well indeed. But they have shown little stomach for hard-nose contest with their critics, and little skill in effective intellectual and philosophical debate.

In rejecting sponsorship of the NRA, corporate America is breaking with a long, dejected history that lead the United States to the point of putting military-grade weapons in American schools. It also appears to be recognizing that the Trump White House and the GOP Congress is making Russia look good in comparison. No sane nation arms its teachers. No sane businessman reads about indictments of top campaign officials of Donald Trump and skips past the conclusion that when the nation wobbles, so do business profits.

There is always a likelihood that herd instinct will corral American businesses back into line. The US Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups, like Associated Industries and the builders' lobby, are made for that. But when Russian schools seem safer than ours in the United States, something has to break.

Even corporate America chieftains remember how hard it was to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.

We Can't Vote Them Out in Miami If We Have No One To Replace Them and Don't Support Those We Do Have. Guest Blog By Ross Hancock

Readers of this site are very acquainted with the failure of Miami’s elected officials to represent the well-being and aspirations of constituents, whether in regard to ethics reform, social justice, the environment, traffic, over-development, utilities, housing, education or health care.

This week, traditional and social media alike trumpeted the disgrace of the eight Miami-Dade state representatives who blocked discussion of gun issues, right in the young faces of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors. Instead, these reps chose to debate a clawless bill on the health effects of porn.

The picture of the eight legislators, who owe more to the gun industry than to the families they serve, was widely shared on the news and social media, and everyone posted and proclaimed, “Vote them all out!”

But not one of the eight lawmakers has opposition. Not. A. Single. One.

Look at their pictures again. Do they have anything to fear from Democrats? Let’s examine each of their election prospects.

In House District 103, Manny Diaz will not run for reelection. He is termed out. He has filed to run in State Senate District 36, where he has no opponent. For the House seat he is leaving, there is no opposition to Republican Frank Mingo. Hillary Clinton won that district with more than 58% of the vote.

For House District 105, Carlos Trujillo has been nominated by Trump for a federal job and will not be up for reelection. A Democrat is running there who has raised almost $600. Accused criminal David Rivera is running there, too. Hillary Clinton won this district.

In House District 110, Jose Oliva is running unopposed, even though Hillary Clinton beat Trump by seven points in this district and it should be in play.

In House District 111, Bryan Avila is running unopposed for the November election. Hillary Clinton won this district.

For House District 115, Michael Bileca is termed out and will not run for reelection. Doc Solomon is running there.

In House District 116, Daniel Perez is running unopposed. Hillary Clinton won this district.

For House District 119, Jeanette Nunez is termed out. She has filed to run in State Senate District 39 in 2020, where she has no opponent. No Democrats are running in her open House District, in which Hillary Clinton destroyed Trump.

In House District 120, Holly Raschein is running unopposed for the November election. Hillary Clinton won this district, too.

So when our chests swell up with confidence and enthusiasm and admiration for the young people, and we shout, “Vote the bums out!”, we are really not scaring anyone. The bums are unopposed or termed out, and, unless something changes, they have nothing to fear from their constituents.

And Genius asks: If the Democratic Party doesn't step up to the plate at this critical time to help find and fund candidates...exactly what is their role?  They don't even cheer-lead correctly.

GREAT READ: Alex Pareene on "The Long Lucrative Right Wing Grift" ... by gimleteye

The Long, Lucrative Right-wing Grift Is Blowing Up in the World's Face
Alex Pareene

If you want to understand intra-GOP warfare, the decision-making process of our president, the implosion of the Republican healthcare plan, and the rest of the politics of the Trump era, you don’t need to know about Russian espionage tactics, the state of the white working class, or even the beliefs of the “alt-right.” You pretty much just need to be in semi-regular contact with a white, reasonably comfortable, male retiree. We are now ruled by men who think and act very much like that ordinary man you might know, and if you want to know why they believe so many strange and terrible things, you can basically blame the fact that a large and lucrative industry is dedicated to lying to them.

Facebook, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Why Was Facebook So Easy to Hijack?
The internet was supposed to disrupt and flatten old power structures, but instead it has become like every other network in history
Wall Street Journal, Christopher Mims Feb. 19, 2018 8:00 a.m. ET


Historians are coming to understand how Facebook and other social-media networks give rise to hierarchies that can both empower and oppress. Shown, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke at the annual Facebook developers conference in April 2017.