Call Senator Gaetz at the following numbers...

District Office: (850) 897-5747 

To Rid Government of Corruption We Should Throw the Book at Criminal Politicians who Betray our Trust - Give Him 18 Years.

---

Charlie White - Indiana GOP Secretary of State Guilty of Voter Fraud

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R) was convicted of six felony charges Saturday morning, including three counts of voter fraud, according to The Indianapolis Star.

White’s case stemmed from providing incorrect information about where he lived while campaigning for secretary of state in 2009 and 2010. He claimed that he resided with his ex-wife in the east side of the town of Fishers but actually lived on the opposite side of town with his then fiancee, which is outside of the Fishers Town Council.

According the jury, White broke the law using his ex-wife’s address while voting in the May 2010 primary and continuing to take a salary from the district.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) named White’s chief deputy Jerry Bonnet as interim secretary of state. White still has the opportunity to regain his seat if a judge downgrades his Class D felonies to misdemeanor charges during his sentencing, with a date yet to be determined.

White potentially faces six months to three years in prison for each count.

Senate Votes To Ban Its Members From Insider Trading… Kind Of

The Senate reacted Thursday to a public uproar over the awkward reality that insider trading laws don’t already apply to members of Congress. With lawmakers fearful of being painted on the wrong side of the issue, the STOCK Act passed 96-3. Senators from both sides of the aisle practically fell over themselves to herald the bill’s passage and tout the importance of restoring the public’s trust in Congress.

But does this bill really help with that? Critics say it’s heavy on grandstanding, but short on substance.

The purpose of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act is to crack down on members of Congress and their staff who engage in commodities and securities trading on the basis of non-public information attained on the job. It requires lawmakers and aides to disclose trading activities involving over $1,000 on a monthly basis and empowers the Government Accountability Office to investigate misuse of “political intelligence” including when it’s provided to third-party companies who use it for their trading benefit.

It’s an issue lawmakers feel uncomfortable being on the wrong side of, particularly after a recent CBS “60 Minutes” report on the issue incited outrage. That led President Obama to call for a better approach in his State of the Union last week, after which Senate Democrats began pushing the STOCK Act.

The Senate passage of the bill is pretty quick going for the often sedentary chamber, and some critics are suspicious. “On closer examination, it appears that what Congress really wants is to keep making the big bucks that come from trading on inside information but to trick those outside of the Beltway into believing they are doing something about this corruption,” wrote Yale law professor Jonathan Macey in the Wall Street Journal. “For one thing, the rules proposed for Capitol Hill are not like those that apply to the rest of us. Ours are so broad and vague that prosecutors enjoy almost unfettered discretion in deciding when and whom to prosecute.”

Macey explained that under STOCK, prosecutors would have far less discretion with which to investigate members of Congress than they do with the general public. “If enacted, the law of insider trading will remain one of many where one reality applies to Congress and an uncomfortable and insecure reality applies to everybody else,” he declared.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who played a role in developing the bill, didn’t agree with Macey’s argument. “I don’t see how that could possibly be the case,” she said in response to a question from TPM, and argued that the bill makes “crystal clear that members of Congress are not exempt from insider trading laws, regulations or rules.”

Grumblers have said the 112th Congress is going to have a hard time getting anything passed — at least until the election is resolved and it can rush through a roster of bills in its final weeks. This vote suggests that’s not entirely accurate. In this instance lawmakers were handed a virtual dream-come-true: an arguably soft-gummed bill that nonetheless gives valuable material for campaign ads touting one’s ethics in an election year. Faced with that, the spirit of bipartisanship prevailed.

We’ll see if that holds when the bill moves on to the House. GOP signals there have been mixed but after the Senate’s action Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said his chamber will “quickly review” the bill and that “it is my intention to schedule consideration of the Senate-passed STOCK Act on the House floor next week.”

Rick Scott and Florida Republicans Look to Privatize Prisons

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and his allies in the state legislature are pursuing a plan to privatize dozens of prisons in South Florida. Republicans claim that private prisons are more efficient and that the move would save the state millions of dollars. The privatization bill is facing some trouble in the state senate, including opposition from key Republicans.

Scott claims that the purpose of the privatization push is to shave 7 percent off the state budget, which perpetually comes up short since Republicans refuse to raise revenue and continue to drive the state's economy into the ground.

[State Sen. Steve] Oelrich, a long-time member of the Florida Retirement System, said he was taken aback when Scott suggested the reason the state had to save the money on its prisons was because he believes the "retirement system is broke."

"The governor's words were that we are 'lying to state employees,' '' Oelrich said. "That troubles me. I don't think that's necessarily correct."

Oelrich questioned why Scott would use that as a rationale for defending prison privatization, which is projected to save between $16 million to $30 million a year. The state's retirement fund is more than 80 percent funded, he said, a level he believes is considered high compared to other states. Bringing it up to 100 percent funding is not something advocated by actuaries, Oelrich said, and would cost billions. More...

‘Daily Show’ Asks Gov. Rick Scott To Take Drug Test

On Thursday night’s The Daily Show, correspondent Aasif Mandvi traveled to Orlando, Florida to meet Louis Lebron, a Navy veteran on public assistance who refuses to submit to a state-ordered drug test.

Florida’s state legislature, led by Governor Rick Scott, mandated that all recipients of welfare should be tested for drugs in order to continue to receive benefits. Lebron believes that government drug testing is an infringement on his right to privacy.

Given that lawmakers also receive public money, Mandvi asked one legislator to take a drug test, then crashed a press conference with Governor Rick Scott and asked him to do the same. Surprisingly, the governor declined.