Come to meet candidates who want your vote in the August 24 Primary and November 2 General Election.  The event is open to the public and the whole family is invited.

The menu is grilled fish, chips, fritters, coleslaw, baked beans, sweets, tea, water.

Saturday July 24th from 2 to 6 PM

Carpenter’s Park

6738 Dixon Street in Milton

Sponsored by the Santa Rosa County Democratic Party

Passed on from Florida House Dems -

LEGISLATURE HAS OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE, NOT LESS

TALLAHASSEE- Florida’s economy is hurting and we must do more than just ban oil drilling during special session, according to Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D-Tallahassee). “I support the ban and have signed on as a co-sponsor of the amendment, but we have an opportunity to do more for Floridians.  We also need to address how we’re going to help families get jobs and help stimulate our economy,” she said.  As strong advocate for renewable energy, Rep. Rehwinkel Vasilinda  has introduced legislation for the special session to generate revenue for the state and address the need for new jobs in the renewable energy sector including:

• A Constitutional Amendment creating Section 10 of Article II establishing renewable and clean energy as a high priority and fundamental goal of the state.
• Renewable Energy: Establishing a Public Benefits Fund to support renewable energy projects and reauthorizing the solar rebate program.
• Renewable Energy Trust Fund: Establishes a trust fund to administer the Public Benefits Fund.
• Solar Energy Systems Incentives: Re-Authorizes the Solar Rebate Program, Provides $30 million dollars for the backlog of rebates pending as of June 30, 2010; $100 million for new rebates; and $50 million for weatherization programs for low income homes.
• Deleting the sales tax exemption on bottled water. Eliminating this exemption will raise $42 million while diverting plastic from our landfills. Fewer plastic bottles will require less oil to produce, reducing our dependence on oil.
• FCAT: The legislation discontinues the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) effective immediately for all grades in the 2010-2011 academic year. Florida can save the $254 million it is currently spending on a failed, out-of-state, contractor who has shown they are unable to grade the test in a timely manner and millions more to administer the FCAT. Additionally, the accuracy and measurement of the 2010 tests are being questioned. Schools districts will be required to administer a nationally vetted and time proven standardized test like the Iowa Basic.

“It is my hope the Governor will broaden the call to include renewable energy and job creation. It is also my hope that my Republican colleagues will do more than pay lip service to the Governor's call by allowing a vote on the drilling ban and the renewable energy proposals I have outlined above. The people of Florida deserve nothing less.”

Rep. Vasilinda's Website

Well, we did it! We got an independent audit of the Federal Reserve ready for the President's signature. That's what the Senate's vote to approve the financial reform bill means; the audit authority is in there. Now we will find out which zombie banks on Wall Street got a new lease on life with Fed money, as the Fed's balance sheet grew by over one trillion dollars.

Funny enough, the world of big money isn't collapsing -- as the Fed threatened it would if an audit of the Fed ever came close to passing.

But if you happened to read Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal on May 7, 2010, you would have heard a different story. "Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate," was the headline. Exactly what Wall Street wanted you to think.

Whoops! It looks like the Wall Street Journal has gone the way of Rupert Murdoch's flagship holding, Fox News.

But we won. And so, to celebrate, we took that Wall Street Journal article from two months ago, did a little photoshopping, and put this together:

Share the news -- and the photos -- with your friends and loved ones.

We did this. Together. At every moment, as the Fed and Wall Street sought to undermine this cause, it was the phone calls, letters, e-mails, blogging and sheer power of the people -- ordinary people who cared -- that beat them back. We have delivered a succinct message to Wall Street and the Fed: "We Can Beat You."

We will beat you. As often as we need to. And when the battle is over, as Lincoln said, there will be "a new birth of freedom, and government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Courage,

Alan Grayson

At 12:56 p.m. today, Reuters/Ipsos released a poll showing Alex leading Bill McCollum 31-30 and within the margin of error against Rick Scott. This race is truly neck and neck.

The Reuters analysis said it best: "either Republican will have a tough race against Democrat Sink."

Help us keep the momentum going. Click here to contribute $10 now.

We know that Alex's strong leadership is resonating with Floridians, and the more voters learn about McCollum and Scott, the less they like what they're hearing.

SINK vs. MCCOLLUM: Sink 31%, McCollum 30%, Undecided 26%; SINK vs. SCOTT: Sink 31%, Scott 34%, Undecided 22%

Supporters like you are making this campaign possible. We're not going to let Scott buy this election or McCollum extend his long and failed political career. We're going to win this race because of grassroots support from people like you who know we need Alex as our next governor.

Since we set our goal of raising $200,000, we've been blown away by the response. As of this minute we're within striking distance at $149,050.

Contribute now to help us reach our goal before the July 16 deadline.

This poll shows once again that we can win this race. But we need to reach our goal to keep that momentum going.

Thank you for all your support,

Shellie Levin

Deputy Campaign Manager

Alex Sink for Governor

HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS LEADERS REACT TO GOVERNOR'S CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION

HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS  MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS
ON GOVERNOR’S CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  – Several Florida House Democratic Caucus members today applauded Governor Charlie Crist for calling a special session of the Legislature to address a state constitutional ban on near-shore drilling in Florida waters. The following are some of their remarks:

Representative Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota) issued the following statement:

“I congratulate Governor Crist for his display of leadership in calling this much-needed special session,” said Representative Fitzgerald. “More than two months ago, I joined Democratic colleagues and other state leaders in urging the governor to take this action to, once and for all, forbid drilling off our shores and protect Florida’s beautiful coastline for future generations.”

Representative Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) offered the following remarks:

“I believe that placing amendments into our constitution ought to be a rare and special occurrence. This is such a time,” said Representative Kriseman. “For the sake of our beautiful state, its economy, environment, and our way of life, I am very pleased that Governor Crist has heeded our call for a special session and I look forward to empowering Floridians come November and protecting Florida forever.”

House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands (D-Weston) issued this statement:

“Since 2005, Florida House Democrats have proposed bans on drilling near Florida’s waters because the hazards to our way of life, our economy and environment are too great and the benefits of drilling in these precious areas are too few,” said Leader Sands. “On behalf of the entire Florida House Democratic Caucus, I extend my warm appreciation to the governor for his actions today, and I urge all Floridians to join us in supporting a robust near-shore drilling ban.”

Many of us remember when Jim Greer was walked away in handcuffs, but I didn't think it would lead me to writing you this email.
The Florida Democratic Party needs your help.

Today, several hundred documents were released from the case against indicted RPOF Chairman Jim Greer. Since this scandal came to light, the Florida Democratic Party has warned that Republican politicians including Bill McCollum, Dean Cannon, John Thrasher, and others were not being truthful about their roles.
Throughout files and documents released as part of the criminal case against Jim Greer, there are documents showing that McCollum, Cannon, Thrasher and others not only knew about Greer's alleged corruption but they also tried to help cover it up.

While we are digging through the documents ourselves, there is a lot to look through and we need your help. We have made the documents available online so you can look through them and help us make sure everything important is found.

Chair Karen Thurman has repeatedly demanded a full and independent investigation. But the Republicans who control Tallahassee are trying to block the investigations into their culture of corruption, instead trying to make Jim Greer the fall guy for their misdeeds.
This is our chance as citizens to make sure that we get to the bottom of this shameful scandal. That is why we have posted everything for you to look through and are asking you to let us know what you find.

So please take a minute and help us sort through the documents and help us hold these politicians like McCollum, Cannon, Thrasher, and others accountable for what they've done.

Thanks you for your support and your time in volunteering to help us to uncover the truth.

Sincerely,
Eric Jotkoff
Florida Democratic Party