This really pleases me.

Is Florida the state that cried wolf?

Republican Governor Rick Scott and the legislature have turned away federal funding earmarked for the state of Florida over and over again, from $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects to $31 million to prevent child abuse and infant mortality to $40 million that would move disabled children out of nursing homes and back with their families.

And now that the governor is asking for federal funds, the Florida GOP is upset to find FEMA saying "no": Scott is appealing the agency's rejection of his $26.9 million request for help with damages from eventual Hurricane Isaac.

State Republican Party chairman Lenny Curry accused the Obama administration of making the decision political in a statement, according to Sunshine State News.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that FEMA director Craig Fugate, who was Florida's Florida Division of Emergency Management director from 2001-09, wrote in a letter to Scott that damage from Isaac wasn't severe enough to warrant federal aid and argued the state could handle the expense. The storm didn't become a hurricane until after it sideswiped the state, causing heavy flooding in Palm Beach County and parts of the Panhandle.

Much more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/fema-denies-federal-funds-rick-scott_n_1909894.html

MIAMI —

At the landmark Versailles restaurant in Little Havana, where Castro-bashing is as much a menu staple as the cortaditos and ropa viejas, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan courted Latino voters Saturday by accusing President Obama of a “policy of appeasement” toward the Cuban dictator and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

Ryan also joined Republican nominee Mitt Romney in blasting Obama for telling the Spanish-language network Univision on Thursday that Washington can’t be changed from the inside.

Ryan appeared with a guayabera-clad former Gov. Jeb Bush, one of the GOP’s most popular figures with Hispanic voters. Ryan was also accompanied by his mother, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea resident Betty Ryan Douglas, who has become a key figure in Republican efforts to reassure seniors about Ryan’s Medicare proposal.

“The exciting thing for my family today is my mom finally got to meet Jeb Bush,” Ryan told supporters who packed the restaurant in the heart of Miami’s Cuban-American community. A larger, outdoor rally had been planned for the restaurant’s parking lot, but rain forced the event indoors.


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/jeb-bush-joins-ryan-to-court-latinos-in-miami/nSHw6/

By Emily Roach

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

More jobs were created in August than in any of the past 15 months, but workers continued to give up on their job searches, creating a mixed employment picture and stagnant unemployment rate.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported Friday that 23,200 jobs were added to payrolls in August, the best figure since April 2011. The unemployment rate stayed at 8.8 percent, remaining above the national rate of 8.1 percent, which fell 0.2 percentage points in August.

Howard McKenzie of Boynton Beach knows the job pool. He’s looking for work for the second time this year, and he was one of more than 3,000 people drawn to the JOB News job fair in West Palm Beach this week.

“I just think the economy is doing a little better. I think there are more jobs available than back” in May, he said.

But the recovery is “not happening fast enough,” said Josue Pagan of Boynton Beach, a caretaker of special needs and autistic people. Cuts to state programs have reduced his work to part time, and he has to drive all over the county for jobs.

More at: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/floridas-unemployment-rate-holds-as-state-has-best/nSHDN/

WASHINGTON -- Democrats are turning up the heat on Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), with a Democratic super PAC investing $1 million in ads dedicated to getting the outspoken conservative congressman out of office in November.

House Majority PAC released a biting new ad against West Thursday morning, attacking the congressman's record on women's rights and reminding voters that he once said progressive women were "neutering American men."

The spot begins airing Thursday in West Palm Beach and is part of the $1 million ad buy in the district.

<snip>

The spot begins airing Thursday in West Palm Beach and is part of the $1 million ad buy in the district.

From the ad's script:

What could be worse than Allen West's vote against affordable contraceptives? Or to eliminate cancer screening programs? Or to take away a woman's right to choose?

What's worse ... are the words he uses against them: All these women that have been neutering American men and bringing us to the point of this incredible weakness -- to let them know that we are not going to have our men become subservient." West made his "neutering" comments in April 2011, referring to women who are supporters of Planned Parenthood or members of the protest group Code Pink.

West has been endorsed by the RNCLife PAC, which backs only candidates who oppose abortion access, with no exceptions. "There is no clearer example of how extreme, radical and out of touch Allen West is than the anti-women voting record he's compiled and the misogynistic manner in which he talks about women," said Alixandria Lapp, executive director of House Majority PAC. "A belief system like Allen West's belongs in the history books, not in Congress."

much more at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/allen-west-super-pac-ad_n_1898448.html

sex marriage. Don't know what the rest of his spiel was, I hung up. Really annoys me to get calls that late. Creep.

Last night's Late Show, which featured a visit from President Barack Obama, saw a huge ratings boost for the talker. It posted its highest overnight rating since February 2010.

STORY: Obama on Letterman: The President Represents the Whole Country

The appearance, which saw the commander-in-chief join the host in poking fun at Clint Eastwood's "empty chair" speech from the Republican National Convention, earned a 4.0 household rating and 10 percent share. That bests the weekly average for last season by 67 percent and the year-to-date Tuesday average by 60 percent.

The show fared especially well in its native New York, where WCBS-TV delivered a whopping 495,000 viewers and a 2.6 rating with adults 25-54. It's the best demo showing in that market since 2006.

Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show also got an Obama boost. The show, earning a 1.9 rating and seven percent share, also hit a two-year high.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/barack-obama-david-letterman-interview-late-show-ratings-371625

Where is the federal investigation into "South Park?" That was the question posed this weekend during the Values Voter Summit's panel on “Religious Hostility in America” held in Washington, D.C.

Panelist and Fox News radio commentator Todd Starnes called on the White House to put a stop to Hollywood's constant humiliating of Christians, both in movies and in television shows like the Comedy Central classic which he accused of "denigrating all faiths."

Starnes made the comments as discussion at the Summit turned to the "Innocence of Muslims," the ameteurish short film that is the alleged catalyst behind a slew of deadly protests against American installations in the Middle East. "The big headline this morning is 'federal authorities investigate Christian filmmaker because of this film," Starnes told attendees, according to a video posted on RightWingWatch.org.

"We have the seen the administration come out and say, 'we condemn anyone who denigrates religious faith,' and they come out in regards to this anti-Muslim film," Starnes said. Well, that's well and good, but my question is, when has the administration condemned the anti-Christian films that are coming out of Hollywood?" Where are the federal investigations into shows like ‘South Park?’"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/todd-starnes-fox-commentataor-wants-south-park-investigated_n_1894654.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2FAOLTVinbound+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+AOL+TV+Inbound%29

After an appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman in New York on Tuesday, President Barack Obama picked up a cool $4 million at a fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyoncé at the 40/40 Club.

One hundred donors in suits and dresses sat on sofas in a large, dark glassy room at Jay-Z's exclusive club, according to a pool report. Each paid $40,000 to attend the event. "I can't tell you how proud we are to host tonight's event with President Obama," Beyoncé, wearing a red cocktail dress, told the crowd. "We believe in his vision."

Obama thanked them when he took the stage. "To J and B, thank you so much for your friendship." The president told the crowd that "Michelle, Sasha and Malia are mad at me because they aren't here."

He said the couple has been so generous to his children: "Beyoncé couldn’t be a better role model for our daughters because she carries herself with such class and poise and has so much talent."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beyonce-jay-z-obama-fundraiser-371456

Citing police, the New York Daily News reports that the actress clipped a 34-year-old man on the knee while driving in a crowded alley nestled between the Dream Downtown hotel-nightclub and the Maritime restaurant in Manhattan at about 12:30 a.m. Lohan's rep tells THR, "We're not commenting right now."

"She's driving in this freight area, going very slow," an NYPD source told the paper. "She's hitting her horn because there's a lot of people in the area. The crowd moves but she kind of brushes against this one guy. He runs up to her, tells her she hit him. They get out of the car, there's some interaction with her, her entourage and the guy."

Lohan and her group entered the hotel afterward, after which the man called the cops, leading to her arrest around 2:30 a.m. for leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Daily News, reporting that she was issued a desk appearance ticket and the man was taken to Bellevue Hospital for his injured knee.

The star of Lifetime's upcoming Liz & Dick TV movie was released overnight without bail, NBC News reports. She remains on informal probation until 2014 stemming from her recent brush with the law for stealing a necklace.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lindsay-lohan-arrested-hit-and-run-371519

really eviscerating Romney. Willy pointed out how insulting the military, seniors, students with debt, etc. Romney's comments were and if he is the picture of the head of the Repub party, they are in deep trouble. They are empathetic with people like Scott Brown (R-MA) and how Romney is really hurting downticket repub candidates. Halperin is livid in his controlled remarks.