But while Fresen’s changes are designed to limit the expansion of gambling in Florida, the state Senate went in the opposite direction last week when it adopted amendments to a similar bill by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff that opens the door to Las Vegas-style slot machines in every horse and dog track and jai-alai fronton in the state, so long as voters approve.

Under Fresen’s proposal, the state would authorize three destination resort casinos and, like the Senate bill, allow them only if voters approve in a countywide referendum. Bogdanoff’s bill, however, would allow for the three resort casinos to operate in any part of the state.

Fresen’s amendments would also permanently ban the so-called Internet Cafes and maquinitas parlors that rely on a loophole in the state’s sweepstakes law to operate slot machine look-alikes — a contrast to Bogdanoff’s bill, which would regulate the games. Another amendment would also prohibit the state from issuing any new parimutuel permits, repeal the 17 dormant parimutuel permits now in existence, and would use the proceeds from the casino taxes to buy back permits from up to four existing parimutuels.

Fresen also proposes an amendment to give the state’s existing parimutuels the same 10 percent tax rate on their slot machine games as the new destination resort casinos, once the resort casinos open.

“The crux of these amendments is to address some of the desires an some of the concerns expressed by members,” Fresen said.

The bill sponsors continue to look as if they face an uphill climb to win agreement on the plans this session. House Speaker Dean Cannon has repeatedly said he’s skeptical that the resort casino bill would pass the House, where a majority want to reduce gambling options in Florida.

Fresen said his bill, HB 487, will get its first hearing in the Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, within the next two weeks.

While Bogdanoff’s bill has moved through its first Senate committee, Fresen’s nearly identical proposal has remained in limbo in the House despite heavy lobbying by the gaming industry and an influx of more than $2 million in campaign cash into Republican Party of Florida coffers, including $628,000 from the Malaysian-based Genting alone.

“The pace of movement of all bills in the house is much slower than in the Senate,” Fresen said.

By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former presidential hopeful Herman Cain threw his support behind Newt Gingrich Saturday night, providing the former House speaker with a late boost just days before Florida’s primary.

Cain, a tea party favorite, endorsed his fellow Georgian at a GOP fundraiser Saturday calling him “a patriot.”

“Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas,” Cain said.

The former pizza executive, who left the race before the first nominating contests after facing accusations of unwanted sexual advances, suggested the two have both undergone intense scrutiny.

“I know that Speaker Gingrich is running for president and going through this sausage grinder,” Cain said. “I know what this sausage grinder is all about.”

Cain is set to campaign with Gingrich on Monday in an 11th hour push for support. Gingrich is in a fierce fight for Tuesday’s Florida’s GOP primary with Mitt Romney.

Gingrich on Saturday night said that, like Cain, he is running a campaign based on big ideas and bold solutions.

The decision was not unexpected but the announcement comes at a make or break moment. .

“I had it in my heart and mind a long time ago,” Cain said.

The timing is similar to a Saturday night surprise four years ago, when then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed John McCain’s presidential bid.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry also endorsed Gingrich when he bowed out of the race in South Carolina.

Since exiting the race in December, Cain appeared at a rally in South Carolina with late-night comedian Stephen Colbert.

Leftist Talker Mike Malloy Wants Florida Gov. Rick Scott Drowned In a ‘Vat of Turkey Gravy’

Leftist radio talker Mike Malloy is really obsessed with executing conservatives. When the Navy SEALs shot Osama bin Laden, he asked when they would “drop in on George Bush,” since he “was responsible for a lot more death, innocent death, than bin Laden.”

On Tuesday, Malloy wished death on Thanksgiving for Florida Gov. Rick Scott. “And then this miserable son of a bitch has the audacity to go to a homeless shelter? It’s a wonder somebody didn’t hold his head down in a vat of turkey gravy until he stopped squiggling! He goes to a homeless shelter and talks about how he cares…? Mmm-hmm!”

The Naples News reported Gov. Scott made a Thanksgiving Day visit and “joined a legion of volunteers Thursday at St. Matthew’s House in East Naples, doling out Thanksgiving dinners, taking orders for desserts — and getting political advice from the jobless and homeless.”

Earlier in the show, Malloy ranted that tough-on-illegal-immigration Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio would have made a good Nazi death camp warden: “So Perry the half-wit, and he gets an endorsement, too – you know, the Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, the crazy one, the one who would have made — He would have fit in perfectly at one of the concentration camps scattered around uh, Germany and Austria and Poland and Czechoslovakia and some of the other Nazi-occupied countries during World War 2. Arpaio would have made a great concentration camp warden! He really would have!”

It is clear Bill Nelson is continuing to sell out the people of Florida in his rush to support the BIG government Socialist agenda.

Did you receive this email from Big Government Bill Nelson?

The right to vote is, and always has been, at the foundation of our democracy. But this fundamental right is under serious attack right now, in Florida and more than a dozen other states. Many believe a handful of super-rich conservative activists are behind an orchestrated effort to keep millions of seniors, younger voters and minorities from casting ballots next year.

Whether or not that’s true, a civics teacher at New Smyrna Beach High School in Florida was on the receiving end of just such an attack last month. The teacher, Jill Cicciarelli, ran afoul of Florida’s new election law while helping some of her students pre-register to vote.

I have met with her and some of her students, and it’s no surprise they’re not happy with the state’s new voting law. Neither is their local supervisor of elections, who under the law was required to report them to state authorities. Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall says parts of the law are egregious and unenforceable.

So, it’s not just me who thinks this law is aimed at suppressing the vote. Look at what informed editorial writers have also had to say: The Orlando Sentinel said the new law “amounts to… ripping apart election laws” and “weakening democracy.” The Tampa Tribune said this bill “isn’t fooling anybody. It’s not about clean elections.” And Florida Today called it an “assault on the most cherished of American rights.”

In a nutshell, the Florida law reduces the number of days for early voting from 14 to eight and exposes people who register others to vote to harsh penalties even for innocent mistakes. That’s why the widely respected League of Women Voters has abandoned its voter registration drives in Florida after 72 years.

I wrote Gov. Rick Scott a letter last month asking him to support a revamping or repeal of the law. I also wrote U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, to ask that we conduct a congressional investigation to see if Florida’s law was part of a plan that led to similar voting law changes in more than a dozen other states this year. And I have asked the Justice Department to look into who’s behind these changes.

Please share this note with all of your friends, family and colleagues. Regardless of your political party, I hope you’ll join me in trying to protect everybody’s right to vote.

Thanks for getting involved,
Signed Bill Nelson

Has Bill forgotten all the fraud in the last couple elections? Has Bill Nelson not seen the reports on ACORN and all the voter fraud they were involved in? Has Bill Nelson decide the government is responsible to make sure those voting are voting legally. Bill Nelson might be for letting anyone vote regardless if they live legally in Florida or NOT. Over the last few years we have all seen Bill Nelson move to the EXTREME BIG government left. Rushing to support Socialistic programs Bill Nelson has sold out SENIORS, and All citizens. It is very interesting that once again Bill Nelson wants to involve the HEAVY hand of the federal government in the business of the State of Florida and other states!!

1)Join Bill Nelson demanding that bonuses for corrupt Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are canceled.

2)Join Bill Nelson in demanding a special prosecutor to investigate the Fast & Furious scandal.

3)Join Bill Nelson in support of HIS jobs bill to frees the free market from all the damaging legislation introduced in the last few years.

It would be great if we could all join Bill Nelson in those 3 things, but we can’t because Bill Nelson has not called for the action to stop the bonuses for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. He has never call for an investigation of those 2 organization and their involvement in the housing market crash. Bill Nelson has been silent on the Fast & Furious scandal. Bill Nelson has voted to cripple business in the United States and he has no JOBS bill.

Bill Nelson is running for another term & must be voted out of office for the good of the people of Florida.

MIAMI, Fla. (CBS Tampa) – Children of illegal immigrants living in Florida are suing the state for charging them out-of-state tuition.

Wendy Ruiz, a sophomore at Miami Dade College, is one of those behind the lawsuit.

She is paying $5,000 more than she technically has to, because her college insisted upon charging her out-of-state tuition when her parents were unable to produce legal immigration documents.

Ruiz was born in the United States, and has lived in Florida her entire life. As such, she is both an American and Florida citizen in the eyes of the law.

“It’s so unfair,” she told CBS Tampa. “I was born here. This makes no sense.”

Rather than keeping quiet, Ruiz chose to take action. She and five other college-age Floridians are now involved in a class-action lawsuit that seeks to overturn the rule.

Miriam Haskell of the Southern Poverty Law Center is working on the case.

“We believe strongly that young people … should be treated equally, and have a right to access education,” Haskell stated to CBS Tampa. “(This policy) is deterring not just Wendy and the four other plaintiffs, but scores of others in Florida.”

Gerard Robinson, the Florida Commissioner of Education, and Frank T. Brogan, the Chancellor of the State University System, are listed as the defendants in this case.

When CBS Tampa called the Florida Department of Education, the press office said they could not comment on pending litigation.

Haskell said that the case has been filed in federal court.

“This policy violates the federal constitution. This is not a state statute,” she said. “It violates the equal protection clause, which guarantees equal rights for all United States citizens. The constitution doesn’t make exceptions based on who the parents are.”

In the meantime, Ruiz is doing her best to continue with her education despite the thousands of dollars she must now pay in tuition costs.

“I have financial aid … (but) the rest I pay out of pocket,” she said. “During the week I work at the school in administrative services, and on the weekends I tutor, I babysit … I’ve been a waiter, and had other jobs.”

To make time for her jobs, Ruiz said that she has assumed part-time student status, and is presently taking eight credits in the form of three courses.

Haskell noted that, though sometimes grueling, Ruiz is still fortunate.

“Some are able to make ends meet. Some try to do later education, or take a longer time with their education,” she said. “But hundreds are completely deterred from going at all. Three of the plaintiffs (in this case) are unable to attend at all.”

The hope is to resolve the issue and see this rule reversed before it reaches trial.

“We’ve reached out to them, and given them the opportunity to talk with us before moving forward,” Haskell said. “(They have not done so) yet, but it hasn’t been too long.”

According to NPR, State Rep. Reggie Fullwood (D-15) has introduced legislation that would grant access to in-state tuition rates to qualifying citizens, regardless of the immigration status of his or her parents.

“You know I would be extremely happy if we didn’t have to push this legislation, if there was some policy fix or some administrative fix that could be done,” Fullwood told NPR. “I would be one of the happiest people around.”

Ruiz is optimistic that the situation will resolve itself in a way that allows for more affordable opportunities for her and others in her situation. Until then, she’s not backing down.

“This is not stopping me from coming to school. I want to have a bright future ahead of me,” she said. “This (situation) is making me strong and more independent, and more willing to speak my voice.”

Added Ruiz, “It makes me more determined to what I want to become.”

From Rep Thomas J. Rooney:
Thank you for contacting me regarding net-neutrality. I appreciate your comments and this opportunity to address your concerns. You decide who is for freedom & who is for big government.

Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed into law, new technologies and advancements in telecommunications have surfaced. These developments occurred so rapidly that Congress recognized the need to update the law.

I want to be clear that I support a hands-off approach to the internet. I don’t believe in taxing the internet or regulating it. The internet has flourished beyond anyone’s imagination and I do not think Congress should be responsible for slowing it down. Please be assured that I will continue to protect an open and free internet that will allow it to grow and thrive.

Several proposals have been introduced in Congress that address telecommunications reform. Please know that as legislation develops I will be sure to keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me with your concerns. I encourage you to visit my website at www.rooney.house.gov to sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Rooney
Member of Congress

Fron Sen. Bill Nelson:
Thank you for contacting me about consumers having unfettered access to the Internet.
On September 23, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published rules to codify open Internet rules to ensure that consumers, businesses, and service providers continue to have equal access to the Internet. The rules are based on the four principles introduced by the FCC in 2005 and two additional rules to ensure nondiscrimination and transparency.
As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I have supported legislation that would put rules in place to ensure equal treatment of all Internet content and to protect the ability of consumers to access the lawful content of their choosing. I recently wrote to FCC Chairman Genachowski in support of protections to ensure an open and secure Internet and a thriving, competitive marketplace for consumers, producers, and service providers.
I appreciate your interest in this important issue, and I encourage you to visit the Federal website www.openinternet.gov where you can receive information about developments in this process and participate in the national dialogue about net neutrality. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Bill Nelson

We did not receive a response Fron Sen. Rubio.

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Congressman Mack today welcomed the support of Tea Party Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) as he signed on to the “One Percent Spending Reduction Act,” legislation – also known as the “Penny Plan” – that was introduced by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) last week, and authored by Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL) last spring in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mack stated: “The support for the Penny Plan is growing almost daily on both sides of Capitol Hill as we draw closer to President Obama’s August 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling and continue Washington’s reckless spending. Senator Paul’s election last year was another clear example of the voters saying ‘enough is enough’ with the way Washington spends their money and having Senator Paul’s support for the Penny Plan should send say to those voters, ‘We heard you loud and clear.’”

Presently the Mack Penny plan enjoys the support of over 40 co-sponsors in the U.S. House, the backing of the Republican Study Committee’s 103 Members, and two key U.S. Senators.

The Penny Plan balances the budget by:
– Cutting total federal spending by one percent each year for six
consecutive years,
– Setting an overall spending cap of 18 percent of gross domestic
product in 2018, and
– Reducing overall spending by $7.5 trillion over 10 years.

If Congress and the President are unable to make the necessary cuts, the bill’s fail-safe triggers automatic, across-the-board cuts to ensure the one percent reductions are achieved.

Last week Senator Enzi stated: “This proposal is simple, effective and real. That’s a winning combination that I hope my colleagues can get behind. If they can’t, I hope the people who elect them will.”

Mack added, “At President Obama’s news conference last week, he talked about hard-working American families having to make tough budget decisions at home – so is it too much to ask the federal government to do the same and eliminate one penny out of every federal dollar spent?”

U.S. gives billions of dollars in foreign aid to world’s richest countries – then asks to borrow it.The U.S. is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. gives billions of dollars in foreign aid to world’s richest countries – then asks to borrow it.

The U.S. is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to some of the world’s richest countries - while at the same time borrowing billions back, according to report seen by Congress.
The Congressional Research Service released the report last month which shows that in 2010 the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4bn to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10bn in Treasury securities.

Four countries in the world’s top 10 richest received foreign aid last year with China receiving $27.2m, India $126.6m, Brazil $25m, and Russia $71.5m.

Mexico also received $316.7m and Egypt $255.7m.

And yet despite the massive outgoings in foreign aid, the receiving countries hold trillions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds.

China is the largest holder with $1.1trillion as of March, according to the Treasury Department.

Brazil held $193.5bn, Russia $127.8bn, India $39.8bn, Mexico $28.1bn and Egypt had $15.3bn.

Foreign aid is earmarked for causes including HIV/AIDs prevention, combating weapons of mass destruction, fighting tuberculosis, and counter-terrorism efforts.

The news has caused grave concern, with Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla, who requested the report seen by Fox News, calling the policy ‘dangerous’.

‘If countries can afford to buy our debt, perhaps they can afford to fund assistance programs on their own.

THE TOP 10 COUNTRIES RECEIVING THE MOST AID

Colombia $461.2m

Mexico $316.7m

Egypt $255.7m

Philippines $128.2m

India $126.6m

Russia $71.5m

China $27.2m

Brazil $25m

Thailand $16.75m

Turkey $8.2m

‘At the same time, when we borrow from countries we are supposedly helping to develop, we put off hard budget choices here at home.

The news arrives as lawmakers in Washington battle over the conditions for increasing the nation’s ability to borrow money before defaulting on its obligations.

The government reached its $14.3trillion borrowing limit last month and both parties agree that spending cuts are needed, although Republicans refuse to raise taxes that Democrats insist on.

President Obama has met with both sides over the issue, but no progress has been made. The State Department did not comment.
to some of the world’s richest countries – while at the same time borrowing billions back, according to report seen by Congress.
The Congressional Research Service released the report last month which shows that in 2010 the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4bn to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10bn in Treasury securities.

The government reached its $14.3trillion borrowing limit last month and both parties agree that spending cuts are needed, although Republicans refuse to raise taxes that Democrats insist on.

President Obama has met with both sides over the issue, but no progress has been made. The State Department did not comment.