Anois tá an t-am (Now is the time)
 Live events 

Planning meeting for Awake the State Action in Brevard

DEC Office

1103 Hibiscus Blvd Suite 402

Melbourne, Florida 32901 

Thursday 24 February 7PM

Fl. rep Tobia/Workman Town Hall Meeting

28 February 1 PM session and 6PM session

Palm Bay City Hall

120 Malabar Rd.

Palm Bay, Fl.

That's right the same ground that we stood on fighting for

the pension justice for our brother and sister fire fighter,

How long must we sing this song- until victory is ours!

AWAKE THE STATE MARCH 8--ORLANDO RALLY

March 8 at 5:30pm at Senator Beth Johnson Park 

(adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce), 

Orlando, FL

Parking available in hotel parking garage across the street, as well as nearby street parking.

IBEW 606 will be Marching from their Hall on Virginia Ave to this rally. I could use some confirmation

of this from 606.

Awake the State on March 8 - Tampa Tuesday, March 8 · 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Location TBD (but likely Curtis Hixson or Gaslight Park)

Tampa, FL

On line events

Conference call

Tony Fransetta, Pres. FLARA

Sat. 26 February 10 am

 Many groups and a needed action are in line.

 There will be a very big rally on Tally the 2nd week of

session.  There is a conference call set up for all to join

in this Sat. at 10 am.  Here is the call in number.

866 285-7778  passcode 6180203 #.  Nancy Argenziano

will be administrating the call.

  

At this event it is expected there will be sheriffs,

corrections officers, firefighters, nursing homes

advocates, SEIU, AFSCME state workers, water activists

 and PSC reformers.  FLARA will be an active participant.

 Please call in Sat if you can

Jobs with Justice March 2nd Day of Action http://tiny.cc/wgqom For the past weeks we have seen students, workers, faith and community 

come together and prevent attacks to the public sector across the country. 

These attacks are threatening the basic structures of our society, 

including the right to an education and the right to full and fair employment.

It is time to take action and demand a stop to the cuts! Sierra Club: Stand With Unions and Sign The Petition! http://tiny.cc/zcjbf Hard hats and tree huggers share fundamental values --including the right to safe and healthy

working conditions and the creation of good clean energy jobs. Take a stand by adding 

your name to the petition: "I stand with working families. We deserve the right to form unions 

as we see fit to protect our jobs and our communities."

Articles of interest

Florida Tech flight instructors vote to join union | http://tiny.cc/br0zy

Florida Tech flight instructors voted Wednesday to join a union, 

a move that they believe will address unfair pay and benefit policies.

Please help the Cause and distribute these events by any means at your disposal.

 

State won't block sale of conservation lands 

A Department of Environmental Protection initiative to

 provide guidance to state agencies on the sale of lands

 originally bought for conservation appears to have

 changed course, with DEP officials now saying such

 guidelines will be only voluntary

For Ted Turner and John Malone, Acres by the Millions 

John C. Malone, a media mogul who is on the verge 

of buying nearly one million acres of timberland in Maine,

 could soon become the largest private landowner in the United States

Democracy on the West's terms 

Irish socialist Eamonn McCann says the West 

claims to want "democracy" for all, but only under 

the auspices of the particular regimes that it backs.

The Color (and Gender) of Congress 

Just what does the new Congress look like? A few weeks ago,

 we asked you to find photos for each of the incoming 

freshman members of Congress and you delivered.

Governor to unveil Fla. budget at Tea Party event 

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott will roll out his budget

 recommendations at a Tea Party event in the small 

Central Florida town of Eustis

Scott calls halt to federal health care law 

implementation 

Gov. Rick Scott, who’s fought against federal health care

 reform since its inception,  said today Florida won’t begin

 implementation of the federal health care law ruled

 unconstitutional by a judge yesterday.

Gov. Rick Scott's pension proposal: State workers pay 5%

 into retirement, end DROP 

Gov. Rick Scott is proposing to overhaul the state's pension system 

for tens of thousands of teachers, police officers and other

 state and county workers by requiring them to contribute

 to their retirement accounts

 and by not offering the pension plan to new workers

GOP Sens Admit: Goal Of Changing Health Care Law

 Is To Kill It 

aren't even pretending that their efforts to tweak the bill

 aren't We've reached a point in the health care fight where Republicans 

also intended to destroy it.

Retirees Count on Florida Retirement System for Survival

Forced to plug a budget hole of nearly $4 billion, state legislators 

see pensions as a source of big-bucks savings.But many of the employees

 and retirees who count on the Florida Retirement System see it as survival.

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report Drops

Back in 2009, one of the first things Congress did to actually 

start dealing with the causes of the economic crisis was to 

give the Justice Department more power to detect and 

prosecute fraud in the financial markets.

 Florida House members uneasy with proposal to close 53 state parks

the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in October proposed measures including saving $6.5 million by closing 53 parks that are only open during daylight hours

Fertilizer company paid  $10,000 for a cake  baked by the 9-year-old daughter of  Agriculture Commissioner Adam 

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- A fertilizer company paid a record $10,000 for a cake at the Polk County Youth Fair Auction baked by the 9-year-old daughter of state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Obama and Corporate America 

President Obama is smart to extend an olive branch to American businesses. Our economic success depends on businesses investing, growing and creating new jobs. From expanding exports to improving infrastructure, government and businesses share important goals.

Much Sifting of Financial Crisis Panel’s Report 

WASHINGTON — Behind closed doors, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, called it “the worst financial crisis in global history, including the Great Depression.”

Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Burke 

Every Thursday my gurus, Mr. Burke and Mr. Hamilton, get together at the Heavenly Rest to drink and talk politics.

Their Own Private Europe 

President Obama’s State of the Union address was a ho-hum affair. But the official Republican response, from Representative Paul Ryan, was really interesting. And I don’t mean that in a good way.

Harry Reid blasts Obama on earmarks 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blasted President Barack Obama on earmarks in advance of his State of the Union address Tuesday, when he’s expected to call for a ban.

Senate Dems Abandon Filibuster Reform 

The Democrats’ cave-in on reforming the filibuster in the Senate appears to be complete.

Rick Scott puts young campaign staffers in high-profile, in-house lobbying jobs 

TALLAHASSEE — One kept track of Gov. Rick Scott's inauguration invitations and donations. Another led his campaign field operations in Orlando.

Left laments Barack Obama's move to center 

President Barack Obama plans to play up a bright future with congressional Republicans by channeling his 2008 campaign message of post-partisanship in his State of the Union address

What Comes After No? - NYTimes.com

The Republicans have vowed to “repeal and replace” President Obama’s historic health care reform law. Now that House Republicans have muscled through a symbolic repeal bill, they will have to deliver