Tampa Food Not Bombs Will Not Be Prosecuted

This press release came from State Attorney Andrew Warren's office.

Tampa, FL – Andrew Warren, the newly-elected State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, will not prosecute volunteers from Tampa Food Not Bombs who were arrested for trespassing for feeding the homeless earlier this year. On January 7, 2017, seven volunteers were arrested for trespass for distributing food to the homeless in Lykes Gaslight Square Park, a Tampa-owned park, without the required city permit. The seven volunteers were issued notices to appear in court before a judge, at which time the case was referred to the State Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The first volunteer’s appearance was scheduled for January 18, 2017. Today, the State Attorney’s Office filed a Notice of Nolle Prosequi for the first of the trespassing arrests, which serves as a dismissal of the case. The State Attorney’s Office will dismiss the cases for the remaining six defendants after those appearances are scheduled.

Regarding his decision not to prosecute, Warren said, “My mission is to make our community safer while promoting justice and fairness for everyone. Prosecuting people for charitable work does not further that mission and is an inefficient use of government resources. Furthermore, our goal is to view each case not as a person to be prosecuted but as a problem to be solved. That is why we have spoken with the Tampa Police Department, members of Tampa City Council, the Mayor’s office, and the attorney for Tampa Food Not Bombs in order to facilitate a resolution, and we commend them for working together to find a sensible solution. We will not prosecute the trespassing charges so long as the Tampa Food Not Bombs organization willingly participates in reaching a resolution to this matter and remains non-violent.”

Andrew Warren was sworn-in as the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving Hillsborough County, on January 3, 2017, after being elected on November 8, 2016. He was previously a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice in Tampa, FL, and Washington, DC, and earned multiple accolades from the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies for his prosecution of complex white collar crime, including the 2013 Attorney General Award for Trial Litigation. A native of Gainesville, FL, Mr. Warren graduated from Brandeis University as a double-major in economics and political science before earning his J.D. from Columbia University Law School.

This is a good decision. It does not help Tampa's reputation to prosecute a charity organization attempting to feed the homeless. Sadly, downtown Tampa is filled with homeless people. The City of Tampa needs to address the housing situation for the homeless. There are simply not enough shelter beds for the homeless.

Police Brutality in Broward County

Fort Lauderdale police officer Victor Ramirez slapped Bruce Laclair, a 58 years-old homeless man.

What Ramirez said to Laclair during the incident.

"Relax," Ramirez said. "I'm telling you right now what is going to happen -- you're not supposed to go pee here."

The two men go back and forth a few times before Ramirez is seen trying to grab Laclair's arm and slapping him.

"I'm not fucking around with you," Ramirez is heard saying. "Don't fucking touch me. Don't fucking touch me."

Laclair came into the bus terminal to use the restroom. According to eyewitness Gerald Schorder, Laclair never posed a physical threat to officer Ramirez.

"The guy didn't raise his hand to the officer at all," Schorder said. "The officer just knocked him down with his hands. The guy was defenseless."

Ramirez has been relieved of duty pending an internal investigation. Laclair was arrested for trespassing and released yesterday. I highly doubt Laclair will see anymore time on the trespassing charge.

Another incident happened at the Broward courthouse. Officer Christopher Johnson was videotaped dragging Dasyl Jeanette Riosacross the floor of the courthouse.

Attorney Bill Gelin witnessed the incident and expressed outrage to WSVN-TV.

"This is really barbaric, and I'm just extremely disappointed," attorney Bill Gelin, who caught the incident on cellphone camera, told WSVN-TV. "We all work together in the court system, particularly in the criminal justice system, and this just gives everybody a black eye."

Chief Assistant Public Defender Lynn Desanti saw Johnson drag Jeanette. She wants charges pressed against Johnson.

As chief assistant public defender, Rios' case falls under Desanti's department. She said she wants more than an internal affairs investigation. "I think he should be arrested for what he did," she said. "He committed a battery on her, and the same way that people have to go through the criminal system and defend themselves, he needs to defend his actions, and I plan to go forward to the sheriff. This gentleman does not deserve to wear a badge."

The whole incident started because Jeanette didn't want to leave because she didn't get an opportunity to say goodbye to her mother. There are no reports of Jeanette posing a threat to the safety of Johnson or other officers.

Johnson has been ordered to have no contact with inmates. The incident is under investigation.

Jeb Bush Doesn't Love Anal Sex

A man on a mission like Jeb Bush probably sticks to the missionary position. In a 1994 Miami Herald op-ed, the Jebster went full Rick Santorum on the issue of sodomy.

In the editorial, published in the Miami Herald that summer, Bush drew a parallel between legal protection for gays and the question, "[Should] sodomy be elevated to the same constitutional status as race and religion? My answer is No."

"The statement that the governor must stand up for all people on all matters is just silly," Bush wrote, arguing that government does not defend every Floridian "with equal verve and enthusiasm." He listed a string of examples: "Polluters, pedophiles, pornographers, drunk drivers, and developers without proper permits."

Jeb went on to be a governor that doesn't represent all people equally. That isn't surprising. Bush is attempting to rebrand himself as less homophobic. So far his efforts have been less than stellar.

I'm curious. Does Jeb Bush feel that heterosexual couples should not allowed to legally practice anal sex in their bedrooms? These heterosexual couple are in what Bush and other Republicans would call a traditional marriage. Bush wrote that sodomy doesn't require legal protection.

For the record: the Supreme Court made it clear that anal sex is protected.

The Lawrence v. Texas ruling found that the Texas anti-sodomy law violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Short answer: you can't prosecute gay couple for engaging in anal sex and allow straight couple to engage in the same sexual activity.

Laws like this happen when elected leaders feel they can pick and choose what laws they will enforce. Jeb Bush is such an elected official. Bush would later sign Terri's Law. The Florida Supreme Court found it unconstitutional on the ground that Bush and the Florida legislature illegally overruled the judicial branch.

Bush's 1994 op-ed revealed a man who will only enforce the laws that agree with his worldview.

Disturbing Police Treatment of Tampa Homeless Woman

FOX 13 News

This a horrible video of Tampa police officer Scott Van Treese hogtying and dragging Sonya Mimminger into the Orient Road Jail. FOX 13 reports the woman dragged, Sonya Mimminger, was later taken to Tampa General Hospital. The article doesn't make clear if it was for treatment from injuries related to her arrest.

Mimminger is a homeless woman. She was arrested on a drug charge. Fox 13 reports she was scared to talk to them.

The 36-year-old woman is homeless, but FOX 13 found her on the streets of Tampa.

Initially, she was hesitant to talk -- "There's nothing I can do about it," she offered. But she then agreed to look at the video and answer some questions.

"He did me like a little rag muffin," she offered. "I wonder why he'd drag me like that?"

What is distubing is that Mimminger feels that there is "nothing" she can do about her treatment at the hands of Officer Van Treese. Mimminger is poor and homeless. Many like her have no voice in the community.

Officer Van Treese has been received a written reprimand. I'm actually surprised he got a slap on the wrist.

Jeb Bush Hates Public School Teachers

Shocking news: Jeb Bush comes out in favor of the New York lawsuit to end teacher tenure.

“There will be no equality in education until we transition to a system that prioritizes academic achievement for children over job security for adults. Teachers have a tremendous impact on the lives of students, particularly the most disadvantaged. When ineffective teachers are allowed to remain in the classroom because of union protections and antiquated laws, it is not only a disservice to students but also to the many wonderful teachers dedicated to excellence in education.

“The effort to end this injustice now moves to New York, where seven families are following in the footsteps of their California peers by demanding access to high quality teachers. I admire their courage in this historic undertaking, and have the deepest appreciation for Campbell Brown in assisting them. Ultimately, I am hopeful that a growing consensus for reform policies that reward and incentivize quality teaching will make the need to seek judicial relief unnecessary in the future.”

Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown organized seven New York families to file this lawsuit. Brown's husband, Dan Senor, is a member of the board of the New York affiliate of StudentsFirst. The organization StudentsFirst is run by Michelle Rhee. One of the goals of StudentsFirst is to destroy teachers unions.

“The problem to date has been that you’ve had these incredibly powerful teachers unions that have lots of resources, and they use those resources to have influence on the political process,” Rhee said last year during an interview at the Commonwealth Club of California. Rhee said StudentsFirst is the first education-oriented national interest group to seriously challenge the unions.

Since leaving Washington, Rhee has backed legislation curbing collective bargaining rights in several states. In the 18 states where the group is active, StudentsFirst has fought to eliminate “last in, first out” provisions in teachers’ contracts and to increase the role that quantitative evaluations play in teachers’ job security.

The StudentsFirst website calls for the end of teacher tenure.

Tenure in K–12 education today means that teachers (and, in many cases, principals) are granted a "job for life" after a relatively short time in the classroom — usually without any serious attempt to evaluate the teacher's effectiveness. In most states, tenure is essentially automatic after two or three years, barring criminal or extreme misconduct. Once granted, the rules and regulations accompanying tenure or permanent contracts make removing even the most unmotivated and ineffective teachers nearly impossible. These policies do nothing to advance the interests of students, but instead serve only to protect adult jobs.

If tenure merely protected teachers from being fired for arbitrary or capricious reasons, StudentsFirst would support it. Professionals should never be concerned they might lose their jobs because of their age, sex, religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Similarly, we support professionals' rights to fight back if they are wrongfully terminated. Fortunately, well-established federal and state policies allow teachers to challenge wrongful actions and prevent discriminatory firing in public education. Tenure is simply not needed to protect such rights.

To serve the interest of students, tenure must be eliminated so that teachers feel best protected by the quality of their work and the role they play on the teaching team.

Grover Norquist, in a moment of candor, admitted that the GOP wants to bust teachers unions to help Republicans win elections.

GROVER NORQUIST: "We plan to pick up another five seats in the Senate and hold the House through redistricting through 2012. And rather than negotiate with the teachers' unions' and the trial lawyers and the various leftist interest groups, we intend to break them."

Under Bush, Florida had the lowest high school graduation rate two years straight. The bipartisan the Constitutional Accountability Commission found that Bush failed to meet the Florida constitutional requirement of providing a high quality education.

Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, and former Comptroller Bob Milligan, a Republican, chaired the commission and were on hand Tuesday to suggest that more money be spent on schools. They also urged creation of a system that compares Florida's performance to other states.

If Florida does nothing, it will remain vulnerable to a court challenge, the commission suggests.

"The last thing we want to have happen is for the educational system of this state to be put under court order or declared unconstitutional as it has in some other states," Butterworth said.

Bush's education record as Governor is horrible. Bush isn't interested in improving education. Bush does hate teachers unions. This quote is from Bush's speech at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

We can’t just outsource public education to bureaucracies and public education unions and hope for the best.

We certainly can't expect the best education results from Jeb Bush.

David Rivera in More Trouble

Judge W. David Watkins ruled that former Florida House Rep. David Rivera improperly billed the state of Florida for travel expenses.

"Respondent (Rivera) personally authorized the travel expenses which were charged to his credit cards,'' Watkins wrote. "He also personally signed and submitted the travel reimbursement requests to the state of Florida. Finally, Respondent also personally signed the campaign account checks used to pay off his credit card balances. Respondent individually, and without the participation of anyone else, personally orchestrated this sequence of events. Thus, Respondent knowingly and intentionally received travel reimbursements from the state of Florida to which he was not entitled."

Translation: Rivera used state money to pay off his personal credit card bills. Rivera paid off travel expenses with his campaign account. Rivera then billed the state of Florida for the same travel and used that money for his personal use.

The FBI is currently investigating Rivera for unreported campaign contributions to Justin Lamar Sternad. Rivera used Ana Alliegro to hand deliver money to Sternad. This is known because Sternad has testified to a grand jury. Sternad was quoted in an FEC filing.

“The contribution was given to me, in cash, by a third party from Ana Alliegro. I later discovered that Ana Alliegro was working with David Rivera,” Sternad wrote in an amended report that the FEC posted Jan. 30.

Ana Alliegro fled to for Nicaragua. Alliegro is currently in a United States jail and has lost her passport. She has pleaded not guilty to making a false statement, conspiring and making illegal campaign contributions. Bond has been refused.

Judge Watkins has sent his ruling to the Florida's ethics commission for review. The ethics commission will likely not favor Rivera.

Alan Keyes: Horrible Constitutional Scholar

Alan Keye claims that the Declaration of Independence means that President Barack Obama cannot make executive orders. According to Keyes, only God has that power.

By acknowledging the Creator as the arbiter of justice in human affairs, the Declaration set aside the then still prevalent claim that the de facto superiority of the powerful gave them the natural and unchallenged right to rule over all the rest. It made clear that, in God’s will, power alone is not the standard of right. It articulated, for purposes of human government, the understanding that allowed each and every human being to claim the sanction of God’s authority for those actions, necessary for their good and that of all humanity, which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitled them to undertake.

With this understanding, the Declaration emboldens the relatively weak to stand firm against abuses perpetrated by those who are relatively stronger. When the latter disparage, thwart, usurp or despoil activities entailed by God’s endowment of justice, the Declaration reminds us of the rights to which all who bear the title of humanity have equal claim. Thus emboldened by their consciousness of right, the weak may be moved to stand together, and by their common stand of righteous conscience transform their relative weakness into superior strength, sufficient to repel the abuses perpetrated against them.

There is more.

But in the absence of a due regard for good conscience (i.e., the will to follow the God-endowed inclinations the voice of conscience articulates), the community of strength that constitutes the just powers derived from the consent of the people falls prey to the manipulation of material passion and fear. The powerful obviously have greater resources with which to undertake such manipulation. A de facto government of powers without regard to justice replaces the government of just powers derived from the consent of the governed. This fulfills the expectation expressed in William Penn’s famous dictum: “Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

The Declaration of Independence has no bearing on our laws. The Declaration was written by the Founding Fathers to declare independence from the reign of King George III. This is from the Declaration of Independence.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Keyes would have no luck going to the Supreme Court to use the Declaration as basis for impeaching Obama. The Supreme Court has never used the Declaration of Independence as basis for deciding law. The crazy thing is Keyes is actually advocating revolution against the President of the United States. The Declaration was written during the Revolutionary War. The Founding Fathers made it clear that they would continue to engage in warfare if the English didn't honor their wishes.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

The fact that Keyes would cite a declaration of war as grounds to impeach Obama shows just how insane he is.

Peter Schorsch Once Again Threatens Me With A Libel Suit

Letter to Michael Hussey

This is nothing more than a SLAPP suit. Schorsch should consider statements he made in the comment of this blog before going down this road. Schorsch admitted to having a "blood feud" with Jack Hebert and "hooking up" with Herbert's teenage daughter. I would hardly think that Herbert would want to give Schorsch a raise for those actions.

First and foremost, is my blood feud against political consultant Jack Hebert. I mean, I hooked up with his daughter, for goodness.

If I can see documentation of the ruling of Schorsch's grand theft charges I will be happy to make changes for journalistic accuracy. I certainly won't take Schorsch's word for it. However, I will most certainly not have Schorsch dictate what can or can't be written on this blog. Keep in mind that Adam Smith of The Tampa Bay Times has accused Schorsch of "unapologetically lies" and has written unflatteringly about Schorsch's grand theft history.

Still, for his very campaign event Crist turned to Scorsch who routinely and unapologetically lies publicly to the press, who owes nearly $68,000 in outstanding fines to the Florida Elections Commission, who six years pleaded no contest to grand thief and scheming to defraud charges. Really?

Schorsch will lose in court. End of story. Schorsch should know since former Hillsborough County commissioner Brian Blair attempted to sue Schorsch for libel. Schorsch repeatedly called Blair a douche. That certainly seems malicious to me.

Furthermore, I have posted corrections and posted Schorsch's objections to the post in question. I will post his statement again.

The $68,000 is a civil fine stemming from the Florida Election Commission, and is not in any way connected to the grand theft charge.

Also, you state that the grand theft charge was a "conviction"; in fact, adjudication was withheld, therefore no conviction exists.

To state that someone has been convicted of something when they were not and you have been informed that they were not is a libelous offense.

If I am so malicious why did I post Schorsch's complaints about my post. I been a lot fairer to Schorsch than he has on the people he has attacked on his blog and on campaigns he worked on. This is a man who admitted to paying homeless people to heckle political candidate Kathleen Ford and fired from Jamie Bennett's campaign for giving free Tampa Rays baseball tickets in hopes of a political contribution. If Peter Schorsch thinks he has problems with his reputation then he should look in the mirror.

Guns Will Be Allowed in Florida University Dorm Rooms

The pro-gun group Florida Carry is suing to have guns allowed in campus dorms. The University of North Florida will not appeal the ruling Florida Carry won in the 1st District Court of Appeal. Student will be allowed to carry guns in dorms and other student housing.

After the ruling, UNF President John Delaney told students and faculty the university would not appeal the ruling; and stated that, effective immediately, students could store guns in their cars.

Florida State will also not appeal the ruling. Thanks to our wonderful legislature local governments can't write their own laws about where guns are allowed. This is why the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled the way it did.

I have such a bad feeling about this.

Peter Schorsch's Criminal History

Michael Pinson listed Peter Schorsch's wonderful criminal history in his bar complaint against attorney Paul Phillips. The complaint was dismissed but there is wonderful information in the complaint.

Schorsch has been cited for numerous criminal and civil wrong doings over the past five years. He has nine Civil Judgments against him and two criminal arrests with time being served.

Why anyone political figure would hire Schorsch as a political consultant is beyond me.

SaintPetersGate Redux

Peter Schorsch sent me an email claiming that his former attorney Paul Phillips made no statement to the Florida Bar Association. So I am to believe that Pinson lied to the Florida Bar about Phillips making a sworn statement to the Florida Bar. That doesn't pass the laugh test. Conservative blogger Javier Manjarres found this gem in the Florida Bar complaint.

“I did provide the information in that email to my client [Peter Schorsch], and any news stories which occurred based on that information, complaints filed with the State of Florida, were done by my client and Channel 10 News Personnel.”- Paul Phillips, Florida Bar Complaint, TFB No.: 2013-10,093 (13E)

I saw this same statement by Phillips in a document leaked to me. When I asked Schorsch and Phillips about the leaked document they threatened me with a libel suit. It is no secret that Schorsch dislikes Conservative activist Michael Pinson. It is no secret that Schorsch will go after people who don't support Charlie Crist. According to Pinson in the complaint, he dropped his support for Crist and supported Marco Rubio's Senate campaign. It wouldn't surprise me if that is how the feud actually started.

My interest in the Florida Bar complaint was the media angle. Noah Pransky is friends with Schorsch, Phillips and Chris Kapper. Pransky used three men who were friends and disliked Pinson. Adam Smith of accused Schorsch of being a serial liar to the media. The fact that Pransky would use Schorsch as a source for the Pinson story should be called into question.

There is also the allegations by Tampa politicians that Schorsch threatened to keep writibg negative posts on SaintPetersBlog if they didn't pay a for an ad on the blog. Pinson wad one of the people presented with a contract. The contract was negotiated on Schorsch's behave by Phillips. The contract presented to Pinson is part of a Pinellas Sheriff's Office investigation into Schorsch.

Peter Schorsch is a disgrace to political blogging and represents everything that is bad about politics. Schorsch needs to be disappear from blogging and politics forever. If Schorsch is still working as a shadow agent for the Charlie Crist campaign then Crist needs to come clean. If not then Crist's judgment is called into question.

Breaking: Florida Bar Complaint Proves Schorsch & Phillips Source For WTSP Story

Here it is boys and girls. The Florida Bar complaint proves that Paul Phillips and Peter Schorsch were off-the-record sources for Noah Pransky's WTSP negative hit piece on the Michael Pinson Foundation. Phillips admitted under oath that both Schorsch and him were sources for the WTSP story.

The bar complaint itself was dismissed. It is not illegal for Peter Schorsch and Paul Phillips to talk to the media. What should be noted is Schorsch has been accused of repeatedly lying to the media by Adam Smith of Tampa Bay Times.

Still, for his very campaign event Crist turned to Schorsch who routinely and unapologetically lies publicly to the press, who owes nearly $68,000 in outstanding fines to the Florida Elections Commission, who six years pleaded no contest to grand thef and scheming to defraud charges. Really?

Pinson claimed in the Florida Bar complaint that Noah Pransky attended Schorsch's wedding. Pransky would not answer that on-the-record. I asked Schorsch if he knew Chris Kapper. Schorsch would not comment. Kapper made an on-the-record claim that Pinson was using charity money to host hot tub parties. No second source verified this story in Pransky's new piece. Schorsch is Facebook friends with Kapper.

Kapper thanked Pransky for his "activism on Facebook. I have no idea of the context of the quote.

In the Florida Bar complaint Schorsch and Phillips admit to knowing Kapper.

There is a lot more in the complaint but it is obvious that the WTSP story is garbage.

Lawyers Love Charlie Crist

Sunshine State News has a list of major donors to Charlie Crist's major donors. Unsuprisingly, many come from the legal profession. It helps having John Morgan as a friend.

Donations from attorneys. I'm going go out on a limb and say Crist isn't going to push for tort reform if he is elected.

Lauri Waldman Ross - $5,000.00

Sheldon J. Schlessinger P.A. - $25,000.00

William Merlin, Jr. - $10,000.00

Francoise Haasch-Jones - $4,000.00

William Andrew Haggard - $100,000.00

John Uustall - $25,000.00

Michael Moskowitz - $25,000.00

Robert Kelley - $25,000.00

Court Vacancies Prove Orrin Hatch Is Full of Shit

MSNBC notes that President Barack Obama has had more judicial nominees blocked than President Bill Clinton or President George W. Bush. Adam Serwer correctly points out Republicans are intentionally not filling the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

That’s because Republicans have decided that no more Obama administration nominees should be placed on the DC Circuit. Three of the eleven seats on the court are vacant, and placing Democratic nominees on the bench would end conservative dominance of the DC Circuit which handles key regulatory and national security cases. Republicans’ specific ideological objections to the nominees don’t matter as much as their conviction that any Democratic appointees would skew the court to the left, which they want to prevent. Obama has had fewer federal judges confirmed than either of his predecessors. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley wants to eliminate three seats on the court so as to keep Obama from appointing judges to fill them.

Republican during the Bush years, senators like Orrin Hatch cried for an "up and down vote"?

"...I think we should bind both Democrats and Republicans that presidential nominees for the judiciary deserve an up-and-down vote once they reach the floor..." (Orrin Hatch discusses debate in Senate..., NPR, 5/19/05)

Hatch sang a different tune in the op-ed pages of USA Today. Hatch wrote that the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit didn't have much of a case load. Hatch falsely claimed that Democrats were making a scandal out of nothing. What Hatch fails to mention is that there are 3 seats that need to be filled.

Democrats also want to use a manufactured confirmation confrontation as an excuse to eliminate judicial filibusters. Never mind that Democrats blocked four times as many confirmation votes by filibusters under President Bush than have occurred under President Obama. Never mind that Senate Democratic leaders voted more than two dozen times for judicial filibusters, including against a D.C. Circuit nominee. Even then-Sen. Obama voted for several judicial filibusters, including a Supreme Court nominee.

So much for Sen. Orrin Hatch being for an up and down vote.

Members of Tallahassee Police Department Being Investigated For Police Brutality

This photo of Christina West after she was arrested for DUI. State Attorney Willie Meggs is investigating the police arrest of West.

State Attorney Willie Meggs called the footage “very disturbing.”

“I am extremely upset. This is a very disturbing situation to me, and I’m dealing with it.” Meggs told the Democrat.

Meggs also told WCTV that the video was “one of the most disturbing videos” he’s ever seen.

Meggs has already dropped some other charges police gave West. The DUI charge still stands. There does appear to be evidence that West lost control of her car and ran onto the property of a homeowner.

Here is a video news report WTXL.

According to the WTXL report, police kept pressure on her leg and twisted her arm. West can be heard screaming in pain. The orbital in West's face was broken; quite possibly from when police slammed her face first into the road or a police car. Video shows both instances happening. Other injuries include a bloody nose, a black eye, and cuts on her arms and legs.

Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox is concerned the city may face a lawsuit.

"The video was taken from the police car and shows the road side sobriety test as well as the arrest of the subject," Maddox wrote. "It also shows DISTURBING use of force against a completely non aggressive arrestee. It is my belief that the city of Tallahassee will soon face a liability lawsuit based on the content of the video."

West's attorney Fred Conrad does intend to sue.

“I was shocked to see this,” said her attorney, Fred Conrad of Tallahassee. “I would never have expected that out of my police department. By and large, most of my officers that I deal with at the Tallahassee Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office are all professional and good cops, folks that I would feel very comfortable with in the event that I needed them as a citizen. This was disturbing. I could not believe that I saw that happening in Tallahassee, Florida.”

Conrad said he intends to pursue compensation for West, though he didn’t explicitly say he would be filing a lawsuit.

“I can say I intend to pursue just compensation for Ms. West,” he said. “And I can say I intend to do it relentlessly. I intend to make the police department pay for this. This is wrong. And they need to pay for it.”

Officer Chris Ormerod failed to mention that West was slammed into a police car and onto the road in his A probable cause statement. TPD Chief Dennis Jones has opened an internal affairs investigation.

The extended video from the police video shows the incident started after West agreed to take a breathalyzer. West is clearly drunk during the sobriety tests. The police became frustrated after repeatedly asked about her children and her husband. West's husband was in a nearby nearby but refused to get involved. You can hear the cops in the video claim that West scratched and made physical contact with them. It does not appear in the video that the police officers were ever in physical dangers. It appears the two officers lost their tempers dealing with a very difficult and intoxicated woman.

Adam Putnam Is Not Serious on Clemency Review

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam talks about speeding up the clemency process for Florida convicted felons to have their voting rights restored. One idea floated by Putnam is not having nonviolent offenders having to come before the clemency board to get their voting rights restored.

"I don't think that going all the way back to full, automatic restoration is the way to go," he said. "But for certain classes of crimes, I think an expedited restoration process is appropriate. For more violent classes of crimes, I think they should still have to come before us. I like the fact that people show interest in it and affirmatively decide to seek their restoration. But I'm open to ideas on how to improve that process."

Why not propose that? "I haven't built the better mouse trap yet. We've just talked about ideas for a better mouse trap."

Putnam claims that he doesn't want to do the policy of nonviolent felons getting their rights restored without having to go through an extensive review process. The real reason Putnam is saying that is because Charlie Crist allowed nonviolent felons to apply to have their rights restored without having to go through the clemency board. What Putnam is proposing is essentially the same as the previous policy former Gov. Charlie Crist implemented. Putnam just won't put forward a sound solution because it was originally Crist's idea.

"I don't think that going all the way back to full, automatic restoration is the way to go," he said. "But for certain classes of crimes, I think an expedited restoration process is appropriate. For more violent classes of crimes, I think they should still have to come before us. I like the fact that people show interest in it and affirmatively decide to seek their restoration. But I'm open to ideas on how to improve that process."

Does Putnam even know what the difference is between his clemency policy and that of Charlie Crist?

Florida is one of four states to deny felons their voting rights. The others are Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia. Disenfranchising felons hasn't proven to deter crime. It does keep young black males from voting.

In three Southern states the numbers are more stark: In Florida, 23 percent of the voting-age black population can't vote because of a felony record; in Kentucky it's 22 percent; and in Virginia it's 20 percent. Taken together, one in five blacks living in those three states is disenfranchised.

Florida, with 1.5 million disenfranchised ex-felons, leads the nation.

It is 2013 and we are still fighting Jim Crow-style laws.

Obama's Not So Secret Plan to Close Gitmo

The Obama administration has faced criticism that they have no plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. President Barack Obama campaigned on closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Obama has been blocked by both parties in Congress from closing Gitmo.

Candidate Obama was asked on 60 Minutes if he would use the power of executive order to close Gitmo. Obama said yes. Obama has never been the wisest tactician. The Senate voted to block funding for transfers of Gitmo prisoners. The vote was held on May 20, 2009. Obama should have just moved the prisoners when he came into office.

The Obama administration's secret plan really isn't that secret. A two page memo really isn't much of a plan. It does cast a lot of blame on Congress. Much of that blame is deserved.

Prosecution and Detention. The U.S. Government will prosecute detainees in federal courts or military commission proceedings to the extent feasible and in the national security interest. The President has directed the Department of Defense to identify a site in the United States for military commission proceedings. But current law bars the transfer of detainees to the United States for any reason. As a result, the Government is prohibited from prosecuting any detainees in a military commission in the United States or in a federal court, even if it represents the best – or only – option for bringing a detainee to justice. This is true even though the Government has successfully prosecuted more than 490 terrorism-related cases in federal courts since 9/11. For those not prosecuted, the Administration will use the PRB process to regularly and carefully review the threat posed by detainees and, where appropriate, they will be designated for transfer.

The leaked secret plan. It really isn't a secret plan if the memo lists prisoner policies the Obama administration has been pushing for and that this secret plan was handed to the media by White House staffers.

White House Plan to Close Guantanamo

Making Money of Tragedy

Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. served on the Casey Anthony case. The Orlando Sentinel reports Perry is being pitched for a reality show by producer Jim Lichtenstein and Mark Itkin, agent from the William Morris Endeavor talent agency.

An Itkin bio lists some of the projects he has packaged: "The Real World," "Project Runway," "Hell's Kitchen," "Kitchen Nightmares," "Deal or No Deal," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," "Big Brother," "Fear Factor," "The People's Court," "American Gladiators," "The Biggest Loser" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

According to the article, Judge Perry and Perry and Lichtenstein are business partners. Lichtenstein got his agent Itkin to help get a Judge Perry reality show off the ground. ABC News has an interview with Perry. The Judge is definitely onboard to do a TV show.

Caylee Marie Anthony is dead and Judge Belvin Perry Jr. will likely get highly paid for a terrible television show. This gives me little hope for the American justice system.

George Zimmerman Happy in Court

George Zimmerman winks at his defense attorney Don West. Apparently, they feel confident that the case by the state is falling apart. It is hard for me to tell how the trial is going because the media coverage has been horrible and I am not an attorney.

Florida Supreme Court Will Hear League of Women Voters Case

The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled the lawmakers in the Florida legislature did not have to testify in the redistricting case brought up by the League of Women Voters. In a rather surprising move, the Florida Supreme Court will hear the League of Women Voters redistricting challenge. The LOWV is question the integrity of how the new congressional and legislative districts were drawn. If the districts were gerrymandered then legislators are placing themselves in a legally difficult position if they testify.

The League of Women Voters suit that the Florida Supreme Court will hear is against the Florida House of Representatives. The League of Women Voters attempted to get members of both the House and Senate to testify in the 1st District Court of Appeals case. The Florida Supreme Court case number SC13-949; SC13-951 list only the House as the defendant. A WMNF tweet names only the Florida House in material filed to the Florida Supreme Court by the League of Women Voters.