Politics
Progress Florida: Bill Nelson's Left-Jabbing Fist
'Nonpartisan' organization protects senator's flank while attacking Haridopolos
Around the State
U.S. Sen Bill Nelson; Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director Progress Florida; and state Senate President Mike HaridopolosProgress Florida launched a website -- DirtyHari.org -- to attack state Sen. Mike Haridopolos, Nelson's first announced GOP opponent. The PF-sponsored site, which bears the fetching headline, "Haridopolos Exposed," assails the Senate president for his "cushy UF teaching gig," "extreme positions" and "double-dipper hypocrisy."
Though Progress Florida calls itself "nonpartisan," its senior advisory board is loaded with left-wing operatives and organizations. Most are active in Democratic Party or union politics. Others promote liberal social agendas, including additional rights for homosexuals and benefits for public employees.
Because the leftward tilt of Progress Florida's advisory board could capsize Nelson's putative claim to be a "moderate" Democrat, the senator's name does not appear on the Dirty Hari site or PF's home page.
But Sunshine State News has learned that the two-term senator and the St. Petersburg-based group have a host of friends and causes in common. While Progress Florida officially fashions itself as "nonpartisan," PF and its advisory board members toe the Democratic Party line on a full range of social and economic issues.
PF's advisers also put their money where their mouth is, as board members have personally donated more than $10,000 to Nelson. In addition, many of these advisers sit on boards of other organizations that have contributed to Nelson.
Founded in 2008, Progress Florida calls itself "a nonprofit organization promoting progressive values through online organizing, media outreach and networking with Florida's leading progressive organizations."
Among the goals stated on its website, PF says it seeks to "generate hard-hitting, traditional and new media coverage. ... We work with our extensive network of members and advisers to maintain a 24-7 rapid response media operation that pulls no punches when taking on the radical right."
According to documents obtained by Sunshine State News, "Progress Florida has a strong internal infrastructure in its connection to and support of Bill Nelson. PF's board of advisers has a long history of supporting Bill Nelson."
Progress Florida Executive Director Mark Ferrulo delivers thousands of signatures to Sen. Bill Nelson Aug 27, 2009 urging him to keep up the fight against Big Oil and keep drilling rigs away from Florida's coastline | Credit : Progress FloridaAs for his organization's nonpartisan status, Ferullo said, "I don’t know if there are any Republicans on the advisory board. We don’t ask or, frankly, care. Our criterion for asking someone to join our advisory board is: Are they a leader in Florida’s progressive community?"
Comments (2)
Why don't you try leading and put something useful on the table like FUEL and thousands of other GREEN jobs from hemp and cost effective medicine, (free if you grow your own) medical marijuana, which has proven helpful with thousands of aliments INCLUDING CANCER (Google: Granny Storm Crow's List) and how about legalizing marijuana for adults, since it's so much safer than alcohol and millions of Floridians prefer it?
Yeah I know you'd have to man up and admit you’ve been lying to everyone about marijuana the whole time you’ve been in office but a lot of people already know that and I'm helping to spread the word every chance I get!
Why is the most useful plant known illegal? It’s illegal because crooked corporations that buy crooked politicians fear competition from superior, safer and more environmentally friendly hemp products and because the Government loves to oppress jail and steal from the people! Alcohol, tobacco, petroleum, cotton, timber, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, just to name a few, all see GREEN marijuana as unwanted competition. The best way for We The People to regain our Constitutional rights and liberties is to demand a complete ban on corporate lobbying. We are supposed to have Government of, for and by THE PEOPLE, not of, for and by corporations! Corporations are NOT people!
Marijuana does not cause aggressive behavior. Marijuana does not cause dangerous driving. Marijuana does not cause cancer, brain damage or any serious health problems. In fact it’s a great NATURAL medicine that treats and prevents a host of ailments. Marijuana prohibition does not keep kids away from marijuana, illegal dealers don’t ask for ID. Marijuana is not a “gateway drug”, there is absolutely NOTHING about marijuana that causes people to use other drugs. Marijuana is not addictive. In fact marijuana is one of the safest substances known! Marijuana is SAFER than many foods we consume and give to our kids all the time! Exactly what good is this prohibition doing and who is benefiting from it?
In 1988, after reviewing all the scientific evidence presented in a lengthy lawsuit against the government’s prohibition of medical marijuana, the DEA’s own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote:
“MARIJUANA, IN ITS NATURAL FORM, IS ONE OF THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES KNOWN. IN STRICT MEDICAL TERMS, MARIJUANA IS SAFER THAN MANY FOODS WE COMMONLY CONSUME.”
Judge young's "Opinion and recommended ruling, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decision of Administrative Law Judge", also said:
"7. Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is called an LD-50. The LD-50 rating indicates at what dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity. A number of researchers have attempted to determine marijuana's LD-50 rating in test animals, without success. Simply stated, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death.
8. At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.
9. In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity."
No one, of any age, in all of recorded history, anywhere on planet earth, has ever died from the ingredients in marijuana and they never will, marijuana is NONTOXIC.
There has NEVER been even one case of marijuana causing cancer. In fact: "Harvard study released on April 17, 2007 shows that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread!" http://www.nowpublic.com/thc_marijuana_helps_cure_cancer_says_harvard_study
The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine document that MARIJUANA DOES NOT CAUSE DANGEROUS DRIVING:
http://peaceandloveism.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4692 (read the article not just the link!)
Google MARIJUANA DRIVING STUDY. You'll see 2 common findings:
1. Drivers under the influence of marijuana are VERY SLIGHTLY impaired.
2. Unlike those under the influence of alcohol, marijuana consumers are aware they are VERY SLIGHTLY impaired and they CONSISTENTLY ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE by slowing down a little and being a little more cautious. That doesn’t mean they get in the fast lane on the interstate and drive 15 miles per hour. Marijuana makes you cautious, not crazy! Those Cheech and Chong movies were comedies, NOT documentaries!
Watch Irvin Rosenfeld who gets his marijuana from the Federal Government destroy all the lies about marijuana consumers being lazy and unproductive. Watch him destroy all the lies about long term heavy marijuana use being harmful. Learn the truth about marijuana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvzX8aNwxgM
From: http://www.jackherer.com/thebook/chapter-six/
Eli Lilly, Pfizer and others stand to lose at least a third of their entire, highly profitable, patent monopoly on such drugs as Darvon, Tuinal, Seconal, and Prozac (as well as other patented medications ranging from muscle ointments to burn ointments, to thousands of other products) because of a plant anyone can grow: cannabis hemp.
Isn’t it curious that American drug companies and pharmacist groups supply almost half the funding for the 4,000 Families Against Marijuana type organizations in America? The other half is supplied by Action (a federal VISTA agency) and by tobacco companies like Philip Morris, and by liquor and beer makers like Anheuser Busch, Coors, etc., or as a public service by the ad agencies that represent them. End quote
Simply stated, the Federal Government is conspiring with pharmaceutical companies, alcohol companies and tobacco companies and is using unconstitutional Federal marijuana prohibition laws to insure that you needlessly buy products that have been proven beyond any shadow of doubt to be harmful and often deadly, instead of allowing you to legally grow and/or buy a nontoxic plant that is safe and effective. Meanwhile uncle SHAM forces unconstitutional healthcare legislation on you and threatens to severely punish you if you don’t buy mandatory health insurance.
'If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.' ~Thomas Jefferson
No matter where you stand on the issue of legalizing marijuana EVERYONE should read:
MARIJUANA AND HEMP THE UNTOLD STORY, Thomas J. Bouril, WHY IS MARIJUANA ILLEGAL, Pete Guither and the free online book: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and The Conspiracy Against Marijuana. Click the links to those titles on this webpage:
Internet Explorer web browser: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
All Other Browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html
If you think marijuana prohibition has anything to do with the imaginary, false, fabricated, alleged harms from using marijuana as a recreational drug, YOU HAVE BEEN DUPED!
I urge EVERYONE to read the two articles and the free online book linked above, then you decide if hemp/cannabis/marijuana isn’t a smart move for Florida! One thing is for certain, it’s a FAR better venture than a high speed train to the poor house!
THE PEOPLE. HE DID WRITE ME A LETTER SAYING; " I KNOW BETTER WHAT YOU NEED THAN YOU , YOURSELF KNOWS."
I HAVE ENCOURAGED HIM MANY TIMES NOT TO RUN IN 2012. DIRTI HARRY SHOULD EXPOSE HIS PERSONAL VOTING RECORD AND DISREGARD FOR VOTER INPUT WHICH SHOULD DESTROY ANY CHANCE OF RE ELECTION.