Why I Question Governor Rick Scott's Sobriety...

Is Rick Scott the Charlie Sheen of Governors?

Many people know that I am, among other things, a recovering addict. I've had my ups and downs with drugs and I've voluntarily subjected myself to various treatment options before I was ever in trouble with the law.

Now, before we get too deep into this, you should also know that I support decriminalizing all drugs. Yes, even the really nasty stuff like crack-cocaine and crystal meth. I think that when the status quo tries to take away voting rights from people who are stricken with addiction problems (like Rick Scott is attempting to do), our Democracy crumbles.

Given my intimate experience on the matter, I can recognize what we call "addict behavior" in others. I see this behavior in Governor Rick Scott.

In short, I would not be at all surprised to find out that Rick Scott is an alcoholic. He displays all the tell-tale signs as I know them. In the recovery community, it is referred to as "King Baby Syndrome" and Governor Scott epitomizes this.

Let's flash back to a night before the Republican Primary Election in West Palm Beach, when a handful of wealthy GOP donors were waiting anxiously to hear the first debate between Gubernatorial hopefuls Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. Members of the Boca Raton Republican Club never got to hear that debate. What they got instead was a weird political/religious sermon from Esther Scott (Rick Scott's mother).

According to anonymous sources:

"Scott should have been finished right then and there. You should have seen it... This guy [Rick Scott] never even showed up!"

"Bill McCollum was there and ready to speak. Hell, even Rick Scott's own MOTHER was sitting there waiting for him. She had to get up in front of all the wealthiest Republicans in South Florida and make excuses for her son not being there. The best thing the old woman could come up with was "God has chosen my son to become Governor of Florida."... She REALLY said that! Can you believe it?"

According to both anonymous eye-witnesses, the only explanation they heard for Rick Scott's absence came when he called 15 minutes after the debate had been scheduled to start and reported that he was either lost or stuck in traffic somewhere in the Florida Panhandle!

If you've ever looked at a map of Florida, you can clearly see that the Panhandle is absolutely as far away from West Palm Beach and Boca Raton as you can get in Florida. Some Scott supporters reportedly threw their hands in the air, tore up their signs and shouted obscenities on their way out the door.

This is not something that a sober person does.

But of course, there's more. Rick Scott will also not entertain any questions from the media about essential issues regarding his life prior to being elected Governor. In fact, he gets downright hostile when he's asked to explain his past.

For me, there is no greater annoyance than someone who wants to believe that I'm high on drugs when I'm completely sober... I get that. But years of fending off these kind of questions can create a nasty character defect in a not-so-recovering addict. This character defect will eventually bleed into all other areas of their personal and professional lives and ultimately consume them in one final gulp. This "final gulp" was just on the verge of happening when the media caught wind of the fact that Rick Scott had swindled thousands of elderly persons out of their Medicare dollars.

See Rick Scott's "don't you DARE Question me" attitude in this video:

So, why am I questioning Scott's sobriety in the public square? That's the easy part... I'm calling him out on his hypocrisy because he's questioning the sobriety of all the little people under him... Another hallmark of addiction left unchecked.

Rick Scott wants all public employees to be subject to random drug tests... But so far, he's been unwilling to subject himself to the same rule. Had there been a breathalyzer lock on his car, maybe his mother wouldn't have been forced to embarrass his party. Had he done the first 3 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, he might have learned to focus on himself before worrying about the other addicts in the room...

Governor Scott, please... get help. We will gladly part with some tax dollars for your treatment (as well as for those who are unfortunate enough to have landed in jail) because we need honor and productivity to be restored to your office and throughout Florida. I'm totally sincere in saying that.

What The Millionaires and Billionaires Really Want - Sex With Children

Let's face it... It's class warfare out here and the haves are playing really dirty against the have-nots. What could be more thrilling for them than subjecting their enemy's children to horrific abuse?

But should they have to worry about the good folks rising up against them with torches and pitchforks? Nah... They have the Tea Party to protect them. After all, when you have Republicans like Kathleen Passidomo in Florida who will accuse an 11 year-old gang rape victim of "dressing like a prostitute", what can go wrong? Or how about those wonderful ladies in Atlanta, GA who are blaming Craigslist.com for all their woes while their state aims to put them behind bars should God punish them with a miscarriage...

But let's take a quick look at the evidence behind these weighty accusations, shall we? I mean, my readers aren't the type to let me get away with broad generalizations and no evidence... First consider this fact: Most of our nations wealth is concentrated in the upper 2%... These are America's Millionaires and Billionaires. So when even ONE of them does something wrong, it's magnified to represent a larger percentage of their "class" than it would be for us... 300 Million times as much, in fact.

So here's a SMALL and RECENT sample of what I'm talking about:

1. Racine, Wisconsin - Samuel Curtis Johnson (to read full article click here), a member of the Johnson family that has led the SC Johnson & Son Inc. company in Racine through five generations, was charged Thursday with one count of repeated sexual assault of a child. Johnson, 55, a billionaire son of the late Sam Johnson, appeared Thursday afternoon in Racine County Circuit Court on an allegation that he inappropriately touched a girl, now 15, beginning in June 2007. Bail was set at $500,000, and part of the criminal complaint was sealed. Johnson's attorneys filed a motion at the start of Johnson's court appearance requesting that two paragraphs of the complaint be kept from public view for now until a judge makes a ruling on whether to keep them under seal.

2. Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Stephen R. Morse and his partner David (to read full article click here) have been accused by a man who says they showed him hours and hours of child pornography which they claimed to have gathered from friends and helped to distribute. The FBI and Fort Lauderdale Police collectively raided the mens home and pulled out "mountains of evidence" against them. Charges and Indictments have not been filed. Morse is part owner of South Florida's largest Wine & Spirits retailer and has hosted many tastings at white tablecloth events (including political fundraisers) all over South Florida. He lives in Allen West's (R-FL) district.

3. Palm Beach, Florida - Jeffrey Epstein (to read full article click here) is a billionaire financier who, according to sources on wikipedia, served 13 months in jail of an 18-month sentence as a convicted sex offender in the state of Florida for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution, is a registered sex offender, and remains under investigation by the FBI over allegations of involvement with underage girls and for money laundering. However, Epstein had assembled a world-class legal team, including Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr, and Roy Black (best known for having defended William Kennedy Smith against rape charges in Palm Beach.) Together, this man and his team of diligent attorneys pounded tons of other accusations into the ground and kids who were as young as 13 years old went without vindication after Mr. Epstein bought and sold them in a sex trafficking ring that may have included Prince Andrew.

Uncomfortable Silence - Why Won’t Obama’s Miami Attorney Indict Child Pornographers like Stephen M0rse* and his partner David?

[There are more recent posts related to this one - click here to read newer information.] I have always been a big supporter of President Obama. I campaigned for him in 2008 and registered over 500 new voters on behalf of him and Hillary Clinton. But shortly after that, I got myself into a bit of a mess…

And now I find myself wondering why Obama’s appointed US Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer seems not to want to put the consumers/distributors of child pornography (and possible human traffickers) behind bars.

Starting at the beginning…

My blog was never really supposed to be about me… I intended to use it to spout off about politics and government but now I find that it will begin to have more use in bringing to rest an issue I’ve been struggling with for a couple years now.

* UPDATE 8-15-11 - DISCLAIMER - The name Stephen M0rse is a very common name, even with his middle initial R. included. If you know someone by this name, please don't jump to any conclusions as it could very likely be a mix up. I've already heard from two other Stephens with the same full name and they understandably do not wish to be confused with the subject of this blog post. I have taken measures to limit the circumstances that this post pops right up in Google - but if you accidentally got here that way anyway, please do not be alarmed. Like I said, it's a very common name. Sorry for any confusion.

I am gay and I had been having a discreet sexual affair with a gay couple who lived in one of the wealthier areas of Fort Lauderdale. It wasn’t until the 5th or 6th time that I met up with them that they revealed their appreciation for child pornography. They showed me digital videos of horrible things being done to young children. These images still haunt me to this day.

In early May of 2009, I drove down to the Miami Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigators and reported what I had seen. The FBI took my report and sent two agents to my house to collect every detail I could remember about the situation. Based on my eye witness account, they began an investigation.

The FBI went back and forth with me for about six months and they encouraged me to go back to the men’s home as a “CI” (that stands for confidential informant) and gather hard physical evidence of what I had seen there… They told me that I was going to be their “star witness” in this case and they insinuated that they would pay me reward money for my good Samaritan reporting. I told them that I reported the case for the sake of the kids involved and I didn’t care if it would earn me any money (and that I would rather not get “famous” this way)…

One evening, I secured over 30 digital videos on a DVD data disc for the agents and they came to my house to pick it up the next morning. About two months after that, they (along with a squad from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department) raided the house that belongs to the two men off Bayview Drive.

An agent called to inform me that the house had been raided and that there was enough evidence on hand to prosecute. Her voice was chipper and she sounded like this was good news.

“So are they in jail?” I asked…

“No, not exactly,” she replied. “You see, we didn’t know that they were on vacation at the time and we raided an empty house that was overflowing with evidence against them but nobody was inside.”

“But you’ll arrest them when they get back, right?”

“Well, we’re talking to their lawyers and the lawyers are being very cooperative,” she replied with less conviction in her voice.

I think it occurred to both myself and the agent that I was dealing with at that time that this was not good news she was calling me with… These events were out of order. Since when do we negotiate with the lawyers of criminals before handing down an indictment or an arrest?

After that conversation it would be 6 months before the FBI would contact me again. It was a call from some kind of secretary at the FBI office in Miami to tell me only that I had been “released” from my CI status and my services were no longer needed.

Since that time, I have been trying to piece things together and conduct my own personal investigation into what went wrong and why these men are still free - and I'm not getting much help. The whole process should not need to take years, especially in this case.

Oh, the FBI has sure been back to visit me... They have promised that an indictment is on its way but have refused to say when. When I've asked them how I can get in touch with the attorneys who are supposed to handle the case, the answer does not come. When I ask them to verify my story with journalists, the answer is "we can't". When I ask them if there's a psychologist I can go to because I can't sleep at night, they don't know of any... This has been going on for over TWO YEARS now...

The US Attorney’s Office, who is supposed to prosecute cases like this has not issued an indictment against these men and they will not return any of my numerous phone calls.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz who claims to care about abused kids has not responded to me either and neither has Senator Bill Nelson or Congressman Alan West.

UPDATE 04-18-11 : Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz' staff has returned my call and assures me that they are taking the issue seriously and looking into it. Nobody from her office removed my facebook post from her page either - it's still there. Evidently facebook was acting up when I posted it and it only appeared as though it had been removed. I'm taking this opportunity to apologize to Mrs. Schultz, her staff and my readers for that error in perception on my part and thank her and her staff for their interest and advocacy in matters like these.

But most of all, US Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer should be very concerned about all of this because as long as these two men are free to molest children (as they have admitted to me that they’ve done), I expect Florida parents to stand up for their kids and demand his resignation. I have done my part… In fact, I’ve done way more than most people would.

Let this be a lesson to people in Law Enforcement and Government everywhere. When you fail to do your jobs, the people will learn about it - there are photos, videos, audio recordings and documentation of all of these events too. The only way I feel that I can keep myself protected is to make sure that all of this is in the public domain so that there is little incentive to "hush me"... or moreso, to make sure that people never confuse which side of this terrible situation I am on (the side of safe kids and law enforcement that works quickly and efficiently).

I need to get on with my life... I have lost my job, my best friend hasn't called me in months, and even my own mother is hesitant to talk to me about this because she's afraid for my safety. If the US Attorney's office can't make an arrest or issue an indictment, they are putting my safety and reputation at risk after I've done everything within my power to do the right thing.

Did I mention that these guys live less than 1 mile from a school? I sure hope nobody lets their kids hang out the parks and schools in THIS neighborhood.

Now would be a good time to issue that indictment.

I can be reached at FloridaSqueezed@gmail.com

Florida Republican Calls 11-year Old Rape Victim 'Prostitute'

Just when you thought the Republican women of Florida couldn't be anymore vile and off-base than Anita Bryant was with her "Save Our Children (from the homosexuals)" Campaign... Along comes Kathleen Passidomo (R-FL), a member of the Florida House of Representatives from Naples, Florida.

Passimodo was arguing on the House Floor about how students should wear pants that fit them properly. Evidently, her focus is not on jobs, but on how to dress your children. Her train of thought derailed at some point and she went off on a tangent about a little girl in rural Texas who had been gang-raped by some young men.

Here's what she said:

"There was an article about an 11 year old girl who was gangraped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed up like a 21-year-old prostitute. And her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it's incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn't happen to our students."

Ms. Passidomo couldn't be further off the chain with this one. First of all, she has exhibited absolutely NO COMPASSION for the young child who she is referring to. Secondly, she is just making stuff up.

What the New York Times report REALLY said about the child who was raped by at least 16 young men in rural Texas was:

Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands — known as the Quarters — said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said.

But even the above quote from the NYT is disturbing in the sense that it does not quote a real person with a name. Therefore, the writer (James C. McKinley Jr.) should be ashamed of his lapse in journalistic integrity. Blaming a rape victim for his or her attire is NEVER appropriate and it's especially unforgiveable when it comes to young children.

We have enough problems scouting out those who rape children and putting them behind bars without Florida Republicans and the New York Times ganging up on the victim all over again.

Lastly, the hypocrisy must be noted... Kathleen Passidomo was elected to the Florida House with money and support from the Republican/Tea Party resurgance of 2010. One of the issues that she campaigned on was "Reducing Government Interference With Our Daily Lives and Business".

One of the ways she reduces this interference is to cut off unemployment benefits for those who are unable to find extra time to do volunteer work to earn the benefits they already paid into. The other way she reduces interference from the government, evidently, is to tell you how to dress your children lest they be dragged into a trailer in the middle of nowhere and gang-raped.

Stay Classy Kathleen!

Here is a photo of Kathleen Passidomo with former Florida Governor Claude Kirk at the "Women & Money Convention" at the University of Central Florida. Passidomo was just finished moderating a discussion called "Florida Women Mean Business!"

Claude Kirk is another horribly insensitive Republican who once joked and smiled at deathrow inmates while on the campaign trail about maybe having to sign some of their death warrants and who looked at a photo of weeping and murdered students at Kent State and called them simply "communist dissidents".

Who is it that looks like a prostitute now, Kathleen?

Farming Racism: Gov. Scott Walker Vs. David Duke (VIDEO)

A friend recently made me aware that there was video out there of Wisconsin's Notorious Union-Busting Governor arguing with David Duke about his right to be on the Republican ballot in WI...

At first, I thought, "oh no... Walker is going to come out smelling like roses here because people will mistakenly infer that he's not racist himself just because he's 'against' David Duke being on the ballot..."

But then I watched the video...

What unfolds is the perfectly clear state of the Republican mindset in the 90's... "We need the racist white people vote but we have to destroy anyone with the guts to admit that it's what we're gunning for..."

Ironically, it's David Duke's dead-pan honesty about his racism that makes him the perfect nemesis for Walker's limp explanations and near-misses... The result is a TOTAL MESS for the GOP/TEA establishment when live callers are invited to weigh in on the situation: