No on amendment 4

The most consequential ballot measure by far is Amendment 4.

Florida currently protects babies from the time their heartbeats can be detected, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical necessity. The proposed Amendment 4 to Florida’s state constitution would undo the heartbeat law — and go much further.

The full text of Amendment 4, which does not define any of its terms, states:
Limiting government interference with abortion. Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.

If Amendment 4 passes, a flurry of lawsuits will follow, all aimed at destroying more human lives and padding abortionists’ bottom line. As a Florida litigation attorney myself, I see how that one sentence would have a tremendous impact:

▪ Minors will no longer have to obtain parental consent for an abortion. Florida will only be left with the weaker requirement of parental notification. (That is the reference to Article X, Section 22.)
▪ The experience of other states tells us that pro-abortion groups like the ACLU will immediately sue to mandate taxpayer funding of abortion, causing thousands of additional deaths.
▪ Any laws which have the effect of delaying abortion would be struck down. Waiting periods would obviously be gone. So would the informed consent that is supposed to precede them, along with ultrasounds to detect ectopic pregnancy and confirm gestational age. Local zoning regulations that prevent the erection of an abortion facility in a particular neighborhood would be challenged in court. (Never mind if those regulations also prevent the construction of nonviolent clinics; Amendment 4 gives abortion special treatment.) A woman who runs a stop sign on her way to an abortion appointment could use Amendment 4 to argue her way out of a traffic ticket!
▪ “The patient’s healthcare provider” is undefined, but it is definitely broader than “physician.” Everyone from nurses to chiropractors will be claiming a right to perform abortions. Even a complete stranger trafficking abortion drugs from overseas could arguably be a “healthcare provider.”
▪ And if a healthcare provider refuses to do an abortion? Well, any state protection of that provider’s conscience rights creates a “delay,” running afoul of Amendment 4.

VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 4

Vote NO on Amendments 3 & 4

Click to read--

Florida Abortion Amendment

How the amendment reads: • Provide a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability, which is estimated to be around 24 weeks, or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider

Bottom row, 2nd from far end is a fetus at 26 weeks. This amendment says you can abort up to 24 weeks or later if it is protecting the mother's health.

The way it is worded, I think it could pass. It's too bad/sad that Democrats believe abortion is a form of birth control.

Amendment 4 (Felon Voting Rights) back in the News

Felon voting rights fight flares up again

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition has filed a lawsuit alleging that the state’s handling of the 2018 voter-approved Amendment 4 is preventing and intimidating eligible voters.

The amendment, designed to restore voting rights to people with completed felony convictions, excluding those of murder or felony sexual offenses, is being improperly implemented, according to the coalition. The defendants named include Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials.

The amendment received approval with a 64.55% majority. I remember the day that I signed the petition to get it on the ballot. Jo-Ann Golden was in the Cultural Plaza and asked me to sign...I did. It seemed only fair if a felon completed his sentence he should be allowed to vote. When it came time to vote on it and having time to think about it, I voted against. Jo-Ann, who spent her life fighting for human rights, civil rights for the LGBTQ community, environmental and economic justice, passed away in 2019. She was a fine soul.

After it passed, Gov. DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7066 in 2019, requiring felons to pay all restitution, fines, fees, or costs resulting from their conviction before voting rights could be restored. This is a fair law as that would be completion of their sentence but liberals are fighting this...they always fight about everything.

Read more...

Intent of Amendment 4 Upheld - for the Moment

Supreme Court Upholds Decision to Temporarily Block Thousands of Florida Felons From Voting

DeSantis signed a Republican-backed bill last year stipulating that, in addition to serving their time, felons would have to pay all unpaid fines and restitution before being eligible to vote.

Voter rights advocates immediately sued the governor and the state. Now the case will return to the appeals court, which is scheduled to hold a hearing Aug. 18, the same day as Florida's primary.

Read more about it...

Vote NO on Amendment 4

This morning, the liberal left-wing biased Palm Beach Post's headline read--"Florida Felon Voting Rights--Scott restored rights to lowest percentage of blacks, highest percentage of Republicans in 50 years."

There you have it..just more proof of their liberal and racist approach to everything. The Post came after Rick Scott and suggested racism all in the same breath. Most of the liberals like this amendment...they  advocate for more felon rights--it's all about the vote for them.

I haven't seen one campaign AGAINST this amendment other than on this blog.

Florida Amendment 4 - Vote NO

Although a year ago I signed Jo-Ann Golden's petition to restore the voting rights of convicted felons who have completed their sentences, I have changed my mind.  At that time my feelings were, if you've done the crime and you've done the time, your rights should be restored. However, after much thinking about it, the law on the books is good as it stands.

We all know that convicted felons repeat crimes that get them back into prison. "The most common understanding of recidivism is based state data from the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, stating that two-thirds (68 percent) of prisoners released were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years." [Crime in America]

On February 1, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker ruled Florida's process for the restoration of voting abilities for felons unconstitutional, saying it violated the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment.^[7] Gov. Scott announced that he would appeal the ruling to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit concurred with Gov. Scott's request, staying the lower court's ruling.
[Ballotpedia]

So, convicted felons waiting 5 years to have voting rights restored is not unfair. If they can stay "clean" for five years, they are on the road to recovery. And trust me, if you vote for Andrew Gillum, all convicted felons will be voting.

Florida Amendment 4, the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, is on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.^[3]

A "yes" vote supports this amendment to automatically restore the right to vote for people with prior felony convictions, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, upon completion of their sentences, including prison, parole, and probation.

A "no" vote opposes this amendment to automatically restore the right to vote for people with prior felony convictions, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, upon completion of their sentences, including prison, parole, and probation.

In Florida, a constitutional amendment requires a 60 percent vote of voters to be approved. There is a larger percentage of Democrats than Republicans in the state.

All the polls indicate that this Amendment will pass.

Atlanta Appellate Court stays lower court's ruling on restoration of felon voting rights

Al Sharpton: 'We Are Going to Turn on the Light in the Sunshine State'

If Al Sharpton wants felons to be able to vote in Florida, than I have a big problem with the entire idea and will have to study it further.

Originally I signed Jo-Ann Golden's petition one night down at the Cultural Plaza to restore the voting rights of convicted Florida felons. I was hesitant but the rationale for me was, if you've done your time than you're rights should be restored. It was a black and white decision for me. I didn't think it through enough.

Even though the ballot amendment made exceptions for murder and rape, it is a known fact that most criminals re-enter the prison system. For the most part, they do not get rehabilitated. There are consequences from committing crimes that violate the rights of others and one consequence should be the restoration of voting rights. Voting is a privilege that should not be taken lightly..

According to Sunshine State News, "We have an estimated 1.6 million convicted felons in Florida and we are one of a few states that do not automatically restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences. An estimated 600,000 felons could have their voting rights restored if voters approve the measure, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 4.

The ruling Wednesday from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed Gov. Rick Scott and the other members of the Board of Executive Clemency a decisive victory by blocking a federal judge’s order that would have required the state to overhaul Florida’s process of restoring the right to vote to felons by yesterday."

Read about it...

Liberals love this as it's all about picking up registered Democratic voters.

Lesley Blackner, someone who really cares

I first met Lesley Blackner in 2008 when she was behind Florida Hometown Democracy. This vote, if it had passed, would have meant that we the people and residents of Florida would have control on what our communities would look like when it came to growth--not three people on a dais. It made sense to me then and it still does more than ever especially when you see what the Palm Beach County Commission has done to our western county.

1,681,393 people voted for the amendment but the monied people caused its defeat. The grassroots didn't stand a chance against all that clout. Special interests with deep pockets were against us back then:  The Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, Developers, The League of Cities and even our greedy local business owners got into the act. Katie McGiveron debated around the county for Amendment 4.

Today, Lesley and her husband are in the news. They have filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against Barclays Bank as they allege that the bank did not warn them of the risks.

Read about it...

Florida Ballot Initiatives

The only one on the Tuesday Primary is Amendment 4, Solar devices, exemption from certain taxation--Please Vote YES.

2016  PRI

	Active	03/11/2016	SOLAR DEVICES OR RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE DEVICES; EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN TAXATION AND ASSESSMENT.	(4)	The Florida Legislature/House   (193)
2016  GEN	Active	03/11/2016	HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN SENIOR, LOW-INCOME, LONG-TERM RESIDENTS; DETERMINATION OF JUST VALUE.	(5)	The Florida Legislature/House   (275)
2016  GEN	Active	07/21/2015	Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice	15-17  (1)	Consumers for Smart Solar
2016  GEN	Active	03/11/2016	TAX EXEMPTION FOR TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISABLED FIRST RESPONDERS.	(3)	The Florida Legislature/House   (1009)
2016  GEN	Active	01/09/2015	Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions	15-01  (2)	People United for Medical Marijuana

Vote YES for Amendment 4

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David Levy out says Judge

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Above photo was taken at a local debate back in February 2010 on Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy. Mr. Levy was debating Katie McGiveron. In the background are former Lake Worth residents, Donna Ross and Tom McGow.

Amendment 4 got 1,681,393 votes state wide but lost the election to developers and their influence.

A judge decided that David Levy was ineligible to be reelected to the Palm Beach Gardens city council. Levy resigned yesterday.

Read about it...

Quote of the Day - Frank Cerabino

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And it's still tough to figure out what's really afoot with that one (Amendment 4), which can be simply boiled down to this:

Are you willing to help the Florida Association of Realtors sell homes by increasing the tax burden on existing homeowners so first-time home buyers, house flippers, snowbirds and businesses can get bigger tax breaks?

~ Frank Cerabino

Those who support this amendment are many of the very same people who support growing our downtown Lake Worth taller. It's all about money in their pocketbook, not the health and welfare or quality of life in this city.

Don't forget, it is candidate Jim Stafford who got the endorsement from the Realtor's Association and he is the one supporting taller buildings in downtown Lake Worth. The only benefit would be to all those in the development and real estate business, not to Joe Taxpayer or anyone who believes that our city, with its quaint downtown shops and restaurants, a look we have had for over 100 years, would be more welcoming or friendly or generate more money to the city or to the commercial businesses by building taller.

Political Action Committee formed to fight huge development in Wellington

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Well, lo and behold--a fat cat actually fighting development and urban sprawl. Where was he during the Amendment 4 campaign? That mentality sure wasn't in Lake Worth then and nothing has changed because we still have the normal suspects with deep pockets looking out for their own special interests.

Just last month, the Wellington Town Council on a 3/2 vote approved a plan to amend the town's Comprehensive Plan, allowing developers of Equestrian Village to build structures larger in size than what current land use regulations allow. Source: Channel 5. This is why I have always said that land-use changes should be considered only on a super-majority at the least. It is easier to compromise three commissioners than it is four because land-use changes are always political.

Jeremy Jacobs, Sr. whose family owns land there and best known as the owner of the Boston Bruins, is also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Delaware North Companies. Forbes magazine ranks him as #746 of the world's billionaires. The development, Equestrian Village and commercial complex, is proposed to be built near the Jacobs' land at the northeast corner of Pierson Road and South Shore Boulevard. This action caused the Jacobs family to form a PAC called Taxpayers for Integrity.

Normally my antenna goes up when I hear these warm and fuzzy names for PAC's as in most cases they are far removed from what they portray. Remember back in 2007 when the Florida Chamber people, egged on by our local Chamber under Ramiccio, got involved in our Lake Worth election with a Chamber PAC called Protect Our Constitution out of Tallahassee to defeat The Supermajority. They sent money and foot soldiers into Lake Worth.

There were also all those angry looking Lake Worth citizens, many who were members of the Chamber, who were a part of Last Chance Lake Worth PAC spreading fear and falsehoods. This was only 5 years ago when developers had a hold on our City. Now that the dais has changed in Lake Worth, those same people seem to be creeping back, trying to grab the power even to the point of changing out members of our Planning & Zoning Board to their liking and to only those with "qualifications" such as developer, Realtor, land-use attorney--you know, the very same people with special interests of years ago.

The Taxpayers for Integrity PAC was formed to go after the defeat of the current Wellington Mayor, Darell Bowen, and support two new candidates running for election who are against this project. A quarter of a million big bucks has been infused into this campaign.

Of course, you have the Wellington Chamber of Commerce that is organizing and sending out fliers countering Jacobs and his new PAC. Anywhere there is development you can be assured that the Chamber of Commerce will be for it, good, bad or indifferent.


Let's see how this Wellington election goes tomorrow and whether or not John Greene, vice president of business development for an international private security firm; Matt Willhite, currently the only Democrat on the council; and Bob Margolis, a former council member running for mayor win their elections.

Janet Stanko Wins Grimes Environmental Award

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Our friend, Janet Stanko, chair of the Northeast Florida group of the Sierra Club, received the 2011 Bob and Carol Grimes Environmental Activist Award presented Friday at the Civic Round Table of Jacksonville. She was the poitical and legislative Chairperson for Sierra Club Jacksonville.

Read about it here.

If you recall, Janet was one of the top supporters for Amendment 4 that was defeated in 2010 by developer, Realtor and corporate money.

Ryan Houck drop kicks the Sierra Club

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Below is a powerful, lying message from a known fabricator who has sold himself to the devil for corporate greed at the expense of Florida and its environment. The difference in Ryan and Dustin is that Ryan is paid by the evil Chamber of Commerce and other groups that are ONLY interested in their personal wealth at the expense of Florida's health. In this particular video, he is pushing for fossil fuels and perhaps the Republican Party itself. Who knows and who knows about Dustin?

I can't be more clear than that even if it was reported that The Sierra Club joined the demonstration in Washington, D.C. with Socialists and its Union backers. They have a point in that it is many of the big wigs with the money that are ruining our planet, our country and the State of Florida. We can all be sucked in when we don't have all the facts regarding those behind Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Lake Worth or for that matter, any political message.

The Sierra Club was formed in 1892 and has been working to protect communities, wild places, and the planet itself. They are the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. During these difficult times, Republicans are now dissing its effectiveness and some believe that they are too regulatory. This is one area for which I disagree with Allen West.

This video is being posted so that you can see how effective a campaign can be when money is no object and the message is convincing. He did the exact same thing when he and his benefactors went after Amendment 4. It's just that he has now had years of practice to perfect the fabrication. This message is so well done that you come away actually believing that the Environmental Protection Agency and The Sierra Club are the groups that are evil, not the other way around.

Gutting Florida's Growth Act

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After Florida's business lobby poured tens of millions in campaign cash into electing Republican supermajorities to the Legislature last year, its top wish was clear: dismantling state oversight of the once-massive development industry.

More than a month before Billy Buzzett took over as Florida's top growth cop in January, lobbyists for some of the state's biggest developers already had outlined a game plan to make it easier for large-scale projects to spread across the rural and exurban landscape, according to public records released by Gov. Rick Scott office seven months after the Orlando Sentinel requested them.

Florida's business lobby had invested millions of dollars to defeat Hometown Democracy — an amendment on the November 2010 ballot that would have required voters to approve changes to land-use plans — and wanted to prevent local governments from putting growth-plan changes to public votes in the future. The new law does that.

Read about it here.

Floridians have been Suckered

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Suckered. That’s how Florida and Orange County voters should feel. In the last election we were told that a vote for Hometown Democracy, which left decisions about growth in the hands of citizens, would be a job-killer and ensure our economic downfall. Besides, opponents said in a multi-million dollar campaign funded by developers and landowners, there were enough protections already in place to guard against rampant abuse and sprawl.

Read the rest at the Orlando Sentinel.

The Central Florida Coalition for Growth and Prosperity

Another feel good name for a group hellbent on identifying economic and regulatory barriers to its objectives--making tons of money and paving over Florida. This organization is even using the same colors as it did in the Vote NO on Amendment 4 campaign, the ominous red and black. It says that it will also use the exact same tactics to get its way.

It sure does not want any Florida government agencies giving them a hard time and they are happy that Scott has dismantled the DCA. The word "democracy" is not in its vocabulary if it interferes in the right of its members to make BIG $$$ at the expense of our great State. It pretends to support jobs but all along it is about labor bringing more money to line their pockets.

This is how you take over an entire State: CLICK HERE.

Remove Barriers to Growth

First a designated region in Florida-- next the entire State, then the Country. Fat Cats, The Chamber and Ryan Houck--a deadly cancer that is out to ruin the health of Florida.

Florida's Growth "Management "

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One of the founders of Florida Hometown Democracy, Ross Burnaman, has been involved in a law suit. His client, Richard Burgess, has kept a development on hold that was considered sprawl by every agency in existence, Hammock Creek Green in Edgewater. Even Pelham of the DCA had agreed with him that it was out of compliance. Rick Scott essentially kicked Pelham to the curb and recently appointed Billy Buzzett to head the DCA. Billy Buzzett, involved in Florida real estate development for many years, currently serves as the vice-president of strategic planning for the St. Joe Company the largest landowner in the State of Florida.

Hammock Green eventually made major changes to its original plan and now Audubon has even approved it.

We congratulate Mr. Burgess for pursuing this case which forced the developer to make major changes but he still believes the project is just flat wrong. Recently he said, "We're going to end up with just another big empty development on the downside of the largest bubble we've ever seen in the country on excess housing. It's insanity."

Norma Kenya says, "Unless modern man learns to tame his greed and overconsumption, he is destined to destroy himself in the name of “development.” Development without a moral compass is unethical.

It probably is but the deck is getting more and more stacked against the residents of Florida as developers are desperate for work at any cost. Scott is taking away all protections leaving the decisions to local elected officials, the ones who have been the problem all along. And now we learned earlier, impact fees have exploded to 505% from 1993 to 2004 and are continuing to rise as our communities respond to explosive growth and local governments will not be able to compose or collect these fees from the developer.

All those who didn't want a vote on growth when they voted against Amendment 4 are getting their way and it will hit them right in the pocket-book.