Ex-Head of Florida GOP testifies that some party officials discussed suppressing black votes

One would hope that this really wasn't the topic of conversation that Republican party officials, or any party official at any level of government would be discussing in 2012, much less on the state level. But, according to Jim Greer, the former Florida Republican Party Chairman, it happened.


 (Florida News 10 WTSP report )

Greer had resigned facing pressures from within his own party in January 2010. It was at this time that Greer said he signed a severance package agreement with the party amounting to $130,000. Greer never received what he says he was promised, and later filed a lawsuit against the party and two officials, Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Sen. John Thrasher.  However, Greer is also facing possible criminal charges for corruption, stemming from his creation of Victory Strategies LLC, which made $200,000 from the party while Greer was Chairman. The result of all of this is a 630 page deposition, the testimony of Greer, who describes the turmoil in the months leading up to his resignation. He in fact, documents the split in the party that occurred as the right wing of the state party clashed with Greer over their support of Marco Rubio. According to Salon:

Here we go again...back to the Twilight Zone

By Nathan Rothwell

FUN FACT: If you google “santorum”, hilarity ensues.

But if you google “Rick Santorum,” you might find an interesting news item – a moment that could very well have secured failure for any Republican hope of retaking the White House in November.

At a recent town hall meeting, the former Pennsylvania senator and presidential hopeful Santorum fielded a question from a Florida voter who might best be described as “unhinged.”

"I never refer to Obama as President Obama because legally he is not," the woman began. “He constantly says that our constitution is passé, and he ignores it as you know and does what he darn well pleases. He is an avowed Muslim and my question is, why isn't something being done to get him out of government? He has no legal right to be calling himself president."

It's already hard to vote in America

Rachel Maddow interviews Ann McFall (R), Volusia County, FL Elections Supervisor about new voter laws which have made early voter registration drives almost impossible. This new law has already led to two Florida teachers being fined $1000 for the crime of helping their students register to vote.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Florida turns down fed. funding for comprehensive sex ed

The Florida Independent reports:

The state Legislature turned away $2.8 million in annual funding from the federal government for comprehensive sex education in Florida.
According to a spokesperson from the Florida Department of Health, funding for the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) “has been declined by DOH because we were not granted Legislative Budget Authority to move forward with the project.”
The funding was allocated by the Affordable Care Act.
According to information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “the purpose of [the] program is to educate youth between the ages of 10 and 19 on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.”

Unlike a number of abstinence-only education programs in the state, the PREP grant would have gone to educate students on contraception and STD preventation.
This year, the state Legislature did approve money from the Affordable Care Act for almost $2 million dollars in awards for abstinence-only sex education groups in the state. These programs have been shown to place a very limited emphasis on health specifics.