Miami-Dade Dems

Moving notice: Over to Wordpress

2010-08-16T14:00:00.000-04:00

This blog address will go quiet now, and this post is your notice that we're now to be found over on the Wordpress platform. Was it the Kinks who told us of a "dedicated follower of fashion?" Here we go to www.MiamiDadeDems.wordpress.com

See you there!

Julia Tuttle Unveiled

2010-08-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

Musta been looking the other way when Maria posted this fine essay on our city, weeks ago now. Very glad to see it as a winner of Post of the Month on South Florida Daily Blog.

sex and the beach: Julia Tuttle Unveiled!

Inside the White House: The Situation Room

2010-07-31T07:02:00.001-04:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7ch13ZuMu8&feature=youtube_gdata

Sent from my iPhone 3GS
Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Jeb Bush makes the big time: Letterman's top 10 No No No No No No No No No No

2010-07-30T00:19:00.006-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMe-PpgfbeI

You'll find your blogger down in the comments declaring the real reason Jeb Bush won't run for president is he'd have to reveal how much he was paid by Lehman to be a "consultant" after he left the governorship, and why he got Florida to buy worthless Lehman investments.

Thanks to the Miami Herald's Naked Politics blog for pointing this out. Thanks, Beth.

FL-25: Dirty tricks will out in dirty campaign against Joe Garcia

2010-07-28T11:01:00.001-04:00

This story started last week while I was out of town (Las Vegas, baby) and oblivious to this chapter in the book of dirty tricks that the Republican slime machine is using against Joe Garcia. Now it looks like it's blowing up in the face of Republican candidate David Rivera, with a pertinent ricochet over to the Marco Rubio campaign house. You see -- and this gets really complicated -- the guy behind the slimy mailer is a former staffer for Rubio.

Highly recommended you follow this link to the Miami Herald story and read all the details of this vile thing -- the racist tone to the mailer, the 19-year-old they duped to be the nominal sender, the full creepiness of those who want to represent us in the US House (Rivera) and Senate (Rubio).

I'm curious whether this sort of trick would be possible if the Republicans in the US Senate hadn't blocked the bill to require disclosure of those behind political action committees. Notice that: The Republicans are the villains in this, from the top in Congress down to our local politics here in South Florida. Here's a link to today's NY Times story on that Republican upright finger to the voters of the USA.

And thanks to the Miami Herald for working this story.

p.s. I'm adding Karl Rove to the roster of labels on this post in disgusted tribute to his eminence in dirty tricks.

UPDATE: Let's not forget that Joe Garcia is closely watched nationally and in Florida as a likely winner in this race. The Buzz report shows Joe is worthy of support, and then some. Hint: here's how to do it.

Night view of Deep Water Horizon site in Gulf

2010-07-27T17:17:00.000-04:00

This image needs some explaining. It was taken from the window of Delta Flight 1220 about midnight July 21, almost an hour after taking off from Fort Lauderdale en route to Las Vegas. Looking down at the blank scene below, I gradually started seeing widely spaced yellow lights come into view. They are flares burning off gas, I surmised. Then this cluster of colored lights came into view. It must be the site of the oil catastrophe, and that's the fleet of vessels drilling and capturing and supervising in the cleanup effort.

Out came the camera. A couple clicks, and this is the clearest and least jiggled of the images shot through the thick airliner window.

After landing in Las Vegas I asked the pilot if we had flown over the site, and he confirmed we had. Yes, the cluster of lights was the fleet of ships, he said, and during the day you can see the fleet of skimmers and other vessels working the cleanup.

So, there you are.

Afghanistan doesn't compute

2010-07-24T10:09:00.001-04:00

This is (so far) the only session I've attended at Netroots Nation to be filmed for possible C-span use. Watch out for the back of my thinly haired head in the second row in front of the panel, moderated by Darcy Burner (above). She ran for Congress in 2008, Washington's 8th District, and was one of the favorite candidates of the national progressive crowd. Now she's executive director of ProgressCongress.org.

The question for the panel was Afghanistan, what's it about now in the 9th year, and how to get out. About the only clear result was another question (which I've tweeted to #2010Pelosi as a proposed question to Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the post-breakfast panel today):

What's the logic of spending $100 billion a year to harass 50-100 Al Qeda in Afghanistan? Why are we in another civil war?

Darcy Burner asked that herself during the panel, and it must be rocketing around the brains of anyone in Washington at the decision-making level.

Former Congressman Tom Andrews and retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton were in pretty close agreement that the military-industrial complex has Congress in its pocket on this issue -- a depressing assessment. What do our Miami-Dade members of Congress say? Our candidates? I'd like to know.

Another idea that emerged from the panel was that if the Obama administration policy is reasonably successful in dialing conflict way back and helping launch development in Afghanistan, after quite a few years you'd have a country roughly as well off as Chad. Is this worth $100 billion a year when we're firing teachers?

Some of the questions were apples and oranges, to be sure.

Eaton alarmed me by saying that Washington was dysfunctional. Afterward I asked him if he meant this to refer to the president. No, was his answer, he was talking about the way Washington is a bunch of "stovepipes" with not enough cross-capability, so that the wonderfully competent Agriculture Department, for instance, is not capable of helping ag development in Afghanistan, so the job is given to the military, which is no good at ag. Only 320 US civilians are at work outside Kabul, he said -- far fewer than needed.

Andrews, who was in the US House from Maine and lost a Senate bid to Olympia Snowe, said it was essential to solve the Afghanistan issue -- "get this albatross off our necks" -- because we want Obama to succeed.

You can watch the Pelosi session by clicking on the Netroots Nation link at the top of this post and getting over to Ustream.

Do you miss Van Jones?

2010-07-24T01:41:00.001-04:00

The last time I saw Van Jones speak was in Washington DC early on inauguration day, Jan. 20, 2009, and the world was going to be all right with him in the White House as the "Green Jobs" czar. We remember how the far right hated the very idea of the black lefty firebrand from Oakland with some authority. Glenn Beck raged, and in not too long a time Van Jones was out. It was one of my early disappointments with the Obama era. How could this happen?

So it was good on Friday to have Van Jones giving the post-breakfast keynote at Netroots Nation, the DailyKos-sponsored bloggers' convention. Bittersweet to hear him say, "In the last two years all my dreams came true, and my nightmares, too."

You can see the whole speech at this link from Netroots Nation.

Keep on watching into his interview done by Ari Melber of The Nation, who asked Van Jones whether Big Ed Schultz had been correct in his fierce speech the night before, when he insinuated there was a "sissy room" in the White House. "This is harder than it looks," Jones said of life in the White House. It's one thing to perform strongly in an election campaign, and another much more difficult thing to have won and then have to govern and legislate and face "a toxic and hostile media environment."

Jones also said that what we're dealing with now is "a ferocious backlash." Yet he tries to keep his sunny personality in good order and urges us to be more beautiful, keep the hope alive. "You have the power to do it."

He was introduced in a recorded video statement by Howard Dean. "Our job," Dean said, "is to keep their feet to the fire in Washington."

To quote Van Jones (from a different context), "This is harder than it looks."

A landslide is available to us Dems if we work hard toward November

2010-07-21T06:31:00.000-04:00

Check out the Gallup polling that shows what the potential is when a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president manage a success or two: suddenly a six-point lead, where before the picture looked gloomy.

Imagine the polls if President Obama's cautious handling of the BP oil disaster finally results in a secure shutdown of the well. This is within reach -- keep fingers crossed to prevent the laws of physics and geology from combining in a new explosion of the well. Polls now may show the public is dubious about the president's handling of the crisis. That will change bigtime when the well is capped.

Our job is to remain committed to work hard, and to avoid overly pessimistic moods.

Hello, Michael Putney, meet the Democrat running for Congress in District 18

2010-07-18T17:30:00.001-04:00

It was pretty funny to hear the tremendously well-informed Michael Putney say to US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen that she was running unopposed for Congress. Oh. no, replied the ever-alert member of the US House. I have an opponent. This was on live TV (I'm guessing it was live) Sunday mid-day, WPLG Local 10.

Well, here's the well-informed Democrat running to unseat the vastly incumbent Ms Ros. He's Rolando Banciella, born in Cuba, resident in South Florida since age 10.

If you look at his specs on http://banciella2010.info/, you'll see that his background is in real estate, and unlike the rich Democrat running for the US Senate, Banciella (click on the Who/Why link) didn't try to make a billion betting against home-owners and the banks but rather suggests that the government bail out the people with mortgages.

Sounds reasonable. He also has ideas for how to bring Social Security back to good health. Not to kill it, like Ms. Ros's party -- to bring it back to good health. And it sounds reasonable.

So, Michael Putney, how about retrieving your fumble on the Congressional races in your bailiwick, and inviting Rolando Banciella up for a talk. You've given his opponent a ton of time. Now's the time for fair.

Kendrick Meek for US Senate

2010-07-18T15:38:00.001-04:00

Meek was in a strong fighting mood for his speech Saturday night at the Jefferson Jackson dinner fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party.

Ron Saunders at Fl Dems event

2010-07-18T15:33:00.001-04:00

This was a session devoted to helping Democratic candidates win in the November elections to the Florida State House. Saunders, state rep from Key West, is head of the campaign committee to elect more Democrats.

Florida Dems in state Senate

2010-07-17T19:29:00.001-04:00

Led by Sen. Nan Rich, appearing at the Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner in
South Florida.

Alex Sink at Democratic Party fundraiser in Little Havana

2010-07-16T13:25:00.000-04:00

We see a little furrow of worry on the president's brow in this painting, and it's because Florida might not be quite up to putting him over the top again in 2012. We did it in 2008. And whether we do it again will depend a lot on whether we campaign long and hard this year, right now, and make Alex Sink Florida's governor.

Having her as a Democrat in the driver's seat for two years before election day 2012 will make a world of difference. She will veto the next Republican attempt to wreck our public schools -- you know it's coming up again, sure as Jeb Bush is calling the shots from his cave. She will drive the agenda and put a Democrat atop the news budget again. She will deploy her business skills to build jobs in partnership with the federal government -- not in blind opposition like the Republican contenders. With her in charge and the Fair Districts amendments in the Florida constitution, redistricting will be done fairly and we can expect our delegations to the Florida and US House to reflect public opinion more than Republican ideology.

We must be far-sighted in this. Quibbling about minor matters must stop. Enjoy watching our local Republicans show how NOT to get along.

This photo comes from the Thursday fundraiser at Cuba Ocho Art and Research Center in Little Havana, where Alex Sink was introduced by State Rep. Luis Garcia in his own District 107, where he's going for his second re-election in a formerly Republican district. Garcia calls Sink, currently the chief financial officer in state government, "the best mind in Tallahassee." He's 100 percent for making her the check and balance we need to block the Republican majority in the legislature.

Her view: "Tally is out of touch and out of control."

Our mission is to elect her.

She had a special request: "Put me on your Facebook page." You'll see her in fresh text and photos on the Miami-Dade Democrats group page. Now it's your turn.

Live broadcast of Social Media Club meeting

2010-07-13T19:09:00.001-04:00

It's on UStream right now @SMCSF July meeting on sports and social
media. Check it out on Twitter.

All it takes is a laptop and a circuit and some video gear. Note the
tiny camera on the sturdy tripod.

Inspiring report from Haiti: The power of song amid earthquake misery

2010-07-12T18:10:00.002-04:00

Thanks to WLRN news staff for finding the wonderful recording of music and hope rising from the crowd of badly injured people after the earthquake in Haiti six months ago. Listen and be touched.

http://wlrnunderthesun.org/2010/07/after-the-quake-patients-and-healers/

Your blogger has heard this several times today and is grateful for public radio. Is there anything like this on our commercial broadcast media?

FL-25: A perfect storm for David Rivera

2010-07-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

In the political world among the worst things that can happen to a candidate are:

Having a record of domestic violence revealed;
Accusation (with documents) of unethical fund-raising;
Financial difficulty including foreclosure;
Rebellion in the ranks;
Sign of hypocrisy in important Cuba policy area;
All of the above in the space of a couple weeks.

What a run of luck for David Rivera! Is there a Quintifecta for hapless politicos? We were wondering why he had a passle of challengers for the Republican nomination to run in Congressional District 25. Turns out the state representative for District 112 is vying for centipede class in the Feet of Clay competition.

Especially delicious is that the likely Republican US Senate candidate, Marco Rubio, is Rivera's good friend and foreclosure partner.

Go, Joe! I'm planning to spend Sunday afternoon with Joe Garcia, the Democratic candidate in FL-25, watching the World Cup final. You can sign up at this link on Joe Garcia 2010. Your blogger's maternal ancestry is 100 percent Dutch, so I'll be rooting for the Netherlands.

Money in politics: Florida vying for lead in category of dubious value

2010-07-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

Here's the Gail Collins column in the NY Times on Lebron, Ned Lamont, two of Florida's most-seen-on-TV-commercials candidates and other stuff that may be held together by Greenwich, Connecticut.

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/opinion/10collins.html?_r=2

Chin up, Dems. The long-term numbers are all in our favor

2010-07-05T22:31:00.000-04:00

The email inbox hummed a little today with people passing around a political situationer by Robert L. Borosage, of the Campaign for America's Future. Monday being a rainy day with nothing special on, I shunned the delete option and actually read it. Here's a link to it: http://www.alternet.org/story/147361/

My overall impression was that there wasn't much in it we hadn't heard before, though it's a useful summary of the difficult political situation. I wouldn't argue with its facts, though I'd like to hear more advice than Chin up, the incumbent president always loses in mid-term elections, organize hard and do your best.

Later in rolled an email from The Democratic Strategist reporting on demographic analysis by Ruy Teixeira, whose work we progressives have been reading for several years. Here's a link to his paper:
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2010/06/pdf/voter_demographics.pdf

The drift therein is that demographic change is almost all in the Democrats' favor. The population groups that vote Democratic are mostly growing, while the Republican base is not. The paper runs close to 40 pages, but the first three pages will give you most of what you need with 3-4 minutes reading.

So I passed this back to the same list of email addresses the Borosage article had gone to, with this prescription:

This is even longer than Borosage's hand-wringer, but if you take 3-4 minutes and read the first three pages of this demographic look at our political landscape, you will see that we Democrats have all the advantage, while the Republicans may have a last gasp this year but are doomed thereafter and far into the future.

For now, my thoughts are that we must:
--Carefully identify and get to know our allies among those who vote but aren't otherwise politically active.
--Maintain allegiance of the Democratic base.
--Study the opposition and counter its arguments wherever we find them.
--Use social media and new technology to multiply the impact of our better ideas.
--Refine and intensify the tried and true methods like voter registration and GOTV.

Your thoughts are welcome in the comment section below.

FL-25: What a pair are Rubio and Rivera! Can they get away with this?

2010-06-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

The Florida Democratic Party has the questions right on this odd business from Marco Rubio and David Rivera. Except that your blogger would like to know when the Republican Party will retrieve its purportedly high ethical standards and send this pair back down to lobbying? What are they doing as candidates for high federal office? Your blogger would like to know.

Here's what the Joe Garcia (my choice for election to the US House in Florida District 25) campaign is pointing out, in the words of the Florida Democratic Party:

From the Department of You Can Make This Up: Miami Lobbyists Marco Rubio and David Rivera are holding a fundraiser together today in Washington, DC.

Last week, it was reported that Rubio and his self proclaimed “disciple” David Rivera purchased a house together and then defaulted on the payments, allowing the property to fall into foreclosure.

The pair of ethically challenged Republican politicians have now unwittingly opened up a can of worms when their embarrassing financial tactics were made public.

Some Questions That Need To Be Answered:

Did Rubio and Rivera willfully withhold mortgage payments that were owed based on their mortgage contract?

Did this tactic of withholding payments allow them to renegotiate or offer the house as a short sale?

In either case did they have to disclose their income and assets? If so, what are they?

What did their stalling and negotiating tactics cost the government in lost property values or tax write-off for themselves or the banks?

And is this whole mess just another example of Marco Rubio getting another sweetheart mortgage deal from his political allies?

FL-25: Joe Garcia rips David Rivera on offshore oil drilling

2010-06-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

"Imagine if David Rivera had his way."

That's a little quote from Joe Garcia in a news conference yesterday about the BP oil spill. Check out the whole story on the Joe Garcia blog, which should be on your favorites menu.

You see, Rivera, who's the likely Republican candidate against Joe Garcia in US House District FL-25, was eager to have drilling for oil three miles from Florida's beaches. So, yes, stretch your mind and imagine a rig blowup and the oil hitting the beach in a few hours. Right here. Or over in Fort Myers where Aunt Molly retired, or Pensacola where your nephew is in the Navy. And anywhere in Florida where your economic future is vulnerable to globs of oil.

What to think about the Republicans who want to apologize to BP

2010-06-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

This morning through the luck of the TV remote I happened to turn on CNN as the House hearings on the oil spill were under way. Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California ripped into BP CEO Tony Hayward for not having been aware of the problems developing in the too-deep well. And then Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, saying he was speaking only for himself and not for the Republican Party, said he was ashamed of what had emerged from the White House the day before. He called it a "shakedown" of a fine private company.

Wow, I thought, what's he talking about? Surely not BP? But yes, that's what he meant. That President Obama, by getting BP to set aside $20 billion for damage claims, was "shaking down" the company that is soiling the environment like nothing before.

Then it turned out that he was speaking for the Republican Party. They all said the same thing.

What a crowd of slaves to the oil dollar! In the land of Big Oil, the Republicans are the bottom of the barrel. Down where Karl Rove turns out the talking points.

So it was good a few hours later to get an email from OFA saying it was time to put our names down as on the other side. Here's the link. http://my.barackobama.com/NoApologies-auto

Please go and add your name.

NY Times mag piece -- What do you think of this view of Obama as party boss?

2010-06-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

From the opening teasers for this Sunday magazine piece about Barack Obama as "Democrat in Chief," your blogger was in disapproving mode. Why is author Matt Bai saying the president is the only recent holder of the office who wasn't a party strategist? I was asking myself. Didn't we elect him because he wasn't a party hack like the two Bushes? Didn't we choose a transformational president?

What do you think? The comments are available for you to let it out.

And why would the NY Times be saying this about the president as we head for mid-term elections for which the president's political arm is gearing up a strong campaign? We want Democrats to hold Congress as strongly as possible and to do well in statehouse races in Florida and nationwide. This is why we're working with Organizing for America to make it happen, and why we're recruiting volunteers, and why we're energizing our Miami-Dade County Democratic Party.

We're also hoping to learn from this tremendously successful political campaigner who's now in the Oval Office, and who has new ideas that the NY Times finds dubious.

Prepare for belly-laughs

2010-06-13T11:32:00.002-04:00

This isn't fair at all to BP.

Not fair at all to BP, and Halliburton, well, could they really have made it worse?

"We Can Win" From: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

2010-06-12T13:21:00.008-04:00

Dear Friend,
I've entered a competition with some of my fellow Representatives in Congress to see who can get the most new friends on FacebookandYouTube!
I use social media to share information, photos, and videos of my official work in Florida andWashington with my constituents. To visit either of these sites and receive the latest information on my work for you, I invite you to click the buttons below:

Thank you for your interest. When the competition has ended, I will let you know the results.
Best, Debbie

June 11, 2010

Update My Profile

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 20th District of Florida

Website - Issues - News & Press - Services For You - Legislation - Kids & Students - Contact

Dear Friend,

I've entered a competition with some of my fellow Representatives in Congress to see who can get the most new friends on FacebookandYouTube!

I use social media to share information, photos, and videos of my official work in Florida andWashington with my constituents. To visit either of these sites and receive the latest information on my work for you, I invite you to click the buttons below:

Thank you for your interest. When the competition has ended, I will let you know the results.

Best,

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Have You Seen
My New Web Site?

CONTACT INFORMATION

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE
118 Cannon H.O.B
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-7931
Fax: 202-226-2052

AVENTURA OFFICE
19200 West Country Club Drive, 3rd Floor
Aventura, FL 33180
Phone: 305-936-5724
Fax: 305-932-9664

PEMBROKE PINES OFFICE
10100 Pines Blvd.
Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
Phone: 954-437-3936
Fax: 954-437-4776

Miami-Dade Dems: Learning From The Oil Spill: How To Move America Forward. By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

2010-06-12T13:17:00.000-04:00

Miami-Dade Dems: Learning From The Oil Spill: How To Move America Forward. By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: "www.house.gov/wassermanschultz"

Learning From The Oil Spill: How To Move America Forward. By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

2010-06-12T13:11:00.005-04:00

Learning From The Oil Spill: How To Move America Forward
By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

As we've seen over the last two months, oil is an important, dangerous,
and troublesome part of this economy and our lives. The BP oil spill
that began in April has shown us the danger of offshore drilling
specifically, and the risk in oil as a source of energy in general. We
should use the public's increased awareness of the risks of oil as a
catalyst to act to save our environment while still protecting our
economy. We cannot afford to wait any longer to take decisive action to
change our relationship with oil.

During this spill we have seen, more clearly than ever, that offshore
drilling has a serious impact on our environment. The effects on our
waters are apparent in the endless footage of the black plumes of oil in
the Gulf of Mexico. And the spill is having a real and negative impact
on animals and plant life, too. As the oil makes landfall, it is
radically altering and destroying the habitats of many shoreline plants
and animals.

At the same time, we must also keep in mind that offshore drilling poses
a threat not just to our environment, but to our economy. As Floridians,
this is especially true. Florida's tourism economy is $65 billion a
year because our environment is unique: Florida's coastal region
includes 85% of the continental United States' coral reefs and the
country's largest wetland is the Everglades. Combine that with our
incredible beaches and our great sport fishing and you can't find these
resources anywhere else.

As the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the subsequent spill has
shown us, drilling -even hundreds of miles away from Florida's coast can
easily bring oil along Florida's western and eastern coasts via the Gulf
loop current. In recent years there have been multiple proposals to
bring drilling closer to Florida's coast line -some proposals were as
close as five miles off of both of Florida's coastlines. Just imagine
if a spill like the BP disaster had been closer to Florida, the damage
to the wildlife, wetlands and beautiful beaches of our state would have
been unimaginable. Add to that the impact on our $65 billion a year
tourism-based economy and the affect it would have on the numerous
families who would lose their jobs and businesses and the impact would
be devastating.

Unfortunately, with oil continuing to leak into the Gulf, we still are
not in the clear.

Worst of all is the fact that the obvious danger of expanded drilling
would not even contribute substantially to the United States' oil
demands: The amount of oil production projected from expanded drilling
off of Florida's coasts would do next to nothing to reduce our
dependence on foreign oil. Adding a fraction of a percent to the global
oil supply will not lower gas prices, for Floridians or anyone else.
This discouraging statistic demonstrates that we need more than a
Band-Aid fix: we need to systemically change our approach to energy.

We should seize upon this tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico and truly put
America on the path to a sustainable energy future. Instead of
expanding coastal drilling and still continuing to depend on foreign
energy, we should begin to find new sources of energy. Our country needs
to run on something other than oil. We need to find new energy
solutions. With that will come new economic growth, new opportunities
for employment, and new scientific discovery.

Wind turbines, bio-fuels, and solar power are examples of cleaner,
job-creating alternatives to oil. If we were to introduce these
alternatives as practical, viable sources of American energy, we could
create thousands and thousands of new jobs. We could employ Americans in
the fields of engineering, as well as construction and upkeep-jobs that
can't be outsourced to other countries.

Not only would we create jobs, but building a smart grid throughout the
United States would invite more scientific study into smarter, more
efficient forms of energy. This could lead to the creation of small
businesses, vying for the newest and cleanest energy technology.

It is important for us to remember that we don't need to choose between
a clean environment and a thriving economy. We can have both. In fact,
employing new forms of energy will help employ Floridians, as well.

And, as the high-speed rail initiative has already demonstrated, we can
create more public transportation options that reduce our environmental
impact while creating new jobs as engineers, contractors, and
researchers. Simple solutions such as these will be the small,
immediate steps that aide the larger process of moving away from oil.
These are everyday actions that you can help with.

Ultimately, we need to find a cleaner, more responsible source of
energy. I know that we can. The United States is full of citizens who
care: Intelligent men and women like you who are not just capable
enough, but dedicated enough, to find a better, more sustainable
solution than offshore drilling. And doing so doesn't just mean we
won't have to clean up oil from the ocean-it will mean a better,
healthier, safer life for our children, grandchildren, and generations
to come.

If you need help, you can reach my office in Pembroke Pines at (954)
437-3936, in Aventura at (305) 936-5724, in Washington, DC at (202)
225-7931, or on the internet at: www.house.gov/wassermanschultz

Republican scandals grow larger. We must stretch out this campaign season

2010-06-07T00:42:00.001-04:00

The front-page story in the Miami Herald -- Why below the fold? But anyway, an amazing story -- reads like a criminal indictment in every paragraph. That's assuming it's illegal to use political donations as a slush fund for party bigs.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/05/v-fullstory/1665855/scandal-stained-former-ally-contradicts.html?pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

Congratulations, Beth Reinhard. What a story. Now let's see some followup. This will be the test.

We Democrats should try to postpone the November election, because the news can only become worse for Florida's Republicans, and the longer the wait for the vote, the worse they will look.

Nostalgic moment in kickoff for 2010 election campaigning

2010-06-06T00:15:00.000-04:00

Phone banking has its moments, and there was one for me today. The list of names and numbers was supposed to be of people who voted for the first time in 2008 -- the ones who made the difference in Barack Obama's big victory, and who must come out in good numbers to make the November 2010 general election work for the Democratic ticket.

The first two pages were routine, few people home on a Saturday midday, some too rushed to speak, a couple glad to hear a Democrat calling. Then came a name with a pleasant memory jolt attached -- Nathaniel Sherwood. Wait, is that our Nate Sherwood, the first or second local staffer of Obama For America we received in Miami-Dade County? I checked the contacts in my phone. Sure enough, the same number. Living in mid-Beach then. Long gone now -- Was it to Colorado? -- but still in the local voter list two years later.

Nice to see you, Nate.

Here's an image of other phone bankers in action on Saturday, Barbara Bizno and Peter Medvin, joining a nationwide drive as Organizing For America (the new name of Obama For America) starts contacting the throngs waiting to be summoned to vote again.

Obama transcript in the Oil Spill. Read it and be grateful the other isn't president

2010-06-04T23:09:00.000-04:00

This remarkable document came to me by email from the White House press office because I'm a registered blogger and the White House is much more open that it was when Dick Cheney met with the oil kings to decide energy policy. Your blogger gets things like this a lot. Reading this transcript for the second time, however, made me think how grateful I am that Barack Obama is the president, and not John McCain or George W. Bush. We have a president who understands and takes things forward, and lets people talk about the right amount.

My only comment/piece of advice at this point is: As much as we want to help the people of the Gulf coast, we have to avoid futility. Darn, they may want to stay for the sixth generation now, but their home may be about to be gooed up by oil for years to come. We have to avoid futile efforts that won't work. This will be a hard judgment call, and there's another reason I'm grateful that we have a wise man as president now, and not some martinet neocon.

Read and enjoy the result of your electoral labors:

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN CONVERSATION WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS

Camardelle’s Live Bait and Boiled Seafood
Grand Isle, Louisiana

THE PRESIDENT: Everybody knows the Mayor. The Mayor has gathered up a group of local businesspeople. Butch, for example, owns a marina; Terry, a shrimp boat; Floyd, oyster fisherman; and Patti has a convenience store; Chris is the owner of this bait shop.
And so we were just talking about the economic impact that this has had. And just to give you a sense of perspective -- Terry has been shrimping out here for 46 years. His grandfather did it before him. And right now things are completely shut off for him.

Floyd, he leases the oyster beds from the state. The state now, obviously, and properly so, has said he can't be pulling seafood out of these waters right now. He’s got oil that's starting to seep in into these oyster beds where he’s got leases and, as a consequence, Floyd is trying to figure out how long this damage is going to last.

FLOYD LASSEIGNE: I'm a fourth generation, and I've got a son who is a fifth generation, so we've been -- somebody lease has been -- been in the family for 100 years.

THE PRESIDENT: Butch was talking about the marina and making the point that these three, four months are basically when all the business comes down. And normally all his slips would be full right now -- sounds like about only a third of them are full and it may get worse from there.

BUTCH GASPARD: Our charter boat guys are hurting real bad, too, because all the charter boat business is shut down. They make a living off of taking people out fishing.

THE PRESIDENT: So right now, Butch isn’t taking a salary so he can pay his employees, but he doesn’t know how long that's going to last.

Then you’ve got Patti, who owns a convenient store. Obviously that store is dependent on these guys -- the boats coming in, filling up with gas, buying ice, buying soft drinks. So she’s down 85 percent on her business right now.

So this is just a sampling of what’s happening out here. And part of what we talked about was what we can do to prevent oil from coming into these areas; part of what we talked about is -- in terms of the relief effort -- can we deploy folks who’ve got boats here to help save their livelihoods right where they are, as opposed to having to go to other places. And so I'm going to ask Admiral Allen to make sure that he’s looking at where people are being deployed, where vessels are being deployed, to make sure the people who know the waters best end up being hired there.

And the final thing is we've got to talk about -- what we talked about up in New Orleans -- which is are we making sure that claims are being processed effectively. And right now, after that initial $5,000 check that BP wrote, the claim center has been taking in claims, but it sounds, based on what I'm hearing, that there’s a lot of process but not much actual action. And so we're going to see if we can do something better on that.

But the main point I think I want to make -- and, Mayor, feel free to chime in on this -- is these are communities that have had a way of life for generations, and what people are concerned about right now is not just the damage done in the short term -- because these are some tough folks. They’ve been through hurricanes and --

VOICE: Low prices.

THE PRESIDENT: -- low prices --

VOICE: High cost of fuel.

THE PRESIDENT: Terry was talking about how the walls stay up on a building around here; a hurricane comes, you wash out the mud and a week later everybody is back in business. So these are folks who are used to hardship and know how to deal with it. But what they’re concerned about right now is, is this going to have a lasting impact that they can't recover from. And that's why Thad and the rest of the federal team is so committed to making sure that everything that can be done will be done.

This is going to be bad, no matter what we do. But we can hopefully minimize the damage, but it requires good coordination between the state, federal and local; and it requires BP to make sure that, as I said up in New Orleans, folks aren’t getting nickled-and-dimed and that we're doing what we need to do early to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening later.

So, Mr. Mayor, anything you want to add?

MAYOR CAMARDELLE: Well, again, the main concern is to block these five passes that we talked about. The barges are available, Admiral, right there all along the coast, from Venice to Harvey Canal, all the way back to Homer. They’re standing by, and hopefully we can get the President to get on BP -- between both of you guys -- so we can put some barges there temporary to block these passes so we can save Claiborne Parish, LaFourche Parish, St. Charles Parish, Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, Plaquemines Parish. And Jefferson Parish, where we live at -- if we can block them five passes right now, these fishermen can tell you that we can save -- continue to save the rest of the 2 million acres of oysters.

We have $2 billion worth of seafood that comes out behind me, right in this estuary -- $2 billion worth. We have a billion dollars of recreational license -- recreational fishing -- that generates to the marinas, to all the stores, all the way across Louisiana. But these guys -- this woman here with the convenience store, if we lose the estuaries in the back, we're history. And they’ll tell you that.

We're born and raised -- our grandfathers, grandmothers. We made a living right here behind us. There’s no reason why this shrimp boat should be tied up, it don’t have skimmers on it, to make sure we can block the oil until we put these booms. And I'm asking you to --

THE PRESIDENT: To go to work. Last week when I was talking to the Mayor, he started choking up just talking about the fact that out of his own pocket he was having to provide some help and some loans to his buddies, to fishermen, folks in the area. That's what we should be able to prevent. There’s oil washing in, but people can help each other. And the company that's responsible can make sure that it’s responding quickly and effectively.

And when the Mayor told me that story it was, I think, an example of what’s happening all across this Gulf Coast. And it’s going to be multiplied not just in Louisiana, but in Alabama, in Mississippi, in Florida. There are small communities like this all across the Gulf and they’ve got to make sure that their voice is being heard day in, day out.

And I know that they’ve got a fierce advocate in Thad Allen. But I wanted you to know that behind Thad Allen stands the President of the United States.

MAYOR CAMARDELLE: And like I said, since the last time you’ve been here, the Coast Guard is unbelievable. Admiral, I want you to know that. You guys are really working 24 hours for us. And you did push BP. And, like I said, I'm very emotional because I'm still giving -- I'm not going to cut the water off, I'm not going to cut the electricity off, and I'm not going to cut the gas off. I have one of the businesses right now that has a $5,200 electricity bill, and I'm calling energy to make sure not to cut him off.

When these businesspeople come up to you and say it’s time to help, it’s not easy. And Patti can tell you -- the night before last I told her that I'm going to keep you strong, I'm going the try to bring you more business. Butch calls me, telling me we need more boats, get some vessel of opportunities. He’s fighting to save his oysters. I'm trying to keep Grand Isle alive, to try to get tours. I opened the beach Memorial Sunday at 3:00 p.m. -- people were calling me. So the marinas can sell a towel so these young kids can lay on the beach.

And watching oil come across the shore -- some people think I'm better than God, you know. That's how serious this is. And they’ll tell you, I live right down the street. I've been averaging two hours of sleep, just going in and looking at the ceiling fan and wondering what’s going to happen tomorrow, and praying to God that no more oil comes on the beach.

So, like Terry said earlier, his wife is sick. I bring seven people a day to -- New Orleans in a van, to cross that long bridge you crossed, and putting gas in the truck to make sure that we can keep the help. And we help each other. And we don't have no money, don't matter. We help each other. That's what we do.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's supposed to be what the entire United States does, is helping each other.

MAYOR CAMARDELLE: Exactly.

TERRY VEGAS: We're not bitter at the oil companies for what’s happening. We're just bitter at those that cut the corners and cause the havoc that we're having right now.

VOICE: It’s not getting cleaned up fast enough.

VOICE: -- the oil company down here and we enjoy the business. We support them.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the point with the oil companies is they’ve got to support you the same way you support them. And they’ve got to make sure that -- because there are a lot of folks in the oil business who do the right thing and who aren’t cutting corners. We've just got to make sure that we find out what happened and that those who are responsible are held responsible; that we fix whatever is wrong. We're still going to need the oil production, but we've got to make sure that we do it in the right way, because we just can't have a situation like this happen again.

VOICE: Can't have that happen all the time,, no.

VOICE: Have to follow the rules.

VOICE: Just tell the truth.

VOICE: From day one they lied to us -- BP. They said 1,000 barrels a day, then said it’s 2,000 -- put the tube in there, it was 5,000 -- now it’s up to 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day. Just tell the people the truth, you know. That's all we want.

MAYOR CAMARDELLE: Like I said, the biggest shrimp dock in America is right here in Grand Isle. It’s Blanche’s Seafood. And he’s completely shut down. They’ll tell you, the boats are tied up. How many boats does he have right now -- about 100, close to 100 boats just tied up. And you’ve got the Vietnamese families, you’ve got the true Cajun people here, and they’re just sitting on the deck of the boat and just waiting on the vessel of opportunity.

And I want to respect the Admiral and BP, where they try. It’s just since you left, they’ve made a big change. Since you came to me, you made a big change and we support you for that. But we just worry. You hear us here and we worry. And we don't know what’s going to happen tomorrow. And that's why we depend on you -- both of you guys -- to make sure that -- and you heard them today. We don't want to be on food stamps -- none of my people -- we want to just untie the boat, be able to see your two daughters right here and kiss them in the evening and Daddy’s going to work.
END

FL-17: Candidates forum in Little Haiti

2010-06-04T00:33:00.003-04:00

Marleine Bastien, Haitian community activist; Phillip Brutus, former state representative; Dr. Rudy Moise, physician, businessman; State Rep. Yolly Roberson, District 104; Roderick Vereen, attorney; Andre Williams, attorney, Miami Gardens city councilman.

Thanks to the Young Democrats for putting on a rousing candidates forum for the congressional race for District 17. Now held by Kendrick Meek, who's running for US Senate, this seat in the US House will most likely go to the Democratic candidate chosen in the Aug. 24 primary. With the exception of Vereen, all the candidates above are Democrats, and he told your blogger he's a Democrat, too, but he prefers to run against one person in the November general election rather than 10 in the primary. So he's a nominal independent at this point.

Also running but arriving later than this photo is Scott Galvin, a city commissioner in North Miami and former congressional staffer for Carrie Meek. And not present for various reasons were State Rep. James Bush III, District 109; State Sen. Frederica Wilson, District 33; and Shirley Gibson, mayor of Miami Gardens.

Opinion on the oil spill and the human casualties. Put yours in the comments

2010-06-03T13:23:00.000-04:00

This is a submitted comment by a dear person who is also fierce:

There are two men who should not pass “Go” nor collect $200; but who should go directly to jail. They are Transocean Chief Executive Steven Newman and BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward. Their crime is Manslaughter (of 11 rig workers): “the unlawful killing of a human being without malice or premeditation, either expressed or implied; distinguished from murder, which requires malicious intent.” When they post bail re these accusations, they should immediately be arrested again for perpetrating an environmental crime (“any deliberate act or omission leading to degradation of the environment and resulting into harmful effects on human beings...” And they should be held in jail, without the right of habeas corpus, as was done to Juan Padilla.

Charlotte Klieman

Charlotte Klieman is a DEC member

Others who wish to publish an opinion on the BP oil spill are encouraged to use the comment button below this post and let it run on.

A musical interlude. Enjoy.

2010-06-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

Stand by Me from theRedPillRadio on Vimeo.

Brad Schenck and friends at farewell

2010-06-02T21:33:00.002-04:00

For those who don't know, Brad is the birthday dude wearing the yellow guayabera. He's our beloved OFA regional director leaving soon for a bigger job. Photo taken at a cake and ice cream joint in South Beach.

FL-25: Who was in the Drill Baby Drill camp? David Rivera. Pin it on him, Joe

2010-06-01T23:56:00.001-04:00

There's a petition to sign at JoeGarcia2010.com to keep offshore oil drilling away from Florida. I've signed. Have you?

Further from your blogger's brainstorming:

We have to accept that the Gulf of Mexico is going to be a disaster for quite a while. It has been a source of much oil for a long long time and there also were a lot of oil spills over the years. We should not be surprised or get desperate when there is a really big oil spill. This was in the cards and we knew it. It's why there was a
debate over whether to drill in more difficult areas such as much deeper water. Obama can win over reasonable people with bold and smart moves. We all have to suck it up, shake our fingers at the whiners, and clean up as fast as possible. BP can go bankrupt and out of business if necessary. Let's put the RISK in risk for big business.

The president should start a fast study on new livelihoods for coastal people who must move to escape unhealthy oily environment and finance the project in a way related to royalty revenue from oil leases.

FL-25: Joe Garcia campaign points out that the opponent is waffling

2010-05-27T16:42:00.000-04:00

What does Joe Garcia say? "What's happening in Arizona should never happen here in Florida" -- that's the way he put it in his campaign kickoff the other day.

Take a dive with BP's spill -- Yuk

2010-05-27T16:22:00.000-04:00

Thanks to RepowerAmerica, Al Gore in action on the internet he invented, for tipping me to this new view of the gush.

DEC and OFA get new directors for 2010 elections

2010-05-25T15:09:00.001-04:00

In six months when we’re chalking up now-unexpected victories in our difficult local electoral world, Monday May 24 may be a date we Miami-Dade Democrats look back at as a milestone in our rise to a successful political operation.

On this day two personnel shifts were presented to us. The Miami-Dade Democratic Party took on a new executive director, Ric Herrero, who appeared at a meeting of the party’s Steering Committee. And the new regional field director for Organizing For America, Marcelo Marco Ramirez, was introduced to an enthusiastic group of OFA activists as replacement for the highly esteemed Brad Schenck, who’s destined for something more national in scope (details later, we hope).

Your blogger had the pleasure of being at both events, even though they both started at 7 p.m. several miles apart in downtown Miami. Got to confess that when I burst into the OFA event at 8:15, people started yelling at Marcelo Ramirez that he’d have to start over again. It got a big laugh, so I imagine that I wasn’t the only one who’d arrived after the new field director started describing his mission.

R U ready? June 5 , less than two weeks away, is the day the OFA will start its nationally featured drive for the November midterm election: Contacting people who voted for the first time in 2008. Make them vote again this year, by hook or … No, only legal stuff is permitted. If you have not signed up to do something, now’s the time to drop in to MyBarackObama.com and pledge yourself to the fun of campaigning again, meeting fellow citizens on their doorsteps or on the phone, and talking politics with them. Saturday June 5 is when we launch again. Be there with OFA. You may already have received this invitation from David Plouffe.

The Miami-Dade Democratic Party is further energized by having the decade of political experience that Ric Herrero brings to the post of executive director, which had been unfilled for over a year. The party aims to concentrate on gathering in as many Cuban Americans as possible, as well as working to register new voters and to sign people up to vote absentee – vote at home, where you can think about the issues and candidates at your leisure.

Here are a couple of photos (unequal quality, I’m afraid, as I shifted from the simple Flip to a flashy Nikon Coolpix model in the middle of this story) to show the players.

First is Marcelo Ramirez of OFA with some of his activists.

Now a snap of Ric Herrero during the most recent meeting of the Democratic Executive Committee.

And a bonus: as the Steering Committee was about to meet, Chairman Richard Lydecker’s new name partner in his Brickell law firm, former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, dropped in to say hello to the committee. Your blogger jumped up with the new Nikon and said there should be a photo for the blog, and this is it.

FL-25: Joe Garcia kicks off campaign for US House

2010-05-18T14:31:00.001-04:00

A good rally was held at Kendall Campus of Miami-Dade College.

FL-25: Joe Garcia video from Collier County meeting

2010-05-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

Don't forget our chance to celebrate the Joe Garcia campaign on Tuesday. Be there with Joe at the Miami-Dade college Kendall Campus, Room K-412, Tuesday 11:30 a.m.

Very bad news for Bill McCollum, Good for Alex Sink

2010-05-07T09:48:00.002-04:00

Voters really hate clear corruption in their politicians, and the next thing they hate is hypocrisy. This item about the hypocritical anti-gay crusader very nicely reaches up into the office of Attorney General Bill McCollum. Yay!

Let's pound on it for a while and call it a nail in the McCollum coffin. Alex Sink, are you listening?

FORGOT TO SAY: Kudos to the Equality Florida blog for digging this up.

Kevin Burns announces shift to FL Senate race

2010-05-06T00:44:00.001-04:00

This was at Wednesday meeting of Democracy For America-Miami.

MORE INFO: At the short Miami Herald article on this development. This points out that there now is a primary between Burns and Gwen Margolis for state Senate District 35. This is my district, now held by Dan Gelber, who's running for attorney general.

Burns go for FL Senate, leaves US Senate race

2010-05-05T16:46:00.001-04:00

I'm sending this from the chair in my ophthalmologist's office. More later.

Sent from my iPhone 3GS

Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Kevin Burns for Senate" <media@mpapolitical.com>
Date: May 5, 2010 4:16:41 PM EDT
To: <miamibeachlarry@gmail.com>
Subject: Kevin Burns Major Announcement!
Reply-To: Kevin_Burns_for_Senate_hpndv_bodsaws@cp20.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
05/05/2010 Press contact:
Mario Piscatella
904-657-8116
media@mpapolitical.com

Kevin Burns to Announce for State Senate District 35
The former North Miami Mayor shifts focus to South Florida's needs and Tallahassee's Problems

Miami, Florida - 05/05/2010 - Mayor Kevin Burns will announce later today that he will seek the Democratic nomination for State Senate District 35. The seat was vacated when Senator Dan Gelber opted to run for Attorney General.

On the switch, Kevin had this to say:
"I chose public service to make a difference, locally, in my community, and I believe I have done that. I'm making the switch to the State Senate race because I believe it is the way for me to continue to make a difference, here in my community, in Tallahassee and for all the people of Florida."

About his role in Tallahassee:
"This year's session the legislature made unprecedented assaults on civil rights, the environment, teachers, women and decency in general -- that is compounded by the loss of some of our strongest Democratic voices in House and Senate, Senators Aronberg and Gelber and Representative Randolph. I am stepping forward to try to fill the void those men left in their wake. I hope to earn the support of my district so I can go to Tallahassee and represent them, continuing to standing up against off shore drilling and fighting for our students, workers and the preservation of our beautiful state."

On his US Senate Campaign:
"I don't regret a single day of it, I got to travel all over this state, visiting more than fifty counties, meeting and listening to Floridians from all walks of life. I learned a great deal about the people of this state and about myself. I believe the experience will make me a better State Senator and a better person."

Mayor Kevin Burns is a graduate of Miami Edison Senior High School and a native south Florida resident. Born at St Francis Hospital on Miami Beach and raised with his six brothers and sisters in North Dade. Kevin and his partner Rob are raising their daughter Autumn in North Miami.

Twice elected as Mayor of North Miami, Kevin took on the entrenched political machine in the city and won decisive victories due to his dogged determination and focus on uniting the citizens to find solutions to the city's problems. He inherited a city in disarray – revolving city managers and senior staff, constant turnover, and an outdated, small town outlook that was hindering North Miami from participating in the growth and success the rest of South Florida was enjoying.

In response, Kevin reorganized the structure of city government, brought in new senior staff, and increased accountability for department heads. He created a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to spark development and economic success, repaired the city's crumbling facilities, and pushed green building codes to ensure environmental responsibility and save the city money. And he developed a new emergency response process after Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma struck North Miami in 2005.

Importantly, underscoring his focus on education, under Kevin's leadership the City of North Miami opened five new schools in a three-year period – an unprecedented $200 million construction project that ensured the city's students would enjoy exceptional school facilities to support their educational goals.
Kevin will make his first public announcement of his candidacy at tonight's DFAM (Democracy for America of Miami Dade) meeting at The Sports Exchange in Coral Gables, there will be availability for media following the meeting.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5th 7:00 pm

The Sports Exchange
45 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, FL 33134
www.sportsexchangemiami.com

Please contact Sam Feldman at 305-632-0036 with any questions regarding the DFAM http://www.dfamiami.com meeting or email media@mpapolitical.com with any questions for the Burns Campaign.

Later this evening, the new campaign website will be launched with our new logo at http://www.VoteKevinBurns.com.

###

Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Kevin Burns, Democrat, for State Senator

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Kevin Burns' US Senate race development

2010-05-05T12:17:00.001-04:00

Y'all come to DFAM tonight to learn wassup.

Sent from my iPhone 3GS

Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Kevin Burns for Senate" <media@mpapolitical.com>
Date: May 5, 2010 8:43:07 AM EDT
To: <miamibeachlarry@gmail.com>
Subject: Major Announcement!
Reply-To: Kevin_Burns_for_Senate_hpjdn_bodsaws@cp20.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
05/05/2010 Press contact:
Mario Piscatella
904-657-8116
media@mpapolitical.com

Kevin Burns to Make Major Announcement About his US Senate Campaign Tonight!

Miami, Florida - 05/05/2010 - Mayor Kevin Burns will make a major announcement about his campaign at tonight's DFAM Meeting. The 7:00 pm meeting will be in Coral Gables at The Sports Exchange on Miracle Mile and Democratic candidate for Congressional District 25 Joe Garcia will also be speaking.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5th 7:00 pm

The Sports Exchange
45 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, FL 33134
www.sportsexchangemiami.com

Please contact Sam Feldman at 305-632-0036 with any questions regarding the DFAM (Democracy for America of Miami-Dade http://www.dfamiami.com) meeting or email media@mpapolitical.com with any questions for the Burns Campaign.

###

Paid for and Authorized by Kevin Burns for US Senate

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Time: Obama doing great in runup to 2010 midterms

2010-05-03T11:53:00.001-04:00

This excellent summary of the Obama administration so far appears in Time magazine of last week. Not being a regular reader, I missed it. Thanks to following OFA-FL on Twitter, I was reminded and nudged to check it out. If you sometimes struggle in argument against the nay-sayers in our camp as well as in the opposition, it's good to commit some of this article's points to memory.

Let's see: Biden and Emmanuel are pluses, as well as the national security team, who get along and no scandals have emerged. Health care passed and will start to make a difference before the November elections. Obama is as good at personnel decisions in office as he was in the campaign. It will happen again later this year.

Feel better?

Another benefit from immigration: Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-02T00:40:00.001-04:00

Best graphic at immigration demo in Miami

2010-05-01T14:33:00.001-04:00

The lady said her sister made it. Wait, make that CREATED it!

Immigration demo downtown Miami

2010-05-01T14:27:00.000-04:00

Boycott Arizona was a prominent chant.

One dubious thing after another in Crist statement

2010-04-30T14:11:00.000-04:00

Memo to self: Listen to what they’re saying, and analyze.

This strikes me as a mission for the next six months, right up to election day, Nov. 2. I’ve been trying to do this with Marco Rubio, who sometimes demands of his audience: “Now listen to what I’m saying. Listen!” And then he tells a whopper. As if “Listen to what I’m saying” is anesthesia of the brain and auditory nerves, and no one will challenge his saying, for instance, that the United States is great because it’s the only place on earth where you can write a business plan on a cocktail napkin and then go out and get wealthy. What? You can do that lots of places. Probably Communist China is the best place for that trick. Especially if you’re a Communist.

Yesterday Gov. Charlie Crist spoke for less than six minutes announcing his switch to running for US Senate as a former Republican, and if you wade through the platitudes, you’ll find quite a few examples of doubt-provoking statements.

My crude Flip video-editing skills may not be fully up to the challenge of describing on video how it went, so I’m adding some written commentary here so that when you get to the video down below, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

He starts, for instance, by saying his decision to run without a party label says more about the United States and Florida than it does about himself. Seems pretty dubious to me. He’s the one dragging in the polls as a Republican. If it must point at something other than Charlie Crist, how about pointing at the Republican Party, which is riven by ideology and corruption?

Next clip declares that our political system is broken. Again, it’s really the Republican Party and its divisions that are highlighted by Crist's exit from the GOP. The broken political system is better seen when one looks at the Republicans in the US Senate, the Party of No.

Easy thing would have been to run for governor? Wait a minute! Way back months ago when Mel Martinez followed Sarah Palin in quitting his/her elected office well before time done/job done, there was speculation that Crist would bail out of the governorship because Florida was heading for unemployment like seldom before, and he’d be blamed for that if he ran for re-election as governor. So I don’t think he’d have had an easy run. I think his career is at an end. And the jobless rate is still over 12 percent, as Democrat Kendrick Meek reminds us along with the fact that Crist and Rubio are the political authors of the misdirection in the Florida economy.

Note: the tipoff in the example above is that he starts with the word frankly -- a major clue that the next phrase will be untrue. "Frankly, the easy thing for me would have been to run for re-election as governor."

To continue, Crist talks about his brilliant decisions and declares that he’s stopped off-shore drilling. What? What was it that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico the other day? It doesn’t seem he stopped it, not at all. But it was a pretty good applause line.

Then he says he’s going to be with us forever. Forever! What more can I say?

You can help set Florida's goals for 2060

2010-04-29T14:54:00.000-04:00

Fifty years from now, they could be following your goals.

I heard about this Wednesday at the monthly meeting of the Miami-Dade County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, of which I'm an appointed member, in a briefing by an official from the Florida Department of Transportation. Before now the FDOT planned out 20 years -- the last plan was considered and issued in 2005 for 2025. Now we're going deeper into the future, and setting goals, objectives and strategies out to 2060.

There's a website, http://www.2060ftp.org/. The FTP stands not for file transfer protocol but for Florida Transportation Plan. You will see that there's a meeting in Fort Lauderdale May 11-12 of the Steering Committee, where your presence is welcome.

Click on the Calendar link, and you'll see that in June there's a meeting in downtown Miami of a Regional Workshop. Again, your presence is welcome. You also can send in your ideas and suggestions. That's at the Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus, 2:30 p.m. on June 2.

After the presentation I couldn't stop myself from saying, "If I were issuing a plan going out to the year 2060, I would start by saying this will be a 50-year period of tremendous environmental challenge due to climate change. But in all you've said and shown on the screen, the environment and climate change hardly even get mentioned."

In other words, FDOT needs a lot of help in formulating a plan for 2060. Go to it, please. Save the planet.

FL-25: Crist switch gets the Republican name-callers into high gear

2010-04-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

OK, the headline is a little premature. So far I've only got one Republican name-caller, but I'm sure there will be more.

The first out of the blocks is David Rivera, known on this blog as the Republican likely to be Joe Garcia's opponent for the US House in District 25. Last time we wrote about him, his ethical standards were quite low -- way behind even Jeb Bush in the ethical arena -- and now he's very high in the name-calling arena.

Read it on Naked Politics, the Herald's political blog, where Rivera says that what Crist is doing is the biggest betrayal in US history since Benedict Arnold. Wow! That's really big. Like almost sinking the American Revolution, George Washington and all. And what's Crist's offense? Dropping the ID of the party that has already dropped him -- that's what Crist is doing.

Now let's start looking for all the photos of David Rivera and Charlie Crist in fond embrace.

And while we may be distracted for a day or two by Crist's maneuver, remember that we will have to get back to listening to what Rivera says and searching for fact and meaning.

Land of the Free? Show me your birth certificate, buddy

2010-04-27T14:24:00.000-04:00

I understand this actually happened, and though it was in Arizona, it's not related to their new law. No, it's federal policy. Carry your birth certificate if you don't look like the cop you're about to encounter.

http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Man-says-he-was-racially-targeted-forced-to-provide-birth-certificate-91769419.html

Fun video: Rain delay in college baseball

2010-04-27T11:48:00.000-04:00

It's good to see Florida represented in this.

Another nail in the Republican coffin: Corruption alienates the faithful

2010-04-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

The Miami Herald columnist and blogger Daniel Shoer Roth has an interesting blog post here, catching up with what we've been finding in recent years: Quite a few of those supposedly steadfast Republicans are coming over to our side. Summing it up: "Republicans can't take Hispanic support for granted."

A more general rule would be that Republicans and Democrats shouldn't take anyone for granted.

And the lure of that party credit card can be too much when you need a bag of groceries, or a haircut, or a limo. Right, Marco Rubio?

FL-25: Joe Garcia up against ton of lobbyist money in his unethical opponent

2010-04-23T14:34:00.000-04:00

While we’ve been fretting about what Florida’s Teabag state legislature is up to, in fact the Republicans in Tallahassee have just been kicking sand in our eyes so we won’t see David Rivera raising a ton of unethical money to try to ripoff FL-25 from Joe Garcia.

Yep, the moneybags business of a congressional race ran heavily in Rivera’s favor in the first weeks of the session -- even though there’s a state law banning fund-raising while the legislature is in session.

Yep, they’ve got a self-serving legal opinion that says the law doesn’t apply to those running for a federal office -- like District 25 in the US House -- only to people running for state offices. And so David Rivera feels free to ignore finger-waving by former Gov. Jeb Bush, who in the past thought it was unseemly to be doing it.

Yep, that’s the same Jeb Bush who thought it was OK for himself to go to work for Lehman Brothers as a consultant after leaving the governorship and to help sell Florida crappy investments that are worth nothing now. Even with such low standards, Jeb thought it was unseemly for legislators to raise money during session.

So David Rivera’s ethical standards are even lower than that.

Joe Garcia, our former chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, ethically resigned from his high position in the US Department of Energy to run for Congress in District 25, now an open seat. Yep, the Diaz-Balart brothers are doing a double quit -- Lincoln D-B retiring from District 21, and Mario D-B escaping from District 25, where he would lose to Joe Garcia this time, and aiming for the safer-R District 21.

Joe Garcia looks to have a good shot now in his second race in District 25. As Joe put it the other night in a talk to the Democrats of South Dade Club, Mario D-B designed the district for himself when he was in the state legislature (now the teabag legislature). Then in the early 2000’s, District 25 had a big Republican advantage in registration, 42-30 percent. Now the two parties are even at 36 percent, with about 800 more registered Democrats than Republicans. No wonder Mario D-B quit.

No wonder David Rivera is desperate.

He is chair of the committee writing the budget. The unethical game he’s running is that lobbyists are piling money into his federal campaign even though he’s now term-limited as a state representative, and if he were to win and go to the US House, he’d have no vote anymore on state legislation. So this money is purely to influence legislation now before the Florida House, and that’s the spirit and intent of the law and House rules that ban it.

“'The spirit be damned,’ my opponent says,” Joe Garcia told the Democratic club. Still channeling Rivera, he went on, “’We need to raise a lot of money. We need to justify a $2 billion tax increase at the same time Florida had the worst economy in its history.’”

Garcia called Rivera “a very special kind of guy” and predicted: “I’m sure the special interests will pave his way.”

For our part, Democrats will be called on to join the Garcia campaign’s planned grassroots ground drive, and of course to donate as generously as possible, to see that Joe Garcia gets his message out.

“Folks like you will make the difference,” he said to a crowd with a lot of District 25 residents, including many experienced campaigners with a strong dedication to progressive policy.

In the Miami New Times -- Goodness, they even call Rivera a “banana Republican” in their headline -- an article says there were 80 lobbyists and committees backing legislation among Rivera’s donors in the first quarter. He raised a bit over $700,000 and more than half came from the influence-buyers. More detail in the Miami New Times.

This is how low their ethical standards are.

"Web site" to "website" in the AP Stylebook

2010-04-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

A blast from the past for me – the AP Stylebook changes on something I use all the time but never heard of during a long AP career.

The following popped up on the AP retirees’ newsletter I get every week, and I thought many people might like to know that Web site is out and website is in. Note that there are several links to longer explanations of what goes on in the business of changing AP style. Enjoy.

AP Stylebook Team Announces That 'Web site' Is Changing To 'website'

The AP Stylebook team has announced that "Web site" is changing to "website." In an April 16 note to AP news leaders, Stylebook coordinators Sally Jacobsen, Darrell Christian and Dave Minthorn said the entry change reflects "increasingly common usage." They also announced that plans to change AP style on state abbreviations have been postponed, pending further review. Below, read a Q&A with Minthorn on AP's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/apnews See media mentions in the Washington Post blog "Faster Forward" at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/04/ap_says_write_website_not_web.html and at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=181664 in Mallory Jean Tenore's Poynter column

Q&A with Dave Minthorn: From Web site to website, mysteries of AP style explained

In a Q&A, AP Deputy Standards Editor David Minthorn offers a behind-the-scenes look at how The Associated Press decides on AP style guidelines -- including last week's big announcement that AP has dropped "Web site" in favor of "website."

Why the change from "Web site" to "website"?

Followers of AP style — editors, writers, students, P.R. professionals, word lovers — have for several years argued that the two-word spelling of "Web site" is out of date. Certainly it's easier to spell website as one word, along with other compounds like webcam and webmaster, adopted previously by the AP Stylebook. Also, the Stylebook's primary reference, Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, prefers the one-word spelling.

Still, the Web (the shortened proper name of the World Wide Web) and certain other two-word phrases like Web page, remain capitalized in AP style.

The three AP staffers named as the Stylebook coordinators were colleagues during my 25 years there. Sally Jacobsen and Dave Minthorn were people I worked with fairly closely from time to time in several postings, while Darrell Christian and I knew each other only slightly as he was in New York and I was all over the overseas map. If they’re listening, I wish them all well.

My retirement, at the end of 1995, came just as the Web was launching into the forefront of all our minds and work. Windows 95? Well, I started learning it after I bought my first laptop in Jacksonville while still living on the road and considering where to settle down. With crashes and dailups …

2-for-1: The Paul Krugman Blues, plus the Goldman Sachs Blues

2010-04-19T15:44:00.002-04:00

This is good for a few chuckles:

http://www.newyorker.com/video?videoID=67644232001

And then, you might call this "The Goldman Sachs Blues."

Bet Against The American Dream from Planet Money on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Frank Rich's column in the April 25 NY Times devotes its last two paragraphs to the song in this last video. The lesson: "Those who shorted the housing market shorted the country."

Thanks to the public radio program "This American Life" and the ProPublica noprofit journalistic organization for producing this pointed music video.

Analysis: Frame the issue correctly

2010-04-18T14:46:00.000-04:00

Analysis from Mr. Lee:

The key to political victory is successfully framing the issues. The GOP has been pounding us with their false messages for years. But that ends now. Today's issue is....

Bad Politicians

Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution, government is the problem.” He was wrong. Government is not the problem, bad politicians and bad policies are the problem.

And it is the bad Republican politicians and their bad policies that have caused every crisis our nation has faced, The Civil War, the Teapot Dome Scandal, The Great Depression, Watergate, Enron, and Bush's Great Recession. And it is only by electing good leaders, not bad politicians that will fix our problems.

So let's go out there and "WIN AGAIN IN 2010."

The author is a DEC member who wishes to keep the full identity private

Barack Obama in Miami -- fixing problems, getting laughs, calling our candidates' names

2010-04-16T00:33:00.003-04:00

Tucked in my box of campaign memories from 2008 is an event at the University of Miami, when candidate Barack Obama gave what seemed a mild shout-out to our Democratic challengers to the incumbent Republicans in the US House of Representatives. That may not be an accurate or full picture of what happened. But since we were struggling to get media coverage, endorsements, donations -- anything! -- it was always disappointing when the result didn’t seem whole-hearted.

Well, this was not the problem Thursday evening in Miami when Barack Obama, who buzzes in on Air Force One now, started his speech at the Adrienne Arsht Center with full-voiced shout-outs to:

Alex Sink, running for governor
Loranne Ausley, running for chief financial officer
Kendrick Meek, running for the open seat in the US Senate
Joe Garcia, running for open Florida District 25 in the US House
Scott Maddox, running for commissioner of agriculture and consumer affairs
Suzanne Kosmas, seeking re-election in Florida District 24 in the US House.

Sorry I didn’t get my Flip camera running quickly enough to get Obama calling Alex Sink’s name and her happy wave in response, but the others can be seen in tiny images -- Hey, the Flip only has a two-power zoom.

It was also super to hear the president thank the brilliant Esperanza Spalding, who thrilled the house with three jazz numbers before the political speeches. If you haven’t heard of her, check out the long profile of her in the New Yorker. Think the rare woman playing bass, think lovely singing, think beautiful. She was a treat.

Let me note that the president called Joe Garcia “a great friend of mine.” Joe has just left his high position with the Department of Energy to run for the open congressional seat in District 25, and we should be on track to a win.

Also on stage with the president were our own US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, FL-20, a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, and DNC Chair Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia.

Kaine noted that the pundits predict the president’s party loses 28 House seats in the typical mid-term election. “They under-estimate us,” he countered. “We’ve got a great president.” There’s a major health law that will look better and better, Kaine went on, and we Democrats have enough fine candidates that we’re going after some Republican seats -- not merely defending. Hey, there’s Joe Garcia again, running for the seat long misrepresented by Mario Diaz-Balart, who’s escaping to FL-21, vacated by his retiring brother Lincoln. (What is it with these Republican quitters?)

And as the president declared in his humor-laced speech, “We’ve begun to fix the problems” -- chiefly health care to this point (long applause there), but coming soon is financial reform (long applause again for levying fees on banks to recoup all that bailout money).

Obama reminded us that the recovery act included a lot of tax cuts for the middle class, and said he was “amused” that rallies were being held on this Tax Deadline Day to protest supposedly high taxes. “You would think they’d be saying, ‘Thank you,’” he said, drawing one of a string of big laughs.

From this very pleasant time at the Arsht Center (well worth the money), your blogger is predicting that the president will be using his charm and gentle wit to cut the Party of No down to the Party of Nothing in the coming months.

Joe Garcia with supporter after Obama event

2010-04-15T19:38:00.001-04:00

The president called Joe Garcia's name and congressional race at the
beginning of his speech.

FL-25: Joe Garcia is running!

2010-04-14T09:26:00.000-04:00

This is good news!

FL-25, the Everglades congressional district, now has a chance at intelligent, compassionate, Democratic representation in Washington. It's an open seat, thanks to the quittingness of the Diaz-Balart brothers, who seem to take politics as their personal chess game. It's a formerly safe Republican seat that's now headed for the better column of governance. The eyes of the nation will be on this race. We have a duty to donate, volunteer, think and work for Joe Garcia in this race.

With President Obama coming to Florida and Miami on Thursday, this has become a fine week in Florida. We are the future once again.

Don't forget to join the throng at Draft Joe Garcia for 2010!

US Senate: Kendrick Meek's campaign video released

2010-04-08T15:03:00.001-04:00

Enjoy:

UPDATE: It was announced Thursday that the Meek campaign had qualified for the ballot by the petition method -- first time for a Senate candidate. The state Division of Elections verified over 115,000 petitions collected all around Florida.

Possible opponent in FL-25 is ally of indicted Ray Sansom. What's new?

2010-04-06T13:51:00.001-04:00

The Republican side of Congressional District 25 is shaping up on the slimy side of life.

Who’s running? One of the best allies of a disgraced big shot in the Florida Republican Party. The candidate is David Rivera, who sits in the Florida House of Representatives in a prominent role -- chair of the Budget Committee. You know, the people who do the bidding of the Republican Party to divide up the spoils of and otherwise mismanage one of the biggest states in the USA. Rivera was anointed chairman by Ray Sansom, former speaker of the House, now under criminal indictment.

To quote Eric Jotkoff, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party, “It hasn’t even been a week since disgraced Speaker Ray Sansom resigned under criminal indictment and now his handpicked Budget Chair says he’s running for Congress. Is this an indication of how hard it is to find a Republican candidate in Florida not marked by scandal?”

Right on, Eric.

The Democratic spokesman points out a good question to fire at David Rivera: Tell us about whether you had a Republican Party credit card. And did you use it for personal expenses, like Marco Rubio?

Florida Republicans are in a fine mess, all by themselves. Trouble is, who’s going to call out a thorough investigation of them when the chief law official in the state is Attorney General Bill McCollum, likely the Republican candidate for governor? Where’s the Tea Party when you need them?

Read The Buzz for details on how bad the Republicans are.

We Democrats are waiting for Joe Garcia, former chair of our Miami-Dade County party and now serving in the Obama administration with the Department of Energy, to declare his candidacy. District 25 is such an important part of Florida, as its two arms in Miami-Dade and Collier counties embrace the Everglades, which has few voters but such vital resources as water, beauty, wildlife and climate control.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Draft Joe Garcia for 2010! page on Facebook.

Joe ran a strong race in 2008 and now the district looks even more winnable as the seat is open (Thank you, Quitter Diaz-Balart brothers!) and the demographics have continued to shift toward the Democratic Party.

Here's a look at the race by CQ Politics.

FL-25: A "Democratic beachhead "-- Let's go, Joe Garcia!

2010-04-01T19:38:00.001-04:00

Pop over to the Huffington Post and read the 10-point rule for how Democrats can remain on top of the political world even in this difficult year of mid-term elections.

Part of author Robert Creamer's Rule #1 (which concentrates on keeping control of both houses of Congress) says we have to "take beachheads for Democratic power." It specifically mentions only two examples in this huge country, and one of them is our own US House District 25, which former Miami-Dade Democratic Chairman Joe Garcia has on his plate for a run.

Yes, we won Florida for Barack Obama in the 2008 election, and just as big a mission awaits Miami-Dade Democrats in 2010. FL-25 is an open seat with the Diaz-Balart brothers both quitting their seats (Lincoln leaving FL-21 for retirement, and Mario quitting FL-25 to try for FL-21). Your blogger is ready to work for Joe Garcia, when he decides to run, and I hear many enthusiastic voices in agreement.

As the HuffPo piece points out, a victory in FL-25 would help Democrats "continue to woo young Cuban Americans away from their traditional Republican roost."

This is a goal we can all agree on, for the long run, as well as for this tremendously important mid-term election.

Meanwhile, don't forget to sign up on Facebook to Draft Joe Garcia for 2010.

Good Morning, Rep. Jim DeMint!

2010-03-31T19:34:00.003-04:00

Friday, March 26, 2010

Good Morning, Rep. Jim DeMint!

I sat at my desk on this beautiful morning in Miami, working on taxes, yes, on taxes, watching TV and waiting for President Obama to sign the HealthCare Bill into the law of the land. What else could I ask for, on this beautiful day? Therefore, I take a break from taxes to write for my blog.
Good morning, Mr. DeMint. Were you the one who screamed about how important it was for your Republican colleagues to stop President Obama from getting Healthcare relief through Congress? Were you the one who said that defeating President Obama was going to be his Waterloo and the Democratic Party’s defeat in the next elections? Mr. DeMint, have you changed your mind? You still have time.
Because you, Mr. DeMint, do not want to accept or to believe that our President means what he says: Hope and Change. You, and your colleagues, have been unwilling in your unbelief, to accept the reality of a person and a politician very different from what you are accustomed. Maybe, for the first time in your political life, you are seeing a President who has the intelligence, the ability and the will to offer serious Change to America. In addition, he has the American people’s support, which is exactly what you have lost, except for the Tea Partiers.
The Fox News choruses of eccentrics who pretend to define an America, which does not exist, are your most serious supporters. They will not be enough to help you implement your ideas and to continue exercising your inability to govern as a public servant. The people you pretend to serve are those who live enamored of “cowboy movies” and “masters of the universe” novels. People who are constantly afraid of the possibilities, while ignoring the realities of life. People who complain about taxes, government debt, budget deficits, and loss of personal freedom. People who are not willing to pay what it costs to live in a society that is the envy of the entire world.
They, the eccentrics in Fox News and Congress, are not the real Americans who strive unsuccessfully for an opportunity to find work, who see their relatives live in sickness or die without any relief from the institutions that are supposed to help them. Real Americans who retire from work after long careers paying taxes, and saving, not being able to afford the necessities of life. These eccentrics are not the people who first had Hope and believed in Change. The change that you and your followers could not and cannot see is happening now. It is Change we can believe in, and since there was not a Waterloo, why not come up with a different name? Maybe next time you could be successful, assuming you are on the winner’s side.
Have a good day, Mr. DeMint. It is a beautiful day in Miami today! Now, back to finish my taxes.
Posted by Luis C. Isaza E at 2:15 PM 1 comments
www.foodforthoughtlcie.blogspot.com
Labels: Democratic Voters, Republican Ideology

Let's make those phones ring in Tallahassee -- protect teachers and students

2010-03-29T20:56:00.001-04:00

Call 850-488-1450 and protest the way the Republicans are ramming SB6 through the House.

Video of Save Jackson demo

2010-03-18T13:32:00.000-04:00

Speaker is Martha Baker, the head of SEIU at Jackson, the safety net
hospital for Miami-Dade County.

Save Jackson demo in Miami

2010-03-18T13:16:00.001-04:00

Speaker thanks Jackson for saving his life with a heart transplant 6
years ago. What would we do without the safety net hospital in the
current failing ecenomy?

Census form came in the mail

2010-03-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

It took 4 minutes 14 seconds to complete the info for myself, the lone
resident at the address. And so it goes.

Miami-Dade Democrats March Meeting: Volunteers needed, sign up now

2010-03-10T11:10:00.003-05:00

Here's a short video from our March meeting, held in a new venue, the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.

The main message from this meeting was a call for volunteers to help staff the new office of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party -- in the Terranova Building at 801 Arthur Godfrey Drive in Miami Beach. Call 305 477-4994 or email info@miamidadedemocrats.com.

And welcome to a nice group of new members!

More on-line news in Florida than ever

2010-03-08T11:06:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to a good roundup in the St. Pete Times on the growth of on-line news sources in Florida. Interesting that the new one on the block is secretive about its financial backers but says its news will be "fair and balanced" and people are tired of negative stories. Gosh, wonder what could be happening there. Rupert, are you in this picture?

Thanks to the good guys at Progress Florida for pointing out this story. Progress Florida is mentioned in the article, too. You can sign up to get their daily roundup of what's going on around Florida and be as smart as your blogger.

Sen LeMieux voted with Dems for cloture on jobs bill

2010-02-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

Interesting that our stand-in Republican US Senator, George LeMieux, was in the R-crowd that joined Dems in voting for cloture today on the jobs bill.

A Daily Kos post on it: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/24/840248/-Flippity-floppeters?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29&utm_content=Twitter

Would this reflect what his alter ego, Charlie Crist, would do in in the Senate? We can think so, since the former governor, Jeb Bush, who's also a former worker for Lehman the failed investment bank, thinks it's unforgivable that Crist wanted jobs for Florida coming from the stimulus bill. Jeb, we understand, only favored Wall Street bailouts, not the Main Street stimulus.

Gosh, what does this say about our Jebbie, the popular governor? And about Marco Rubio, his guy for the Senate?

1,000 US dead in Afghanistan

2010-02-23T17:47:00.001-05:00

Progressive Democrats held a demonstration in North Miami at Museum of Contemporary Art Tuesday after the US death toll in Afghanistan reached 1,000.

Come to the Health-Care Watch Party Thursday morning

2010-02-23T12:07:00.002-05:00

Are you coming to the Health-Care Watch Party on Thursday?

10 am, 801 Arthur Godfrey Road #402, in Miami Beach, the OFA office.

Below, from the White House, is what the good guys will have in mind to discuss. No telling what the other side will want to say.

Overview of the President's Proposal

The President's Proposal puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care.

-- It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today -- and makes coverage more affordable for many more.

-- It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.

-- It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.

-- It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.

-- It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years -- and about $1 trillion over the second decade -- by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

It includes a targeted set of changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate-passed health insurance reform bill. Key changes include:

-- Closing the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" coverage gap;

-- Strengthening the Senate bill's provisions that make insurance affordable for individuals and families;

-- Strengthening the provisions to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid;

-- Increasing the threshold for the excise tax on the most expensive health plans from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500 and starting it in 2018 for all plans;

-- Improving insurance protections for consumers and creating a new Health Insurance Rate Authority to provide federal assistance and oversight to states in conducting reviews of unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans.

For more information, check out:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting

Highway accidents: almost instant info

2010-02-23T07:35:00.002-05:00

http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/traffic/

Select from the drop-down list of counties or from the list of FHP troops -- Troop E covers Monroe and Miami-Dade. A table with current highway problems appears, to help you decide your route.

Sent from my iPhone 3GS
Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Watch for more money in FL non-partisan judicial races

2010-02-23T07:12:00.002-05:00

		BILL MOYERS: What Are We Bid for American Justice?
	Our government is not broken; it's been bought out from under us. On the right and the left and smack across the vast middle, more and more Americans doubt representative democracy can survive the corruption of money.

Sent from my iPhone 3GS

Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Love those statistics, Take it away, TED

2010-02-22T20:29:00.001-05:00

This came to me via Facebook and the Draft Joe Garcia page. On this alone, Joe should be elected to Congress by acclamation.

Video shows Obama administration position on jobs and recovery

2010-02-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

When someone says no jobs have been created -- as I've heard repeatedly from having C-Span on for hours with the conservatives' talk-fest in Washington -- just yell out "Joe Wilson!"

Can't pass up this Huff Post item on low taxes for super-rich

2010-02-18T07:58:00.000-05:00

		Top US Earners Paid Record-Low Tax Rate As Incomes Soared In 2007
	The earnings of the 400 highest-income Americans hit new highs in 2007 while the tax rates they paid hit new lows, according to a recent...

Sent from my iPhone 3GS

Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Better than Tea Party: Demonstrate for change and peace and health care

2010-02-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

How about a nice demo this afternoon?

Electing a Democratic majority was the easy part. We need to work even harder to counter the vested interest lobbyists and create the political will to provide President Obama the support he needs to implement health care reform, clean energy, green initiatives, tax reform, and other legislation to get America back on track. Please join Grassroots Citizens for Change from 4:30 – 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17^th and February 24th at SW 27^th Ave and US 1 to demonstrate support for the President’s agenda and to protest the obstructionists that block every attempt to heal the country after 8 years of mismanagement.

We will provide signs stating: Give Change a Chance, Stop Corporate Greed, Health Care Reform = More Jobs, Health Care Reform NOW and more. You are also encouraged to bring your own signs.

We hope to inspire similar demonstrations throughout Miami-Dade to make sure the real voice of the people is heard loud and clear in advance of President Obama’s health summit later this month. The Tea Party does not speak for America.

Do it!

FL-25 Draft Joe Garcia, sign up here

2010-02-15T11:58:00.001-05:00

We have to help Joe Garcia make up his mind about the right thing to do. Draft Joe to run for Congress. Sign up on Facebook, which conveniently has a group called Draft Joe Garcia for 2010!

Joe should go in Congressional District 25, where he ran a strong race in 2008. The winner then was Mario Diaz-Balart, who now is proving himself a quitter like a surprising number of other Republicans including Sarah Palin and Charlie Crist. They think there’s a better place, and they must know their days were numbered.

The past couple months have been a time of heightening suspense for your blogger, who remembers two years ago and four years ago when the end of one odd-numbered year and the beginning of the next even-numbered year were runups to campaigns for Congress. About this time -- February shading into March -- was when good Democrats rose up or were drafted/encouraged to run for supposedly entrenched Republican-held seats. It’s more than just a seat in the US House -- it’s recognizing a new population demographic, it’s the approaching dawn of a better policy on Cuba, it’s cleaner government with a closer grip on reality, it’s capitalizing on the little-realized potential of Barack Obama.

But it wasn’t happening. Good Democrats weren’t raising their hands to run for Congress, and I’ve got to say, my blood pressure was up in anticipation of a curtain that was late in rising.

It rose over on stage far right last week. Lincoln Diaz-Balart announced he’s retiring from his seat in District 21, and his younger brother Mario said he would abandon (my verb, not his) District 25 and run to succeed Lincoln. May he rue the day, that’s my wish. Those two adjoining districts in the western suburbs of Miami, with parts of Broward and Collier counties, are due for better representation. They include the Everglades, which needs more energetic saving than Mario Diaz-Balart could ever muster.

Now Mario Diaz-Balart is a quitter, and we’ve got to help convince Joe Garcia to run again. All he’d have to do is improve by 3.5 percent of the vote, over his 2008 run, to take the seat.

So I’m signing up on Facebook to Draft Joe Garcia for 2010! Pass the word! This is a fast-growing group.

Joe Garcia’s last published word on this can be found at http://joegarciaforcongress.com/ but don’t take that as final. Joe is in a tough spot, having to decide whether to save the world by running for Congress or to save the world by serving the US Department of Energy, as he’s doing now. My vote is for Congress.

UPDATE: A story today on Politico reports that the White House and the DCCC are courting Joe to run for FL-25. Why am I not surprised? There are some smart people in the White House, and they know Joe from his work in the Department of Energy, and this is an opportunity not to be missed. Now, the DCCC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has amends to make for its tardy backing of our Democratic candidates for Congress in 2008. I'd guess that Joe Garcia is making sure the DCCC will be in his corner -- and early -- if he decides to run.

FL-18: Ros-Lehtinen's economic knowledge leaves out Great Depression

2010-02-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club we have some better understanding of how poor our representation in Congress is. My representative, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, now over 20 years in the US House, spoke to us last Tuesday and put out a ton of verbiage revealing how little she and her Republican colleagues understand of economics.

Her main theme was the deficit, and if you look at these clips you’ll see that she wants to freeze spending, and to do it now. She apparently hasn’t heard that the Great Depression of the 1930s was on the road to recovery in FDR’s first term until he was nagged to distraction by criticism of his spending, and so his administration put on the brakes and then came the double-dip of 1937, I believe. I’m not even looking it up -- it’s such common knowledge. But not among today’s Republicans. Their mantra is stop deficits now. NOW!

OK, we know that the family budget should be balanced. But that’s not really applicable to running the world’s biggest economy, and families, too, have to borrow for major expenditures. Ros-Lehtinen led off her speech with the stop-deficit talking point, and then in the Q-and-A she was given two chances to modify it, but instead she mischaracterized economic thought.

No, Congresswoman, no economists think that deficits are OK, as you say. They may say that deficits are necessary to help end a recession, but then you’re supposed to get to a balance of income and outgo.

Anyway, check out this clip. Note that she’s reading from a paper but still says clearly false things about the national debt and the size of President Obama’s budget proposal in relation to the national debt.

It has taken me forever to process this, and I apologize. New computer gear slowed me down, plus winter visitors from the frozen North.

Inspiration to finish came Saturday evening as C-Span replayed another Republican member of the US House, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, the deputy whip of her party. She had done the Friday morning call-in program, and my, was she an eloquent spouter of the party line, leading with the deficit. I was struck by the way her message was identical to what Ros-Lehtinen had said on Tuesday in Miami Beach.

The Republicans all have been told what to say. This is the balky line we will hear until the Obama administration brings out the hammers of logic and a disciplined majority.

Blackburn was asked what should happen in the summit President Obama has called for Feb. 25, and I was stunned to hear her say that the Tennessee governor should be called in to explain how health care should be run. Yes -- she wants to go back to Year Zero and start from scratch.

I think this is going to be one heck of a year in the US Congress, and we should gear up to let even our Republican members of Congress know what we think of their no-knothing, er, know-nothing way of representation.

Blackburn said there would be town halls during this break for Presidents Day. We should find out where the Republicans are appearing and let them know their knowledge of economics gets an F.

Thanks, by the way, to Ros-Lehtinen for coming out and speaking to the general public in Miami Beach. There are more good clips of her talk that I’ll try to grind out. She has been in the US House since 1988, and my member of Congress since 2002, and this is the first appearance I know of outside her usual friendly circle.

The first question to her was about her husband Dexter Lehtinen and his legal work for the Miccosukee Indian tribe, which does a lot of business with the federal government, and whether that might be a conflict of interest.

“It’s about ethics,” the questioner, Mike Burke, cried when she didn’t know what he was asking about. Ethics? She didn’t know, just like her economics. I’ll try to get this clip up, too.

Final note: While the rest of you were glued to the screen watching the snow games, your blogger was editing his crude video and looking at C-Span. Such is devotion.

Republican hypocrisy: Learn all about it

2010-02-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of non-bipartisanship -- which is about to come down on us from the Obama administration, I do believe -- your blogger offers two current rundowns of how bad today's national Republicans are on the hypocrisy scale.

First is Friday's column by Paul Krugman in the NY Times, focusing on the untruths the Republicans foist on the public regarding Medicare. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/opinion/12krugman.html?ref=opinion

Next is Rachel Maddow's recent rip into the Republicans on what they say and do about the stimulus.

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

This came to my attention on Facebook. The Republican version of it is called Two-Facedbook.

Who's the Mad Hatter?

2010-02-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

Herald buries story of Alex Sink's big turn against big banks

2010-02-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

Your blogger is admitting here that he was dubious about Alex Sink's banking background -- Is it a good qualification for Florida's governorship at a time when banks have led the United States to the brink of disaster?

Now I see the light. Alex Sink on Tuesday ripped into the state's chief financial regulator -- someone she nominated for the job -- and said he hadn't aggressively pursued litigation against the Bank of America. BofA -- that's her former employer!

And where did the Miami Herald place this story? On page 4 of the local section. So here I'm posting the link to the St. Petersburg Times' story instead of the Herald's reprint of the St. Pete story.

There was room on the Herald's front page for a Tallahassee story, but instead of the Democratic candidate for governor and her sharp words at a cabinet meeting, we Herald readers of the front page got a featurish story about texting while driving.

Your blogger calls a foul.

And I'm thinking it's a schizo day when our Democratic candidate for governor seems more combative about big banks than our Democratic president. Sorry to point it out, but I'm getting this from Simon Johnson on Huffington Post, and it doesn't make me happy.

Nonetheless, it's great to see Sink raising her game against the world of finance that she must know very well. This blog has tried repeatedly to say much more needs to be done about the way Florida has been ripped off by Wall Street. It's good to see Alex Sink quoted as saying:

"My main frustration ... is the sense of do-nothingness and inaction in the face of all sorts of scams in our state."

That gets a big fist-pump and YES!

Tea Party takes up our way of political organizing

2010-02-06T14:02:00.003-05:00

Live from Nashville, folks. This is the Tea Party convention on C-Span Saturday afternoon. I lucked into it during a session on organizing to get out the kind of vote they want. Their website: http://thevoicesofamerica.org/.

Turns out they’re taking a leaf from Organizing for America – formerly Obama for America, i.e. our Democratic Party – and they’ll be using it this year to elect candidates “who adhere to Constitutional principles of limited government, free markets, and individual freedoms."

That's the kind of stuff I believe in, too, but we know that's not all they have in mind. They didn't mention human rights, prosperity, peace, security or baseball and apple pie. Not my cup of tea.

Read on, and you’ll see that they think only 20 percent of voters are liberal. Thus is their connection to reality, and long may they labor on that presumption. Nonetheless, it seems their scorn for community organizing now is a thing of the past. Call it a flipflop. Bye bye, Rudy G.

Precinct Organizing is a process, not to be confused with certain precinct-related initiatives such as electing Political Party Precinct Executives / Central Committee Members. While Precinct Organizing can impact 2010 elections, Political Party Precinct Executives / Central Committee Members elected in 2010 Primaries will not be able to impact Political Party candidate selection and funding until the 2012 elections.
With only 20% of the voters being Liberal, Democrats gained control of the Presidency, the House, and the Senate in 2008 using this Precinct Organizing methodology which they called Organizing for America. Just think what can be accomplished by engaging and mobilizing the 76% of voters who consider themselves Conservatives or Moderates and who have decided to be the “Silent Majority” no more!

Is this your doctor? In jail but "still licensed?"

2010-02-05T18:16:00.000-05:00

The headline on this piece was a little hard to believe, but read it and see if you think it's reasonable, too.

http://www.healthnewsflorida.org/index.cfm/go/public.articleView/article/16024

Kudos to Carol Gentry for this story on Health News Florida. You, too, can subscribe and get her daily run through health news.

Our office moves from Doral to Miami Beach

2010-02-04T22:13:00.001-05:00

The U-Haul is full. Moving on Friday morning to 801 Arthur Godfrey Drive in Miami Beach. Volunteers welcome to help unload and fill the new office. Call 305-477-4994 if need more details.

The photo shows Dave Patlak, interim operations director, and Daisy Black, our first vice chair. Also working were Kristin Wipior and Barbara Schwartz,stalwart volunteers. Your blogger ran the camera and a hand truck.

Watch this to see what to do

2010-02-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

Don't let your morale get down. You still are the best and smartest campaigners in the land.

Fact Sheet: High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: Tampa - Orlando - Miami

2010-01-31T17:27:00.002-05:00

The White House Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release January 28, 2010
Fact Sheet: High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: Tampa - Orlando - Miami
www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-high-speed-intercity-passenger-rail-program-tampa-orlando-miami

Awardees : Florida Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor) : $1,250,000,000
Benefiting State : Florida
Miles of Track : New - 84, Planned - 240, Total - 324 miles

Grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will go toward the creation of a new high-speed rail corridor that connects Tampa Bay, Orlando, Miami and other communities in central and south Florida.

This region has experienced signi ficant population growth in recent decades, as well as increases in the volume of visitors, leading to strains on area roadways and airports. Currently, the region is almost entirely reliant on automobiles for transportation between these metro areas, which together have a population of over 10 million people and account for two of the nation’s 20 largest metro areas.

The new high-speed rail service will provide an attractive and competitive transportation alternative for residents and visitors in the area. The first phase of the service will connect Orlando to Tampa, with intermediate service to several of central Florida’s major tourist destinations. The second phase will connect Orlando to Miami, following either an inland or coastal route.

It is estimated that these investments in high-speed rail will create thousands of jobs throughout Florida, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

Summary of Corridor Investments
Tampa - Orlando: This investment will initiate the development of the Tampa to Orlando segment, with speeds reaching 168mph and 16 round trips per day on brand new track dedicated solely to high-speed rail. Trip time between the two cities on the new line will be less than one hour, compared to around 90 minutes by car. This project will create jobs and generate economic activity as 84 miles of track are constructed, stations are built or enhanced, and equipment is purchased. Completion of this phase is anticipated in 2014.

Orlando - Miami: Scheduled for completion in 2017, the 230-mile Orlando to Miami line is expected to operate at speeds up to 186mph, reducing travel time between these two cities to approximately two hours, or roughly half as long as it takes to drive the same route. Ultimately, 20 round trips per day between Orlando and Miami are planned. Although no ARRA funding will be used for this segment, significant planning activities are on-going to prepare for this second phase of Florida’s high-speed rail vision.

One Step Closer to the Future on High-Speed Rail

2010-01-31T17:25:00.001-05:00

Posted by Jesse Lee on January 29, 2010 at 12:33 PM EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/issues/Economy

It's not often that the President and the Vice President get together for a town hall, but the occasion yesterday was something special for Vice President Biden. They were in Florida, one of the sites just announced for a massive down payment on high-speed rail, the future of transportation, and a great source of jobs in the here-and-now. See a map of the full web of high-speed rail, and emerging high-speed rail projects being funded by the nearly $8 billion investment in the Recovery Act.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Ladies and gentlemen, we're determined to restore America to its rightful place at the leading edge of innovation, with bold ideas that will create jobs immediately and serve as the foundation, a new platform -- (applause) -- a new platform to build this economy on that will serve not just our immediate needs but future generations; ideas like wind power, solar energy, a smart grid, broadband -- (applause) -- and high-speed rail. And that's why we're here today. (Applause.)

Having made over 7,900 round trips, literally, on Amtrak, 250 miles a day, I am very familiar with rail. (Laughter.) And today you have no idea how pleased I am to talk about the announcement that we made yesterday awarding -- in total, nationwide -- nearly $8 billion from the Recovery Act, funding to move us in the direction of developing a high-speed rail service in 13 travel corridors covering 31 states all across this country. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, these investments -- these investments have several goals: first, to improve existing rail lines to make train service faster, more reliable; two, to pull cars off the road, reducing congestion, cutting pollution, and increasing productivity; and three, to begin to develop new corridors for high-speed trains that will go from 169 to 230 miles an hour. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, like a corridor, right here from Tampa to Orlando -- (applause) -- so you'll be able to get on a train here to Orlando in less than an hour, without battling traffic and congestion, arrive at your destination. Ladies and gentlemen, this single investment is not going to solve all our transportation issues overnight. Instead, with more than $55 billion of proposals from 50 states all across the country, we're providing $8 billion in seed money. And today's awards provide only initial funding for the rail system. Like Tampa and Orlando route, more funding is going to come in the future as progress is made.

We have committed to another $5 billion in funding over the next five years. It's a down payment on a truly national program that's going to reshape the way we travel. It will change the way which we go from place to place, change the ways we work and live, and will connect communities to each other in a way that in the past was impossible. Just like the Interstate Highway structure did back in the mid-'50s, it will have far-reaching consequences.

Let me ask you a question: How can we, the leading nation in the world, be in a position where China, Spain, France -- and name all the other countries who have rail systems that are far superior to ours?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's about time we move. But this time -- but this time, we're not only going to be providing a better way to transport; we're going to be taking cars off of congested highways, reducing carbon emissions, and saving billions of dollars in human productivity lost just sitting in traffic jams, as studies point out.
Most important, we're creating jobs -- good jobs. (Applause.) Construction jobs. Manufacturing jobs. And we're going to be creating them right now. We're going to spur economic development in the future and we're making our communities more livable all in the process.

Support the President’s plan to fight for the middle class and create new, high-paying jobs.

2010-01-31T17:08:00.002-05:00

Support the President’s plan to fight for the middle class and create new, high-paying jobs:

Historic help for small businesses: $30 billion to community banks to increase lending to small businesses, tax credits for more than one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages, and and end to capital gains taxes for small businesses.

Innovation and investments to create jobs and spur growth: New investments to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and update it with new projects like high-speed railroads and comprehensive energy and climate reform with incentives that will help make the production of clean energy more profitable and job-producing.

A foundation for sustained prosperity: New reforms to curb the reckless practices by the big banks which put our entire financial system at risk, new aid for students to help educate the work force of tomorrow, and real health care reform that reins in out-of-control costs that are squeezing our families and businesses.

Someone should be asking Rubio is he’s still big on “citizen journalism”

2010-01-29T13:14:00.002-05:00

Now that the dissembler who got notoriety for attacking ACORN has been unmasked as something like a burglar, would someone please ask Marco Rubio if he’s still enthusiastic about what he called “citizen journalism?” Does the Republican candidate for the US Senate (along with Charlie Crist) approve of intruding into US Senate offices and messing with the phone?

This is a video I did last September after Rubio spoke at my sailing club in Key Largo.

It was one of four videos in a blog post about Rubio linked here. Love the way he calls me a gentleman.

Memo to Miami Herald: Need story on our losses on Stuyvesant Town

2010-01-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

Where’s the Miami Herald on this story? Referring to the fiasco now two years old with the Florida State Board of Administration and the way it lost money – taxpayers’ money that was supposed to be held in close and careful trust for pension funds, hospitals and the like.

This blog has been mad as hell and not standing for it any more for some time with main focus on Jeb Bush and his well-paid gig with Lehman Brothers after he left the governor’s office, whereupon Lehman went belly-up and the Lehman investments Jeb pushed on us became worthless.

There’s another famous episode, however, that’s now maturing to Florida’s detriment, and I don’t see it properly explicated in the Herald. It surfaced in New York early this week when Tishman Speyer caved on the $5.4 billion developments at Stuyvesant Town and Cooper Village. This cost Florida $250 million plus spare change amounting to millions, and you can read about it in the Jacksonville newspaper. But not in the Herald.

Is this a political decision, or is the Herald’s financial investigative staff overwhelmed?

Anyway, we need to have the Herald nag the perpetrators until they lay out their roles in this. And they are Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush. Meanwhile, you can read about it in the Jacksonville paper and in the New York Times today, which is looking at how the Democrat Andrew Cuomo is getting tons of campaign money from real estate interests, including Tishman.

A recent post on this topic can be found at this link. Or look up Jeb Bush on the tags list on the right.

What did Alito say?

2010-01-29T00:27:00.000-05:00

We're reached a pretty point when the Supremes are giving the President the Bronx cheer (even if sotto voce) during the State of the Union.

http://www.dailykos.com/tv/w/002512/

What did he say? Some think he was mouthing "Not true." I just saw on the Jimmy Kimmel show on ABC that he was saying "Nachos."

Fwd: EXCERPTS OF THE PRESIDENT’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

2010-01-27T21:38:00.001-05:00

Sent from my iPhone 3GS

Blogging at Miami-Dade-Dems.blogspot.com

Begin forwarded message:

From: "White House Media Affairs Office" <whitehouse-lists-noreply@list.whitehouse.gov>
Date: January 27, 2010 7:07:47 PM EST
To: miamibeachlarry@gmail.com
Subject: EXCERPTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Reply-To: whitehouse-lists-noreply@list.whitehouse.gov

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 27, 2010

EXCERPTS OF THE PRESIDENT‚ÄôS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

We face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope ‚Äì what they deserve ‚Äì is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds and different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared. A job that pays the bill. A chance to get ahead. Most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.

You know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity. After one of the most difficult years in our history, they remain busy building cars and teaching kids; starting businesses and going back to school. They are coaching little league and helping their neighbors. As one woman wrote to me, ‚ÄúWe are strained but hopeful, struggling but encouraged.‚Äù

It is because of this spirit ‚Äì this great decency and great strength ‚Äì that I have never been more hopeful about America‚Äôs future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We don‚Äôt allow fear or division to break our spirit. In this new decade, it‚Äôs time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength. And tonight, I‚Äôd like to talk about how together, we can deliver on that promise.

‚Ä¶

By the time I‚Äôm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Co-pays will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans. And neither should the people in this chamber.

‚Ä¶

Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it‚Äôs time for something new. Let‚Äôs try common sense. Let‚Äôs invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let‚Äôs meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.

To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust ‚Äì deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; and to give our people the government they deserve.

That‚Äôs what I came to Washington to do. That‚Äôs why ‚Äì for the first time in history ‚Äì my Administration posts our White House visitors online. And that‚Äôs why we‚Äôve excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.

But we cannot stop there. It‚Äôs time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my Administration or Congress. And it‚Äôs time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests ‚Äì including foreign companies ‚Äì to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don‚Äôt think American elections should be bankrolled by America‚Äôs most powerful interests, and worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that‚Äôs why I‚Äôm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.

I‚Äôm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform. You have trimmed some of this spending and embraced some meaningful change. But restoring the public trust demands more. For example, some members of Congress post some earmark requests online. Tonight, I‚Äôm calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single website before there‚Äôs a vote so that the American people can see how their money is being spent.

##

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Kendrick Meek video'd a rescue in Haiti. Thanks to Miami Dade rescue team!

2010-01-25T18:36:00.000-05:00

This just in. Though I'm a week late with this, it still moves me.

Kendrick Meek, now running for US Senator, represents District 17 in the US House, and has the largest number of Haitian people in any congressional district, I've heard.

Musical interlude: How the economy raps

2010-01-25T17:39:00.000-05:00

This was on NPR Monday afternoon.

Is this a little like the musical turndown service featured over on South Florida Daily Blog? (And others.)

David Plouffe to Democrats: "Fight like hell... and do what the American people sent us to Washington to do"

2010-01-24T17:42:00.004-05:00

By Christopher Hass - Jan 24th, 2010 at 1:03 pm EST
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGGxgQ
In today's Washington Post, Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe penned an op-ed in which he admits that the Democratic Party received a resounding "wake-up call" from the Massachusetts special election on Tuesday, but he argues that the way forward is to continue to fight, and to show American people that they are capable of doing the hard things that voters sent them to Washington to do.
"[The 2010 midterms] will be a tough election for our party and for many Republican incumbents as well. Instead of fearing what may happen, let's prove that we have more than just the brains to govern -- that we have the guts to govern. Let's fight like hell, not because we want to preserve our status, but because we sincerely believe too many everyday Americans will continue to lose if Republicans and special interests win."
Plouffe also outlines a few key principles the Democrats can use to be successful in this November, the first of which is passing a meaningful health insurance reform package without delay. He also urges Democrats to focus on job creation, and to do a better job articulating the positive impact American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on the economy.
Finally, Plouffe urges Democratic candidates to "run great campaigns," citing many of the same core organizing principles that proved to be so effective during the Obama campaign:
"Our campaigns can leave no stone unturned, from believing in the power of grass-roots volunteers and voter registration, to using technology and data innovatively, to raising money -- especially with big corporate interests now freed up to dump hundreds of millions of dollars to elect those who will do their bidding. Democratic candidates must do everything well. Each one must make sure that the first-time voters from 2008 living in your state or district -- more than 15 million nationwide -- are in their sights. Build a relationship with those voters, organize them and educate them. On Nov. 3, many races are sure to be decided by just a few thousand if not a few hundred votes. These voters can make the difference. We have to show them that their 2008 votes mattered, and passing health insurance reform is one way to start.
...If Democrats will show the country we can lead when it's hard, we may not have perfect election results, but November will be nothing like the nightmare that talking heads have forecast."
Read the full op-ed...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012204216.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Redistricting amendments on the ballot: Florida voters earn historic chance to vote to stop politicians from rigging districts

2010-01-22T18:24:00.002-05:00

After November passage voters will choose elected officials – not the other way around

Tallahassee, FL – Today, Floridians took a giant step towards ending the incumbent and political party protection plan that masquerades as legislative and Congressional redistricting. The non-partisan group FairDistrictsFlorida.org gathered more than 1,650,000 petitions signed by Florida Republicans, Democrats and Independents from the Panhandle to the Keys. As a result, today the Secretary of State certified Constitutional Amendment 5 for the November 2, 2010 ballot, and is expected to soon certify its partner, Amendment 6. Florida voters now have a powerful opportunity to stop legislators from rigging and manipulating district boundaries in order to stifle competition while perpetuating their own political power.

“These critical reforms will finally end the legalized conflict of interest that allows legislators to design their districts and those of Congress for their own political purposes,” said Bob Milligan, who was elected State Comptroller during the Lawton Chiles and Jeb Bush administrations.

Under our present system, there are no rules that limit legislators from drawing districts to favor themselves or their parties. Districts in Florida are bizarrely shaped, often meandering for hundreds of miles or from coast to coast. Communities are carved up so that voters living in the same neighborhood are often represented by different members of Congress or state representatives.

As a result, incumbent legislators almost never lose their re-election bids. Only three (out of 140 up for election each cycle) were defeated in the last six years. How could this happen? Because legislators draw up their own districts for one purpose: to ensure that they stay in office!

Former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham said, “Florida’s legislators are choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. There are presently no rules to stop this self protection plan. And when this happens, the voters don’t have a real choice! These amendments will change that.”

With voter approval in November, Amendments 5 and 6 will establish constitutional rules that will:
Prohibit politicians from designing districts to favor themselves or their parties;
Require them to make the districts compact and community based; and
Make it impossible for legislators to draw districts to diminish the ability of minority voters to elect representatives.
“I am so happy that the voters of Florida will finally have the opportunity to vote to put these fairness standards in the Florida constitution. These amendments provide new protections for all voters and especially minorities,” added Representative Perry Thurston of Broward County.

State Representative Darren Soto, Orange County, said, “Today’s certification bodes well for achieving fair districts in the state of Florida. I think that these new protections will be very popular with my constituents as well as all of the voters of our great state.”

For additional information and the exact language of Amendments 5 and 6, please visit www.FairDistrictsFlorida.org.