7/30/2002
Wait, wait. I take it back. Those screw-ups during candidate qualitfying were not the fault of Katherine Harris' office. The shadowy W. Gauthier Marx, candidate for governor-for-life, has claimed responsibility for them as well as for the FedEx plane crash in Tallahassee that caused further confusion.
This man is not to be trifled with.
This man is not to be trifled with.
Two years ago Rep. Allen Trovillion, R-Winter Park, told gay students they were going hell. Now, the only Republican running for that seat is Patrick Howell whom the Sentinel describes as a fiscally conservative Republican with a Ronald Reagan quote at the ready" who is also openly gay (Perishable link.)
But politics makes * ahem * strange bedfellows. Trovillion is supporting a Democrat. Dems say Howell downplays his orientation and emphasizes his ideology to Rs and is open about his orientation and downplays his ideology to Independents and Dems.
But politics makes * ahem * strange bedfellows. Trovillion is supporting a Democrat. Dems say Howell downplays his orientation and emphasizes his ideology to Rs and is open about his orientation and downplays his ideology to Independents and Dems.
A fitting close to Katherine Harris' tenure as secretary of state. PB Post: don't let the screen door hit you on the way out.
7/29/2002
Gerrymandering, big-buck fund-raising deprive voters of any chance to vote in many Legislative races. Some 4.5 million voters were deprived of a vote in Senate races because the incumbent was reelected without opposition. Dykeman crunches the numbers and decries "Florida's phony democracy."
7/26/2002
Sad commentary on current air travel: You can't even bring a vibrator on a plane without it turning into A Big Deal. Sheesh.
7/24/2002
Why the class-size amendment is is likely to pass despite Jeb's opposition -- Miami-Dade plans larger class-size to deal with budget crunch. The same thing is happening in Volusia County and all over the state.
Bush ads are part of a tried and true strategy -- attack early, lie about about opponents before most people know about them.
Months after the FCAT-based school grades were announced, and well after the date when school's can challenge their gradesthe state education dept. still can't say how they came up with the grades. This, after four major revisions of the grading formula in four years.
7/22/2002
"The last thing we want," explained Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, "is Americans spying on Americans." Who are you going to believe -- Tom Ridge or your own lying eyes?
Good opening to an Operation TIPS editorial in The Palm Beach Post. (Perishable link)
Fortunately, it looks dead now.
Good opening to an Operation TIPS editorial in The Palm Beach Post. (Perishable link)
Fortunately, it looks dead now.
7/18/2002
The New Republic notes the favors George W. Bush has done for Jeb's reelection and compares the media's silent acceptence of this to the howls over Clinton's help for New York designed to help Hillary.
I don't know how much longer the US Patent and Trademark Office site will display this but it should be moved to the Dept. of Self Parody. This is one scary logo.
I suspect the designers were being sarcastic. I think I'll report them anonymously to Operation TIPS.
People outside the system have no idea how artificial the grading guidelines for the "Florida Writes" test are. (This might give you a small idea) Across the state, teachers instruct kids according to the rigid point system of the test. Here's one instructor who has had enough. And here are teachers and parents who agree.
Nowhere is the cynicism of "teaching to the test" more blatant than in writing.
Nowhere is the cynicism of "teaching to the test" more blatant than in writing.
7/17/2002
Looks like Percy the dog ("Never made a mess in the House, never will") won't get on the ballot opposite Katherine "the $2 Milllion Woman" Harris. Percy's owner will be a write-in instead. Too bad.
Here's Percy's site. The humor-impared are warned up-front in blue letters - "This is a satirical parody." Everybody clear on this?
Here's Percy's site. The humor-impared are warned up-front in blue letters - "This is a satirical parody." Everybody clear on this?
7/16/2002
Project TIPS remains shadowy. The right-wing press notes concerns. and the Globe and Mail's headline is U.S. recruiting vast pool of snitches.
The ACLU registers alarm.
The ACLU registers alarm.
A strong hand is needed to bring order to the Sunshine State. W. Gauthier Marx for Dictator of Florida.
Vote Marx! If I win -- if we all win -- I promise you will never be required to vote again!
WARNING: The Subversive Intellectual Society has not labeled this as a parody.You will just have to guess.
Vote Marx! If I win -- if we all win -- I promise you will never be required to vote again!
WARNING: The Subversive Intellectual Society has not labeled this as a parody.You will just have to guess.
7/15/2002
Is this just just me? Or does Project TIPS sound like Project Informing the Police State? ("A national system for concerned workers to report suspicious activity," says its Orwellian website. (Here's a parody of the Orwellian Web site. Don't worry, the author has been reported to the Office of Homeland Security.)
The Washington Post registers vague unease. "The administration owes a fuller explanation before launch day," it says. No argument there.
A piece in the Sydney Morning Herald make this observation -- The Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, means the US will have a higher percentage of citizen informants than the former East Germany through the infamous Stasi secret police. The program would use a minimum of 4 per cent of Americans to report "suspicious activity".
Most of the U.S. media takes a pass on the story. At least so far.
The Washington Post registers vague unease. "The administration owes a fuller explanation before launch day," it says. No argument there.
A piece in the Sydney Morning Herald make this observation -- The Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, means the US will have a higher percentage of citizen informants than the former East Germany through the infamous Stasi secret police. The program would use a minimum of 4 per cent of Americans to report "suspicious activity".
Most of the U.S. media takes a pass on the story. At least so far.
7/11/2002
What a drag it is getting old. I started wearing a wrist support when I'm typing at work. My wrist feels better but my typing, always marginal is far more typo prone. Among geeks and writers, a wrist support is a fashion statement, a statement of just how intense and hard-working you are. I want to save up for the real Borg-looking body armor. In the near future, I see designer labels making them, starting with the sports-clothing makers. It's already cool to wear all kinds of padding and equipment on the field. During Bike Week you're not an ultra-biker without some kind of orthopedic device. (Partly a result of the old Mad Max movies, I'm sure.)
Good analysis of the problems facing the Dems in the governor's race. Reno's not getting any in-state money and won't back down. McBride has momentum but can't overcome the celebrity factor.
Interesting bit buried deep down:
Some worried Democrats also are pointing to an internal poll suggesting that if Reno gets the nomination if Reno gets the nomination, not only will she lose handily to Republican incumbent Gov. Jeb Bush but the party could lose up to eight state House seats, two state Senate seats and one Congressional seat.
This could be another 1996 for state Dems.
Interesting bit buried deep down:
Some worried Democrats also are pointing to an internal poll suggesting that if Reno gets the nomination if Reno gets the nomination, not only will she lose handily to Republican incumbent Gov. Jeb Bush but the party could lose up to eight state House seats, two state Senate seats and one Congressional seat.
This could be another 1996 for state Dems.
7/08/2002
More on "Operation Full Slate." Wouldn't it be cool if Democrats and Republicans did this? The Libertarians are right: even when they don't have a chance of winning, having a candidate on the ballot -- any candidate -- 1/ gives people a choice 2/ gives the party a chance to promote its ideas 3/ energizes the party's core supporters.
I write a newspaper column. It's generally 650 words. Sometimes it's 650 words about things that are kind of complex. The Legislature wrote a 179-word amendment to the state Constitution aimed at further insulating the state's death from legal challenge. it took them 579 words to "summarize" the amendment and election supervisors are pissed.
A summary of 179 words that's almost as long as a newspaper column is going to be unwieldy, expensive and confusing to voters. Here's the "summary." I dare you to read the whole thing.
Your legislature at work.
A summary of 179 words that's almost as long as a newspaper column is going to be unwieldy, expensive and confusing to voters. Here's the "summary." I dare you to read the whole thing.
Your legislature at work.
7/05/2002
This is almost the only article I've seen about Florida's Libertarians' push to get on the ballot everywhere. (Warning: perishable link.)
What's sad is that this 3rd party is doing a better job than Democrats, an alleged major party, accomplishing the very basic, grass-roots work of making sure there's an alternative on the ballot for folks to vote for. Under the excuse of "conserving resources," Dems are content to let Republicans roll over them without opposition in any R-leaning district. This gives the party faithful -- I'm assuming they exist -- little reason to go to the polls.
On the bright side for Dems is that in a few tight races, these Libertarians could conceivably pull a Nader and steal enough votes from Republicans to elect Democrats.
This could be a more important story than most analysts think. It could mark new strength for a 3rd party and help a few Democrats unexpectedly.
What's sad is that this 3rd party is doing a better job than Democrats, an alleged major party, accomplishing the very basic, grass-roots work of making sure there's an alternative on the ballot for folks to vote for. Under the excuse of "conserving resources," Dems are content to let Republicans roll over them without opposition in any R-leaning district. This gives the party faithful -- I'm assuming they exist -- little reason to go to the polls.
On the bright side for Dems is that in a few tight races, these Libertarians could conceivably pull a Nader and steal enough votes from Republicans to elect Democrats.
This could be a more important story than most analysts think. It could mark new strength for a 3rd party and help a few Democrats unexpectedly.
7/04/2002
Read about Percy the Wonderdog's challenge to Katherine Harris along with all of Italy. Un cane repubblicano sfida la Harris!
7/02/2002
It's heavy sledding compared to most of what's written about the Winston Cup, but "Social Science at 190 MPH" by David Ronfeldt of the International Studies Group at RAND explains why large-track NASCAR racing is like complex networks and self-organizing systems and is a metaphor for life and society. Plus it has one of the few coherent explanations of drafting that you'll read. This is too cool.
Percy the Dog for Congress is the Web site for the dog that is a write-in candidate for Congress, opposing Katherine Harris.
"This is a satirical parody" the page warns.
It's so sad when you have to explain this to people. WARNING: This is humor and not what we laughingly call "reality."
"This is a satirical parody" the page warns.
It's so sad when you have to explain this to people. WARNING: This is humor and not what we laughingly call "reality."
I've been looking at polling stories for a long time and I think you'd have to go back to Claude Kirk to find a candidate for Florida governor who is starting the race with a 48 percent unfavorable rating. Usually you have to at least be indicted to get numbers like that. Why is Janet Reno doing this to her party?
Meanwhile, three of Reno's campaign staffers have fled, I presume because they would like to have a future in politics.
Meanwhile, three of Reno's campaign staffers have fled, I presume because they would like to have a future in politics.
