9/30/2002
It looks like The Sentinel's Bo Poertner will join me in judging the Red Hot and Blue Chili Con Carnage chili cook-off Saturday in DeLand. Here are the details. Will be 10 am-4 pm, Oct. 5 @ the Volusia County Fairgrounds. $6 admission. Will benefit the West Volusia Historical Society and Community Outreach Services.
If he's up to it; I am. (radio voice)Be there!
If he's up to it; I am. (radio voice)Be there!
9/28/2002
Gubernatorial debate links and a little fashion commentary (it's an Al Gore reference, people; was it really so long ago?) from Hesiod at Counterspin Central
(Anyone who takes his nom be blog from an 8th century BC Greek poet is OK by me.)
(Anyone who takes his nom be blog from an 8th century BC Greek poet is OK by me.)
Tweaked and simplified the site today. Little incremental changes to a page have a way of adding up. They junk up a page graphically and then one day you find you've messed up your coding and tables in ways you can't begin to trace. This should load a tiny bit faster and look a tiny bit cleaner.
Tried Blogrolling but it just wasn't worth the trouble. A cool idea, but no way to make it look good here. Besides, I don't have a lot of links to manage. The ones listed here are places I really do look at regularly and are Certified Local Product. Go look at them.
I don't have comments boxes, either. It's just more code and only encourages angry people with too little to do. I have received some very nice e-mails, though. Thank you. Won't post tomorrow; gotta mow the lawn.
Tried Blogrolling but it just wasn't worth the trouble. A cool idea, but no way to make it look good here. Besides, I don't have a lot of links to manage. The ones listed here are places I really do look at regularly and are Certified Local Product. Go look at them.
I don't have comments boxes, either. It's just more code and only encourages angry people with too little to do. I have received some very nice e-mails, though. Thank you. Won't post tomorrow; gotta mow the lawn.
9/27/2002
Nobody knows why David Nelson is doing so well in the Ag Commission race. Well, millions in TV ads didn't hurt. But the more common answer is the Opie Factor, people reflexively voting for a famous name. But if voters are that dumb why wouldn't they also support somebody named Charles Bronson, same as the tough-guy actor and hardcore band? Why are Florida voters so selective in their confusion? Another mystery of Florida politics.
9/26/2002
Smile when you say that -- Miami-Dade Commisioner clarifies things. She only threatened to kill Gwen Margolis politically. All right? Just a metaphor. Really.
County supervisors of elections should not be elected partisan politicians.They should be boring, appointed bureaucrats. Here's another reason why. Broward Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant appears to have paid thousands of dollars to her political allies.
"Nine of her new employees are classified as doing community relations, community outreach or special projects work. They earn a total of $353,000 annually," reports the Sun-Sentinel.
"Nine of her new employees are classified as doing community relations, community outreach or special projects work. They earn a total of $353,000 annually," reports the Sun-Sentinel.
Michelle Cottle of the New Republic's on-line edition admits she has something of a fixation on the Sunshine State. So here she is again talking about Noelle Bush. She focuses less on special treatment and The Hypocrisy Factor than on arguments that this "is a private matter."
Nut graph:
When the daughter of a prominent politician whose party preaches zero tolerance on drugs gets caught for using drugs repeatedly, the issue automatically assumes public import. You can feel sorry for Noelle, who is clearly very ill. You can feel sorry for Jeb, who, as Republicans go, has a not-terrible record on pursuing non-draconian drug policies. And you can argue that Noelle's run-ins with the law should be reported and discussed with the utmost sympathy and respect. But to argue that this should be "a private matter" is asking too much.
Nut graph:
When the daughter of a prominent politician whose party preaches zero tolerance on drugs gets caught for using drugs repeatedly, the issue automatically assumes public import. You can feel sorry for Noelle, who is clearly very ill. You can feel sorry for Jeb, who, as Republicans go, has a not-terrible record on pursuing non-draconian drug policies. And you can argue that Noelle's run-ins with the law should be reported and discussed with the utmost sympathy and respect. But to argue that this should be "a private matter" is asking too much.
9/25/2002
Dick Armey came to Florida to help Katherine Harris and state Republicans. He offered a few piquant observations gained from his deep understanding of Jewish culture.
A summary of his comments: Ya'll know there are two kinds of Jews: dumb Jews and smart Jews. Those smart jews? They for us. Those dumb Jews? They're Demycrats, arty types and worse. Just so's ya'll know.
Rep. Armey stands by his remarks and says nobody there was offended. Apparently only smart Jews were in attendance.
You know there are two kinds of white-guy Texas Republican bigots ... no, I guess there aren't.
A summary of his comments: Ya'll know there are two kinds of Jews: dumb Jews and smart Jews. Those smart jews? They for us. Those dumb Jews? They're Demycrats, arty types and worse. Just so's ya'll know.
Rep. Armey stands by his remarks and says nobody there was offended. Apparently only smart Jews were in attendance.
You know there are two kinds of white-guy Texas Republican bigots ... no, I guess there aren't.
9/24/2002
Thank you, Gov. Jeb! A corny campaign TV ad puts Palm Beach Post editorial writer Jac Wilder VerSteeg in a bitter mood.
9/23/2002
OK. I take back what I said about Pegasus. I went with Eudora instead.
Yes, I felt a warm rush of nostalgia at Pegasus' Spartan look and it's quirky structure. And damn it's fast. But Eudora is just the more sophisticated program. None of Pegasus' problems with cut and paste. Easier importation of addressbooks and mail. Better archiving. Shows html better. I just wish it looked better, but it's less cartoony if you make the buttons small. And the ads aren't even annoying. Heck, one ad even showed me the way to Surfrider a group dedicated to beach access and protection.
Yup "X-Mailer: Eudora" at least for now and I've left Outlook Express behind.
Yes, I felt a warm rush of nostalgia at Pegasus' Spartan look and it's quirky structure. And damn it's fast. But Eudora is just the more sophisticated program. None of Pegasus' problems with cut and paste. Easier importation of addressbooks and mail. Better archiving. Shows html better. I just wish it looked better, but it's less cartoony if you make the buttons small. And the ads aren't even annoying. Heck, one ad even showed me the way to Surfrider a group dedicated to beach access and protection.
Yup "X-Mailer: Eudora" at least for now and I've left Outlook Express behind.
The Noelle Bush case is being treated with a delicacy seldom seen in Sunshine State politics. But in a state with harsh minimum mandatory sentences for drug arrests, lack of drug treatment programs, cutbacks in drug-treatment funding and the governor's disparagement of any drug policy other than harsher sentences the hypocrisy of the situation is getting too gross to ignore.
Arianna Huffington is one the few willing to take this one. I'd link to Clarence Page, too, but for Chicago Trib's annoying registration policy. There's a good Salon piece, "Noelle Bush gets rehab, the poor and black get hard time" that talks about this as a hook for discussing the movement for saner antidrug laws.
The 911 tape of the initial complaint has been widely reprinted and raises serious questions about special treatment in a state known for its lack of drug treatment alternatives and its punitive approach to drug abuse. And what was she even doing a facility for drug abusers with kids? And of course the court hearing is held in secret.
It's hard to deny this is glaring example of the different kinds of justice rich and poor get when drugs are involved.
Arianna Huffington is one the few willing to take this one. I'd link to Clarence Page, too, but for Chicago Trib's annoying registration policy. There's a good Salon piece, "Noelle Bush gets rehab, the poor and black get hard time" that talks about this as a hook for discussing the movement for saner antidrug laws.
The 911 tape of the initial complaint has been widely reprinted and raises serious questions about special treatment in a state known for its lack of drug treatment alternatives and its punitive approach to drug abuse. And what was she even doing a facility for drug abusers with kids? And of course the court hearing is held in secret.
It's hard to deny this is glaring example of the different kinds of justice rich and poor get when drugs are involved.
9/20/2002
9/19/2002
A Hokey Jeb! ad has him taking credit for a damn traffic light. A light that would have gone up anyway.
Bad move. After he's reelected, he's going to hear from everyone who wants a light. And a stop sign. And another crossing guard. And more tables for the upcoming bake sale. . . .
Bad move. After he's reelected, he's going to hear from everyone who wants a light. And a stop sign. And another crossing guard. And more tables for the upcoming bake sale. . . .
Oafish rightwing chairman of the Florida House's "Lifelong Learning Council," Rep. Jerry Melvin is in trouble again. This time blaming Cuban and Hatians for last week's voting mess.
"Simply appointing another 'Cuban' sympathizer is not going to hack it," Melvin wrote. "As you know, the Cuban and Haitian ways of bribery, lawlessness and rioting aren't the way we should be doing things there in Florida."
Profile of the Jew-baiting, gun-nutty 72-year-old college dropout who led Florida's education code rewrite.
Flablog notes His pathetic attempt to kinda apologize for antiSemitic remarks.
Melvin on class size.
"Simply appointing another 'Cuban' sympathizer is not going to hack it," Melvin wrote. "As you know, the Cuban and Haitian ways of bribery, lawlessness and rioting aren't the way we should be doing things there in Florida."
Profile of the Jew-baiting, gun-nutty 72-year-old college dropout who led Florida's education code rewrite.
Flablog notes His pathetic attempt to kinda apologize for antiSemitic remarks.
Melvin on class size.
9/16/2002
Frank Cerabino: Forget it, Jeb -- it's Chinatown.
Surprise! South Florida teevee goes nuts and gets it wrong when reporting about the nonterrorists stopped on Alligator Alley last week. (I navigate the Miami Herald site so you don't have to!)
Any columnist who knowledgably quotes John or William Bartram is all right in my book. Diane Roberts writes about the latest development peril in north Florida.
St. Joe Chairman Peter Rummell, formerly head of Disney's wonderful world of real estate, calls what he does "regional place-making." He says: "My goal is to create some interesting places."
A lot of us thought we already lived in an "interesting place."
St. Joe Chairman Peter Rummell, formerly head of Disney's wonderful world of real estate, calls what he does "regional place-making." He says: "My goal is to create some interesting places."
A lot of us thought we already lived in an "interesting place."
When did gator fans start getting all touchy? Bar apologizes for `excessive enthusiasm' by Miami fans.
9/14/2002
It wasn't so long ago that the Pegasus e-mailer looked like it would be another casuality of Microsoft's market domination. Well, it's still alive and well. I've come back after a couple years of using Outlook Express and am happy I did. Faster, less memory intensive, less easy to set up but you're rewarded by having more control. (Better than Eudora as well, even though it can't import your settings and address book the way Eudora can.) Damn, they even kept their DOS and 16-bit versions alive for paleocomputing. And of course it's available in Dutch-language verison.
PC World has even seen fit to hand it a prize!
It's good to be back in an old familar place.
PC World has even seen fit to hand it a prize!
It's good to be back in an old familar place.
9/13/2002
I don't know what "process ownership" is but Mr. Lindsay does seem to have summed it up. His note is mentioned prominately in a Palm Beach Post opinion piece and most news stories here and abroad.
You guys have no idea what a mess this has been ... The mess was the result of no planning, poor leadership, lack of "process ownership" and passing the buck.
-- Mike Lindsey, Fla. Dept. of State
You guys have no idea what a mess this has been ... The mess was the result of no planning, poor leadership, lack of "process ownership" and passing the buck.
-- Mike Lindsey, Fla. Dept. of State
9/12/2002
Flori-duh II -- Did The Opie Factor determine the Dem's Ag race? The Opie Factor is, well, read the piece. Hardly anyone remembers the goofy 1986 election that coined this term. True or not -- and I suspect it is -- I'm just glad I'm glad someone is keeping this bit of political lore alive.
9/11/2002
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.
-- Karl Marx
Another Florida election, another recount:
� Two years later, system still broken
� Florida still can't get elections straight
� Florida has another election disaster
� Confusion reigns in sequel to 2000 election
� Delays leave some black voters angry and suspicious
� Voting chaos
� Results delayed by voting chaos
-- Karl Marx
Another Florida election, another recount:
� Two years later, system still broken
� Florida still can't get elections straight
� Florida has another election disaster
� Confusion reigns in sequel to 2000 election
� Delays leave some black voters angry and suspicious
� Voting chaos
� Results delayed by voting chaos
9/09/2002
The Sarasota Herald Trib knows it has a mostly Republican readership, knows that Katherine Harris will win election but it just can't make itself recommend Harris again
Four times the Herald-Tribune has recommended Katherine Harris in an election for public office. The recommendations were made with reservations, sometimes with trepidation, but always in the hope that experience would help Harris harness her extraordinary energy, bring clarity to her views and teach her to avoid those embarrassing blunders.
That hope has vanished.
Four times the Herald-Tribune has recommended Katherine Harris in an election for public office. The recommendations were made with reservations, sometimes with trepidation, but always in the hope that experience would help Harris harness her extraordinary energy, bring clarity to her views and teach her to avoid those embarrassing blunders.
That hope has vanished.
The Washington Post hangs with Janet. Good slice-of-campaign life but like every out-of-state news story, there's the obligatory oh-those-wacky-Floridians color.
"I support you, Miss Reno," says the man with the parrot on his shoulder, rolling his wheelchair through an intersection. So does the 106-year-old lady in Boynton Beach and the Starbucks barista (who writes "Go Janet" on her tall latte), and the shirtless biker with a white straw hat ("Great haircut, Miss Reno!"), the Haitian barber and the guy holding a soaking-wet black Lab puppy by the scruff.
"This lady has reeaal aura," says Ivory Jones, a 46-year-old truck driver with a gift for spontaneous rhyme. He is the kind of down-home eccentric Reno seems to attract -- a particularly rich demographic in Florida. "She dances to her own honest rhythm," Jones declares, "the rhythm of Planet Janet."
"I support you, Miss Reno," says the man with the parrot on his shoulder, rolling his wheelchair through an intersection. So does the 106-year-old lady in Boynton Beach and the Starbucks barista (who writes "Go Janet" on her tall latte), and the shirtless biker with a white straw hat ("Great haircut, Miss Reno!"), the Haitian barber and the guy holding a soaking-wet black Lab puppy by the scruff.
"This lady has reeaal aura," says Ivory Jones, a 46-year-old truck driver with a gift for spontaneous rhyme. He is the kind of down-home eccentric Reno seems to attract -- a particularly rich demographic in Florida. "She dances to her own honest rhythm," Jones declares, "the rhythm of Planet Janet."
The Times Union's recommendations of Democrats are always hard to read. It is the state's Washington Times, not quite the official newsletter of the Republican Party but close. Nonetheless, it grudgingly accepts the fact that a few Democrats sometimes read it and wanly endorses Bill McBride in the Democratic primary. It also is in the lonely position of recommending Crist for AG, something no other major daily could make itself do.
9/07/2002
Somehow the www.jeb02.com Web address didn't get snatched up by the Jebites and some liberal funny guy hijacked it!
Don't forget to try out wacky new electronic touch-screen voting system! And shudder at troubling revelations that McBride was mean to cute, yellow Labrador puppy!
Don't forget to try out wacky new electronic touch-screen voting system! And shudder at troubling revelations that McBride was mean to cute, yellow Labrador puppy!
9/05/2002
A Jones endorsement? Now he has as many daily newspaper endorsements as Janet Reno.
Two weeks without Daypop! It's just so wrong.
Counterspin sees a McBride victory followed by the customary inability of Dems to unite in November. ~Sigh~ Oh, probably.
9/04/2002
Negative campaigning on the Web is nothing new. But few attack sites are quite as content-rich as this anti-Charlie Crist site which, according to a St. Pete TImes article just might have some connection to the Locke Burt campaign.
9/03/2002
In its never-ending quest to alienate fans, MLB tries to shut down fan sites. Including a site dedicated to e-mailing complaints about the hapless Devil Rays. Sheesh.
Love it or loathe it, the political tips page The Grapefruit is right about 80 percent of the time. This week, it lists The Top 5 Political Reporters in Florida. The list seems mostly right, with S.V. Date of the Palm Beach Post on top. Date was a Certified Workingman's Hero for being banned from the House chamber this year by an angry Tom Feeney. Props to Steve Bosquet and sometimes insiderish but helpful Lucy Morgan of the St. Pete Times.\
The Sun-Sentinel becomes the only major Florida daily to endorse Janet Reno.
The rest:
� Miami Herald: McBride ... an amalgam of traditional Democratic values and innovative new thinking.
� Palm Beach Post: McBride has qualities to be a great governor.
� Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bill McBride: His plans are comprehensive and realistic.
� Tallahassee Democrat: McBride deserves nomination.
� Gainesville Sun: Nominate Bill McBride.
� Sarasota Herald Tribune: We recommend Bill McBride.
� Lakeland Ledger: For Governor, Bill McBride
� The Stuart News: Choose McBride.
Earlier --
� McBride for Democrats (St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 25)
� McBride in Primary (Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 25)
� The Herald's Choices (Bradenton Herald, Aug. 25)
� Democrats Should Pick McBride in Primary Race (The Tampa Tribune, Aug. 18)
The rest:
� Miami Herald: McBride ... an amalgam of traditional Democratic values and innovative new thinking.
� Palm Beach Post: McBride has qualities to be a great governor.
� Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bill McBride: His plans are comprehensive and realistic.
� Tallahassee Democrat: McBride deserves nomination.
� Gainesville Sun: Nominate Bill McBride.
� Sarasota Herald Tribune: We recommend Bill McBride.
� Lakeland Ledger: For Governor, Bill McBride
� The Stuart News: Choose McBride.
Earlier --
� McBride for Democrats (St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 25)
� McBride in Primary (Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 25)
� The Herald's Choices (Bradenton Herald, Aug. 25)
� Democrats Should Pick McBride in Primary Race (The Tampa Tribune, Aug. 18)
