7/30/2004
Back in the news
Cynthia Henderson, whom you might remember as an embattled Jeb appointee and object of Tallahassee gossip (see the FlaBlog Vault of Memory), is in the news again.
The St. Pete Times reports she obtained a temporary restraining order last week against her husband after he found her in bed with another man and allegedly threatened them with a crowbar, court records show.
The St. Pete Times reports she obtained a temporary restraining order last week against her husband after he found her in bed with another man and allegedly threatened them with a crowbar, court records show.
I'm Jeb Bush and I did not approve this ad
GOP says it's sorry about the absentee ballot flier -- it in no way suggests lack of confidence in touch-screen ballots. Nosiree. Uh-uh.
7/29/2004
Bipartisan touch-screen qualms
The governor and Glenda Hood still defend touch-screen voting and impute any criticism of the machines to partisanship by Democrats. But the state Republican Party wants its votes to count and is telling Republican voters to vote absentee and avoid the new voting machines.
7/28/2004
Touch-screen votes disappear
How accurate were Florida's touch-screen voting machines in 2002? Nobody knows because the Miami-Dade County ballot data has been erased.
In a world where cash registers, Lotto machines and even subways ticket machines gives you a slip a paper, people have a hard time understanding why a voting machine can't do the same thing. Everyday life tells you this just isn't a big technological challenge.
Now it seems that data kept on "flash cards" were wiped out in May 2003 -- or was it November? Why was this information saved only on a server? Why wasn't there any kind of backup? Hard to say.
Eschaton sees a patttern: Hey, Florida - ever hear of backing your data up on CD? Coupled with Jeb's new law prohibiting manual recounts of electronic votes and his continued attempts to disenfranchise non-Hispanic felons and - well, I think you can see where this is going.
Meanwhile the St. Pete Times tries to assure us that nobody has presented any real reason to believe that with touch-screen voting anything can go wrong ... go wrong ... wrong. Columnist Troxler goes further, ridiculing worriworts, luddites and conspiracy kooks who fail to appreciate touch-screen perfection.
He even makes an uncharacterstic misstatement of fact -- Skeptics insist: "There ought to be a physical copy of my individual vote somewhere." Yet millions of Americans have done without it for decades, satisfied to pull a little mechanical lever in a voting booth.
I've seen the readout from mechanical machines. (Damn, does that make me feel old.) They produced a huge paper roll with carbon-copy printout. This would be removed from the machine at the polling place in front of poll watchers. It would then be sent to the supervisor of elections where it could be produced if needed in a recount.
Tech guru Dan Gilmore says:
This is even worse than it seems.
The notion of an audit trail in this case is ludicrous to begin with. Even with a digital backup there's still no way you can trust that the votes cast were the votes recorded.
That's the big problem with touch-screen voting machines that lack a voter-verifiable paper trail -- paper that can be used to check the machines' accuracy and be the actual ballot in a recount.
In a world where cash registers, Lotto machines and even subways ticket machines gives you a slip a paper, people have a hard time understanding why a voting machine can't do the same thing. Everyday life tells you this just isn't a big technological challenge.
Now it seems that data kept on "flash cards" were wiped out in May 2003 -- or was it November? Why was this information saved only on a server? Why wasn't there any kind of backup? Hard to say.
Eschaton sees a patttern: Hey, Florida - ever hear of backing your data up on CD? Coupled with Jeb's new law prohibiting manual recounts of electronic votes and his continued attempts to disenfranchise non-Hispanic felons and - well, I think you can see where this is going.
Meanwhile the St. Pete Times tries to assure us that nobody has presented any real reason to believe that with touch-screen voting anything can go wrong ... go wrong ... wrong. Columnist Troxler goes further, ridiculing worriworts, luddites and conspiracy kooks who fail to appreciate touch-screen perfection.
He even makes an uncharacterstic misstatement of fact -- Skeptics insist: "There ought to be a physical copy of my individual vote somewhere." Yet millions of Americans have done without it for decades, satisfied to pull a little mechanical lever in a voting booth.
I've seen the readout from mechanical machines. (Damn, does that make me feel old.) They produced a huge paper roll with carbon-copy printout. This would be removed from the machine at the polling place in front of poll watchers. It would then be sent to the supervisor of elections where it could be produced if needed in a recount.
Tech guru Dan Gilmore says:
This is even worse than it seems.
The notion of an audit trail in this case is ludicrous to begin with. Even with a digital backup there's still no way you can trust that the votes cast were the votes recorded.
That's the big problem with touch-screen voting machines that lack a voter-verifiable paper trail -- paper that can be used to check the machines' accuracy and be the actual ballot in a recount.
7/26/2004
Senate Poll
A very interesting U.S. Senate primary poll done by the T-U and the Sun-Sentinel. (Spot the obligatory Susan McManus quote. Surprise: she likes the way the Republican field is shaping up.)
Political unknown Gallagher is 9 points above Johnnie Byrd who still can't find any traction outside the religious right. McCollum is barely ahead of Martinez. The pros see Martinez as frontrunner after his ads come out. Worse for McCollum, any improvement by Byrd will come out of McCollum's support. Byrd already has had some success using the stem-cell research issue to take right-to-life support from McCollum. (Martinez has also promised to restrict this promising research.)
Deutsch's strategy of going nutzoid, mad-dog negative against Penelas and then Castor (Jihad U!!!!!!) is paying off; he's No. 2 with a bullet. He may not win, but he'll sure do damage to anyone who does. If Deutsch does win the primary, his negatives will be in the stratosphere by August and the party will not be able to unit behind him. Either way: Deutsch may make McCollum/Martinez our U.S. senator.
Meanwhile, Penelas' antiwar strategy reeks of desperation. The base hates him and this won't change that. This will, however, hit hurt him among moderates. Even with 21 percent undecided, he's through.
Interesting gender gaps with both parties' frontrunners. Castor and the Deutsch have stronger support among Democratic women, and McCollum, Martinez and Gallagher have slightly stronger support among Republican men than women. Republican women are surprisingly undecided -- fully one third -- perhaps indicating unhappiness with all their options in this race.
The Sun-Sentinel version is here.
(Via the Republicans at Sayfie)
Political unknown Gallagher is 9 points above Johnnie Byrd who still can't find any traction outside the religious right. McCollum is barely ahead of Martinez. The pros see Martinez as frontrunner after his ads come out. Worse for McCollum, any improvement by Byrd will come out of McCollum's support. Byrd already has had some success using the stem-cell research issue to take right-to-life support from McCollum. (Martinez has also promised to restrict this promising research.)
Deutsch's strategy of going nutzoid, mad-dog negative against Penelas and then Castor (Jihad U!!!!!!) is paying off; he's No. 2 with a bullet. He may not win, but he'll sure do damage to anyone who does. If Deutsch does win the primary, his negatives will be in the stratosphere by August and the party will not be able to unit behind him. Either way: Deutsch may make McCollum/Martinez our U.S. senator.
Meanwhile, Penelas' antiwar strategy reeks of desperation. The base hates him and this won't change that. This will, however, hit hurt him among moderates. Even with 21 percent undecided, he's through.
Interesting gender gaps with both parties' frontrunners. Castor and the Deutsch have stronger support among Democratic women, and McCollum, Martinez and Gallagher have slightly stronger support among Republican men than women. Republican women are surprisingly undecided -- fully one third -- perhaps indicating unhappiness with all their options in this race.
The Sun-Sentinel version is here.
(Via the Republicans at Sayfie)
Hiaasen interview
There's a fun Carl Hiaasen Q&A in the NY Times Magazine
Q: Your new novel, ''Skinny Dip,'' would have us believe that every individual in the state of Florida is either a bimbo, a scam artist or a crooked politician.
A: The Florida in my novels is not as seedy as the real Florida. It's hard to stay ahead of the curve. Every time I write a scene that I think is the sickest thing I have ever dreamed up, it is surpassed by something that happens in real life.
Q: Your new novel, ''Skinny Dip,'' would have us believe that every individual in the state of Florida is either a bimbo, a scam artist or a crooked politician.
A: The Florida in my novels is not as seedy as the real Florida. It's hard to stay ahead of the curve. Every time I write a scene that I think is the sickest thing I have ever dreamed up, it is surpassed by something that happens in real life.
7/20/2004
Blog holiday
Taking a few days off for errands.
It has come to my attention that I've been losing e-mail without ever seeing it. To anyone who feels insulted that I haven't replied, it's Earthlink and the spammers' fault. (I think.) If in doubt, use my very wonderful Google mail address which is mr.lane and then the Google Mail part.
Update -- problem fixed.
It has come to my attention that I've been losing e-mail without ever seeing it. To anyone who feels insulted that I haven't replied, it's Earthlink and the spammers' fault. (I think.) If in doubt, use my very wonderful Google mail address which is mr.lane and then the Google Mail part.
Update -- problem fixed.
7/19/2004
Bar wars
Sloppy Joes sues Capt. Tony's in Federal Court for trademark infringment. Which bar did Hemingway drink in? Oh, Probably both.
7/17/2004
Cronyism at DCF
Old Pro Lucy Morgan mentions some of the other names behind the DCF scandal, and my, they do sound familiar. Nice look at how biz is done in Tallahassee.
Sunshine State police log
Man charged with whacking his girlfriend with an alligator.
Charge: battery and illegal possession of an alligator.
Deputies said he got into an argument with his unnamed 39-year-old girlfriend. At one point, he grabbed his pet 3-foot alligator from the tub and began swinging it at her, striking her on the arm as she tried to escape, deputies said.
Orlando Sentinel version came later, but with more detail. (reg. req.)
Gary Davidson, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the incident will add to Volusia's reputation as a place where odd things happen.
Well, yeah, maybe.
And now, the BBC is on the story and CNN runs a photo.
Charge: battery and illegal possession of an alligator.
Deputies said he got into an argument with his unnamed 39-year-old girlfriend. At one point, he grabbed his pet 3-foot alligator from the tub and began swinging it at her, striking her on the arm as she tried to escape, deputies said.
Orlando Sentinel version came later, but with more detail. (reg. req.)
Gary Davidson, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the incident will add to Volusia's reputation as a place where odd things happen.
Well, yeah, maybe.
And now, the BBC is on the story and CNN runs a photo.
7/15/2004
Amendments: 2 down
The Fla. Supreme Court tossed the double-your-homestead-exemption off the ballot in a 5-2 decision. (Whole 32-page decision is here in pdf form.) Good riddance. The court ruled its ballot summary was misleading.
It also tossed an amendment that would have forced a review of the state's many sales tax exemptions and limited the Legislature's power to create more. The justices said 7-0 that it violates the single-topic rule. (Decision can be read here pdf, 15 pages.)
It also tossed an amendment that would have forced a review of the state's many sales tax exemptions and limited the Legislature's power to create more. The justices said 7-0 that it violates the single-topic rule. (Decision can be read here pdf, 15 pages.)
More purge-list comment
Fred Grimm on the politically connected off-shore company that gave us a wildly flawed penitential felons list for only $1.8 million.
On the other coast, Troxler is incredulous.
My question is, did my friends in Gov. Jeb Bush's administration intentionally try to look so goofy over this list of 47,000 names of potential purgees from Florida's voter rolls?
Was there a sale on rubber red noses and floppy shoes down at the Clown Emporium? Was this a plot to keep us all laughing while Karl Rove sneaks into the basement and steals the voting machines?
On the other coast, Troxler is incredulous.
My question is, did my friends in Gov. Jeb Bush's administration intentionally try to look so goofy over this list of 47,000 names of potential purgees from Florida's voter rolls?
Was there a sale on rubber red noses and floppy shoes down at the Clown Emporium? Was this a plot to keep us all laughing while Karl Rove sneaks into the basement and steals the voting machines?
Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler
One-third of Ralph Nader's Florida donors also give to the GOP. But you probably guessed that already.
(Via the Republicans at Sayfie)
(Via the Republicans at Sayfie)
7/14/2004
Buffett in Nashville -- I dunno
Well Sharkbitten likes the new Jimmy Buffett album and he seems a person of taste. I dunno about this lineup though: black-cowboy-hat clone Clint Black? Warmongering, Dixie Chick baiting, rightwing pinup boy Toby Keith? Kenny Chesney? Martina Mcbride? This is not promising. These are the among the most cynical clonelike products of the Nashville/Clear Channel music complex. I'll wait until I can hear it before I'll plunk down $17 for this.
7/12/2004
New Hiaasen novel
All right! The new Hiaasen book is out and The New York Times reviewer is saying good things about it.
At this point in his career as a comic novelist, Carl Hiaasen did not need to get any better. He has long been writing smart, fizzy Floridian escapades that amount to pure reading pleasure. But "Skinny Dip," his latest, is something more: a screwball delight so full of bright, deft, beautifully honed humor that it places Mr. Hiaasen in the company of Preston Sturges, Woody Allen and S. J. Perelman.
At this point in his career as a comic novelist, Carl Hiaasen did not need to get any better. He has long been writing smart, fizzy Floridian escapades that amount to pure reading pleasure. But "Skinny Dip," his latest, is something more: a screwball delight so full of bright, deft, beautifully honed humor that it places Mr. Hiaasen in the company of Preston Sturges, Woody Allen and S. J. Perelman.
7/11/2004
No trust
The Herald's Jim DeFede states the obvious on the felon list mess -- nobody trusts the Bush folks when it comes to election management.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no more trust. There are no more second chances. Glenda Hood must resign. She is either amazingly incompetent or the leader of a frightening conspiracy, but either way she should go.
Next, the governor should remove himself from matters affecting elections and an agency such as the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights should step in and assume direct oversight of the state's election system.
Florida is simply a joke that just isn't funny any longer.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no more trust. There are no more second chances. Glenda Hood must resign. She is either amazingly incompetent or the leader of a frightening conspiracy, but either way she should go.
Next, the governor should remove himself from matters affecting elections and an agency such as the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights should step in and assume direct oversight of the state's election system.
Florida is simply a joke that just isn't funny any longer.
7/08/2004
Expert or party shill?
The Campaign Desk outs a Panhandle Republican activist who is identified as though he's a neutral poly sci prof in an Orlando Sentinel Edwards react piece.
Hey, where's the Susan McManus quote?
Hey, where's the Susan McManus quote?
3-way race?
National Review Online declares the Republican race for the U.S. Senate a three-way race between state House speaker Johnnie Byrd, former HUD secretary Mel Martinez, and former congressman Bill McCollum. In a bit of wishful thinking, Florida is declared "Leaning Republican takeover."
Welcome to the Sunshine State
Pig bears brunt of lightning strike, apparently saving doctor.
"If I did not have rubber boots on and I wasn't holding onto that pig, I wouldn't be standing here. I'd be dead," he added. Oh, if I had a dime for every time I've heard somebody say that.
There were 42,000 lightning strikes yesterday in Central Fla.
Meanwhile, a very light summer blogging schedule persists here. It's just how it is.
"If I did not have rubber boots on and I wasn't holding onto that pig, I wouldn't be standing here. I'd be dead," he added. Oh, if I had a dime for every time I've heard somebody say that.
There were 42,000 lightning strikes yesterday in Central Fla.
Meanwhile, a very light summer blogging schedule persists here. It's just how it is.
7/06/2004
Good clean racist humor
Clear Channel radio doesn't want any sex talk or bad words on the radio. Instead, its stations run run good, old-fashioned ethnic stereotyping and racial slurs. Clean bigotry the FCC won't object to.
These guys are all class.
On "The Monsters," the syndicated radio show he has created, those attempts at humor often include jokes that use words most radio programs avoid - derogatory terms for people of color and homosexuals, such as "jigaboo," "spic," "nigra" and "fag."
These guys are all class.
On "The Monsters," the syndicated radio show he has created, those attempts at humor often include jokes that use words most radio programs avoid - derogatory terms for people of color and homosexuals, such as "jigaboo," "spic," "nigra" and "fag."
7/02/2004
Off for the 4th
Not gonna post, not gonna run around, not gonna answer the phone; it's a holiday.
