This is our regular feature where every day I do a quick post with the top posts/stories that I think people should read from the previous day.
1. Incertus (Amy) – Feminism 2008: “Feminism takes many forms. The picture on the left was published as a cover of Redbook. The picture on the right is the ‘raw picture’ — the pre-photoshop actual photo. It was purchased for $10,000 by a woman-run blog called Jezebel for the purpose of this side-by-side. Why?”
2. Left Side Out – A quiet grace and profound legacy of justice: “Mildred Loving died today. She was 68. Her name may not mean much to many, until it is mentioned in the context of one of the most profound Supreme Court decisions of our time: Loving v Virginia. This landmark case literally changed the complexion of marriage laws in the United States, and imposed limits on the states’ rights to unduly discriminate against its citizens….Remember in November, Florida. Vote No on 2.”
3. BlueHerald 2.0 (Batocchio) – Some Reasons Why I’m a Liberal: “‘Liberal,’ ‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ can be contentious terms, but for the purposes of this post, I’d say that the current Democratic Party leadership is not particularly liberal, while FDR and MLK, for example, were genuinely so. The Democratic Party, while more liberal than the Republican Party, is likewise largely beholden to corporate interests and entrenched power, and isn’t much more liberal than the major conservative parties of other prominent nations (and on some issues, such as national health care, it’s more conservative). On the “conservative†side, I’d say that rule-of-law conservatives and conservatives who practice fiscal responsibility (not necessarily the same thing as fiscal conservatism) can play a valuable role in government. Country club and think tank conservatives, however, are dedicated to benefiting their already privileged minority at the expense of the majority, and their pundits have repeatedly shown no compunctions about lying to do so. Meanwhile, authoritarian conservatives, such as the current movement conservatism of Bush and the neocons, with their continued assaults on meritocracy, competency, honesty, transparency, accountability and empiricism, undermine the very notions of principle-based government, law and objective truth itself (more on these dynamics in this older post, although this post will recap plenty of blather from older posts). But let’s move on. ”
4. The Campaign Manager – Sink Campaigning for Redistricting Reform: “No reasonable person doesn’t acknowledge that Florida’s redistricting system is in desperate need for reform. Legislators write their own districts, which results in a paucity of truly competitive races. The only reason seats ever change hands is term limits. Seriously. Can you even remember the last time a Florida legislator lost a re-election campaign? I can’t.”
5. FLA Politics – Sorry bro: “A column this morning – ostensibly about the latest in the irresistible ‘don’t tase me bro’ story – raised a number of issues about self-righteous reporters, blogging and corporate media ownership. Let’s take a look at these issues, beginning with the column.”
6. Legislative Watch: Aikane Leo – Orlando scrambles to save the CSX PolitiCorp deal, Incertus (Brian) – The State is Not a Business, Bloggy Bayou – Evolution and the Lunatics, Bloggy Bayou – Hurricane Season, Progressive Homeschoolers of Florida – Ultrasound Bill Defeated, Change in Tallahassee – 2008 Legislative Session: Wrapup, Why Now? – The Sixty Days of Insanity Are Over, Bark Bark Woof Woof – Short Takes, Can’t Keep Quiet – Thanks, Florida Legislature, Florida Citizens for Science – Complaining about politics, Florida Netroots – Legislative Wrap-up, Blast Off! – Gator bait, Blast Off! – Another way to deal with budget cuts: let prisoners out early, Ybor City Stogie – Florida Passes Draconian Marijuana Bill, and Dan Gelber – More Pain than Gain.
7. African American Political Pundit – Wheelchair-Bound Black Woman Dies After Being Tasered 10 Times To Death, Family Files Suit, and Pam’s House Blend – Florida: Wheelchair-bound woman Tased to death; Vermont: man Tased during seizure.
8. Congressional Races: Joe Garcia – Ridiculous, Florida Progressive Coalition – Allbritton Drops Out, Clint Curtis – IT’S ON: Curtis vs. Kosmas for FL-24 Democratic Nomination, Daily Kos (mcjoan) – FL-25: You’re all a bunch of Commies, Ybor City Stogie – I’m A Joe Garcia Small Dollar Contributor, Samm Simpson – Press Release – Women’s Action for New Directions endorses Samm, Grassroots Supporters for Joe Garcia – share Your Story, Grassroots Supporters for Joe Garcia – Calling your opponent a commie, The Campaign Manager – My Dinner with Joe, and Pensacola Beach Blog – Roberts Quits, Bryan Running for Congress.
9. over the cliff, onto the rocks – Abortion availability: “There are fewer and fewer clinics and hospitals where a woman can get an abortion these days. Which means that women have to travel further, and take more time out of their lives, to get an abortion. Or if they have no transportation, then they just have babies.”
10. Blast Off! – Why Harry Potter will never teach in Florida: “Hoo boy. Just when you thought it was safe to come out of your insanity-resistant cave comes news from Pasco County, north of Tampa, that explains rather clearly why Florida’s legislature is crawling with batshit insane fundies. In short, it must be the batshit insane fundies who vote for them… “Well, another Pasco County substitute teacher’s job is on the line, but this time it’s because of a magic trick. The charge from the school district — Wizardry!” and AMERICAblog – Substitute Teacher Says Wizardry Accusation Cost Him Job.
11. Incertus (Brian) – Desperation?: “It’s one of those ‘no-kidding’ stories, but it’s worth writing about all the same. The headline pretty much says it all: ‘Police blame poor economy for surge in crime in South Florida.’ The article then provides some anecdotal evidence of how violent crime has surged, and how it seems the crimes themselves have become more violent. Personally, I’d rather wait for the statistics to come out to show how the economy has affected crime, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it’s happening.”
12. FPC (Benjamin Kirby) – Good News in Pinellas: “There’s good news in Pinellas County today, via The Buzz: Democrats gain registration edge in Pinellas. We’ve got a solid slate of good Democrats running for office here, too. Check it out. Support these candidates how you can — with time or money or both, if you’ve got it.”
13. Legislative Races: Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller – Richard Jackson for Florida House District # 67 (video).
14. FLA Politics – Saint Jebbie gets another pass: “The Palm Beach Post editorial Board writes that the state is ‘investing $15,000 to find out’ whether it can sue J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers for billions in bad investments.”
15. Souther District of Florida – Ethics: “Here’s a little ethics question for my SDFLA readers on Monday morning: Should the attorney-client privilege survive a client’s death when revealing that client’s statements (that he was the murderer and not the guy on death row) would save a man from death row or from life imprisonment (or any imprisonment)? Those are the questions Adam Liptak examines in this NY Times article from a real life example.”
16. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair) – Normally I am a Union Supporter but not in Miami Dade: “What went wrong with unions? I was a teamster in the 70’s. Why are union leaders polarizing their outside supporters by sucking up to really bad County Commissioners, like Martinez and the ever vile Seijas. I guess we know why: They throw unions crumbs.”
17. Incertus (Brian) – Good for them: “Via Erik at Alterdestiny, a story about a corporation that decided to take a stand on the Confederate Flag.”
18. Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair) – Deficiency Judgments: Why Aren’t Florida Lenders Using Them?: “This is a question for you, our readers. I was at a party with a Wachovia banker, bored, until he said: ‘Florida is not like California, you can’t walk away from a foreclosure in Florida.’ Now, I was interested. I listened to everything he said and even checked with a real estate lawyer to see if what he said was true. It was.”
19. FPC (Mark Weaver) – Mark Weaver Show Recap: “This week’s show started out with an unexpectedly very lively, comprehensive discussion of bullying….”
20. Also check out CG Radio and The Free World Radio Network radio.
21. For more, as always, go to the FLA Politics daily round-up, and The Sift from South Florida Daily Blog.
22. Finally, check out our national coverage at our new blog, Florida Speaks.
