Lots to read today…
1. Racist violence in South Florida: Pam’s House Blend – Florida: Four teens beat, attempt to drown, black college student, and Miami-Dade Dems – Who’s giving keg parties for 15-year-olds?
2. The Jena 6: Why Now – Clueless, Incertus – No, Jena’s not a racist town, Why Now – Thoughts On The Jena 6, ReidBlog – Out come the crazies. (See also MyDD, Associated Press, Pam’s House Blend, The Unapologetic Mexican, Shakesville, and Pam’s House Blend)
3. Fighting right-wing hatemongers: The Buzz – Barney Frank fighting marriage amendment, Blast Off – More fun with Southern Baptists in America’s Wangâ„¢, Left Side Out – Video of Nadine Smith winding up family impact summit protest, and Blurbex – Family Impact Summit: A Re-Cap.
4. Property taxes: The Buzz – On the judge who axed the tax amendment, Central Florida Political Pulse – Pruitt says ‘No’ to property tax fix, Miami-Dade Dems – Judge to Republicans: Stop misleading Florida, Flablog – Referendum up in the air, Central Florida Political Pulse – Realtors dish out cash for tax amendment, The Buzz – Pro tax amendment group launches Web site, and Naked Politics – Judge: Tax-vote ballot is “misleading,” struck from ballot.
5. March on Politics – Op-Ed Pages: Rightward Slant?: “A study by a research group that describes itself as “progressive†says op-ed pages of Florida newspapers, along with newspapers nationwide, are dominated by conservative columnists…The results: Syndicated columnists Media Matters considered ‘conservative’ appeared a total of 121 times a week, those it called ‘centrists’ 40 times, and ‘progressives’ 75 times. Taking circulation into account, that’s about 23 million column appearances per week. Conservatives accounted for 49 percent of those appearances, about 4 million more than progressives, who represented 32 percent.”
6. Miami-Dade Dems – Elder care in Florida makes Times Page One: “The drift of the article was that the elderly seem to be getting worse care from homes bought out in recent years by private equity groups that are more immune to lawsuits than publicly owned companies.”
7. The War Against the Homeless: Blast Off – West Palm Beach: no handouts for homeless, the 13th juror – West Palm Beach bans feeding of homeless at downtown parks, the 13th juror – No surprise: Orlando bans panhandling after dark, and the 13th juror – 5 times as many homeless people?
8. PIP: Praxis – PIP is soooo last week, Central Florida Political Pulse – Sen. Posey to PIP group: Stuff It, Naked Politics – PIP politics: Deal reached on keeping PIP alive, and Central Florida Political Pulse – Rubio raises cash while PIP clock ticks ….
9. Blurbex – St. Pete Gallery Victim of Hate Crime: “When William Schramm arrived at his antique/gallery store this morning, he was greeted by graffiti he never thought would appear in St. Petersburg’s idyllic and largely gay Grand Central District.”
10. Mike Smith’s diary – Meet Mike Smith: FL-08: “My name is Mike Smith, and I’m a proud Democrat running for Congress in Florida’s 8th District. I got into this race because Republican Ric Keller, our current representative, is an embarrassment to the people of Central Florida. We can all agree that there is simply too much at stake — for our children, our seniors, and our soldiers stuck in Iraq — for us to tolerate ineffective and disgraceful leadership.”
11. Florida Kossacks – Working on the Basics: “But this diary is about the hard work of building a bench down on the hustings. If you want to know what life is like at the bottom of the political totem pole, about failures and successes and lessons learned, follow me below the fold…”
12. Creative Loafing – The fight against Hometown Democracy is stirring up some familiar names: “The debate was held at the Pepin Hospitality Center in East Tampa, in front of a very pro-business, $39-a-plate 7 a.m. power-breakfast kind of crowd. Among the debaters was the King of All Strip Club Owners Joe Redner, whose ideas on growth are both the most populist and best thought-out that I’ve heard in local politics in two decades. Outside the center were four “strippers” — strategically planted so that they’d be seen by audience members and, more importantly, by local press. Outfitted as if fresh from a shift at the Mons Venus, dollars tucked into their garters, they strutted their stuff with misspelled signs supporting their man, Joe. The quartet was gone before the cops arrived. The next day, the stripper angle dominated coverage in the two daily newspapers and removed any shred of legitimacy Redner’s arguments may have had… Nobody knows for sure who sent the stripper brigade to the event, and opponents of Hometown Democracy deny any involvement. But Florida’s developers, homebuilders and other pro-growth business interests are already knee-deep in doing anything they can to derail a planned 2008 referendum on the initiative.”
13. – Democrats don’t like toll road privatization talk: “House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber and other top Democrats on Monday ripped into toll road privatization plans that are now being weighed by Gov. Charlie Crist.”
14. Smashed Frog – Brevard County Disenfranchises Voting Rights: “The Brevard County Commission–an elected body that refuses to educate themselves on the matter of sex offenses–wants to restrict where sex offenders can vote.”
15. Florida Kossacks – Rainy Saturday Random Musings: “What actually was a bit weird was how the primaries turned out. Not the actual results. They were fairly predictable. The real shocker was how most of the people voted. The majority of votes in this election were cast by mail. That’s right, we essentially had a vote by mail election here in St. Petersburg. How about that?”
16. March on Politics – Dean Coming To Florida Fundraiser: “He may not be very popular with some Democrats right now considering the DNC’s fight with the Florida Democratic Party over the state’s presidential primary, but that won’t stop DNC Chairman Howard Dean from raising money in Tallahassee.”
17. The Democratic primary: The Buzz – GOP Jumps on FL primary mess, The Buzz – Michigan trumps Florida, March on Politics – DNC Responds To Lawsuit, March on Politics – Nelson: “Now There Is No Choiceâ€â€”He’s Suing, March on Politics – Brazile: Florida Democrats Arrogant, Pensito Review – Why You Should Care About Florida’s Primary, Pushing Rope – Tough Guy Bill Nelson, Miami-Dade Dems – Please vote on Jan. 29, Pushing Rope – Democrats Sticking to Jan. 29th Primary Date, Bark Bark Woof Woof – Sticking With It, ReidBlog – Showdown in the Sunshine State, Broward’s Blog – Florida Democrats launch drive to defend early primary date, Miami-Dade Dems – Vote on Jan. 29: Your vote will count, Pushing Rope – It’s Lawsuit Time, Flablog – Florida versus the world, and Why Now – Not Quite As Clueless.
18. Florida Netroots – Council on Efficient Government?: “Is the name of this organization intended to be ironic?”
19. Smashed Frog – Email I.Q.: “Will email play the Great Eliminator in this presidential election? According to Charles Bermant of The Seattle Times–yeah, expect it. Bermant views email as sort of an intelligence test. ‘It can’t be a secret to anybody that e-mail is never private and that public officials need to be cautious and deliberate in all their communications.’”
20. AP – Clearwater, Fla.: Scientology stronghold: “Sure, says Mayor Frank Hibbard. It can be a little unsettling sometimes — throngs of Scientologists wandering Clearwater’s streets in their blue or khaki trousers and crisp dress shirts. Sometimes, it makes the neighbors a bit uneasy.”
21. Pensacola Beach Blog – The Man Nobody Knew: “Sunday’s Miami Herald has one of the better written pieces we’ve seen about Assistant U.S. Attorney Roy Atchison’s arrest on federal charges related to crossing state lines in an attempt to have sex with a 5 year old. Reporter Mary Ellen Klas was in the area several days late last week, trying to find the story that lies behind the story.”
22. Why Now – The Tropics On The First Day Of Autumn: “Subtropical Storm Jerry has formed to annoy the fish in the northern Atlantic. It is generally stationary.”
23. TaserGate: Pushing Rope – Andrew Meyer Update, and Incertus – Fuck Profanity. (See also Pam’s House Blend).
24. She’s back: Pushing Rope – She’s Back, Blast Off – She’s baaaaaaack!, and Political Safari – We Missed You, Katherine Harris.
25. Here are the sites in our Candidate Watch Network that have been updated: The Putnam Report, and GusWatch.
26. Also, check out the roundup from Florida Netroots.
27. For more, as always, go to the FLA Politics daily round-up.
Florida Democrats will be well served to switch parties in Florida to vote for Ron Paul in the Primary. Ron Paul has a principled, consistent voting record that is not dictated by special interest in Washington, DC. He stood resolute against our government’s interference overseas, in the economy, and in our personal lives. He is the champion of the Constitution. Ron Paul will bring the troops home now.Many promise in the election season: Ron Paul has always delivered. stop the looting of Social Security, stop the $1 trillion overseas spending, reducing our debt, helping veterans, children, and seniors, and cutting taxes, end forced health screening and vaccinations, he opposes WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA and the NAU, and fights for freedom to choose health care. He will protect our privacy and civil liberties, stop the national ID Card and oppose taxes on the internet.visit http://www.ronpaul2008.com
No, Florida Democrats would be insane to switch parties to vote for Paul. One, it would betray who we are. Two, it would be a 100% wasted vote as Paul has no chance of winning anything. Three, while there are a few issues Paul is right on (such as the war), he’s also batshit crazy on other issues, such as eliminating the DoE and opposing vaccinations. The Libertarian philosophy is based on faulty logic, it is totally impractical in the real world and it is immoral, particularly when it comes to doing the things that government exists to do — helping people who need help when they need it. Libertarianism means the failures of Hurricane Katrina become a national policy, not the horrible mistake they were.