I keep looking for money coming from billionaire party-boat guy and U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene to area Democrats. Why? Because he's got the support of number-two Democrat in the county, Diane Glasser. Understand Glasser has managed to turn her support for candidates into cash as a "consultant" for her favored candidates. Yes, it's disgusting for a Democratic Party official to profit from her position, but that's SOP in the 954.
Also supporting Citizen Greene is Wynmoor condo commando Gert Weinberg, 93, who has put Greene on her (supposedly) all-important palm card. Jim Waldman, a dubious Democrat (he's a former Republican from a Republican family), has also stepped up for Greene. So I'm thinking some of that big money Greene is throwing around must be circulating through Broward. Looking through his finance reports, though, the only payment I found to a Broward Democratic operative was to Amy Rose's firm, Win on the Ground Consulting. A measly $4,000.
I asked Weinberg, who is quite amazing for her age, why she was supporting Greene.
"I didn't feel that Meek was on the up and up," she said. "I had a bad feeling about Meek. Jeff is a very bright guy, he doesn't take money from anyone, he's kind. And Meek has a lot of things wrong with him... Meek is a poor guy, and his mother is driving a Cadillac. Hmmm."
Wow, that's some innuendo, huh? Could you imagine if these condo people actually took corruption seriously in Broward County instead of just taking vague cues in a Senate race? They play blind, deaf, and dumbfounded when it comes to the antics of machine favorites like Stacy Ritter. Some of these seniors are part of the problem, but a lot of them are just clueless tools of the political manipulators. That's why they always go with the candidates backed by the power brokers. It's a money-driven machine. The real problem is that most of the condo dwellers have no way to get the good, unfiltered info.
They aren't on the internet.
-- Another thing untoward about all these sitting judges having to run for office is that so many of them are spending the brunt of their days campaigning. When they are campaigning, their courtrooms, obviously, aren't being used. And the backlog of cases only grows. Ask any courthouse regular and they'll tell you that things have been a lot quieter there during this election season. But at least one judge, Carlos Rebollo, has a sense of humor about it.
"Best wishes, I miss being in your courtroom," a Larry Jaffe commented to Rebollo on the judge's Facebook page.
"I miss being in my courtroom too, Mr. Jaffe," Rebollo quipped.
By the way, you know I don't give endorsements, but Rebollo, a former state homicide prosecutor, is, from what I've seen, one of the truly good guys. Hopefully he will be back in the courtroom in earnest after Tuesday.
-- It has long been obvious that sellout Sunrise Mayor Roger Wishner lost the support of his colleagues on the dais. Commissioner Joey Scuotto was never in his camp, Sheila Alu publicly announced that she was supporting his opponent, and the mayor had a falling-out with Don Rosen, his former chief ally. But now it's becoming clear that Wishner has become the Rodney Dangerfield of Sunrise -- the guy is getting no respect, no respect at all. On Wednesday, he called a special commission meeting to release a lien on property facing foreclosure. The timing, obviously, might lead you to think that Wishner was doing a little late-hour political grandstanding using the city as his prop. He's facing a strong challenge from attorney Mike Ryan, after all. But poor Wishner never got the chance to put his plan into action. He couldn't even get a quorum. A majority of commissioners -- Sheila Alu, Joey Scuotto, and Don Rosen -- didn't make it to the meeting (Alu, a prosecutor, says she was at trial; not sure about the other two). Wishner better hope he gets a better turnout at the polls or he won't be mayor much longer.
-- Have you ever wanted to get in the mind of Broward County Commission candidate Angelo Castillo? Yeah, me neither. But if you did, you just need to follow his Facebook postings. He routinely posts "New Topics" on his wall, followed by a thought, then the Linda Richmond-like command for folks to "Discuss."
One recent actual example coming from Castillo's brain: "New Topic -- Isn't air conditioning an amazing thing? Discuss."
Yes, that's right, apparently cool air is blowing through Castillo's frontal lobe these days. Inside, you can see a slew of other "New Topics." They're like buttah.
New Topic -- If lovin' you is wrong, I don't wanna be right. Discuss.
New Topic: Wild horses couldn't drag me away. Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them some day. Rolling Stones, 1971. Discuss.
New Topic -- Well, it looks like they finally figured out how to plug up the oil leak. Thank Goodness. Discuss.
Angelo Castillo New Topic -- 24 hours in a day: On average we sleep for 8 and work another 8. The remaining 8 we drive to work, do chores, family obligations, sometimes we can relax. Here's the point. Unless you're happy at work it's hard to have a happy life. Discuss.
New Topic -- A very smart guy told this to me years ago "What can you expect from a pig but a grunt?" Discuss.
New Topic -- A blast from the past -- "Woke up, fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Found a way downstairs and drank a cup and looking up I noticed I was late... Found my coat and grabbed my hat. Made the bus in seconds flat." Discuss.
New Topic -- "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln. Discuss.
New Topic -- "Winning is important, it is a way of life. It is an American way of life." George Steinbrenner. Discuss.
New Topic -- "Well I won't back down, no I won't back down. You can stand me up at the gates of Hell but I won't back down." Tom Petty. Discuss.
New Topic -- Every single day we are given is a gift. Discuss.
New Topic -- The greatest rock and roll song of all time is ________? Discuss.
New Topic -- "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." St. Thomas Aquinas. Discuss.
Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry. Traveling Band, Credence Clearwater Revival. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye. Saw Her Standing There, Beatles. Free Bird, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sympathy for the Devil, Rolling Stones. Whie Room, Creme. Maggie May, Rod Stewart. Dashboard Light, Meatloaf. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen.
New Topic -- That's a lotta' rain out there today. Wow. I've not seen it rain that hard, that long or that much in quite some time. Discuss.
New Topic -- Peace does not mean the absence of conflict. Rather it means the ability to resolve conflicts without the need for war. There can be no humanity without conflict, people will disagree. But there can be humanity without war. Peace. Discuss.
New Topic -- In 1776, America had 2 million people and England 10 million. America had very limited military capacity and England was a superpower. Yet America stood defiant and declared independence. And we think we have problems? Discuss.
New Topic -- Used to be that yesterday's solutions would always solve tomorrow's problems, much less so today. Today's problems seem to defy yesterday's remedies. We need a new rule book... but just in case, let's keep the old one near by. Discuss.
New Topic -- 234 years ago, fed up with tyranny and oppression, ordinary people stood up to risk everything -- life, family, fortune -- and create for themselves the most amazing example of democracy that our world has ever known. Tomorrow, we celebrate the birthday of America. May Freedom's Revolution long endure. Discuss.
New Topic -- The thing is the "campaign" really starts after you take the oath of office. All the stuff before election day? That's called the job interview. Discuss.
