Despite resistance to federal health care reform and the governor’s refusal of a federally funded high-speed rail project, President Barack Obama maintains slightly favorable approval ratings among Floridian voters. And the most formidable of his potential Republican opponents is a former governor who once drove to Canada with the family…
Has West Palm Beach politics ever known a figure as mysterious as Joan Goldberg? She was hired under mysterious circumstances by mayor Lois Frankel, and for her services she received a mystifyingly large paycheck. Her precise duties were shadowy, as were her qualifications to execute them. When it came time…
Two Republican officials blasted Florida today for refusing to move its primary date, which is set for January 31, in violation of the rules of both Republican and Democratic parties. It’s some of the toughest talk we’ve seen so far in the fight over Florida’s 2012 primary date, but Florida…
Even with all the news coverage of the disaster in Japan, it can be easy to forget about the suffering going on half a world away. We’re bogged down in our daily grinds and have to worry about our own severe weather warnings. But students and faculty at Nova Southeastern…
As reported in today’s Herald, the Florida Senate on Monday “quietly inserted language into its newly proposed budget… that seeks to give corporations a chance to run correctional facilities in 16 counties.” These corrections contracts are worth some $600 million.Though this “quiet insertion” was accomplished by Republicans — led by…
A few weeks ago, Rick Scott reintroduced Florida to Jim Crow-style voting laws, which essentially disenfranchise a large percentage of African Americans and just so happen to boost Scott’s chances at reelection. The law brought back draconian restrictions on felon’s voting rights that Florida’s two previous governors worked to reform…
Senate Bill 830 is one of those horribly-written pieces of legislation so hung up on maintaining its own official-soundingness that it takes two or three read-throughs to figure out what the damned thing means. Read it here, and be amazed at your own capacity for boredom and bemusement.Police officers have…
Gov. Rick Scott fired a warning shot yesterday and ignited what seems like just one Floridian battle in the national war on public institutions. Whether it’s congressmen feuding over federal funds for National Public Radio and Planned Parenthood or state leaders stripping unions of collective bargaining rights, a fierce anti-public…
(This is a continuation of a similarly-named story, which may be found here.)My ex band-mate, the Bishop S.F. Makalani-MaHee, belongs to just about every put-upon minority in modern America. She’s a musician, first of all, which naturally raises the suspicions of the world’s decent people. And she’s female. And black…
Allen West’s latest town hall confrontation with a Muslim ended very differently from his last one. In the last one, West was taken by surprise by Nezar Hamze, who wanted to ask the notorious Muslim-baiter precisely where Qur’an demands the murder of Americans and/or innocents. West turned hostile, delivered a…
(Note: The above video is rife for unpacking, so I’m doing it over the course of three short articles. This is the second; the first is viewable here.)I would like to draw your attention to two discussions of civilians in the above video. In one instance, you’ve got Allen West…
Last week State Sen. Maria Sachs, a Democrat from Delray Beach, proposed a new bill that would allow greyhound tracks to keep their slot machines and poker tables, even if they don’t actually race dogs on-premises. The bill (SB 1594) would end the 15-year-old live-racing requirement established in an effort…
Above you’ll find Allen West, talking on Sunday at the second anniversary picnic of Florida 9/12. He is speaking about President Barack Obama’s weakness in the face of Muammar Gaddafi. “I don’t care what anyone says — you can’t win a war from 30,000 feet,” he says. Thank goodness we’re…
For the second time in as many weeks, a Florida Democrat has announced plans to challenge Allen West to represent Florida’s 22nd district in 2012. That Democrat is Lois Frankel — a woman with a lot of enemies, a few quirks, and a whole lot of explaining to do.Frankel served…
Dear diary,Saturday night, Spring Break 2011.I was wandering the lavishly carpeted halls at The Breakers on Palm Beach, searching for a bar serving $14 cosmos. Ostentatiously heavy chandeliers lit each long, winding hall. I passed medieval-looking tapestries, and a random baby grand piano. In a back ballroom, near the ocean,…
Yesterday, The Washington Post revealed that Delray Beach billionaire and oilman Harry Sargeant III may have bilked the US government — and, by extension, the US taxpayer — to the tune of $200 million, while supplying jet fuel to American troops in western Iraq. Rep. Harry Waxman (D., CA), accused…
This week, political junkies made much of Sen. Marco Rubio’s sudden re-emergence in the national media after three months of almost total silence. Some people — by which I mean “I” — thought Rubio’s invisibility was a sign that his celebrity had ebbed — that he’d permanently ceded star power…
While Florida’s Senate Majority Leader makes misleading statements about a government spending measure currently moving through the legislature, the entire state government received a D grade for disclosure of how it spends taxpayer money, according to a recent report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.If it was a high…
What does a Republican fundraiser and wealthy oilman have in common with sleazy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein?Who knows, but it’s something worthy of exchanging digits. David Koch, the billionaire Tea Party bankroller, makes an appearance in Epstein’s address book.He joins an illustrious group of celebs now tainted by Epstein’s practice…
Hypocrisy and shallow intellect are common among the leadership of Florida’s fiscally conservative Senate. But a recent statement from Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner makes one wonder if he was blatantly trying to mislead the public or just incapable of understanding certain legislation. On Tuesday, the Florida Senate approved a…
For months, news that Donald Trump is considering a 2012 presidential bid has been swirling around the internet like a fruit fly in a wineglass. Snoop Dogg even noted it on Comedy Central’s roast of Trump last night when he joked (we think), “Now Donald says he wants to run…
By day, Ron Mills is a Democratic area leader and president of the Dolphins Democrats, an influential and active gay political club. By night, he quietly worked as Ron Mills, political operative man. He runs a firm call Footprint Strategies that carries out those often-annoying political “robo-call” campaigns. He also does promotional phone work for the…
