Flying A Kite And Failing Miserably -- I May Have To Stick To Cheap Parlor Tricks

My four year-old daughter thinks I can do just about anything. She's amazed when I juggle round fruit with my hands, or a soccer ball with my feet (not at the same time), or drill a screw into the wall to hang a picture.

My one year-old son can't laugh hard enough when I give him a high toss in the air or swing him upside down.

My wife thinks I do okay as well and enjoys the fact that I handle 95% of the household cooking (breakfast and dinner).

There's definitely no singing "Cats in the Cradle" in my house.

So as a father figure, I felt like I was really holding my own. At least until we bought my daughter a kite and took it up to Klutho Park yesterday.

The conditions were more than ripe. The wind was blowing briskly and my nauseating hangover had finally subsided.

I envisioned a Norman Rockwell scene -- the quintissential cross-generational moment where child and adult become one, the traumas of the day lay forgotten and the laundry piling on the bed folds itself.

What could go wrong?

Everything.

In a word (or two), I apparently don't know how to fly a kite.

Sure, the wind was good, the kite assembled correctly and the string properly clipped. So why was Zephyrus or the other Anemois mocking me in front of my children, my wife, and the ten guys playing baseball a few yards away? Newton's Laws were supposed to be inapplicable in this situation.

Thankfully, my wife was kind enough to forego the metaphorical humor and didn't once shout out, "That's not the only thing you have trouble keeping up!"

Actually, I'm not so vain that I can't accept my own failures. I don't truly believe that there is some emasculating pixie playing tricks on me. I can accept that fact that I just don't know how to fly a kite. Not yet.

So, while my daughter recovers from yesterday's disaster, and before her psychiatrist clears her to return to the park with me, I intend to undergo secret kite flying lessons. I may even form a support network for other fathers as inept as me.

I think in the end I will be able to overcome this failure and win back my family's respect. If not, then I'll just have to go back to juggling fruit, baking chicken and forever cursing the day that the Chinese invented kite flying 2500 years ago.

Soaking Up The View, Pedestrian Commuting Style

I’ve graduated to the rank of urban pedestrian commuter. Sure, I know some people have been living the pedestrian life since time immemorial, but I’m in a self-congratulatory mood this morning and want to give myself a carbon-friendly pat on the back.

It all started when my mother asked to borrow my car to run an errand as she had temporarily lost the use of hers. The “problem” was that it made more sense just to give her the car for the whole week than to bother trying to get it back the next day. My wife and I decided we would simply make do with one car.

Easier said than done, sort of. Turns out some childcare time constraints on my wife popped up that was making picking me up and dropping me off at work a bit inconvenient. No sweat, I thought. I’ll just hoof it from home to the office and back again.

And why not? I did it everyday for a year in DC, walking from the depths of Dupont Circle (closer to Adams Morgan, really) all the way up to my job at the Department of the Interior some three or so blocks from the White House. Then in New York I’d have to do the trek from my apartment in Brooklyn to the Carroll Gardens subway, then from the Bryant Park F train stop in Manhattan all the way to the corner of 42nd and 2nd, one block from the U.N.

Anyway, it made more sense for me to walk the 1.6 miles to and from the front door of my house to the east elevators of the Modis building than for my wife to stress about getting the kids dressed, out the door and packed into the car just so we could travel the three minutes between home and office to get me to work.

Words can’t describe the refreshing sense of life these walks have had. Again, I know this isn’t novel. I know people are walking, or more likely riding their bikes, to work every day. But the point of writing this is to express the continued appreciation I have for Springfield and downtown Jacksonville as I was able to observe slowly and close up the uniqueness and architectural beauty that are most of the downtown structures.

Trying to catch a glimpse of the city around me is impossible from the window of my car. I’ve become caught up in the culture of talking about urban renewal and revival without truly appreciating what these concepts and philosophies mean. It’s not always about stimulating economic growth or complaining about government ineptitude. It’s about seeing the actual structures up close (and personal).

As the weather gets warmer, I don’t want to lose this intense interest of exploring the cityscape on foot, even if it is just for a few moments in the mornings and evenings.

Sure, there will be some perspiration. It might take me a few minutes of cooling and wiping down once I’ve reached my office. But that’s all a small sacrifice compared to the benefit the walk will have given me. And anyways, the heat of the Florida sun doesn’t even begin to compare to the boiler room humidity of a New York subway station in the summer. If I could do the pasty subway commute in New York for four years, in suit and all, then the short jaunt up Laura Street each day will be like, yeah, okay, a walk in the park.

If You Can't Laugh Every Now And Then, You'll Go Insane, And Possibly Vote Republican (Which Would Be Insanity)

Pay close attention towards the end to the guy standing behind Hillary getting his head blown off.

McCain Emulates Bush -- Breaks (And Gives Middle Finger To) Federal Law That Gets In His Way

Late last month, the DNC filed a formal complaint against John McCain demanding that McCain be held to the confines of the public financing law(yes, the very one he wrote with Russ Feingold) for having accepted federal campaign matching funds last year to revive his failing candidacy (technically, he pledged the expectation of these funds in order to secure an immediate $1 million loan, which has the same effect of accepting the matching funds). For a refresher summary on this complaint, go here.

Now, one month later, this issue may be growing new legs in the form of another complaint filed by firedoglake. Remember, because McCain accepted public financing (or arguably did according to FEC rules based upon the huge loan using these funds as collateral), he capped himself at spending no more than $56 million before he became the official GOP candidate, which will not happen until the Republican convention in September. As he has now officially spent over the allowable limit, the new complaint asserts that John McCain now has actually violated campaign finance law.

Firedoglake is circulating an online petition for signatures to send to the Federal Elections Commission in support of this new complaint. Go here to sign.

McCain must be held accountable for his now blatant violation of the McCain-Feingold Bill. He is legally prohibited from spending another dime on his candidacy (not that he really needs to since Hillary and Obama are doing his dirty work for him).

McCain continues to flaunt this law, insisting that he "changed his mind" and no longer wants the funds. The trick, though, is that, once accepted, it takes a vote at the FEC to allow a candidate to opt out. This hasn't happened yet and, now that McCain has broken federal law, it should no longer matter whether he one day gets the requisite permission.

Regardless of what ultimately happens, McCain has shown that he is ready, willing and anxious to take a page directly out of GW's handbook and bend and break the laws of this land to suit his daily political needs. Imagine what more harm and damage he'll inflict on our laws and Constitution if he's elected in November.

Challenge Smallenge -- Carville Was Just Trying To Bait Daschle

Okay, I found it. Not on CNN, but on, you guessed YouTube (I keep forgetting to look there first for all of my video needs).

Yes, technically, Carville (aka, the Clinton campaign) is challenging Daschle (aka, the Obama campaign) to split the cost of a do-over primary.

Daschle wasn't biting. Why should he.

This exchange was nothing but a sign of desperation in the face of defeat. The "I dare you! I dare you!" approach was, frankly, embarrassing. Carville was all but screaming, "What're you? Chicken?"

Is this serious debate? Is this serious campaigning? Even a cockroach in its last throws has the decency to roll over when its time is up. Can't Hillary's camp just do the same instead of flapping its arms wildly on national TV?

Bill Richardson Gives Interview Calling For Unity. Democrats Around The Country Slap Head, Mutter, “No Shit.”

The following are tidbits from a Bill Richardson interview with Today’s hard hitting, political analyst (and five-time globe circler), Matt “Where’s Waldo” Lauer on the disasters that will befall the Democrats if Hillary and Obama don’t start playing nice.

Richardson is finally announcing to the world on Today’s National Soft News Network(hopefully making this profound commandment digestible for all) what those street dwellers in the blog world have been reading and saying for weeks.

If the Democrats hope to retake the White House in November, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama must stop their negative campaigning against each other and start talking about the issues affecting the country.

It’s gotten enormously negative.

With Sen. John McCain already the Republican candidate, it’s vital that the battle for the nomination not continue into the Democratic National Convention in August in Denver.

What you see today is John McCain campaigning, being a statesman, unfettered, raising funds, and what we need is to stop this negativity.

We need to bring the two campaigns together. I think the two campaigns should take a deep breath and stop talking for a while. Just reflect and start talking about the issues affecting the country like the war, like the economy, subprime lending, housing, the enormous problems of gas prices, and stop this internal, personal bickering that is right now hurting us enormously.

My point here is instead of having this bitter, contested effort all the way to August, is that we come forth and decide on a nominee based on the reality that the Democrats need to be unified against a very strong John McCain.

Seriously, folks, this should not be news. It doesn’t take a governor to convince the Democrats of the obvious. We are not the ones who need to be hearing this, it’s the candidates.

Richardson gets the No Shit Award for the week (and it’s only Monday). Hillary and Obama get the Dumbass Award for the year, and possibly century, if they don’t come around and get this crap figured out soon.

Does Hillary Really Have Nothing To Lose By Paying For The Do-Over Voting?

After writing about the conversation I had with my friend regarding the Democratic candidates splitting the cost of paying for a do-over vote in Florida and Michigan, I get a call from this same friend the very next morning gloating as he had just heard James Carville make the exact proposal on CNN,then rip into Obama man Tom Daschle for hemming and hawing over this idea.

My friend was estatic with an "I told you so" air about him. However, as I had been out all morning with my family, and was taking my friend's call deep in the play area of Hanna Park, I told my friend I'd have to get back to him once I had checked into this "news."

And check into it I did. For 24 straight hours I have searched news sites, blog sites, porn sites and social networking sites. Nothing nothing nothing on this story and no mention of Carvel and Daschle having this early Sunday morning CNN discussion.

Finally, in the depths of a blog called America Blog, I found something comparable on this issue and telling in its view of a Clinton paid for do-over. I know, this isn't the exact same as a cost splitting proposal. But it does wholly exemplify the desperation that is the Clinton campaign.

Effort by rich Clinton supporters to finance Michigan re-vote actually undermined the re-vote
by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 3/23/2008 08:52:00 PM ET

I didn't get a chance to write about this last week, but as we continue to hear complaining about the fact that Michigan isn't having another vote, it's important.

There was just something incredibly unseemly about a group of Clinton supporters offering to raise the money for the Michigan primary re-vote. It literally reeked of trying to buy an election ("Dear Michigan, your vote finally counts because Hillary paid for your election"). I mean, seriously, that sounded like something you'd expect in a third-world dictatorship, not the United States. So for all of Clinton's feigned outrage over no progress in Michigan, the fault lies with her and her wealthy backers:

Michigan officials bear considerable responsibility for the mess they have helped to create, and a revote is one way out, though that looks increasingly unlikely given the political stalemate. But Rendell and Corzine took matters into their own hands without thinking through the consequences. Their letter to Granholm creates the impression that a Michigan do-over would be Clinton-financed contest designed to save her candidacy.

The integrity of the Democratic nomination contest already is in question -- remember, they are supposedly still counting votes in the Texas caucuses that were held on March 4 -- and this only adds to public cynicism.

It does look like Clinton's big dollar funders were going to buy the re-vote. It just looks that way. You have to admit, when Clinton's supporters look like they're trying to buy a new election for her, it really does diminish all that moral outrage she's been spewing about holding fair elections.

(John Edwards, are you paying attention? This kind of profligate spending by monied special interests is exactly the kind of thing you railed about during your campaign.)

So that's the best I can find on this subject. Despite the above, the "paying for the election," my friend's position is that Hillary has nothing to lose flipping the bill for the do-overs as mathematicians all over the world have confirmed, using complex computer addition software, that she's done for.

This Is A Poll Of Sorts -- Minus The Margin Of Error -- To Help Settle A Bet Between Friends

How many people think that Hillary will, in the coming weeks, make a challenge to Obama to share in the expense of holding a do over election in Florida and Michigan? (Hmmm. Not me.)

Conversely, how many people think that it’s time to get on with the rest of the primary season and accept the fact that there will be no Democratic delegates from the latter two states sitting in Denver come late August waiting to cast their respective delegate vote? (Me -- that’s one vote.)

And let’s take it one more further. Is there anyone out there who thinks a Hillary primary victory based upon super delegates voting against Obama will be construed in any way as a racist affront to Obama‘s candidacy? (I think it’s time for the race issue to be buried. If the super delegates go for Hillary, it’s going to be because, in the end, they believe she’s the candidate who can beat McCain, not because they couldn‘t stomach a man of color leading the Democratic pack to the White House. So that’s a no vote on this one from me.)

Hell, let’s do one more.

What Democrat out there would rather vote for McCain than Obama, regardless of all the theories of why or how he became the candidate over Hillary? (Unfortunately, I have one friend who said she would do exactly that. I think my answer to that one is obvious.)

Okay, I can’t resist. Just one more. Really.

Who thinks that Obama’s affiliation with Rev. Jeremiah Wright will still be in the news two weeks from now? (I think American’s attention span can barely last through breakfast, let alone a day, or a week, or two. So, the Wright thing, whatever that thing really is, will go away as fast as the recent disclosure of McCain’s fidelity problems.)

I ask these questions after having had a long debate/conversation with a good friend, and Hillary supporter, who is pissed to holy high hell at Dean and the DNC for negating his primary vote.

This friend is convinced that Hillary will not sit idly by while her meaningless Florida and Michigan “victories” count for naught. This friend is also convinced that Wright’s words will be Obama’s undoing. (My reminding him of the media’s ambivalence towards, and America’s ignorance of, McCain’s French kiss embrace of John Hagee, hate monger extraordinaire, had no effect.)

Despite my Obama support, I could not embrace nary a one of my friend’s positions.

I don’t think Hillary will cough up a cent for any do over. I’m not even sure if election laws allow her to use campaign money in such a fashion (does anyone out there know the answer to this?).

But my friend is convinced that a Hillary challenge to Obama to cough up dough to flip the bill for a do over is coming and that Obama will agree to split the cost for fear of losing face and looking weak in the eyes of Democrats.

While I’m sure no challenge is coming, I told my friend that the better scenario would be for Hillary to pony up the money for the whole re-voting affair, in both Florida and Michigan, as a giant screw you to Obama. Meaning, she can cut off all debate on the matter (although I thought all debate was all but cut off already), and come riding up on her silver pony, feeling the pain of all the “disenfranchised” voters, and save the day by making the ultimate sacrifice (i.e., forking over $18 million that she can hardly spare) and give the voters back their voice.

I’ve said before that the Democratic leaders screwed this one up royally. But it’s time for the Hillary camp, including her voters, to move on. I know this is starting to sound like a broken record, but this fight over Florida and Michigan delegates cannot be the focus. We’re losing too much time, too much ground, and too much money to dwell on this any longer. We have a target in McCain to direct all of our energy against. He’s out there not spending a dime while the Hillary and Obama camps spend a fortune bickering against each other over things that have nothing to do with the qualifications necessary to become the President of the United States.

When You're A White Evangelical, Being Anti-American Will Get You Tea At The White House

The current and grossly continued uproar over Obama’s preacher, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Wright’s opinions about this country make me wholly appreciate the utter hypocrisy and selective memory of those crusaders on the right and the convenient ignorance of our news media.

Let’s not forget some of those hellfire and brimstone favorites from days past who thought nothing about trashing America and its citizens, all in the name of their God. Yes, I’m talking about Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer and his benevolent cohorts, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell. All of these darlings of the evangelical right, loved and endorsed by the Nixons, the Fords the Reagans and the Bushes, spewed more anti-American hatred than Rev. Wright could ever hope to.

Don’t believe me? Try these gems on for size.

If there is a legitimate reason for the use of force [against the US government]... then at a certain point force is justifiable.

In the United States the materialistic, humanistic world view is being taught exclusively in most state schools... There is an obvious parallel between this and the situation in Russia [the USSR]. And we really must not be blind to the fact that indeed in the public schools in the United States all religious influence is as forcibly forbidden as in the Soviet Union....

There does come a time when force, even physical force, is appropriate... A true Christian in Hitler's Germany and in the occupied countries should have defied the false and counterfeit state. This brings us to a current issue that is crucial for the future of the church in the United States, the issue of abortion... It is time we consciously realize that when any office commands what is contrary to God's law it abrogates it's authority. And our loyalty to the God who gave this law then requires that we make the appropriate response in that situation...

All three of these quotes were taken from Schaeffer’s Christian Manifesto, published in 1980. The man was advocating an overthrow of the United States. Treason. He was calling arms against a government he did not agree with. He was the poster child for ANTI-AMERICANISM. And what about the anti-gay venom spewed from Falwell and Robertson after 9/11, apparently blaming all catastrophes on the sins of other Americans? Yeah, they got barely a blip or slap on the wrist.

So where was the outrage? The condemnation? The uproar? Was Schaeffer ostracized? Indicted? No. He was invited to tea at the White House. Have politicians run from these words of hatred? Or apologized for being associated with these American traitors? No, in fact, when Huckabee was asked to provide a desert island list of books, he chose, apart from the bible, a Schaeffer book that compared America to Nazi Germany.

So who are the traitors? Who has the right to point to one person and shout “Treason!” Apparently, a white man, preferably one standing behind a pulpit, can hate America and Americans and be revered for it. But when a man of any other color tries to offer up his own condemnations, he is labeled a traitor.

This post was inspired by a piece written by Schaeffer's son reminiding the right of its history of hating America.

Um, Okay, For The Millionth Time, Not Voting In November Because You're Pissed At The DNC IS NOT THE ANSWER!***

I occasionally like to entertain myself by reading the Opinion section of the Times-Union, especially the Letters from concerned citizens around the area.

There was one this morning that stood out not so much for its profundity than for its stupidity. I’ve posted it below, but added some of my own editorials interspersed within the Letter that appears in bold and italics.
_________________________________________________________________
Primary votes should count
by CAROLYN J. KUZNIEWSKI

As a Democrat in Florida, I find it terribly upsetting that I would be disenfranchised because of something I had no control over.

You’re just now feeling disenfranchised!?! While I wouldn’t say I’m upset, I am a bit annoyed that the powers that be in the DNC once again have found a way to make this party appear incompetent and the laughing stock of the primary season.

We, the Democratic people, did not ask for the date of our primary to be Jan. 29.

True. But even in a democracy, permission is not always a prerequisite to action.

We, the Democratic people, did not tell the candidates that they couldn't campaign here.

True again. But the candidates made this agreement nonetheless.

We, the Democratic people, voted in the only primary we could.

Technically, true.

We, the Democratic people of Florida, will not stand idly by while we have our voting rights stripped away. We, the Democratic people, want our votes to matter.

Our votes will matter. It’s just a matter of perspective and timing. If not last January, then in November. But our votes will matter.

I think it is time for the Democratic people of the fourth-most populous state to stand up for our right to vote.

We do have the right to vote. It's just that the last one didn't count like it should have.

If my vote in the primary doesn't count, then I refuse to take part in the 2008 presidential election. I am calling on my fellow Democratic Floridians to do the same.

Good for yo----, ……..wait a second. You refuse to WHAT?!? You're calling on fellow Democrats to do WHAT?!? Let me back this up. You’re apparently so pissed that Florida’s delegates got stripped that you’ll refuse to vote in 2008? What kind of sick logic is that? So you’re not yet disenfranchised enough that you’d choose to subject yourself, your friends, your family to at least another four years of Bush's deadly policies because your vote for Hillary (I’m guessing) isn’t going to count? Please think about that one on November 3, right before you go to bed. If you don’t, then you’ll wake up on November 5 to see McBush celebrating his victory.

Then, there will be no doubt that the Republican Party will win the 27 electoral votes that we have to offer in Florida.

See above, in its entirety. There will be “no doubt” if people like you stay away from the polls.

Let's unite and make our voices heard!

Damn straight! Go to the polls this November. Democrats all, and pull the lever, or fill in the bubble, for whomever becomes the Democratic candidate. Unite around the party. This country CANNOT survive another four more years under a Republican administration.

While there are many things wrong with the Democratic party, the two that get my goat are the way we manage to find every possible way to turn certain victory into failure, and how we lose sight of the big picture when something doesn’t go our way and wholly remove ourselves from the process.

THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE SELF-RIGHTOUS. THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR IN-FIGHTING.

These petty squabbles are going to cost us the White House. Please, Ms. Kuzniewski, stop for just one moment and think. Take a deep breath, and think. And when you're done thinking and deep breathing, please realize that your tantrum and refusal to vote, while perhaps satiating your vengeful crave, will have accomplished nothing more than subjecting all of America to life under John McCain. Please stop thinking selfishly. The rest of America need not also be victimized by the poor decision made by the DNC.

***This post assumes that the writer is indeed a Democrat, and not a McCain plant as has been suggested.

Happy Nightmare, Baby -- The Iraq War Turns Five

3,990 US Troops Killed…
29,395 Wounded…
2,100 Have Tried To Commit Suicide…
88% Of Military Officers Say War Has Stretched US Thin…
82,000-89,000 Iraqi Casualties…
4,500,000 Iraqi Refugees…
Global Terror Incidents From January 2001: 1,188…
Global Terror Incidents From January 2006: 5,188

Get more details at The Huffington Post

This war is a crime.

First DCA To Hear Oral Arguments On Whether To Expand Loss Of Consortium Claims To Non-Married Couples

Tomorrow morning, on March 20 at 9:00 at The Florida Coastal School of Law, the First District Court of Appeals will be hearing oral arguments in the case of Judith Bashaway v. Cheney Brothers, Inc., et. al. (yes, the 1st DCA occasionally hears cases in Jacksonville).

At issue in this case is Florida’s loss of consortium law (common, not statutory) which currently provides that only married spouses can claim this tort remedy.

Briefly, loss of consortium is the derivative action that one spouse can bring against a tortfeasor (i.e., the imbecile who caused the accident) for the loss of the injured spouse's services, such as household assistance, love, affection, comfort, and sexual intimacy.

In the Bashaway case, Judith Bashaway and Melinda Garrison were life long, same sex partners. The two exchanged vows in 1993 and lived together exactly as a married couple would, owning their home, other real property and their vehicles jointly.

In September 2006, Ms. Garrison was severely injured in an automobile accident and suffered life-threatening injuries.

The personal injury suit subsequently filed by Ms. Garrison also included a count brought by Ms. Bashaway for loss of consortium. Defendants’ motion to dismiss this count of the complaint was granted, with prejudice, as Florida law does not recognize non-married consortium claims.

The appellate argument here sounds simple enough. This is a straight up equal protection case. Meaning, married couples should not enjoy the benefit of a consortium claim at the exclusion of non-married couples. Why should those who have been in a committed relationship for years not get the same benefit as the couple who met one night and decided to get married Vegas style one week later? If one spouse in this latter scenario should suffer injuries in an accident the next day on his or her way to the court to file annulment papers, then, you guessed it, the other spouse gets the consortium claim. Doesn’t make sense, does it?

Apart from the hypothetical rub above, Bashaway is unique as it involves a claim of a same-sex couple who are precluded by law from EVER marrying. Where is the fairness in this? That’s why, as part of the appeal, Judith Bashaway will be asking the court, alternatively, if it is unwilling to extend the law to include non-married couples, then to at least carve out an exception to allow same sex couples the opportunity to prove, on a case-by-case basis, their commitment in court whereby they could then plead a loss of consortium claim.

The appellee defendants argue in their briefs that consortium claims for non-married couples should not be granted, as any judicial recognition (activism oh, no!) of these claims would upset stare decisis, “threaten constitutional notions of separation of powers” and, my favorite fear mongering argument, create a flood of litigation:

Under the subjective criteria favored by the Appellant for segregating qualifying relationships from non-qualifying, the courthouse doors would be opened to every conceivable form of opportunist who seeks to capitalize on harm befallen a close confidant. A system rife with such potential for abuse could not be accepted and the requirement of legal marriage or parent-child relation in order to sustain a consortium claim serves as a safeguard against such systemic corruption. (yes, and the locusts would come, the sky would turn red, blah, blah, blah).

As it is difficult to provide a thorough and adequate analysis and summary of the issues raised in Bashaway (I apologize to Appellate counsel Mills & Creed for making a rushed attempt at this), I would be more than happy to email the briefs to anyone who asks. You can also get some additional background information on the legal and personal side of this case here and here.

Similarly, I would recommend anyone interested in hearing and perhaps watching this argument to go to www.1dca.org where you can get a live audio and visual feed, or you can get a recording 24 hours after arguments are over (more like two weeks, given the court's backlog). I just tested the feed on the site's “oral argument video” link and was only able to hear the arguments currently going on in today’s sessions (also at Coastal). According to the disclaimer, video feed is limited, depending on how many people are trying to plug in to watch arguments.

Quote Of The Day (When The President Speaks, You Know He's Going To Say Something Stupid)

“I want to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for working over the weekend.”

This is the praise Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson received from GW yesterday during a meeting to discuss the ever growing economic crisis in this country and the Bear Sterns government bailout.

As the former head of Goldman Sachs, did Mr. Paulson hope that entering the government sector, even as the head of Treasury, would finally give him the spare time he needed to improve his golf swing? Just curious.

Coming from an administration that covets its time off (GW has spent 452 days of his presidency at the Crawford ranch), is it any wonder that someone so high up in the government should be noticed, and publicly lauded, for coming into the office during off hours? Of course not.

And seeing as how GW wasted no words praising Michael “let them drink piss water” Brown for doing “a heck of a job” following the Katrina disaster, it’s easy, though tragic, to understand why, two and one half years later, people are still living in trailers and are now suffering a whole host of illnesses for their troubles.

Quote of the Day, Part II

"You've [Paulson] shown the country and the world that the United States is on top of the situation."

This quote followed the quote above and is memorable in its absurdity.

Putting the two quotes together makes me wonder: Is the United States “on top of the situation” because the Treasury Secretary worked over the weekend? If so, we’re in a crapload of trouble.

Bush has been out of touch on every crisis that has hit this country. Perhaps we need him and his cabinet to take even more time off. Who knows how much more damage could have been inflicted had he and his staff been at the helm full-time?

Sleiman Solves Homeless Problem, Becomes Nobel Prize Candidate – City Vies For Second Place – Times-Union Wants Pulitzer For Reporting

The last time I checked, the homeless population, whether here or anywhere else in the world, was made up of living, breathing, feeling human beings. You wouldn’t get that sense after reading Mary Kelli Palka’s piece in this morning’s Times Union titled “Riverwalk Removing More Than Benches.” I would place this “article” in the category of insensitive meets callous meets greed meets embarrassment.

It would seem, based upon the article, that Toney Sleiman, in a philanthropic attempt to save this city (or at least his precious Jacksonville Landing) from the scourge that is the homeless, has realized that the entire homeless problem can be solved by removing public benches which these, I don’t know, vermin, shall we say, use to sit and lay down on. That’s right, remove benches from downtown and, PRESTO, the homeless go away.

Not to be outdone, the article continues by describing an attempt by the City to also confront the homeless issue head on by, you got it, removing its own benches along the Northbank Riverwalk. However, this purging was prevented when City Councilman Bill Bishop demanded that the benches be returned. The solution, he declared, is not in removing benches, but in beefing up police patrol, presumably to make sure the homeless don’t alight in one place for too long or otherwise bother us decent folk. Mr. Bishop, with authority, sincerity and compassion, was quoted, “The homeless aren’t going to care. They’re going to camp in the bushes if there aren’t benches.” Yes, I suspect someone out there would love to add, “Because, you know those homeless -- give them a bottle of MD 20/20 and they’ll sleep just about anywhere – and love it!”

I’ve now spent a good portion of the morning trying to figure out the point of this article. My best guess is that, in an attempt to salvage the present spiraling failure that is the Landing, Sleiman somehow coaxed the T-U to write a piece touting how the homeless have been removed once and for all from the Landing, thereby making it a safe place for clean and respectable folks to dance and sing and spend money (the clouds have parted, the birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and somewhere in Munchkinland the Lollipop Kids are singing “Ding Dong, the witch is dead”). Having just recently had lunch at the Landing, I can assure Mr. Sleiman that the homeless people sitting on benches by the river are the least of his worries.

In the vein of Swift’s A Modest Proposal, I recommend that Toney Sleiman and the Jacksonville government stop wasting its money playing musical benches and just cook up all the homeless and serve them at the next city council meeting (leftovers can be served at one of the mayor's next tailgating parties). Having spent the first two years of my legal career as counsel at the New York City Department of Homeless Services, I can pretty much guarantee you that removing downtown amenities such as benches is not really going to do much in curbing homelessness.

Springfield Mommies Group To Host Its 2008 Easter Egg Hunt In Klutho Park

Well, the headline just about says it all.

This Saturday, March 15, the Springfield Mommies Group will be hosting an Easter egg hunt in Klutho Park in Springfield.

The Easter Bunny will be arriving at 11 AM to greet the kids and start the egg hunt. Afterwards, there will be games and face painting as well as a plant sale between 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM at the fountain at Klutho Park on the same day.

For some reason, this event is not posted on the SPAR website, so you'll have to trust me and my source (aka, wife and SMG member) on this one.

It's looking to be a warm and sunny day. Don't miss out!

Check Your Wrist, There's Still A Pulse

Plans are still in the works to launch the First Coast Democratic Professionals Council and an inaugural event is being hatched for the end of April. Right now, we are asking all interested people to go to the DPC website and sign up to receive event notifications. Given the fact that registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by over 40,000 in Duval County (yes, you read that correctly), the success of the DPC should be a no brainer.

Despite all of the bickering going back and forth between the two Democratic contenders and the fight that's brewing in this state to conduct a do over primary vote, this truly is the year for local Democrats to unite and show the rest of the state and country that Northeast Florida is not the Republican stronghold that people think it is.

The Democrats have a strong candidate in Jay McGovern as he campaigns for Ander Crenshaw's seat in Florida's Fourth Congressional District. Bob Harms is coming off of his court victory that unseated Jay Jabour and is well-positioned to take the at-large Group 2 seat on the city council. And despite getting away with less than a slap on the wrist, John Peyton, Art Shad and other top GOP officials were found to have committed legal and ethical violations.

The mission statement of the DPC is to re-engage area professionals in Democratic politics. There could not be a more perfect time to get out, get involved, get active, get seen, get heard.

Since The Camps Insist On Beating Each Other Up, Let's All Just Make Fun Of Them

It's time to instill some humor into this Democratic primary debacle. Otherwise, we'll all go friggin' crazy.

Plus, a friend of mine told me just today that if Hillary's camp keeps up the cheap shot negative campaigning, and becomes the eventual candidate, then she won't bother voting come November at all.

So let's bring some levity into this primary race and not get cynically bogged down with the senseless inter-party bickering that will do in the Democratic ticket. It's not like we or anyone else has any control over the Hillary and Obama camp as neither seems concerned with the BIGGER PICTURE THAT IS THE WHITE HOUSE AND FUTURE OF THE PARTY! Sorry about that.

Republicans Do Live In Glass Houses -- Don't Let Them Forget That In The Wake Of The Spitzer Scandal

If your job is anything like mine, you spend over one third of each of your day surrounded by mostly Republicans. Which means, if you get caught in the kitchen or at lunch with any one of these folks, you may very well find yourself quickly outnumbered as they swarm in with a barrage of Faux news sound bites they caught either the night before as they were falling asleep, or that morning as they were rushing out the door.

So as you can imagine, today is not one I’m really looking forward to given the scandal de jour that is Eliot Spitzer and his link to a prostitution ring.

There appears no way to defend the man. He’s made his confession, said his apologies, etc. This rising star in the Democratic Party screwed up. He apparently broke the law and could be out of a job and into a new set of pinstripes. Simple. I really don’t want to defend him anyway. But that doesn’t mean I have to face each of my colleagues unarmed, defenseless, whimpering for forgiveness as I mope back to my office while being jeered at and poked with a cross and thumped with a bible.

Instead, I want to be prepared to take on the self-righteous smugness of these folks who will, with outright indignation, condemn the sinfulness of Mr. Spitzer as if he, a Democratic superdelegate, represents the continued plague on society that perpetually emanates from the left.

I want to be prepared to look these people in the eye and say, “Yeah, he did it. But I think you should be just as concerned about cleaning your own house.”

And with that, I’ll be armed with a list of criminal and/or morally offensive acts committed by those on the Right. This list is far from exhaustive and I heavily edited it by removing some of the more vile convictions of pedophilia, child pornography and incest. You can find a more complete list here, which includes links to supporting articles.

While posting this list may seem petty, I promise you it will come in handy should you find yourself cornered in the elevator or kitchen or bathroom by a frothing at the mouth wingnut crying holy mary about Spitzer’s issues.

Senator David Vitter, Louisiana Republican Senator. His number appeared on a list of clients linked to the “D.C. Madam” and several women have confirmed that he regularly appeared at the Canal Street Brothel.

Senator Larry Craig, caught in an airport bathroom attempting to solicit sex. Arrested and admitted offense.

Dick Armey (R-Texas), former professor, has been accused by The Dallas Observer of sexually harassing female students.

Jim Bakker, televangelist with Pat Robertson at Robertson's Christian Broadcasting network. Committed adultery with Jessica Hahn and then used charitable donations to pay her hush money.Fellow televangelists say he's gay. Indicted on 23 federal charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering.

Robert "Bob" Allen, Florida state Rep. Arrested in the afternoon at a Veteran's Memorial Park for solicitation of prostitution from an undercover male officer inside a restroom. According to the papers Bob "offer[ed] to perform oral sex for $20". Bob Later claimed that his offer had somthing to do with his being afraid of Black people.

Bob Barr, Republican Congressman from Georgia. Sponsored the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, saying "The flames of hedonism, the flames of narcissism, the flames of self-centered morality are licking at the very foundation of our society, the family unit." Was married three times. Paid for his second wife's abortion (she also suspected he was cheating on her). Failed to pay child support to the children of his first two wives and while married to his third and present wife was photographed licking whipped cream off of strippers at his inaugural party.

Robert Bauman, Republican congressman and anti-gay activist, was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.

John Bolton Bush's appointee ambassador to United Nations, corroborated allegations that Mr. Bolton’s first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Department.

Mike Bowers Former State Attorney General, prosecuted the famous Bowers vs. Hardwick case, based on Georgia anti-sodomy laws. Admitted to a 10-year adulterous affair.

Ken Calvert, Congressman (R-Ca), champion of the Christian Coalition and its "family values." Sued as an alimony deadbeat by his ex-wife. Said "We can't forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky." In 1993 he was caught by police receiving oral sex from a prostitute and attempted to flee the scene.

Mark Foley, Republican Representative, Florida Sixteenth Congressional District. Resigned after trying to solicit sex from male congressional pages via an instant messenger program. The conversations included his asking a sixteen-year-old "stud" whether his penis was erect and requesting that he take out and measure his penis. The cover-up involved Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Eighth Congressional District and Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Illinois Fourteenth District.

Jeff Gannon Partisan blogger with no journalism credentials and a fake name who got invited to Bush's Press conferences. Is also a pimp and a gay prostitute.

Newt Gingrich, married three times. Gingrich campaign worker Anne Manning admitted that she gave Newt oral sex while he was still married to his first wife. Informed one wife he was filing for divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments.

Rush Limbaugh, triple-divorcee, 30-pill a day drug addict.

Brent Parker Utah State Representetive. Arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover officer posing as a male prostitute.

Mark Pazuhanich, Republican judge, pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman, currently a conservative talk show host. Resigned his congressional seat abruptly to spend more time with his family, amidst allegations of an affair. His intern, Lori Klausutis, was soon after found dead in his office. The medical examiner, who had his license revoked in Missouri for falsifying information in an autopsy report, and suspended in florida for six years, ruled the case an accident, after giving conflicting information about her injuries. He said he lied about them because "The last thing we wanted was 40 questions about a head injury."

Ed Schrock, two-term republican congressman, with a 92% approval rating from the Christian Coalition. Cosponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, consistently opposed gay rights. Married, with wife and kids. Withdrew his candidacy for a third term after tapes of him soliciting for gay sex were circulated.

Tom Shortridge. Republican campaign consultant, was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.

Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr., Republican City Councilman, pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.

Jimmy Swaggart, televangelist, said during a sermon "I'm trying to find the correct name for it … this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. … I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died." Had an affair with a prostitute.

Randall Terry, Right to Life activist, founder of Operation Rescue, involved in the Terri Schiavo protests. Once imprisoned for sending former President Bill Clinton an aborted fetus. His son Jamiel is gay; his daughter Tila had sex outside of marriage, became pregnant, had a miscarriage - she is no longer welcome in his home; his daughter Ebony had 2 children outside of wedlock and became Muslim. He has campaigned against infidelity and birth control, gays and unwed mothers. Terry himself was censured by his church after committing adultery.

Strom Thurmond, republican senator and racist, raped and impregnanted a 15-year old African American maid.

J.C. Watts, Representative (R-Oklahoma), loud champion of "moral values." Has out-of-wedlock children.

Stephen White, Republican preacher. Was arrested after allegedly offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.

Did Obama Actually Win Texas, Despite What Our Media Friends Are Telling Us?

I'm posting this snippet from the Daily Kos because I've become a bit annoyed at how the media keeps telling a story of how Hillary won Texas, etc.

Now, it's not that I have much against Hillary. I'll vote for her if she is the candidate. No, this is more of a statement against our mainstream media and how those journalists do their best to under-report, over simplify, grossly distort and downright falsely report the news. So if Hillary is complaining about the treatment she is getting from the press, she should at least take solace in the favors they are giving her on this Texas thing as I'm sure this "victory" is worth at least a few hundred million in fundraising.

You'll remember the "Texas two-step," in which Texas voters participated in both a primary and a caucus. Under that system, two-thirds of Texas delegates are allocated according to the primary results, and one-third are awarded based on the caucus. Well, despite the fact that major media outlets called Texas for Clinton, the results of the caucus are still not in, and the final results may not be announced until March 29. That's because phone-in reporting from caucus sites was optional, and the majority simply mailed in their results. March 29 is the date that county chairs, who receive those results, are obliged to reveal them, according to the AP. But here's what we already know: in the primary, Clinton picked up 65 delegates to Obama's 61.

And Obama has a very solid lead in the caucus. As NPRreports,

If the numbers in the caucus vote hold up, then Obama will win 37 more pledged delegates to Clinton's 30. So Obama would have 98 delegates and Clinton 95 and he would leave Texas with three more delegates that Clinton.

That will mean that Obama wins Texas, just as clearly as he has won any other state that holds a caucus.

This is actually a huge problem for the Clinton, because she will have netted only eight delegates total on March 4th when you count Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. With the Obama victory in Wyoming yesterday, she's still behindby nearly 140 delegates. This is roughly where she was before March 4th, except that five more
states have gone by. It turns out Texas really was a must-win state for Clinton, just like her husband said.

George Bush Plus John McCain Equals . . .

"The Jacksonville 11" -- Starring Michael J. Fox As John Peyton, Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You

Remember the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six and the Maguire Seven, those tragic Irish nationals wrongly accused and convicted in the 70s of bombing British pubs and performing other IRA acts of terrorism? Their story was made famous by the movie In the Name of the Father and even got mention in a Pogues song.

Then there were the Scottsboro Boys over in Alabama back in the early 30s. These nine black boys, ranging in ages twelve to nineteen, were accused of raping two white women on a train from Chattanooga to Memphis.

Oh, and how about the Chicago Seven, those counterculture activist tried and acquitted (or freed on appeal) for inciting riots and committing other acts of civil disobedience at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention?

The common thread running through these groups is that all were caught up in an overzealous, prosecutorial campaign to gain convictions at whatever cost, civil liberties be damned, only to see their convictions overturned after years of legal, physical and mental torture.

So what’s the point of this history lesson? These stories, like so many more, have been captured in the annals of history not so much by the horrific facts of each incident, but by how the naming of these groups summons visions of global governmental violent oppression, false accusations, and decades of wrongful imprisonment, creating martyrs who inspired change.

Now the martyr-makers at the Florida Commission on Ethics have done their part in the same fashion to immortalize the vindication of the mayor, his staff, some city officials, and other local businessmen by dubbing these people at their ethics hearing as the JACKSONVILLE 11.

No joke. The Times-Union, in a single stroke of insensitive editorializing, and the Ethics Commission, in full mockery of the legal process (and as an affront to Leslie Goller who filed the ethics complaint), have attempted to invoke sympathy for these local officials and public figures by referring to them as the JACKSONVILLE 11, even though it was determined that they ALL BROKE STATE ETHICS LAWS by failing to disclose perks and gifts.

Yes. The state ethics commission found that rules were broken by the official’s failure to report perks received in excess of $100.00. The non-elected officials got off because they were not required to report the perks (it’s only wrong if there’s a law that says it’s wrong.) So, in essence, guilt was found. Yet the state did not see fit to go any further to penalize these saps because, well, there’s now a reporting system in place.

So who are the JACKSONVILLE 11 that we are now supposed to pity? First, there’s the mayor. Then Art Shad, Michael Corrigan, former Councilwoman Elaine Brown and former Chief Administrative Officer Dan Kleman. The others are former and current Peyton staffers Scott Teagle, Steve Diebenow, Adam Hollingsworth, Kerri Stewart, Trey Byrd and Dan McCarthy.

Make no mistake. These people were found to have committed the violations they were accused of. The real crime is that absolutely nothing will happen to them. I thank the Florida Commissions on Ethics for immortalizing the indiscretions of the JACKSONVILLE 11 and making them come off looking like victims and heroes.

Will “THE 11” now get t-shirts made? Will we have to endure an A&E special documenting their plight through the administrative legal system? Will we see Michael J. Fox play John Peyton in the biopic film adaptation of the book soon to be written by Bob Woodward? Will we soon be singing a folk song in their honor accompanied by an accordion and pan flute? Will the nightly news be filled with interviews of the accused families who are just grateful to see Johnny and Arty home again, completely vindicated.

You get the point.

An Open Letter From Congressional District 4 Democratic Candidate, Jay McGovern

Below is the text of an email I received from the Duval County Democratic Party announcing Jay McGovern's candidacy against Ander Crenshaw. Jay is asking for petition signatures to get him on the ballot this November. I was unable to paste the actual petition, but if you email me I'd be happy to forward it to you. (Or you can always call him for a petition.)

Jay was at a Barack gathering last night that I missed, but friends who were there and had a chance to meet him were highly impressed and came away feeling that he will make a worthy and strong challenger to Ander's not-so-safe seat.

I'll continue to post McGovern events as I hear of them and hopefully we'll be getting him to speak at an upcoming DPC gathering.

Jay McGovern, Democrat, for Congress
Congressional District 4

To: All faithful DEMOCRATS in Congressional District 4


As many of you know, I have filed to run for Congress in the 4th district. I believe it's time for change and it's time to take back our country. Today, I am asking for your support and to help me make a stronger, safer and more respected America a reality.

It's time to collect petitions so we can be listed on the ballot for the November 2008 election. I want to ask that you take a few minutes to print and complete the attached petition form. We need 4430 petitions by the end of this March. Asking five or more of your friends, relatives, co-workers or neighbors to complete a petition card this week will help ensure we make the ballot. I truly appreciate your help. You are welcome to contact me with any questions or comments at 904-626-9618. Let's try to get 1500 this week through this electronic grassroots effort. I look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,


Jay McGovern

Campaign by Stratagem, A New Chapter In The Art Of War

My only real commentary on last night’s results is that Hillary and Barack need to stop beating up on each other now that the GOP has narrowed the candidate field to one.

Seriously. These two have been campaigning against one another for over a year now. What else can be said? What other new mud is there? And why, now that the dollars war is going to really heat up between the two, would they want to give the GOP a pass on having to vigorously campaign and spend money. The GOP is salivating over last night’s results because they’re going to save a fortune watching Clinton and Obama duke it out. This is exactly what Rush was begging for on Laura Ingraham's show a few nights ago (no, I did not watch it, but read the highlights the next day).

The Democrats cannot let this happen.

Barack and Hillary do not need to campaign on the “I’m better than my opponent” platform anymore. We all have a pretty good grasp by now of their differences. They both have a clear target and the test now is to see how they each match up against McBush and the GOP.

I want to know how Barack or Hillary plans on dismantling eight years of failed domestic and foreign policies. I want to see some tough talk on how this country cannot survive another four years of Republican rule. I do not want to hear any more accusations about plagiarized speeches. I don’t want to hear Matt Drudge saying that Hillary’s camp gave him some photos of Barack in Somali attire. I don’t want fake tears or messianic pronouncements. I don't want to see barbs exchanged via Saturday Night Live. It’s time for these childish antics to stop.

This is a once in a lifetime chance for Hillary and Barack and a real opportunity for the Democratic Party to unite and drain what's left of McCain's bank account by going Sun Tzu on him, two against one. The two can use their combined $38 billion war chest on ad campaigns, not to promote their own individual merits, but to educate the country on the dangers of another GOP administration. To do otherwise, to continue beating each other up instead, is going to see that $43 billion (yes, they were able to raise another $5 billion in just one sentence) being wasted on negative infighting ads such that, come August 29, 2008, right after the Democratic convention, there will be nothing left but a broke, scarred, dismembered, emaciated and eviscerated candidate who won’t stand a chance of making it into the White House.

Fourth Circuit Judicial Races -- We Are Now Crossing A Zone Of Turbulence. Please Return To Your Seats And Keep Your Seat Belts Fastened

Alright, I admit it, I’m obsessed with the Fourth Circuit Judicial Races, so much so that I’m either going to be locked away, or forced to run for one of the open seats (the former being the most likely as, despite my years practicing in New York, I have not yet qualified to run in Florida).

There are fourteen seats available in the Fourth Circuit this time around, yet only eight Groups reveal a filed candidate. So let’s do the math:

Four incumbents have filed for re-election (Stetson, McCaulie, Gooding and Fryefield -- all going unopposed to date);

Three of the non-incumbent races are for seats being vacated by a formally announced retiring judge (Buttner, Mitchell and Nachman); and

One seat (this makes eight) sees Jeff Morrow running unopposed for the Group 19 seat in which Judge Aaron Bowden sits. (You may remember Bowden for his little antic of firing his faithful judicial assistant after 17 long years due to her cancer and required treatment, then getting into a spitting match with Chief Judge Moran whereby Moran called Bowden a no-good son of a bitch which resulted in Bowden filing a Judicial Qualifications Commission complaint against Moran which, . . . . which, . . . slow it down . . . deep breaths, in through the nostrils, out through the mouth, deep breaths . . crap, . . . I’m out of breath and forgot where I was going with this).

Anyway, the only real bit of interest about the Morrow candidacy is that not only has Bowden not made his retirement completely open, but there may have been an understanding between the two whereby Bowden would acquiesce to Morrow entering the race before Bowden made his announcement to retire, thereby minimizing, if not down right eliminating, any competition against Morrow. I’m not sure how fishy that all smells, but it does seem to reek of perpetuating the good ole boy network of hand picking successors in a Putinesque kind of way. (Did I just say that out loud?) For what it’s worth, I have heard nary a bad word about Morrow, and the consensus is that he makes for a highly qualified and competent candidate.

So that leaves six seats with a question mark. Right now, we’re waiting on Judges Johnson, Day, Moran, Skinner, Wallace and Cooper to file papers. A representative from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections informed me that most of the incumbent candidates usually wait until the last moment to file their qualifying papers as it reduces the need to do more than one quarterly report. The next quarter ends March 31, 2008, so it is likely we’ll see these six names appear shortly after this date, assuming each is running for re-election. The complicated rules for qualifying, if I read them correctly, show an absolute deadline of May 2, 2008, meaning whatever names are posted on this date are the ones in the race. And if a candidate is unopposed, then that name won’t even appear on the ballot.

In case there should be any concern that I am ignoring the County Court races, note that only Groups 13, 14, and 16 are in play. Judge Flower in Group 14 and Judge Cox in Group 16 have already filed. Judge Blazs has yet to file, although as the newest judge up for re-election, it is believed he will be filing soon.

Sunday Snippets, Politics From Coast To Coast (But Mostly Duval)

Starting with the local stuff, there are some tidbits to mention and to mull over.

First: Delegates were chosen yesterday to be seated at the Democratic convention. I was really torn about this whole affair, ultimately having decided that we in Florida need to let this one go and hope that Dean or his successor think this one through a bit more the next time. But still I drove down Liberty Street past the Union Hall a little after 10:00 battling my indecisive demons. Although I didn’t stop, I could see that there was much ado about the process. The Times Union has a little write up about the event and “winners” in today’s paper.

Second: For all those who do not know, Ander Crenshaw is facing opposition this year in the form of James Joseph “Jay” McGovern (D). Don’t bother Googling the name. You won’t find anything. McGovern only just filed in early February and I have yet to determine the extent and seriousness of his campaign, although I’ve heard that he reached out to Florida CFO Alex Sink’s campaign manager, Chris Hand, for assistance. Even for those of us who concede that Ander will probably stick around a while, it’s still worth it to put as much might and muscle behind McGovern, if for no other reason than to show the GOP that Ander’s seat should not be taken for granted. Make the man spend some of that $800,000 he has and maybe even sweat a bit. I’ll keep updating with news of McGovern’s campaign.

Third: The Jacksonville area chapter of The Democratic Professionals Council is having its second meeting this week to finalize its board membership and to begin planning its inaugural event. Stay tuned for details. In the meantime, we have been added as a chapter on the DPC website, so now is a good time to sign up for email event notifications.

Fourth: Jim Daniel, Fourth Circuit judicial candidate for Clay County, held a fundraiser last Thursday at the Fraternal Order of Policy headquarters. Although I did not attend the event, a friend called me shortly afterwards to fill me in on the highlights (which were few). The one thing of interest that was confirmed by Jim’s campaign chair was that Jim is indeed raising as much money as possible (including loaning his campaign $100,000.00) to prevent any challenger from entering the race against him. While I’ve already posted my displeasure at this strategy, let me say again that it saddens my democratic (the system, not the party) sensibilities to have this race decided so far ahead of time without any concern for allowing the voters in the Fourth Circuit to get to make a reasoned choice. It no longer matters if Jim is the most qualified. We will never get the opportunity to know.

Fifth: Speaking of the judicial races, it appears that Gerald Wilkerson has dropped out of the race against Adrian Soud and Mark Hulsey, III, as his name no longer appears on the Duval County Supervisor of Elections website. This race and the one between Virginia Norton and Frederick “Rick” Buttner remain the only two that are competitive at this point.

Sixth: As I promised “Coast to Coast,” here’s some news on a gentleman named Matt Gonzalez from San Francisco. He’s a former Green Party mayoral candidate and former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Currently he does some art and has been tapped as Ralph “the [insert expletive here]” Nader’s vice presidential running mate. The only reason I bother with this bit of information is that Gonzalez, when confronted with the spoiler issue, responded, “If people worry about us spoiling the election, I invite them to earn our voters away from us.” So there’s the challenge. How’s that for perpetuating the hubris? How about asking Nadzalez whether they care more about the state of this country than they do their own egos.