Metro I-4 News

You are browsing the archives of interstate4jammer.

It is finally done.

New York State U.S. Senator and previous presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton moved moments ago that the roll call vote be suspended for Barack Obama to be nominated the Democratic candidate for President by acclimation. Speaker of the House and Convention Secretary Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) called for the vote, which was met with substantial approval. She did, however, rush through the “All those opposed…” question.

Onward and Upward…

As of this afternoon, Tropical Storm Gustav had returned to the open waters of the Carribean Sea after spending a day or so crossing the southwestern coast of Haiti, killing 22 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The forecast calls for Gustav to regerate while skirting just off the Cuban coast, and by the time it crosses the extreme western toe of Cuba it is expected to become a dangerous Catagory 3 storm while curving northwest into the Gulf of Mexico.

As you can see by the computer models (top map), most of the major ones tend to be in general agreement that by Monday afternoon Gustav should be approaching the central Gulf Coast around New Orleans.

Believe me, a catagory 3 storm coming close to the Big Easy is something most folks should pray doesn’t happen. Remember, it was only two years ago that Katrina devestated the area, and much of the work to rebuild and strengthen the levee system that is supposed to protect the city (remember, New Orleans is BELOW sea level) has yet to be done.

When I was a kid and throughout my early adulthood, the radio station anywhere in the Gulf South to listen to when a storm threatened was the 50,000 AM bombshell WWL. It’s Web site notes this afternoon that while there are currently no plans to evacuate the City of New Orleans:

…a phased evacuation of South Louisiana may start Friday as they watch Gustav’s track.

“I am very concerned about it,” says Tab Troxler, Director of Emergency Preparedness in St. Charles Parish. He adds that an evacuation this time could be the largest ever.

Elsewhere, the system that Weather Underground identifies as “Invest 95″ is expected to reach Tropical Depression status within the next couple of days. This storm, currently located a few hundred miles east northeast of Puerto Rico, could become a Catagory 1 hurricane late Sunday or early Monday. While most of the computer models predict an eventual path toward the northeast and open Atlantic, a couple see this system being forced westward over Florida late next week. Just another storm to keep a close watch on…

Doug Tudor, the Democratic candidate for the 12th Congressional District seat, is busy this week in Denver getting his name and information out to party officials and leaders hoping to earn endorsements and contributions in his bid to unseat Republican incumbant Adam Putnam.

Susan Smith, one of the bloggers at the Democratic National Convention posing on the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog, notes that:

Last night Doug Tudor (Congressional candidate for FL-12) and I attended the Democratic Governors’ Association party at Elitch Gardens (a big amusement park), and then we took a taxi to the Crowne Plaza for the New Mexico Delegation party where we met up with members of the Florida delegation and our friends from Democracy for America. After mingling and networking there (we’re trying to introduce Doug to as many people as possible), we returned to the hotel around 12:30am.

And ya know, it’s even a bit refreshing when a candidate actually admits making a mistake. It shows that he is, after all, human. From Doug’s campaign blog:

Last night I put together 50 or so packages that I intended to hand to various party officials. The literature introduced me, asked for an endorsement, and asked for a campaign contribution. In the packages for Speaker Pelosi (D - CA), Representative (Robert) Wexler (D - West Palm Beach), and Representative (Kendrick) Meek (D - Miami), I included picture of the person and me.

Sooooo, on the flight from Chicago to Denver, I was excited to see Rahm Emmanuel (D - IL). I hurriedly put away my carry-on luggage, grabbed one of the packages, and went to introduce myself. He was gracious, non-committal, and wished me luck.

About seven hours later, I was rearranging my backpack. It was then that I realized that perhaps the reason Representative Emmanuel wasn’t as receptive to our campaign as I had hoped, was that I had handed him a package addressed to Representative Wexler, which contained a picture of the two of us. My lavish praise for Wexler’s book, “Fire-Breathing Liberal” probably didn’t help either.

Okay, live and learn. As Paula told me, “Attention to detail, Master Chief.”

Everyone knows that Tudor is on an uphill course in battling Putnam, who has absolutely no idea of how the working class live. After all, he comes from a silver spoon lifestyle, related to the Ben Hill Griffin wealth and having become a rising star in the Republican Party by smoochin’ the backside of the Bush/Cheney right wing clique.

If you want TRUE change and not four more years of the same failed leadership, I encourage you to support Doug Tudor in his campaign. Please visit his Website and learn more about this military veteran who brings sound judgement and real concern for the working men and women of the 12th District.

Congratulations to John Russell for his victory in Tuesday’s three way Democratic primary, earning the right to challenge GOP incumbant Ginny Brown-Waite in November. He has my support, and I hope he’ll have yours.

Apparantly, the extremely low turnout caused the results to be closer than most people expected, with John gathering just under 51 percent of the vote. I would expect this to change greatly in the general elections, as we are predicting to see a great many more people casting their ballots, many for the first time.

I’ve noted here before that John has improved from his first attempt at the office four years ago, when he earned more than 40 percent of the ballots cast and surprising Brown-Waite. He’s learned from the mistakes of that campaign, and is a much better candidate for it. John is extremely knowledgeable about many of the issues which concern voters in the district, which are well covered on his Web site. As a health care professional, John is in a unique position to work with a Barack Obama administration in finding solutions to our health care crisis.

From the Tampa Tribune endorsement:

“He wants an orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as possible; supports creating a national health insurance program; and pledges to fight for a new energy policy that is environmentally friendly and reduces the country’s dependency on oil.

“In addition, he supports an immigration policy that would crack down on employers of illegal immigrants and he opposes drilling for oil off Florida.”

During the primary, I’ve noted that among some of my fellow political bloggers that John is not well liked for a variety of reasons. John Russell is a passioniate spokesperson, and sometimes that passion has gotten him into trouble. It is an issue that he needs to work on in order to be successful in November and in Congress. But I’ll take a fighter like John Russell any day over four more years of the same, tired bulls**t we’ve heard from Ginny, Adam Putnam, and their like.

Please visit John’s Website and learn about his views on the issues that are important. And if you live in the Fifth Congressional District, I would ask your serious consideration for John Russell to serve as your Representative in the United States Congress.

Thank you, and may Almighty God Bless America.

Gustav became a hurricane overnight with highest sustained winds of 80 MPH, and the computer models are now moving the storm slightly further to the south than a few hours earlier, when it was expected to traverse the width of Cuba. Now, the National Hurricane Center track takes Gustav south of the island nation, which would allow it to continue growing over the extremely warm waters.

Your friendly neighbourhood blogger has been watching what had been called “Invest 94″ since the meterlogogical types began tracking it early last week. During the past copule of days, I didn’t bother posting anything regarding it believing that it would simply remain well south and eventually make landfall in Central America, if not peter out entirely.

So much for predictions.

“Invest 94″ has grown from a mere depression to officially become Tropical Storm Gustav within a few short hours, and is predicted to become a hurricane by the time it clips the boot of the Haitian coast tomorrow.

The computer models shown by the folks at Weather Underground generally call for Gustav to remain south of Cuba over the next few days. From there, a couple keep the storm over the Carribean before making landfall along the coast of Belize, while others have it crossing the western coast of Cuba, then entering the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center forecast (see above map) show Gustav clipping the Haitian boot, then weakening as it travels the width of Cuba..

As we know from recent experience, forecasting where and how strong a storm will be is still very much an imperfect science. And we are within the so-called “Circle of Uncertaity”, so we’ll definately need to watch this storm closely.

And as for “Invest 95″, the NHC says:

SHOWER ACTIVITY HAS BECOME A LITTLE MORE CONCENTRATED TODAY ABOUT 600 MILES EAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AT IT MOVES SLOWLY NORTHWESTWARD.

The computer models in this case call for the system to remain over the open Atlantic in a northwestard direction during the next several days

From Robert Blanco of USA Today:

The Democratic Convention kicks off tonight in Denver. You’ll find complete coverage on PBS and cable news, but not on the Big Three broadcast networks, which insist that the events have become scripted exercises in public relations and are not longer newsworthy.

Compared to what? Deal or No Deal? High School Musical: Get In the Picture? How I Met Your Mother? Please. Once every four years, America’s two major political parties gather to state their case to the people they serve. The networks used to think providing them time to do so on the airwaves that still, supposedly, belong to the public was in the public interest. Sadly, that practice, along with the concept of “public interest”, has gone out of style.

While much of the constant coverage has been funnelled off to cable news networks with the broadcast networks only airing one hour in prime time, I certainly agree that the American people, who will eventually have to decide who their next leader will be, deserve better.

With the technology of digital television making it possible for individual stations to broadcast additional signals (sub-channels) on their newly acquired frequency band, this is one area where the networks can — and should — provide a feed for affiliates to provide continuious coverage of special events such as this.

Thankfully, the only broadcast service offering gavel-to-gavel coverage of both conventions will be PBS with Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill, and company during the three hour prime time period (longer if the action hasn’t ended). And in Tampa Bay, WEDU-TV3 will be the area’s station to watch. While I usually have a beef about Channel 3’s public affairs programming (they seem to believe that Polk County somehow isn’t part of the Tampa Bay area, and that if something doesn’t happen along the coast from Pasco to Sarasota, it isn’t worth talking about), I congratulate the team there for providing this service for those of us who either cannot afford or otherwise unable to afford cable/satellite TV.

Tampa Bay’s other public broadcasting affiliate, WUSF, will feature coverage from National Public Radio on it’s FM station at 89.7. Monday through Wednesday, it will be a one hour Convention Summary from 7:00 until 8:00. Then Thursday, when Obama will be officially named the Democrats’ nominee, the coverage will fill three hours from 8:00 until 11:00 PM, followed by a live call-in programme featuring the candidate.

If you happen to have a digital radio set, WUSF2 will provide NPR’s contant feed throughout the evening.

The words above were spoken by former Hillsborough County Democratic Party Chairwoman Lynn Marvin to The Buzz, the political blog of the St. Petersburg Times, after getting a day’s worth of good news entering the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Not only did the delegations from Florida and Michigan have their full voting strength restored by the party’s credentials committee Sunday, but the Sunshine State delegates will have prime seating for the convention at the front of the podium. Only the delegations from Illinois, Delaware (the home states of soon-to-be nominee Barack Obama and VP choice Joe Biden), and host state Colorado have better views.

However, with the good comes the bad. Florida’s delegations is split between three hotels far from the Pepsi Center near an industrial park which, according to the Times‘ Political Editor Adam C. Smith, “featuring views of warehouses, Interstate 70, and an occasional shuttered strip joint.” And the speakers for the morning delegation breakfasts aren’t what you would consider exactly A-list. While Smith notes there has been some talk that Joe Biden may pay a visit, the early schedule shows such guests as New York Governor David Patterson and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D - MD).

If you’re interested in what’s happening at the Democratic gathering this week, and you’re like me — too cheap or otherwise simply can’t afford to pay for cable or satellite TV — chances are we’ll miss all except the most major events on the schedule. But there are some Floridians who will be covering the events in detail:

Florida Progressive Coalition Blog: This is the official state blog credentialed by the host committee. They will have full access to all events, and members of their team will be seated with the Florida delegation.

Convention Buzz: The St. Petersburg Times has a team in Denver, led by Political Editor Adam C. Smith, but this blog will also feature three delegate bloggers.

Convention Ears: Here’s the Tampa Tribune blog from the Mile High City. It will be led by Political Reporter William March and writer Billy House.

Taking Names: And, from the east side of the I-4 Corridor, Scott Maxwell is representin’ the Orlando Sentinel keepin’ an eye on the delegates from the area.

Miami Herald at the Democratic Convention: The team from the Herald’s political blog Naked Politics is there, too. Beth Reinhard and Lesley Clark will be joined by feature writer and author Dave Barry.

And before I head out the door to work, I should mention that while the Lakeland Ledger is not sending anyone to Denver, political reporter Bill Rufty has a good piece in today’s edition, remember the late Polk County Sheriff Monroe Brannen, who he says knew how politics truly worked:

When he walked into a political meeting, even in his 80s long after leaving office, many people would stand when he came in. He just had that presence.

His greatest loves were politics and getting out and meeting people. At his funeral he was described as “Polk County’s senior statesman.”

Brannen didn’t think much of the Internet, or even television as campaign tools.

Oh, he knew they worked and reached a lot of people, but he said it separated the voter from the candidate, and that, in his opinion, was inexcusable.

Brannen felt that a candidate’s character is best shown in person.

“You just can’t get the measure of a man if you can’t shake his hand and look him in the eye,” Brannen once said.

It still works today, if candidates would only make the time to do it.

After my biweekly Saturday duties on the phone at work, it was nice to enjoy a mostly restful day at home.

First, it was nice to finally see a mostly clear morning around Lakeland, although that was to be short-lived as the usual afternoon showers made their way here later. I had to do a load of laundry for both my son and I, which wasn’t much…and I needed the exercise.

A couple of hours napping during the early afternoon, otherwise playing around online.

BTW: If you’re a rock music fan, I discovered one programme from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio One service available online which many of you would enjoy. Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap is a two hour show presented Saturday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM ET and features the former member of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive frontman playing some of his favourite tunes and notes some of his many experiences on the road and in studio.

One of my co-workers would have really enjoyed last night’s programme, which spotlights some of the guitars played by rock’s biggest stars and how they made the insturments make some of the unique sounds from their hits.

Accessing it doesn’t cost a thing, and the Web site accepts most media players including Windows and Real Player. There’s even seperate feeds available for those who have high speed access as well as those of us who are stuck with old fashioned dial up. And as long as you aren’t accessing other services or sites, it’s a generally uninterrupted feed.

Tonight, I’ll very likely turn in early…maybe watch at least some of the Olympics Closing Ceremony until I fall out.

America’s dominant provider of greeting cards is now seeking to capture new markets, and not everyone is happy about it.

From the Associated Press, via CBS News:

Most states don’t recognize gay marriage - but now Hallmark does.

The nation’s largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards - featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. “Two hearts. One promise,” one says.

Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.

“It’s our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can,” Hallmark spokeswoman Sarah Gronberg Kolell said.

Hallmark’s largest competitor, Cleveland-based American Greetings Corp., has no plans to enter the market, saying its current offerings are general enough to speak to a lot of different relationships…

Hallmark, known more for its Midwest mores than progressive greetings, has added a wider variety lately. It now offers cards for difficulty getting pregnant or going through rehab.

It pulled a controversial card that featured the word “queer” in the punch line after it was criticized by some customers and gay magazine The Advocate last year. At any given time, Hallmark has 200 different wedding cards on the market, including some catering to interracial or inter-religious marriages and blended families.

At the call centre where I work, Hallmark happens to be one of our clients. We have a small number of associates who handle customer service calls and e-mails for the Kansas City-based company, and a couple have mentioned to me that their lines have been jammed with a number of callers complaining about the decision to start carrying the card.

These folks simply need to get a life! Hallmark simply made a business decision to make cards catering to a segment that is underserved. It’s not like the company is triumphantly announcing the move and putting the supposedly offensive cards at the front door of it’s Gold Crown stores. You don’t have to agree with the decision, so if you don’t like the idea, remember that noone’s forcing you to purchase it…simply pass it by.

Anyone who is even considering a run for any public office should always remember Rule 1: Either become extremely knowledgable on state (and, if applicable, federal) election law, or hire someone who is. As much scrutiny that candidates at all levels are receiving, it’s especially important…otherwise, you may find out the hard way.

Case in point from this morning’s Lakeland Ledger:

The MySpace page for Leviticus Reed, one of three candidates for seat 2 on the Lake Region Lakes Management District, violates state election laws, said Barbara Osthoff, assistant Polk County supervisor of elections.

During an earlier interview with The Ledger, Reed said he did not have a Web address for his campaign, but his MySpace page shows otherwise.

“He should have a disclaimer on the page and I don’t see one,” said Osthoff, who viewed the page Thursday after a Ledger reporter brought it to her attention.

NOTE: When I checked Reed’s page this evening, the disclaimer had been added.

Reed, 32, states on his page, which is at www.myspace.com/levireed: Leviticus Reed for Lake Regions Lakes Management District…

Osthoff said Reed had also violated election laws because he should have claimed in his campaign finance report an in-kind contribution for using a computer to modify his page…

The newspaper piece also provides some very interesting insight into Mr. Reed’s background and his ambition:

Reed is also claiming on his MySpace page that he is a county government planner, and on a professional networking site called Linkedin he says he is employed as a planner with Polk County.

“I haven’t messed with that Linkedin page in a while,” Reed said. “I didn’t know it was accessible to anyone outside of my e-mail contacts.”

During his candidate interview with The Ledger, Reed said he was a former planner with the county but did not give a reason for his departure.

A public records request with the county showed that Reed was fired. He was hired in March 2007 and was terminated eight months later.

The reason stated on his termination report was lack of ability. He received unsatisfactory marks in quantity of work, attendance, job knowledge and ability to get along with others.

Reed said his poor evaluation was due to disagreements in his office about the treatment of his son, who is disabled…

Reed, who is a Republican, has lived in Polk County for only a year, but wants to join the young political elite such as U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow, who is the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, and state Rep. Baxter Troutman, R-Winter Haven.

The two elected officials’ success in Polk’s political arena has given Reed inspiration, he has previously said.

Reed’s political ambition shows on his MySpace page and insinuates that he’s seeking a congressional office.

Looking at Mr. Reed’s blog on myspace.com he mentions a group called Republicans for Black Empowerment, noting that it’s mission is “to raise awareness of the benefits offered by conservative solutions to the black community’s concerns”.

OK, everyone should know that all of the network chatters will be in Denver this weekend for the Democratic National Convention, and that the talk will be focusing on soon-to-be nominee Barack Obama and his running mate. So we’ll simply note who will be appearing.

ABC NEWS / This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Obama campaign manager David Axelrod and former New York City Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Guiliani. Then, the political roundtable.

BAY NEWS 9 / Political Connections: Bay News 9 does not provide advance notice of the guests or topics for Political Connections.

CBS NEWS / Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: As of Friday evening, the guests have not been announced. Please check back for updates.

CABLE NEWS NETWORK / Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: U.S. Senators Robert P. “Bob” Casey, Jr. (D - PA) and Jack Reed (D - RI), Congressman/Majority Whip James Clyburn (D - SC), Governor Janet Napolitano (D - AZ), and Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe.

FOX NEWS / Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Governors Tim Kaine (D - VA) and Bill Ritter (D - CO). Also, Obama senior adviser Robert Gibbs.

NBC NEWS / Meet the Press: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) and Obama Vice Presidential Search Committee co-chair Caroline Kennedy. The political roundtable will feature Gwen Ifill of PBS‘ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Washington Week, Newseeek editor Jon Meacham, and NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd.

SYNDICATED / The Chris Matthews Show: The questions: Will Obama’s new running mate prove to be a winning pick? And are the Clintons doing enough to help ensure Obama wins? The panel: Washington correspondent Katty Kay of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Time magazine Managing Editor Rick Stengel, NBC News Political Correspondent Ron Allen, and The New Republic Senior Editor Michelle Cottle.

WEDU-TV 3 / Florida This Week with Rob Lorei: WEDU does not provide advance notice of the panelists and topics to be presented.

WFTS-TV 28 / Flashpoint with Brendan McLaughlin: As of late Friday evening, the guests and topics had not been announced. Please check back for updates.

Today may be the day we learn who U.S. Senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has chosen as his running mate, only days before the party’s national convention in Denver.

So, who will it be?

Hillary Rodham Clinton? Nah, won’t happen. Evan Bayh? Doubtful. While most folks remember his daddy, the younger Bayh is still an unknown to many. Tim Kaine? Nice thought, but I just don’t see it.

While Obama promises change, he really needs someone with significant experience within the Beltway. Someone he feels truly comfortable with, but who won’t overshadow him. And someone that people will recognize who will can provide guidance and direction in those issues and other areas where the candidate is still lacking.

My guess? Put the smart money on U.S. Senate collegue Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of Deleware. He’s been representing the First State in the upper house for 36 years and is knowledgable in many areas. He is not only Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but served for 16 years on the Judiciary Committee…an important note as the next president could see two or three vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.

That’s my guess, so we’ll find out together.