George LeMieux's U.S. Senate Campaign Report. By Geniusofdespair

Republican George LeMieux, running for Bill Nelson's seat, has collected $951,557.56 of which $65,000 is from other PAC's. I looked at some of his Miami-Dade County Donors:

Scott Brown of Aventura (Tabas, Freedman) gave him $500.
Marcio Cabrera of Miami (MBF Healthcare) gave him $2,500.
Jack Greenman of Aventura (Scott Holdings, LLC) gave him $5,000.
Howard Grodin of Miami Beach (Terremark) gave him $500.
Gustavo Guerra of Miami gave him $300.
Charles C. Harper of Miami gave him $1,000.
George Heisel of Miami (Doctor Diabetic Supply) gave him $500.
Elba Hentshel of Coral Gables (Mexican Chamber of Commerce) gave him $1,000.
Mary Ann Hudson of Coral Gables (Housewife) gave him $2,500.
Yamile Jimenez of Miami (Housewife) gave him $2,500.
Jeffrey Koebel of North Miami (Auto Dealer) gave him $2,500.
Isidro Ruben Lezcano of Sunny Isles Beach (anesthesiologist) gave him $1,000.
Kevin Love of Palmetto Bay (Attorney) gave him $500.
Gus Muchado of Hialeah (Developer) gave him $1,000.
Daniel Mackler of Miami (Gunster Yoakley) gave him $1,000.
Mario Murgado of Miami (Car Dealer) gave him $2,500.
Ricky Patel of Miami (Farrell & Patel, Attorneys) gave him $5,000.
Carlos Penin of Coral Gables (CAP Engineering) gave him $1,750.
Ernesto A. Perez of Coral Gables (Dade Medical) gave him $2,500.
William Leon Richey of Miami (Attorney) gave him $1,000.
Andres Antonio Isaias Chirboga of Coral Gables gave him $2,000.
Sarah Lea Tobocman of Coral Gables (Attorney) gave him $250.00
Pafael Quintana of Miami gave him $2,500.

What does this all mean? It means you had better pry some money out of your friends' hands and send it to Nelson so we don't have to have two good-for-nothing Republican Senators.

It appears most of George's support so far is in Broward County, where the bulk of his donations are from.

Meet Patrick Murphy Who is Running Against Wacko U.S. Rep. Alan West. By Geniusofdespair

Link to Video

He has already collected $808,671.59 under his principal campaign committee Friends of Patrick Murphy. I suppose he is a real candidate with that kind of money.

Have you seen the hysterical Stephen Colbert video on Allen West? Catch it on Bark Bark Woof Woof.

On the Havenick family in the case against Congressman David Rivera ... by gimleteye

The Miami Herald publishes another report how Congressman David Rivera and how he hid his role as chief lobbyist for a successful ballot referendum in Miami-Dade in 2008 that delivered gambling privileges to the Havenick family and its Magic City Casino; a highly profitable, limited gaming operation that grafted onto its dog racing venue. It is a shameful story for the Havenicks, whose civic influence for many years was projected through  Miami's elite private school, Ransom Everglades and a dominant role of Barbara Havenick, the family matriarch.

Among the compelling details: that Rivera-- then a state legislator-- was so brazen and confident that his role would be disguised to the voting public, that he actually went to fellow legislators (and the public) after the ballot referendum had passed and proposed a measure to kill limited gambling knowing that it would fail. And it did. And-- get this -- since the feds have not prosecuted Rivera or anyone else, apparently the straw man corporation that hid Rivera's involvement (behind his mother's skirt) is now asking for a "success fee".

Back to the Havenick's role in the city's elite private school: Ransom Everglades. What do the family/business values-- hiding Rivera's role and the source of his income-- communicate to all those children of Miami's doctors, lawyers, and chiefs who endorsed Havenick's board leadership at the prestigious Ransom? Not to mention, donors? Put these questions next to the story about the condo handyman in G.O.D.'s building and his struggles: the comparison also calls into question what good schools, churches and synagogues are, whose alumni and congregations refuse to even acknowledge much less challenge the inequities that are rampant in Miami. (For the record, two of my children graduated from Ransom Everglades. One, from Gulliver. For the full Herald story, click 'read more'.)

John Fell Through the Cracks. By Geniusofdespair

Martin Luther King had a dream...but this wasn't it.

The handyman John at my condo is a warm and friendly guy, with a big belly and a big smile. He is in his late 40's and we all consider him to be a good worker. He works part-time because that is all we need but he wants more hours desperately. He asks for them constantly. He was hired with the promise of more. John has no car and takes 3 buses to get here. He makes $15 an hour and we pay for his bus fare. John grew up in rural Mississippi and appears to have had little formal education.

Ten days ago he almost had a heart attack. They say it was averted by all the aspirins he was taking for his headaches. John was in the hospital for over a week, still he came into work yesterday...the day after he got out. They sent him home. He talked to one of the neighbors before he left. He said he had 7 prescriptions and no money to pay for them. We collected from the neighbors and then drove him down to Walgreen's and entered him in a limited income prescription program. He didn't know how to ask for it. While waiting for the drugs I gave him a lecture about sodium, his doctor told him to avoid salt. He looked at me blankly. It took me a while to realize that he didn't know that sodium meant salt. I showed him product labels. Could he read? I wasn't sure. I asked him his favorite foods. Barbecued Potato chips and Milk Chocolate was the answer. I showed him the panels on these items and the sodium contents. I bought him pretzels without salt, sugarless milk and semi sweet chocolate (told him to melt the two together in the microwave) and a salt substitute seasoning to sprinkle on fish and chicken. He had no idea how to interpret the panels on the food labels. What chance would he have trying to eat more healthy? I predict little. The sweetened oatmeal he liked so much was loaded with sugar and salt. The soups he fancied were highly salted. Poor John.

Now he might not be able to work as he has a faulty heart valve. What will become of him? Smiling he said "The Lord will provide."

John and his family, from North Miami, are destined for welfare as his health deteriorates because he has nothing to offer in the job market except the strength of his body. I am not optimistic for him.

If you are one of the people who is apt to call welfare recipients moochers I hope you will be reminded of this story of a man who really tries, who begs for more work, who takes 3 buses for a 5 hour a day job for which he takes home about $60 a day, or less than $15,000 a year. There is no pension or health insurance for him but plenty of medical expense because no one ever bothered to teach him what to eat.

When I hear people complain about their circumstances, I will similarly think of John who fell through the educational cracks, the job market cracks and our health system cracks. What chance does he have? God, as he said, is his only hope.

(Photo illustrations do not depict the real John)

GOP Anti-Environmental riders pile up in Congress like traffic on I-95 ... by gimleteye

As of this writing, there are 43 anti-environmental riders attached to bills in Congress by the GOP. Thanks to Clean Water Action and national environmental groups for compiling this list. Some readers complain that we, at EOM, give the GOP a hard time, but the facts speak for themselves. Don't Republicans care, or, do voters really think that there is no role for either federal or state authority in protecting the environment? Because at the state level (Thanks to Gov. Rick Scott), environmental regulation is disappearing faster than normal rain years. Is the GOP's point, to put all our eggs in the basket of our county commission? Oh wait, but Linda Bell is destroying DERM. Knock, knock GOP: anyone home?

Anti-Environmental Riders on FY 2012 Appropriations Bills AS OF 7/15/2011
Note: The list does not yet include amendments added to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill on the floor and may not yet have captured all egregious language in the Interior Appropriations Committee Report. The list will be updated on an ongoing basis:

Councilman Patrick Fiore - Angry Guy. By Geniusofdespair

Here is Palmetto Bay Councilman Patrick Fiore getting hot under the collar at about 40 seconds on the counter (one minute video). I have to admit his demeanor is a bit scary, you be the judge. Fiore, during a Council Meeting July 19th, claimed he and his family were attacked by other Palmetto Bay residents because of the dispute over Palmer Trinity school's attempt to expand.


Go to this link for the full video of the meeting. Go to this link for the Miami Herald article on the meeting.

Stuck in Miami with American Airlines and its filthy jets ... by gimleteye

American Airlines placed the largest order for commercial aircraft in history, but the $38 billion does not cover up the fact that its fleet interiors are so grimy that if you look closely, the layers of dirt look like the subway tracks in Manhattan.

Forbes writes, "American desperately needs the upgrade. Its fleet of more than 600 planes averages about 15 years in ago, among the oldest in the US airlines industry."

Five years? I fly American in Miami for convenience, but I'm always happier flying Jet Blue and Southwest out of Fort Lauderdale. Take the food trays; the complicated mechanism allowing the tray to retract from seat armrests. Next time you are on American, flip the food tray up and look at the apparatus and inside the cavity on an American Airline plane: you just might have to use the vomit bag.

The lack of cleanliness is symptomatic of a deeper cultural problem at American. We know the airlines have been losing money at a furious clip, but why should baggage handling be such a routine disaster at MIA with American?

Flying business class on a recent overseas trip, I swore I would never cross the Atlantic on American Airlines again. The next time I didn't. I flew another carrier and it was a better experience. And yet, for reasons of geography, I'm stuck with American Airlines. In Miami, we all are.

So American, it's a very good thing that you are committing $38 billion to new jets but in the meantime, don't fly your planes filthy.

Neighbors Unite In Your Fight. By Geniusofdespair

One group doesn't want the blasting, Friends of West Kendall, the other group, Suburban Acres, doesn't want the cemetery. My advice to both is to unite into one big group and fight both issues together. Unless, of course, one of the groups made a deal with the devil -- developers in the area -- then that group should rot in hell.

The blasting issue is being heard today by the Miami Dade County Commission lets hope Commissioner Audrey Edmonson continues with a good voting streak.

You people from both groups: Where were you when we were fighting UDB and rock mining issues over the years, just curious? MIA. Suddenly you care about the environment because your neighborhood is threatened? If you care like you say you do in your 2 full page Miami Herald ads, Friends of West Kendall, call Laura Reynolds at Tropical Audubon and help in the ongoing fight - become part of an even larger group. You ALL would be most welcome.

Of Note In The Miami Herald Today. By Geniusofdespair

Daniel Shoer Roth writes about the dismissal in June of the City of Miami's auditor general, Victor Igwe:

For more than a decade, Igwe was a stalwart of government ethics and fiscal responsibility in a city where such terms are not always in our officials’ dictionary.

In other news, State Rep. Luis Garcia will challenge bad boy U.S. Rep. David Rivera. Garcia, a Democrat, announced the launch of his campaign on Wednesday. Annette Taddeo reportedly is also eying this seat but no announcement yet.

Reasons to Recall Some County Commissioners. By Geniusofdespair

For these unpardonable crimes I think the following County Commissioners should be recalled:

Pepe Le Pew Diaz: For his misuse of the word "wisdom" when referring to his cohorts on the County Commission. Also for his April 8 memo stalling on charter change.

Javier Souto: For his so-not-clever euphemism for Whites - "The wine and cheese set, living east of U.S. 1." Also for his painfully long - albeit funny - tirades that almost always mention Cuba.

Joe Martinez: For the sweetheart deal he got from a developer for land and then the even better deals he got from contractors while building his home. Also for his steadfast commitment to move the Urban Development Boundary.

Bruno Barreiro: Where do I begin? How about the last thing he did. He tried to allow cities to opt out of the County sign ordinance. As Chair of the Commission, he also stopped discussion during the Marlins hearings.

Lynda Bell: For the loudest yes to move the Urban Development Boundary. Also for her thinly veiled attacks on DERM.

Barbara Jordan: For repeatedly calling her brother (Mayor for Life Otis Wallace of Florida City), when he came before the County Commission, "Mr. Mayor." Definitely one for the pompous record books. Also, for voting for an item when her sister was a lobbyist for the developer.

The Gates Foundation takes on the modern toilet ... by gimleteye

Kudos to the Gates Foundation for tackling (with its billions) an environmental problem (really, how long has it taken?): to develop technology to deal with human waste at its source-- where we pee and poo. The Gates Foundation comes to the problem of the toilet through its work in the undeveloped world, where 2.5 billion people lack modern sanitation. But South Florida, not precisely described as the developed world, is another example: here billions of gallons of fresh water are wasted per day, through the process of getting rid of our waste.

It would be a magnificent contribution to civilization if the Gates Foundation-- through grants to scientists and engineers-- came up with a water-efficient way to sanitize and to re-use human waste. (In fact, we've known how to do this for aeons, we just haven't fit either tradition or practices or existing technologies into the modern sewerage systems.)

But then the Gates Foundation would have to tackle another problem: local governments, lobbyists, and public officials who profit mightily from the current system, involving billions in infrastructure, contracts, and fees. Why, for example, aren't water-less toilets mandated in public facilities in Florida? That could happen, right now. (Oh, the GOP is against government regulations to protect the environment. Isn't "command and control", though, what we teach our children when they are potty-trained?)

As the climate becomes hotter, year by year, water is emerging as a threatened commodity. In the future, Florida may not be able to afford flushing its fresh water away. A revolution in waste disposal will also protect natural resources like the Everglades; the manifestation of our failure to match action to words.

So thank you, Gates Foundation. But be prepared to spend money influencing the builders, the developers, the lobbyists and local elected officials who will not surrender their shitty ways without a very dirty fight. Now prove me wrong, by a new regulations in Miami-Dade mandating waterless toilets. (click 'read more', for the CNN report)

On Face The Nation: US Senator Marco Rubio on Center Court ... by gimleteye

Marco Rubio was elected to the US Senate in November 2010. After a nine month gestation, last Sunday the junior senator from Florida emerged as tidy proof on "Face the Nation'.

Face The Nation host Bob Schaeffer led off with a question about the GOP stance on raising the debt ceiling. Rubio returned with spin: it is a problem of spending, not the debt ceiling. Spending cuts, spending cuts, spending cuts. Even rating agencies like Standard & Poors say so. Schaeffer asked the senator's view of a compromise deal to allow the president to increase the debt ceiling without action by either party. Rubio stuck to his point: "it's not about the debt ceiling, it's about debt."

Rubio used the phrase "credible solution" to the debt problem several times, including the rating agency's emphasis on a credible solution in its recent report. When Schaeffer tried, twice-- including a Rubio clip from a Fox News interview-- to get the junior senator to acknowledge that not everything in the economy is President Obama's fault, Rubio pushed back.

"People want to know when they will have a job. Until America has a credible solution to its debt problem, people will be afraid to invest in America." Here, Schaeffer could have asked: name one investor who wouldn't create a job in the US because of the national debt.

Businesses aren't investing in jobs, because there is little demand. Consumers are sucking on fumes of hope, having been conned into serial asset bubbles that stripped and transferred trillions of net worth with no accountability. The first, in dot.com stocks. The second, in housing and mortgages. Marco Rubio should certainly have something to say about the failure to diversify Florida's economy; the state now suffering in the worst throes of the crash. Rubio, after all, was a top Jeb Bush consigliere during the housing boom years when regulatory barriers were under attack in Florida, pointing the ship of state in the direction of wrecking on the reef. (please click, read more)

Kendrick Meek Wanted To Be a Senator, Let's Look At His Vacated District. By Geniusofdespair

After an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, Kendrick Meek has been tapped for a U.N. post. President Obama just nominated Meek to the 66th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

What legacy did Kendrick Meek leave behind in U.S. Congressional District 17?

District 17 was ranked third to last in the nation for overall social, mental and physical quality of life by the Gallup well-being index. How bad is that? In Florida alone we had 25 districts (will be 27 districts). The Congress has 435 districts so district 17 is at 433. The rank fell 183 spots from 2009 to 2010.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach well-being was near the U.S. average on everything except health insurance. The average for our area's uninsured is at 25.8. The national average is 16.4.

Continuing yesterday's debate on the private sector vs. government sector (who has it worse), that was prompted by the County take home vehicle information, here is a Gallup Poll I found on the well-being of local government workers compared to non government workers. According to Gallup:

Government employees outperform non-government workers the most in the areas of overall life evaluation and access to basic needs such having enough money to pay for healthcare and/or medicines, provide adequate shelter or housing, and buy food; and having health insurance and a personal doctor.

Haridopolos drops out of US Senate race ... by gimleteye

Now that Mike Haridopolos has dropped out of the US Senate race, Bill Nelson can go back to being a Democrat?

The County has 3,310 Take Home Vehicles. By Geniusofdespair

Maybe we can save a little money on County vehicles and gas. $39,000 seems a bit high for a car when you are buying thousands of them. The memo below says if the cars weren't taken home there would be about a $1,500 saving per vehicle and about a $500 gas saving. Would that be a $6,662,000 saving for the fleet?

Number of Miami Dade County Take Home Vehicles (THVs) – (a.k.a. “24-hour vehicle assignments”) is 3,310.

Life Cycle Cost of Take Home Vehicles:

MD Police Department (2,698 THVs at $39,000 ea.): $105,222,000
MD Fire Rescue (28 THVs at $39,000 ea.): $1,092,000
Other Departments (584 THVs at $30,000 ea.): $17,520,000
Total: $123,834,000.

Potential Savings From Elimination of Take Home Vehicles Assumptions:

MDPD (2,698 THVs): Fuel Savings $1.3 million-$3.6 million
MDFR (28 THVs): Fuel Savings $13,000-$37,000
Other Departments (584 THVs): Fuel Savings $280,000-$771,000
Total Savings (3,310): $1.6 million-$4.4 million

For a full explanation of this issue look at 3 pages below.

Miami Herald: The Economic Time Machine ... by gimleteye

The business writers at The Miami Herald have revisited their "Economic Time Machine", that EOM last noted in the spring. Unfortunately it is a jumble.

This episode of the Time Machine gives credence to US Century Bank, whose president is offered space in today's Herald article to explain the crisis. US Century "...is looking for investment capital to shore up the bank’s cash reserves against losses from all the distressed real estate and loans on the books."

EOM has written about US Century Bank, the best example of the failed economic model tying growth to suburban sprawl and the politics of environmental destruction. If you want an accurate time machine, trace the influence peddling of the lobbyists and speculators who run US Century and who commandeered politics at County Hall for two decades at least. All that "distressed real estate and loans on the books" exists under US Century because the bank is the largest recipient of TARP money in Florida. These are the biggest grifters in Florida.

The Herald has always been agnostic on the matter of judging economic development. Until judgments are made both about the mistakes of our economic past-- like the indiscriminate conversion of farmland and wetlands to suburban sprawl benefiting land speculators, lobbyists, and land use attorneys-- there will be no reckoning that could lead South Florida in a more productive direction.

We will continue to muddle through, because South Florida has always been an attractive pass-through destination for wealth from the Southern hemisphere. The problem with being a pass-through destination is that no one really cares about the place we call home. So many of the people who did care-- the generations who fought to protect Miami's natural attributes for example-- have moved away; too old and tired to keep up the fight. Few of these were ever chronicled by The Herald for fear of offending the Chamber of Commerce.

The way Miami allowed our landscape-- and market for tourism-- to be wrecked to serve "growth that pays its own way" is shocking. And if the recent historic drought is an economic indicator, then the day may not be far off when "muddling through" will be a wistful memory. In "Drought: A Creeping Disaster", the NY Times writes, "In the South, 14 states are now baking in blast-furnace conditions — from Arizona, which is battling the largest wildfire in its history, to Florida, where fires have burned some 200,000 acres so far. Worse, drought, unlike earthquakes, hurricanes and other rapid-moving weather, could become a permanent condition in some regions."

The Herald should subtitle its next Time Machine: "evaporation of promise". But hey, it is a hot summer Monday and for readers seeking historical perspective, find it here:

Casey Anthony Released, Starting New Life. By Geniusofdespair

Photo Miami Herald, Groucho Glasses provided by Harry Emilio Gottlieb.

Mayor Gimenez Stop with the Big Salaries! By Geniusofdespair

Heard that there is another employee being considered for over $200,000. THAT IS TOO MUCH. I was disappointed to see Chip make that much. Please don't do it again!

The average HOUSEHOLD income in Miami Dade County is $41,533. Households making above $150,000 annually is 6.5%. 18.2% of households make less than $14,990.

In the City of Miami a whopping 28% of the people make less that $14,999 annually. Only 7% of the people make over $150,000. And the median income for a household in the City is $28,999. (2010 Census).

These people DO NOT UNDERSTAND big salaries. Especially a salary to one person that is almost $200,000 more than their entire household income. It is hard to swallow when you make so little. Yes I think Gimenez needs qualified people but he is between a rock and a hard place. I don't think he can reason with his constituents on this sticking point.

Four years ago to the day: Eye On Miami and the Murdoch Empire... by gimleteye

The New York Times Joe Nocera today writes his mea culpa for supporting the Murdoch acquisition, on the "Fox-ification" of the Wall Street Journal. Hmmm.

Four years ago to the day, (July 17, 2007) long enough to matriculate from college, we printed this brief piece on the Murdoch Empire; a plea to the owning Bancroft family not to sell the Wall Street Journal to Murdoch, whose American empire is supervised by Field Marshall Roger Ailes of Fox News.

It's always interesting to know what changed, and how. Four years ago, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was above 14,000. Friday, it closed at 12,479. Where will the Dow be, on August 2nd if the GOP gets its way and slams a radical, right-wing economic agenda-- benefiting Rupert Murdoch and his cronies-- into the side of the US economy? Down 20 percent at opening.

Friends of West Kendall Have a Good Writer and Mucho Money To Stop a UDB Move. By Geniusofdespair

What gives? Environmentalists would kill to have enough money for this full page ad in the Miami Herald against Cemex/Shoma Homes' application to expand the UDB Line to rock-mine. I looked for the group "Friends of West Kendall". It says find us on Facebook. Not there. I looked it up in Corporate papers not there. Who are they?

Hey, I am glad that someone paid for this ad against moving the Urban Development Boundary (what is the cost of a full page Herald ad, $20,000?) and wrote the copy so well but I am curious where the money came from.

(Hit the ad pages to expand it)

As the comments come in, I am beginning to think this was written by a development attorney such as Jeffrey Bercow. Environmentalists don't care about the stupid hospital out there and never would have put a picture of it in the ad. And environmentalists appreciated Carlos Alvarez's steadfast support of the UDB line. And environmentalists and/or citizens would never write such goofy stuff about water, like "Water is the bringer of life and harbinger of death."

The Miami Herald should have checked on the name sponsoring the ad or were they too anxious to pocket the money to care? I like to know who is manipulating me. Who wrote the check?

A P90X for American Politics ... by gimleteye

I'm old enough to remember the first infomercials on television: Ginzu knives, slices of carrots and potatoes flying off the screen. Infomercials are so ubiquitous they remind me that the real country I live in is also home to a sufficient number of buyers to make George Forman wealthier selling counter-top roasters than he ever did as the champion of the world. And we are not more evolved than the crowds of carnival go'ers in the 19th century who, for lack of any other entertainment, gawked at jars filled with intestinal worms and bought magic elixirs to rid themselves of whatever malady they imagined at the source of their troubles.

The same can be said of our approach to politics. Notwithstanding technological inventions that pushed our standard of living to comfort unimagined by past generations, we are prone to electing charlatans to public office who look good on stage, cut a fine figure before the television cameras, and have mastered the art of tapping into deep-seated anxieties. We are like a man with a soft beer belly who prides himself on the strength of his wrist developed from lifting glasses. Even among the fittest for public office, name one who is explaining that our national economic crisis is an enduring Long Emergency and not a Great Recession?

Along this line, I was morosely channel surfing when I came across this year's ubiquitous infomercial; for the in-shape fitness routine you (and millions of others) can do from homes whose values are underwater if they were bought in the last decade: the P90X. For lack of anything else to watch or gainfully employed by, I paid as much attention as I could on the successor regime to exercise balls, weights on springs, or machines that store under beds, in closets, that operate by carbon wires and pulleys and sculpt muscles in your sleep.

P90X promises these results in 90 days and is based, profitably, on cross-training. One week your muscles fatigue through one set of exercises, the next week another way. The point is: if you really work hard to confuse your muscles to work hard, you end up in better shape.

This lead me to speculation: couldn't the same practice be applied to American politics. It would require a constitutional amendment, but look at what the GOP is proposing now in the House of Representatives: how could institutionalizing cross-training in the American constitution be a worse outcome than guaranteeing we will be cutting public investment at the same time the value of everything else is declining.

The "exercise" of elected officials is like a herd of cows let out of the barn in the morning to graze in timothy and alfalfa all day and trudge back to the barn at night. There is no difference between the city commission or the US Senate: just the quality of hay they feed on. Not to mention watering holes along the way. This has been going on so long in America, the ruts are worn deep into the dirt.

What would cross-training do for American politics? How would it work? Who would the trainers, be? This will require more careful study next time I happen upon P90X. Hope springs eternal and how difficult could it be, to avoid the current results?