Latin Builders Association and HBO Contractor endorse Santorum ... by gimleteye

It is interesting how much coverage the media gave of the love fest the Latin Builders Association threw for the Republican candidates for president. I'm sure if Sierra Club invited the candidates (and they agreed to appear) there would have been only a footnote in the newspaper. As it is, the Miami Herald did give a footnote (and not a story so far as I could tell) that the LBA board endorsed Rick Santorum. I can't think of any better endorsement for Santorum, assuring he will never be elected, than if Tony Soprano endorsed Santorum himself. (This clip needs subtitles in Spanish.)

Just finished reading "Dead Last". By Geniusofdespair

I wrote about James W. Hall's appearance at the Miami International Book Fair on November 22nd.  Specifically that his book "Dead Last" was not available for purchase.  Feeling my pain he sent me an autographed copy for free.

I  just finished reading the book (I had a few ahead of his in my book reading line-up). Following in the footsteps of  John D. McDonald who created the reluctant PI, Travis McGee of Fort Lauderdale; Hall created Thorn, an eccentric, swept into being a investigator by circumstances. Thorn lives in the Keys and fishing is his passion. His full name, never used, is Daniel Thorn.

The mystery took the reader for a ride through Miami. He weaved the infamous Silver Sands Motel in Key Biscayne into the story along with Perricone's restaurant, the Miami River, Flagler and Spring Gardens among other places. I thought that one location sounded suspiciously like the Miami River Inn but it was not named that. Anyway, I enjoyed the read and I liked the character Thorn. Continuing characters are my favorite for mystery reading, if you like them you want to read more. One character I didn't like was April's mom - annoying. I was wrong about who the murderer was so I was surprised by the ending. I was hoping it was April's mom so she would go to jail and never be heard from again in Hall's books.

It made "Dead Last" better that I knew most of the places that Thorn was traveling through. Even some names were familiar. One character had the last name of Matheson. As I read, I wondered if Hall got his protagonist's name from Miami Architect Thorn Grafton. There were also lyrically written passages that could only describe Florida - for example:

"The sky was leaden and low and in the east the sunrise was muffled to a vague pink. The air smelled tense and electric from an incoming storm. Overhead in the lowering sky two parrots groused at each other as they made their morning rounds."

Thanks again for the book Mr. Hall, you reminded me, I have to make an appointment with Dr. Rivlin (you have to read the book).

Norman Braman talks about gambling on Dylan Rattigan Show. by Geniusofdespair

January 27th - Auto Dealer, Billionaire Norman Braman talks about the effect gambling will have on Miami.



Really good point comes at 1:00 on the counter....and another at 2:50 on the counter.

If you are on a phone use this link.

The MDX: Driving Miami into the abyss of more sprawl ... by gimleteye

The board of the Miami Dade Expressway Authority, or MDX, is in the midst of approving the extension of the Dolphin Expressway/ SR 836 south into farmland and open space and needs to hear from the public why that is a terrible, horrendous idea. What is at stake is including this project in the MDX 5-year plan. If approved by the MDX board, it will trigger another in a long list of skirmishes at the Urban Development Boundary; this is where the battle to protect the Everglades has been fought over the decades in Miami-Dade County. Unfortunately, the MDX board is poised to do the bidding of land speculators. The board includes land use lobbyists like chairman Felix Lasarte, Gonzolo Sanabria, Al Maloof and Maritza Gutierrez. 

Today is the deadline for public comments. It is worth a moment of time to write to MDX and express your own thoughts about more suburban sprawl next to the Everglades. As if the western edge of Miami-Dade County isn't littered with enough foreclosures and ghost suburbs to last a lifetime. Ask the MDX to withhold approval of this boondoggle from its 5-year plan (the project identifier is #83618). tgarcia@mdxway.com


The MDX is planning to expand the 836 Dolphin Expressway west toward Krome Avenue and then south to Tamiami Airport. In other words, a massive highway project to bail out powerful land speculators whose investments are gathering dust because there is zero demand for the suburban sprawl they helped scatter throughout Miami-Dade County. Ramon Rasco, Sergio Pino, Rodney Baretto, Ed Easton are just some of the shareholders who could extract value from their speculative investments-- made near the top of the real estate bubble-- and fatten profits for land they may or may not even be paying mortgages on. While these issues are beyond the purview of the MDX board, they provide atmospherics of environmental destruction familiar to Southeast Florida: build highways, build sprawl, wreck the Everglades, and make taxpayers foot the bill.


Big highway projects have always served to lubricate the relationship between politics and developers. Given the overdevelopment of Miami-Dade, this kind of project -- and the fraudulent underpinnings of the "extend and pretend" economy-- ought to rejected.


Sierra Club and Tropical Audubon Society write: "We ask the MDX board to remove the 836/Dolphin Expressway Southwest Extension (project 83618) from its 5-year plan. We question the necessity of the this project and am concerned about the impacts to residents, agriculture and America's Everglades. We believe this road is unnecessary and will actually will increase, not alleviate, congestion on SR 836. Commuters currently have the option of taking several highways into downtown Miami. The existing 836, the Florida Turnpike, the 874, the 878 and the 826. Most of these roads have been or are currently being rebuilt to handle greater capacity. Future and existing toll revenues should be used to maintain these roads and provide for public transit alternatives, not to build new roads into environmentally sensitive areas. The project will threaten Everglades National Park and nearby federally-protected wetlands. A new layer of highway extending away from the city will fuel sprawl because of its proximity to the Urban Development Boundary. This highway would attract development of agricultural and wild lands buffering the Everglades and pose a direct threat to the $12 billion federal-state Everglades restoration project."

What this project would also do, is to reinforce exactly the growth pattern that failed Miami-Dade County, wrecked the Everglades, jeopardized thousands of acres of wetlands and farmland, and imposed billions in unfunded infrastructure costs on taxpayers. You don't get out of a ditch by digging the same ditch, deeper. But that is the kind of logic Miami-Dade lobbyists and appointees embraced, in the run-up to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Watch what they do, now.

Who is Paying Attorney Stephen Cody To Disrupt Meetings in Miami Lakes? By Geniusofdespair

Stephen Cody Represented Natacha Seijas during the Recall.

The big question always comes down to: Who is paying Stephen Cody? He doesn't appear to do work when he isn't paid. He charged Natacha Seijas and her PAC's a small fortune over the years. He has had a shadow client before like he has in Miami Lakes. He tried to get Eugene Flinn thrown out of the District 8 County Commission race. Who paid him for that? No one knows.

We have an example of the importance that Cody puts on getting paid in a recent (4/13/2011) Florida Bar "Admonishment" where he was fined about $2,000 for minor misconduct. In the complaint, even though he had a $5,000 retainer, he did not answer calls from his client so she stopped paying 2 installments due. In return, he says for NON-PAYMENT, Cody then failed to send his client correspondence advising his client of the status of the appeal. In Cody's signed admission he stated:

"Respondent (him)  failed  to  send  written  correspondence  to Vazquez advising her of the status of the appeal and/or his failure to file the appeal due to her nonpayment."

 So why is Stephen Cody in Miami Lakes snapping photos and passing out 15 pages of stuff, most of it dismissed ethics complaints (deemed frivolous), at a meeting in Miami Lakes?  Kevin Morejon, a 20 year resident said he wanted to know.

Kevin said he went to the meeting held by Mayor Pizzi with 75  to 100 of his neighbors.
Pizzi was having the Town Meeting at the Royal Oaks Park Community Center  on January 17th at 7:00 pm. The topics were public safety, park and lake issues for homeowners in Miami Lakes. The town of Miami Lakes is a very long way from Cody's Palmetto Bay office. When people arrived, they were confronted by Stephen Cody, and some workers he brought with him, according to Kevin Morejon. He said Cody and his crew confronted everyone going into the meeting and passed out a  bunch of pages with an unflattering photo of Mayor Pizzi stapled on the front.  According to Pizzi the content of the pages were an old ethics report of false allegations against him. He said the multiple page flyer cut off the portion of the report that said that these were allegations from years ago and that they were all dismissed.

Morejon said that he didn't know who the group were crashing the meeting, until he heard an employee call the man in the blue shirt Mr. Cody. He said they were disturbing the residents and they were unprofessional. Morejon said "I thought it was wrong that they gave under-age kids the stapled papers.  Mr. Cody was taking numerous photographs too. I thought he was a photographer at first. My guess is he took 25 to 30 snapshots. It was very disruptive." Apparently for a time he was blocking the view of  Mayor Pizzi as he was talking, filming or snapping photos.

Morejon said, after I revealed Cody was an attorney: "Now you tell me he is an attorney. If he is a lawyer, I am surprised he was doing that.  Some residents left because they were scared." Then I said to Kevin: "What would you think if I told you that he was Natacha Seijas' lawyer?"  He said: "I would freak out. Why would she stoop to his level if she sent him? She might as well have been there herself giving out the papers." He said a lot of people ripped up the papers in front of Cody.

I also spoke to Mary Collins, of Miami Lakes who, like Morejon, wanted to know why Cody was in Miami Lakes. She said, "Why is Cody so interested in Miami Lakes he doesn't even live here?" Good question. If I had, to guess, this is who I think is paying Cody.  I told Mary that he was once Natacha Seijas's attorney. She said: "I didn't realize he was her lawyer but I did not sign that recall petition."

 Kevin assured me his is not helping Pizzi's campaign for reelection but he said he will vote for him because of what he has done for the Town. He said "More police are out there, the mayor came through stepping up and doing his duty, protecting Miami Lakes Residents.  Mayor Pizzi made Miami Lakes better, he is accomplishing goals and he tells the truth."

Kevin Morejon had one final thought: "I think Mr. Cody's behavior should be reported to the Florida Bar."

Another Bar complaint Cody?? Wasn't one enough?

Vote Yes, and Yes Again On 2 Miami Dade County Charter Changes, January 31st. Guest Blog by Vanessa Brito

Last year, we turned down proposed charter amendments that made a mockery of our needs. This year, we are still not getting what we want, but at least it got better...better enough to vote YES.

Most residents do not want to compromise, but in this case, it seems to be a necessary evil. Voting YES will ensure that residents and grassroots organizations will have more time to collect petition signatures for Charter amendments, without having to rely on Commissioners to put them on the ballot. Beyond that, we get to put an end to perpetual incumbency by voting YES on the second amendment, setting term limits to 8 years.

It seems like so much time has passed since Miami-Dade voters recalled Mayor Carlos Alvarez and I began the recall of Commissioner Natacha Seijas, but it has been less than a year since that historic and proud moment for voters. Now we have to keep that ball rolling, and these 2 charter changes will do just that.

With one week left to the January 31st GOP Primary and Special Election, it is expected there will be dismal turn out of Countywide electors even though we have these 2 important Charter Amendments on the ballot. Do voters know it is NOT just a Republican primary? Do they know that Democrats and Independents need to vote too?

I won't lie. I would love for Commissioner term limits to be retroactive, giving us an opportunity to completely restructure our local representation and government. The reality is, however, that unless the current commissioners approve such language for a special election ballot question to electors, it will not happen. Of course, we have one shot at getting retroactive term limits on the ballot, but that would mean that on January 31st, voters would need to approve the first proposed amendment Relating to Initiative Petitions and Elections on Charter Amendments. In this case, we would have a 120 days to collect petition signatures for a Charter Amendment. I can tell you from experience, 120 is much better than 60, any day.

I won't lie. I believe $92,000 is too high a salary for public service. Notwithstanding the almost three-figure salary, public servants should dedicate their time FULLY to responding to residents' needs and issues. That will happen if you vote YES. Commissioners will be barred from having outside employment. I would dare say that the bulk of County Commissioners that currently hold outside employment make much more than $92,000/year thanks to their connections to lobbyists, consultants, and departmental knowledge.

It is difficult to swallow a $92,000 salary, especially for people we feel have been representing themselves more than the taxpayers. Still, the second proposed amendment relating to Salaries, Service, and Term Limits of County Commissioners ascertains the one thing we have always wanted - for sitting Commissioners to finally have an 8 year term-limit. Last time the County Commissioners offered us 12 years and it failed - rightfully so.

I plead with the people of Miami-Dade to remember that the County Commission WILL NOT give you exactly what you want - not now, not any time soon. The Commission is hoping that you will vote down these amendments to justify their inaction on Charter reform in the future.

Has anyone wondered why Commissioners have not spent much time talking about these Charter Amendments and most non-Republicans are not aware that they have a right to vote on these Amendments?

Put it on your Facebook page and tell your friends and family to vote YES on these 2 Charter Amendments. Tell them: One will stamp County Commissioners with an expiration date and the second will give us more time to change that expiration date.

As A Republican I Am Getting Some Pretty Creepy Mailings. By Geniusofdespair

My God the junk mail is pouring in. All these PAC's are spending a fortune on mailers. This was by far the most frightening piece of mail I got, that big face scared the bejesus out of me and my family. Maybe becoming a Republican wasn't such a good idea after all.

The Florida GOP Presidential Primary, "Thank you all for coming by": The Latin Builders Association, Jeb and George W. Bush... by gimleteye

In light of the economic crisis and the collapse of dreams for millions of Americans, it is worth looking back at the "Ownership Society" that helped trigger the housing boom, then bust. This is along the same lines as President Obama's State of the Union speech, last night (through which House Speaker John Boehner looked like he had eaten a frog. Note to Boehner: do you really think that helps your cause). Obama began with a recitation of the mistakes made by powerful Washington officials and Wall Street financiers who are now trying to make hay with the "politics of envy".

President Obama did not linger on the history, but voters might. In the spirit of accuracy, here is a speech delivered on "The Ownership Society" by President Bush on June 18, 2002 and still available on the HUD website. Reading it today, reminds of the barb by Groucho Marx who was a comedian not a pundit, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."

The applause lines in the speech are clear. The Bush administration responded to 9/11 by stimulating housing markets and wealthy homebuilders who had propelled both Bushes, respectively to the Governor's Mansion and White House. You will have to read the whole of it to get to the part where he talks about our response to "evil" and connect the dots to lowered interest rates and thresholds to building and construction. That's where the Latin Builders Association directors and lobbyists came in, swinging at the piñata.

When Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich lunch with the LBA today (called "mighty" by this morning's Miami Herald but more on the order of "fallen".) an question for enterprising reporters: what was the role of the LBA and its and bankers like the US Century Bank board of directors including Ramon Rasco and Sergio Pino, and Jeb Bush for that matter; lobbying then HUD Secretary Bob Martinez for housing policies that ran the economy into the deepest ditch since the Great Depression?

(Miami New Times should make its life mission, to uncover the details.) So here is the grand plan from the Bush speech:

"... The problem is we have what we call a homeownership gap in America. Three-quarters of Anglos own their homes, and yet less than 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanics own homes. That ownership gap signals that something might be wrong in the land of plenty. And we need to do something about it.

We are here in Washington, D.C. to address problems. So I've set this goal for the country. We want 5.5 million more homeowners by 2010 -- million more minority homeowners by 2010. (Applause.) Five-and-a-half million families by 2010 will own a home. That is our goal. It is a realistic goal. But it's going to mean we're going to have to work hard to achieve the goal, all of us. And by all of us, I mean not only the federal government, but the private sector, as well.

And so I want to, one, encourage you to do everything you can to work in a realistic, smart way to get this done. I repeat, we're here for a reason. And part of the reason is to make this dream extend everywhere. I'm going to do my part by setting the goal, by reminding people of the goal, by heralding the goal, and by calling people into action, both the federal level, state level, local level, and in the private sector. (Applause.)

And so what are the barriers that we can deal with here in Washington? Well, probably the single barrier to first-time homeownership is high down payments. People take a look at the down payment, they say that's too high, I'm not buying. They may have the desire to buy, but they don't have the wherewithal to handle the down payment. We can deal with that. And so I've asked Congress to fully fund an American Dream down payment fund which will help a low-income family to qualify to buy, to buy. (Applause.)

I Let Readers Decide Who I Should Vote For in the Republican Primary and The Winner is....By Geniusofdespair

The comments left on my post Who should I vote for in the Republican primary? were lacking persuasive arguments. "Newt, Newt" was funny but I needed more. The comment that won me over was this one:

Anonymous said...

Genius,

Since you are a primary voting Republican, and possibly looking to help Obama with your vote, I strongly encourage you to support Romney. He is perpetually stuck in the 20-30% range with his own party. He will never muster the support necessary to defeat Obama.

Gingrich is a different matter. If the economy is still struggling in November, Gingrich will ignite the anger of every unemployed / underemployed voter in the country to oust Obama. He will agitate the Republican base to a boil...it will be the Tea Party on crack!

If Romney is the nominee, the White House will be able to make it a Main Street v. Wall Street campaign and win. Vote Mitt! - January 23, 2012

On my promise to let you guys help me decide -- I will vote for the Mitten...unless someone can convince me otherwise by the end of the week as I want to vote early in the January 31st primary.

Public Hearing At County: Meeting Over Whether to Over-ride the Mayor's Veto. By Geniusofdespair

Over-riding the Mayor's veto...public hearing is going on as I write. I have listened to a lot of sad, heart tugging stories over the past hour.

2:00 P.M. There was a couple of hours of public statements -- mostly from the police.

After the public hearing Gimenez made a second speech, -- this is a link to the video of the second more interesting speech. From discussions, it seemed like the Commissioners were going to vote on an alternate deal they were going to concoct themselves. Barbara Jordan appointed herself to this task. I thought I would barf at this point so I shut it off. This was painful to watch as usual. The pay cut or layoffs proposed by the Mayor to balance the budget didn't sit well with unions or county commissioners. Expect a compromise.

9pm: I was right a compromise it was, I can read these commissioners after only a couple of minutes.

Florida GOP presidential primary: Gingrich shows the wear and tear. Ron Paul seems more youthful by the day ... by gimleteye

Mitt Romney went on the attack last night at the presidential debate in Florida, excoriating Gingrich as a former top leader rejected by his own party in the 1990's and acting today as if that history never occurred.

Gingrich touts his relationship with the Clinton administration. He cites the balanced budgets and economic growth during years as Speaker of the House. Let's set those facts straight. Gingrich and Clinton mixed like oil and water. Gingrich opposed the Clintons at every turn. He vilified Clinton for immoral conduct while he was conducting his own extramarital affair. Moreover, his slash and burn leadership style modeled for what was to come: Tom DeLay and the K Street Gang including Jack Abramoff.

Gingrich, under the spotlights, is like a savant game show contestant. His strategy under withering attack is to riffle through the copious file drawers of his mind. Or lean on his history. For example when Adam Smith, political reporter for the St. Pete Times, asked Gingrich about the federal farm policy that protects and enriches sugar billionaires, Gingrich used the question to take a breather-- recalling how well the sugar industry protected itself from reform when he was Speaker.

There were bright moments last night. Three of the four contestants -- Romney, Gingrich and Paul-- affirmatively support eliminating the sugar subsidy in the Farm Bill. Big Sugar and its billionaire Fanjuls command politics in Florida by sprinkling campaign contributions on the political landscape like confectionary sugar on a pastry. You could almost see the Fanjul billionaires spitting into their cafecitos. (How will Republican US Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, respond to the Big Sugar subsidy question, next, when his patron--Jeb Bush-- supported sugar at every turn including its ongoing illegal pollution of the Everglades. Big Sugar substantially paved Rubio's way to the Senate over his rival, Charlie Crist.)

The most solids of the debate went to Ron Paul on the question of US relations with Cuba. For the other candidates, the hard line against Castro was cued up like a sound track from the 1970's on a coin-operated jukebox. The kind where you flip the pages with the little silver lever only there's no other song but how much we hate Castro. Ginrich, Santorum and Romney all sang the same song, to which Paul replied: "The Cold War is over. We propped up Castro for decades. He used us as a scapegoat." Thank you, Ron Paul. "We talked to the Soviets and Chinese. We fought with the Vietnamese and now we are trading with them. We should tell the Cubans we want to talk and trade with you. We are living are in the dark ages… it is not 1962 and we don’t have to use force and intimidation any more."

Santorum delivered an especially paranoid fantasy of Cubans harboring Taliban and jihadists, sounding like McCarthy from the 1950's. If Santorum wants to police Muslim presence in the hemisphere, he'll have to advocate putting US traffic cops in every Latin American nation. Otherwise, Rick: drop it.

With the economy so awful in Miami, the majority of Cuban Americans with business acumen are itching to open business in a place where demand has been suppressed and supply choked for so long. Even as the Republicans rant against Castro, Cuban American Republicans are ramping up remittances to relatives back home, helping them start business above or under the table by the thousands. What time could not do, the terrible economy in Florida will: it is time to go back and make money.

If the Cuban Americans in Florida vote for Paul, the quixotic congressman from Texas will have made his greatest contribution to modern political history.

In other respects, Paul's vision of foreign policy-- bring the troops home-- is in line with the urgent need for fiscal sanity in defense budgets. Romney, Gingrich and Santorum all default to American exceptionalism and its resentments, linking up to rejection of any policy favored by Obama, no matter how well grounded in practical economic reality and the needs of a coherent national security. With the exception of Paul, they simply gloss over the fact that it was the Bush administration that cost taxpayers trillions and treasure engaging in the wrong wars. Speaking of which, the Bush name wasn't mentioned once in last night's debate, was it?

Another View on Gambling: Wrong-Headed as Economic Fix. By Geniusofdespair

Following are excerpts from a New York Times OpED by Paul Davies, a journalist and a fellow at the Institute for American Values, he edits an anti-gambling blog:

The governor of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, is sending his state down the same wrongheaded path as other states that are trying to gamble their way out of economic trouble by legalizing commercial casinos.

The casinos might create jobs and generate revenue for state coffers, but those gains would come at a cost that casino supporters ignore or play down. Various studies, including research by the economist Earl L. Grinols at Baylor University, have shown that casinos produce little to no economic spinoff and in fact divert spending away from surrounding businesses like restaurants, movie theaters and live entertainment. In the worst cases, some problem gamblers spend money that is needed for groceries, rent or child support.

More broadly, casinos are nothing more than a regressive tax that extracts wealth from the very citizens who can least afford it.

Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Maine are among the states considering similar moves to raise revenue. It is all part of a broader gambling expansion that includes efforts to legalize Internet gambling at the federal level and in several states. New Jersey wants to legalize sports betting.

Thirty years ago, Las Vegas and Atlantic City were the only legal casino destinations in the country. But over the last few decades there has been a steady increase in lottery offerings, riverboat casinos and gambling on Indian reservations. Today, 41 states have some form of casino gambling, and all but 7 have a lottery.

Governor Cuomo is correct that New York — which has a state lottery, casinos on Indian reservations and video lottery terminals at the Aqueduct Racetrack — is already in the gambling business. Many New Yorkers also travel to Atlantic City, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to gamble. But making gambling even more convenient to residents is not the answer to the state’s budget or unemployment woes. Lawmakers are sworn to protect residents, not make it easier for them to lose money.

The economist Paul A. Samuelson described gambling as the “sterile transfer of money or goods between individuals, creating no new money or goods.” Warren E. Buffett called gambling a “tax on ignorance.” Governor Cuomo’s father, Mario, himself a former governor, understood the negative impact. “There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community,” he wrote in a 1994 book, “The New York Idea.”

From his website: 21 Reasons to get governments out of gambling.

Who should I vote for in the Republican primary? By Geniusofdespair

Angry Dad, Clueless Brother, Opinionated Grandpa, or Rich Uncle

I am letting Eye on Miami readers decide who I should vote for in the Republican primary.  Give me a name and a reason I should vote for them.  If you want to send money, that will move your choice up on my list. Seriously, I need your guidance.

As an on-again, off-again Republican, I need a crash course on my tea party, evangelical and religious right talking points.

I am leaning but need a push in the right direction...if there is one.

I do know one thing for sure: I am voting FOR term limits on the charter change.

GOP primary politics in Florida: who is persuadable? ... by gimleteye

(graph, from Bill Moyers and Company)

For political operators in their respective GOP camps, the fate of the upcoming presidential primary in Florida -- a little more than a week from now-- is a chess game on at least a few levels. The competition between Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich for the mantle of the Republican Party began long ago: back in the early 1990's when it was Jeb, not George, who was trying to surface for air within the GOP leadership and Newt was holding him down, armed with a raft of brilliant ideas aimed directly at Bill Clinton, Hillary, and the Democrats.

That was long before the real now: a depression engulfing the nation in bits and pieces-- excepting, of course, the one percent. The bitter resentments of economic collapse are just barely below the surface in the state that bought into the housing bubble lock, stock and barrel.

A weekend poll by Bendixen and Amandi International for The Miami Herald indicates twice as many Hispanics as Anglos believe the local economy and availability of jobs in Florida's most populous county, Miami-Dade, is getting worse. As the fraud capital of America, South Florida shows how the entrepreneurial engines of the economy thrive at the edges. Those edges are frayed so badly that locals are willing to embrace casinos and full scale gambling in a conservative, values-voter state that only a few years ago used houses and condos as ATM's for personal lines of credit.

LBA Presents: "Decision 2012": A Day with Newt, Scott & Santorum. By Geniusofdespair

Now that I am a Republican not only is the Pub junk mail pouring in, so are the invitations to swanky Republican events. For example:

The Latin Builder's Association is advertising an all-day event called "Decision 2012." Pretty catchy title.

This sounds like a Day in Hell, if you ask me.

Newt (breakfast)  and Rick Scott (lunch) on the same bill...ick. What happened to Mittens? Even Rick Santorum will be there for a 'merienda' (snack) after lunch. That threesome really makes it a no-go for me, in fact, it would be T-O-R-T-U-R-E.

With all that eating, I don't see any time in the schedule for barfing... Yikes!!!!!

We can't all work at Walmart. By Geniusofdespair

My friend is a computer engineer. He lost his job with others in his company, unceremoniously escorted out of the building after 9 years on the job making about $80k. Where can he go at 61? We can't all work at Walmart where the average salary for a sales associate is $8.82 per hour.

People are losing middle class jobs, like my friend had, left and right. His former company just bought a computer company in China and had one in India for years that was slowly siphoning off the company's U.S. jobs. That is what should be stopped. The incentives to take our GOOD jobs overseas, leaving people here with little prospect of finding work at middle age for more than minimum wage.

Our readers trash cops and I am embarrassed: "Oh, they are lazy, oh, they have it so good, etc." Why can't we instead be happy that someone is making a little money...a decent salary - that they might be making more than you or me. Unions have a place in our society and they should not be demonized even if the PBA has an asshole as their head -- John Rivera. And even if they continually support bad candidates -- Natacha Seijas. The unions assure us a middle class. We need a middle class.

Link to Jim Morin's Page

I don't want to hurt the people making $40,000 to $175,000. I want people to be able to get decent salaries, have good benefits and retire without stress because it is fair. Why don't their employers think the same way as me?  The questions we should be asking are: Why are the companies our neighbors work for spending millions on campaign contributions to get legislation that hurts workers salaries and benefits? And, why are companies outsourcing - sending our good jobs out of the country? Finally, why are we not outraged at the right target?

We all clamor for decent jobs (that every politician promises and never delivers -- except low wage) and at the same time we shoot our fellow workers who have decent jobs in the foot. We are being manipulated to believe cops, teachers, and other union workers are pulling in huge salaries and pensions that they don't deserve. But it is peanuts if you look at the true villains in this jobs dance. The employers are greedy, or in the case of the county - inept, and the workforce is punished and we the citizens all cheer. What dopes we are, falling prey to a big fat lie.

Eye On Miami Exclusive! GOP presidential primary comes to Florida! ... by gimleteye

I exclusively listened to CNN coverage of the South Carolina presidential primary results last night. Newt Gingrich spoke directly to me. Scoop for readers: Newt Gingrich is a sociopath!

Yes Newt won in South Carolina among conservatives who hate Barack Obama. I don't mean, hate. I mean, HATE. And for his part, Newt knows that pouring gasoline on that fire is not so simple in Florida. Unlikely he can march like General Sherman through Georgia. (Oh, who gets the reference? Never mind.)

Speaking of references, can anyone argue after last night in South Carolina that Gingrich made Huey Long and Lester Maddox look like vestal virgins? Anyone remember Lester Maddox?

On CNN, the Republican punditry delicately referred to Gingrich as "unsteady". OMG. Gingrich delivered a speech so chock-a-bloc full of sublimated bullet points of racial hatred and the unique resentment of injury that as the sweat beaded on his wide forehead, I felt myself turning by degrees into the same fuming hunchbacked cripple he would like to make of the rest of the nation. Oh, that's what he calls, "American Exceptionalism".

It is no wonder that the GOP leadership (is there any?) despaired of Gingrich long ago. He IS the mad man, filling the empty, vaulted ceiling of his chambers with grandiose delusions. But Gingrich is also possessed of a mad genius the way some sociopaths are. Gingrich won in South Carolina but he comes into Florida-- territory of his nemesis Jeb! Bush-- like a cornered animal. Florida is key. His twin towers of aspiration by January 31: to tap into the resentments of Tea Party Republicans who despise the Republican establishment (apparently they have not quite figured out that Jeb! IS the Republican establishment) and to tap into the Republican money changers: polluters, Big Oil and Big Coal and Big Ag.

"I am articulating the deepest held values of the American people," Gingrich swore last night. He also swore that Barack Obama wants to keep us all from being American. Gingrich said the centerpiece of this campaign is American exceptionalism -- and the crowd in South Carolina chanted USA, USA, USA the same way they did when Saddam Hussein was trapped, cornered and killed in a hole. Gingrich sounded out against "the anti-religious bigotry of our elites". As in, here come the hunchbacks. (Speaking of which, why are there no Negroid hunchbacks?)

Gingrich actually said this: "We have speech dictatorship in America by anti-religious bigots who are federal judges." I did not make that up, and it certainly did make me want to pull the covers over my head.

"President Obama, the most effective food stamp president in American history." "I would like to be the best American paycheck president in American history." "If we shrink the Washington bureaucracy we have to increase citizenship back home." Yes, and that Gingrich led citizenship will be uneducated white, out-of-work, and carrying Glocks.

Moving on, Gingrich said, "There will be no Chinese leverage on our economy after four years when I balance the budget." "On an AMERICAN energy policy: no American president should bow to a Saudi king. So we will use some of that $29 billion from oil royalties and reward South Carolina by modernizing the Port of Charleston where it has taken 8 years to study the project by US Army Corps of Engineers." Gingrich leaned on history: it only took us three years and eight months to win World War II. (How long did it take us to win the wars started by George W. Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan? Never mind.) He will produce a lean effective federal government and what he meant was that all those regulations protecting the environment will be blown up if you just contribute a few more million dollars to spend in Florida. His naked plea might as well have been on a scroll bar at the bottom of the TV screen.

Gingrich said, "All Barack Obama has done is take care of extremist left wing friends in San Francisco." (I always liked San Francisco.) But honestly, only Newt Gingrich could put Jeb! Bush and Saul Alinsky on the same side of the point: nothing could be better for the Democrats and Barack Obama than if Gingrich and his one-man band of verbal flamethrowers, grenade launchers, and DDT sprayers won the Florida primary.

"We still have a long way to go," said candidate Mitt Romney to his South Carolina audience. "This battle is for the soul of America," Romney said, spilling sound bites like a torn burlap sack filled with corn. "I'm passionate about our economic liberty because ... we have seen a frontal assault on free enterprise, we didn't anticipate some Republicans would join President Obama."

We are never moving to South Carolina, my wife said to me. Yes-- I hesitate this morning-- but we live in Florida.