I really hate writing for this blog now. I think because government: County, State and Federal is just so very bad, embarrassingly bad. I feel like I am always looking away -- as if there is a dead rat on the sidewalk and I don't want to barf. How much can you look away? But when I don't, it just makes me crazy. We have a Bizarro world filled with hater, xenophobic, racist people. I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime... Everyone I research has skeletons in their closet. I can’t do it anymore, it sucks my optimism gene dry.
Stephen Cody has an ethics complaint against South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard.
Stephen Cody was hired by someone when we were examining ballots for the Lynda
Bell/Gene Flinn election -- I was there and he was watching us. As I watched him looking over our shoulders, I thought "scum." After he had his license suspended as a lawyer by the Supreme Court, I made peace with Natacha Seijas's lawyer/friend Stephen Cody - even friending him on Facebook when he posted cute pictures of his granddaughter Olivia. Those days are long over.
Cody doesn't play fair. He can be vindictive. He ain't no friend of mine. I unfriended him in February, when he was attacking Phil Stoddard. He had Valerie Newman do a robocall for his PAC. Everyone knows that Valerie is a known enemy of Stoddard and has been accused of questionable activity in that regard.
My last words to Cody as I unfriended him:
I doubt you care as much about feminism as you do at helping your pals at FPL.
I really think that Cody, in a corner of his clouded brain, thinks he is being a good guy, but I am apt to believe he is just a hired gun. He has used this tactic before, in Miami Lakes for instance. I just do not like someone who plays by his murky rules and I don't like anyone lecturing me on what kind of a Me-Too survivor I should be. Sorry Steve, ethics rules are not in effect. No response needed by you. And since when does Ethics do anything anyway? This case is a no winner for them. The Mayor asked Council. That should have ended it. And, does Steve Cody have standing if he is not a lobbyist?
Did this make Stephen Cody a bottom feeder?
You are a bully still, trying to explain it away as you hide your supporters behind a 501-C4's. I wrote this in 2012 about him:
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."
Miami Dade County Democratic Party Head - Juan Cuba introduces the Candidates
The Candidates for District 27 of the US Congress: Matt Haggman, Michael Hepburn, David Ricardson, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Donna Shalala. Michael Putney was the moderator.
David Richardson annoyed the hell out of me when Kristen Rosen Gonzalez questioned him about his getting Big Sugar donations. He didn't address them he just turned it into an attack and said the pollution to Lake Okeechobee was coming from North of the Lake and that is where we needed remediation. He told Kristen she should get her facts straight. No sugar related pollution David? Oh, well he can't win anyway.
The rest of it, put me to sleep. They agreed on a lot. Free College Tuition? Come on. Get realistic, how about affordable loans. Democrats can be so fanciful with our tax dollars. That is what gets them into trouble. I never saw Michael Hepburn speak before. He was impressive.
I still hold a grudge against Donna Shalala over the Pine Rockland sale when she was head of U of M. I assume she will win. Anyway, the St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove was packed and hot as hell. I left pretty early.
In a fundraising letter Melania Trump sent to my friend in New York, it appears the signature is forged. What do you think?
Donald Trump's Signature
Apparently others have also been struck by the similarity. Here is what a handwriting expert said:
Well, Yahoo spoke to handwriting expert Sheila Kurtz, who was, quite frankly, amazed.
She has been studying Donald's handwriting for years reportedly, and this was her response to seeing Melania's own signature,
'Hers looks just like his, which is absolutely amazing.'
Amazing? To be honest we thought it might be normal for people in relationships to gain certain similarities - they have been a couple for 19 years after all (12 of them married).
Apparently not, Kurtz explained that this was probably coordinated,
'This is stylized. Maybe they brought someone in to show her how to do it or [it's] a stamp, but it is definitely stylized.'
That seems fair considering how many things she probably has to sign everyday.
So Melania has been coached on how to sign her name.
Why is Homestead my favorite city in Florida to chuckle at? Because of the zany way the place runs and the inbred crackers that run it. The police building was just completed and it needs a new roof? According to the City of Homestead website:
Thanks to your support and the careful planning of those involved, we've completed our new Homestead Police Headquarters on-time and on-budget!
The 55,000 square-foot, three-story facility is the first new building constructed specifically for law enforcement operations.
The station was designed by Rodriguez & Quiroga Architects Chartered and built by Munilla Construction Management. The impressive facility, constructed on-time and on-budget, is a community centerpiece that aligns with the vision to revitalize Downtown Homestead.
The new Homestead Police Headquarters opened for business Wednesday, February 15, 2017. All are invited to the Grand Opening Ceremony on Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
So it appears the building is a little less than a year and half old yet it needs a roof replacement. The City residents appear to be as bewildered as I am.
I have heard Senator Bill Nelson speak a number of times. He is not a great speaker. He has that laid back Florida twang as a Northerner, I don't quite get.
I have also heard his evil Republican opponent speak and he is worse. That is why Rick Scott is just running negative ads against Bill Nelson. Scott can't speak at all without stuttering through his speech. I guess that is why he pleaded the 5th amendment 75 times. He is just not a speaker.
Rick Scott can claim victory for his two runs for Governor by running more ads. Effective ads. Is that what you want? A Senator who relies on his own money (that he got dubiously) to run ads?
Bill Nelson was born in Florida and has lived here his whole life. Is he smart? What do you think. You have to be damn smart to be an astronaut and in great physical shape.
Rick Scott, born in Illinois (the evil opponent) was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997, amid a controversy over the company's business and Medicare billing practices. During his tenure as chief executive, he oversaw the company while it defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs. The Department of Justice ultimately fined the company in what was at the time the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history.
Now Florida is facing one of its biggest catastrophes with the Algae blooms on both coasts. How does Rick Scott have anything to do with that? He made appointments to all the Water Management District Boards. Here is the mission of the Board:
To manage and protect South Florida's water resources by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.
Here is the background of some of Rick Scott's appointees - as you can see they are NOT uniquely qualified to make the decisions based on the Mission:
• Member, Florida Farm Bureau's Statewide Equine Industry Advisory Board, Member, Florida Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Program, Board Member, The Children’s Healing Institute, Former Member, Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau Board of Directors... Appointed By: Governor Rick Scott
• Director of Community and Government Relations for Lipman Family Farms...Appointed By: Governor Rick Scott
• Attorney Partner: Reed, Griffith & Moran...Appointed By: Governor Rick Scott
• Co-founder and Vice President of Entic, Inc (Real Estate Firm)....Appointed By: Governor Rick Scott
• Title Agent, Attorney's Title Fund/Old Republic National Title Insurance Company ...Appointed By: Governor Rick Scott
And with the crew he appointed - supporting the polluters of Lake Okeechobee - here is what we have now on the coasts:
We have a Governor who cares more about the Sugar Industry, ignoring their pollution, than he does about Florida water so people can safely recreate in and around it and for fish to flourish. Don't vote for Rick Scott.
I hate Charter Review time. The County Commissioners always try to put shit in our Citizens Charter. This time they want to change it so County Attorneys (beholden to the Mayor and Commission), not our ELECTED County Clerk, to approve the language in petitions. But that is another story.
We voted in 2012, by a whopping margin of 77%, that we wanted term limits on County Commissioners. Some have been serving for almost 25 years. So what were the Commissioners debating yesterday? Repealing term limits. WHAT? Yes, They wanted a revote on that. We voted for it because the lobbyists were ruling the County. It has helped a little. At least we will finally get rid of the demented Javier Souto who has served since 1993. What a blessing that he will be gone.
Here is what Commissioner Audrey Edmonson said about term limits -- I believe she is very close to a County Commission lobbyist (it is the rumor that she is dating Roosevelt Broadley but we do know she has had help from him in her campaigns):
Miami Herald Today: Audrey Edmonson's Unbelievable Quote. Hello, the County has always been run by Lobbyists.
Because you are all in the mode of Facebook and Twitter, I won't bother writing anything more because you won't read it - go read the article in the Miami Herald.
But this is what TERM LIMITS got us for 25 years (some of the other Commissioners leave when he starts talking):
Here is a video I made of Javier Souto in 2011. Thank your lucky stars we will be rid of him soon. He mentions Miguel DeGrandy (a lobbyist) in this speech. He always, always mentions Cuba in every speech and he has a euphonium for me and some you: "The wine and cheese set living East of Biscayne Blvd." He did have one good vote against chain link fences in front yards.
Here is one I made from 2010 about bi-lingual phonebooks:
Canada is looking damn good lately and you might be contemplating leaving Dodge. Justin Trudeau is the antidote to our gravely, mentally ill Narcissist. But before you go any further with your Canadian plans, check out the real estate cost in Vancouver - a civilized place with good bike paths, awesome parks, people who don't litter and a lot of aluminum-decorated facades of buildings.
Remember: These are MEDIAN sale prices.
Yaletown is a wonderful place but over a million dollars for a townhouse? Ouch!
I really can't understand why people hate people that look different. I do admit I sort of hate Kim Kardashian. I secretly want her to age badly. I know why I hate her, I always wanted to be pretty and have a great body. I am actually jealous of her because she has it and I don't.
But then there is the Whites hating Blacks, and the Whites hating Hispanics, and the Whites hating Jews and the Whites hating Gays...that I really don't get. Maybe because I personally don't hate any groups.
I don't think Whites hate Hispanics because they are jealous but I theorize it is because they will dilute the White race in the United States by their numbers. Even though Donald Trump markets the Hispanics coming in as dangerous, talking about Hispanic gangs all the time, no one is really afraid of Hispanics. He also calls them job thieves. They aren't taking the jobs that White Americans want. It is all a diversion that is more palatable than, we don't want you taking over our Nation with your numbers and inter-marrying with our lily white kids.
Donald Trump knows how to tap into fear and hate (besides knowing how to lie).
I was leaving Monty's with an unknown woman also leaving. About 7 people came towards us on those electric scooters. I said "Oh No" thinking, now the zany scooters will be traveling in packs. I was sort of amused as some of the people didn't seem steady on the scooters. The woman next to me said "Darwin." I thought, how odd. What did she mean by that? Then I realized all the people on the scooters were Black and she was referring to them negatively when they were just having fun. It upset me. I was concerned about the Scooter Craze and she was concerned with who was on the Scooters.
So, where am I going with this? I guess I am thinking that Donald Trump is making hatred towards others more acceptable. Instead of accepting the differences; whether people have a disability, a different color or a non-Norwegian look (i.e. they are Hispanic) Trump is making an issue out of it all. Even Democrats, I am so tired of his blaming Democrats for every crack in the sidewalk. He governs Democrats as well as Republicans. He is treating North Koreans better than two thirds of United States' citizens. They are not some enemy, Donald, they just disagree with you and resent being lied to. It is okay for his two wives to emigrate into the United States and bring their families, but it is not okay for Jose or Maria to bring in their families. Too much hate. Too many lies.
In 1966 in South Africa, Robert Kennedy said:
Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. and:
Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard, to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives. Everything that makes man's life worthwhile-family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head -all this depends on decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of men can be protected and preserved only where government must answer-not just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, or a particular race, but to all its people.
And the last word with John Oliver, regarding the Donald-Kim Summit and Trump's lies about it, and his sucking up:
Eileen Higgins with Her Communications Campaign Manager. Eileen easily beat the favorite and better funded - Zoraida Barreiro. We have now lost a charter member of the unreformable majority and replaced him with what might be the difference on all the shitty votes in the County. If only Sally Heyman would realize she is a Democrat, we might move things the right way with Higgins, Levine-Cava, Suarez and Monestime.
Zoraida Barreiro pointed to pleas from homeowners for an alternative to Krome Avenue or Florida's Turnpike as a way to connect with the 836.
"This is something that is needed in that area. The residents of Kendall want it," Zoraida Barreiro said during the debate hosted by Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney. "They've been asking for it. They need it. It's been horrible traffic in that area. That's going to help."
Higgins said building new roads hasn't helped traffic in Miami-Dade yet, and pointed to warnings that low-lying areas in the west have significant risks for flooding from a rising water table.
"I worry very much about putting any sort of development, including roads, outside the Urban Development Boundary," she said. "Anybody that witnessed the horrific flooding in Houston, when they begun to encroach upon their wetlands, knows the danger of taking our protected wetlands around from us, given what's going on with sea-level rise."
Higgins will not be sworn in until Friday but the hearing on 836 is tomorrow. I wonder if she will be speaking from the floor? I wonder if the vote can be postponed.
MEANWHILE...
County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava has a motley crew of 3 running against her.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s desire to alleviate traffic congestion in West Kendall is understandable. His attack on those raising concerns is not. The opposition to the extension of the 836 highway outside of the county’s urban boundary is based, not on “misinformation,” but serious concern, based on history and the realities of development practices and economics, that the county would be making a huge mistake.
Addressing traffic problems in the 21st century with a 1970s solution of building more highways is a bad investment given what we now know about how quickly new roads fill up with new traffic and open areas to new development, and about the critical need to shift away from infrastructure for cars and toward real mass transit. Miami-Dade County’s land use plan specifically reflects these understandings and, for these reasons and others, contains explicit prohibitions against building new public infrastructure — like this highway extension — beyond the Urban Development Boundary.
The looming decision of whether to invest $650 million into another highway expansion or modern mass transit comes at a pivotal point in this county’s history, as it is coming to terms with the necessity of re-working its water supply and flood-protection system, reducing its vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise, and restoring the Everglades upon which it relies for so many economic, recreational and other purposes. It is concerning that some in county leadership may not understand that building a highway through the Bird Drive Basin wetlands would compromise the restoration project water managers are still designing for those lands to prevent flooding and restore previously impacted wetlands in western Miami-Dade County.
The PR campaign to promote this highway may be selling fool’s gold to West Kendall residents, and the county would soon be looking for yet another new road in a few years when this one fills up with new traffic — whether or not it leads to new development in the area.
Billionaire Jeff Greene is now a candidate for Florida Governor on the Democratic side. He told the Miami Herald that he turned over a new leaf since he married a former party girl of Malaysian descent and fathered 3 boys.
On the plus side he went to John Hopkins and Harvard so ain't as dumb as Trump. He is definitely an improvement over Scott.
He said: "I got married 11 years ago. I have three boys, 5, 7, and 9. That changes your perspective...I'm thinking 'How am I going to take care of these little guys and what kind of world will I leave them.'"
He signed the billionaires' pledge giving away his fortune to philanthropic causes when he dies. He has also pledged millions to help other Democratic candidates throughout Florida.
Greene said of Trump: "I can see fraud when it's there in front of me, He's a fraud."
On the negative side:
He had Mike Tyson as his best man. A little nutty there, but that was 11 years ago.
He was a Republican, but than so was I.
He was a party boy, but than so was I (girl).
Greene has no political experience, a curse and a blessing.
He thinks he may still belong to Trump's Palm Beach club (what a dilemma to not know what dues you are paying).
Anyway, Phil Levine (worth about $100 million) does not have a clear path to the nomination with Jeff Greene's entrance (about 4 billion). Bob Graham is a paltry multi-millionaire (Graham's total net worth is reported to be between $7.35 million and $31.7 million) and less likely to part with his money for Gwen. However, Gwen Graham could profit from this 'money' wrench in the race, by letting the other two duke it out and coming up smelling like roses (except for that damn pipeline vote). I do think Graham would do better with independents.
P.S. Greene runs a school for the "academically advanced child" that I found disturbing in the elitist sense:
...The problem facing America runs much deeper than Trump’s personal awfulness. One of our two major parties appears to be hopelessly, irredeemably corrupt. And unless that party not only loses this year’s election but begins losing on a regular basis, America as we know it is finished. - Paul Krugman (read the entire column)
Has that sunk in? Do I have to put a big black box around it? My heart is beating rapidly. What he said has taken me to a place I never wanted to go. Why? Because I believe it is true.
Who is Paul Krugman you might ask. Here is his bio in the New York Times:
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times in 1999 as an Op-Ed columnist. He is distinguished professor in the Graduate Center Economics Ph.D. program and distinguished scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study Center at the City University of New York. In addition, he is professor emeritus of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.
In 2008, Mr. Krugman was the sole recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on international trade theory.
Mr. Krugman received his B.A. from Yale University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1977. He has taught at Yale, M.I.T. and Stanford. At M.I.T. he became the Ford International Professor of Economics.
Mr. Krugman is the author or editor of 27 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals and edited volumes. His professional reputation rests largely on work in international trade and finance; he is one of the founders of the “new trade theory,” a major rethinking of the theory of international trade. In recognition of that work, in 1991 the American Economic Association awarded him its John Bates Clark medal. Mr. Krugman’s current academic research is focused on economic and currency crises.
County Commissioner Barbara Jordan wanted all new leases for concessions at the airport, seaport and other County leased properties to require a living wage to their workers. Not existing leases just new ones. Well it passed and the Mayor vetoed it. Yesterday they had a hearing to do an override of the veto. They needed two thirds. They got Sally Heyman, Daniella Levine Cava, Xavier Suarez, Jean Monestime, Audrey Edmonson, Dennis Moss and Barbara Jordan. Not enough? Even with Barreiro gone? They needed one more stinkin' vote. Barreiro would have definitely voted the wrong way.
Barbara Jordan said a lot of lobbying went on by the Mayor with promises of perks to all the Commissioners. She said she even got one.
Barbara Jordan made an impassioned speech trying to convince her fellow Commissioners to join the override vote, but they were steadfast. Barbara wake-up and smell the coffee. It stinks of Mayor Gimenez.
County Commissioner Xavier Suarez made the motion to override the veto.
Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava seconded the motion.
What will happen today? The Transportation Union is having a special meeting to try to get concessions from the Commissioners. Will it be the same block that approves the concessions for Transportation Workers and then the same gaggle that overrides a veto from the Mayor, that veto will happen as sure as I am sitting here.
