Early Voting Today. By Geniusofdespair

When I get around to getting dressed, will go out and check some of the early voting locations.  The 8:23am report from elections shows Coral Reef Library with a 4 hour wait.  All the rest of the locations are better, some not much better. New wait times should be posted any minute. The 9:26 report: Wait time has improved in all precincts. 10:30, Aventura is at 4 hours and 15 minutes. Shortest wait is City of Miami and North Shore Library at 7501 Collins.  11:15 - Wait times have improved at most sites. North Dade Regional Library is the worst at 3 hours 30 minutes.

Rasmussen (Republican leaning pollsters) in their daily tracking poll has Obama and Romney at 48% each. They had been showing Romney ahead. My favorite, Five Thirty Eight  as of Nov. 1, forecasts Obama with 303 electoral votes and Romney at 234. They predict Obama has an 80.9% of winning.

SEE OUR ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS...

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: EARLY VOTING MIAMI DADE COUNTY TODAY

West Kendall Library - Photo by Barry White

Miami Lakes Library - 1 1/2 hour wait.

North Dade Regional Library - Line went further and winded around. 3 1/2 hour wait.

In Florida politics, Big Money has a way of staying out of sight ... by gimleteye

There is a terrific episode of Frontline, "Big Sky, Big Money" that illustrates in awful detail the impact of the Bush Supreme Court's Citizen United decision. 

There won't be much news in it, for those who have closely followed the campaign finance abuses that are now standard operating practices in Florida. The episode demonstrates why Big Money as expressed through massive secret contributions is primarily a Republican phenomenon but not exclusively so. It also addresses the stubborn refusal of the US Supreme Court to reconsider Citizens United, despite the clear and blatant abuses of law that miscreants manage to hide under the broad umbrella of secrecy, legitimized by the Court.

For Floridians, the last line is chilling, "Big Money has a way of staying out of sight." That is so true in Florida, where Big Sugar and the billionaire Fanjuls can now exert enormous influence over state and local legislatures through proxies that are impossible to trace.

The collateral damage is the disappearance of diverse voices within the GOP, leaving the party to extremists and sycophants. Our latest example: the political hit job on GOP county commissioner in Lee County, Ray Judah. Judah was singled out by Big Sugar for daring to protest the pollution wrecking real estate values and quality of life and the environment; all the result of Big Sugar's domination of Florida water supply. No different from the story told by Frontline in Montana, brought to light by disgruntled Republicans.

Big Money has a way of staying out of sight.

Will Republicans in Florida send a stiff message to their own party: it is time for a purge ... by gimleteye

Florida Republicans can help the nation next week: vote for Obama or don't vote the presidential race. 

There are many Republicans who are deeply unsettled by the surrender of the GOP to radical extremists. There is nothing to restrain them beyond a reassessment that would accompany an Obama victory.

The satire publication, The Onion, takes acid to the realization -- reinforced by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's endorsement of President Obama -- that climate change is here, now.

I was reminded of a conversation overheard at the 2004 American Enterprise Institute election wrap-up in Washington, DC. One lobbyist said to another, "Climate change? No one will care until New York City is under water." Check, that. There, but for the grace of God goes Florida.

(Click 'read more', for The Onion's take on dawning public awareness in America.)

Early Voting Miami Dade County October 31st. By Geniusofdespair

Early Voting in Hialeah

Video Link, Early Voting in North Miami.

Heard that one voter on line, just before 7pm yesterday, at the South Dade Government Center, finished voting at 10:15 pm. Apparently there was a glitch with a machine.

I read in the Miami Herald that Penelope Townsley, the Election Supervisor, went down to North Miami and spent the day there Tuesday, probably in response to the NAACP and others complaining in an email. Her appearance must have paid off because things were running smoothly there when I went about 5:30pm, Wednesday. There was a 2 hour wait, but they were moving along and the staff seemed quick to move new people in. I like the Supervisor of Elections. I think she is hands on and not afraid to do what should be done:

"After Townsley spent all day at the North Miami site Tuesday, the city-run library provided an extra room for voters. The elections department then installed 24 more voting booths, three more optical ballot scanners, one more ballot-printing machine and another voter check-in station."

I think the Governor saddled Townsley with a monumental task by shortening early voting. I like the Election Department's early voting wait time estimate (updated hourly). It is fairly accurate from all reports I have gotten.

I didn't quite understand the popularity of early voting over absentee ballots until yesterday. A woman in North Miami said to me that people want to go somewhere and vote, they don't want to fill out a form at home.  It makes them feel that they are participating in something very important to them and others.  She is right,  filling out my absentee ballot was a bland voting experience.

Does a political superstorm, spun by right wing extremists, forecast the future ... by gimleteye

Regarding Superstorm Sandy, Florida voters know that, but for the grace of God, there we would be.

The images of NJ governor Chris Christie and President Obama working together is ironic, given that Christie had been walking point in the effort to diminish the president's chances of re-election. Interesting how the rhetoric quickly vanished in the aftermath of wind, waves, and flooding.

So here is Mitt Romney on FEMA; the federal relief agency that is now proving a backstop to the president's promise to NJ and NY and the region devastated by the superstorm: "we will be there for you." Here is what Romney would say, based on his past statements: "we will not be there for you."

At a CNN debate in June, 2011, moderator John King engaged Mitt Romney on the FEMA question. Romney answered King clearly and forcefully, but not in a way that Floridians should find acceptable:

KING: ... I was just in Joplin, Missouri. I’ve been in Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and other communities dealing with whether it’s the tornadoes, the flooding, and worse. FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role. How do you deal with something like that?

ROMNEY: Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut—we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we’re doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we’re doing that we don’t have to do? And those things we’ve got to stop doing, because we’re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we’re taking in. We cannot…

KING: Including disaster relief, though?

ROMNEY: We cannot—we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.

That was Romney, then. How often has Fox News played that clip, lately? Nada. Today Romney is "rowing away" from what he said as fast as he can. In the last days of the campaign he has taken a "softer tone". Make no mistake, Florida voters: radical extremists in the GOP are going to run the Romney White House the same way they did in the Bush era. With friends like that, who needs a superstorm?

Why Obama Now

A Hurricane Sandy Hit on Long Island. By Geniusofdespair

The house in the middle belonged to my brother.  Lucky guy, he sold it about 3 months ago. He was about 60 feet from the water and there were sliders on the house and a big deck. I have to think all of these houses have a tad of water damage, with their windows blown out and all. Also it appears, by the lean of the house, that it has been knocked off its foundation. There was 8 foot of water in the den. Insurance companies are going to go broke with this storm.  Expect rates to rise in Florida. One of these three houses is not covered by insurance.

What a Difference a Day Makes. By Geniusodespair

The photos of Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama, man, a real game changer.  I have to say I am impressed with this love-fest. The cooperation between the two -- putting aside partisan politics -- is rooted in what is good for the people of this nation...for once. Thank you Hurricane Sandy for this hard lesson.

ELECTION ALERT: Voter Turned Away From Aventura Polling Site by Police. By Geniusofdespair

See the two circles (one on left voting place) to show you where the police suggested my relative park. Were arrangements made with the Park?  That is a pretty long walk for the oldsters in Aventura as the park is fenced, you can't cut through it.

A family member was turned away from the early voting site in Aventura. The police told him there was no parking. He saw the police letting other cars in and asked them why some cars were let in and not others. The police said they had city business. He said he told the cops that he had a right to vote. The cops said, I don't know maybe you can park at the Park (around the block). The end result: He didn't vote. There needs to be a shuttle to parking or some arrangements made for people not handicapped but older. The median age in Aventura, was about 54 in 2009.

Please keep us informed of any voting problems. Link to early voting wait times.

In other election news, just got word that:

South side of North Shore Library.

2 Photos taken 11:15 at North Shore Library on Collins in North Beach. The elections Department estimated an 1 hour and 1/2 wait time at 11:15. Notice they are giving out water at this location.

The line wrapped around the 4 sides of building (East and part of North side).

1:15: North Dade Regional Library and Coral Reef Library have 4 hour waits. Choose another site. Link to early voting wait times.

Gimleteye: The election, the US Supreme Court, and the new normal

Before drifting off to sleep last night I skipped past a question: do the US Supreme Court justices watch the unfolding tragedy in lower Manhattan and New Jersey with an understanding how their decision called Citizens United is responsible for suppressing any mention during the presidential campaign of climate change and the new economic reality?

The United States is unable to adapt to the new normal -- as represented by the awesome image of seawater pouring into the foundation site for the new World Trade Tower building in Manhattan -- because the power of corporations overwhelms reasonable debate. "Corporations are people", Mitt Romney declared during the GOP primary as though amazed anyone could think differently. It is certainly what a majority of US Supreme Court justices believe; a majority appointed by Republican presidents.

This is what the election comes down to. Democratic governor of New York Andrew Cuomo was televised on nightly news last night, speculating that it was time "to do something", because 100 year flood events have now become two year flood events. But no one is doing anything because our politics are hostage to right wing extremists. According to the GOP extremists, it is every man, woman, and child for themselves.

How will you vote?

Paddle Boarding on Alton Road, Miami Beach. By Geniusofdespair

Ovidio DeLeon of Sailboards Miami becomes the first person to paddle-board down Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida. Risking life and limb against Miami's crazy drivers, Ovidio successfully navigated this treacherous stretch of water in South Beach. This amazing feat would be impossible if not for the effects of Global Warming and its influence on Sea Level Rise. Link to video. Thank you Ovidio Deleon for helping Dan shoot this footage yesterday.




Dan Kipnis, a boat captain, shot this video to shine a light on climate change he is seeing in his lifetime. This is a link to a presentation Dan did on Global Warming.