Florida Voter Data Base

Tropical Storm FAY; Campaigning after a hurricane

Jim Callahan — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:59:13 EDT

The 3 day forecast cone stretches from Miami to Tallahassee, with the central track running across Key West. So, Florida will be hit. The key questions are where, when and with what intensity. Gulf is warm especially in hot August so the storm will intensify to a hurricane and continue to intensify the longer it is over the water.

Based on my experience with helping after the tornadoes in Buena Ventura Lakes (BVL), Winter Garden and hurricane Charlie in Orlando; here is what to do when Fay hits Florida.

I won my 2004 precinct leader election while walking through downed trees and power lines (be careful) after hurricane Charlie hit Orlando.

HINT: Now is a good time to buy a case of bottled water and put it in the fridge, if there is no hurricane you can donate it to a campaign ;).

HINT: Also a good time to do laundry -- if water and power go out, you will want clean clothing especially if you can't shower or bathe!!!

CAMPAIGNING AFTER A HURRICANE;
NATURAL DISASTER CAMPAIGN PROTOCOL

Rule #1 People are coping and they no longer have any interest in ordinary campaign issues.

If you are at the scene of a natural disaster, convert your walk scripts to three questions:
1. Are all your family members OK?
2. Do you have electricity and phone service?
3. If visible property damage; have you registered with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the Red Cross and your insurance company?

FEMA issues an ID number that Red Cross needs for its disaster relief accounting system.

As a campaign, we may target areas that predominately have our supporters, but once on the scene, do NOT have a party test or show favoritism in disaster relief. Only the worst 3rd world dictatorships show partisanship in disaster relief. When not volunteering directly for the Red Cross it is OK to have some candidate ID to generate good will, but it is NOT OK to discriminate in a time of need. Do not engage in political debates, focus on immediate needs.

Remember, the Red Cross has many skills that you do not, but you also have some important skills, contacts and resources.

The Red Cross does NOT have walk lists, you do.
You know how to walk a neighborhood, follow a script and record information.
You have personal relationships with elected officials and have a clue which level of government may be responsible for different services. You are potentially the eyes and ears of Democratic elected officials, listen, observe carefully and provide accurate and concise reports.

Any lit should be heavy on helpful information and light on candidate info. Put a small tag line next to the disclaimer saying paid for as a public service by [name of candidate or organization].

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

McCain on Supreme Court appointments

Jim Callahan — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:50:33 EDT

At Saddleback,according to Rick Warren's own transcripts, John McCain said (line numbers omitted):

Q ...WHICH EXISTING SUPREME COURT JUSTICES WOULD YOU NOT HAVE NOMINATED?

A [McCain] WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, JUSTICE GINSBURG, JUSTICE BREYER, JUSTICE SOUTER ER AND JUSTICE STEVENS.

Q WHY? TELL ME WHY?

A [McCain] WELL, I THINK THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS INCREDIBLE RESPONSIBILITY IN NOMINATING PEOPLE TO THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. THEY ARE LIFETIME POSITIONS AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL BENCH. THERE WILL BE TWO MAYBE THREE VACANCIES. THIS NOMINATION SHOULD BE BASED ON THE CRITERIA OF PROVEN RECORD OF STRICTLY ADHERING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND NOT LEGISLATING FROM THE BENCH. SOME OF THE WORST DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE BY LEGISLATING FROM THE BENCH. AND BY THE WAY, JUSTICES ALITO AND ROBERTS ARE TWO OF MY MOST RECENT FAVORITES, BY THE WAY. THEY REALLY ARE. THEY ARE VERY FINE AND I'M PROUD OF PRESIDENT BUSH FOR NOMINATING THEM.
===
McCain
http://rickwarrennews.com/transcript/civil_forum_transcript-05.txt
===
Q ... WHICH EXISTING SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WOULD YOU NOT HAVE NOMINATED?

A. [Obama] THAT'S A GOOD ONE. THAT'S A GOOD ONE. I WOULD NOT HAVE NOMINATED CLARENCE THOMAS. I DON'T THINK THAT HE. I DON'T THINK THAT HE WAS A STRONG ENOUGH JURIST OR LEGAL THINKER AT THE TIME FOR THAT ELEVATION. SETTING ASIDE THE FACT THAT I PROFOUNDLY DISAGREE WITH HIS INTERPRETATION OF A LOT OF CONSTITUTION. I WOULD NOT NOMINATE JUSTICE SCALIA ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY DOUBT ABOUT HIS INTELLECTUAL BRILLIANCE BECAUSE HE AND I JUST DISAGREE, YOU KNOW. HE TAUGHT AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AS DID I IN THE LAW SCHOOL.

Q. HOW ABOUT JOHN ROBERTS?

A. [Obama] JOHN ROBERTS I HAVE TO SAY WAS A TOUGHER QUESTION ONLY BECAUSE I FIND HIM TO BE A VERY COMPELLING PERSON, YOU KNOW, IN SERVICES INDIVIDUALLY. HE'S CLEARLY SMART, VERY THOUGHTFUL. I WILL TELL YOU THAT HOW I'VE SEEN HIM OPERATE SINCE HE WENT TO THE BENCH CONFIRMS THE SUSPICIONS THAT I HAD AND THE REASON THAT I VOTED AGAINST HIM AND I'LL GIVE YOU ONE VERY SPECIFIC INSTANCE AND THIS IS NOT A STUMP SPEECH.

Q. ALL RIGHT. WHEN I PICK THIS UP IT MEANS --

A. [Obama] EXACTLY. I'M GETTING THE CUES. I'M GETTING THE CUES. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JOBS OF I BELIEVE THE SUPREME COURT IS TO GUARD AGAINST THE ENCROACHMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH ON THE POWER OF THE OTHER BRANCHES AND I THINK THAT HE HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT TOO WILLING AND TOO EAGER TO GIVE AN ADMINISTRATION WHETHER IT'S MINE OR GEORGE BUSH'S MORE POWER THAN I THINK THE CONSTITUTION ORIGINALLY INTENDED.
===
Obama
http://rickwarrennews.com/transcript/civil_forum_transcript-02.txt

The tacky thing about the forum was it was like a 1950s quiz billed as John McCain being in a sound proof booth.

I'M GOING TO ASK IDENTICAL QUESTIONS TO EACH OF
THESE CANDIDATES SO YOU CAN COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES. NOW SENATOR OBAMA IS GOING TO GO FIRST. WE FLIPPED A COIN. AND WE HAVE SAFELY PLACED SENATOR MCCAIN IN A CONE OF SILENCE.

Now, I think the quiz shows used a "sound proof booth," "cone of silence" sounds more Get Smart. But, the point is John McCain wasn't even there, his campaign said he was still in transit. So, Rick Warren told an untruth and like a 1950s quiz show, there is a suspicion that with the delay the McCain campaign heard the questions in advance and in effect cheated.

The American people do not want another President to lie and cheat his way to the Presidency, it demeans the office and more importantly the process.

In 2008, we need a victory in a fair election and not a win at all costs attitude that includes winning by lying and cheating.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Florida Voting Machines: DS200 by ESS

Jim Callahan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:59:41 EDT

The Orange County, Florida canvassing board had a 7 AM logic and accuracy test this morning. Two words got me out of bed, "butter-fly ballot."

A lesson of 2000 is that if you are offered the opportunity to preview part of the voting process; take it or you will regret it for the next 8 years.

The DS200 is a scanner that is slightly larger than a laptop computer that has a flip up LCD screen. The DS200 scans a voter inserted paper ballot and the ejects the ballot into a ballot box.

Three issues:
1. OVERVOTE OVERRIDEIf there is an over vote the machine returns the ballot with an informative message and the voter is offered two on screen buttons, "Accept" or "Return." If the voter touches "Accept" the over voted ballot is done the over voted ballot is accepted (but not counted), if the voter touches "Return" they can have their ballot spoiled and be given the opportunity to vote again (up to three times under Florida law). The override is a little too easy and may lead the type of problems we had at Catalina Elementary where a clerk simply pressed the override switch and accepted overvoted ballots.

2. WRONG PRECINCT/CRYPTIC ERROR MESSAGE - During Early Voting a ballot on demand (BOD) is printed along with a pink sheet that the voter has to sign, acknowledging their address and specifying their precinct and ballot type number. The precinct has to be hand typed into the DS200 and then the inserted ballot has to match. If the number typed into the DS200 does not match the ballot a cryptic error message appears that only refers to a sequence error -- not to the precinct number.

3. RECOUNT LAW -- Under Florida Statute 102.141(7) if the vote is within one-half percent or less the ballots are "recounted" by feeding through the scanners again. Under Florida Statute 102.166 if the vote is within one-quarter of one percent, the canvassing board shall order, "a manual recount of the overvotes and undervotes cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of such office or ballot measure. A manual recount may not be ordered, however, if the number of overvotes, undervotes, and provisional ballots is fewer than the number of votes needed to change the outcome of the election. "

There is no law requiring a complete manual recount. There is also and audit that takes place only after the results have been certified by the canvassing board. The audit is not part of the election results. The certified results can be contested in court.

One the whole the machines and processes seemed pretty good. The scanners did reject ballots with small creases and during the test at one point the DS200 was a fickle as a dollar bill changer machine rejecting paper money.

The machines are programmed by a USB (flash memory) stick and the USB port is behind a locked panel, so the USB stick would not be casually replaced.

The DS200 plugs into a wall AC power outlet, but are battery powered like a laptop computer. There is an icon on the LCD screen indicating that it is plugged in and the status of the battery power. SOE testing indicated the DS200 had a 3 hour battery life under heavy use.

On power up a message indicates the DS200 has a VIA technologies main board. Also at power up the DS200 indicates it is zeroed out on a paper tape similar to an adding machine or cash register, except that the tape is thermal paper. The DS200 also has a brief onscreen message saying it is zeroed out. The Orange County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) has a detailed checklist for the poll clerk to use, "DS-200 INSTRUCTION MANUAL." Step 30 is "DO NOT REMOVE THIS ZERO TAPE!!" Step 31 is "make sure the tape reads zero counts then roll up the tape using a paper clip. Initial on the "Ballot Box Report" on the Election Media Control Form."

The DS200 reports its results by both modem over the phone and by hand delivery of the USB stick. During the day, a voice line and a laptop computer are plugged into phone jacks in the wall of the polling location. After the polls close, the laptop is unplugged and the DS200 is plugged into the phone jack so the DS200 can modem in the results. The DS200 is NOT connected to the phone network during the election and thus is not vulnerable to direct dial up attack. Social engineering attacks are another issue, but at least it is not connected to a communications network until after the election is over.

Jim Callahan
acting as in my capacity as
Board Member at Large of the
Orange County, FL Democratic Party
Orlando, FL

Registration and Verification

Jim Callahan — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:38:01 EDT

At the National Urban League conference this past week, the refrain was "Registration and Verification." Register to vote and verify your voter registration.

Under Florida Law (FL Statutes 97.055) in order to vote, you have to register 29 days before the election.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0097/SEC055.HTM&Title=-%3E2008-%3ECh0097-%3ESection%20055#0097.055

For the upcoming Florida Primary election on Tuesday, August 26th, book closing was Monday, July 28th.

For the Tuesday, November 4th Presidential election book closing is Monday, October 6th.
http://www.ocfelections.com/2008%20Book%20Closing%20and%20Early%20Voting.htm

Book closing voter registration voter lists and statistics are targeted to be available one week from today on Monday, August 11th -- which also happens to be the first day of early voting.

I am placing an order for the latest voter file today.

Greg Palast claims, "In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations from voter drives â€" overwhelming Black voters."
http://www.gregpalast.com/section/interviews-chats/

With the books closed, it is time to shift from registration to verification.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

The simple step of the courageous man

Jim Callahan — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:14:09 EDT

We shall be told: what can literature possibly do against the ruthless onslaught of open violence? But let us not forget that violence does not live alone and is not capable of living alone: it is necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies the most intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only refuge in falsehood, falsehood its only support in violence. Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his METHOD must inexorably choose falsehood as his PRINCIPLE. At its birth violence acts openly and even with pride. But no sooner does it become strong, firmly established, than it senses the rarefaction of the air around it and it cannot continue to exist without descending into a fog of lies, clothing them in sweet talk. It does not always, not necessarily, openly throttle the throat, more often it demands from its subjects only an oath of allegiance to falsehood, only complicity in falsehood.

And the simple step of a simple courageous man is not to partake in falsehood, not to support false actions! Let THAT enter the world, let it even reign in the world - but not with my help. But writers and artists can achieve more: they can CONQUER FALSEHOOD! In the struggle with falsehood art always did win and it always does win! Openly, irrefutably for everyone! Falsehood can hold out against much in this world, but not against art.

And no sooner will falsehood be dispersed than the nakedness of violence will be revealed in all its ugliness - and violence, decrepit, will fall.
* * *
One of the most brilliant addresses on this subject was actually Albert Camus' Nobel speech, and I would happily subscribe to his conclusions.

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1919-2008)
Nobel Lecture in Literature 1970
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-lecture.html

Whatever our personal weaknesses may be, the nobility of our craft will always be rooted in two commitments, difficult to maintain: the refusal to lie about what one knows and the resistance to oppression.

Albert Camus
Nobel Lecture in Literature 1957
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1957/camus-speech-e.html

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

MS Access bug/fix - importing large CSV text files

Jim Callahan — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:57:16 EDT

URGENT for users who import large data files into MS ACCESS 2007 data base.

Microsoft admits a problem, "Access 2007 takes more time to import large [30 megabyte] .csv files than Access 2003 does," but claims slow import is fixed in MS Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Democratic Voter Registration surges in FL

Jim Callahan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:45:52 EDT

John McCain's Florida problems may be growing: Democratic voters have out-registered Republicans by a nearly 7-to-1 margin since January.

State totals show Democrats gained a net of 106,508 voters from January through May, compared with 16,686 for the GOP -- a shift that could muddle any McCain campaign math that banks on a Florida win to gain the White House.

New Democratic registration outnumbered Republicans in six Central Florida counties -- even heavily Republican Seminole County. Orange County actually lost nearly 2,500 GOP voters and gained 11,800 Democrat voters so far.

"It's a clear sign that Democrats are re-surging in Florida," said political scientist Aubrey Jewett with the University of Central Florida. "I think the numbers certainly should worry the McCain campaign." * * *

Rest of Blog Entry
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/07/democrats-out-r.html

Orlando Sentinel News Story
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-voters1208jul12,0,466937.story

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Senator Obama's NYT Op-Ed Today

Jim Callahan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:23:02 EDT

We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 â€" two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions: going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal.

* * * I would consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government to ensure that our troops were redeployed safely, and our interests protected. We would move them from secure areas first and volatile areas later. We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.

New York Times, Monday, July 14, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/opinion/14obama.html?th&emc=th

Looming Municipal Default Crisis

Jim Callahan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:35:02 EDT

The poster child for the looming muni bond crisis is Jefferson County, Alabama which just replaced its financial advisers with just three weeks to go to an August 1st deadline.

The commissioners are also split over whether switching advisers would help the county avert the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in the nation's history, eclipsing Orange County's notable 1994 collapse.

The majority believes a new team would find a solution to the county's problems, while the minority believes a deal cannot be reached in three weeks and bankruptcy is inevitable.

The county faces an Aug. 1 deadline to come up with a plan to make a $100 million debt payment to Wall Street banks and creditors.

The commission voted 3-2 to hire a new team comprised of Birmingham investment firm Sterne, Agee & Leach; Wall Street firm The Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Keegan & Co., the investment banking arm of Birmingham-based Regions Financial Corp.

The meeting lasted 15 minutes, with 10 minutes spent on the resolution terminating contracts with Porter, White & Co.; Wall Street giant Merrill Lynch & Co.; and Birmingham law firm Bradley Arant Rose & White and hiring the new team.

The Jefferson County Commission could ask Wall Street banks and creditors for an extension beyond an Aug. 1 deadline to give a new team of financial advisers time to craft a restructuring plan for the county's $3.2 billion sewer debt and avert bankruptcy, Commissioner George Bowman said Tuesday.

Bowman, Commission President Bettye Fine Collins and Commissioner Shelia Smoot voted Tuesday to hire a new team after saying that the former advisers failed to make progress in reaching a solution to the county's sewer debt crisis.

That team of advisers extended payment deadlines three times since April 1.

The county faces an Aug. 1 deadline to come up with a plan to make a $100 million debt payment to Wall Street banks and creditors.

Bowman, who has emerged as the lead commissioner handling the crisis, said the new advisers are aware of what's at stake.

"I don't want to say they are miracle workers," Bowman said. "They know we have a deadline we are trying to meet and if they don't feel they can meet those deadlines, I'm sure they'll come back and ask for more time."

The Birmingham News, Wednesday, July 09, 2008
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1215591376104140.xml&coll=2

According to Bloomberg the new advisers may have ethical conflicts...

Wexler/McClellan on Valarie Plame leak

Jim Callahan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:54:18 EDT

Robert Wexler: Thank you Mister Chairman, thank you Mr. McClellan, for appearing before this committee today. Your book raises many questions about the administration that is incapable of telling the truth and, in your words, avoids accountability. I want to focus on how and why Scooter Libby came to reveal the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.
* * *
Wexler: So this suspicion leads you to believe that Vice President Cheney could have authorized Mr. Libby’s leak?

McClellan: I can’t rule it out, and I think that Scooter Libby in his, some testimony that he’s talked about, it’s possible that he could have first learned about her from, or that the Vice President could have even asked him to get that information out.

Wexler: Well, thank you for your candor, Mr. McClellan. Your suspicion or the doubts that you raise fit in very nicely to what it is we do know. We do know Mr. Cheney has been deeply involved in the efforts to cover up the leak and exonerate Mr. Libby. We know Mr. Cheney called you to have you unknowingly lie to the American people about Libby’s involvement. We know that the Vice President wrote a note where he starts to write and then crosses out the fact that the president himself asked Libby to stick his neck into a meat grinder to protect the administration. It is clear to me that Mr. Cheney is the only one left; the only likely suspect to have ordered the leak. If Mr. Cheney really thought Libby was innocent, then his note would have likely said something like “We need to protect this man who has done nothing wrong.” But that’s not what Mr. Cheney’s note said. The Vice President’s own hand betrays him and Libby, and implicates the President of the United States.

These facts and your testimony, Mr. McClellan, are more than enough in my view to open up impeachment hearings. Furthermore, the President’s use of the pardon power to deflect an investigation into his own wrongdoing by granting a commutation to the man who may have lied for him, would constitute an abuse and crime of the highest order. And we must determine on this committee conclusively whether or not this happened. Thank you, Mr. McClellan, for exposing some of the lies that were propagated by this White House. But unfortunately, as you have said, I believe as well, others in this White House have been blocking access to the truth. It’s time we sweep away the bogus claims of executive privilege and get Karl Rove, Andy Card, and others before this judiciary committee. We have the power of inhering contempt, and if need be, we should use it. Mr. McClellan, what you have provided today for the American people is enormously important. You are the first high official in this administration to come before this Congress and offer us a glimpse into the truth. I commend you for being here today.

McClellan: Thank you Congressman. I do believe it’s important for the American people to have the truth.

From a "Wexler for Congress" e-mail
"Update on McClellan, FISA, and Impeachment"
Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 5:43 PM

Almost a quarter of a million people (248,841 and counting) have signed up at the website "Wexler Wants Hearings" www.wexlerwantshearings.com
http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Iraq Stay or Go?

Jim Callahan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:19:48 EDT

There are some who argue that the US must stay in Iraq because of what would happen if we leave, but are they paying attention to what is happening as we stay? The website Iraq Body Count
www.iraqbodycount.org
tracks civilian casualties. Here is the entry for this past Sunday:

Sunday 6 July: 30 dead

Baghdad: car bomb kills 6, Shaab; 2 bodies.

Diyala
Qara Tabba: roadside bomb kills 8, including 3 children.
Baquba: 2 die during clashes between police and Sahwa members.
Kana'an: roadside bomb kills 1.

Ninewa
Mosul: gunmen kill 1.

Babil
Haswa: roadside bomb kills 1.
Iskandariya: Awakening Council Head is killed by bomb attached to his car.
Mussayab: body found.
Hilla: body found.

Basra
Zubair: child is blown up by landmine.

Anbar
Rawah: suicide bomber drives car at checkpoint, kills 5 policemen.

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/recent/

Stay or go, the deaths go on.
Landmines kill women and children without remorse...

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

A Tale of One City: Ft Lauderdale, Florida

Jim Callahan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:09:30 EDT

"June was the second straight month with more than a quarter million properties nationwide receiving foreclosure filings," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. * * * Bank repossessions, or REOs, continue to increase at a much faster pace than default notices or auction notices. REOs in June were up 171 percent from a year ago, while default notices were up 38 percent and auction notices were up 22 percent over the same time period."

For the third month in a row, California and Florida cities accounted for nine out of the top 10 metropolitan foreclosure rates among the 230 metropolitan areas tracked in the report.

The foreclosure rate in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ranked No. 9.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/foreclosure-activity-decreases-3-percent/story.aspx?guid={9BDD3E6B-A00E-43AC-ACDD-535152703528}&dist=hppr

Meanwhile, the Bush tax cuts are working...

Lauderdale Marine Center in Fort Lauderdale is expecting to open its new megayacht dockage and repair facility within 60 days, general manager Mark Pratt said.

The centerpiece of an 18-acre, $40 million expansion, the area has covered work space for yachts up to 185 feet and heavier lifts to pull them ashore for maintenance and repairs.

* * *

In 2006, megayacht repair and maintenance work in the area had an estimated economic impact of $219.8 million. The big boat visits also generated $152.6 million in brokerage and charter commissions.

West Palm Beach's Rybovich Marina is undergoing a $15 million upgrade that'll add 7,000 linear feet of new floating and fixed docks for yachts up to 300 feet long.

* * *

Last year, Rybovich completed the first part of the renovation, which included a new 40,000-square-foot repair center and service slips for yachts up to 275 feet.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzmarine0614sbjun14,0,4728001.story

Even non-foreclosed owners are in interesting times, Gov. Crist and FL House House Speaker Rubio deliver, "the largest tax cut in Florida History," though perhaps not in the way they expected.

With Friday's completion of the tax roll, homeowners can view their new tax values online at www.bcpa.net. * * *

The 4.8 percent decline in the tax base was slightly less than the 5.3 percent projected when the preliminary data was released in late May. It remains a dramatic departure from years of the tax base increasing by double-digit percentages.

Coconut Creek, Lazy Lake, Margate and Tamarac posted the largest percentage declines in their tax base, losing at least 9 percent of their value. The only cities posting an increase in their tax base were Southwest Ranches, Sea Ranch Lakes, Pembroke Park and Parkland.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbtax0628sbjun28,0,5478917.story

In Broward County, Florida, where the City of Ft Lauderdale is located, homes are being foreclosed, property values are declining and the yacht business is booming.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way" in short, the period was so far like the present period

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities/Book_the_First/Chapter_I

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Under Fire: Darcy Burner (WA, CD-8)

Jim Callahan — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:10:51 EDT

Darcy Bruner(D) candidate for US Congress in Washington State's 8th Congressional District lost her home to an 7 AM fire on Tuesday. Later the same day the Seattle Times website published a photo of her standing outside and below her fire destroyed home in a t-shirt with "" (XML for "end war").

By Wednesday "Kos" (Markos Moulitsas) of Daily Kos was promoting a fund raising drive for Bruner on ActBlue.

The tragedy has obviously upended her life, and she's struggling right now to put all the pieces back together. As such, she now faces a dilemma -- the more time she dedicates to dealing with her personal affairs, the less time she has to campaign and raise money.

We can't help with the "campaign" side of things, but we can help with the money side of things. Darcy would have to raise about $150,000 in the month of July to keep up with her Republican opponent. Us bloggers are going to try and raise that for her.

Darcy is currently at $250,000 across all of ActBlue. We want to get that to $400,000. A tall order, but no one deserves the respite from the rigors of fundraising more than Darcy.

One last point: Darcy is a huge netroots sensation because she is truly one of us -- a former Microsoft exec who is a geek at heart, and someone who has been with us on the war and FISA since she first started running in 2005. Some politicians can put up a facade or say the right things for the right audience, but there's no faking it when you've just run out of your burning house, seeing all your worldly possessions go up in flames as you frantically try to ensure your family is safe. Look at the shirt she was wearing:

[Photograph of an unhappy Darcy standing in front of a two story house reduced to one story by a fire wearing a t-shirt with the symbol ""]

The blog continues with an update by "Goldy."

[...] that’s XML for “end war.” And the fact that this was the shirt that Darcy was wearing at 7AM when she and her family fled their burning house, tells us in the netroots all we need to know about Darcy Burner [...]

Darcy needs to raise about $150,000 this July to keep pace with Dave Reichert and her own 2006 fundraising, and everyday she takes off makes her campaign budget that much harder to hit. That’s about $5,000 a day. * * * Every $5,000 increment we raise represents a day that Darcy won’t have to dedicate to her own fundraising efforts. It is a gift more precious than money; it is a gift of time.

BLOG: Daily KOS
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/2/125223/3865/723/545400

NEWSPAPER: Seattle Times, July 1, 2008 updated 5:45 PM
"Fire destroys home of congressional candidate Darcy Burner"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008027474_webfire01m.html

NEWSPAPER: Seattle Times, July 2, 2008 updated 6:48 PM
"Screams of Burner's son led to family's escape"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008028822_burnerfire02m.html

ActBlue
http://www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue?refcode=burnerfire

I was originally alerted to this story an email: TechPresident.com's "Daily Digest."

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Socialists outregistering Republicans!!!

Jim Callahan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:06:00 EDT

New databases are prone to coding errors, so preliminary results are to be taken with a grain of salt. A very odd result from a crosstab:

Looking only at Orange County, FL voters registered since January 1, 2008, in some African American precincts, the "Socialist of Florida" party (Party=9) appears to be out registering Republicans!!!

A very, very preliminary result subject to verification next week.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Election 2008 Theme Song

Jim Callahan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:03:00 EDT

Now for some shameless promotion. A blogger on "AOL's Political Machine" is promoting the song "It's Your Life" by my friend Francesca Battistelli (FRAN-CHESS-KA BAT-TIS-TELL-LEE).

So if any of you Democratic or Republican convention planners need a good theme song this year, I've got one for you: "It's Your Life" by 23-year-old Francesca Battistelli.

"'It's Your Life' is about using your voice, your abilities, and your life to stand for what you believe in. Your vote could turn the tide of the election. One small step could change the course of your life. It's your life, what are you going to do?"

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/07/02/election-2008-theme-song-republicans-democrats/

Listen to "It's Your Life" here (a promo video):
http://www.rhino.co.uk/rhino-videos,video-francesca-its-your-life-promo_1601740171.htm?pg=362&pgstart=361

In my (incredibly biased)opinion, Obama could do worse than featuring Francesca at his rallies to reach out to religious voters. Although Francesca's songs are inspired by her religious beliefs, they are songs of the heart and are gentle on the theology.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

July "$4.10 a gallon" 2008

Jim Callahan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:21:49 EDT

There was little good news for Americans hitting the road for the July Fourth holiday, as gas prices set their own record near $4.10 a gallon.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080703/oil_prices.html

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Florida GOP: RPOF Voter Registration Flyer posted

Jim Callahan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:49:41 EDT

If you didn't have reason enough to join an Obama voter registration drive this 4th of July, check out this PDF of a Republican Party of Florida(RPOF) voter registration flier posted on the Miami Herald "Naked Politics" blog.

Blog:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2008/07/gop-voter-broch.html

Flyer PDF:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/files/gop_voter_registration_flyer.pdf

nothing positive or warm and fuzzy about the GOP but, as a harbinger of the negative tone of this campaign season, the Republican Party mailer is a predicably filled with scare tactics. For example, if Obama wins the White House he will:

"put the safety and security of Americans at risk both abroad and here at home....businesses will face greater bureaucratic regulations...The tax and spend Democrat machine in Washington will continue spending at alarming rates...Floridians will be forced into a system of socialized medicine...and (liberals will be) creating special rights for special interest groups."

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Onion: Bush Tours American Devastation

Jim Callahan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:41:07 EDT

Onion News Network(ONN) video report on Bush tour of America to survey damage caused by his disastrous Presidency.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/bush_tours_america_to_survey?utm_source=embedded_video

From coast to coast the lives of Americans turned upside down since 01/20/2001. Video from the political satirists at "The Onion."

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Friendly Fryer: KBR's faulty wiring maint. kills 13 in Iraq

Jim Callahan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:22:36 EDT

In the New York Times today, Tuesday, July 1, 2008:

WASHINGTON â€" The Pentagon has ordered electrical inspections of all buildings in Iraq maintained by KBR, a major military contractor, after the electrocutions of several United States service members.

General Petraeus’s written statement was made public on Monday afternoon by Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania. The statement said that of the 13 Americans electrocuted, 10 were in the Army, 1 in the Marines, and 2 were contractors.

In addition to those killed, many more service members have received painful shocks, Army officials say.

Had enough of KBR? Check out Grayson for Congress
http://www.graysonforcongress.com/

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

VOTER REGISTRATION -- follow-up contact

Jim Callahan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:03:39 EDT

The Obama Fellows (interns) are doing a major voter registration drive. Their efforts in addition to efforts of other groups such as ACORN are producing impressive results across the country, but particularly in Florida. It will take a special effort to stay in touch with these voters.

In Orange County as of mid-June are about 14,000 more Democrats than there were on January 29 resulting in a 43,000 registered voter advantage over the Republicans.

I discussed this in more detail on June 15:
http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/JBCallahan/Cxbm

VOTER CONTACT
The DNC has produced a great national voter contact database, VoteBuilder (also known as VAN). But, we need to closely monitor the latest voter registration date in the database for a given state or county. In Florida, there is a three to four month lag in the monthly CDs we get from the Florida Division of Elections. If this lag carries over to VoteBuilder we will have a three to four month blindspot where we will be unable to contact newly registered Obama voters.

The campaign intends to remedy some of this problem by keeping track of the names of the people they register the limits of this approach is twofold:

#1 The Obama campaign will know its own voters, but it won't know who other organizations such as ACORN have registered and it can't just ask ACORN for its list because that would be illegal coordination and would jeopardize Project Votes' tax status.

#2 Keeping track of names before you turn you in doesn't tell you which eligible voters actually made it on the voter registration rolls (glitches could include that if the drivers license number or the last 4 digits of the social security number don't match their voter registration could fail). This is Florida! Strange things happen to the voter registration rolls! Trust, but verify.

To know all of the newly registered voters (not just the ones registered by Obama campaign) we have to rely on public records. Although by law the State of Florida maintains the official roll, in Orange County, Florida the Supervisor of Elections posts a monthly list of registered voters here:
http://www.ocfelections.com/Public%20Records/New%20Voters/New%20Voters%20Homepage.htm

The list is posted in the middle of one month for registrations through the end of the previous month. Using to posted list could reduce the reporting lag to two to four weeks.

The posted list has addresses, but does not have phone numbers or emails. To the extent that the Obama campaign has phone numbers and emails they could be added and the voter could be called to congratulate them on their successful voter registration. Yes, you are on the rolls and you can vote by mail or you vote at the elementary school (for example).

If we do not have phone numbers or emails for the voters (perhaps they were registered by ACORN/Project Vote) we add the voters to a special walk list and send volunteers to the door with lit and sign people up to receive email updates from Barrack Obama and other campaigns.

I hate for all the voter registration efforts to go to waste. Some optimists believe if a voter registers at a supermarket they will definitely turn out at a school, a firehouse or some other polling place to vote. Without further contact, the voter may not know how to vote by mail, vote early or on election day a polling place. Moreover, without further contact, they may vote for Obama and quit and not vote for the other Democrats on the ballot.

In conclusion, we need to follow through newly registered voters (whether registered by the Obama campaign or not) and it may take some additional data efforts (beyond VoteBuilder/VAN) to do so.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL