John McCain's inability to lead the House Republicans led to defeat of the Bailout Bill supported by President Bush(R) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D).

This defeat shows just how ineffective John McCain would be as President.

More of the same, only worse with John McCain.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Bailout bill
BAILOUT BILL
Dem 141 Yea
Rep 66 Yea
TOTAL 207 YEA

218 votes needed to pass.

Bill fails. Leadership trying to switch votes.
Live coverage on CNN, MSNBC and CNBC.

NBC has "Martha Stewart" -- ironic given her insider trading
CBS has "As the World Turns" -- so it goes
ABC has "One Life to Live"

Dow was initially down nearly 700 points,
but recovers to be down 350 points, then falls
again to 440, 500...

Motion to reconsider withdrawn after chair declares there would be an immediate vote. Regular order (business) resumes. No chance of passage in this form. Back to drawing board.

I addressed the question of what a middle class bailout would look like in this post that I made this morning:

Bailout Bill DOA; What is needed
http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/JBCallahan/CGhy

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

After doing a little investigation I've come up with the following info on the jet and its buyer and the connection to Alaska Republicans:

The jet, tail number: N328SA was bought by a Larry Reynolds..

Reynolds didn't give to Palin's campaign but it looks like his wife (occupation listed as "housewife") in turn gave $1000.00 to John L. Harris in the 2006 General election.

It turns out for those of us in the lower 48 who don't know who HE is, that Harris is the Republican Alaska State Legislature Speaker of the House and he in turn hooked up Reynolds with Governor Palin to do the sweetheart jet deal (apparently at a loss to the State of Alaska)

http://community.adn.com/node/109650 (News story on how Reynolds used Harris to get the jet)

The campaign contribution:
https://webapp.state.ak.us/apoc/contributions.jsp?name=...

In a common trick used to throw people off in campaign contribution research, the report included a "harmless typo" and it should actually be JANICE REYNOLDS as his BOAT registration shows the name of his boat is the JANICE RUTH II.

http://www.boatinfoworld.com/registration.asp?vn=319176

The FAA aircraft registration:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNumSQL.asp?NNu...

http://aprn.org/2007/08/24/larry-reynolds-valdezs-great... /

FAA Registry
N-Number Inquiry Results
N328SA is Assigned

Aircraft Description

Serial Number 425 Type Registration Individual
Manufacturer Name ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES Certificate Issue Date 09/13/2007
Model 1124A Status Valid
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Type Engine Turbo-Fan
Pending Number Change None Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None Mode S Code 50706631
MFR Year 1984 Fractional Owner NO

Registered Owner

Name REYNOLDS LARRY
Street PO BOX 750
City VALDEZ State ALASKA Zip Code 99686-0750
County VALDEZ-CORDOVA
Country UNITED STATES



Airworthiness

Engine Manufacturer GARRETT Classification Standard
Engine Model TFE 731 SER Category Transport

A/W Date 06/19/1985

The spin is that "Palin fought the oil companies" and that "her husband is a commercial fisherman."

Her husband, Todd Palin, is a production operator and/or supervisor for BP oil company.

Gov. Palin fought the oil companies over money, NOT the environment. If anything, Gov. Palin wanted MORE drilling for gas on land owned by the State of Alaska. Gov. Palin FAVORS drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Floridians will understand the difference between fighting over money and fighting for the environment.

In Florida, for example, elected officials fight with the tourism industry about the size of the "bed tax" on hotel bills and how the money can be spent, but at the end of the day, once the deal is cut, the elected officials know the amount of the revenues is tied to the success of the industry and so they are likely to vote pro-industry on a number of other issues to protect the revenue source. Thus, the elected officials are co-opted by the revenue source.

Alaskan elected officials, of which Gov. Palin is one,will be very protective of the oil industry, because that is their goose that lays the golden eggs.

Florida is opposed to offshore drilling because Florida is a tourism and retirement state. While here at inland City of Orlando we have Disney World, the rest of the state (primarily coastal regions) relies on beautiful beaches. Tourism all over the state relies on warm weather and fresh (less polluted) air. Oil drilling would not just threaten the hotels, but the condos and the coastal subdivisions. Not just the tourism industry, but the finance, insurance, real estate, retail trade and construction industries' ways of doing business. Almost all retirees bring Social Security income and some pensions, wealthier retirees have large pensions and investments. Palm Beach County, with little industry, is an oasis built on wealthy retiree money. Oil soaked beaches with oil soaked birds would ruin the party and kill the goose.

Sure we could buy mineral oil to clean our bare feet at the beach and have for smaller spills from freighters, but paradise lost is paradise lost. Ask Louisiana.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Fellow Democrats:

Just in case you haven’t seen Alan’s new ad on TV yet, you can check it out on-line at the DailyKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/25/155020/561/340/556978   Read More »

"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

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

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

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

WASHINGTON �" 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

The City of Orlando, which owns the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has a choice on how to generate electricity in the future. Under the Bush administration it pursued so called "clean coal" with a proposed coal gasification plant feeding a gas turbine generator.

Not surprisingly, the Bush/Cheney administrations' Energy Department was enthusiastic about so called "Clean Coal" plant which would be built by former Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and use coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

Finally, OUC came to its senses and axed the coal portion and plans to build a natural gas powered plant. With the rising cost of fossil fuels, a better alternative may be wind energy.

Much of the electricity along the east coast of Florida is provided by Florida Power and Light (FPL). The parent company of the FPL Utility, FPL Group is a large investor in wind energy around the United States.

This year, FPL Group proposed an wind power farm in Florida near its St. Lucie nuclear plant. Although much of inland Florida is not suitable for wind energy coastal Florida is.

A similar wind farm, if constructed at the Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force base could help meet the energy needs of Orlando, without burning fossil fuels.

At one time, OUC owned an oil fired power plant along the Indian River (one fo the bodies fo water that separates Cape Canaveral from the mainland). High voltage transmission line capacity between the former OUC Indian River Plant and the City of Orlando. Thus, the existing transmission line capacity could be used to transmit the power from the Kennedy wind farm to Orlando.

As a sea level state, Florida has to do all it can to prevent climate change and the resulting sea level rise.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

PS At one time I was an economic forecaster in the Strategic Planning Department of OUC.

Now that John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore all have all enthusiastically endorsed Barack Obama it is time for all Democrats to visit the Barack Obama web sites and get involved.

1. Overall Obama campaign site is:

http://www.barackobama.com

it is like www.democrats.org, but more interesting.
a. Check out "Obama Fellows"

over 3600 volunteers took part in an intensive three day training program to prepare them for their work this summer as Obama Organizing Fellows. These volunteers will spend the next six weeks working on the ground across the country to organize, register voters, recruit new volunteers and help build out the infrastructure we'll need to compete across all 50 states this November.

b. Look at "Barack TV"
c. Look at the "Welcome Hillary Supporters"
d. Look at "Know the Facts"
e. Find events in your area
f. "Unite for Change" Saturday, June 28

Next weekend, supporters across the country will gather at a Unite for Change event to start planning how their community can help Barack win in November.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/uniteforchange/

g. Find your state under the "STATES" tab and look up your zip code.

h. Volunteer under the "VOLUNTEER" tab


The community site:
http://my.barackobama.com

My.barackobama.com is like PartyBuilder, but more emphasis on doing stuff in the real world and less on just blogging.

Jim Callahan
Precinct 401
Orlando, FL 32801

McCain slips on oil slick; may lose Florida. The Orlando Sentinel newspaper's political blog "Central Florida Political Pulse" is reporting:

ohn McCain told reporters in Virginia today that it’s a "very high priority" to lift a decades-old ban on off-shore drilling so that states have the option to harvest natural gas and oil from the ocean floor have that option.

Florida lawmakers have fought for generations against drilling near the state’s shores -- as they fear an oil spill could have a catastrophic effect on the state’s beach-based tourism. The comment by McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, sparked a quick response from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

“Any attempt to weaken the moratorium on coastal oil drilling is irresponsible,” said Nelson in a statement. He pointed to military, rather than environmental concerns. Lifting the ban “would end training and evaluation in the largest testing area in the world for the u.s. military, which is off the gulf coast of Florida.”

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/mccain-lift-the.html

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

On January 29 in Orange County, Florida there were

203,829 registered Democrats
175,336 registered Republicans
and 128,637 other and no party affiliation voters.

So far, so good. Dems are ahead.

But only,

88,930 Democrats voted in the January 29th primary
while
92,425 Republicans voted. More Republicans voted, had it been a face to face election, instead of a within party primary, Democrats would have lost by 3,500 votes!

The Republican turnout was 52.7%, while the Democratic turnout was only 43.6%. So, the conventional wisdom is that Democrats in Orange County, Florida have a turnout problem.

Orange County, Florida [Supervisor of] Elections (ocfelections.com)
http://www.ocfelections.com/Public%20Records/2008%20Election%20Results/2008%20Election%20Results%20Homepage.htm

Last week I obtained a new DVD from the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections that listed all of the registered voters in Florida. It was dated 04/30/2008 on the label, but after I loaded the Orange County data, I checked and found the most recent registration date to be 03/31/2008! or nearly 3 months out of date!

I checked the local Supervisor of Elections website and found statistics as of June 11, 2008.
http://www.ocfelections.com/Public%20Records/2008%20Month%20End%20Stats/June%2011/Poll/June%2011%202008.htm

Now, or rather as of June 11, 2008 we have in Orange County, Florida:

217,600 registered Democrats
174,068 registered Republicans
and 122,851 other and no party affiliation voters.

The number of Democrats is up! and the number of Republicans is down! This is Florida; the Florida Department of State must have purged some Republican voters. I will have to check into that, because we want to win big in a fair and legitimate election.

As of June 11, 2008 the Democrats have 43,000+ vote registration advantage! But, how will turnout affect the outcome?

If we apply the turnout percentages from the January 29 primary, "The Republican turnout was 52.7%, while the Democratic turnout was only 43.6%" (see above), Democrats still win!!!

Multiplying the June 11 voter registration by the January 29 turnout yields 94,938 Democratic voters and only 91,757 voters. Registration finally trumps turnout!!!

Historically, turnouts in Florida's Presidential Preference Primary average 37% statewide, but general elections average 64% and Presidential year general elections often exceed 70%. For example, 1980 was 77% and 1992 was 83% (two elections where the Presidency changed parties).

Florida Department of State(DOS), Division of elections
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/online/voterpercent.shtml

If we bump the January 29th turnout numbers for each party up by 30 something percent, we still get a Democratic victory! I leave that calculation to the reader as an exercise.

So, with this calculation, I abandon the position that I took in a meeting that Orange County has a turnout problem [that won't be helped by registration] and wholeheartedly endorse the Obama voter registration drive.

Local campaigns still need to focus on voter contact!

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

I remember seeing a news report about the Obama campaign's training volunteers for the Iowa caucus.
The campaign practiced caucusing in favor of various winter sports. In the training, a winter sport needed a certain number of people in its group to be "viable." The trainees were taught to recruit the members of the winter sports that did not have enough members to be "viable" under the rules.

This news report on the Obama Iowa caucus training, the actual Iowa caucus results and film of the original Obama announcement in Springfield helped convince me the Obama campaign was building a successful team.

This weekend the "Obama fellows" including a member of Greater Orlando Team Hillary are meeting in Gainesville Florida, while the party establishment is holding its Jefferson-Jackson (JJ dinner) Day fundraiser in Ft Lauderdale.

Part of the quality management movement of the 1980s and 1990s was an emphasis on training your employees.

Early in this election election cycle, there were some Seminole County Democrats who supported Tom Vilsack of Iowa for President. When Vilsack soon dropped out of the race, I encouraged all of the other meetups to recruit the Vilsack supporters. I believe Greater Orlando Team Hillary picked up at least 3 or 4 of the Vilsack supporters, that is one of the reasons they reached 200 supports and became one of the largest Hillary Clinton meetups in the country.

In the political lore, another name for precinct captain (a ward is a synonym for precinct), is "ward healer." After the bitter primary battles, the "ward healer" has to unite the factions so that the party machine will prevail.

Now is the time for the self designated "ward healers" to unite the campaigns in every city, county and metropolitan area.

We need a "cast of thousands" on election day.

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Chelsea for President in 2016?
BA History, Stanford
MA International Relations, Oxford

Newspapers have reported that buttons sporting the message, "Chelsea in 2016," under a picture of the former first daughter, have been increasingly seen around Clinton rallies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080522/cm_huffpost/103150

WASHINGTON (AFP) �" Former president Bill Clinton does not rule out the possibility of a third member of his family running for president one day.

Asked in an interview with People magazine, to appear Friday, whether his 28-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton would ever consider running for office, the ex-president said: "I don't know.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j8Y-R16wffPLI7aDSVxD_3sivg_w

The Constitution requires that the President be "a natural born U.S. citizen not younger than 35."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States

If the next President serves two four year terms (8 years) Chelsea Clinton will be 36 (28+8) and thus old enough to be President.

Chelsea could move to Florida and run for US Senator (against Mel Martinez(R)) in 2010,
http://www.ocfelections.com/Elections/nationalofficials.htm
serve a 6 year term in the US Senate and then run for US President in 2016.

The alternative key political states would be New York (where her mother is already US Senator), California (which already has two female US Senators), Massachusetts (which may be looking for a US Senator soon, but is home to failed Democratic Presidential campaigns), Illinois or Texas.

Florida is currently the fourth largest state in population and could move up a rank to third place in the 2010 census. The additional population in the 2010 census will result in additional US Congressional seats in the 2011 redistricting and thus additional electoral votes in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

Florida has Congresswomen in key metropolitan areas including Rep. Castor (Tampa), Rep. Brown (Jacksonville/Orlando) and Rep. Wasserman-Shultz (Miami-Ft Lauderdale). In addition, Florida's CFO is Alex Sink(D) and the Mayors of Tampa and West Palm Beach are Pam Iorio and Lois Frankel.

Thus, outside of the panhandle (Pensacola, Joe Scarborough country) and Naples there would be strong support for a female US Senate candidate.

Former Clinton cabinet officials in Florida include former Attorney General Janet Reno and former EPA Administrator Carol Browner.

The Chair of the Florida Democratic Party is former Congresswoman Karen Thurman.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown (FL, 3rd)
http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL, 11th)
http://castor.house.gov/Biography/

Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz (FL, 20th)
http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/district.htm

Florida CFO, Alex Sink
http://www.fldfs.com/Treasurer/Bio/index.asp

Tampa, Mayor Pam Iorio
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_Mayor/biography.asp

West Palm Beach, Mayor Lois Frankel
http://www.wpb.org/mayor/index.php

former US Attorney General Janet Reno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Reno

former US EPA Administrator Carol Browner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._Browner

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman
http://www.fladems.com/content/your_party_chair

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

I attended a meeting of the London match girls who were on strike and who met daily... The low wages that were reported at the meetings, the phossy jaw that was described and occasionally exhibited, the appearance of the girls themselves I did not, in any wise connect with what was called the labor movement, nor did I understand the efforts of London trade unionists, concerning whom I held the vaguest notions.

But of course this impression of human misery was added to the others that were already making me so wretched.

I think that it was up to this time that I was still filled with the sense which Wells describes in one of his young characters that somewhere in Church or State there were authoritative people who would put things to rights as soon as they really know what is wrong. ...

Jane Adams, TWENTY YEARS AT HULL HOUSE, page 81-82
near the conclusion of the chapter, "The Snare of Preparation" in which she describes how she came to decide to open Hull House.
http://books.google.com/books?id=h9oJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=subject:%22+Political+Science+%22

The London matchgirls strike of 1888 was a strike of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow, London. The strike was prompted by the poor working conditions in the match factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with yellow (or white) phosphorus, such as phossy jaw.[1]

Wikipedia, "The London Matchgirls Strike of 1888"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_matchgirls_strike_of_1888

Wikipedia, "Phossy Jaw"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phossy_jaw

Graphic photograph of a person with phossy jaw
http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/kidz/gore/jphossy.shtml

In June 1888, Clementina Black gave a speech on Female Labour at a Fabian Society meeting in London. Annie Besant, a member of the audience, was horrified when she heard about the pay and conditions of the women working at the Bryant & May match factory.

The next day, Annie Besant went and interviewed some of the people who worked at Bryant & May. She discovered that the women worked fourteen hours a day for a wage of less than five shillings a week. However, they did not always received their full wage because of a system of fines, ranging from three pence to one shilling, imposed by the Bryant & May management. Offences included talking, dropping matches or going to the toilet without permission. The women worked from 6.30 am in summer (8.00 in winter) to 6.00 pm. If workers were late, they were fined a half-day's pay.

Annie Besant also discovered that the health of the women had been severely affected by the [yellow or white] phosphorous that they used to make the matches. This caused yellowing of the skin and hair loss and phossy jaw, a form of bone cancer. The whole side of the face turned green and then black, discharging foul-smelling pus and finally death. Although phosphorous was banned in Sweden and the USA, the British government had refused to follow their example, arguing that it would be a restraint of free trade.

On 23rd June 1888, Annie Besant wrote an article in her newspaper, The Link. The article, entitled White Slavery in London, complained about the way the women at Bryant & May were being treated. The company reacted by attempting to force their workers to sign a statement that they were happy with their working conditions. When a group of women refused to sign, the organisers of the group was sacked. The response was immediate; 1400 of the women at Bryant & May went on strike.
* * *
Annie Besant, William Stead and Henry Hyde Champion used their newspapers to call for a boycott of Bryant & May matches. The women at the company also decided to form a Matchgirls' Union and Besant agreed to become its leader. After three weeks the company announced that it was willing to re-employ the dismissed women and would also bring an end to the fines system. The women accepted the terms and returned in triumph. The Bryant & May dispute was the first strike by unorganized workers to gain national publicity. It was also successful at helped to inspire the formation of unions all over the country.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmatchgirls.htm

In 1886 Clementina [Black] became friends with Eleanor Marx, the daughter of the political philosopher, Karl Marx. As a result of their friendship Clementina became a member of the Women's Trade Union League. In 1886 Clementina Black was appointed honorary secretary of the organisation. For the next few years she travelled the country making speeches trying to persuade women to join trade unions. In 1888 she attended the Trade Union Congress where she moved a motion on equal pay for equal work.

Clementina Black was also involved in the formation of the Consumers' League, an organisation that tried to cajole customers to put pressure on employers who paid very low wages to women. One successful campaign involved the boycott of Bryant & May matches. This eventually led to the match-girl strike led by Annie Besant in 1888.

In 1889 Clementina Black helped form the Women's Trade Union Association. Five years later this organisation joined forces with the Women's Industrial Council. Clementina became president of the council and for the next twenty years she was involved in collecting and publicizing information on women's work.

By 1914 the Women's Industrial Council had investigated one hundred and seventeen trades. In 1915 Black and her fellow investigators published their book Married Women's Work. Black was also a member of the executive committee of the Anti-Sweating League and in the years preceding the start of the First World War she was involved with people such as Cicely Corbett Fisher and Hilda Martindale in organizing conferences on the subject. The organisation defined sweated labour as "(1) working long hours, (2) for low wages, (3) under insanitary conditions".

Black's solution to the problem of low pay was the establishment of wages boards that would enforce a minimum wage for certain types of unskilled workers. She wrote several books on the subject including Sweated Industry and the Minimum Wage (1907) and A Case for Trade Boards (1909).

As well as campaigning for women workers, Clementina Black was also an active member of the Fabian Society and the London branch of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and in 1912 was editor of their journal The Common Cause.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wblack.htm

Of what relevance is this today. The issues of "fair trade" and "sweatshops" are still with us.

I have recently received an e-mail from the "Farmworkers Association of Florida."
http://floridafarmworkers.org/facts_farmworkers.html

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Skip a generation? No, but there is another possibility (keep reading). Sorry, Chelsea Clinton is 28
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Clinton

and the 12th Amendment requires that "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

The Constitution requires that the President be "a natural born U.S. citizen not younger than 35."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States

If the next President serves two four year terms (8 years) Chelsea Clinton will be 36 (28+8) and thus old enough to be President.

Chelsea for President in 2016?
BA History, Stanford
MA International Relations, Oxford

Chelsea could move to Florida and run for Governor (against Charlie Christ(R)) or US Senator (against Mel Martinez(R)) in 2010, serve a 6 year term in the US Senate and then run for US President in 2016.

The alternative key political states would be New York (where her mother is already US Senator), California (which already has two female US Senators), Massachusetts (which may be looking for a US Senator soon, but is home to failed Democratic Presidential campaigns), Illinois or Texas.

Florida is currently the fourth largest state in population and may move up a rank to third place in the 2010 census. The additional population in the 2010 census will result in additional US Congressional seats and thus additional electoral votes in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

Florida has Congresswomen in key metropolitan areas including Rep. Castor (Tampa), Rep. Brown (Jacksonville/Orlando) and Rep. Wasserman-Shultz (Miami-Ft Lauderdale). In addition, Florida's CFO is Alex Sink(D) and the Mayors of Tampa and West Palm Beach are Pam Iorio and Lois Frankel.

Thus, outside of the panhandle (Pensacola, Joe Scarborough country) and Naples there would be strong support for a female US Senate candidate.

Former Clinton cabinet officials in Florida include former Attorney General Janet Reno and former EPA Administrator Carol Browner.

The Chair of the Florida Democratic Party is former Congresswoman Karen Thurman.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown (FL, 3rd)
http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL, 11th)
http://castor.house.gov/Biography/

Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz (FL, 20th)
http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/district.htm

Florida CFO, Alex Sink
http://www.fldfs.com/Treasurer/Bio/index.asp

Tampa, Mayor Pam Iorio
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_Mayor/biography.asp

West Palm Beach, Mayor Lois Frankel
http://www.wpb.org/mayor/index.php

former US Attorney General Janet Reno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Reno

former US EPA Administrator Carol Browner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._Browner

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman
http://www.fladems.com/content/your_party_chair


Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Exit polls provide a valuable cross-check on the voting process.

Networks, AP sue in South Dakota over exit polling
Tuesday May 13, 11:52 am ET
By Chet Brokaw, Associated Press Writer

Networks, Associated Press sue South Dakota officials over exit polling restrictions

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The three major networks, CNN, Fox News and The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to strike down a South Dakota law that prevents exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place.

The law violates the First Amendment because it restricts the news organizations' speech and commentary about the political process and limits their opportunities to gather information about that process, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, asks that the case be handled quickly because South Dakota's primary election is June 3, just three weeks away. It seeks a preliminary ruling before the primary to prevent South Dakota officials from barring exit polling within 100 feet of polling places.

The lawsuit was filed by ABC, CBS, NBC, Cable News Network, Fox News Network and the AP.

Poll representatives working for the news organizations have conducted exit polling within 100 feet of South Dakota voting locations in past elections, according to the lawsuit.

However, South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson told polling representatives in an April 2 e-mail that exit polling would only be allowed within the bounds of the state law that bars exit polling within 100 feet of a polling place, the lawsuit said. Nelson warned in the e-mail that a violation of the law "will be dealt with by all legal means including prosecution."

The accuracy and reliability will be harmed because exit pollers may not be able to question some voters, the lawsuit asserts. Some voters may get into cars and leave before exit pollers can ask if they want to fill out questionnaires, hurting the accuracy of the polls, it says.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080513/exit_poll_lawsuit.html?.v=1
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

We have a blow by blow description of the "Marathon: session thanks to the St Petersburg Times blog "The Buzz." The Democrats find a backbone. Go Gelber!!!
First a brief finale.

After 16 hours, it's over
A final blast of rancor over a major health care bill closed out the epic House session.

At 2:14 a.m.

"We didn't sign up for a 9-to-5 hour job in the Florida House," Speaker Marco Rubio said. "We came to work."
Posted by Alex Leary at 2:18:47 AM on April 19, 2008

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2008/04/after-16-hours.html

Now the blow by blow -- here is an excerpt from about midnight on:

11:55 p.m.: Rep. Faye Culp, R-Tampa, earns the Rodney Dangerfield award of the day. She's reading CS/HB 7083 like a champ. But no one is paying attention. Not even Susan Bucher, D-West Palm Beach.

12:03 a.m.: Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, steps up to the mic. This is a monster bill. Breathe, man. He's chugging, going too fast. "Phew," he gasps, taking a break. The bill passes 107-0.

12:09 a.m.: Gelber: "Read the bill in full." HB 7075. They are digging deep now, council director Eric Thorne, is reading. It passes 109-0.

12:15 a.m.: Hasner is handing out tissues infused with Vicks. Members press them to their noses, a vain attempt to stay alert. They drink from red Community Coffee cups. We trust that's coffee inside.

12:32 a.m.: CS/SB 686, read in full.

12:57 a.m.: The bill passes 109-0. Rubio calls a 5-10 minute recess. One bill remains: CS/CS/SB 2534, the hotly contested health care package.

1:04 a.m.: Rep. "Sugar" Ray Sansom jabs the Democrats in their own game. He offers a motion to read the bill in full. Suddenly, a computerized voice fills the chamber -- a very, very fast reading of the bill, thanks to text recognition software. It takes 10 minutes, compared with at least an hour by a regular person.

(The program is a Microsoft product but was customized by Nick Carson, a 31-year-old House staffer. Carson had been experimenting with the software and gave it an unexpected debut, said Rubio spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin.)

2:14 a.m.: No one is laughing any more. After a tense, bitter debate over health care, the vote is called on the final bill of the session. It passes on party lines.

2:17 a.m.: The session ends.
Posted by Alex Leary at 3:08:52 AM on April 19, 2008

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2008/04/the-marathon-se.html

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

PS The legislature is controlled by Republicans, so if the "hotly contested" Health Care bill CS/CS/SB 2534 "passes on party lines" at 2:14 AM it is likely to be bad news indeed.