Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Red to Blue Adds Annette Taddeo to List

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Maybe it was the grass roots organizing and public support demonstrated when Annette Taddeo won the recent Act Blue fundraising contest.

Maybe it was the drumbeat of criticism of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for failing to step up to the plate.

Maybe it was the embarrassment of failing to support the only Latina challenger for a federal race in the entire country.

Maybe it was that South Florida Democrats kept reminding the DCCC just how bad Ileana Ros-Lehtinen really is.

Maybe it was when Ileana Ros-Lehtinen emerged as a leading cheerleader for Gov. Sarah Palin — a job many other leading Republican women declined.

But whatever it was, the dam has burst, and (at least according to DCCC head honcho Chris Van Hollen, as quoted in the Politico) the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added Annette Taddeo (FL-18) to its elite list of Red to Blue candidates. As the DCCC puts it,

The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, and strategic support. These candidates earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress.

This is a very important step for establishing the Taddeo campaign as one with real prospects of winning, and should provided welcome access to wallets in Florida and nationally.

Posted in Politics: FL-18 | 5 Comments

Miami-Dade Libraries Fail to Renew Domain Name

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

I knew that times were tough for the county, but domain names are not that expensive.

It seems, however, that the Miami-Dade Public Library has failed to renew its domain name. Right now if you cruise over to http://www.mdpls.org you get a message from Network Solutions saying “mdpls.org expired on 09/05/2008 and is pending renewal or deletion.”

mdpls.jpg

So I called the main library and reported it. The front-line person seemed dubious, “It worked yesterday,” but agreed to report it to (unnamed) higher-ups.

Here's hoping they get that online catalog back online soon. Heck, I'd gladly pay for it myself, if necessary (or possible).

By the way, MDPLS, if you are trying to save a buck you can get a much better deal on domain name registration by switching registrars.

Update (8pm): They're back…

Posted in Miami | 4 Comments

Well, *That’s* Under Control Now

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

If I did not read Making Light, I would not learn great information like that found in I would just to like to say—, namely,

there is an RSS feed for hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com.

And, indeed, the entry for “Monday, September 08, 2008 11:25 AM” reads, in full, as follows:

NOPE.

The Internet is good.

(But I wonder how often they update?)

Posted in Science/Medicine | 3 Comments

Shameless Ballot Manipulation in Mississippi

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

MS-SEN: Even More Ballot Shenanigans

I wrote yesterday about the breathtaking attempts to fix an election in Mississippi by hiding the Senate race on the ballot in an effort to discourage voters. (See Republicans Acting Like Peronists — Or Maybe Chavezites.)

This ruse is so breathtakingly illegal in a state whose election statute requires the federal elections to come first — in the clearest possible terms — that the attempt seems destined to fail in court (it's currently enjoined pending a hearing).

But that has not stopped the desperate Republicans, fearing their party's brand: the latest wheeze is to remove party affiliations from the candidates in the Senate race (just the Senate race, not all of them). And the law appears to be silent on this tactic, so they might get away with it.

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | 2 Comments

Life In Miami

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Either we have an inordinate number of Maseratis and Lamborghinis on the road or they all have the same schedule I do.

This morning, doing the school run, I found myself behind a black Maserati with the license plate “BIG HIT”.

I guess that's one explanation of how you pay for one…

(Lest I leave the wrong impression, I should perhaps explain that have no desire at all for a fancy sports car, or indeed any sports car; I can think of many things I'd rather do with obscene amounts of disposable income were the problem to arise. Now, if you were offering a pied-à-terre in Paris…)

Posted in Miami | 6 Comments

Republicans Acting Like Peronists — Or Maybe Chavezites

Posted on September 9, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Have a look at MS-Sen: The Hidden Race. Maybe there's another side to this story, but having read the statute, I rather doubt it.

This is the sort of behavior that supports the theory that the US is sliding into the sort of corrupt governance that used to be the hallmark of South American republics. Courts can cure many symptoms of the disease, and indeed may cure this one. But the deeper problem is the number of people in power, or grasping for power, who have neither honor nor scruples, neither shame nor any serious fear of consequences. And who's to say that this is not the better reading of the last decade's — or two decades' — history? OK, three decades.

Do something.

(Do I hear four? five?)

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | Comments Off on Republicans Acting Like Peronists — Or Maybe Chavezites