Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

NOVA as a Debate Location

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

The secondfirst Florida gubenatorial debate is about to start at NOVA South Eastern University. Turns out that might not the best place to hold it, at least according to this email I received:

Two models for the future of South Florida will be debated on Tuesday, October 24th, at NOVA South Eastern University. The selection of the debate site is quite unfortunate, in my opinion, because NOVA is involved in a labor dispute that will, if nothing changes quickly, render some 350 janitors jobless. An institution that is toying with the future of so many workers, as though their lives and livelihoods were truly unimportant, should not be chosen as the locale for hosting a discussion about the future of all Floridians. This problem is even more egregious, considering that two institutions of higher learning in South Florida, FIU and UM, have recently committed their resources to respecting the rights of workers to both organize and have a decent standard of living. These institutions are more deserving of hosting such a momentous event, for they have secured the future of their workers.

What I am asking is that NOVA Southeastern University finally accept the rights of their janitors to have a decent life, or that the debate be moved to a different place.

Many people are mobilizing in the next few days and weeks to achieve this goal, a goal that will benefit South Florida in general, for a solid working class is the back bone of any healthy community. Please stay tuned!

Dr. Manuel J. Caro
Sociologist
North Miami

Posted in Florida | 2 Comments

Cute Ad

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Many of this year’s best political ads seem to feature children.

Posted in Politics: US: 2006 Election | Comments Off on Cute Ad

Googlebombing the Election

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

I just can’t resist this invitation to Googlebomb the election.

Happy clicking!

–AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

–AZ-01: Rick Renzi
–AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
–CA-04: John Doolittle
–CA-11: Richard Pombo
–CA-50: Brian Bilbray
–CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

–CO-05: Doug Lamborn
–CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
–CT-04: Christopher Shays
–FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
–FL-16: Joe Negron
–FL-22: Clay Shaw

–ID-01: Bill Sali
–IL-06: Peter Roskam
–IL-10: Mark Kirk
–IL-14: Dennis Hastert
–IN-02: Chris Chocola
–IN-08: John Hostettler

–IA-01: Mike Whalen
–KS-02: Jim Ryun
–KY-03: Anne Northup
–KY-04: Geoff Davis
–MD-Sen: Michael Steele
–MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
–MN-06: Michele Bachmann
–MO-Sen: Jim Talent
–MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
–NV-03: Jon Porter
–NH-02: Charlie Bass
–NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

–NM-01: Heather Wilson
–NY-03: Peter King
–NY-20: John Sweeney
–NY-26: Tom Reynolds
–NY-29: Randy Kuhl
–NC-08: Robin Hayes

–NC-11: Charles Taylor
–OH-01: Steve Chabot
–OH-02: Jean Schmidt
–OH-15: Deborah Pryce
–OH-18: Joy Padgett
–PA-04: Melissa Hart

–PA-07: Curt Weldon
–PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
–PA-10: Don Sherwood
–RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
–TN-Sen: Bob Corker
–VA-Sen: George Allen

–VA-10: Frank Wolf
–WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
–WA-08: Dave Reichert

Posted in Politics: US: 2006 Election | 2 Comments

Voting Machines vs. Democracy

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Mighty suspicious, given that they’ve known about this problem since last week, but still can’t fix it.

Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates’ Names – washingtonpost.com

U.S. Senate candidate James Webb’s last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.

…

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only — or “James H. ‘Jim’ ” — on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb’s full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.

If the summary page has no value, they wouldn’t use it. Consequently, I can’t see on what grounds anyone could say this is an irrelevant error. (I will agree it’s not as bad as messing up the actual voting page, but even so…)

Couldn’t they shelve the machines and use paper ballots?

Posted in Politics: US: 2006 Election | 3 Comments

FL Governor: It’s a Horserace Again

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Poll says Davis has caught up with Crist:

A shift in the mind-set of independent voters has made Florida’s governor’s race a ”dead heat,” according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.

The poll, released today, shows Democrat Jim Davis narrowing the gap with Republican Charlie Crist to two points — 46 percent to 44 — well within the poll’s 3.4 percent margin of error.

Actually, what happened is that Davis started his TV campaign; previously Christ had the airwaves to himself. (Money still counts.)

Nevertheless, I admit that just as I was surprised at the size of Crist’s lead, I’m also surprised that Davis caught up so fast.

Posted in Florida | Comments Off on FL Governor: It’s a Horserace Again

Slides From My ‘Security & Privacy’ Talk to Miami Wireless Focus Group

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Here are my slides from last week’s talk on Security & Privacy that I gave to the focus group which was part of the Miami-Dade Wireless initiative.

There’s going to be a full meeting of the Steering Committee this Friday at 1pm in the County Commission chambers. It’s open to the public. Unfortunately, I’m going to miss it because I have a very long-standing commitment to be in Washington DC that day for the unveiling of the official portrait of Judge Stephen F. Williams for whom I clerked.

A student of mine has very kindly offered to go and take notes for me, so at least I’ll know what I missed without having to wait for the official minutes.

Posted in Miami: Wireless | 1 Comment