I know that several of us were impressed that Lee took the time to visit our little group. We typically have 10-15 folks on a Thursday night, so this is not a large forum by any stretch. But we DO all vote, and we DO all follow current events and of course - politics!
Well anyway... we talked with Lee about a number of things, why HE should be Supervisor of Elections, his background, his thoughts on electronic voting (with and without paper trail) versus other systems, etc. I'll make sure that Lee sees this post so he can correct anything I report incorrectly. With that, here's my version of Lee's comments:
Lee believes he's more qualified than Buddy Johnson. Lee has an undergrad degree in IT (Information Technology) and as of this writing has just completed - or is about to complete - his MBA (Masters of Business Administration). He currently works in high tech, and ran as the Democratic challenger for Florida House, District 56 in this last election cycle (lost the election, getting 42% of the vote).
Lee feels that Buddy Johnson (current Supervisor of Elections) has been unresponsive to local voters needs (fyi, I am inviting ALL declared local candidates to visit us, so Buddy Johnson and any other candidates who care to come chat with us are very welcome and encouraged to do so!). Lee feels that his high tech experience and Business Administration education position him well to manage the elections systems in Hillsborough County.
I asked about our current electronic voting machines versus ones with a paper trail versus optical scan machines versus other systems. Lee said that he really doesn't think a paper trail will help that much. There are 2 reasons for this: [1] one can program a computer to print anything, not necessarily matching the vote that was recorded inside the machine; [2] if people are issued 'receipts' for their votes, then there could well develop scenarios whereby votes are purchased, with a voter simply showing their 'receipt' to the briber in order to collect the fee. Lee did suggest that we all sign up to vote absentee for now (do so - as I did - at this site), and mentioned that even though an absentee ballot can be rejected if it is felt that the signature on the ballot does not match the voter's signature on file, if we contact the Supervisor of Elections office after voting, they are required to inform us if our ballot has been rejected. My assumption is that if a ballot is rejected, then one can still follow some procedure to get one's vote counted.
Lee said he will be attending some training about the various voting systems and so will be able to offer more detail about possible solutions to the current problems. Personally, I do agree that a paper trail is not necessarily required ...as long as independent audit entities (perhaps one selected by each party?) can have access to a random sample of voting machines to test and verify as accurate. I also believe that the source code (the computer programming) should be ideally open source (where anyone can inspect the programming), but at a minimum should be held in escrow so that the programming is available even if the provider company fails, and the programming should be available for inspection and verification by audit entities.
Please note: Neither the national Drinking Liberally organization, nor this or any other local chapters endorse any specific candidates, parties, or ballot selections. Our hope is to get as much information as possible from as many candidates as are willing to talk to us.
This will be an interesting election! And I hope we can get several more candidates to come visit us!
I'ts a rainy day in Brandon, but chance of rain lessens this evening. Plan to join us at our weekly gathering (tonight, and every Thursday at 7pm) outside (under cover) at OUR NEW LOCATION: The Mellow Mushroom
10956 Causeway Blvd, Brandon FL 33511
Our new location has been working quite nicely. The beer menu is vast, the food is outstanding, and the service is excellent! And of course, the company cannot be beat.
I'm working some extra hours and don't have time to put much content in this email, so please come this evening and we can educate ourselves about how to improve our nation and our planet.
And with that, I'll get back to work until this evening. Hope to see you at MELLOW MUSHROOM. Need a map to Mellow Mushroom? Here y'go: map to The Mellow Mushroom
The Bush administration continues to thumb their collective nose at the United States. Claims of "Executive Privilege" seem to be used pretty much daily. Personally, I see more and more similarity between the Bush administration and the Nixon administration. We'll see how this all plays out!
This past Monday (09 July), Ralph Nader was on Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman. He had a lot to say about the state of the nation, the influence of large corporations, and an assessment of the candidates for the 2008 presidential elections. Very interesting stuff. Read the transcript!
Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has now stated what others had reported in the past - that the Bush administration has politicized science. NPR story
Speaking of health, we watched SiCKO a few days ago. Granted, it's a one-sided argument, but the general points - that our healthcare system is very ill - were quite valid. Since my dad went bankrupt after he and his wife were hit with serious illnesses, this hits real close to home for me. For one proposal to remedy healthcare in the US, you can check out HR 676, sponsored by John Conyers (78 cosponsors so far). Read more from the Library of Congress entry
And speaking of Michael Moore, love him or hate him he absolutely skewers CNN in a recent interview with Wolf Blitzer. Links to YouTube videos of the interview and more documentation is at Moore's site.
And in the GOP family values department, here's a story from Orlando's Fox News (of all sources) ...my guess is that Fox covered this story because it's about soliciation for prostiution ...and sex sells ...You'd think with the "DC Madam" story so recently that politician's might try to exercise a LITTLE more restraint.
Well, as always, there's plenty to talk about! We'll be at Old Chicago on Thursday evening at 7pm ...Look for us outside or ask the hostess for the Drinking Liberally tables.
Now, as some of you know, there had been discussion about perhaps moving our meeting place (various reasons, none earth-shattering). Anyway...Shirley and I did check out Barnacles, but that's a definite no-go. They have some kind of LOUD trivia game that runs every Monday and Thursday from 7pm-9pm with speakers blaring inside and out ...not very conducive to discussing how to save the world.
So come and join us Thursday at Old Chicago in Brandon at 7pm to enjoy outstanding food, beverage, and company. Need a map? Here y'go: http://snipurl.com/BrandonDL_map
Some of us were talking at last week's gathering about how our Thursday evening discussions haven't been all that political lately -- a few things, but not all that political. It was mentioned that we're in between campaign seasons right now. Several local folks have recently declared (or are about to), and the 2008 election is getting going. But there's a ways to go yet.
But I think it's also true that staying angry, staying active, staying vocal ...it wears on one. BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE NEOCONS COUNT ON! My God, in Iraq - a war based on LIES - over 3500 US troops have died and over 26 THOUSAND have been wounded. Should we not be OUTRAGED?!
We need to stay angry and educated ...and focused. So go read AlterNet or Daily KOS, or listen to Democracy NOW! or Air America or our own Tampa WMNF! Grab a cup or seven of coffee and stay engaged!
OK, so here's the assignment (yes, there's homework): This Thursday at our Brandon DL gathering, in addition to welcoming any topic, let's each have some piece of news to share with the group. An upcoming rally to attend, a letter-writing campaign (Kent brought several of us copies of 107-243, and if that doesn't get you ticked off, you're in a coma!) ...there's plenty to do. Get those liberal activist thinking caps on, and let's get each other fired up! There's way too much good needing to be done for us to be tired and complacent (and yes, I'm directing this at ME ...but I know it applies to others of us as well).
And then, to keep the sanity, remember why we want to work for change: because we are so fortunate to have friends and family and Florida sun and some semblance of choice ....and we need to preserve what we've got and make things better.
Our buddy Carl emailed me this link. Seems Dallas, Texas, of all unlikely places could become the first major US city to have an openly gay mayor. As far as Texas cities go, I've only been to Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. Had a good time in the west end of Dallas (sort of like the Ybor City of Dallas), didn't care all that much for Fort Worth. Shirley and I considered moving to Houston when I was working for Enron (another story).
But the only Texas city I would expect to be open-minded enough to not care about a mayor's sexual orientation is Austin. Not sure that Austin counts as a 'major' US city. And I've never been there. But what I've heard and read makes me think Austin could be a nice town.
This will be interesting to see what happens. I would have figured a city on the east or west coast would be first. Well anyway, the Houston Chronicle article is worth a read.
In the midst of the harrowing events of the past decade, it’s actually a very simple matter to forget what’s actually happening. The lack of any validated justification on the part of the American Government is a glaring pock-mark on the face of everything that democracy should stand for.
But we remain apathetic. We, as American people, just don’t seem to care. We’ve become spoiled to the extent that reality is less real to us than daytime television. So we drive our cars to our jobs, eat our lunches in the cafes, and come to our homes, watch a televised war, then switch over to the Tuesday night line-up, without ever pausing to consider the price we’re paying for these conveniences.
This occupation is an atrocity, this administration is a joke, plain and simple. But this isn’t a one-sided issue. There are so many facets to it, and not many people bother to look at more than one of them. Saddam Hussein is gone, and that, despite some outlandish belief, is a better thing for international security, American security, and the safety and well-being of countless Iraqis.
But why are we still there? What happened to Osama? Why are people dying on all sides for an idealistic war? This isn’t being condescending. These are real questions, questions which no one seems to be able answer. Why can’t they be answered? Where are the intelligence committees now? Who’s actually running this show? Where are we going and how do we ever hope to get there?
I’m a liberal thinker, and despite the numerous connotations of what the term embodies, I am proud to call myself so. But here’s the real kicker; I don’t consider myself to be superior to the Conservative party, in any way, shape, or form. The finger pointing game has had its time, and now the time has come for action.
But we lack any kind of unity as a nation. What happened to the Pledge of Allegiance? “One Nation…” The pundits and even members of the opposing parties do nothing to meet in the middle, to make a concerted effort to come together as a country and fix what needs to be fixed, and in the mean time, we’re just driving a wedge further and further between our parties and ideals.
Is that what American politics has been reduced to? It’s a sad state of affairs, indeed. Complacency exacerbates the problem, and EVERYONE’S refusal to put down the battle axe and come to an understanding and find a solution certainly isn’t going to make this any better.
When: Every Thursday, 7:00 pm onward
Where: Old Chicago, 2042 Badlands Dr (near the brandon mall off providence road)
What: Come expecting a good time. Bring a friend!
Look for us on the patio or ask the hostess where we are.
Its time to come on out to Old Chicago in Brandon to PARTAY with fellow liberals.
There are always lots of things to talk about, both concerning politics and otherwise. We want to hear what you have to say!
There will be pizza, about 100 different kinds of beers and a full liquor bar (as well as non-alcoholic drinks). If you have never been or haven't been in a while, we would love to see you! Look for the Drinking Liberally Table tents on the patio (weather permitting).
I want to make a point. Many people, many conservatives even are very upset about what Ann Coulter said about John Edwards. He isn't even gay. There has been nothing insinuated, there are no videotapes, there is no manstress out there trying to blackmail him, there is no prostitute to his Ted Haggard. What I am getting at is that the Coulter remarks this time don't fit the neocon truth mutation formula. There has to be something to base the lie on.
Take for example when George Bush and his cronies chose to smear John McCain during the 2000 Republican primary by calling likely voters and asking them what they would think if Senator McCain had an illegitimate black child. Well those racist voters from South Carolina wouldn't have that, and he lost. But there was a slight smidgen of truth.
The Conservative Movement Thrashes Wildly in Its Last Throes
This video made by The Nation's Max Blumenthal shows how the typical Conservatives spend their day at the Conservative Political Action Conference. You may have heard about it. This is where Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot" and Blumenthal tries to get Michelle Malkin to sign a picture of an internment camp.
The funny thing is, this is exactly how I imagined something called the Conservative Political Action Conference. There are bigoted anti-"brown people," David Horowitz explains to a liberalism is a religion and that liberals are filled with hate, and good ole' Grover Norquist even pipes in.
One of our co-hosts Mike Ruso will no longer be with us, but he has a good reason. He will spend the next several months hiking the Appalachian trail! Mike Joined Drinking Liberally over a year ago now, and revived it when it was on a hiatus, we all owe him a big thanks for the success of Brandon Drinking Liberally today. He brought us many good times including his natural storytelling ability in which he told us tails of the Woodmaster ("But the wood is freeeee!"), stopping for Taco Bell on the way to the hospital while you are having a heart attack, and a video from the seedy underbelly of equestrianism. Oh yeah and he knows a lot about politics, history and various other fodder too.
Opinions on this page belong to the person who wrote them only, not necessarily other members of Drinking Liberally Brandon or the national Drinking Liberally organization.
This past Thursday we were visited by Mr Lee Nelson, candidate for Supervisor of Elections, Hillsborough County (click on the thumbnail image to see larger pic; Lee is second from the left).
One of our co-hosts Mike Ruso will no longer be with us, but he has a good reason. He will spend the next several months hiking the Appalachian trail! Mike Joined Drinking Liberally over a year ago now, and revived it when it was on a hiatus, we all owe him a big thanks for the success of Brandon Drinking Liberally today. He brought us many good times including his natural storytelling ability in which he told us tails of the Woodmaster ("But the wood is freeeee!"), stopping for Taco Bell on the way to the hospital while you are having a heart attack, and a video from the seedy underbelly of equestrianism. Oh yeah and he knows a lot about politics, history and various other fodder too. 