Congratulations Senator Obama. To be honest, I never thought I would see anything like this ever happen. But this is America - and in America anything is possible. In this great land, there are no limits. There is no impossible. Nobody can say this is not true anymore.
Only one more week of this election stuff left to go. This is good news indeed.
Of course, do not expect the stuff to go away. There will be no more commercials, but there will be a few days of "analysis". State by State, County by County, precinct by precinct, down to the smallest possible unit analysis.
Before computers and crap this was probably not possible. But it is now. Technology - she be a harsh mistress. Like the sea. Only less salty. And fewer sharks.
The FLIBS is in town this weekend. And what the hell is the FLIBS?
Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.
I think I have managed to wrangle some free FLIBS tickets. Or should I say ticket. So it looks like Ill go. Why not. I like to look at stuff. I think the plan is to go to the big ass boat section and look at the big ass boats.
Somewhere there is a place to score booze. There always is. The idea being if you get people drunk, they are more likely to buy a boat.
And in this economy, I would be grabbing people that walk by, strapping them down to the floor of one of the boats at my display, then funneling rum down their throat. I would have boxes of kittens and puppies and infants - which I would threaten to drown if nobody bought something.
Desperate times call for desperate measures after all.
But the truth is the very large boat market is not really suffering the same as the small boat market. See people in the market for a $10m yacht do not really give a shit about the economy. They are going to drop $10 million on a boat. They are insulated from the shit storm. Somewhat.
80% of the world's big yachts are sold at the Ft. Lauderdale show. Last year sales WERE down. I do not know by how much.
I did hear that a lot of the smaller boat sales fell through. This happens every show. People get all want-y and shit. Then they see a boat that they can not really afford, and start the process of buying. Then when they can not secure financing the deal just dies. Or they just back out. They get home, get sober, and back out.
But last year A LOT of deals died. And credit was still somewhat easy to get. I expect new boat sales in the under 40 feet class to be dismal.
But Ill go.
The truth is I like the convention center venue the best. This is where the accessories and smaller boats are. Things like electronics, gizmos, thingies, crap, doohickeys, demos, and so on. I like to look at that stuff.
It has come to my attention that A WHOLE LOT of bullshit has been spread this election cycle.
MUCH more than the normal amount. I should not be surprised, but I am. I did not know there were enough bulls in the world to produce this amount of shit.
People must have been stockpiling it for a few years or something.
So here is how you can sort it all out. Lets say you get some email that Obama is a (fill in the blank) or that Obama (blank).
For example, Obama traveled at age 20 on a foreign passport, and visited North Korea.
Here is what you can do! Go to Fox News. On the main page, there is a "search" box. Search the Fox News website for "Obama passport" and see what comes up!
Whats that?!?!?! NOTHING about his travels to North Korea on a foreign passport? Really?!?!?!
At this point you can only draw two conclusions.
1. The story someone emailed you is BULLSHIT
2. Fox News is part of the vast liberal media cover up.
By the way, if you conclude option 2 then you should stop watching Fox, because it is part of that darn liberal media. By not watching Fox anymore it will go off the air, and the average IQ of the nation will go up by 10 points.
If you conclude option 1 - then Fox is not part of the liberal media cover up. The story is just bullshit. Not true. False. Made up.
The election is less than 2 weeks away. And that is GREAT! I am so done with it at this point.
And by the way - to all the desperate McCain supporters. If you are going to make up a story and carve a B into your face, remember that if you look in a mirror to do the self mutilation, mirror images are REVERSED! So if you are looking in the mirror, the B should appear backwards. If it appears correct in the mirror you carved it on your face backwards.
Got it??? GOOD! Remember mirror images are reversed, or get someone else in on the attempt to spread more bullshit to do the carving for you.
Also - remember your story. Do not get little details confused. And remember that if your story is going to involve an ATM - those things have video cameras. Make sure you actually go there.
The Lazy One recommends saving all carving for Halloween pumpkins. Leave your face alone. You are just going to cause medical insurance premiums to go up. The Lazy One also recommends that you just have a beer and forget about elaborate plans. It is a whole lot of effort after all.
As for me - I just want to fish more. The more time spent fishing, the better. There is no TV when you are fishing. And trust me - that is a GOOD thing.
Sunday Ill be out on the water. There is a series of sailboat races at the boat club. I get to be a safety boat. After it is over the boat club is going to provide me TWO beverages of my choice.
I shall choose Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Or maybe rum. Ill have to think about that.
As you may have noticed, I have not commented about the whole primary thing very much. I can only recall ONE post I have made about it - and that mostly related to math.
Nothing about the rules committee thing that happened over the weekend.
So now it is time to let it all out!
Hillary is done. There is no way she can win. The math is just not going to worn out for her. Like I said before - it is all about the math. And the numbers do not add up for her.
She DID NOT win the popular vote. Unless you do not count the caucus states and do not give Obama any votes in Michigan. Because his name was not on the ballot. Because he signed a pledge saying he would take his name off the ballot. Hillary signed the same pledge, but "forgot" to remove her name. Funny how that happened.
Hillary DID NOT win more delegates.
Hillary lost. If you happen to be a Hillary supporter, that is fine. But she lost.
It was not because the media was biased against her. The media was all about how she was "unstoppable" before the primaries started. It was already a done deal. She was going to win. The media did not give anyone else a chance. So please, stop with the whole "biased media" bullshit.
She lost. Sometimes you win, sometimes you do not win. That is how it works. So please, stop the drama.
But can Obama win? I think it will be a close call. Sure - he is a few shades too dark. Yes, he will make some uncomfortable. No, a lot of people will not vote for him due to his darkness.
But you know what? There are red states. There are states that have not been Democrat since the civil rights movement. I find it amusing that the Republicans say they are the party of Lincoln today. Well guess what? You know why the deep south was blue for so long???
Because the Republicans were the party of Lincoln. The deep south HATED Lincoln. You know where "Yellow Dog Democrats" came from? The south. "Yellow Dog Democrats" were people who would vote for a yellow dog before a Republican.
But then came the civil rights movement. The southern Democrats split off and became the "Dixiecrats". They wanted to keep Jim Crow laws. STATES RIGHTS! By the way, this is when it became popular to fly the "Stars and Bars". Before this time it was uncommon to see a Confederate Battle Flag flying anywhere except at a Civil War monument. State Flags were redesigned to incorporate the stars and bars. And so on.
The Dixiecrats later became Republicans. And the South was red after that.
But anyway, enough boring history.
There is serious concern about Obama's ability to win "red" states. I do not see why there is concern. Red states are red! They are always red. Clinton won in 92 and again in 96 - without winning the red states. So what is the big deal there?
Obama will win the blue states. Democrats always win the blue states.
So how about the purple states?
Well lets see. The Democrat primaries say massive turnout. Record numbers of voters in many cases. It is likely the same people will vote Democrat in the general election. So there is that to consider.
And then there is something else. I know a fair number of people here. Well today I was talking to a friend of mine over a few drinks. He is slightly older than I am. He has a very well paying job in the finance industry. He has a house ON THE WATER. In Dade County. On the water. Not a cheap house. He owns a twin engine 26 foot Boston Whaler. This is a nice ass boat! Wife, kids, family values, drives a H2 - the whole bit.
Somewhat well off, but also EDUCATED. Not a trust fund case who was handed it all on a silver platter.
And he voted for......OBAMA in the FL primaries. It seems he read Obama's book a while ago. And when given the chance he voted for Obama. He has also contributed around $5,000 to Obama.
I was really surprised to hear this. I would never have guessed.
This is why I think Obama has a shot.
It is not over yet. Not even close. November is not a done deal for either side. Obama can possibly win.
By the way, I also voted for Obama in the FL primaries. I knew that my vote would not matter because the delegates were to be stripped from the State. But I voted anyway. There were too many other very important issues on the ballot.
Hillary really need to quit at this point. She needed to quit long ago. As soon as the math was not going to work out for her would have been a good time to bow out. But she decided to stay in. And claim she was winning, even when the numbers said otherwise.
Hillary is done. The primaries are over. She needs to quit already. And she need to let Obama decide who he will pick as his running mate. It may or may not be her. She and her supporters need to just deal with that.
By the way, I think Hillary would be a bad VP choice. She has already fucked that up by her actions in the primaries. She said and did so many things already. Like saying she would pull her name off the Michigan ballot - and failing to do so. Saying she would not campaign in FL then going to FL right before the primaries here on a "fund raising trip" and making campaign speeches. Sure she called them fund raising speeches - perfectly legal under the agreement - but the were campaign speeches.
She cooked herself. By her own actions. It is not a biased media. It was all her.
Mine was less than super. Just another Tuesday. Nothing much happened. There was one interesting phone call - but that is about it.
You know it was an exciting day when the best you can come up with is "I got one interesting phone call".
But if you are some talking head on the TV, Tuesday was indeed super. It gave them something to talk about. All day.
Needless to say, it was a good time for a TV strike. I just did not really care.
You see, Florida had its primary already. So whatever the outcome turns out to be, nothing changes on my end.
The news is saying all kinds of things. Looks like Obama may pick up more States, but Clinton will still have more delegates. McCain seems to be the big winner on the Republican side. I guess. I am really not paying all that much attention. Can't get too excited over it.
So, what can I get excited over?
Lead smelting. That is what.
My dad likes to collect junk. Now for some reason, and I do not know what that reason is, he has a few dead lead acid batteries. So I get to thinking. I could use more lead fishing weights. Maybe a new downrigger cannonball. And stuff.
So I checked on the internet. I can get an electric furnace that gets hot enough to melt lead. Lead has a low melting point, which is good. So all I have to do is figure out how to turn lead plates into something more useful.
And then it gets fun! First off, I have to break open the battery and collect the acid inside. This is actually going to be easy. Then I have to neutralize the acid. Again - easy. A box of baking soda will work. But there is an even cheaper option here. ROCKS! Florida is made of lime stone. Lime stone will dissolve in acid, neutralizing it. So there. Toss in rocks till the fizzing stops. Then pour the liquid into a small plastic or glass container, and toss it in the trash.
No, the fun part will involve the lead plates. You see, chances are good they will be heavily sulfated. Lead sulfate is what kills batteries. Now if the batteries are deep cycle, then the lead plates are more "solid" and the sulfate will only be on the surface.
Auto batteries, or starting batteries, or high current batteries have a lead plates that resemble a sponge. The many holes increases surface area (and therefore current) but they do not like being discharged as much. The greater surface area also means more room for sulfate to build up.
There is a way to smelt the lead so almost pure lead is extracted. BUT......well lets just say that if calculations and available information are correct - the process could be.....interesting. Can you say noxious fumes? Yea..........
So maybe it is a better idea to leave well enough alone and leave the batteries alone. I can get lead from other sources. Like tire weights. And.....uhhhh.....diving weights. And stuff.
The electric furnace is fairly cheap. I always need fishing weights, and they do cost something at the fishing crap store. It is not uncommon to lose a weight or two when your line snags on something and breaks. So it would be cheaper - in the long run - to get the furnace and molds and stuff.
I just need to find a cheap, not so toxic, source for my raw lead.
ATTENTION! MORE FOAMY AT THE END OF THIS POST! So if my Florida / local election rant is too boring skip to the end for some more Foamy!!! Today Foamy talks about driving in Miami.
Yes it is that time again. Almost. See in years past, Florida had its primary sometime in October. Well not that late but it might as well have been. It was weeks after Super Tuesday. So late in primary season that by the time Florida got around to voting it did not matter because everyone except one person had already dropped out of the race for both parties.
So voters could vote in a primary - but the results did not matter. For example, in 2000 there were only two guys really running after Super Tuesday - Al Gore and Bill Bradley. Bill dropped out BEFORE the Florida primary. So what the crap was the point in going to the polls? There was none. It was a big waste o time. Of course I went anyway and voted for Bill just because I figured "throw the guy a bone". Not like it mattered anyway. Because it did not. Oh yea - I was also not entirely happy with the prospect of Al Gore running on the Democrat side.
Face it, the guy is as stiff as a wooden cigar store Indian. Granted, on the Republican side only W was still in the race - which totally confused the hell out of me. The Republicans could have ran with a candidate that could SPEAK PROPERLY. But that is all ancient history.
The point is, nobody living in Florida in EITHER PARTY had any say whatsoever in who ran. But people in horse ball three electoral vote States get tons of attention. Nobody even thinks about Florida until the actual Presidential election and then we are important and three vote States are...well three vote States. Florida is worth as much as 7 New Hampshires and 9 Vermonts in November.
But Florida changed its primary date for this year. Now I get to vote on January 29 - BEFORE Super Tuesday. Of course the Democrat party has some sort of major issue with this, so my vote still does not count. Officially anyway. Like Michigan there are NO DELEGATES this year for Florida. So no matter who wins, they will not get any delegates. Therefore, nobody is officially campaigning in Florida.
So even though the date is earlier, my vote still does not amount to a fart in a tornado. In theory. A big winner in Florida (a Southern State with A LOT of electoral votes) may give someone "momentum" and give some asshole on TV something to talk about for a day or two.
UNLIKE Michigan I can not vote "uncommitted". Everyone is in the ballot.
But still, there is one good thing about this. I really think the primaries are pretty much a waste, but for YEARS sneaky bastards have been sticking shit in the primary ballots so that nobody shows up to vote and therefore things get passed. Lots of terrible State and Local crap has been passed this way. Well now MAYBE there will be a larger turnout and this crap will stop happening.
So how will I vote? That is the topic for today. The rest was just background info.
For the presidential primaries I plan to skip the vote. Not vote for anyone. A famous Florida UNDER VOTE! Remember those? But if I do vote for someone Ill pick......uhhhh....someone NOT Hillary or Obama. Maybe I will pick Edwards. Or one of the other guys who has not won anything yet. Spread the wealth so to speak. Why does Obama and Clinton have to be the big winners all the time? There are 50 States - can't Dodd win at least one??? GIVE THE MAN A BREAK! Or how about Gravel or Richardson or Kuchinich or Biden? Can't any of them win a State with ZERO delegates? I say why not. Like it matters anyway.
But there are local issues! I am really showing up to vote for the local issues. And there are some big ones!
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 1 - the "property tax" thing. The wording is all confusing and legal like - but basically it will amount in lower property taxes. How much lower? I really do not know. Really - I don't. but I suspect that the average property will see only a slight decrease in taxes while the $22 million estates on the Coral Gables Waterway and Fisher Island (Fisher Island in Miami is the richest zip code in the USA by the way) get much larger breaks. But that is just my theory, I have no idea if it is true. And allegedly, the portion of property tax that supports the schools will NOT be touched. Allegedly.
But the cuts will amount to A LOT of scratch. Billions. Out of the State budget. So....how will the State fund shit? Like the State Police for example - where will the money for Troopers come from? Magic? And how about State roads? Who will maintain them? The reality is that Florida needs money. So if the budget is cut that much that quickly, what happens? Sales tax increase? More toll roads? 911 operators asking for a credit card number before police or fire rescue is sent to your home? How will Miami-Dade County pay off all the bonds voters approved a few years ago AND maintain the same services currently offered?
So I feel I must vote NO on 1. I am not at all opposed to tax cuts, I just think this tax cut is a bad deal. Any tax cut should target the average home value (adjusted per County because some Counties like Miami-Dade have higher property values than Hendry County). Average value homes are owned by average income people. As for the people who can afford to live on Fisher Island? Fuck them. They can afford to pay their taxes. Hell the property taxes they pay amount to LESS MONEY than the fuel for their 150 foot yacht to operate for one day.
So NO on 1. Got that? No. I think this measure will pass because people think taxes will go down, I just think that people are being misled about how much their taxes will actually go down. The biggest cuts will go to those with the most expensive homes. Regular folks will get pennies on the dollar. Business as usual. but if more than 40% vote no then the measure fails - so there is some hope.
County Question 1: Miami-Dade Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to the Qualifying Dates for Certain County Elected Offices
NO on this one too. I suspect some funny business here. The wording reads: Shall the Charter be amended to move the candidate qualifying period for certain Miami-Dade County elected offices three weeks earlier, in accordance with State law?
Get that? "In accordance with State law". They had to put that line in there. But what does it really mean? Someone trying to run for certain County elected positions will have THREE FEWER WEEKS to qualify. And who will instantly qualify? Incumbents. So someone else trying to run as a "man on the street" grass roots kind of candidate will have less of a chance of actually getting on the ballot.
SO NO ON THIS!! Forget that!
County Question 2:Home Rule Charter Amendment Changing Property Appraiser from an Appointed to an Elected Office
Why the hell not? Why should the Mayor appoint this person? It would (in theory) make the property appraiser independent from the Mayor's Office. Now this has good and bad points. The bad is that some ass who does not know what the hell they are doing but can schmooze people can run for the office and win. I could run and be the next property appraiser! But does that mean I should be the appraiser? Hell no. The good is that it lessens the chance the Mayor can just appoint some crony.
So I am leaning to vote YES here. But I have to think about it some more. I may vote no. I have to weigh the good VS the bad.
County Question 3: Slot Machines Limited to Existing Horse and Dog Tracks and Jai Alai Frontons
OH HELL YES! Yes yes yes! I am fed up with the anti-casino assholes. They claim that casinos will "ruin the family friendly atmosphere of Florida". YEA RIGHT! News flash - Miami is NOT family friendly. Want family friendly? Go somewhere else. Really. South Beach is all about night clubs and rave parties and drinking and guys wearing popped collars (see yesterday's post). Really family friendly stuff! Everyone says "I want to take my 6 year old kid to experience a rave party"! Oh wait - they don't? Never mind.
The anti-casino groups are usually affiliated with Churches. At least in the past they have been. Now why is this bullshit? Because these groups TAKE MONEY FROM CASINOS to campaign against casinos! Yes it is true. See the local Indian tribes have casinos with crappy bullshit slots. And there are gambling boats that leave from Miami several times a day for short trips three miles out. Here is a photo of one, the Aquasino. Now, here is where it gets fun. The actual casinos know that nobody will buy their bullshit if the ads say "paid for by Aquasino" or "paid for by the local Indian casino" - so they find PATSIES to shill for them. Historically they have just given money to church groups, who then make the ads under names like "Floridians United Against Satan" or "Floridians For Families" or some shit. And when the media checks to see who the groups are, they find...a church! So it must be legit!
Yea....right. IF casinos are so evil, why the hell are you taking their money? Huh? But they take the money. And by doing so, they protect the gambling boats. Because if people could just go to a land based casino then F the boat and the $40 boarding fee they charge.
So enough already. Let the land based para-mutuals have their slots. Why not. At least they will pay taxes. The Indian casinos don't (we did steal their land so I guess that is fair) and the boat casinos do not pay the same taxes the land based places would pay. So why not? What is the harm? Hell I say let the places have table games too.
We want to cut taxes, so we need new sources of revenue! Might as well be casinos. You do not have to gamble, but you do have to pay property taxes! It will be a voluntary tax. Will some people have gambling problems? Yes. Most likely. But you know what? I can lose my ass on an internet casino right now - so what is the difference?
So there we go! To recap here is my voting plan
1. I do not give a crap. Just pick one at random who is not a "front runner". Not Hillary. Someone else. Obama or Edwards. Or one of the other guys.
2. NO! Sorry I am all for tax cuts but I do not trust this one. Reject it and send it back to Tallahassee and let the State law makers some up with another proposal.
3. NO on County issue 1. Three less weeks for someone to "qualify" to run for County office protects the incumbents - and that is not really a good thing. Let em feel the heat a little. They need that.
4. Yes! Or no! I have not figured that out yet. I am leaning towards yes and I am 75% sure that is how I will vote. But you know what? I sort of like this mayor - even if he is a Republican. The one thing he did that I do not approve of is spending tax money on a sandbox for the Florida Marlins to play games in. The team owner is very rich and the players are not poor - so let them build their own sand box. Why do they need my help? And what makes them think I WANT any of my money to go to that mess? But I digress - the mayor has so far not been such a bad guy. Even if I did vote for the other guy.
5. Yes on the casinos. Land bases places where people are already going to gamble will be easier to tax than the other places. I hope this measure passes.
And now....FOAMY! It seems Foamy has visited Miami-Dade County and rented a car.
Foamy's solution is pure genius. Why did I not think of this simple solution? I feel stupid.
Now, here is where it gets fun. The actual casinos know that nobody will buy their bullshit if the ads say "paid for by Aquasino" or "paid for by the local Indian casino" - so they find PATSIES to shill for them. Historically they have just given money to church groups, who then make the ads under names like "Floridians United Against Satan" or "Floridians For Families" or some shit. And when the media checks to see who the groups are, they find...a church! So it must be legit!
