Black P.O.V.

Wilson

HAITI'S CRITICAL TEST, AND OURS



By Frederica Wilson

Haiti faced a critical test last week when voters headed to the polls to cast ballots for the men and women who will serve in the next Parliament. The election, three years overdue, was the first of three to be held by December and will measure the nation’s ability to hold

fair and transparent elections and self-govern. In this first round, more than 1,800 candidates vied for approximately 130 seats, which in itself is extremely problematic. During the inevitable October runoffs, voters will also cast ballots to elect a new president from yet another overcrowded field of more than 50 candidates. Its current head of state, President Michel Martelly, has governed by decree since January, when the last Parliament coincidentally dissolved on the fifth anniversary of the 2010 earthquake that killed 200,000 people. Without the same checks and balances that most democracies enjoy and not enough lawmakers to even form a quorum, Martelly has been unable to achieve much in the past eight months. Continue reading ...  Frederica Wilson represents Florida's xx district in the U.S. Congress. Her oped appeared in the Miami Herald.

Sunshine on Black Politics

Bullard

WILL BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FREE MICHAEL GILES?


You know it's hard out here for a black state senator from Florida. With apologies to Three 6 Mafia, the group that wrote that Oscar award winning song from the movie Hustle and Flow, I present the case of state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, who has been trying his best to get Florida Gov. Rick Scott to overturn a legal travesty.

Bullard wants clemency for Michael Giles,  a military veteran who was involved in a brawl outside of nightclub in Tallahassee in 2010. He fired his gun, claiming self defense.

Unfortunately, for him, the state's Stand Your Ground  law was no help. He's now serving thinking a 25 year prison term under Florida's 10-20-Life law that calls for mandatory punishment when a gun is used in a crime.

So far, the Republican governor hasn't responded to any of Bullard's request. But, now The good news is Bullard now has help. Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager and a big time Republican donor. has joined the fray. According to press reports, he too has asked Scott to release Giles.

Giles who is black didn't use Stand Your Ground as a legal defense, but under Florida's other controversial gun law, he now finds himself in prison. Civil rights groups and black Democrats like Bullard hope the case can be used to fix the troubling legal aspects of the two laws.

The fact that a major Republican donor is also interested shouldn't be lost on Scott. At the moment though, the only sound coming from the governor's office about the case is, well, nothing.

                                                                                                                       By Doug Lyons

The douginflorida Spin

THE PRICE ONE PAYS FOR LIVING IN "PARADISE"



It's been almost 10 years since the last time I participated in my least-favorite Florida pastime -- "storm-tracking." Newcomers to the Sunshine State and almost everybody who's never set foot in Florida simply may not know what I'm talking about. We jaded veterans, however, know all too well.

"Storm-tracking" is a South Florida ritual that puts the region's estimated 7 million residents of Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties on notice that a potential natural disaster is heading their way. While much of the country enjoys the waning days of summer, our time is spent dreading "cones of uncertainty" and the wind storms they may or may not bring.

Right now, my house and most of the state for that matter, are under the cone, the forecasted path of Tropical Storm Erika. The storm is close to Puerto Rico as I write this. It's path is expected to either hit or miss Florida. State and local governments emergency teams are prepping for the worst. The weather has become the lead story on the local news as TV meteorologists get to earn their keep.

The gas lines haven't started forming yet, but I've noticed the store shelves at the local grocery stores are beginning to run low on water. The storm isn't expected to arrive on Monday, but right now the overriding message of getting ready for the possibility of bad weather is becoming more urgent.

Riding out a hurricane is no fun. There's putting up the shutters, stocking up on water and food supplies, power outages that can last for days -- and that's the no-drama part of it all. People have died from high winds, flooding, downed power lines, or doing something stupid. Stuff like that happens in Florida, and since the state hasn't had a hurricane since 2005, stuff can happen.

South Florida could catch a break. The course of storm might shift, or the storm itself could weaken to the point that it's no longer a threat. Or, it could re-group somewhere over the warm waters of the Caribbean, become a Category 1 hurricane and take a beeline straight for my crib, like that uninvited guest who wants to watch the big game on my big screen TV.

All that leaves us with a ritual that used to be a regular pastime in South Florida between August and October, the height of the storm season. Problem is we've had a decade-long layoff, and most of us are a little rusty. It's the price of living in paradise, but that doesn't mean we like it.

                                                                                                               By Doug Lyons

Can't Miss Events

URBAN LEAGUE RED GALA REMAINS A HOT SOUTH FLORIDA TICKET



Mark your calendars, ladies and gentlemen. On Saturday, September 26th, the Urban League of Broward County will hold its annual Red Gala, the organization's signature fundraising event.

This year's theme: "Sistrunk Under the Stars." The dress is Hollywood glam, the entertainment extraordinary and the cause is so worth it. Tickets cost $200. Remember it is a fundraiser; so don't start griping. The Red Gala is a worthwhile event that provides networking opportunities, a chance to simply have fun and see your money contribute to the many worthwhile programs that have made the Urban League of Broward County one of the nation's premiere local affiliates.

So go.

                                                                                                               By Doug Lyons

Sunshine on Black Politics

Joyner

"WASHINGTON HAS COME TO TALLAHASSE!"


No self-respecting Republican wants to hear that description. Particularly, if you're a Republican from Florida who uses Washington as a whipping boy for just about everything that's wrong with America.

But, here is the Florida Legislature, a Republican controlled body that is doing its best dysfunctional impersonation of another legislative body that's controlled by Republicans -- Congress.

Go figure.

It took state Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner to do the calling out. Clearly, it's not the Democrats who are calling the shots in the lawmakers' botched attempts to draw congressional and state senate district maps. At the rate they're going, it won't be the GOP's prerogative either.

The courts will have to do it.

                                                                                                                     By Doug Lyons

Florida Factoid

VANITY WORKS: HOW MARTIN COUNTY GOT ITS NAME


You probably didn't pick this up in your Florida history classes, but the state's 24th chief executive,  Gov. James W. Martin, must have been an influential dude. He only served one term as governor after a three-term stint as mayor of Jacksonville, but he made the most of his time in office.

He was a progressive, something that wouldn't fly far in Florida politics today.

Martin built highways and financed public schools by direct state appropriation. He even furnished textbooks to all elementary school students. What he's most remembered for, however, is that there's a county named after him.

Martin County, the state's 64th county, was once part of Palm Beach County. The  push for independence, however, was just too great for many residences who wanted to become their own country. Unfortunately, there was a problem -- Gov. Martin. Promoters of the push to separate were afraid that the governor would put the kibosh on their efforts. So they came up with a novel idea.

Appeal to the governor's vanity. Martin, like most politicians, apparently had one.

The local promoters decided to name the new county after the governor in hopes that the name would spare the idea from a gubernatorial veto. It worked, and in 1925 Martin County became a reality.

Sources: African AmericanSites in Florida by Kevin M. McCarthy and Florida Memory: State Library & Archives of Florida



                                                                                                          By Doug Lyons

Sunshine on Black Politics

It's early, of course, but if the financial statements submitted to the Florida Division of Elections are any indication, it appears the winner of the 2016 Democratic primary to replace state Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, will be Perry Thurston. When it comes to fundraising, it's not even close.

Thurston

Thurston, the former House Democratic Leader, faces a former colleague, state Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, in the race to succeed Smith whose career in the Florida Legislature is coming to an end because of term limits. The 31st senate district stretches from Deerfield Beach southwest through Fort Lauderdale and west to Sunrise and includes much of central Broward County's black communities.

Thurston became a state representative in 2006, following in the footsteps  of Smith who left the then 93rd House District to run for the state Senate. In 2012, Thurston became Minority Leader, heading the chamber's Democratic caucus.  Clarke-Reed was elected in 2008. She was re-elected to the House District 93 seat and is poised to head the Broward County Legislative Delegation before she has to leave the Florida House inn 2016 because of term limits.

Clarke-Reed

Clarke-Reed and Thurston are credible candidates, but the race to represent the predominantly black Broward County senate seat appears to be Thurston's to lose. According to campaign contributions filed by both candidates, the advantage is clearly Thurston's. He raised $49,950 compared to Clarke-Reed's $1,205, most of which came from Clarke-Reed herself.

The contributions are coming from almost everywhere. The Ruben Group has kicked in $1,000. So did Southeast Toyota Distributors and the Miami Dolphins. After years in Tallahassee, Thurston is proving skeptics that he can pull in political contributions, something he didn't do enough in his failed bid to become his party's nominee for Florida Attorney General.

Granted, Thurston has been running for the seat even before he was term-limited out of the Legislature in 2014. Clarke-Reed is the late entry and apparently has a lot of ground to cover.

                                                                                                         By Doug Lyons

Factoid Florida

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW FLORIDA'S 67 COUNTIES?


I'd imagine this has never crossed your mind, but humor me with this question: how many of Florida's 67 counties were named after people associated with the Confederacy?

Yeah, I know. This is Florida, a southern state that threw itself into the Civil War, er, War of Northern Aggression, with reckless abandon. And the word reckless really resonates among some historians. But, I digress. Florida joined the war, contributed soldiers and saw some warfare in a losing cause.

If you haven't come up with the correct answer, let me help. It's four. Baker, Bradford, Hendry and Lee counties were all named for men who worked to secede from the U.S., and for their efforts their names are now part of Florida lore, or at least on the names of four rural counties.

Judge James McNair Baker was one of Florida's two Confederate senators. Captain Richard Bradford was the first Florida soldier to lose his life for the Confederate cause. Captain Francis Hendry had better luck. He survived the war and became a successful cattle rancher and everyone knows the role Robert E. Lee had in the war. Lee never fought in Florida, but being the top dog has its benefits.

                                                                                                                     By Doug Lyons

Chillin' in a Different Part of Florida

There's nothing like a trip to Nature to rev up romance. Think I'm kidding? Take your spouse, significant other or that one-time date you like to know better to McKee Botanical  Gardens and watch what happens. It's a day trip worth doing.

Seriously.

A quiet conversation away from the daily rat-race can do wonders. A little effort into a road trip  and a romantic stroll past a pool of waterlines, elephant ear plants and under the shade of a Sausage Tree -- no joke -- and who knows?

The botanical gardens is located in Vero Beach, Florida. For those of you in South Florida, it's about a two-hour drive, so some planning is clearly necessary. It would help if you had a good working car, money for breakfast and lunch. A sense of direction and adventure also help. And, remember, you will be doing some walking. Comfortable shoes are a must. This is no place for heels, ladies.

The Garden features 10,000 native and tropical plants and  countless number of waterlines. The 18-acre tract began operations back in 1932 as an 80-acre site. Over the years, development and the growth of other tourist attractions put the gardens in a bit of tailspin. Fortunately, what usually happens in Florida didn't wipe the Gardens out of existence.

My suggestion. Go. Weekdays, except Mondays when the place is closed,  are always good as you'll probably have a lot of the park to yourself. Avoid the dog days of summer, even with the shade it can get hot out there. Other than that, make the drive, take the stroll and enjoy your evening.
                                                                                                                        By Doug Lyons