Enough Negative --- Let's Hug

Here I am at an Early Voting site and here comes Genuis of Despair (she's not despairing in this photo) wearing her "Eye on Miami" cap.

It's time for hugs and selfies. Thanks for the visit.

Election Fraud Exists: Even on a large scale

Miami has a voter fraud problem. 

Miami voters are very familiar with this problem. The rest of the country probably doesn't know anything beyond what happened in Election 2000. But Election Fraud does happen. A short discussion on the history of voter fraud in South Florida and how fraud is permeating our elections even at the national level today.



South Florida is ground zero for Election Fraud strategies. Why?

My Story About Miami Politics

When a political consultant becomes an activist: A Perspective

I am often referred to as a "political consultant" and to some extent that's true. But when it comes to the city of Miami, particularly the District 2 election, I am mostly wearing my cap as an activist and a voter.

Tonight at 10pm is the final broadcast of Miami's District 2 commission candidate interviews for Miami After Dark radio. Recall, this program was given birth by Rosy Palomino, now a candidate for Miami commission herself, which I was brought on to produce. I'm a voter, an activist, and I've been involved for awhile in city of Miami politics - I have a unique perspective. So I thought I should share my thoughts with readers about what I've done and why things are working out the way they are in the D2 Election.

First a quick reminder: I am a libertarian, free marketeer. I believe that the nature of a conservative is to conserve which means the quality of life and dignity of humanity and the advocacy for nature and its limited resources. That means I advocate for social and economic justice (read more below).

Here's a quick list of what I've been involved in the city of Miami:

 

2009 - City of Miami Commission Election for District 3 (I was helping former Secretary for Elderly Affairs and State Representative Luis Morse). I was one of those people listening to debates about Miami 21 and wondering how the hell no one was addressing the concerns being made on talk radio. Today, the lack of revitalization because Miami 21 doesn't allow it has led to the destruction of many neighborhoods which have not been permitted to rebuild (i.e. Little Havana).

 

2011 - City of Miami Commission Election for District 2 (I was helping builder Donna Milo). My first serious lesson in local politics is that most candidates disappear after running to represent the community - none of those candidates ever participated in community life again. Knowing how toxic Miami's political climate is, I don't know if I can blame them.

 

2012 - I was recruited by Rosy Palomino into local activism with Miami Neighborhoods United (MNU) and the Golden Pines Neighborhood Association (GPNA). These are community groups that are supposed to represent communities but instead are a collection of paid political operatives, many of the real activists don't stick around long in such organizations.

 

2013 - My first involvement in discussion regarding a developer's re-zoning application. The discussion of parks was the first I had ever heard too. There was a lot of learning there. And it was the first time I'd seen politicians use community groups to force developers to sell their properties to people they are more friendly with (I've since determined this a common practice).

 

2013 - There was a debate about campaign finance reform discussion that was rejected among members of MNU. The excuse back when was that the US Supreme Court decisions would invalidate local campaign finance rules. I have since determined that the excuse was utter bunk since states run their own elections regardless of federal election rules. I also learned how much developer business was represented in that excuse (which is why Rosy Palomino supports campaign finance reform now as a candidate).

2013 - City of Miami Commission Election for District 5 (Dr. Robert Malone). I was recruited by MNU to run that campaign. I also worked with the anti-Grove Harbour group in Coconut Grove at the last minute (Coconut Grove voted 60/40 against Grove Harbour but the rest of the city voted for it by the same margin).

 

2013 - Rosy Palomino started the Miami Parks Foundation and organized land purchases for parks by the city of Miami. The insiders in the city took hold of the work, documentation and money and made it go *poof*. Now a single landowner with ties to the city owns all the properties that were brought forward.

2014 - I worked with Grant Stern on the Only in Miami Show and its special video broadcasts like #SOSVenezuela which created the first media review of the Venezuela riots that was generally used by media throughout the US.

2014 - The city of Miami was destroying much of the Brickell tree canopy and I helped put out press releases for the community group protecting the old growth parkway.

2014 - Rosy Palomino recruited me in to the fight to keep the Beckham Group from turning the FEC slip (Museum Park) into a soccer stadium. We lobbied elected officials, coordinated media outreach and organized local residents. Ultimately, that fight was won.

2014 - The creation of Miami After Dark radio. Rosy Palomino tells me one day, let's do our own radio program that talks about real issues without a filter. Bob Powers is recruited as host (he's bombastic and incredibly knowledgeable).

2014 - I discussed the 2015 Miami commission election with many of the would-be D2 candidates and personalities, well before anyone had filed, including Grace Solares, Michelle Neimeyer, Javier Gonzalez, Ken Russell, and many others. None of those candidates impressed me and Rosy Palomino decided to run herself.

2015 - Rosy Palomino declares her candidacy for city of Miami District 2. Her first poll shows her nearly tied for 1st place against the outgoing commissioner's wife.

 

2015 - Rosy Palomino takes on the fight to defend natural grass parks (particularly in dog parks) from being replaced with artificial turf. Meetings with county commissioners. ASPCA. Discussions with veterinarians. Turns out, artificial turf is bad stuff for puppies.

2015 - Rosy Palomino made a presentation to Emerge Miami to protect Parcel B ("Dan Paul Park" behind the American Airlines Arena) with an "art in public places" strategy. The presentation was for a record breaking chalk art project on the Parcel B asphalt. Unfortunately, Emerge Miami turned her down but immediately after decided to "appropriate" the plan as Chalktackular and sold it as their idea.

 

2015 - By now, helping Rosy Palomino I've even been told by builders to why bother and go ahead leave town (they support the commissioner's wife) and threatened by other bloggers because I'm not supporting their candidate of choice.

 

This is what activism looks like. It's messy, but full of promise and fulfilling. It's easy to improve a community's quality of life if you try - the only resistance you'll meet is when others want to make money by diluting people's quality of life. I can count on two hands the number of activists that really work for the community without being paid to attend meetings.

Effectively, the D2 election has become about restoring a sense of truth and honesty in Miami, definitely a promotion of the free market and a denouncement of nepotism and cronyism that exists in a virtual fascistic system at city hall. Miami is incredibly anti-worker and anti-capitalist at the same time because of the amount of nepotism and cronyism involved.

If you are reading this, believe me when I say that Rosy Palomino (Punch #72) is the hope this election for reforming city of Miami politics. She has the street cred that you can trust to get things done in city hall. We just need new leaders.

Hector Roos' Recommendation on 2014 Election

Hector Roos' Personal Election Recommendations

I have 3 easy recommendations:

1. Vote "NO" if you don't understand what the ballot means.
2. Vote your Conscience. No one knows how you vote.
3. Go ahead and vote, you can just leave any question blank you come across.

Detailed recommendations:

Vote NO on all County questions.

You are being asked for permission to have a reduction on the size of the green spaces at our parks in every question save the courthouse. And the Courthouse is a grant of money that is not attached to a plan on how to spend (this is exactly the wrongheaded kind of ballot question that gets us in trouble).

Vote YES on 1 and 2 to the amendments of the Florida Constitution. Vote NO on 3 to the allowing judicial appointments.

Proposed Amendment 1 is regarding putting tax monies we are already paying for in a "lock box" to go for nature restoration including our ever important waterways (the legislature right now just has a law requiring them to spend some of the money rather than a true financial dedication).

Proposed Amendment 2 is Medical Marijuana. My mother passed away this year to a very painful and debilitating cancer. Marijuana was the only medicine that gave her any pain relief. ALL pharmaceutical drugs she was told to take cause horrific side effects. This story is far too common. VOTE YES ON 2.

Proposed Amendment 3 if passed allows an outgoing governor the right to fill judicial vacancies without any electoral punishment for playing favorites. Imagine this power in the hand of any radical socialist who happens to make it to the governors mansion. A series of upcoming retirements could allow the next governor or two to transform the temperament of the courts.

Regarding Governors: No one has been more pro-business in Florida than Rick Scott but that doesn't mean he's perfect or automatically deserves re-election. Ask yourself if you feel that life in Florida has improved since Scott took office and vote accordingly. If you are not satisfied, I recommend you don't vote for Charlie Crist.

Regarding every other election (i.e. State House and local municipality): No one wants to say you're on your own but the reality is that these are the people who make the most decisions over your life and it comes down to whether you trust them to do the right thing when the lobbyist comes with an offer or their friends applies pressure to them.


Closing remarks:
Participate and make your world one voice stronger. This is a life best lived over time and you should think about political change over time BUT DON'T BE AFRAID TO DEMAND THE RIGHT CHANGE IMMEDIATELY!

Thank you for your time.

Video Update: Rothbardian Circle, 2016, Local Elections and Republicans vs Joe Garcia

 

Click here to watch this video update on YouTube

VIDEO UPDATE!

Rothardian Circle welcomes Dr. Kevin Gutzman
Who's Running for President in 2016
Last Chance to Run for Local Office
Breaking News: It's the Republicans vs Joe Garcia
Meet Congressional Candidate Joe Martinez Tomorrow

What is the Open Government Miami Initiative?

Our goal is to explain why politics works the way it does and what you can do to influence political outcomes. This is a teaching initiative to show you how to change public policy and the way government relates to you.

Our principal goal has been to explain why “all politics is local” and how “money is the milk of politics” which means you have greatest influence on changing the political scene the more local it is and that business owners and trade groups have a vested interest to protect and promote their livelihood by participating in politics.

This is a libertarian cause. If you oppose the initiation of physical force, if you believe that might does not make right, you are a libertarian. Period.

And it doesn’t matter how you arrived at that conclusion. There is no better or worse libertarian. Just people trying to advance the cause of liberty. Libertarianism after all is a moral code. It is the application of the Golden Rule of “Do to others, as you would have them to do you” in politics and life in general.

Libertarianism doesn’t offer a way of life; it offers liberty – where you can freely act according to your own values and moral principles.

Now with that said, this video update is about recent local and national news that is important to bring to you and how you can get involved in helping the South Florida liberty-minded community promote “liberty as the highest political goal”.

Discussion Topics:

            1)     Rothbardian Circle Miami

May 21st  6:30-10 PM

Two Locations:

Total Wine in Pembroke Pines on Pines Blvd

John Martin’s Pub in Coral Gables on Miracle Mile

The guest speaker is Dr. Kevin Gutzman, professor of history at Western Connecticut State University. He has written the acclaimed biography “James Madison and the Making of America” as well as the national bestsellers Politically Incorrect Guide to the US Constitution and Who Killed The Constitution? with Dr. Tom Woods.

            Be sure to check in and RSVP for the event at either location here:

http://opengovernmentmiami.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-21st-rothbardian-circle-with-dr.html

2)     Who is running for President in 2016?

There are a lot of rumors going around but it only matters if you get involved now so you can have an opportunity to get involved later when the election really begins after this November’s midterm elections.

Former Florida Gov. JEB! Bush

Sen. Rand Paul
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney

Sen. Marco Rubio

Former Sen. and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (seems the sure in Democratic Party candidate)

If you want to get involved in deciding the future president of this country then you have to get involved now in order to pursue getting involved a year from now for your presidential candidate of choice.

This means either running for office or helping someone who is running.

3)     It’s too late to run for Congress this cycle but you have a month to run for local and state office.

The County Commission and various State House and Senate seats without challengers also.

If you choose to run against an incumbent in this cycle you’re guaranteed at least 30-40% of the vote. It is then your responsibility to get remaining votes to win.

Let me know if you’re interested in pursuing elected office.

4)     It’s the Republicans versus Joe Garcia in Florida’s 26^th Congressional District

which stretches from Westchester, through Kendall, the Redlands, Florida City and down to Key West.

This district leans Republican so it is expected that this US House seat flip in November unless of course the wrong candidate wins the upcoming Republican primary.

This is a 5-way primary but there are 3 candidates that you should know about:

School Board Member Carlos “I need a million dollars to win” Curbelo

Nice guy, but doesn’t have a lot of experience: mainly lobbying. He’s been picked by the DC Establishment with the plan that raising a lot of money to buy the election. Not exactly a winning formula in a hotly contested primary or against Joe Garcia.

Why?

           

            Former Congressman David “I have a target on my back” Rivera

Is in! He surprised the 305 world by filing last minute into the race despite an ongoing FBI probe into election fraud in 2012 that’s landed close associates of his in jail. I do believe that these are politically-motivated allegations because of Rivera’s close association to Marco Rubio, a presidential contender. However, what is truly disgraceful about Rivera is that he lost his own seat to Joe Garcia in 2012.

Nonetheless, Rivera is a political genius and his entrance to the race steals away a lot of attention from Curbelo and possibly a lot of his money also.

Rivera and Curbelo have been competing in the same Republican circles for years and their ongoing feud will turn this Primary into a nasty bloodbath and weaken the Republican Party chances against Joe Garcia in November.

However, there is the 3^rd candidate that’ll keep it real and is should be the best Republican to beat Garcia.

            Joe “Here Comes Daddy” Martinez

This better Joe is the former Miami-Dade County Commission chair whose 12 years on the County Commission representing most of Congressional District 26 means that voters here are very familiar with him. Joe Martinez is a political veteran with an established and lengthy legislative record. Plus, he doesn’t come with any baggage or drama that you’ve come to expect in Miami.

                        Yes, if you think I like Joe, you’re right. I’m completely behind him.

And did I mention that previous to public office, he was a 17-year decorated police officer who received not one but two GOLD MEDALS OF VALOR, the highest award for bravery a police officer can receive plus more than 70 other medals and commendations.

Joe Martinez has the experience, the cojones, and the political clout to win over the Curbelo-Rivera feud.

5)     Come Meet Joe Martinez Tomorrow Tuesday Night from 6-7:30pm at Anacapri on Ponce in Coral Gables

It’s a fundraising reception but you can show up for the free food and drinks even if you’re just there to meet Candidate Martinez.

We all complain about the candidates we get to pick come Election Day. How about meeting a candidate you can actually support and tell your family and friends about?

Tomorrow Night, Tuesday, May 6th from 6pm – 7:30pm we’ll be upstairs at Anacapri Restaurant located in Downtown Coral Gables, 2530 Ponce de Leon Blvd.

Come meet the next Republican Congressman to serve South Florida!

6) Thank you for watching this Open Government Miami update. If you want to get involved or need some orientation as to what to do please send me a message or comment below.

Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and have not been endorsed by any candidate.

May 21st Rothbardian Circle with Dr. Kevin Gutzman

Rothbardian Circle Miami is an economics, finance and public policy discussion circle where we invite the best minds from across the world to join us over video chat to listen to their expert presentation and take questions.

Mission Statement: To create the optimum atmosphere for learning about the free market regardless of the individual's familiarity on the subtopics being discussed.

This event will be multi-cast from two locations featuring Dr. Kevin Gutzman.

JOIN US May 21st 6:30 - 10 PM

The John Martin's Pub along Miracle Mile, which we have used for several previous events:
https://www.facebook.com/events/627561530655209

Total Wine and More in Pembroke Pines:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1485280395017714

Dr. Kevin Gutzman is an American constitutional scholar, American historian, and Madison biographer notable for writing Virginia's American Revolution: From Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840 and what has been described "the definitive biography" of James Madison, James Madison and the Making of America. He is a professor of history at Western Connecticut State University.

He also wrote the national bestsellers The Politcally-Incorrect Guide to the US Constitution and Who Killed the Constitution? co-written with Dr. Tom Woods.




Check Out Past Events:

The Rothbardian Circle VII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snbKk6XOm2c

The Rothbardian Circle V
http://www.examiner.com/article/libertarian-group-discusses-bitcoin-agorism-miami

The Rothbardian Circle IV:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=k8o5NaTXpQM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dk8o5NaTXpQM%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

The Rothbardian Circle III: http://www.examiner.com/article/third-party-champion-speaks-to-young-activists-miami

The Rothbardian Circle II: http://www.examiner.com/article/republicans-and-libertarians-team-up-for-the-rothbardian-circle

The Rothbardian Circle I: http://www.examiner.com/article/new-miami-group-plans-to-educate-locals-on-libertarianism-and-economics

Miami Civics Presentation and Resource Guide

The first OGM Civics Presentation was just completed this past weekend. It was a great event. We're planning another event soon. Stay tuned for the announcement.

In the meanwhile, check out the Miami Civics Presentation and Resource Guide below:

What urban planning means to me and my Miami 21 experience (so far)

Roos Lane

I keep hearing that “Miami 21 is a disaster.” I remember campaigning in the City of Miami in 2009 when the commission approved the Miami 21 zoning ordinance right before that November election. It sounded strange then and as it has taken me 4 years to catch up to what the new zoning code actually allows.

Miami 21 had a lot of critics and cheerleaders. One such cheerleader and respected urban planning expert UM Dean of Architecture Elizabeth Plater-Zyber is now stepping down. What this means going forward is unclear to me. I always thought the “New Urbanism” movement in urban planning circles was meant to provide more protection for local neighborhoods from aggressive developers. I can’t see that Miami 21 does anything of the sort. Every land use activist (aka neighborhood protectionist) from Coral Way to Coconut Grove all have horror stories to share of how Miami 21 is being used as a way to develop urban in-fill spaces in residential communities, which is parlance referring to allowing high-rise, residential/commercial structures (mixed-use) adjacent to single family homes (talk about encouraging peeping toms).

From the EyeOnMiami article, I read an interesting comment that makes the case that zoning codes like Miami 21 are more suited to agrarian communities where you have a lot of community input in development. My dad built a lot in Delaware and everyone had a say in what he eventually built there... they named a street after him. 

Roos Lane and Kenton, Delaware

Returning to Miami 21, the only reason why real estate development in the City of Miami is so difficult compared to easy Delaware is because there is so much more secrecy and backdoor politics. Unfortunately, we have an aggressive developer-class in the City of Miami (not to mention the rest of South Florida) and low involvement from the common class in issues of urban planning. So I am saddened by the loss of even one New Urbanism (urban planning) activist like Elizabeth Plater-Zyber (whether you liked her or not).

I will share my personal, horror stories regarding Miami 21 throughout this week and why it negatively impacts jobs and the livability of Miami. One story discusses the fiasco of T6-8-O zoning designation all along Coral Way that is leading to enormous building constructions. Another story is the trouble with no restrictions to allowing Transit-Oriented Developments around the Metrorail stations along US1 going out a half-mile radius. My last story is what I think about the destruction of the traditional commercial spaces like the Coconut Grove entertainment district and the Wynwood Art District (with accompanying industrial area) because of the over-development at Midtown.

Horror, destruction and zoning… Only in the City of Miami do these words together make any sense.

Ron Paul Miami becomes Open Government Miami

It's no secret that my activism began from my support of the presidential campaigns for the retired Congressman Ron Paul. I wrote a piece for the DailyPaul.com, a leading Ron Paul supporter site, describing in better detail what I want to accomplish with Open Government Miami:

The vacancy left behind with the Ron Paul Campaigns will be filled with a journey for activists to establish responsible, public policy initiatives. We are the pressure that makes the change. 

This is a labor of love: Six years ago I began a journey of discovery into the bowels of Miami's Banana Republican Politics. Today, I find myself a lot more introspective and have found out that most of the problems in today's politics begins with mistrust. Mistrust and government tend to go hand and hand, no? But this mistrust comes because of The People's general ignorance and miseducation which leads them to mistrust everyone's motivations. Rather unite, we fracture and crumble. 

This dangerous ignorance starts from a lack of understanding of an individual's role in society. They see themselves as a unit rather than a member of the whole, individually expressed. We are a product of our society after all. 

There is a willful and very deep ignorance that people have toward government. Too many people have abandoned trying to learn about government because our political system is "broken" (a straw man argument). But they give up on the institution without realizing that there is none other that ties us all together as strongly. So I tell people, "It's the only way we can stay involved in each other's lives. And the only way we can figure out how to do business together, too." 

Remember, government has an enormous role on every decision we make from the moment we wake up to the moment we lay down to sleep. Government cannot be ignored, it won't let you. 

Open Government Miami is designed to relate educational opportunities where you can learn how to become a civic and political activist (they are NOT the same thing!) and hopefully make great friends and have great experiences. Plus, I will let you in on juicy bits of knowledge of how elections and the public policy are used regularly to enrich a few key industries here while leaving the rest of us lagging behind (i.e. urban blight, a weak business climate, water pollution and many other such issues).

Read more: http://www.dailypaul.com/289455/ron-paul-miami-becomes-open-government-miami

Two "FREE" Events to Take Advantage Of

There are two events this week that I want you to consider attending:

Rothbardian Circle Miami featuring Dr. Walter Block

Cost: Free; sponsored by Mr. Luis Rivera

When: Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 at 6:30 pm (up to 11:00pm)

Where: Hampton Inn Suite (near Brickell), 6th floor EGRET Room

Address: 50 SW 12th St, Miami, FL 33130

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/120253768174807/

Civic Activism Empowers Political Action

Cost: Free; sponsored by Open Government Miami

When: Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 am (up to 1:00pm)

Where: Simpson Park Meeting Hall (near Brickell)

Address: 55 SW 17th Rd Miami, FL 33129

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/476148892474268

You may ask who puts on events that feature world-renowned Economics Ph.D. and experienced activists detailing their years of experience and knowledge, read more at the attached links or just find more for yourself by attending!