Who is Rosa Palomino?

Rosa "Rosy" Palomino
Candidate for City of Miami commission

Rosy Palomino always taught me that local politics defines our everyday quality of life. So when we complain about why government sucks, you have to look at local government first and ask why is it not working?

I first began my political involvement with national politics. It was Rosy who convinced me I was wasting my time and that if I really wanted to help change policy I would do it by affecting change at the local level.

Since then we have worked on City of Miami issues from zoning, police, street repair, parks and more. I have learned through her and many other people I have met along the way about how a city should work. This is not the stuff of graduate studies but the simple, honest America that we were all told exists... somewhere. This is where America happens, every great tradition, every value elevated but also where every wrong headed social engineer gets their start.

On ongoing project I have combines the talents and knowledge of Bob Powers (he deserves a post of his own) and the business sense of Rosy Palomino in a weekly radio program "Miami After Dark" where we discuss current events, politics, and urban living. We host politicians, market makers and entertainers. We focus on how solutions that make Miami better.


For instance, on the last episode of Miami After Dark radio, we discussed with Sarah Schacht, a Seattle-based ‪#‎OpenGov‬ consultant about why governments go bad. The reason is very common and happens everywhere across the world. And the solution is also simple and easy (and cheap!) to implement with plenty of examples to follow. As Sarah said: "Governments are more alike than different".

Listen to our discussion with Sarah so you can get an idea why Rosa's perspective on how a city should work is the key to creating a freer and better society starting here in our own backyard.

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/miamiafterda…/miami-after-dark-ep-023

 But wait there's more about Rosy!

Rosy knows that if you really want to change your community you need to put yourself in positions where you can not only be heard. So she decided to run for office and I applaud her for it. She has the guts, the brains and the joie de vivre to tackle the challenges that will come her way.

Rosy filed to run for the City of Miami's District 2 commission seat since the current commissioner guy is term-limited (more on him another time). The commission district represents all the waterfront areas of the City of Miami: Coconut Grove, Brickell, Downtown, Edgewater, Midtown, Baypoint and Morningside.

Her campaign launch party is tomorrow night at The Grove Spot after 6pm. The invitation is below. If you are interested in what could be accomplished to make life, business and civics better than come by and meet Rosy. You won't go disappointed.

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.

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:

Further Response to the North Miami Election

The former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns lost in a run-off election to Lucie Tondreau earlier this month is a way that was incredible and somewhat unbelievable at least from a political science stand point. It doesn't matter if Tondreau herself was involved in a voter fraud scheme but the numbers show that something strange occurred to generate the vote totals we saw.

Burns is now suing to have Tondreau removed as mayor not because of voter fraud but because Tondreau didn't live in North Miami at least a year in order to establish the proper residency requirement. It is the first time to candidates challenged on the basis of their residency.

However, voter fraud is a perennial issue in Miami-Dade County. It is an issue that cannot be ignored even though for Kevin Burns it is expedient to bypass.

I write more why voter fraud in North Miami is a bigger problem people in the city must confront or accept that this will be a regular part of their elections from now on:

Kudos to Kevin Burns for going after residency, but he shouldn’t have punted on Voter Fraud

Investigating voter fraud is simple to do in concept but difficult to accomplish. First off, you need people who know who to ask the right questions of just to figure exactly what happened during the election. Next, you need to figure if anything that you know happened was illegal and then determine whether or not it was enough to change the results of the election. Determining if fraud was committed, who did it and why is a daunting task (unless Lucie Tondreau herself was directly involved that is). Adding to the difficulty is that in North Miami, Lucie Tondreau won with more than 800 votes so figuring out how 800 people committed voter fraud is very challenging. 

This is why Kevin Burns is challenging the results of the election by going after the matter regarding Lucie Tondreau’s residency... 

Read more at: http://www.votersopinion.com/?p=9969

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!

The Voter Fraud Story You Haven't Heard

Voter fraud has been in the news with scandal from the campaign of now-Congressman Joe Garcia and just yesterday the same fraud committed by campaign aides of City of Miami Commissioner Francis X. Suarez who is vying for the Mayor's seat this November.

Real voter fraud is much more organized and conspiratorial then the Internet schemes of these two related voter fraud scandals. Real voter fraud stories are rarely ever heard about because the fraudsters completely got away with it.

Voter fraud usually comes in 5 ways:

1. Voter Registration Fraud
2. Absentee Ballot Fraud
3. Illegally or Improperly "Assisting" Others to Vote their Absentee Ballot
4. Vote-Buying
5. Hacking Voter Machine or Vote Counting Database

There are few thoughts to figure out which kind of fraud happened and who perpetrated it:

1. Voter Registration Fraud usually occurs by "changes of address" schemes to register voters who live outside the voting district to participate in the election (such as out-of-towners, homeless, public employees, etc.. The real residence of these voters can be proven by real estate tax searches, corporation records and other easily accessible public databases.
2. Absentee Ballot Fraud usually occurs in several ways such as casting absentee ballots stolen from mailboxes and requesting absentee ballots without permission (with or without an improper change of address). Rumors can indicate this happening and so can any reports made to authorities. Since this type of fraud is done in combination with voter registration fraud and "change of address" schemes then it can be detected in the same way.
3. Illegally or Improperly "Assisting" Others to Vote their Absentee Ballot occurs regularly when absentee ballots are cast by the infirm, incapacitated and elderly who cannot vote by themselves (or otherwise protest their ballots being marked without permission). Rumor can offer details regarding how and who ran this scheme. Analysis of voting patterns can point groupings of voters residing in institutions such as group homes or assisted living facilities that can further investigation.
4. Vote-buying is popular because it is cheap and done during Election Day or Early Voting that drives droves of registered voters by bus to a voting location in exchange for $10-$20 (i.e. $2,000 for 200 votes). The only way to know if this happens is when people speak about it happening (word of mouth). Rumors will offer names of those organizing this scheme. Details will offer clues that can establish who were paid to vote against the list of voters who cast ballots. Analysis of voting patterns among lower quality (lower propensity) voters can indicate this scheme from happening.
5. Hacking Voter Machine or Vote Counting Database is rarely done except in tight elections or else it will be detected by voter polling prior to the election but most especially by exit polling. On rare occasion, the reporting of election results can be so compromised that vote tallies can be completely switched out. This type of fraud involves people who have access within the chain of custody involving ballots, electronic voting machines and the voter count database (which means election volunteers, staff and the third-party vendors involved).

Usually you can only detect the type of fraud being committed well after the election is over and certified and the voter history is made available publicly. However, if you are aware of how to rig elections you can catch it in the midst of it happening or just warn voters of this happening.

Rumors, gossip and even campaign finance reports can help you pin-point the type of fraud and using voter history to determine particular voting patterns that occur in each type of voter fraud.  

We can also narrow the suspects by knowing who are the local ballot brokers and the usual suspects for voter fraud. We can also figure out who these people are who committed fraud by reviewing who stands out in the campaign finance report as well as identifying any PACs or third-party groups such as religious, civic or governmental organizations (like CRA or a Development Authority) associated with them.

Keep tuned in to this blog and I will share more info about voter fraud specifically how it gets done and how to stop it.

A Short Manifesto

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 I mean the mistrust people feel toward each other and the division it creates.

There is a very deep ignorance that people have regarding government. Too many people have abandoned trying to learn about government because our political system is broken. 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 to lay down to sleep. Government cannot be ignored, it won't let you.

I am starting this blog to generate attention to my personal pet peeves about government especially my local government here in the Magic City of Miami where money disappears faster than greenscape is replaced with concrete. Other cities fascinate me like Miami Beach, the only place I have ever heard that makes more money from tourist dollars than property taxes (why do they pay property taxes then?).

While on this blogging journey I will attempt 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 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 behind (i.e. urban blight, a weak business climate, water pollution and many other such issues).

Keep reading. I hope not to disappoint.

Yours in the faith that humanity will always overcome the savagery that its government employees commit.