I was out of the office (and to some degree, out of touch with the important breaking news of the day) for the past two days, so the whole flapdoodle over First Lady Michelle Obama wearing (gasp!) shorts on her family vacation to the Grand Canyon got right by me.

But this morning, I got gobsmacked by the “news” when I broke my prohibition against watching The Today Show and saw not only a produced package report on it but an interview about it with the author of an upcoming book on Mrs. Obama.

So I’m damned if I write about this nothingness (because by doing so I am just perpetuating the media echo chamber on this particular non-news item) but if I sit by and let this phenomenon continue to go unchallenged I look either a) out of touch or b) like I condone such piffle.

So let’s be clear: Blame the Internet, blame the increasingly content-hungry online news media who will write about anything as long as it gets pageviews and resonates and gets Reddit’ed or Digg’ed or whatever’ed. But mostly, blame ourselves, the consumers of this mental junk food, because if we weren’t eating it, they wouldn’t be feeding it to us.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was questioned earlier this week about her views and how they compare/contrast with President Clinton’s views during a visit to the Congo. (The student meant to say President “Obama.” Right.)

Many pundits and bloggers poked fun at her response.

Women the world over are constantly asked about their husband’s point of view, opinion, and judgment. Even when it shouldn’t matter.

If I had a dime every time someone asked what my husband thought of my writing, pictures, ass…

When was the last time a man held a press conference and someone asked what the little lady thought? A man is rarely made to believe he needs his wife’s blessing when it comes to performance at work.

Could Clinton have answered the question better? With humor and a bit of serenity? Absolutely. She should expect such misogynistic and idiotic questions, especially in a place where women are treated so poorly. An answer at the ready, said with a sly wink, could have really hit home – internationally.

She had every right to be frustrated and angry with the suggestion that her views should mirror her husband’s. Bill Clinton is *not* Secretary of State, goddamn it.

She just should have ranted in private.

But I don’t blame her.

Not one bit.

By Ben Luongo
PoHo contributor

Our debate on health care reform has been a disappointing state of affairs. Stories of town hall meetings turning violent and reports of organizations planting disruptors are hardly proud examples of a successful democratic process. It speaks volumes of how political a society we have come to be.

Click after the jump to watch what has been happening in Florida.

The purpose of the town hall meetings have been to discuss the future of our health care system – whether it needs to be reformed, what kinds of reform, etc. However, while our current health care system may be flawed, the discord and violence at these town hall meetings have exposed a more urgent concern – the politicization of the issue, the disregard for mutual understanding, the heightened emotions and lack of reason mark our inability to constructively exchange ideas for the discovery of a better way. Our ability and need to deliberate on the issues rationally and without agenda is somehow overpowered by the political animal in us that is all too quick to leap to action.

Rather than being used as a forum of public discourse, these town hall meetings have been used as a place of protest. Is this the new way of American democracy? Is the town hall meeting still a public square and a market place for ideas, or sadly, do we make up our minds at home and treat the town hall as a fighter’s ring only to gratify our political nature.

It is important to remember that basic tenets in democracy, the right to speech, the right to press, the right to assemble, are not merely ends in themselves, but are meant to promote an exchange in society. John Stuart Mill believed that such an exchange could lead to the discovery of truth

“The peculiar evil in silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth.” – On Liberty

For John Stuart Mill “we can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion.” However, these town hall meetings turn loud and violent, where the freedom of speech is abused and seen as an instrument to stifle others. The exchange of error for truth could never happen in this environment and we walk away from a missed opportunity to find a better way.

Democracy requires deliberation, which means that the ideal of free speech does not only grant us the right to speak but also obligates us to listen. More importantly, both sides have to enter discussions with a desire to learn the truth (in this case the truth would be the ideal American healthcare system), which would require us to abandon any preconceived notions of the truth (such as partisan views of healthcare held to be true without good reason).

It is not an easy lesson but America must learn that a healthy democracy is one where its participants calm their political animals and inspire in themselves a desire to listen and learn from each other.

(It turned out that the question was wrongly translated, but wow, is our Secretary of State a little fed up with Bill getting the lion’s share of headlines?)

By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor
Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio

Thursday night’s Town Hall Rally on health care with Congresswoman Kathy Castor in Ybor City has been dissected throughout the country thanks to YouTube.

The atmosphere both inside and outside of the Children’s Board was as intense and, at times, incendiary as the days after the presidential election in Florida in 2000.  (I’ll never forget Day 3 of the 36-day recount in West Palm Beach, when I saw Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler sprint for safety into a trailer from incensed Republicans after finishing a live interview with then CNN anchor Greta Van Susteren).

Although the failure of both houses of Congress to vote on health care legislation before the August break was initially viewed as a loss of momentum for President Barack Obama, the fact is that the American public does need to sit and discuss what is in this once-in-a-generation legislation.

Unfortunately though, through the first week of the Congressional recess, the Town Hall format ain’t the place where that’s happening (and probably won’t , as more members of Congress can use footage of Tampa, St. Louis and Detroit to blow off further encounters).

The fact of the matter is that Americans – specifically, seniors have serious anxieties about what’s in the proposals, or at least what they think is in it.

Discussions about rationing and end of life care are intensely personal. The possibility that government might be involved in those potentially life and death issues is frightening people, and President Obama and his Congressional allies need to do more (as he did this past weekend) to allay those fears.

For years (if not decades), the GOP has accused Democrats of demagoging on the issue of Social Security.   Whether accurate or not, Republicans feel they are using that formula back on Democrats on health care reform.

Democrats could be clearer on what reform means, specifically when it comes to the public option.

Right now, it’s a tabula rasa that the likes of Rush Limbaugh, John Boehner, Rick Scott and others are exploiting as a form of socialized Soviet-era medicine that will end the health care system as we know it, which is proving effective in polls where people who do have coverage think they’ll lose it (President Obama’s maxim that you won’t lose your doctor be damned).

For progressives, real health care reform would come come in the form of a single payer system. But that got the boot by the President before serious negotiations ever began.  Now, the killer app is the public option.  If it’s not part of the final plan, many Democrats in the House say they’ll bail.

And that might happen. In the all important Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus has removed the public option to appease two of the three Republicans in the negotiating room, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Wyoming’s Mike Enzi (Incidentally, all 6 of the Senators in that Committee reportadley represent a grand total of 2% of the population in the U.S.)

Some liberals think Baucus is going overboard in trying to appease Grassley and Enzi, since there is little evidence to indicate that even if they sign off on a plan in committee that rank and file Republicans will follow suit.

Instead of a public option, that committee has replaced it with a network of member-owned cooperatives.

What’s the difference? Plenty, according to Yale Political Science professor and author of The Great Risk Shift, Jacob Hacker.

He calls the co-op proposal “largely untested and symbolic,” adding that it fails on a couple of fronts: That it won’t be  cost control backup, nor will the co-ops have the authority or reach to implement what he calls “innovative delivery and payment reform in increasingly consolidate insurance markets”.

And he quotes West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller: “Will co-ops be effective in going after insurance companies?  The answer is a flat no.”

House Democrats feel the same way. The Congressional Democratic Caucus’s 57 members have said they will reject legislation without a public option, as has Tampa Representative Kathy Castor, who told members of the media last week shortly before the now infamous Town  Hall that, “a robust public option is vital to lowering costs, keeping these insurance companies honest. I am not interested in saying to people in the Tampa Bay area to take personal responsibility, but there’s no option than going to a private insurance company that’s organized to make a profit and when you look at the multimillion dollar CEO salaries and executive compensation packages , the way to go to bring real competition is a strong public option.”

Back to last week’s Town Hall in Ybor City, a critic of health care reform wrote to me this weekend that Thursday was the “best non Town Hall I’ve ever heard.” He went on to write about why he and others interrupted Castor was completely legitimate. Interesting. Castor (as well as Texas’ Lloyd Doggett, also the recipient of an ‘excited’ response by anti-health care reform folks) says the negative reaction just reinforced her feelings about the subject.

But who knows?  Rep. Castor may still reject a bill that comes her way later this year. But if so, it won’t be because of what happened last Thursday night.

UPDATE at 1 pm: Martinez will hold a 3pm newser and then Crist is expected to name former Secretary of State Jim Smith as the an interim replacement before the summer recess ends. Leading candidates so far include former Secretary of State Jim Smith, former Tampa Mayor and FLA Gov. Bob Martinez, former US Sen. Connie Mack and former Speaker Allen Bense.

After months and months of flat-out denying he would quit his Senate post before his term was up (ever since he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2010), Mel Martinez today made a liar out of himself and announced he will step down now.

That leaves the appointment in Gov. Charlie Crist’s hands. Now, before everyone in the Democratic Party grassroots starts freaking out (too late, judging by my Facebook and Twitter account traffic), yes, Charlie can appoint himself but, no, he won’t. It would be political suicide to do that.

In 2005, CL’s then- Sarasota reporter Allyson Gonzalez gave Martinez a freshman report card. He didn’t do too well:

The 109th Congress is now in session and first-term Senator Mel Martinez is three months into his stay in Washington, D.C. For a progress report on the senator’s early legislative performance, we compared some of his recent votes with that of his original campaign promises, as outlined both in interviews and on his campaign website, www.melforsenate.org.

So far, it’s clear that our junior senator has some serious homework to do. Were this a school report card, we’d have to issue a note home saying that – although he may be a joy in class – Mel Martinez needs some serious help with his grades.

IMPROVING HEALTH CARE: F

Medicaid cuts: Martinez supported.

You won’t read about this on his current website, http://martinez.senate.gov. Martinez failed to join the seven other Republicans who rejected the majority Republican platform swiping $14 billion from Medicaid over the next five years. While some form of Medicaid reform is needed to ensure the viability of the program and the health of its recipients, the proposed cuts were blunt and short-sighted and in reality would have hit children the hardest. Ultimately, most of the Senate realized that fact with their 52-48 vote; too bad Martinez supported the hack job.

Veterans’ medical care: Martinez supported.

With veterans’ needs dramatically rising, the $410 million voted on by the Senate and Martinez functioned merely as a symbolic action. Why talk big about veteran support and then participate in a 47-53 vote to turn down a $2.8-billion veteran assistance bill that could have staved off future long-term costs? Was the $410 million intended as some middle ground?

PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES: F

Oil drilling in Alaska: Martinez supported.

After accepting some $123,000 from 35 different oil and gas groups like Halliburton and the Independent Petroleum Association of America during the 2004 election – making him the senator to receive the fifth-greatest amount of contributions from the industry – Martinez voted to open up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The vote can best be described as a Faustian bargain that failed, as Martinez hoped that drilling for Alaskan oil reserves would spare offshore drilling in Florida, at least for a while. But the deal he struck may have made things worse for Florida, by possibly permitting oil companies to drill in areas more than 100 miles offshore – something that wasn’t previously allowed.

As Martinez explained in a March 16 statement following the 51-49 Senate vote, he made his ANWR decision with assurances that the existing moratorium of offshore drilling on Florida’s Gulf Coast would be extended to 2012. Interior Secretary Gale Norton wrote to Martinez that no new drilling leases have been made within 100 miles of Florida coastline and that “we will continue this policy.”

What Martinez did not apparently know is that the existing leasing bans already extended to 2012, and covered a full 200 miles offshore, not the 100-mile confirmation Martinez had received.

Senator Bill Nelson is now playing cleanup by trying to hold up President Bush’s nominee for the deputy Interior secretary in the hopes of securing a clear promise that the eastern Gulf of Mexico remains drilling-free.

Read the rest of Gonzalez’s story and Martinez’s report card.

The summer recess of Congress has sent politicians back home into their districts and straight into the guerilla theater that has overcome reasonable discussion about how to reform the nation’s broken health care system.

Witness: Hundreds of angry conservatives and anti-Obamacare people (a few violent) turned up at a town hall organized by state Rep. Betty Reed in Ybor City last night with one mission in mind — some with one mission in mind: disrupt the forum and get headlines.

They succeeded.

Driven by right-wing media nutz such as Rush Limbaugh (who mentioned Kathy Castor’ appearance at the forum during his Thursday radio show, bemoaning that she would be surrounded by “union goons”), the state and local GOP and Glenn Beck’s 9-12 movement, the anti-Obama crowd banged on windows and doors in an attempt to get into the overcrowded Children’s Board meeting room.

10 Connects reported:

As people were asked to leave, several screaming matches erupted between participants. One man’s shirt was even ripped open.

So let’s spread the blame around: Rep. Reed admitted she should have gone for a larger venue to accommodate what she knew was a growing crowd. The SEIU union admitted it reserved a number of chairs for its members inside, while opponents and supporters alike stood outside and were denied admission.

TBO.com reported:

Democrats, including White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, have said the disruptions were organized attacks aimed at Democrats by conservative, anti-health care reform interest groups. Protesters at Thursday’s meeting in Tampa angrily rejected that contention.

One man whose shirt was ripped when he tried to force his way into the meeting said afterward he was assaulted by union members:

Scott Farrell of The Farrell Files on 10 Connects and Joe Bardi of Creative Loafing’s Film & TV section were on board again this morning to tape the weekly HoCast, in which we examined the week’s top political stories, made sense out of them and played funny-sounding audio clips.

Here was our tentative show rundown as written before taping; we added the Tampa health care reform “near riot” to the top of the issues list and had some audio from the unpleasantness:

1. BIll Clinton (and Al Gore??) set free the journo-hostages from North Korea. The price? An unsmiling photo-op with an equally unsmiling and flaccid Kim Jong-Il plus some “face” for the North Koreans. Worth it or not? What happens next time a nation takes poeple hostage and we don’t send Slick Willy or a different ex-president to rescue them? Can you imagine the hilarity that would have ensued if we’d sent former President George W. Bush?!? And how long will Hillary stand for Bill upstaging her?

2. Snakes in a State, starring Samuel L. Jackson Jr. Florida is overrun with Burmese pythons, and they’ve started eating our children and other endangered species. Time for a War on Snakes!
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/2009/08/06/its-war-florida-vs-burmese-python-snakes-with-a-possible-pet-ban/

3. Privatizing BayWalk’s sidewalks: the sidewalk turned from a pathway for pedestrians to a home for the homeless, a protest site for those opposed to the war (nevermind that BayWalk played zero role in the war) and various other sundry uses that damaged the retail center’s business. Now, the city wants to give it control of the sidewalk and push thep public off land that it now owns. What do we think? What other bothersome public lands are we ready to give back to private interests? The Everglades (and all those snakes?)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/06/060959/groups-protest-st-pete-plan-privatize-baywalk-side/news-breaking/

4. Hillsborough County votes to seek $15 million in federal stimulus money to pay for a temporary rehab of the Friendship Trail bridge. Is that what we should be using the stimulus for? And what do we make of the estimate that 600,000 people hike, bike or fish off the bridge every year? That is one in four Tampa Bay residents. Sounds a bit high to me.
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/8/5/505115.html?title=Commissioners%20vote%205%20to%202%20for%20Friendship%20Trail%20project&cid=rss

5. John Edwards’ mistress testifies before an NC grand jury about his campaign finances. We ask: how much can one piece of ass cost somebody?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/08/06/edwards_mistress_testifies_before_grand_jury.html

Here’s the live video stream of our taping, which we get ready for starting at about 10 am and tape at 10:15 am each week. Drop in early and catch our live mic gaffes.
Live TV : Ustream

By Catherine Durkin Robinson
PoHo contributor
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a “feminist mother of twins” and a political blogger, working under the title Out in Left Field.

Keith Meinhold is one of many decorated veterans who can no longer serve his country … because he’s gay.

His story:

My fellow Floridian,

I served as an aircrew instructor aboard the Navy’s P-3C Orion aircraft and flew combat missions throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Persian Gulf.

Despite being rated in the top ten percent of all Navy instructors I was kicked out of the Navy after coming out on a national news broadcast as part of an effort to stop a witch hunt against other gay, lesbian and bisexual service members.

I’m writing to you today because together we have a unique opportunity to right a wrong.

Please sign our letter to the Florida congressional delegation urging them to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law bans gays, lesbians and bisexuals from serving openly in the U.S. military. Because of this law, more than 13,000 dedicated military personnel have had their careers taken away, their dignity dragged through the mud and their families torn apart. These discharges have included Arabic linguists, pilots, medics and others that held critical skill sets vital to our national security.

Please sign our letter to the Florida congressional delegation urging them to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Every day we are getting closer to the 218 co-sponsors needed to pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283 in the U.S. House of Representatives) and repeal this backward law. With 168 co-sponsors as of today, we are just 50 short of the mark. With your help we can meet our objective over the next 60 days, and have a real shot at getting a vote this year.

As a Floridian, I am proud to report that today there is real momentum for repeal right here in our state. Nine members of Florida’s congressional delegation ranging from Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Miami) to Democrat Kathy Castor (Tampa) have co-sponsored this historic legislation. And thanks to the hard work of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network city governments, the latest being Miami, are passing resolutions in support. Now, we need your help.

Please sign our letter to the Florida congressional delegation urging them to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Following my discharge a Federal court reinstated me into Navy where I served for another four years openly gay. It was the most rewarding four years of my career. My crew flew combat missions over the Persian Gulf and was recognized by the Navy as the most combat effective in the Pacific Fleet. I was also awarded the Navy Achievement Medal. I am the first openly gay man to retire from active duty with full military honors. With your support there will be many more.

Thank you in advance for your commitment to justice for every active duty military service member and veteran in the United States.

Yours in service,

Keith Meinhold
Petty Officer 1st Class, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Miami, Florida

“Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” don’t work. Removing effective soldiers and officers because they are a gay is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. We can’t afford to lose patriots like Meinhold – our country’s security is too important.

Scott Farrell of The Farrell Files on 10 Connects and Joe Bardi of Creative Loafing’s Film & TV section join me later this morning to tape the weekly HoCast. What do you think about this week’s top political news? Have something to say on the show topics below? How about your nominee for Political Whore of the Week? Post a comment or tweet it to @poho and we’ll try to read it during the podcast.

Download or listen to a streaming version of the podcast, after the jump:

Download the episode here.

Here is our tentative show rundown, because we have no secrets from our loyal PoHo readers:

1. Brian Blair’s “comeback” interview with Gayle Sierens. Blair wants to focus on empowering parents (yes, he’s the Dr. Phil of our generation); More interestingly, Blair said he woke up at 3;30 am night of his arrest on child abuse charges and went to fix himself some … salmon??? Huh? What’s wrong with Count Chocula? With audio from the News Channel 8 interview. Blair says scuffle with sons could revive political career

2. PETA says it will give money (it won’t say how much) toward the reconstruction of the Friendship Trail bridge on two conditions: that fishing is banned on it, and that it is renamed the “Sea Kitten” Memorial Bridge Trail. After we laugh our asses off, we ask: Why in the name of Citizen Kane would the Tampa Tribune run this fiction on page 1A??? http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jul/29/peta-provisos-backs-effort-save-friendship-trailbr/ With audio of kittens either being slaughtered or the YouTube cat that plays the keyboard. [Ed's note: No actual kittens will be harmed in the making of this podcast. As much as we'd like to.]

3. The Blue Dogs: Who are they, and do they have to be walked twice a day? Looking at the compromise between centrist Blue Dog Democrats and libs on health care, we ask this: does anybody really understand this stuff? http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/health-deal-sparks-fury-on-the-left-2009-07-29.html

4. Tampa City Council raises a bunch of parks, rec, and burial plot fees, among others. We point out the irony about a public that demands government be run like a business, but then when it does run itself like a business to recapture the real cost of providing a good or service, the public whines like a 4-year-old in the candy aisle at Publix. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tbo/news/~3/fcHuJsMFE7U/

5. Scientoloy’s new ads, with audio. Genius marketing? http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/2009/07/28/lat-ad-critic-raves-boffo-about-scientologys-new-tv-ads-that-are-part-of-pr-pushback/

6. Tony Blair for EU president? http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/wealthofnations/archive/2009/07/30/tony-blair-for-european-president.aspx

And another new feature: Here’s the live video stream of our taping.
Live TV : Ustream