The Political Whore

By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

In a presidential proclamation issued on Monday, President Barack Obama officially recognized the month of June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The president’s call for equality and his acknowledgment of the many contributions LGBT people have made to America’s culture, society and politics despite being culturally, socially and politically marginalized are truly moving. However, I can’t help feeling slightly ambivalent about the whole thing. Here’s why:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

Jim Johnson is the creator of The State of Sunshine blog.

Last month, I wrote a post here on Political Whore about US Airways flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson river with all aboard safe.  The first images where not from a major news organization or a photojournalist, they were from a bystander and were disseminated via Twitter.  It eventually prompted a response earlier this month from Michael Hussey at Pushing Rope with an interesting discussion about news. Read the rest of this entry »

The St. Pete Times is spinning local political news out of Buzz and into a blog of its own, Bay Buzz. Check it out here.

This week, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas will introduce H.R. 5699, which has been hailed as the “Blogger Protection Act of 2008” (CL blogophiles can breathe a sigh of relief).

Right now, “uncompensated Internet activity” is protected by a Federal Election Commission regulation that allows linking to campaign websites and writing about the views of federal candidates—which, without the regulation, could potentially be considered a campaign contribution or expenditure on the candidate’s behalf. Basically, blogs currently share the same protection from campaign finance restrictions as other media outlets.

The problem is that since this protection is regulatory, it can be changed without congressional action. Rep. Hensarling will introduce legislation that will create statutory blogger protections in the hopes of creating a more permanent solution for our online “pajama journalists.” Forge on, brave bloggers!

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

A defense attorney’s law license is at risk because he posted an angry description on the Internet of embattled Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán, calling her an “evil, unfair witch.”Last week, as Alemán was on trial for alleged misconduct before the Judicial Qualifications Commission, The Florida Bar signed off on its finding that Sean Conway may have violated five bar rules, including impugning the judge’s qualifications or integrity.

In the Halloween 2006 posting on a blog, Conway denounced Alemán for what he said was an “ugly, condescending attitude” and questioned her mental stability after, he says, she unlawfully forced attorneys to choose between unreasonable trial dates or waiving their clients’ rights to a speedy trial.

As those who have joined the Florida Bar or run a judicial campaign know well, there is no such thing as free speech for lawyers or judges. Wouldn’t want to taint the justice system with the truth and all that.

Broward has been the site of a lively trade in courthouse online bashing.  Back in May, the county’s chief judge complained that a lawyer blog was undermining his authority in the courthouse along the banks of the mighty New River.

Broward County has several interesting and snarky lawyer blogs, including the one complained about above (JAABLAW Blog) and  South Florida Lawyers, which not only has references to Sandy D’Alemberte’s daughter posing for Playboy in 1991 but a photo of The Skipper himself.

Why doesn’t Tampa Bay have such exciting lawyer-bitching vehicles?