the 941

It’s 2 a.m. on a Friday night. Most years, the party at New College would just be getting started. Not this year. These days, New College’s public parties, known to students as “walls,” are starting, and ending, early.

As tonight’s wall winds down, equipment technicians wait for one last song to play out before they pack up the student government-owned speakers. A few students linger in Palm Court, the Mecca of New College social life. Most, though, simply finish off what’s in their red cups and slink back to their dorms.

New College President Gordon “Mike” Michalson scaled back wall hours late last September as a temporary security measure after a nonaffiliated visitor assaulted a student. Curtailed party hours may sound like a small sacrifice, but for many at the school, the lack of student input in the decision is only the latest in a string of controversies that have some going as far as to say that it’s the end of New College as they know it.

(more…)

Bookmark to:

Is it just me or is Sarah Palin a lot funnier now that we know she’s not going to be President (at least not any time soon)? She was apparently doing some kind of publicity stunt involving pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving when she gave this interview. I don’t get it either, but watch the man in the back slaughtering turkeys as the governor discusses the finer points of Alaskan politics.

Bookmark to:

Here.

Bookmark to:

Okay, check this out. This is crazy.

Map #1: Largest Self-Reported Ancestry Group for Residents of Each County

Notice the gray belt-like area in the South, where a majority of respondants claim “American” ancestry.

Now look at the previously referenced
Map #2: New York Times’ map of voting shifts from 2004-2008.

Look how closely the “American” counties correspond to the areas that got more Republican.

Ben Smith at Politico quotes a reader:

This second map is based on census data and shows what the largest (self-reported) ancestry is in county of the United States. Take a look at it and you’ll see that the interior south, where Obama could get no traction and almost the only part of the country where people voted more Republican in 2008 is the part of the country dominated by people who describe their ancestry as not German or English or Spanish or Irish but “American.”

This sounds at first blush like simple ignorance of the concept of ancestry, but the map’s annotation notes that “The region had very low levels of immigration for 200 years. … According to the 1870 census, less than 2% of the south was immigrants.” In most of the rest of the deep south’s counties the biggest ethnic group is African-Americans descended from slaves. While the rest of the country has gotten more ethnically mixed recently, the south, and I’d guess particularly Appalachia, has had a nearly static, isolated population for two centuries.

And now those “American” Americans are the most reliable Republican voters.

Interesting, eh?

Alright, I know that after months of checking the polls you’re probably sick of talking about the election, so this will be my last post on the subject. Fortunately, there are always other ways to waste time online.

Bookmark to:

McCain. He wound up winning Sarasota with 102,650 votes to Obama’s 102,413: a difference of only 237 votes. Obama did considerably better than Kerry in 2004, who lost to Bush by nine percentage points. Obama outperformed Kerry in most of South Florida. Take a look at this map, which marks voting shifts from 2004 to 2008. Blue areas indicate areas where Obama improved on Kerry’s performance.

Map courtesy of the New York Times.

Bookmark to:

There’s a lot of hype surrounding McCain’s recent bounce in the national polls. A quick reminder: the popular vote means absolutely nothing. George W. Bush eked out a 271-266 victory in the electoral college while losing the popular vote to Al Gore by about 540,000 votes. We all know this election, like the last few, is going to come down to a small number of swing states.

So how is the electoral map shaping up?

FiveThirtyEight.com, the most sophisticated polling analysis website out there, broke down the numbers and found the election is essentially a dead heat. They suggest McCain will win 274-264, but practically any shift in the map towards Obama would put him over the top.

And new polls have Obama looking good in Virginia, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina; McCain appears to be gaining ground in Wisconsin, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey. Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada have been polling all over the place and are complete toss-ups. In other words, this is anyone’s game.

Personally, my money is still on Obama. I reckon polls are underestimating his ability to get the vote out, and an ailing economy will hurt McCain. Both candidates will be playing hardball in the upcoming debates, and my guess is Obama will look and sound better to undecided voters.

Any takers?

edit: I spoke too soon - Obama’s already back on top in the polls.

Bookmark to:

About 1,700 Sarasotans filled Booker High School’s auditorium yesterday to hear Senator Joe Biden speak. The Democratic vice presidential nominee demonstrated that the campaign will be harshening their criticisms of John McCain and Sarah Palin for the final two months leading up to the election as he cited McCain’s campaign manager’s recent comment that this election is “not about the issues.” Keeping with Barack Obama’s pledge at the Democratic National Convention to not suggest John McCain takes his positions for political purposes, Biden said it’s not that McCain’s campaign doesn’t care, but that they “just don’t get it.”

Portraying McCain as out of touch with everyday Americans’ lives has recently become a central theme of the Obama campaign. In contrast, Biden spoke at length about his and Obama’s families, morals and working-class roots in an effort to challenge depictions of Obama as a arugula-eating, Harvard-attending elitist.

Asked by an audience member how the campaign will debate Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s aptness to be president amidst cries of sexism from the McCain campaign, Biden said, “The answer is one word: with respect. She is the governor of a state. I’m assuming as a governor of a state she is qualified. Our disagreements will be based on her views. We’ll make our differences known and that’s what we’ll debate.”

Other key themes of the night were women’s issues, health care, jobs and education.

Bradenton.com has 27 minutes of Q&A.

And a new poll has Obama up by one in Florida.

Bookmark to:

With all the hype surrounding the presidential election, it is easy to forget that local politics can have a significant impact on our daily lives. Voters will find candidates for dozens of different positions on the ballot November 4, and voters registered with a party are eligible to vote in their party’s primary on August 26. What positions are up for grabs, and who is running for them?

Christine Jennings (D) will be challenging incumbent Vern Buchanan (R) for Congress District 13. Also on the ballot are independent Jan Schneider and non-affiliated Don Bauldauf. Bauldauf is a registered Republican. Buchanan defeated Jennings by about 370 votes in 2006, after over 18,000 votes mysteriously counted no vote for either candidate in Sarasota county - the only county Jennings won. Then CL editor Max Linsky endorsed Jennings back in 2006.

Independent Levko Klos and Barry Sullivan (D) will take on incumbent Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent (R). Dent and Creative Loafing go way back.

Keith Fitzgerald (D) will defend his position as State House District 69 Representative from Laura Benson (R) and Horatio Lemus IV of the Green Party. We ran a piece on Keith and Laura back in the day, endorsing the former.

Darryl Rouson (D), the incumbent State House District 55 Representative, will be challenged by Charles S. McKenzie in the Democratic primary, and write-in Calvester Benjamin-Anderson in the election. Check out our previous coverage of Rouson.

Lisa Carlton (R) is vacating her State Senate District 23 seat. Nancy Detert and Michael Grant will face off in the Republican primary to compete with Morgan R. Bentley (D) and write-in Bob Waechter in the November election.

Kirk E. Faryniasz is challenging incumbent Ron Reagan (R) for the Republican nomination for State House District 67. The winner will face Richard J. Jackson, Democrat and Ronald Rathburn, write-in

Incumbent State House District 70 Representative Doug Holder (R) will attempt to hold his position from Sam Rosenfeld (D) in November.

Betty Gissendanner (D) will face the winner of the Republican primary for State House District 71. Christopher G. Constance, Ken L. Roberson and Richard Santos will all be seeking the Republican nomination.

Vying for Public Defender are Larry Eger (R), Ron Filipkowski (R) and Adam Tebrugge (D).

Running for the non-partisan position of 12th Judicial Circuit Judge are Connie Mederos-Jacobs and Gilbert A. Smith Jr.

Paul Mercier is vacating his seat on the County Commission, representing District 1. Jono Miller (D), Carolyn Mason (R), Richard Redding (R) and independent John E. Mullarkey will attempt to fill it.

Incumbent County Commissioner for District 3, Shannon Staub (R) will face Barbara Gross (R) in the primary.

Bill Furst (R) and write-in Gary Wayne Johnson will challenge incumbent Jim Todora (R) for the position of property appraiser.

Incumbent Caroline G. Zucker and Millicent Puleo will compete to represent District 2 on the School Board. Both are non-partisan.

Curtis Lavarello (D), will compete with the winner of the Republican primary in a heated race for sheriff. The Republican candidates are Lawrence R. Dunklee, David Gustafson and Thomas Knight.

Barbara Ford-Coates (D) would like to continue to collect your taxes. Donna L. Clarke (R) begs to differ.

The following candidates will not face opposition. Ain’t that some shit?
State Sen. Michael Bennett, District 21; County Commissioner Jon Thaxton; School Board member Frank Kovach; Clerk of the Circuit Court Karen E. Rushing; County Judge David L. Denkin; Hospital Board members Marguerite G. Malone; Circuit Judges Charles Roberts, Rick DeFuria, Andrew D. Owens Jr., Robert W. McDonald Jr., Peter A. Dubensky, Marc B. Gilner, Demo G. Economou, Edward Nicholas; State Attorney Earl Moreland; Hospital Board member Marguerite G. Malone; Soil and Water Conservation District members Chuck Johnston, Tiffany A. Bispham.

Bookmark to: