By Sylvia Gurinsky
Bravo to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Miami-Dade County Commission for deciding to maintain the "Cone Of Silence" that restricts lobbying during a bidding process. Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro, whose strong suit apparently isn't government reform, wanted to eliminate it entirely, but wiser heads prevailed.
******
A word about the retirement of a class act in baseball, pitcher Greg Maddux. In addition to his glittering statistics on the pitcher's mound, he had the distinction of saying no to New York Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner - twice. Here's to Maddux for his stinginess with hitters (except when he was facing the Florida Marlins, of course), and to proving that there were things more important than money.
***********
Finally, a thought about NBC's move to put Jay Leno at 10 p.m. I happen to think it's a smart move. I do understand the complaints of drama producers that it takes away five potential hours for them, but is the network really going to take a chance anyway with a costly drama that doesn't have franchise potential these days? (It used to be that the network in last place would roll the dice; that's how ABC got out of last place, with dramas like "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy." But NBC isn't going to spend that kind of money in this economy.)
Here's a reality check about dramas: During the 1970s, on average, networks would produce 24 episodes of dramas. It was even more during the 1960s. Today, viewers are lucky to get half a season, whether on cable or network. That's not good for gaining loyal viewers. Also, they can now catch shows on DVD or online - both new and classic shows.
At the very least, Leno's will retain viewers who are turned off by Conan O'Brien. Let's face it, to go from Allen, Paar and Carson to Triumph the Insult Dog is a major letdown.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Dec. 9: Resign, Governor Blagojevich
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Well, suddenly, that sit-in isn't Chicago's biggest story. Neither is the bankruptcy of Tribune, whom I worked for until last January. And neither is President-Elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections.
That's thanks to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who has apparently claimed President Richard Nixon as his role model.
This morning, Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested on various corruption charges related to the selection of Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. Basically, the Feds say the governor was ready to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rod-blagojevich-illinois-governor-6,0,5047903.story
Judging by what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and others have said about the transcripts, Blagojevich sounds like Nixon during Watergate, with profanity, loose statements and insults of various people, including Obama. The irony is that Blagojevich was elected in 2003 with a promise to clean up Illinois politics in the wake of his predecessor, Gov. George Ryan, now serving a prison sentence for racketeering and fraud.
In the twists and turns of Illinois politics, Blagojevich could still appoint Obama's successor from jail, if he's still governor. The state legislature is moving quickly to impeach him, but Blagojevich should beat them all - and resign.
Well, suddenly, that sit-in isn't Chicago's biggest story. Neither is the bankruptcy of Tribune, whom I worked for until last January. And neither is President-Elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections.
That's thanks to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who has apparently claimed President Richard Nixon as his role model.
This morning, Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested on various corruption charges related to the selection of Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. Basically, the Feds say the governor was ready to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rod-blagojevich-illinois-governor-6,0,5047903.story
Judging by what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and others have said about the transcripts, Blagojevich sounds like Nixon during Watergate, with profanity, loose statements and insults of various people, including Obama. The irony is that Blagojevich was elected in 2003 with a promise to clean up Illinois politics in the wake of his predecessor, Gov. George Ryan, now serving a prison sentence for racketeering and fraud.
In the twists and turns of Illinois politics, Blagojevich could still appoint Obama's successor from jail, if he's still governor. The state legislature is moving quickly to impeach him, but Blagojevich should beat them all - and resign.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Dec. 8: Sunrise Sunset
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Full disclosure: I covered the city of Sunrise, Florida in 2004 for the Sunrise Forum. At the time, I thought Commissioners Don Rosen and Sheila Alu were voices of reason and reform.
Ah, well...
Alu, Rosen and Commissioner Roger Wishner now seem to be Sunrise's very own "Gang of Three." They were the ones who approved hiring Stuart Michelson last summer as the city attorney without opening the job up for bids. Michelson has returned the favor by ruling that Wishner, Sunrise's deputy mayor, can succeed Steven Feren as mayor when Feren takes his judicial seat next month and stay the mayor until 2010, instead of having to stand for election in March, because of Michelson's interpretation of a city law about a deadline for holding elections.
So, where are Rosen and Alu in calling for some justice for Sunrise voters, the way they did when former City Manager Pat Salerno ran the show? Amazingly silent.
Commissioner Joseph Scuotto wants to run for mayor, but will apparently have to wait, unless the many Sunrise residents who will be at the next commission meeting can get a majority of commissioners to change their minds - or unless someone takes this to court, which could happen.
The 13th item on the agenda for tomorrow night's City Commission meeting would put two commission seats, but not the mayor's post, on the March 10 ballot. Sunrise residents should make their voices heard tomorrow night. A word to the commission - either listen to them now, or pay later.
And a special word to Commissioners Alu and Rosen: You spent a lot of time in commission meetings saying that you represent the best interests of the city. Prove it.
Full disclosure: I covered the city of Sunrise, Florida in 2004 for the Sunrise Forum. At the time, I thought Commissioners Don Rosen and Sheila Alu were voices of reason and reform.
Ah, well...
Alu, Rosen and Commissioner Roger Wishner now seem to be Sunrise's very own "Gang of Three." They were the ones who approved hiring Stuart Michelson last summer as the city attorney without opening the job up for bids. Michelson has returned the favor by ruling that Wishner, Sunrise's deputy mayor, can succeed Steven Feren as mayor when Feren takes his judicial seat next month and stay the mayor until 2010, instead of having to stand for election in March, because of Michelson's interpretation of a city law about a deadline for holding elections.
So, where are Rosen and Alu in calling for some justice for Sunrise voters, the way they did when former City Manager Pat Salerno ran the show? Amazingly silent.
Commissioner Joseph Scuotto wants to run for mayor, but will apparently have to wait, unless the many Sunrise residents who will be at the next commission meeting can get a majority of commissioners to change their minds - or unless someone takes this to court, which could happen.
The 13th item on the agenda for tomorrow night's City Commission meeting would put two commission seats, but not the mayor's post, on the March 10 ballot. Sunrise residents should make their voices heard tomorrow night. A word to the commission - either listen to them now, or pay later.
And a special word to Commissioners Alu and Rosen: You spent a lot of time in commission meetings saying that you represent the best interests of the city. Prove it.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Nov. 4: Woe, Canada
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Remember when Americans frustrated with the results of the 2000 election were talking about fleeing to Canada?
Don't be surprised if Canadians start moving in the opposite direction. The country is in as difficult a crisis of leadership as any free country can have.
It began in October, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept his post, but his Conservative Party did not win a majority in Parliament. Harper has proceeded to lose the confidence of members of Parliament with inaction on the economic crisis and a move to eliminate public funding of elections.
That last one, which Harper has since backed down on, was a breaking point for the leaders and many members of three parties: Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois. They planned to give a no-confidence vote to Harper's government next Monday and form their own coalition, with Liberal leader Stephane Dion as the provisional head until the spring.
No action for now: With the permission of Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean - the direct representative of Queen Elizabeth II to the Commonwealth country - Harper suspended Parliament for the next month and a half.
Jean did the right thing. Tensions need to cool.
The action shows signs of bringing an end to the Odd Trio that would have potentially governed Canada. Dion's party lost more than 30 seats in the October elections, he's not popular and he will step down from his Liberal leadership post in May. Bloc Quebecois advocates Quebec becoming a country, separate from Canada.
Harper has plenty of flaws, including his agreement with too many policies of U.S. President George W. Bush. But the coalition would have been potentially more disastrous for Canada, which needs one leader to work with U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama on relevant issues for North America. Harper, Dion and Canada's other political leaders need to take the next month-and-a-half to mend fences with the people of Canada, not continue to snipe at each other.
Remember when Americans frustrated with the results of the 2000 election were talking about fleeing to Canada?
Don't be surprised if Canadians start moving in the opposite direction. The country is in as difficult a crisis of leadership as any free country can have.
It began in October, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept his post, but his Conservative Party did not win a majority in Parliament. Harper has proceeded to lose the confidence of members of Parliament with inaction on the economic crisis and a move to eliminate public funding of elections.
That last one, which Harper has since backed down on, was a breaking point for the leaders and many members of three parties: Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois. They planned to give a no-confidence vote to Harper's government next Monday and form their own coalition, with Liberal leader Stephane Dion as the provisional head until the spring.
No action for now: With the permission of Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean - the direct representative of Queen Elizabeth II to the Commonwealth country - Harper suspended Parliament for the next month and a half.
Jean did the right thing. Tensions need to cool.
The action shows signs of bringing an end to the Odd Trio that would have potentially governed Canada. Dion's party lost more than 30 seats in the October elections, he's not popular and he will step down from his Liberal leadership post in May. Bloc Quebecois advocates Quebec becoming a country, separate from Canada.
Harper has plenty of flaws, including his agreement with too many policies of U.S. President George W. Bush. But the coalition would have been potentially more disastrous for Canada, which needs one leader to work with U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama on relevant issues for North America. Harper, Dion and Canada's other political leaders need to take the next month-and-a-half to mend fences with the people of Canada, not continue to snipe at each other.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Dec. 3: It's Because They're Successful
By Sylvia Gurinsky
For those who carp that many of President-Elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections worked for the Clinton Administration, that they don't represent change, there's this:
They do represent results.
Remember the Clinton Administration? No, not the scandals. The other Clinton Administration, the one that made progress in foreign relations and gave this country a good economy and a budget surplus.
Obama remembers. That's why he's picked so many people who worked in Washington during the 1990s. Technology may change, but know-how generally doesn't. Obama is counting on them to get the country back on track. So are Americans, who have generally greeted the selections with a thumbs-up.
Obama seems, above all, a pragmatist. That's something the United States desperately needs. So if he's stacking the deck with Clintonites, it's because they've been succesful.
For those who carp that many of President-Elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections worked for the Clinton Administration, that they don't represent change, there's this:
They do represent results.
Remember the Clinton Administration? No, not the scandals. The other Clinton Administration, the one that made progress in foreign relations and gave this country a good economy and a budget surplus.
Obama remembers. That's why he's picked so many people who worked in Washington during the 1990s. Technology may change, but know-how generally doesn't. Obama is counting on them to get the country back on track. So are Americans, who have generally greeted the selections with a thumbs-up.
Obama seems, above all, a pragmatist. That's something the United States desperately needs. So if he's stacking the deck with Clintonites, it's because they've been succesful.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Dec. 2: New Battlefront For Gay Rights
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman finally set it out: The state of Florida's ban on homosexual couples adopting children is unconstitutional. Her ruling should be commended - and upheld.
But now, a new battle will start - one that will very likely make it to the United States Supreme Court before it's done. No doubt many state lawmakers and people who spearheaded the unfortunate Amendment 2 approved by Florida voters Nov. 4 are at it again, trying to figure out how to keep the supposed wolf at the door. For the real wolf, they just need to look in the mirror. They are basing their arguments against adoptions by gays on outmoded and untrue theories.
Lederman's ruling shows that science, common sense and good, solid personal experience are beginning to overcome ideology. We are finding out that the quality of the parent - regardless of sexual orientation - is what counts. As it should.
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman finally set it out: The state of Florida's ban on homosexual couples adopting children is unconstitutional. Her ruling should be commended - and upheld.
But now, a new battle will start - one that will very likely make it to the United States Supreme Court before it's done. No doubt many state lawmakers and people who spearheaded the unfortunate Amendment 2 approved by Florida voters Nov. 4 are at it again, trying to figure out how to keep the supposed wolf at the door. For the real wolf, they just need to look in the mirror. They are basing their arguments against adoptions by gays on outmoded and untrue theories.
Lederman's ruling shows that science, common sense and good, solid personal experience are beginning to overcome ideology. We are finding out that the quality of the parent - regardless of sexual orientation - is what counts. As it should.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dec. 1: Will "Cabinet Of Rivals" Cool International Rivalries?
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Is President-Elect Barack Obama's "Cabinet Of Rivals" going to leave this world a better place than they're finding it?
Assuming the confirmation process goes smoothly for all, those rivals will include current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (who does not need to be re-confirmed), Homeland Security Secretary-Designate Janet Napolitano - and oh, yes, Secretary of State-Designate Hillary Clinton.
Napolitano and Clinton, as well as Gen. James Jones, Obama's pick for national security adviser, and Susan Rice, Obama's pick as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, face a world much changed from the one President Bill Clinton left.
One symptom of that change is the tragedy last week in Mumbai. The terrorists, wherever they are from and whoever trained them, clearly targeted Americans, Jews, Britons and anyone sympathetic to the causes of those people. While India is busy pointing a finger at Pakistan, it has to take into account its own failings in ensuring the security of its people and its visitors.
The United States may have to play referee once again - and does have to keep an extra eye on Pakistan for its possible harboring of terrorists of many stripes, including Al Qaida.
There is the issue of the U.S. image overseas during the last eight years, which has triggered everything from disdain to outright hatred and a re-awakening of Cold War-style matters that Clinton and his predecessors thought they had resolved.
There is also the War On Terror. The way it's been fought by the Bush Administration does not work. Period.
What India must go through now is not dissimilar to the soul-searching this country still needs to go through, seven years after 9/11 - about security, about relations with the rest of the world and about the future.
It's soul-searching President George W. Bush and many around him haven't participated in. One trusts that Obama and his "Cabinet Of Rivals" will finally do so.
Is President-Elect Barack Obama's "Cabinet Of Rivals" going to leave this world a better place than they're finding it?
Assuming the confirmation process goes smoothly for all, those rivals will include current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (who does not need to be re-confirmed), Homeland Security Secretary-Designate Janet Napolitano - and oh, yes, Secretary of State-Designate Hillary Clinton.
Napolitano and Clinton, as well as Gen. James Jones, Obama's pick for national security adviser, and Susan Rice, Obama's pick as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, face a world much changed from the one President Bill Clinton left.
One symptom of that change is the tragedy last week in Mumbai. The terrorists, wherever they are from and whoever trained them, clearly targeted Americans, Jews, Britons and anyone sympathetic to the causes of those people. While India is busy pointing a finger at Pakistan, it has to take into account its own failings in ensuring the security of its people and its visitors.
The United States may have to play referee once again - and does have to keep an extra eye on Pakistan for its possible harboring of terrorists of many stripes, including Al Qaida.
There is the issue of the U.S. image overseas during the last eight years, which has triggered everything from disdain to outright hatred and a re-awakening of Cold War-style matters that Clinton and his predecessors thought they had resolved.
There is also the War On Terror. The way it's been fought by the Bush Administration does not work. Period.
What India must go through now is not dissimilar to the soul-searching this country still needs to go through, seven years after 9/11 - about security, about relations with the rest of the world and about the future.
It's soul-searching President George W. Bush and many around him haven't participated in. One trusts that Obama and his "Cabinet Of Rivals" will finally do so.
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