Talkin \’bout Progress Clerks

Source: Telegraph.co.uk (Original Article)

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Source: Denver Post (Original Article)

It’s troubling that after years and millions of dollars, the state still hasn’t put the finishing touches on a reliable statewide voter database.
The latest glitches were uncovered in a two-week mock election conducted for the Colorado Department of State. The test showed progress in fine-tuning the system, but still revealed greater than expected difficulties in the system’s electronic infrastructure and operations.
Fixes are in the works, and that’s a good thing. And counties are creating backup plans — a smart move.
But time is running out for excuses. The cost of this system is now pegged at almost $13 million and it’s more than two years late in being implemented.
Colorado is shaping up to be a battleground state in the 2008 presidential election, and it is imperative the state have a reliable voter database.
State officials are aiming to have the system ready for the August primary election, said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Given the latest results, he thinks that’s a realistic goal.
“People are in good spirits here,” he said.
The pressure to convert to a statewide system comes from the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The law provides funding to help states meet new election standards. But if you take the money, you have to follow the rules.
One of those is the creation of a statewide voter registration database. In Colorado, that means the system, known as SCORE, should connect all of the state’s 64 counties into one database so election clerks can check voters’ registration status when they arrive to vote.
Colorado officials have been working on it for years now.
Back in 2005, then-Secretary of State Gigi Dennis fired the contractor putting together the system. At the time, she said the delay would be brief.
The state missed a 2006 deadline for having such a database. The state since has hired a new contractor and more consultants and spent more money to get the thing Aussie Credit Cards up and running.
Colorado is among …continue reading

Source: guardian.co.uk (Original Article)

The story is told of GK Chesterton delivering proofs, late, to his editor. The office was deserted, with just one person, from the accounts department, to take delivery of the great man’s work. When Chesterton produced from his bag not only his corrected pages but a bottle of port and a glass, the terrified clerk confessed he was teetotal. ‘Good heavens,’ Chesterton squeaked in dismay. ‘Give me back my proofs!’When I joined The Observer in 1996, the world of books was in limbo between hot metal and cool word processing, but it would have been recognisable to many of our past contributors, from George Orwell and Cyril Connolly, to Anthony Burgess and Clive James. Everything smelled of the lamp. It was a world of ink and paper; of cigarettes, coffee and strong drink. Our distinguished critic George Steiner used to submit his copy in annotated typescript.

Article continues

The business end of books - WH Smith, Dillons and Waterstone’s - was run by anonymous men in suits whose judgments were largely ignored. Trade was trade. Literature was another calling. The atmosphere was dingy, time-hallowed and faintly collegiate. Every October, we all got together in the Guildhall and gave a cheque to the novelist of the year. In 1996, the winner of the Booker Prize was Last Orders by Graham Swift.Now that world is more or less extinct. Many of the great names from those times (Hughes, Murdoch, Mailer, Heller, Gunn, Miller, Vonnegut) are gone. Books, meanwhile, have been pushed to the edge of the radar. A series of small but significant insurrections has placed the language and habits of the market at the heart of every literary transaction. The world of books and writing has been turned inside out by the biggest revolution since William Caxton set up his printing shop in the precincts of Westminster Abbey.Heaven or hell? It’s too soon to say. This is a bankwest credit card story whose outcome remains mysterious. There’s …continue reading

Source: Denver Post (Original Article)

As three people who have believed in the dream and vision of Centennial since before its inception, we want to share with our fellow citizens our conviction that home rule is the appropriate and necessary next step for our city.

Becoming a home-rule city will help Centennial become a more strategic, stable and secure city. And it will squarely place the responsibility and the control over our city in the hands of its citizens, rather than in the constraints of the state legislature.

When Centennial incorporated almost eight years ago, those of us who were there, who were the leaders of the formation, chose not to ask the citizens to make Centennial a home-rule city because it would be too difficult under the first election.

Imagine if, in addition to the many town meetings we held to help people understand the importance of incorporating, we had also tried to inform the public about the concept of home rule and form a 21-member Home Rule Charter Commission at that time. Instead, our 18-member transition team recommended that Centennial pursue home rule within the first five years after incorporation.

So, if you are wondering if it’s too soon for Centennial to become a home-rule city, according to our initial time line, we’re late!

Some refer to a small group of us as the “founding fathers” of Centennial. While we are proud of all that we did to help create this city, we are humbled and slightly embarrassed by that title. As you know, it took the insight and dedication of hundreds of volunteers to educate the voters about the need to become a city, and now it is taking the commitment of scores of volunteers to embrace home rule.

Last November, the citizens of Centennial voted to create a 21-member Home Rule Charter Commission made up of citizens elected by citizens to propose a governance structure that would detach us from rules imposed by the state legislature and increase Centennial’s ability to solve local issues at a credit card au local level. Now that’s government of …continue reading

Source: editorial - The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com (Original Article)

County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo
obviously care more about padding the payroll with cronies
than they do about protecting the citizens of Cuyahoga
County.

Nothing else can explain their asinine criticisms of the
first county government reform plan in memory that actually
enjoys some positive momentum.

Don’t Dimora and Russo understand that voters are
utterly disgusted with county government - with its
mismanagement and obscene payroll-padding?

Someday soon, voters will become so fed up with the antics
of their county officials that they will revolt. That’s
not just a possibility. Absent meaningful change in county
government, it’s a certainty.

And when those voters reject a request to fund vital human
services, the port authority or maybe even the Metroparks,
the suffering of this community will become a permanent blot
on the legacy of those who resist meaningful change.

Last week, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted told County
Commissioner Tim Hagan and The Plain Dealer that he would
support a law giving Cuyahoga County voters the right to
retain the three commissioners, prosecutor and judges as
elected officials. The plan would eliminate an elected
auditor, recorder, clerk of courts, treasurer, coroner,
engineer and sheriff.

Soon after, Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones announced his
support. But Dimora ranted against the idea on Tuesday and
Russo sent a preposterous letter to the editor suggesting
that a committee be formed to study the idea of county
govern ment reform.

Russo must think the people of Cuya hoga County are com
plete idiots. What Russo wants to do is painfully obvious:
de lay any reform long enough for voters to stop paying
attention.

That’s exactly what happened in the mid- 1990s in
the wake of the SAFE crisis that resulted in the county
losing $114 million from its investment portfolio. Faced
with mounting calls ANZ Frequent Flyer Card for structural change, the commissioners
named …continue reading

Source: ESPN (Original Article)

You’re sick of Spygate. I’m sick of Spygate. The NFL’s owners are sick of Spygate, because it is making the goose that laid the golden eggs less valuable by the day.

But things are going to drag on until commissioner Roger Goodell or the owners take the steps necessary to bring Spygate to a close. Changing their story week by week doesn’t close Spygate. Rationalizations and doublespeak don’t close Spygate. Admitting only what you have been compelled to admit doesn’t close Spygate. The reason Spygate keeps dragging on is because the guilty party — New England coach Bill Belichick — has not been punished in any meaningful way.

Belichick cheated and lied, and so far has gotten away nearly scot-free. Not only does Belichick continue to run a team that has systematically cheated for (we now know) eight years — a team that engaged in “a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition,” to quote Goodell — he shows not one whit of remorse, except over being caught. Belichick just spoke about Spygate on CBS News. He didn’t sound like a blameless hero who wanted his reputation back, he sounded like he was angry that people were questioning him.

A man of dignity, who is caught cheating, would resign. Had Belichick shown dignity and resigned, this week’s humiliating media circus in New York over former Patriots videographer Matt Walsh would never have occurred. Spygate would already be behind us. “Cheaters! Cheaters!” the crowd at Radio City Music Hall chanted when New England’s name went on the clock at last month’s draft. “Cheaters! Cheaters!” crowds will chant next fall when New England takes the field, if the cheater Belichick is still running the show. The way to stop that, and bring Spygate to a close, is to suspend the person responsible.

The $500,000 fine assessed against Belichick is a token sanction at his income level. The draft choice fine ugly betty dvd against the Patriots penalizes mainly the …continue reading

Source: MiamiHerald.com (Original Article)

HAVANA — Buses are running, household goods are flying off store shelves, and Cubans are giddily comparing their latest cellphone features.

After decades of stagnation in a communist country with an average salary of $17 a month, around here that’s cause for celebration.

”It’s logical,” said Julio, a Havana nurse. “If one president prohibited drinking this glass of water and the second president comes and lets you have it, well of course you are going to think the new president is better.”

The changes unfurled by new leader Raúl Castro are hardly profound structural economic reforms needed to reverse decades of a failed economy. But they’ve stirred a new sense of hope in a nation with its first new president in 49 years and a population eager for Castro to lift millions from poverty and improve their lives.

In conversations with dozens of people throughout the capital, The Miami Herald found that even if that progress comes in the form of cellphones most people cannot afford, Cubans will take it.

`LIKE BATTERED WIVES’

”Cubans are like battered wives,” said Eduardo, a 30-year-old Havana bachelor who spent a recent afternoon admiring the latest $5,000 flat-screen TVs on sale here. “The husband beats the wife every day. Then one day he doesn’t beat her, and it’s like, `He’s so good to me; he didn’t beat me today.’

“For people here, the DVD and cell thing are a breath of fresh air.”

Castro’s first 100 days in office were marked by a flurry of mostly consumer-related policies that allowed the sale of items such as computers, microwaves and DVD players. Some experts say his first months in office underscore a desperate attempt to curry favor with Cuba’s growing middle class and hold on to power.

At least on the retail level, the strategy seems to be working: products are being snapped up as soon as they hit the shelves, creating a euphoric sense of hope that local court interest rates even better and more important changes …continue reading

Source: Stuart News (subscription) (Original Article)

STUART — The local Democratic Party touting its first slate of candidates in 20 years means “progress,” the head of the local Republican Party said Friday.

“We believe in the party system; it’s healthy in a number of ways,” said Susan Auld, chair of the county Republican Executive Committee. “It keeps the issues clear and keeps the primaries to the party.”

The county Democratic Party will conduct a campaign kickoff this afternoon at Indian RiverSide Park to introduce its “slate” of candidates.

Democratic Executive Committee Chairman David Dew admitted “slate” may be misleading, because the party has had more than one candidate in prior years, including two state House candidates in 2006 who are running again this year. But, he added there is a change this year, as the candidates now have a chance in the Republican-heavy county.

“For years there wasn’t any impetus to beat the Republican machine, the vote was always 60-40, But last year, it was more like 47-52, and this year we expect to flip that the other way,” Dew said. “It’s been a slow progression, but the Republicans are not the Republicans they once were.”

Democrats, who hold the two Congressional districts, 16 and 23, that cover the county, are fielding candidates in two of the three County Commission seats up for election, for public defender and for state House Districts 81 and 82. While there will even be a Democratic primary for state House District 81, no Democrats have filed for superintendent of schools or any of the constitutional offices — sheriff, supervisor of elections, tax collector, property appraiser and clerk of the court.

Dew said the party may have a candidate come forward for the remaining County Commission seat, held by Doug Smith, which is up for election.

Auld said having a number of Democrats running is good for her party because it closes primaries for Republican voters.

Florida opens Free Credit Cards primary elections to all voters when …continue reading

Source: AllAfrica.com (Original Article)

In what appears to be full on grandstanding and empty on altruism, the famed power sector probe, while opening the eyes of Nigerians to the dangers inherent in the collapse of the energy sector as made manifest by the dismally low level of power generation in Nigeria, may actually be a distraction of sorts, even making the energy situation in Nigeria worse than it should be. This report merely asks the critical question: After weeks of grandstanding, how many power sector thieves have been caught and where; but most importantly, has the probe improved the power situation in the country?

Even Caligula couldn’t have been so despised.

But because Nigeria is a polity of clashing interests, where individuals and institutions take flights of fancy, the probe into what went down in the power sector promised so much for Nigerians. More so at a time when Nigerians were groaning under the burden of heavy darkness, whoever was responsible deserved to be lynched.

However, after weeks of showmanship by the Ndudi Godwin Elumelu Committee, what has been the benefit of Nigerians regarding the availability of electricity?

Obasanjo

For starters, Elumelu was one of the staunchest supporters of Speaker Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, during the misappro-priation, mis-application and contract scandal. How he transmuted from an Etteh supporter to become a champion of altruistic legislative engagement should get some commendation from the Nigerian public.

But the truth remains: To what extent has the activities of his committee contributed to the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

To be fair, the job needed to be done: That is, looking into the expenditure pattern in that sector.

But in doing that, it should be with a view to providing for the masses and not playing to the gallery. And in any case, had the House of Representative members who were grandstanding on the matter TWO AND A HALF MEN dvd performed their true oversight functions when …continue reading

Source: The Age (Original Article)

Spiteful blogs and damaging emails have laid bare the
factional warfare crippling the Victorian Liberal Party. Paul
Austin reports.
ANGELO Kakouros is one of those enthusiastic people in the
Liberal Party prepared to give a lot of unpaid time to help the
party in whatever way he can. No one thinks he’s a star; the
kindest label party hardheads would put on him would be “honest
trier”.
But Kakouros, a 30-something small businessman from Geelong,
reckons he would make a good MP one day.
In 2006 he stood unsuccessfully for Lara in the state election.
Last year he fronted up again, contesting the seat of Corio. It was
always a lost cause — Corio is rock solid Labor territory
— but Kakouros might have expected at least professional
support from the paid offi cials in his party’s head offi ce
as he prepared for the fight.
That he didn’t always get it tells a story about the sort
of culture that has developed in the once-proud Victorian Liberal
Party, an ugly, destructive culture now exposed to public glare by
the revelation that two employees working in party headquarters
were behind a nasty, anonymous website designed to destroy Ted
Baillieu’s leadership.
The internal Liberal investigation into the activities of those
two employees, John Osborn and Simon Morgan, has revealed that
their unprofessional conduct extended well beyond the now infamous
“Ted Baillieu Must GO” blog.
The two officers, labelled traitors by Baillieu, were central to
last year’s campaign to try to save the Howard/ Costello
government. Osborn was campaign officer (federal). Morgan, campaign
manager (federal), was his immediate boss.
On the morning of April 17 last year, Angelo Kakouros went to
Osborn for some help. He had been asked to prepare a radio segment
on “Why I am running for Corio”.
At 9.17am, Osborn emailed him, with a copy to Morgan, saying he
would need to answer the following questions: Why do you want to be
the member of Corio? Business Credit Cards Why do you want to enter …continue reading