The Spencerian

Up In Smoke: The Long Road to Equilibrium

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you've probably seen me write about my experiences in the Clinton Administration, and specifically working for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, what is typically called the Drug Czar's Office.  Great experience, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

You know, the older I get the more quasi-libertarian I get, and my early professional experiences did a whole lot to inform that thinking.  It was interesting to watch the debate over drug legalization from the other side, but I don't believe the case was ever made to me that keeping drugs completely and totally illegal has been good for this country in any real way.

I think most people get this concept, and that's why the White House got a barrage of petitioners urging them to legalize marijuana, which lead to this response from the current Czar, Gil Kerlikowske:

When the President took office, he directed all of his policymakers to develop policies based on science and research, not ideology or politics. So our concern about marijuana is based on what the science tells us about the drug's effects.

According to scientists at the National Institutes of Health- the world's largest source of drug abuse research - marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory disease, and cognitive impairment. We know from an array of treatment admission information and Federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms. Studies also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled over the past 20 years, raising serious concerns about what this means for public health – especially among young people who use the drug because research shows their brains continue to develop well into their 20's. Simply put, it is not a benign drug.

Can you find the key phrase here?  I mean the political key phrase as well as the policy key phrase.  

It's this: "marijuana use is associated with addiction..."  

If you look at the NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse) website, it says this: "marijuana use can lead to addiction..."

I know what you're thinking: okay, the federal government is telling me that marijuana is addictive.  

I don't see it that way.  Marijuana is associated with addiction, and it can lead to addiction.  Wait a minute... "associated" with?  Can "lead to" addiction?  That's not exactly straightforward language.   

I think anyone who's given it even a little thought to marijuana -- or has, as I have, smoked it a few times -- knows that it is, in and of itself, not addictive.  It's not addictive.  It's just not.  

And I think our political leaders are aware of this.  I think our scientific leaders are aware of this fact.  The "it can lead to addiction" phrasing means, in my interpretation, it can lead to addiction of other things.  This is the "gateway" theory, which has also been poo-pooed by the Legalize It set.

Our policy for and against this kind of thing (booze, pot, harder drugs) has always been weird to me.  We have legalized gambling in places like Las Vegas.  That's addictive.  You can buy a pack of smokes just about anywhere (though the outlets are fewer and fewer, and the prices are higher and higher, which is a good thing).  That's way addictive.  A 21 year-old can buy liquor anywhere.  That's addictive.  

Marijuana is flat-out illegal.  

Now, a quick defense of the Obama Administration, which I think is trying to do the right thing in the long run.  More from the Drug Czar's statement: 

Like many, we are interested in the potential marijuana may have in providing relief to individuals diagnosed with certain serious illnesses. That is why we ardently support ongoing research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine. To date, however, neither the FDA nor the Institute of Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for safe or effective medicine for any condition.

As a former police chief, I recognize we are not going to arrest our way out of the problem.

Politically, I find a lot of hope in those statements above.  And I think the petitions started to fire Director Kerlikowske are unproductive and politically naive.

In the end, this is another one where the heart of a father interferes with the mind of a political junkie and policy nerd.  Do I think we should have reasonable, decriminalized (or even legal) drugs available in this country under a well-regulated system (of course, there are those who wouldn't want a government which would have too many regulations) which works side-by-side with a robust system of prevention and treatment?  Yes.   

Do I ever want to catch my daughter getting high?  Please, God, no.

This is one of those political issues that doesn't really have an end-date.  I figure we'll get to decriminalized marijuana someday.  Until then, though, I suspect that no matter who's in the White House, they'll have to deal with the Legalize It Now petitions. 

The Spencerian is Now A Newstex Syndicated Blog

It has been a really phenomenal week, and today's announcement is a great way to end it.

The Spencerian is now a syndicated blog of Newstex.  

I know.  What is a "syndicated blog"?  What is Newstex?  This blog is called the Spencerian?

All good questions.  Here is a brief bit about what they do at Newstex:

Newstex offers aggregated, real-time Authoritative Content from new sources, blogs, Twitter, podcasts and videos to distributors who deliver that content to end-user customers. While content might be customized by each distributor to meet the needs of different audiences, several things always stay in effect — most importantly, links back to the original sources and publisher agreements.

Okay, you say, so they take your stuff and publish it somewhere else?  

Right.

Well, like where?

Another good question.  I'm what they call a publisher, and you can see a list of who they have as publishers here.  The places where that published content shows up are through distributors.  Here's a partial list of those, and if you're too lazy to click that, here's an even shorter list:

• LexisNexis
• Thomson Reuters
• The New York Times
• NewsBank
• Amazon Kindle

Wait a minute.  Are you saying that one of these dopey posts you write could end up in the New York Times?  

Yeah, I guess so.

And by "Yeah, I guess so," I mean, it would literally be a dream come true to have something published in the New York Times.

That being said, I am not entirely sure it works that way.  They provide the content I write to those and many other outlets which can use it for their own purposes.  Does that mean the Times -- or LexisNexis or Thomson Reuters or Amazon or whoever -- is automatically going to publish what I've written?  No, but maybe they'll take pieces of it.  Or use it as a reference.  That kind of thing.

Yes, there's a bit of money involved, and no, I don't know how much.  There's a formula that is more complicated than I can explain or you care to know.  But it's certainly a nice feature.

I am excited about this great opportunity, and I am pretty well beside myself to be able to say I am a syndicated blogger.

Mostly, though, I feel I have -- in some small way -- honored the original Spencerian, my mother's father, Forrest Fulk, who inspired the name of this blog to begin with.  I sincerely hope that's the case. 

Thank you for reading.

Finally Friday Thrilling Week Edition

What a week.  

# # # # 

My brother asked me the other day what I thought about Pat Robertson saying the current crop of GOP presidential contenders, such as they are, were "too extreme."  When Pat Robertson says you're too extreme, Adam pointed out, you may have gone over a cliff of sorts.

True enough.  I think there's something a little deeper there, and it hasn't been covered nearly as much as it could be or even should be in the real media, I think because most major outlets are way too frightened to dip a toe in this particular pool.   

My guess -- and it is just a guess, because let's face facts: you can't get inside Robertson's head, not that you'd ever want to -- is that Robertson is sort of innoculating himself against a Romney nomination.  This isn't about extreme political positions -- it's about Mormons.

I think everyone wants to think that everyone else is okay with the GOP nominating a Mormon.  But I don't think that's the case.  In fact, I think the GOP -- at least much of the conservative evangelical Christian base -- may not be okay with that.  

Now, does this mean that the conservative Christian-based tea partiers in the GOP are going to suddenly run out and pull the lever for the Obama/Biden ticket?  No.  Of course not.

But I do think a Romney nomination may mean an unprecedented sitting on of hands by the GOP base.  In other words, they may vote for him -- but that'd be it.  I don't see a fired-up base going door-to-door, phone-banking, or donating to a Candidate Romney.  

Of course, I'm fine with that if it helps Obama get re-elected.  It's terrible and awful, but you've got to analyze these folks from their perspective, not your own (presumably sane) point of view.   

# # # #

Here in Florida, Congressman Connie Mack has gotten in to the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate, hoping to face Senator Bill Nelson next year.

By suddenly and unexpectedly jumping into Florida's Republican U.S. Senate primary, Connie Mack has at least made a lackadaisical race more exciting.

But while the congressman with the familiar last name may have changed the game, he hasn't ended it. Whether the field of major candidates is four men or five, the race seems as wide open as ever.

"It's going to get a lot more fun," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

I generally agree with the analysis you'll find in that story, linked above.  I also agree with Ms. Duffy that it's going to be more fun.  Mack Represents a credible threat to Nelson -- but that doesn't mean he can win.  It sounds like he'll struggle to solidify that tea partier base of support.  

Not for nothing, but if the Republicans nominate Mitt Romney, and the tea partier base is depressed anyway, that's even worse news for a candidate like Mack, if he wins the nomination.

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These Occupy Wall Street protests don't seem to be slowing down -- and now the cops are taking it too far.  And yeah, I agree with DougJ that the big news outlets are going to naturally side with the cops.

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I am a forty year-old man, and I swear up and down to you that to this day I have no idea what... well, the thing referenced in the story linked below actually does.  I really, really don't.

The judge in this entirely SFW story does, as reported by Empire of Dirt.

# # # #

Ricky Lasagna.  Go get caught up.

# # # #

Go Fitz Go -- go get signed up.

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I'm obviously in no position to give political advice to Texas Governor Rick Perry, but it seems that skipping the debates is a terrible idea.

Honestly, I just cannot see the political up-side, here.

# # # #

When I was a kid, the St. Louis Cardinals were just about the only baseball team in the world.  They were the team my great Uncle Stell watched all the time.  He and my aunt had one of those old TV sets that was much more a piece of furniture than a TV.  It was encased in a dark stained wood, with speakers behind doors on either side.  The doors featured ornate brass handles and a criss-cross over a strange green fabric covering the front.  The whole thing must have weighed twenty tons.   

That's the kind of baseball I grew up with, watching it in that surreal way.  Only not really watching it, because I was a lot more interested in hanging out with my aunt and uncle when we were there.  

And so I am disappointed I missed what was apparently one of the best World Series games ever last night, forcing a Game 7 against the Texas Rangers.

To be fair to me, it was a crazy night.  We had to pick Duncan's car up at the shop, had to get dinner, had to feed a fussy girl and walk a dopey dog.  

I think I'll turn it on tonight, though.

Go Cards.

# # # #

Happy Halloween weekend, everyone.  

It's finally Friday.

I, Lucci: A Genuinely Respectful Nod to the 2011 Netroots Awards

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the the fabulous star of All My Children, Ms. Susan Lucci.

[Courtesy/ABC]

Well, hello.

[Ahem]

Aside from being a lauded star of stage and screen, Ms. Lucci is well known for having been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nineteen times before having finally won in 1999.  In fact, she was nominated a total of twenty-one times, and only won once.

Okay, I'll admit to you that I am not a fan of daytime TV.  I don't watch soap operas, never have.  

Now, a lot of folks will make light of soap operas.  The plots are silly, contrived.  They are overly-dramatic.  There are too many characters to keep up with.  Sure, maybe all of that is true.

Some of those same folks will say the acting is terrible, too.  I'm not so sure about that -- I think it takes some kind of skill to keep these stories going, many of which are repetitive to the point of absurdity.

Look, here's the simple point I'm trying to make: I am not so sure you could judge Ms. Lucci's talent by the number of awards she had won around 1998.  

Which leads me to my awkward segue to the 2011 Florida Netroots Awards.  Congratulations in advance to all the winners.  The announcement will be posted at the Florida Progressive Coalition early Saturday morning.

I was nominated in three categories this year -- Best National Blog; Best Writer; Best Use of Twitter -- and based on who made it to the run-offs in those categories, I already know I didn't win this year.  

I like to think that maybe this is because the competition was so stiff, especially in those categories.  Perhaps that's how Ms. Lucci comforted herself after so many nominations and let-downs.  

Look, this isn't about criticizing the awards -- I've already said a bit about that, Kenneth offered up a thoughtful response, as did Peter Schorsch.  This is introspective.

What can I do to make this a better blog?  What should I do?  How should I do it?  

These are tough questions to answer, because frankly, I do have some indicators of success.  I still manage to get a FPC Post of the Day every now and then, which is great.  I sometimes get a mention in the weekly Best of the Blogs from my friends at Progress Florida, which is also great.  It was an honor to have been listed as one of the nine best state-based political blogs on Chris Cillizza's The Fix blog at the Washington Post.   

Over at Clintonaut, my blog of fiction and personal vignettes, I've had a short work of fiction chosen as a winner among a slew of great entries.

In my professional capacity, I will be joining local non-profit leaders and former State Senator Charlie Justice for a Coffee & Conversation entitled: "Twitter -- New Media and Why We Need it in Our Non-Profit Market Today."  [Here's the PDF flyer; if you're in the area, I hope you can join us!] 

Well, none of this is for you to worry about.  Netroots winner or no, I sincerely appreciate you coming by and reading.  If Ms. Lucci is any kind of example, come by in about fifteen years or so, and you can offer your congratulations.

I'm sorry to see that there will not be a Netroots ceremony.  I hope that this doesn't dampen the spirits of the winners, all of whom will have deserved the honor and the accolade.

Brothers and Sisters: Big Poppa V.2

I have been thinking about my brother and sister a lot lately.  

You may feel a slight breeze coming from the general direction of Arkansas.  That'll be the incredulous collective sigh from them given what I'm about to say, but these are words as true as I've ever written.

My brother is one of the good guys, and you know it when you meet him.  Not everyone believes unconditionally that love, decency, and goodness resides in the hearts of all men, even if it goes tragically dormant sometimes.  He does, and he teaches it and preaches it just about every day.  If I brought even a fraction of the passion he has for the things in his life to, say, this blog, it'd be DailyKos on steroids. 

I'm insecure about a lot of stuff, but one of the things I do know is that I am always the funniest guy in the room.  Unless my sister is there.  She's not just good for a laugh -- she manages to pair honesty and irreverence in ways I could only hope to.  When I think about the times I've laughed until I just can't stop, it's usually because my sister is on a roll.  She is also, not incidentally, one of the toughest people I know.

They'll think this is funny, but when I was a kid, I used to wonder what is was like to be them.  I think I thought this mostly because I knew how obnoxious I could be.  How do they put up with me?  It must suck to be them.  And maybe it did.

I know that makes me sound like a narcissist, and I am, to be sure.  But it's not hard to see how I got to those kinds of questions about my siblings.  I was the oldest boy on my father's side of the family.  Even in this day and age, it's still a little bit like being royalty, especially when my grandparents and great-aunt and -uncle were still around.  In a lot of ways completely out of my control, it was pretty cool to be me.  Not to say that my family didn't love my brother and sister -- they did and do, of course.  It was just that each of us were viewed through a different framework, and so that's how I viewed us.

Now I look at their lives and mine, and I see that they are different in so many ways... but not so different.  Adam and Susannah and I share a lot of the same values.  

With respect to staying true and honest to them, they remain comfortably head and shoulders above me. 

Which is all I can ask of our own second child, due the end of April:

We are excited, and maybe nervous, too.

Though to be totally honest with you, this one is a little different than with Emeline.  Today, our lives seem somehow more complex.  Work is busier.  Duncan is working and finishing her Master's degree.  Also, there is Emeline running around, and you know I love her, but anyone tells you a 20 month-old isn't a handful, they are flat-out lying.

Incidentally, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet.  We just finished the first trimester last Friday, so it's still a little early.  We'll find out though, and when we do, we'll let you know.  That being said, Duncan and I have a feeling that this one is going to be a boy.  Of course we're happy if it's a girl, too -- let me assure you, girls are fantastic.  And a girl would be awfully convenient.  We already have a house full of girl clothes and girl stuff.    

I may not have been the world's greatest big brother.  I'll leave that for Adam and Susannah to judge, though you should consider it a bonus if one or both of my parents chimes in under the comments below.  Not for nothing, Susannah, but Emeline is now regularly asking to see "Aunt Susie," I believe in anticipation of coming up there for Thanksgiving.  See you and Uncle Adam and Aunt Jennie and Cousin Hayden -- not to mention Grandmommy and Granddaddy -- very soon.

I already know Emeline is going to be a great big sister, probably better than I have been as a big brother.  

I sure hope that whoever we get to meet at the end of next April is half the little brother or sister my siblings have been.

Thanks for the good wishes and thoughts, everyone.

Smoke 'Em If You Go 'Em: Herman Cain's Weird Ad

Let's face facts: leading presidential candidate Herman Cain's new ad is totally awesome.

And by "awesome" I mean... Please don't burn me with the cigarette anymore, Mr. Block!  I'll eat Godfather's Pizza!  I mean, vote for Herman Cain!  I mean, eat Godfather's Pizza when I vote for Herman Cain [sob, sniff].   

If money is the disease eating at the body politic, then TV ads are the crack cocaine.  Maybe meth.  Maybe crack-laced meth.  Maybe meth-laced crack.  Maybe Godfather's pizza, look, I don't know.

Point is, this is bad.  

I know what you're going to say: big liberal blogger doesn't like anything a Republican does.  

Not true.  Two of the best political ads I've ever seen have come from Republicans.  Maro Rubio's "Who Cares?" is out of sight.  It is exactly what a political ad should be.  The message behind George W. Bush's "Wolves" ad in 2004 was deplorable, but as an ad, it was a tour de force.  

Research has shown that ads aren't actually all that effective, here and here... mostly.

For what it's worth, I think everyone is misreading the fact that the guy puffs on a cigarette towards the end of his segment.  Has nothing to do with sending a signal to tobacco companies or whatever.  

It has everything to do with the fact that President Obama smokes (or used to).  It says (or is trying to say), "You're not the only badass in town, Obama."  Given that everyone I've read hasn't come up with that (albeit poorly communicated) message, maybe I'm missing something.

Still, it's a crappy ad.  I mean, what's with Cain's creepy grin at the end?  That is just... disturbing.

Is it as bad as Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell's I Am Not A Witch?  How about the robot Pam Bondi's terrible ad?  Remember Jeff Kottkamp's terrible ad?  Or this weird thing State Rep. Mike Weinstein did?  Let's not forget Dale Peterson.

How about we just go ahead and rank it somewhere above Basil Marceaux and call it a night?

Gimme Shelter: Refinancing Program is Smart Policy, Smart Politics

Until summer of 2007, I had either rented or enjoyed the full rights and benefits of Kirby Family Housing, which is to say, I lived with my parents.  

For a brief time, I lived in a pretty run-down apartment complex when I was at Arkansas State University.  When I moved to D.C., I stayed with some family friends who were more than generous, and then I lived in a two-bedroom basement apartment on Capitol Hill.  That lasted a year, and then I began a long love affair with Arlington, Virginia.  I lived in several apartments in the Clarendon/Courthouse area, and later, off Columbia Pike and Walter Reed.  I spent a quarter of my life renting apartments in Arlington.

We rented a two bedroom, two bath condo in the very southern tip of St. Petersburg for a year.  

It was August of 2007 when we closed on our little house in Gulfport, and it was one of the greatest days of my life.  2007 was a fantastic year for us.  I had simultaneously paid off my credit card debt and we had put a down-payment on our future -- we had bought a house.  Our future was secure!  

We were making wise financial decisions!

We were living the American Dream!

And then, well, the crash.  

I won't tell you what we paid for our house -- it was a financial decision Duncan and I made, and I'll keep that as private as I can, if you don't mind (besides, I'm fairly confident it's actually public record if you really wanted to go looking... Knock yourself out).  What I will tell you is that we're underwater on it.  

Deep.  

By more than half.  Which is to say, the house is now worth less than half of what we paid for it.  

Now, we're actually doing okay.  We didn't do one of those crazy adjustable rate mortgages.  And we didn't go in over our heads.  It's a modest two bedroom, one bath deal.  

We've even done work on it, invested in it.  New roof when we moved in, new A.C.  It's got brand new windows just this year, which have helped a lot.  We have a new fridge and new dishwasher.  We finished the back porch, walled it in and put our new washer and dryer out there.  

It's a good little house.  It's home.  

But it most certainly is not the investment we thought it'd be.  

How is this political?  Because today the Obama Administration announced the Home Affordable Refinance Program.

Millions of these people have done everything right. They've paid all their bills and kept current on their home loans. But right now, they're stuck with higher payments because their mortgages are underwater. They're not eligible to refinance because the decline in home prices have made their property worth less than what they owe. And that's a problem President Obama knows must be addressed.

All of these factors have contributed to a climate where new homes are being built at the lowest rate since World War II and where homeowners feel trapped by financial circumstances outside their control. Those two things together are holding back the recovery.

We can't wait to help homeowners. The situation is too serious, and too much good can come from improving the state of housing in this country.

So today, President Obama is taking action. It starts with finding ways to allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program is designed to do just that. To date, it's already helped nearly 1 million homeowners improve their financial situations. But up until now, eligibility regulations and costs associated with the program have kept it from having a wider impact.

Now, a new set of rules will open the program to nearly anyone with a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- no matter what they owe -- so long as they are current on their payments, have no late payments in the last six months, and have not made more than one late payment in the past year.

The group that manages the program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will also waive a set of unnecessary costs and fees that were dissuading some from taking advantage of the program and work to get rid of certain restrictions in order to increase competition among lenders.

Millions of individuals could see up to $2,500 in savings every year.

Links are from the original.

Here's the Washington Post take on the program:

The FHFA’s new rules slash fees for borrowers looking to refinance. And while in the past only borrowers who owed up to 25 percent more than their properties were worth could take part in the program, now there will be no cap on how much a borrower can owe.

Only loans that are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be eligible. Borrowers must check with their lender or Fannie or Freddie to see whether they are eligible. Borrowers also must be current on their mortgage and not have made a late payment in the past 12 months.

To avoid all fees, borrowers, many of whom have 30-year mortgages, will have to take out a new mortgage of 20 years or less. That will mean that homeowners have fewer years to pay off their total balance, largely offsetting whatever they might be saving by taking advantage of today’s low mortgage rates. The plus side is that borrowers will pay off their mortgages more quickly.

On the other hand, if borrowers pay fees, they will be able to get a 30-year mortgage at the new low rates. That could potentially lead to $200 in savings per month.

Duncan and I aren't in trouble like a lot of follks -- like a lot of folks we know personally.  We're doing okay, and we'll continue to be okay.  But $200 a month would be huge for us.  

This is smart policy.  

It's smart politics, too, not that President Obama needs to win me over.  But it has the potential to win over a lot of independent voters who are in the same spot we find ourselves in.  This moves the conversation to middle class Americans who got everything right... except the timing.  

Of course the Republicans will hate it, because, well, it's Obama's idea.  

That's fine.  What I always sort of figured was the 2012 narrative continues to emerge: Obama proposes reasonable, thoughtful policy, and the Republicans offer up basically the opposite.  And when they're not doing that, they're saying things that are actually crazy, or doing things that are actually crazy.  Individually, the crazy doesn't amount to much.  

But collect it over time, and it's going to be quite a contrast to a guy who has been working for the middle class.  

Finally Friday Holding My Breath Edition

What a crappy week for Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

First the "birthers" (us normal folks like to just call them "racists," but whatever, I'll stick with the lingo), wasted everyone's time noting that Rubio (and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal) are ineligible to be president because of their heritage, Cuban and Indian respectively.    

Unable to prevent Barack Obama from becoming president, rigid followers of the Constitution have turned their attention to another young, charismatic politician many think could one day occupy the White House.

The birthers are focusing on U.S. Sen Marco Rubio, the budding Republican star from Florida.

“It’s nothing to do with him personally. But you can’t change the rules because you like a certain person. Then you have no rules,” said New Jersey lawyer Mario Apuzzo.

Forget about the alleged Photoshopped birth certificates; the activists are not challenging whether Rubio was born in Miami. Rather, they say Rubio is ineligible under Article 2 of the Constitution which says “no person except a natural born citizen … shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

The rub is that “natural born citizen” was never defined.

Jeez, really?  A guy with a name like "Mario Apuzzo" is going to spend time beating up on a guy who should be an ally but isn't because of where his parents were born?  And he's going to do this by misreading the Constitution?

I'll happily apply the same logic here that I applied to the birther idiots before: they should never have wasted so much time and energy wondering if Obama was eligible to be president, and they shouldn't do the same thing with Senator Rubio.  

The guy was unquestionably born on U.S. soil in Miami.  His parents were Cuban citizens at the time (the point of contention with the racists birthers).  The guy is a "natural born" citizen.  End of story, such as it is.    

Look, I disagree with just about everything Senator Rubio stands for.  His ideology and mine are diametrically opposed.  But that doesn't mean I don't think he's eligible to be president.  And I'm not going to waste everyone's time trying to re-interpret Constitutional passages which have been understood for generations.  

As it turns out, the worst of Rubio's week was not the birthers targeting him.  

It was the fact that he got caught in a lie: embellishing the history of his family and their departure from Cuba.  

During his rise to political prominence, Sen. Marco Rubio frequently repeated a compelling version of his family’s history that had special resonance in South Florida. He was the “son of exiles,” he told audiences, Cuban Americans forced off their beloved island after “a thug,” Fidel Castro, took power.

But a review of documents — including naturalization papers and other official records — reveals that the Florida Republican’s account embellishes the facts. The documents show that Rubio’s parents came to the United States and were admitted for permanent residence more than 21 / 2 years before Castro’s forces overthrew the Cuban government and took power on New Year’s Day 1959.

Hey, you can't claim to be "the son of exiles" if your parents are not actually exiles. There's a difference between fleeing political oppression in your country, and just leaving.  

Now, there are Rubio fanboys out there who are saying, oh, no big deal, and the Senator himself is already hitting back.  

Look, I'd almost be inclined to side with the no-big-dealers, here.  But this is a guy who has skyrocketed to prominence in the Republican Party and onto the national stage.  It's a good bet he's at or near the top of every GOP presidential candidate's list for Vice President.  

For better or for worse, Rubio -- and his story -- matter.  If speculation around a larger political future for Rubio continues, I wouldn't expect this story to go away any time soon.

Hey, welcome to the big leagues, Marco.

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Though there have been conflicting reporters on the specifics, it seems safe to say that former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi met a gruesome and undignified death at the hands of Libyan rebels.  As it was with bin Laden, I am not awash in grief at the loss of a global tyrant, and I do believe the world may be (or could be) a safer place for my daughter.  Also as it was with bin Laden, reveling in the violent and dramatic end of an evil man also somehow seems out of place in the world I'd like to build for Emeline.  

As Mustang Bobby pointed out, those affected by the bombing of Pan Am 103, in which Qaddafi was almost assuredly complicit, may feel differently.  I certainly hope his death -- and what will be a tough transition for the people of Libya -- brings the families of victims a sort of closure.

On a more political note, I think it's time we started talking about the implications of a successful foreign policy and military practice for a president who seems to have mastered the art of not getting credit where due (and getting flack the rest of the time).  

My friend Kevin had the perfect status update not long ago that I thought captured this idea pretty efficiently: 

Bush and Saddam - One Trillion dollars and thousands of US lives.
Obama and Qaddafi - One Billion dollars and zero US lives.

Right.  That ties directly to Mustang Bobby's Bark Bark Woof Woof, which I will shamelesly return to for source material.  Here's his Quote of the Day on this:

To rid the world of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Qaddafi within six months: if Obama were a Republican, he'd be on Mount Rushmore by now.

Funny enough, that's from Andrew Sullivan, who was a Senator Rubio defender, linked in the dispatch above.  And, if that's not small-world politics enough for you, it was Senator Rubio who was given the unenviable task of explaining how President Obama screwed it up in Libya (if only he'd done it all faster).  

Rubio's bad week just keeps getting worse.  

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The foreign policy victories continue to rack up for President Obama, who today announced that troops in Iraq will be home by the end of 2011.  

Fulfilling a long-held campaign promise, President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, as conditioned by the Status of Forces Agreement with the country.

"As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end," Obama said. "So today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year."

Aside from another foreign policy victory for Obama, this announcement -- on the heels of the death of Qaddafi -- makes Rubio and his Republican counterparts looking inept as they complain that Obama didn't act fast enough in Libya.   

Sullivan's right.  Anyone else, they'd already be carving their face into Rushmore.  

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Thanks to my friends at Progress Florida for another "Best of the Blogs," this time for the whole Rep. Brad Drake let's-just-shoot-prisoners deal.

I appreciate it, gang.

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Things are deteriorating in the Bachmann camp, fast.

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I strongly urge you to go read Dan Tilson's post on the Florida Democratic Party right now.  

That ought to be required reading for every Democratic operative in the state.

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Very little I see on the Internet makes me laugh out loud anymore.  Hard to say if the quality of stuff has just gone that far down hill, or if I'm just that curmudgeonly.  

Anyway, nothing makes me laugh anymore... except this.

[LAUGHS]

[CUE BETTE MIDLER'S "WIND BENEATH MY WINGS"]

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Don't forget: you can follow all this nonsense on Twitter: @bkirby816

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It's finally Friday, and Duncan is coming home.

The Republican Presidential Candidate Donnybrook is an Epic Calamity

The smoke you see appearing behind Herman Cain is not pizza with a burned crust.  It is the thing which should be familiar to even casual watchers of the disaster that has been the Republican presidential primary process: the not-so-subtle powder-keg ignition of the now-leading candidate before his (or her) campaign explodes in dramatic fashion and fades without glory into the back of the pack.  In Mr. Cain's case, the accelerant is his ludicrous 9-9-9 tax plan which raises taxes on poor people.  The tinder are his many gaffes: negotiating with terrorists (or not), electrocuting Mexicans at the border,  no Muslims in his cabinet, inability to differentiate between the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, Planned Parenthood kills black babies.      

Republican friends and neighbors, I give you your front-runner.  

I mean, you know.  For now.  

What a train wreck.  

I think it's funny -- not ha ha funny, but kind of oh-my-god-I-think-I'm-about-to-barf funny -- that people are asking why Rick Perry would call Herman Cain "brother" at this last deabte the other day.

Here's a clue: former front-runner Rick Perry is a racist.     

If you think I'm being a little unfair in saying that Perry is someone who hates minorities or doesn't embrace people of all races, creeds, or religions, here is the Washington Post piece from Pastor Robert Jeffress, who endorsed Perry, and said in his introduction of the Texas Governor (Values Voters!) that the Mormonism practiced by Mitt Romney was a cult:

Hearing Mitt Romney’s surrogate Bill Bennett refer to me as a bigot and Jon Huntsman call me a “moron” last week after my controversial comments on Mormonism, amid calls for civility and tolerance in public discourse, reminds me of the exclamation: “We will not tolerate intolerance!” But beyond the personal insults, I am concerned that these men are attempting to prematurely marginalize religion as a relevant topic in elections.

Really, [ahem] Pastor Jeffress?  

Man of the cloth, are you?  Then I am sure you are familiar with Ephesians 4:2

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love

Or, maybe something a bit more direct?  Try Luke 9:52-56

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."

You know not what manner of spirit you are of, Governor Perry.  

Even former front-runner Congresswoman Michele Bachmann demeaned herself trying to get the attention of debate moderator Anderson Cooper.

What may amount to the biggest problem for Republicans is the guy who I suspect with actually win the nomination -- Mitt Romney -- is getting knocked around by the likes of Rick Santorum.

“It’s been a tough couple of debates for Rick, so I understand it,” Romney said in response to that attacks, adding: “You have a problem with allowing people to finish speaking.”

Harumph!

No, Obama's numbers aren't looking fantastic right now.  But this field on the Republican side is increasingly becoming a parody of itself.

What a shame.  Kind of.

Off the Radar Vern Thug Edition

Here's the deal: Duncan is traveling for work all week.  This means I'm Mister Mom-ing it with Emmy until Friday.  This is actually supposed to be kind of fun, and in some ways it is.  It's quality time with my daughter, who is awesome.  

But it's also a little scary.  For both of us.  I believe that thoughts and ideas have power, so I don't like to wonder or think about something awful happening to Duncan.  There's a reason they call it the unthinkable.  

Let me put it this way: nothing can ever happen to Duncan.  For either of our sakes.  Emeline is a smart, resilient kid.  She knows something's up -- seeing Mommy only on Skype isn't cutting it.  But I think she also sort of accepts the fact that something is different, and Duncan and I have built up enough trust in her that she knows everything is going to work out.  

All of this is to say that I'm focused on other things that are not blogging.  Give me a break if the posting is light this week.

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The feds are opening up an investigation into corrupt thug Congressman Vern Buchanan.  I'd like to tell you I'm surprised.  I'm not:

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating complaints that U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan broke campaign finance laws — the same allegations for which the Federal Elections Commission has already cleared the congressman after a two-year investigation.

Buchanan’s attorneys said Tuesday they expected that the Justice Department would open its own probe of allegations that Buchanan directed a former business partner, Sam Kazran, to improperly reimburse his employees for contributions they made to Buchanan’s congressional campaigns from 2005 to 2007.

Whoo, boy.  Read the whole Bradenton Herald article, linked above.  Worth your time.

And then when you're done, visit Keith Fitzgerald's page, and sign up for updates and make a donation.  

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Up yours, local weather people.  I actually heard my local NPR affiliate say 100% chance of thunderstorms today, and it barely rained.

Tropical depression?  The only things that's depressing is your collective ability to predict rain.

As an aside, you should give to public radio: WMNF and WUSF.  They do great things.  When they're not screwing up the weather.

 -- more later -- 

Finally Friday Hear My Thoughts in Every Note Edition

The more people hear about Herman Cain's ridiculous 9-9-9 tax plan, the more they dislike him.

Called a job killer at worst or a detail-free slogan at best, Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan is getting tepid-to-awful reviews from some of the nation's most-influential business groups.

The National Retail Federation strongly opposes the Republican presidential candidate's plan because it would institute a first-ever national sales tax of 9 percent that, the federation says, will dampen consumer spending.

"This will hurt demand and slow the economic recovery," the federation's tax policy expert, Rachelle Bernstein, said. "You definitely do not want to do this."

If this surprises anyone, they you should be paying more attention to politics.  The whole thing is a gimmick -- as is Cain's candidacy, in large part.  More and more I'm convinced he's not running for president, but rather selling his book.  

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In a move that did surprise me a little bit (but shouldn't have), Texas Governor Rick Perry is calling for more drilling to boost the economy.  

Texas Gov. Rick Perry laid out a plan that he said would increase domestic energy production and create jobs in a speech Friday that is the start of an attempt to reboot his struggling presidential campaign.

His proposals on energy, which broke little new ground, reflected the Republican view that increased domestic production of natural gas and oil are necessary to revive the struggling U.S. economy and that the Obama administration is limiting drilling and exploration because it is too tied to environmental groups.

Perry, like many Republicans, called for increased oil drilling off the Atlantic Coast, around Alaska and on federal lands in Western states. He urged the end of the ban on drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Yeah, "broke little new ground," nice.

Conservatives really care nothing for conserving the environment, do they?  Teddy Roosevelt weeps.

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I don't want to make too big a deal of this, and I admit that a colleague at my paying gig got me thinking about it.

During the 20th anniversary of Clinton's announcement that he was running for president festivities, several of the early senior staff compiled remembrances.  However, the one which was promoted -- and, frankly, the best one -- came from Chelsea Clinton herself.  

On the Yahoo! landing page (which I frequent to get to my Yahoo! email), there are a couple of Bill Clinton-based links, one of which is the Clinton Concert, and one of which, as late as today, was a banner to a story about Bill Clinton reflecting on iconic moments.  One of the three banner images was him escorting Chelsea down the aisle at her wedding.

Just today I got an email from Chelsea Clinton, asking me to share my "thoughts on what challenges you think the Clinton Foundation should tackle in the next 10 years -- and please let my father know that you will stand with him in this work."  I will do both of those things.

Of course, this was a mass email, sent to thousands of folks around the country.  Interesting point, though: it was not generated by the Clinton Foundation.  

It was paid for and authorized (according to the legal disclaimer at the bottom) by the Democratic National Committee.

Is this enough evidence to support the speculation that perhaps Chelsea Clinton is prepping a run for political office?  

If so, I say good for her.  She'll obviously have the best political team in a generation behind her, and if she has even a little bit of the political skill her father has, she'll get elected.  

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This one is for Duncan.

It's finally Friday. 

Throw Them Off the Sunshine Skyway

I blathered on in my last post about values and treating each other decently.  

This was generally in reference to the pathetic spectacle the Republican candidates have made of themselves in the last several weeks -- cheering the death of a fellow American, booing a gay soldier --and specifically to the remarks made by a guy named Pastor Jeffress (Values Voters!) regarding the Mormon faith of Mitt Romney.  

Of course, the embarrassment these people represent isn't limited to the national stage.  Here in Florida, we have our own Republicans on a whole 'nuther level to deal with.

I give you State Representative Brad Drake (R-Eucheeanna) and the latest legislation he has filed: give inmates condemned to death the option to choose firing squad or the electric chair.  Drake's moment of inspiration came where all good legislation has come from: a Waffle House in DeFuniak Springs.

...Drake said he heard a constituent say, "'You know, they ought to just put them in the electric chair or line them up in front of a firing squad.'" After a conversation with the person, Drake, 36, said he decided to file the bill.

Of course, crafting legislation to lead your state while wolfing down scattered, covered, and smothered hash browns isn't actually the best part of this story.  

No, this is a story of the country lawmaker with a heart of gold!

"There shouldn't be anything controversial about a .45-caliber bullet. If it were up to me we would just throw them off the Sunshine Skyway bridge and be done with it," Drake said.

And by "heard of gold," I mean empty space where a soul should have gone.  And by "country lawmaker," I mean idiot.

Are you out of your fucking mind?  

For my readers not familiar with Florida, let me give you a visual on the Sunshine Skyway, just a couple of miles from my house, spanning the mouth of Tampa Bay:

[image via here]

It's a tall freakin' bridge.  Just ask Duncan, who used to drive over it every single day going down to Sarasota.  

And it is a beautiful bridge, too.  How dare Representative Drake defile this majestic bridge -- actually, the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway, officially.  

I'm always curious how guys like Brad Drake really think -- I mean, aside from divining inspiration from Waffle House patrons -- and so I visited his campaign site and clicked "Brad on the Issues," expecting some detailed policy on, say, the criminal justice system, or even our corrections system.  

No such luck.  Here is the whole thing in full.  I may have comments interspersed:

These are my basic beliefs that guide me as a State Representative:

» The government should be least intrusive in our lives.

Okay, already I have to jump in, here.  Is there any more intrusive manifestation of government than shooting a person dead?

» We the people should hold more personal freedoms.

Um.  Yeah.  And when "we the people" commit crimes, those freedoms should be removed as the person is in prison.  Is Brad Drake's position really that "we the people" should shoot convicts to hold them to account for their criminal actions?  It's the ultimate removal of freedom -- and there's no putting the bullet back in the gun.

» Residents should not be taxed out of prosperity.

» Small businesses should be allowed to prosper in a climate where over-regulation and taxation does not stifle local and state economies.

» Family values should take precedence.

Family values should take precedence... over what?  And what family values?  Shooting people?

» Firm Pro-Life advocate: protecting the sanctity of life and the unborn, believing that life begins at conception.

"...and ends when the Department of Corrections shoots your ass dead."

» Property taxes need to be further reduced.

» (With no apologies) God should never be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance when spoken in our schools or removed from / within government buildings.

» In the 2nd Amendment

It's like he thought he started "I believe..."  But he actually forgot that part.  I think we can all agree that Brad Drake believes "in the 2nd Amendment," which means the answer to everything is pretty much guns.

» Sufficient and expanded transportation and utility infrastructure is necessary.

» Immigration reform is necessary.

» Prayer should be allowed in schools.

» In access to quality, affordable healthcare.

» In working for available and affordable property insurance.

» In planning for adequate water and precious natural resource needs.

I said it yesterday, I'll say it again today: Republicans have lost something along the way.

Throw them off the Sunshine Skyway...?  This isn't public policy.  This isn't even politics anymore.  It is a circus of incompetent clowns.  Our legislature has become the dominion of pathetic wannabes whose half-baked half-sentence talking points and chain restaurant musings are what pass for serious public policy and critical legislation.   

I'd call on Brad Drake to feel shame.  Unfortunately, one of the tragic side-effects of whatever it is Republicans across the nation seem to be suffering from is that whatever inside them used to house shame is dormant.  Or maybe they sacrificed their shame at the altar of power and money.  

Who knows.  Maybe it faced the firing squad. 

What Goes Around, Comes Around: The GOP Faithful Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine

I'm also troubled by not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and what is permitted to be said.  Such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.'  Well, the correct answer is, he's not a Muslim, he's a Christian.  He's always been a Christian.  But the really right answer is, what if he is?  Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?  The answer is no.  That's not America.

Colin Powell
Meet the Press, 2008

Often it's just the easiest sideways glance from my daughter, and I become overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility I fear I will one day be unable to manage.  My sense of responsibility for Emeline doesn't necessarily stem from what may happen to her in the great, wide world -- though I do have to tamp those dark thoughts which linger like an unwelcome haunt in my too-vivid imagination.  I see every day that she is bright, her mind vibrant and inquisitive.  I will one day have to tell her about life, about who we are, why we are here, what our meaning represents, and what happens beyond life.  I wonder what in the hell I will say.

She is growing almost faster than her mother and I care to admit, becoming her own person, her own distinct personality blossoming like a flower -- and expressing herself, verbally and otherwise, better all the time.  Some day soon she will ask, "Daddy, why are we here?" or "What happens when we die?"  As a person who does not share the faith in a higher power (at least not an organized higher power) that many of my friends and family do, for me, this answer may prove more complex than I wish it to be.  

I don't suggest those who follow an organized faith or religion have it easy.  But their faith provides a framework for just this line of questioning.

My Buddhist friend, for example, might tell her something about the concept of rebirth, the Three Marks of Existence, or even the Noble Eightfold Path towards the cessation of suffering, if she was feeling charitable towards a small child.  

My Christian friends, as another example, might tell her that if she welcomed Christ into her heart, accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, lived a Christian life, and asked for her sins to be forgiven then she would be invited into the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity.

My Jewish friends, as yet another example, have a slightly more complex view of what lies before us, but I suspect their words with respect to honoring family, community, and doing good while you are here on Earth would bring her comfort.

These -- and the redemptive and loving doctrines of other faiths -- can provide us answers to the most complex riddle ever created: the riddle of life.  

I recognize the challenge to not steer my daughter towards one answer or the other.  If she grows up and accepts Christ, then I won't love her one ounce less than I already do.  If she gets older and follows the path of the Buddha, I will not judge her.  If she decides to worship the Prophet Muhammed, I will continue to love her more and more every day, as I do.  

As a Jew, a Catholic, a Sikh, a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Mormon, or even as a stubborn skeptic/agnostic like her old man -- none of it changes my love for her.  

Which leads me, in a funny sort of way, to what may be a sort of make-or-break issue facing the Republican Party.  During the "Values Voter" (whatever that is) summit a few days ago, Texas Pastor Robert Jeffress did his chosen candidate -- the incredible shrinking Rick Perry -- a disservice by calling Mitt Romney's Mormon religion "a cult".  

As a brief aside, his comments after the offensive dust-up were almost more absurd:

“I’ll hold my nose and vote for Mitt Romney.  I believe a non-Christian who embraces Christian principles is more palatable than a Christian, and I’m accepting that Barack Obama is a Christian by his own statements, I would rather have a non-Christian who embraces Christian principles than a professing Christian who governs by un-Biblical principles.”

I'm not sure Pastor Jeffress knew what in the hell he was saying in the above quote, but even before I read it, I was thinking about President Obama.  

The attack on Mitt Romney's (and, if you still remember him, Jon Huntsman's) Mormonism was, to my mind, reminiscent of the incessant and ludicrous harping from the far right that Barack Obama was a Muslim.  Indeed, the Republican Party never seems to have awoken from it's collective nightmare of 2008, chronicled so briefly and so eloquently by retired general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Meet the Press.  

It is almost as if Powell foretold of the booing of a gay soldier serving his country in a war zone.  

Today, one has to wonder what Pastor Jeffress would say to the heartbroken mother of Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan.  We certainly know what he thinks of the man who will likely be the GOP nominee.

I've never been a person of faith, and that has always been difficult for me to explain.  And when Emeline is old enough, it will probably still be difficult to explain.  

I do believe in love, though.  I do believe that God, in all His and Her many forms and languages, is, at His or Her best, a free and beautiful expression of love, or at least salvation through love.  If God is love, then maybe I am a believer after all.  

I do not know where salvation comes for the Republican Party, which, with this campaign season, may have finally un-moored itself from the docks of reality and certainly of love.  If the comments of some audience members at debates (and the silence of the candidates that followed) or the vitriolic words of Pastor Jeffress are a measure of their distance, I fear they may be lost to a sea of hate forever.  This, to paraphrase Powell, is not America.  

Back safely on the shores of reality, every day I worry more about Emeline and less about the Republican Party.  Their doomed crusade of hatred may be lost, but you can be assured that I am not.  My own salvation comes from the unbridled joy of my daughter, gazing in her mischievous, dancing eyes, recognizing the wonder of her young soul, and finding the glorious face of God.  

Off the Radar Unserious* Edition

Have you seen this thing Erin Burnett, formerly of CNBC, now on CNN does?  What legitimate news organization rips off Saturday Night Live for their segments?  

The Erin Burnett segment on CNN poked fun -- there's no other way to describe it -- at the #OccupyWallStreet movement.  Here is the back-to-back comparison between the Burnett segment and a show that makes jokes:

Here, by the way, is a link to the unadulterated version of the Burnett piece, just so you can get the full flavor of exactly how condescending and gross she really is.

You know what?  Ugh.  

That right there is why we don't watch TV anymore.  It's just gross.  

I think Tom Tomorrow sums it all up pretty well here. 

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Vern Buchanan got the most serious political challenge of his life just last week, and he's already cheating you.

So Vern has a poll up at his official government (taxpayer subsidized) website asking this:

The speaker of the U.S. House said this week that President Obama is campaigning instead of leading the nation. Do you agree or disagree?

Nice.  Glad to see Vern knows when to put the political on his campaign site versus the actual business of the people on his official site.  

Anyway, I'd tell you to go over to the page and vote "disagree," just to see what we could do.  But there's the thing: the form submission is disabled if you vote "disagree."  

Classy!  Here's the screen-shot of what you get (click to embiggen):

Shocking that we'd see such corruption from a guy like Vern Buchanan.

Look, you want real representation in Congress?  You want representation with integrity?  You want a guy who will at least run honest polls on his website (and can sure tell the difference between the political and not).

Then go help Keith Fitzgerald today.

For what it's worth, I managed to find a link to the results he was getting -- not sure the point in time -- and I'd say that they're not exactly overwhelming.  I'm sure this poll will be taken down soon.

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Great stuff, by the way, on the Occupy Tampa -- the local representation of the Occupy Wall Street movement -- from Pushing Rope and Re/Creating Tampa.  Check it out.

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*It is a travesty that this is not a real word.  I'd start a petition to make "unserious" a legitimate word in the English language, but I think we all know how lazy I am.  

 -- More later -- 

Finally Friday Babble On Edition

I'm too tired to do a bunch of crazy in-depth stuff, and we have a really busy weekend coming up, so here's just a bunch of random crap. 

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From the White House:

Today’s employment report shows that private sector payrolls increased by 137,000 and overall payroll employment rose by 103,000 in September.

Good stuff.  Not great.  Good.

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Read this from the Bloggess, who had an encounter with a PR guy -- and it didn't end pretty (for the PR guy).

And if you give me a hard time for reading a "chick blog," it won't end pretty for you, either.  The Bloggess is fantastic, and one of the funniest, bet written out there.  She's awesome.  

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One of the things I'm nominated for in the Florida Netroots Awards (if they don't run me out of town on a rail) is Best Use of Twitter.  It really is an honor to be nominated -- and I'm getting a little better at Twitter all the time.

Why not follow me and see who I manage to offend?  

@bkirby816

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You can also find my personal page on Facebook.  I'll be your friend.

www.Facebook.com/benjamin.kirby1

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Did you know I have another, far less popular blog?  It's called Clintonaut.  I use it to post my disturbing fiction and stories about when I worked in the Clinton Administration.  Check it out some time.

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Have you signed up for the Go Fitz Go Team yet?  

Do it.

What on Earth are you waiting for?

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I am glad the fall weather is finally starting to make its way to Florida.  It has been one hell of a summer.

That said, it is almost assuredly going to rain on me this weekend.  And I've got big plans to be outside.  

Bring it, cumulonimbus clouds.

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It's finally Friday.