The national unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, its lowest level since President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009, as the economy added 114,000 jobs in September, and revised figures for the previous two months boosted those totals by 86,000 jobs. In the last three months, the economy has added 434,000 jobs.
obama administration
Anti-Terror “Fusion Centers” Like Central Florida’s Slammed as Ineffective and Intrusive
A two-year Senate investigation finds that Department of Homeland Security efforts to engage state and local intelligence “fusion centers”–six of which are set up in Florida, including one in central Florida–has not yielded significant useful information to support federal counterterrorism intelligence efforts.
Where Obama Fear and Loathing Comes From
Charles Kesler’s new book on Barack Obama loathing is a window into the closing of the conservative mind, which Mark Lilla’s review opens a notch to let in a breath of wit–unusual for unusually dour liberals.
Mitt Romney’s 47 Percent Problem
In 2008 John McCain’s big challenge was to control Sarah Palin’s mouth. In 2012, Mitt Romney’s biggest challenge is to control Mitt Romney’s mouth. His characterization of 47 percent of Americans as victims and dependents, besides being demonstrably false, unravels the cynicism at the core of Romney’s campaign.
No Bounce: Economy Adds Only 96,000 Jobs in August as Unemployment Drops to 8.1%
The national economy added a meager 96,000 jobs in August, and the previous two months’ total was revised downward by 41,000 jobs. Nevertheless the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1 percent, from 8.3 percent, as the employment picture continues to zigzag between hope and anemia.
In Charlotte, Democrats Welcome Crist as Floridians Wonder Whether to Trust Him
As Charlie Crist takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention to embrace President Barack Obama, Florida Democrats are facing a question that could shape their party’s future: How much do they trust Charlie Crist? It’s part of a soap opera unfolding before partisans in two states.
Romney-Ryan’s Voucher Plan for Medicare, Long the Third Rail of Florida Politics
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said the nation must rethink Medicare as he and Mitt Romney propose changing the health-insurance program for 65-and-over Americans to a “fixed-amount” voucher that would essentially privatize the benefit.
Almost 27% of Flagler Residents Under 65 Are Without Health Insurance; Reform Would Help
Obama’s health care reform would almost eliminate the proportion of uninsured, but Gov. Rick Scott’s refusal to join reform’s expanded Medicaid eligibility means that many of Flagler’s 16,774 eligible residents will be shut out of the benefit.
Charlie Crist Bear-Hugs Obama Closer As He Excoriates GOP’s Rightward Slouch
Ex-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Sunday urged voters to support President Barack Obama in the crucial swing state where the Democratic incumbent and Republican candidate Mitt Romney remain in a razor thin race.
A Micro-Bump for Romney in Florida, But Obama Still Leads, Especially on Medicare
The latest Quinnipiac polls in swing states show President Obama maintaining diminishing leads over Mitt Romney despite voters saying Obama will do a better job on Medicare. The polls reflect Romney’s pick of Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan.
Election Homework: The Goods on Paul Ryan
Everything you always wanted to know about Paul Ryan but were afraid was true: profiles, backgrounders, an FAQ on his plans for Medicare, and some of the best reporting on Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick.
Two White Men Who Like to Cut Things: On Romney’s Nomination of Paul Ryan
Mitt Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan, the seven-term Wisconsin congressman, born during the first Nixon administration, is a puzzling choice, more calculated than inspiring, more cautious than bold, and in some respects, just as strategically faulty as John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin.
Florida Revenue May Grow by $2.6 Billion as Recovery Solidifies, Contradicting Romney
President Obama and Gov. Rick Scott will be competing t take credit for Florida’s continuing economic improvements as the state turned in a relatively healthy $407 million surplus in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Smart-Phone Canvassing: Is Your Neighbor A Democrat? Obama Has an App for That.
![For each targeted address, the app displays the first name, age and gender of the voter or voters who live there: "Lori C., 58 F, Democrat." All this is public information, which campaigns have long given to volunteers. But you no longer have to schedule a visit to a field office and wait for a staffer to hand you a clipboard and a printed-out list of addresses. With the Obama app, getting a glimpse of your neighbor's political affiliation can take seconds. While The New York Times dubbed the app "the science-fiction dream of political operatives," some of the voters who appear in the app are less enthusiastic about it. "I do think it's something useful for them, but it's also creepy," said Lori Carena, 58, a long-time Brooklyn resident, when she was shown the app. "My neighbors across the street can know that I'm a Democrat. I'm not sure I like that." It's unclear if the app displays all registered Democrats who live in a certain area, or only a subset of voters President Obama's campaign is trying to reach. Asked about the privacy aspects of the new app, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign wrote that "anyone familiar with the political process in America knows this information about registered voters is available and easily accessible to the public." The information included in the app has "traditionally been available to anyone who walks into a campaign field office," said the spokesperson, who declined to be named. While the app makes voter information instantly available, it displays only a small cluster of addresses at a time. It has built-in mechanisms to detect when people are misusing the data, "such as people submitting way too many voter contacts in a short period of time," the spokesman said. "The campaign is strongly committed to ensuring the safety and privacy of the public and follows up with appropriate action, including alerting appropriate authorities if necessary, in any case of abuse or inappropriate behavior," said the spokesperson. "Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers." This isn't the first time campaigns have released digital tools that make voter information freely available. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns currently have online calling tools that give anyone who registers for their websites the names and phone numbers of voters to contact. In 2008, the Obama campaign's "Neighbor to Neighbor" program allowed volunteers to use their home computers to print out lists of names and addresses to contact. Two years later, the Democratic group Organizing for America, formed to keep mobilizing the president's supporters after Obama was elected, released a mobile app that was in some ways a prototype of Obama's new app. Volunteers in the 2010 midterm elections could use their mobile phones to map voters in their immediate vicinity and then send in responses from the voters they had contacted, which eliminated the need for clipboards and printed lists. Natalie Foster, who was the new media director of Organizing for America, said the tools used in 2010 had built-in privacy limits, "where you are only given a certain number of voters that you could conceivably canvass. If somebody goes above that limit, or is just obviously clicking a button over or over, we'll just shut it down." Privacy "was definitely a consideration and something that was focused on, to make sure people aren't just going in and downloading a lot of data," said Joshua Hendler, the former director of technology for Organizing for America. Foster, who is now the CEO of the economic advocacy group Rebuild the Dream, and Hendler, who now works for PR firm Hill and Knowlton Strategies, said that making voter information more open makes the political process more democratic, because it lowers the barrier for people to get involved in political campaigns. Shaun Dakin, a voter privacy advocate and longtime critic of political robocalling, flagged the Obama app last week as a "total privacy fail." Dakin, who criticized the Obama campaign's 2008 Neighbor to Neighbor program on similar grounds, said voters should have the right to opt out of being contacted by political campaigns. He also questioned why the Obama app included the ages of nearby voters, another piece of information that people might not want to have made public. Lori Carena, the Brooklyn voter, said she doesn't object to having canvassers knock on her door. In fact, she said she wishes it happened more often in New York, a state that's such a Democratic stronghold she feels the campaign isn't interested in hearing her concerns. Asked what she feels is the difference between the traditional way of canvassing — with voter names and addresses on a printed-out list — and the new mobile app, she said, "Well, I just don't get all this new stuff with computers and apps. That's probably more creepy to me." Even low-tech tools used to distribute voter data can upset some voters. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this June that a liberal group in Wisconsin was sending fliers to voters which included a list of their neighbors and whether they had voted in 2008 and 2010. The fliers encouraged recipients to help get out the vote for the recall election of Gov. Scott Walker. Some voters were angry that their names and addresses were being distributed publicly. "I think this is invasion of my privacy and every other woman's privacy. It's like — 'Here, this is where all the women are,'" one woman told the Journal Sentinel. Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard law professor and the co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said the Obama app represented a significant shift. While voter data has been "technically public," it is usually accessed only by political campaigns and companies that sell consumer data. He said it was "heartening" that the app makes data available to citizens who want to talk to their neighbors about their political choices. "The purpose of this app may be Democrats visiting Democrats. I can see apps where you ask Republicans to visit Democrats and Democrats to visit Republicans." "If we're comfortable enough to have [this information] go into the maw of big data processors, both political and otherwise, it seems consistent for neighbors to talk to neighbors over it," he said. "Much of our feelings around privacy are driven by what you might call status-quo-ism," he said, so many people may feel that the app is creepy simply because it represents something new. Interested to learn more about how political groups are using your personal information? See our reporting on tailored campaign emails and the new wave of targeted online ads.](https://flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/obama-app.jpg)
The Obama for America app, “the science-fiction dream of political operatives,” is turning canvassing on its head as public information long available no longer has to scheduled through a visit to a field office and waits for staffers to hand volunteers clipboards and a printed-out lists of addresses.
Obama Crosses 50% Favorability Over Romney in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania
No one has won the White House in the past half century without winning at least two of the three states. The latest results are the strongest yet for Obama, and a worrisome sign for Mitt Romney down the stretch.
Unemployment Rises Again in Flagler, To 12.3%, Stalls at 8.6% in Florida
June unemployment numbers were discouraging in Florida as well as in Flagler and Volusia counties–stalling in the state at 8.6 percent, with just 9,000 jobs created last month, while the unemployment rate jumped again in Flagler to 12.3 percent, and to 9.1 percent in Volusia.
U.S. Economy Adds Just 80,000 Jobs In June as Unemployment Stagnates at 8.2%
The national economy added percent for the third most 80,000 jobs in June, keeping the unemployment rate stuck at 8.2 percent for the third month in a row.
Gov. Scott, on Media Blitz, Hit With “Pants on Fire” Falsehoods Over Health Care Claims
In his media blitz against Obama’s health care reform, Gov. Rick Scott gave a one-sided and misleading account of how much the Medicaid expansion would cost the state, badly misrepresented requirements on small businesses and used a widely debunked talking point about rationing, Politifacts found.
Gov. Scott’s Health Law in Florida: No Medicaid Expansion, No Insurance Exchange
Gov. Rick Scott will opt Florida out of the insurance “exchanges” the new health law designs to help residents find health coverage, and he will opt out of expanding medicaid, even though the federal government pays all the costs for expansion the first 2 years, and 90 percent thereafter.
Chamber of Commerce and Other Florida Business Groups Howl Over at Health Care Law
Florida business groups had led the charge against the federal Affordable Care Act, calling it a mandate that will fall on the shoulders of businesses still struggling to recover and facing more competition from the Internet, nearby states and foreign suppliers.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Reform, a Major Victory for Obama and the Uninsured
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the left of the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding the 2010 health care reform law, including the individual mandate. The Roberts ruling narrowed the allowance under tax rules, as opposed to the commerce clause. But the entire law was upheld.
Get to Work, Governor Scott, and Implement Health Care Reform Now
Now that the most conservative Supreme Court in the history of our nation has ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, perhaps it is time to redirect a little of that negative energy used to obstruct reform toward implementing the law and solving Florida’s health care crisis, writes former Florida House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber.
Florida’s Hispanics Like Obama Over Romney By Big Margin, Dimming Rubio’s VP Appeal
Hispanic voters in Florida, traditionally Republican, prefer Obama over Romney by a 56-32 margin, buttressing the president’s advantage among Independents.
U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates Most of the Key Provisions of Arizona’s Harsh Immigration Law
The United States Supreme Court has reversed key provisions of the controversial Arizona immigrant law, invalidating Arizona’s–or any state’s–law that would have given state or local police the power to make warrantless arrests of individuals suspected of being undocumented, or “illegal.”
When American Health Care Heads for Texas
If the Affordable Care Act is overturned, the rest of the country should take a good look at the situation in Texas, because this is what happens when you keep Medicaid enrollment as low as possible and don’t undertake insurance reforms.
Stepping Up Obama Snubs, Scott Says He Won’t Implement Health Care Law in Florida
As the Supreme Court prepares to hand down its decision on Obama’s health care reform law, Gov. Rick Scott said on a conference call hosted by right-wing think tanks that Florida wouldn’t rush to implement the law.
Romney, in Orlando, Plays Catch-up On Immigration By Promising More Green Cards
Speaking to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando, Romney spent most of his time talking about making it easier for legal immigrants to come to America.
The Live Poll: Obama-Romney
Take the poll: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are battling for Florida’s 29 electoral votes, which are more essential to Romney than they are to Obama: Romney can’t win without them, Obama can.
Uninsured, Unaware of the Health Law Meant To Help Them, or the Court Case Against It
Despite spending tremendous political capital to pass the health law, Democrats are unlikely to win many votes from the law’s future beneficiaries, most of whom live in Republican-dominated states in the South and West.
Heckling Obama
Neil Munro, a reporter for the Daily Caller, heckled Obama at the president’s announcement of a new policy regarding young immigrants. Munro’s behavior is indefensible.
How Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage Could Lose Him Florida Come November
With debate and votes taking place around the state and polls showing a growing acceptance, the issue of same-sex marriage and domestic partner rights will likely be among a host of second tier issues that could determine which presidential candidate takes Florida.
Romney Takes 6-Point Florida Lead Over Obama; Rubio’s Impact as VP Is Minor
In a big reversal from two months ago, when the Republican primary contest was damaging Mitt Romney’s brand, Barack Obama’s fortunes have dimmed considerably in Florida, while a Marco Rubio addition to Romney’s ticket appears to yield less than a bang.
Obama’s Come to Jesus Moment on Gay Marriage: More Buchanan Than Lincoln
One might be tempted to see in Barack Obama’s belated embrace of gay marriage a retraction of the infuriatingly compromising president we’ve come endure and a return to the audacious president we thought we were electing four years ago. But that would be projecting a fantasy on a cave wall.
Joe Biden Outs Himself
Joe Biden unequivocally endorsed gay marriage in a Meet the Press interview Sunday, sending the Obama administration scrambling for its latest tangle in hypocrisy.
Non, Sarkozy: In France, François Hollande Brings Socialism Back to Power After 24 Years
Socialist François Hollande is the new French president, defeating Nicolas Sarkozy with 52 percent of the vote, and making the mercurial Sarkozy France’s first one-term president since Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1981
Disappointing Numbers Again as U.S. Economy Adds Only 115,000 Jobs; Unemployment at 8.1%
The national economy added only 115,000 jobs in April, adding to March’s disappointing numbers and renewing fears that the economy may be stalling, as it did last spring. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, a slight improvement.
American Soldiers Committing Atrocities: Placing the Blame Where It Belongs
From posing with corpses of insurgents to going on murderous rampages, American soldiers’ atrocities in Afghanistan are becoming routine. Without absolving the military of its responsibilities, the real isn’t the soldiers’ alone.
US Jobs Up Just 120,000, Disappointing Expectations; Unemployment Down to 8.2%
While the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent in March, job creation was disappointing, at 120,000, about half the expected numbers, lending further credence to evidence of a fitful, not robust, recovery.
Obama Surges Ahead of Romney and Santorum in Florida and Ohio in Latest Polls
In head-to-head contests, Obama is beating Romney and Santorum in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, three swing states that the GOP cannot lose if it hopes to win back the White House in November.
Maintaining Momentum, Economy Adds 223,000 Jobs; Unemployment Stays at 8.3%
The U.S. economy is maintaining its job-creation momentum, adding 223,000 jobs in January, and revising upward previous job-creation figures for December and January by 61,000 jobs. Over the past three months, the economy added 730,000 jobs.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Contraceptive
Six in ten Americans, including Catholics, said they support a requirement by the Obama administration that health plans supply free contraceptives as a preventive benefit for women. Women registered as independents favor the rule by a 2-1 margin.
It’s Not About Religious Liberty. It’s About The Church’s Opposition to Contraception.
Religious liberty is window dressing for the bishops’ real objection, birth control. Republicans who used the bishops’ complaints for their own partisan purposes may continue to rail about Obama’s “war on religious liberty,” but it’s unlikely we will see them standing beside the bishops as they complain about contraception.
The Pill, the President, the Policy: a Primer
The Obama administration is revising contraceptive-pill insurance regulations so that religious-affiliated groups don’t have to pay for the coverage. A primer on the controversy and the policy.
Mission Stumbles: How Fannie and Freddie Put Homeowners and Taxpayers at Odds
Here’s a primer on Fannie and Freddie’s role in the housing market, why their actions often go against the interests of homeowners and are even at odds with their own mission, and what to expect from here on.
U.S. Citizen, Floridian, But Denied In-State Tuition Over Parents’ Status: Senate Kills Fix
A measure that would grant in-state tuition to Florida high school students who are U.S. citizens but whose parents are in the country illegally was voted down Tuesday by a Senate committee.
Co-Pay Interruptus: Catholic Bishops Will Sue Feds Over Contraception and Insurance Rules
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promising a legal challenge to federal rules requiring health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.
Unemployment Falls to 8.5%, Lowest Level in Almost 3 Years, as 200,000 Jobs Are Created
The decline in unemployment, a boon to Obama’s reelection hopes, was the result of actual job creation, rather than a reduction in labor force participation.
We Don’t Need Another Payroll Tax Cut
We can all afford less tax coddling and more fiscal responsibility. But don’t expect to hear that from allegedly conservative Republican and our blandly, irresponsibly centrist president, who’s bribing his way to a second term.
Supreme Court’s Ruling on Immigrants Will Redefine Policing and State Powers
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona’s law is due by the end of June, at the same time as its ruling on Obama’s health care reform law, making this court term one of the most consequential in years, and with big reverberations in Florida.
Bleak Houses: Hiring Discrimination and Distress Darkening Holidays for Millions
A report documents the boiling frustration, despair, and economic uncertainty that unemployed and under-employed Americans face this holiday season, which could get worse if Congress doesn’t extend federal unemployment aid by month’s end.