FLORIDA DIGEST August 25, 2007

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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082402124.html?hpid=topnews

DNC May Deny Florida Slots at '08 Convention

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 25, 2007; A01

Florida lawmakers angrily assailed the Democratic National Committee and itschairman, Howard Dean, saying he is threatening to "disenfranchise" thestate's voters by considering a plan to invalidate the state's presidentialprimary.

The DNC's rules committee is to vote today whether to sanction Florida forviolating party rules by moving its primary up to Jan. 29 and violating aparty rule against holding a primary before Feb. 5. The action would denyFlorida its delegates at the party's national convention next year andprohibit Democratic presidential candidates from campaigning in the statebefore the primary.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)said the DNC "is poised to assault the basic right of a person to vote atits meeting tomorrow." He threatened to sue the national party to preventthe sanctions from being imposed.

"I hope that cooler heads are going to prevail tomorrow," an exasperatedNelson said. "If they don't, and if the full DNC were to then take thatposition, then certainly we will have to assert what we think are importantrights."



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Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbnaugle0825nbaug25,0,7599126,print.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Naugle swamped with e-mail as gay controversy rolls on
By Brittany Wallman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
August 25, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE

In tiny Columbia, Ky., Mayor Jim Naugle has a small fan club. Lee and KathyKrug wrote to ask him for a "signed photograph or poster." It "would occupyan honored place in our home," they promised, "and we will tell all who askabout it (and those who don't) what you are so courageously doing."

Here on the home front, Elaine Schulze is so happy with the mayor, she hunga banner on her day care center thanking him "from the children of FortLauderdale."

As the mayor is pilloried by local officials, gay residents and activists asa "bigot" and "homophobe'' for his recent comments about gays, his e-mailfile bulges with support. From all over Fort Lauderdale, far-flung citiesacross the United States and as far as Ireland people are patting the mayoron the back, electronically.

Thousands of e-mails poured into the mayor's in-box. The South FloridaSun-Sentinel requested e-mails to and from the mayor about the latestcontroversies, and received 6,475 electronic missives to review. Many wereduplicates, and some did not pertain to the dispute. Some were to or fromother people in City Hall. But the relevant e-mails ran roughly 2-to-1 inNaugle's favor.

Publicly, his supporters seemed few. A rally for the mayor last month drewonly about 30 people, competing with the hundreds rallying against him. Someof the same cadre supported Naugle at his news conference Tuesday.

Naugle has claimed overwhelming support. "You are about to find out thatmost in Fort Lauderdale agree with me," he e-mailed a critic.

Mayor of one of the most gay-friendly cities in America, Naugle touched offa ferocious dispute in July, when the Sun-Sentinel published his commentsthat the city has a problem with gay men cruising public restrooms for sex.He was quoted as saying, "I don't use the word gay. I use the wordhomosexual. Most of them aren't gay. They're unhappy."

The e-mails poured in to the mayor.

"You should run for president! Thank you for your stand," hailed Dana Jones,a county commissioner in Cherokee County, North Carolina..

"It's time us straight people started taking our country back from thesesick people and make them either get help for their disease or go to jail,"wrote Robert Moon in Fort Worth, Texas, to the mayor.

Naugle's comments didn't start as a campaign; he was opining about aone-stall, super-toilet requested by the beach community because theoceanfront lacks public restrooms. Naugle liked the $250,000 self-cleaningrobo-toilet, in part because he said it would deter the "homosexualactivity" a traditional bathroom attracts.

"We are glad to see that there is still someone looking out for families andmorality. Some of our very good friends at Coral Ridge Towers South are gay.We like them very much. ... but the line has to be drawn," wrote Jack andSally Tully.

Gays were outraged to be associated with bathroom sex, alleging it's mostlydone by married men seeking a thrill.

Police refuted the mayor's claim, calling bathroom sex "a non-existentproblem."

Since then, Naugle changed his mind about the toilet and voted not to buyit.

But the e-mails kept coming. "We appreciate your stand and encourage you tofollow through with your convictions against evil in our city. We are trulyblessed to have you in leadership," wrote Carol Krupta of Coral RidgeMinistries. In the gay community, the mayor's words stung. Gays said they'dhelped make Fort Lauderdale's neighborhoods beautiful, and its economyrobust. The mayor's comments were meant to incite hatred, not highlight alegitimate problem, they said.

As the debate churned, Naugle voted against allowing the adults-onlyStonewall Library gay and lesbian book collection to be moved into a citybuilding. Some of the materials in the research archives include nudemagazines kept for historical reasons.

"Thank you for maintaining biblical and Christian principles for yourcountrymen worldwide -- Fort Lauderdale is not an island, and it caninfluence the world," wrote Nancy Ball Richter, a local resident, in ane-mail.

This week, the mayor turned full attention to the issue of HIV/AIDSinfection in Broward, standing with a group of religious and conservativespeakers on City Hall's steps, to urge gays to curb promiscuity. Browardconsistently ranks near the top in HIV/AIDS cases, though the numbers aredeclining.

Many gays e-mailed the mayor saying they've been in committed relationshipsfor years, and some are raising children. They didn't like the broad brushNaugle used. Gay activist Anthony Niedwiecki said he was giving a platformof hatred and demonizing good people.

"Doesn't he see the danger he's causing?" he asked this week.

Health officials said it was unfair to single out gays; the local AIDS/HIVcrisis is a black issue, a gay issue, a women's issue, and an IV drug userissue.

To many of the e-mailers, this was a battle between the Politically Correctand what Schulze termed the "Family Correct."

"Thank you for your support," the mayor wrote back to Schulze. "It is goodto hear from a happy breeder!"

The greater public latched onto the mayor, seeing him on CNN, or FOX, or inthe New York Times.

"Thank you sir for standing tall against the miscreant fringe of homosexualdeviants in your community,'' wrote John Gress, director of a conservativecoalition in Virginia.

Police kept an extra watch on the mayor's house, according to the internale-mails, especially after a Florida man, Timothy Martin, threatened his homewould be toilet-papered.

Naugle accepted support from all over, no matter the content.

"Keep up the good work," wrote one Miami resident. "If a bunch of disgustingdeviants hate you, you must be doing something right!"

The mayor gave his pat response: "Thank you for your support."

Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@sun-sentinel.com or954-356-4541.



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Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editgsfoleycapnbaug24,0,2490916,print.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Foley case still hovers over us
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
August 24, 2007

More of the same in Foley case

It can hardly be shocking that disgraced former congressman Mark Foley fromPalm Beach County, and the U.S. House of Representatives, won't letinvestigators examine his congressional computers. This is a smarmy casethat has been handled in an evasive, spin-controlling way right from thestart.

Foley was forced to resign last year after his Internet communications withteenage pages became public. Shortly thereafter, Foley said he was sexuallyabused as a youth by a priest, said he had an alcohol addiction, and wentfleeing into rehab. Later, a House committee report said several congressmenknew about Foley's sexually oriented e-mails, and basically looked the otherway. The same panel said nobody broke any rules except for Foley. Amazing.

And now the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, hoping to conclude itsinvestigation into Foley's activities next week, is reportedly beinghindered by Foley and Congress in attempts to see Foley's congressionalcomputers. If you are surprised, you haven't been paying attention.



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Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbnauglebox0825nbaug25,0,4606343,print.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

Exerpts from Mayor Naugle's e-mails
August 25, 2007

What he said

Here are excerpts from some of Mayor Jim Naugle's e-mail responses to thosewho wrote him at his official e-mail: mayorjames@aol.com, to express supportor opposition of his views. The e-mails from July and August were releasedto the South Florida Sun-Sentinel under state public records law:

. "I am frustrated that my views are automatically labeled hate speech."

. "I am extremely comfortable with my position and enjoy the support of themajority of decent people in our city. I hope you will join me in thiseffort and reject the radical homosexual agenda."

. "I am glad you are happy, and you are right, many others are unhappy. Jim"

. "You have a good point. Some in the community, gay and straight, theirsexality (sic) is the controling (sic) center of their life. And others aregay or straight, and are concerned about the rest of the world around them.Jim."

. "I will not let political correctness hide the truth. Many responsiblehomosexuals agree with me, that Homosexual activity in public bathrooms iswrong, and that our public library should not house pornography."

. "I am concerned about the loss of tourism from those 80% that do notsupport sex in public bathrooms and feel Pornography should not be in Publiclibraries. Jim"

. "I will not leave. I will stay and fight for what is right. Perhaps youshould move. Jim"

. "I have never condemned Homosexuals. Jim"

. "Thank you for your email. Under Florida Law, one has to do somethingillegal to be recalled. Not an opinion that you don't agree with. Jim"

. "Thank you for your email. Trying to stop sexual activity in parks is notbeing homophobic in the USA. Jim"



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Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail804xnbaug25,0,861509.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Newspaper took wrong side in Naugle issue
August 25, 2007

I was told that Confucius once said that when there are three sides to astory, one side loses!

In the current situation, there appears to be the "gay" side, the Naugleside, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel side - and the Sun-Sentinel side,in my opinion, is the clear-cut loser.

Just imagine what the wisdom of the press (read "Sun-Sentinel") could havebeen if you had taken the simple position that "gays" should not engage insex in public restrooms, and "gays" should use condoms.

Warren Gillis
Coral Springs



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Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail808xnbaug25,0,3220809.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Public toilet issue a sad end to Naugle's political career
August 25, 2007

I know I'm running a risk of people questioning my sanity when I say thatI'm actually starting to feel sorry for Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle,but I am. When Jim was elected way back in the 1980s, he was known as amaverick and a rebel, but his fight was for better neighborhoods andchanging the status quo. Now, nearing the end of his political career (wecan only hope), he has become a marginal character, a buffoon, an affiliateof the wacko fringe.

It all started with the Robo-Toilet. While trying to make a case forspending what would turn into $500,000 for a single seater toilet, Jimargued that there needed to be a private single toilet at the beach so twogays could not fit in it and have sex. Jim called it a crisis.

What he didn't count on was that a reporter would track down his claims thatthis had become a serious problem in our community, and report that itwasn't. As a matter of fact, the police, after an exhaustive search, couldonly come up with eight cases since 2005. Instead of drawing attention toserious problems, the mayor has now had multiple press conferences to talkabout toilet sex. How sad!

I would hope that Jim might wake up tomorrow, find truth, and schedule areal press conference, with a real apology. He could retire in another yearand maybe keep some modicum of respect, at least by some of those that havenot been paying close attention. But having known him as I have all theseyears, I won't be holding my breath.

Tim Smith
Fort Lauderdale



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/v-print/story/214864.html

Posted on Sat, Aug. 25, 2007
Soaring home prices challenge S. Florida employers
BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN

Recruiting workers and keeping them has become increasingly challenging forSouth Florida employers, as home prices have soared out of reach even formany two-income households.

So employers are getting increasingly creative -- throwing in bonuses,allowing flexible schedules and, in the case of the University of Miami,even kicking in up to 50 percent of a home's purchase price.

The numbers tell the now-familiar story of how we feel priced out:

Income gains have not kept up with soaring home costs. In fact, the rise inincome per person here between 2000 and 2006 -- 28 percent to an estimated$39,900, says the University of Florida's Institute for EconomicCompetitiveness -- has been all but gobbled up by the rise in property taxesand insurance alone.

The property tax on a median-priced home in unincorporated Miami-Dade roseto $8,011 last year from $3,114 in 2000 and hit $7,988 in unincorporatedsouth Broward, up from $3,505 in 2000. Homeowners insurance has skyrocketedsimilarly.

That's if you can afford to buy a home in the first place. Between 2000 and
2006, the median home price rose 172 percent to $375,800 in Miami-Dade andby 148 percent to $367,800 in Broward, says the Florida Association ofRealtors. (The median is the point at which half the homes sold are aboveand half below.)



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"M-GROUP"

SATURDAY August,25 2007

Hey Guys!
JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T PARTICIPATED YET IN THE
M-GROUPS SATURDAYS.

The M group on Saturday is different than the UNCUT reality Groups onThursdays.

M Group is a 3 hours Focus group about Prevention and Relationships.

HIV infection, safer sex and sexual encounter negotiations are discussed ina laid back, safe and comfortable environment.

It's a different approach with three hours full of laughs and fun.

Refreshments will be provided and a $20 gift certificate for those whoattend.

Don't' miss this opportunity to M Power your self about this issue and atthe same time meet new people and possibly make good friends.

Email us back or give us a call!
954-618-0736
954guys@gmail.com

See You There!!!



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Reminder: Get Your Awards Banquet Tickets Now!
The Dolphin Democrats

Twenty Fifth Anniversary Awards Banquet

Honorary Chair
Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl

Honorary Co-Chairs
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Congressman Ron Klein

Saturday, October 6th, 2007
Pier Sixty Six Resort / Hyatt Regency
17th Street Causeway
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Silent Auction / Black Tie Optional / Free Valet Parking / Cocktails
6-7:30pm / Dinner 7:30pm

This is the Dolphin Democrats major fundraiser of the year and will providesupport for our 2008 get out the vote center and voter outreach.

You may purchase tickets online and invite others online at: www.dolphindems.org



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Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/08/25/s3b_shackle_0825.html

Shackling of juveniles in court criticized
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 25, 2007

Having struck out in state courts, Palm Beach County Public Defender CareyHaughwout is asking a federal judge to stop county judges from shacklingchildren summoned to juvenile court.

Calling the roughly three-year-old practice cruel and unusual punishment,Haughwout this week filed a lawsuit in West Palm Beach, asking U.S. DistrictJudge Donald Middlebrooks to declare as unconstitutional the county court'sblanket policy of restraining all juveniles with leg irons and handcuffsthat are chained to their waists.

If the county had a policy of shackling only Hispanics, Jews orAfrican-Americans, the policy would clearly not pass constitutional muster,she wrote in the 63-page lawsuit. Therefore, she said, such a draconianrestraint used only for children, surely violates juveniles' constitutionalrights.

She is asking Middlebrooks to force county juvenile judges to adopt a systemnow used in Miami-Dade County. Before shackles are used, judges firstdetermine that a juvenile is violent or a flight risk.



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Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/tcoast/epaper/2007/08/25/m1a_APPEAL_0825.html

Florida high court may take up children's rights to sue
By DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 25, 2007

STUART - The question of whether Florida parents can sign away theirchildren's rights to sue sports, amusement and water parks may soon becomean issue for the Florida Supreme Court, state lawmakers or both.

In the meantime, a recent appellate court ruling in the death of a14-year-old boy at an Okeechobee ATV park has left both parents and parkowners confused.


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Meet Bill Clinton in Miami Beach by Supporting Hillary Clinton for
President**

Dear Friends,

You are all invited to a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and hear President Bill Clinton speak in Miami Beach! President Clinton will be speaking in support of his wife Hillary and her race for the White House. I can not stress how important it is to get involved in the 08' Presidential election because whomever wins will literally shape America's future possibly for the next 8 years and I personally believe that Hillary Clinton is just the woman to do it! Please come out and listen to the issues she feels are crucial in changing the direction of America: Universal Health Care, Preserving the Dream of Home Ownership, Ending the War in Iraq, Energy Independence and Global Warming, etc.

I look forward to seeing you all on

Thursday, September 6, 2007
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Miami Beach Convention Center
1901 Convention Center Dr.
Miami Beach, FL

If you wish to purchase tickets online just use the following link:
https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com/events/miami0906.html .

****Please don't forget to pick my name: "Laurie Watkins" from the referred by drop-down list while completing your purchase.******


Sincerely,
Laurie A. Watkins


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