FLORIDA DIGEST - October 23, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Amendment 2 will cause harm
It was gratifying to read on Oct. 12 that The Miami Herald recommends a No vote on Amendment 2 to the Florida Constitution. It also was heartening to read recently that a coalition of state religious leaders calls the amendment ``an infringement upon the religious freedoms of all Floridians.'' With the economy in the state it's in, this is not the time to eliminate healthcare and other benefits for unmarried couples in Florida, which will happen if this amendment passes. It must be stressed again that gay marriage already is banned in our state. This amendment will affect all unmarried couples, gay and straight. Imagine not being allowed to visit a seriously ill loved one in the hospital. Too many people don't understand the ramifications and think the amendment is only about banning marriage between partners of the same sex.
LINDA HORKITZ, Miami Beach
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/737561.html

-Amendment 2 is a threat to unwed senior couples
Clarice Pollock and Ed Lesen have shared their love nest for 30 years. They first met in New York, in 1976, and were immediately taken with each other. Since they were both divorced they saw no reason to get married. They moved in together and became a de facto couple. Since then, their relationship has been based on ``love, respect and trust.'' Although they didn't have children, they formed a family, and when her grandchildren visit them in Hallandale, where they retired, the kids call him grandpa. There are thousands of elderly couples just like them in Florida, who for various reasons decided to live the rest of their lives together without getting hitched at the altar. Now the benefits and assurances once extended to these couples are in jeopardy, due to an absurd constitutional amendment that invalidates any relationship based on love, gay or straight, other than matrimony.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/737483.html


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Sun-Sentinel endorses Scott Newton for Wilton Manors Mayor and Justin Flippen for Wilton Manors City Commission
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/wilton_manors/sfl-editgswiltonelexsboct22,0,3552115.story


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GLBT G.O.T.V. Center - Wilton Manors
Show your support!!!
Everyone was clamoring for their very own Obama yard sign so we had some
made! Come and get 'em!
Also, we recently received a new batch of the more popular bumper stickers. The merchandise coming from the official Obama Campaign store is taking more than 2 weeks for delivery due to unexpected higher demand, so this will definitely be our final offering. Each is a fundraising item. Your donation of $5 for a sign or $2 for a sticker all goes to help run the GLBT G.O.T.V. Center - located at 2040b N. Dixie Highway - just 1/3 mile south of "5-points" intersection on the east side in Wilton Manors. The space we have rented is in the far back left corner of the new GLCC campus. We are open M-F 10am - 10pm, Sat. 9-6, and Sun. noon-6. (954) 630-VOTE (8683). Volunteers are needed daily: light phone banking, light canvassing, and office work - please contact JD Camp to see how you can help. We are running out of time, so if you are certain you want the Republicans to retain the White House, then do absolutely nothing. 4 hours of your time now can mean the difference in the next 4 years of our country. You decide because it is up to you and only you! We are primarily contacting NEWLY REGISTERED or INFREQUENT voters. There is NO persuasion or confrontation. It is VERY simple! For every 12 doors knocked or phone calls made - YOU (and only you can do this) get one more voter for OUR SIDE!!! Again, YOU decide.


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Join us Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Wine and Cheese Social with
National Obama Surrogate Jared Polis (D-CO).
After the Social, join us again as we walk with Jared down Wilton Drive, stopping at some of the social hotspots to announce early voting! Jared stands to be the 3rd openly GLBT member of Congress, following in the footsteps of Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).


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From Earl Rynerson for Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Campaign.
UNBELIEVEABLE!!
Top Paid City Bureaucrats asking for an additional "Cost of Living" Raise!
Thanks to your "hard working" Fort Lauderdale Mayor and Commissioners, they are now allowing the incredibly greedy City Manager Gretsas and City Attorney Stewart to raid the municipal piggy bank once again! According to the Sun Sentinel today (Oct 22); (with Vice Mayor Charlotte Rodstrom dissenting), the Mayor and Commission "gave tentative approval to a 5 percent cost-of-living raise to top managers who aren't in a union, at a cost of $1.1 million; the 5 percent raise will go to the highest paid city employees, City Attorney Harry Stewart and City Manager George Gretsas, as well as to the city clerk and city auditor and about 245 others." Folks, this comes from property tax dollars that YOU are required to pay, and its going directly to greedy City Bureaucrats that already make more that any elected official in Washington DC, save the President of the US. Gretsas' salary is already at $230K, and with pensions, swells to $315K. (That's three hundred and fifteen thousand dollars a year!) With Stewart it's even worse! His salary is $243K; with his pension it swells to $348K.
earl@earlformayor.com



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

-Broward County absentee ballots can still be requested
If the long lines at Broward County's 17 early voting sites have you thinking about casting an absentee ballot, you can request one through Wednesday 10/29. The ballots then can be mailed back or taken to one of the county's elections offices. To receive a ballot, call 954-357-7055; fax 954-357-7033; or go to one of the elections offices and submit an application in person. An absentee ballot also may be obtained by e-mailing elections@browardsoe.org or by going to www.browardsoe.org/AbsenteeRequest2.aspx . Include name, date of birth and mailing address. Ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Florida home foreclosures continue to rise
New foreclosure filings in Florida were up 44 percent over the same month a year ago and 9 percent from August, according to foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/737438.html

-Extra voting booths added to prevent lines
As long lines continued at many early voting sites, Miami-Dade and Broward elections officials brought in more equipment to help cope with the delays.
http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/737936.html


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-UPDATE: Florida Republican Party directs voters to wrong early voting sites
If you're looking for information on early voting sites, one place to avoid: the Republican Party of Florida's Web site. Under a "Voter Action Center" tab on the state party's home page, voters can select their county and, in theory, find out a convenient early voting location. The problem: For Palm Beach County, it lists 14 early voting sites. In fact, there are only 11. The erroneous early voting information also was sent to voters in a mailer.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/palm/blog/2008/10/florida_republican_party_direc.html

-If Amendment 2 fails, backers say kids will be led into 'gay lifestyle'
Failing to ban gay marriage in the state constitution could result in the indoctrination of schoolchildren into a gay lifestyle, supporters of Amendment 2 said today. John Stemberger, the force behind the proposed anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot, cited cases in other states where similar proposals failed, resulting in teachers of students as young as 7 years old using books about same-sex marriage to promote diversity in families.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/10/22/1022gaymarriage.html


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