All eyes on Florida

I haven't written much lately. To some degree, I attribute that to the chill of winter. The season tends to freeze my creative juices. Like some people, I feel worse all around in the winter. It's the time of the year when I always wonder why I left South Florida.


With that said, it's going to be in the mid 60s today, so no complaints from this blogger in Northern Virginia. At least not about the weather. Not today.


As Floridians head to the voting booths to pick a favorite Republican in today's primary, I am mildly curious to see which presidential candidate emerges. The rhetoric has heated up in the Florida sun in recent days, but unfortunately rhetoric doesn't always equal intelligence or honesty on the GOP stage. So, one has to take what is said by these wannabe presidents with a grain of salt. From what I have seen so far, this is a particularly desperate and mean-spirited group of candidates that has only modestly improved by the worst of the lot dropping out in recent weeks.


Florida is a diverse state. Unlike the previous three state primaries, I view Florida as more representative of America. While Florida has its rebels, misfits and folks who act like they've been out in the sun a bit too long, overall there is a demographic balance in the state, which is why many presidential general elections are pretty darn close. The state is not simply made up of white, evangelical Christians, who tend to vote one way for generations. Florida sways back and forth in the warm Gulf breezes from year to year, decade to decade, as its population shifts.


I suspect Mitt Romney will be declared the winner this evening, not because he's head and shoulders above the others, but because he's closer to that sweet spot that appeals to a broader range of voters than exist in Iowa or South Carolina. Romney is the "safe" choice.


However, when the general election finally arrives in November, I can't envision President Obama losing the Sunshine State to Romney or anyone else. While the economy there is worse than most places, Florida is a state where seniors vote on issues like Medicare and Social Security. Too many threatening proposals about those programs have been suggested by Republicans for Obama to lose the senior vote.


The Cuban-Americans in South Florida have always leaned right, but a new generation of Latino voters is moving to the left. They are not tied to antiquated GOP ideas. The harsh tone of Republican stances on immigration will potentially sink the Romney ship in Florida in November, assuming he's the nominee. The red-meat immigration comments made to gain votes in conservative states will not be forgotten by the people of Florida or any other state where that type of thing rubs people wrong.


I've always been fascinated by Florida. Everything from its people to its politics is interesting to me. Its clean beaches and casual lifestyle is good for the soul. It's a place where young and old can feel they belong. You don't need to be wealthy to live well in Florida, although if you are, there is no shortage of places where you will fit in. You can be from somewhere else and still be accepted in Florida. That isn't always true in other southern states or even in places like New England.


Yes, Florida has problems. It always has. Sometimes, like now, it's the economy. Other times it's been the crime rate or political corruption that has spiraled out of control. Yet, Florida remains an attractive place to get away to -- whether for a week or a lifetime. When jobs return to Florida, I suspect the population will increase rapidly again, as it has for decades. And the only way for jobs to return to Florida is for the U.S. economy as a whole to improve. In that regard, I will continue to place my faith in Democrats and Independents, and only be a casual observer of the GOP results tonight. It is clear to me, despite comments from the GOP presidential candidates, that Republicans have no interest in rebuilding the middle class in Florida or anywhere else. Romney, in particular, seems clueless as to what the middle class even is, let alone how to rebuild it.

Required viewing for voters

The late George Carlin was always ahead of his time. This video about the loss of the "American Dream" is from a standup comedy act several years ago, before the great recession. He hits the nail right on the head. I wish politicians had the guts to speak this frankly and to actually do something about the real cause of why this country is in the shape it's in. Instead, they and their greedy ways are part of the problem. (Click here to read about the wealth gap between Congress and ordinary Americans).


I also wish voters would wake up and realize why things are the way they are. Perhaps, the "Occupy" protesters get it to some degree, but their message doesn't always come across quite as clear or succinct as Mr. Carlin's classic and justifiable rant.


This video needs to be required viewing for anyone heading to the voting booths. Real change -- whether it be in improving our education system or restoring the economy or just forming a fairer society -- will never take place until people give up on the illusion that we currently have a government that works for the people and not for the corporations.

A much-needed law

The NTSB recommended today what should be painfully obvious to most everyone by now. The use of cellphones while driving needs to be banned in every state. Penalties comparable to DUI violations need to be enforced. And this needs to be done now, not five years down the road. We don't need anymore studies to confirm what is already clear to everyone other than cellphone addicts. Their over-the-top sense of entitlement does not supersede our right to be relatively safe.


I drive about 16 miles per day. That's not much of a commute, particularly in the D.C. suburbs where people routinely spend hours in their cars getting to and from work. Yet, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see someone doing something dangerous while driving. And 90 percent of the time, I can see they are using a cellphone in some manner, texting, talking or using "smart" features like GPS. It's infuriating.


Any experienced driver with an ounce of sense and two eyes knows that cellphones have turned our roads into a nerve-racking, metal-crunching and often bloody adventure. Doesn't matter if you're driving to the corner to store or navigating along the interstates, the problem and the danger remain the same.


People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they can't drive safely while distracted by alcohol or hand-held gadgets. In fact, some people struggle with driving regardless if both hands are on the wheel and their sober eyes are on the road. But that's another issue with a more difficult fix. In a part of the country where the worse drivers reside (according to insurance industry studies, metro-D.C. has more accidents than anywhere else), many responsible people would welcome any rules that would make our roads safer.


Getting cellphone laws enacted should not be a heavy lift for any politician who isn't swayed by lobbyists. Of course, I am not sure there are many politicians left who aren't persuaded by greed.   So this might not be the slam dunk it should be, particularly in states where "regulation" has become a dirty word, even if the regulation saves lives.

Discrimination costing companies

You would think that with companies having to pay out a record $365 million in awards to victims of job discrimination, employers might stop foolishly firing or not hiring people over a certain age. Not only are businesses being challenged legally by folks who feel blatantly discriminated against, they are also shooting themselves in the foot by favoring less qualified new hires (cheap help) who often have to be replaced in six months for one reason or another. High turnover is rarely a good thing in business.


Discrimination against anyone in the workplace has been proven to be bad for business for decades, yet the lawsuits keep piling up because certain industries never seem to get the message or think it's cheaper to pay settlements than to invest in proper hiring practices. Now, with so many folks out of work, discrimination against the unemployed is becoming an epidemic. Too many employers are making incorrect assumptions about many well-qualified job candidates based on reasons that are supposed to be against the law. I've seen this happen from all angles in recent years, and I have heard well-intentioned human resource people agonizing over not being able to pursue good job candidates because of pressures from above to steer the search to a certain demographic. And most of the time, those faulty assumptions and shadowy pressures lead to bad personnel decisions that directly impact the quality and quantity of work produced, not to mention the morale of existing employees who might start getting a few gray hairs.


Hiring the best person for the job, regardless of age, race, gender or anything else, still makes the most sense to me and should be the mantra of anyone involved in hiring and staff development.


Baby boomers are a resilient and resourceful group, and would much prefer to work than to collect unemployment or to pitch a tent at an "Occupy" demonstration. But if boomers aren't given a fair chance to hold or compete for jobs (the data indicates folks over 55 are being shut out in the job market at a rate twice as high as younger people), they do seem more willing than ever to fight for their workplace rights in a court of law. And they do appear to be winning those cases.

• Read about some baby boomers opting to leave the U.S.

Good words in gloomy times

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is made of anger, envy, sorrow, regret, self-pity, guilt and resentment. The other is made of hope, peace, love, serenity, empathy, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a while and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

Iron men of metal are back

Black Sabbath, the defining heavy metal band from about 150 years ago, is back. These are the original four members. Amazingly, they are all still alive, which is good because I hate it when some oldies rock band does a reunion tour but only has one or two original members left. Why should I pay good money to go listen to what is essentially a cover band or an Ozzy Osbourne impersonator? Yes, I am referring to you Journey, Chicago, Grand Funk Railroad and Jefferson Starship, not to mention countless others who have done reunions with a fraction of the real band members on stage.


I am glad the Sabbath guys decided, after three decades, to crank it up one more time, but I won't go see them perform. Call me "paranoid," but I fear there will be one too many Spinal Tap moments in their shows, and I already have enough of those in my day-to-day life.


I am not sure metal lends itself to senior citizen reunions. Will anyone want to see 70-year-old Metallica members in leather screaming about things that, well, really aren't relevant anymore or are just pathetically redundant? I am still cool with ZZ Top rolling out in white beards (now age appropriate) and playing some great blues=based rock, but I am not as comfortable with the idea of Judas Priest telling me that I "have another thing coming." Heck, at this stage of life, those lyrics are just a form of kicking baby boomers when they're down.


I won't deny any band's right to wheel out the Marshall amplifiers and have some fun in their senior years. There is nothing like playing in front of a live audience at any age, and Sabbath still has a pretty loyal following and, I presume, the chops to pull it off. But please, Ozzy, no biting off the heads of birds or any other critter. Don't even pretend to do it. This isn't 1970. PETA will be all over your case, and I'll just cringe from embarrassment and have to explain myself (and my generation) to people half my age. Just play your music, enjoy the energy from the crowds and don't trash any hotel rooms.

Sobering election results in Va.

Virginia is a strange state. Folks here in the commonwealth elected one of the first black governors (Douglas Wilder) years ago, when it wasn't a popular thing to do elsewhere. It also elected Tea Party darling, Eric Cantor. It has a bunch of famous, intellectual presidents buried in its red-clay soil. Many universities are named after them and other home-grown leaders. Virginia is also the home of some of the least progressive thinkers in U.S. history. It has a warm-and-fuzzy, long-lasting marketing slogan to help boost tourism. And, until recently, it allowed people to smoke in restaurants. You can still carry a gun almost anywhere in the state, and also get one of the best educations available in the world.


Voters are fickle here, too. There seems to be no logic to how or when they vote, or what values they support from year to year. It's a big state with demographics that vary wildly. It's often unpredictable in its politics and legislation. It's local economies are uneven.


Loudoun County, in an area of Northern Virginia that traditionally leans left, now has an entirely Republican Board of Supervisors and a new Republican sheriff. And with the results of one election still pending, Richmond is on the verge of being ruled entirely by Republicans.

Yesterday's election results are disheartening to me, an on-and-off resident of Virginia for over 20 years. I want the state to be more progressive, or at least politically and socially balanced. I am embarrassed by the tobacco industry ruling Richmond for decades. Yet, I admire much of the history and beauty that can be seen throughout the state. It's a great thing to be able to go to a University of Virginia football game in Charlottesville and realize you're on the campus that Thomas Jefferson founded. Head over to Colonial Williamsburg or Yorktown in the Tidewater region and you will likely experience something uniquely Virginian.


But there are no more Jeffersons left in Virginia, only smaller and smaller minds encased in the skulls of leaders who want to make this a state where everyone only looks out for themselves. Our state and local leaders now speak to the wealthy and prey on the emotions of the uninformed. They don't warn of the dangers of greedy corporations, as Jefferson did. They romance big business and call for oil rigs to be constructed off of Virginia Beach. Virginia isn't for lovers anymore. It's for BP, factory farming and big-time lobbyists.


While some of the national results from Election Day are modestly encouraging, I am not feeling so good  about Virginia. It's beginning to feel like a part of the country that is buying into all the Tea Party garbage and "Obama's a socialist" crap. Even Northern Virginia seems to be turning as red as the soil in the southern part of the state, which for an area as diverse as this, is quite alarming.


Over two-thirds of the registered voters did not vote yesterday. If that happens again in 2012, Obama will lose Virginia and empower conservatives in Richmond even more. It probably won't be long before Virginians are smoking up a storm in restaurants again, as the "Don't Tread on Me" slogan replaces the "Virginia is for Lovers" motto.

• GOP declares victory in Virginia Senate

Voters scarce in my town

I voted at around 3 p.m. today in Loudoun County, Va. I had my choice of voting machines. All were vacant at the middle school polling place.


While this was an "off year" in Virginia, there were at least two state races of some significance in my district. For anyone concerned that the commonwealth could turn red in all branches of government, this was not an election to sit out. This was also a good opportunity to send a message to politicians in Richmond and Washington that we don't want to wait until November of 2012 for change. A big turnout in an off year would have helped to deliver that message.


Instead, it appears most people chose not to vote. I will know more tomorrow on the actual voter turnout, but on a spectacularly beautiful Election Day just outside of D.C., I expected to see a few more folks at the voting machines.


I am not judging anyone who didn't vote. Not everyone feels the pain of what has transpired in the last three years the way I and others have. Many people, especially in affluent Northern Virginia, are comfortably numb to most societal problems and therefore don't have my motivation to vote. However, as I grow older I realize that we only have two weapons against injustice -- public demonstrations (like the Occupy movement) and voting. Surrendering either of those options at a critical time in our history, when we are in such decline, seems dangerous.


On the other hand, many people vote based on little more than bumper sticker slogans, outdated stereotypes or self interests, and Fox News soundbites, so maybe low voter turnout isn't all bad.


Click here for more on Loudoun County voter turnout.

"Years to come" a death sentence

The main story headline on The Washington Post home page tonight wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes, but it wasn't a surprise either.


Any longtime unemployed or underemployed person could have told you that the job market shows practically no signs of improving. It's been that way for three years and the unemployed don't need data or comments from the Fed to prove it.


Trying to convince anyone who hasn't directly felt the hardships of unemployment that good jobs are scarce to non-existent is like beating your head against the wall. It's useless and causes severe headaches.


There is a large percentage of people who still don't know why protesters are occupying various cities or why they are angry at Wall Street and Washington. Those sitting in judgment of the occupiers look at the help wanted ads and see plenty of jobs. Just today I heard someone making fun of the demonstrators, saying they should all go get jobs and give the public parks back to the homeless.


It's maddening to hear comments like that from people who haven't missed a beat in their careers through this recession, which for many folks has been more of a severe depression. It's disheartening when I hear these things from people who I know aren't bad or heartless souls. For some reason, they just cling to the old stereotypes about the unemployed. They tend to place the blame where it doesn't belong and grossly underestimate how bad the unemployment situation is for every from white-collar professionals to blue-collar tradesmen. I am sure there must be some psychological explanation for this misinformed, careless attitude in otherwise decent, thoughtful folks. Maybe they have a deep fear of losing their jobs. So to feel more in control of their fates, they place the blame on the unemployed rather than the system that could claim anyone's job on any given day or prevent people from re-entering the workforce. They think that if they just continue to do a good job that everything will work out. Well, that's simply not true anymore.


For guys and gals like me, in my age group and predicament, the Post headline is particularly sobering. The phrase "years to come" is like a death sentence. Years to come puts me in my 60s or pretty damn close to it. How many people do you know who have been hired in their 60s lately, let alone started new careers? One can still be a valuable resource to any employer in their 60s, but try convincing the folks in hiring positions of that fact.


I have read many times that if you got laid off in your 50s during this recession, you may never work again, at least not in a regular, career-oriented job. You might be able to patch together a part-time position here and there, get a contract or consulting gig or two, and get by until Social Security kicks in. In the meantime, you may lose your house and have to give up your health insurance. Pleasantries like vacations are a thing of the past. And once you turn retirement age, what at you going to retire on? Those freelance and part-time paychecks without benefits don't last. They are merely week-to-week or month-to-month funds to survive on. They aren't an ideal option in trying to rebuild nest eggs. Social Security alone won't pay for a used mobile home in swamp, let alone medical bills or other expenses. And if the Republicans get their way, Social Security won't even exist in 10 years.


"Years to come" isn't what I want to hear from the Fed concerning the future of the unemployment epidemic that already feels like an eternity. That phrase tells me that worse days are ahead and that the golden years are going to be a tragic time for millions of Americans. That phrase makes it hard to enjoy the present, too, which in itself is tragic. Maybe it's just time to turn off the news.

Good music, good cause

Click here to go to Neil Young store.