Sunday Morning Coming Down

I'm unsure of the impact the sequester will have on me personally.  My immediate direct contact with the federal government is much more limited than it once was. In the past it was much, much, much more important.  I lived through a sequester in 2004 when the Welfare to Work Program from which I was paid was defunded and unspent funds were recaptured by government.  It was originally part of welfare reform legislation.  Locally funds were used to provide part time employment to welfare recipients that were no longer eligible to receive "cash" because of time limits in the existing welfare reform legislation.  Customers were limited to receiving cash benefits for a maximum of 60 months during their lifetime. The part time employment was with local, state, and non profit agencies.  Participation in the program also meant that subsidized child care and food stamps were available. I was the program administrator of this project and it was an ...

I'm a little bit amused by the government (the Postal Service) trying to get its money back from Lance Armstrong for sponsoring the team of riders in the Tour de France. At the time I thought it was an odd use of public funds but at least they were trying something different and who knows what kind of advertising works and I thought promoting an American team was ok. I have heard there were clauses in the contract regarding complying with rules related to being drug free and not using performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong's record in the biggest bike race of them all was amazing, as was his ability to hide the use of the drugs that helped him win titles, make a ton of money, promote a good charity, and have access to celebrities that further promoted the life style he had taken up. The simplest argument regarding this behavior and why he should be taken down is one of fairness.  What about the others that ran clean?  Were they ever really in the race? Regarding...

Only in Florida would a public university take money from a private company that manages correctional facilities.  I'm sure they take comfort from the fact that the CEO of the GEO Company is an FAU alumni and the deal is worth a reported five million dollars. The GEO Company is a child of the Wackenhunt Security Company.  As with many governmental agencies or governmental agencies that now contract with the private sector to provide public services a review of postings shows that the company has paid many fines and has been sued for the services it has or has not provided. Private companies that run public facilities are not restricted from donating to political campaigns.  What political figure would not like to increase the number of names in the roladex when asking for contributions.  Public employees vote also and I'm sure their contributions also contribute to free political speech which isn't very free any more. The irony of it all!  The list of sp...

Miami has 46 times the national average of tax refund cases and the amount of money involved in the cases is about 70 times the national average. According to Wifredo Ferrer, U.S.Attorney "we always tend to lead the country when it comes to fraud". Medicare fraud cases are also very common and only the largest cases that get prosecuted are reported on in the newspapers. Most of the cases are in Miami and the Tampa area.  While these cases have spread throughout the country we seem to be a business incubator for this kind behavior.  I guess some people have taken it to heart that the rules really are different down here.

A chilly day in South Florida greeted a big crowd at horse racing's most beautiful venue.  Four stakes races for quarter horses from 300 to 1000 yards and the highlight for many was the South Florida Quarter Horse Derby. The Derby matched the 10 fastest qualifiers from races on January 26, 2013 and the winner in a big upset was Habits Secret who lit up the board paying $28.40 for a deuce.  The Sailfish "Marathon" went to Classy Cora.  $24.80 was the reward for her backers in the win pool.  Mr. Commando won the Invitational and he was the biggest long shot of the day paying $48 and change for dos pesos. I was not alone in finding the winner in the stakes races today,  But I saved my best for last and cashed the last superfecta of the 2012-13 meet.  A small profit for the day, after beer, program and a hot dog. The crowd which was a little over 5,000 showed up in their winter finest as the temperature barely got to 60 degrees.  Next year the "New H...

The Quarters running 1000 yards at Hialeah Park on closing day.  This will be an interesting race because there are not too many quarter horses running this far.  Sort of like a marathon and almost all of the horses in the race have not run around a turn at Hialeah this year. And they are giving a vintage red 1957 Chevy to some lucky fan.  You have to be in attendance to win and I wonder how many names will be called before they find some one who put their name in the drum and is at the track on Sunday.  I would bet more than a couple of names will be called before a winner is found. Saturday was a  big improvement over Friday on a number of fronts.  I cashed some relatively meaningful tickets, ate some good food, got promoted to equipment manager for one of Weidner's horses, drank a couple of cervezas bien fria and got home at a reasonable hour. I'm going to miss Hialeah Park as it gets ready to be a racino. The next season can't come soon eno...

Got up early, but not way to early for a trip to Hialeah Park to see "Zippy" under tack and out for a jog.  The Quarter Horse meet at Hialeah is done this weekend and many outfits without runners this weekend have moved on to Oklahoma or Louisiana.  It was a quiet morning except for the construction noise related to a casino facility that will occupy most of the old grandstand area of the track. Zippy was quiet and very well behaved upon arrival at the track.  The tunnel under the grandstand was no problem and the flamingos were quiet.  The clocker could have had the day off because she had nobody to clock and  the race track chaplain was busy speaking the improvements at the Citation Pond and a baptism on Sunday morning.  This is also where jockeys that break their maidens also go for a bath. A couple of stray trainers went out to the finish line to say hello and get a quick look as their horses came off the track and were on their way back to the...