Category Archives: Politics

Pat Robertson is Dead

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Warning: A large dose of sarcasm is being dispensed.

American media mogul, founder of Regent University and Southern Baptist Preacher-man Pat Robertson has fallen over dead. He was constantly yammering on television and leveraging his Christian nationalist views on conservative US politics to the point where disasters like 9/11 were blamed on spiritual revenge. Yes, big guy upstairs, you know, the one who set the galaxies spinning and knows our every impure thought, is upset with many of us because of our woke political views. The GOP loves the hellfire and brimstone stuff. It naturally attracts a certain caste of voters (MAGA people) who eagerly line up to see God-fearin’ preachers and Republican officials openin’ up a can of whoop-ass on the libs. These are the voters who Republican candidates lust after. Robertson’s apocalyptic theology depended on this.

Are such people retrievable from their trip down the rabbit hole of petty magical mystical thinking? It doesn’t appear so.

A Linguist Talks About “Woke”

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Columbia University associate professor of linguistics in the Slavic Department John McWhorter was interviewed August 18, 2021, about the evolution of the word “woke.” It is found on a substack podcast called “Banished” by Amna Khalid with a written transcript. Below is a short reply by McWhorter on the history of “woke.”

JOHN McWHORTER: Well, woke actually goes back further than many people would think. It’s actually first documented in the early 60s and it was a Black slang. What it meant was politically aware of certain realities that operate largely below the surface, but have a determinative effect on, for example, the Black American condition. And so you might think, if you were you or me, that woke is about 10 years old. But actually people were saying it on the Black street long before that. It did not leave the Black street. Then, in roughly the 2000-teens, it jumped the rails and started being used by a certain kind of politically aware white person on the left. And what it meant at first in the general culture was somebody who understands certain basic leftist analysises [sic] of the world. What it really was, was a substitute for a term that had worn out. It replaced politically correct, which, if you’re just old enough now, you can remember was used without irony back in the late 70s and early 80s. And what it meant was that you have a basic understanding of liberal/leftist realities. Then it became PC. PCstarted being used as a slur to ridicule the kind of person who used that kind of ideology as a bludgeon in a smug kind of way. And so you couldn’t say politically correct without making somebody laugh by, say, 2010. 

Source: https://banished.substack.com/p/banished-the-evolution-of-woke#details

Before there was woke, there was “politically correct,” or PC, which was a pejorative used to disparage the liberal’s idea of social equality. PC was used as an occasion to flash sarcastic air quotes to telegraph the senders disdain for liberals. Right wingers love to suggest that liberals are candy-ass in their views. Turns out that liberals value kindness more than some which may actually be candy-assed now and then. But what of it?

“Make America Florida” WTF??

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All around universal genius and gazillionaire Elon Musk will be engaging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a conversation that will include DeSantis’ announcement of his bid for the US presidency. The DeSantis krewe is obviously trying to distance themselves from #45, but not so much that they can’t poach his voters. They’re embracing capitalist folk hero and boy wonder Elon Musk’s endorsement in hopes of snagging MAGA voters who have grown weary of #45.

The DeSantis campaign has dreamed up the slogan “Make America Florida.” I’m incredulous at hearing this. Outside of Florida, “Florida Man” is a common reference to someone who is maniacal, irrational, delusional or insane. This is because, extrapolating from the news, Florida has an overabundance of them. More likely, there is more reporting of police notes than other places. Is it slander? Of course! It’s American humor unlikely to amuse outside of the US.

Credit: I don’t know, somewhere in the interwebs.

What remains to be seen is whether or not “Make America Florida” will catch on outside of the state. Especially in northern states outside of the old Confederacy. Some think that there is still a north/south divide in the US by some measures. I’ll leave that for others to expound on.

Applying DeSantis’ penchant for belligerent and punitive state politics, his presidency would surely be a setback for US democracy and a step forward for autocracy along the path the GOP is heading for. The GOP model of the US is not a place I’d care to live.

Stochastic Terrorism

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<begin rant>

Ran into a new term today- stochastic terrorism. According to Wiktionary–

Noun, (neologism, sociology, social media) The use of mass public communication, usually against a particular individual or group, which

  1. incites or inspires acts of terrorism which are statistically probable but happen seemingly at random
  2. perpetuates fear through coverage of seemingly random acts of terrorism

The word stochastic refers to being randomly determined–

I like words and this is a term that has a certain interesting tenor to it. I found it in this link. The author quoted Keith Olbermann –

“Donald Trump is a stochastic terrorist. He used stochastic terrorism to get somebody to attack the FBI after the Mar-a-Lago search and within days a man breached a local FBI headquarters to try to kill FBI agents. He used stochastic terrorism to get others to commit the insurrection of January 6. He used stochastic terrorism to inspire somebody to attack Democrats in 2018 and Cesar Sayoc sent out 12 liberals and he had a second list in his computer and I know because I was on it.“

“Trump is not just committing stochastic terrorism, he knows he is doing it, because it has worked for him, so well, and so often.“

The pristine definition of stochastic assumes truly random elements. The crowd responsive to #45 are self-selected and already aligned with him and sympathetic to his machinations, so any incitement is from a presorted set of people. #45’s casting about for someone in the crowd to take compelling action is obviously what he wants. It leads to media buzz focused on him. Stochastic Terrorism has a certain flourish that the word incitement lacks.

Understating #45’s words in milquetoast vocabulary like incitement is perhaps too feeble to capture our attention.

Keith Olbermann is a vocal far-left liberal by GOP measures. But maybe that’s because he pushes back openly and vigorously against conservatives. He may exaggerate a bit but conservatives are not strangers to exaggeration either.

<end rant>

Russia Spies on North Sea Infrastructure

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Reuters has reported that Russian ships have been observed in the area of North Sea energy resources of The Netherlands. MIVD head General Jan Swillens stated that “Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function. They are very interested in how they could sabotage the energy infrastructure.”

The Reuters article went on to say “Dutch intelligence agencies MIVD and AIVD, in a joint report published on Monday, said critical offshore infrastructure such as internet cables, gas pipes and windmill farms had become the target of Russian sabotage activities.”

Norway is in a state of heightened alert because of recent appearances of unidentified drones buzzing over North Sea oil platforms, airfields and other sensitive sites. Norway has replaced Russia as a major supplier of natural gas. Norwegians believe that espionage, sabotage and false messaging are a means of intimidation. Though not a member of the EU, Norway mirrors the EU in many ways.

According to AP, seven Russian citizens have been arrested recently for flying drones or taking photographs of sensitive areas. In Norway it is illegal for Russian citizens or companies to takeoff, fly over or land on Norwegian Territory.

The clear intent of Russia Putin is to map out North Sea infrastructure for purposes of sabotage. Doing it in the open gives them the added benefit of intimidation. The UK and EU have considerable dependence on oil and gas from the North Sea. Plenty of communication cables lie there as well. Obviously, interruption of these resources will cause great economic and political disruption in affected countries. It is hard to believe, however, that Russia doesn’t already have data on the North Sea infrastructure.

Russia is sending a message that they consider North Sea Infrastructure a critical target for attack at some point. They know that winning a war is about removing your opponent’s will to fight. Collapsing your opponent’s economy and industrial base by shutting down the flow of energy is probably most likely very early in hostilities with the West. This should be nothing new to Western war planners. But to politicians and business leaders it might be a wakeup call.

Putin’s criminal invasion of Ukraine has given the West motivation to assess its defensive resources and move to beef them up. Putin has also given the West a picture of how the future world order could look. The West has ignored or underestimated the threat that Russia poses at its own peril. We’ve already begun Cold War II.

Putin’s Russia excels at brinksmanship and psychological operations. The Putin/Ukraine war is stalled for the Russian land forces at present, but he still has assets for conventional air and sea operations. Building on his lies that the “western Nazi’s” pose an existential threat to Russia, he can deflect attention elsewhere at least for internal consumption.

It is my sense that Putin and others like the NPRK would like nothing more than to be sure the continental US takes battle damage in the next big war. Just like our nuclear submarines, Russia’s large fleet of nuclear submarines can navigate around the world quietly in stealth. They can park off the US coasts and deliver whatever they want.

The West must absolutely stand firm on resisting Putin’s threats and holding back the conquest of his neighbors. I believe that Putin will remain a serious threat to the West as long as he is alive. His crimes are so extensive now that he can never safely retire from office and live in a dacha somewhere. It seems doubtful that his successor will be much different.

An open question is, why would Russia think that the West would preemptively attack them? Because we yearn for their vast stretches of taiga? Maybe they fear for their hydrocarbon reserves? Let ’em have their oil and gas. It is theirs. An attack on the Russian homeland would go nuclear early in a conflict. There is no future for anyone in nuclear war. Once that genie gets out of the bottle, there is no stuffing him back in like we did post-WWII. Like anyone else, the Russian people are nice folks. Except for their government. Rancid leadership is something their people will have to overcome.

China Swoops In As Peacemaker

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The Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Russia to meet with Putin. Ostensibly, this is part of a Chinese effort to lend support to Putin and urge a peaceful settlement with Ukraine. Putin and his propaganda machine have painted themselves into a corner with his dirty little war. Putin either needs to make some decisive victories or find an “honorable” off-ramp to declare victory.

Here is the obligatory quote from the Art of War by Sun Tzu: “When you surround an army, leave an outlet free”. In this case, Putin should be allowed to retreat to save face and lives. The Soviets got bogged down in Afghanistan and eventually left, but only after 10 difficult years. It is hard to imagine Putin backing out after only a year or two in Ukraine. To be fair, Putin has offered to withdraw his troops if certain conditions are met. Zelenski has declined Putin’s offer of what amounts to a sh*t sandwich.

The combination of the Russian military’s well documented and poor performance, Putin’s strategic blunder and subsequent economic hardships brought upon Russia would be difficult, but not impossible, to cover up. And, it contrasts strongly with his caricature as a hyper-masculine tough guy. However, the Russian propaganda machine is talented, well-oiled and enthusiastic.

China is obviously seeking to replace US hegemony with their own hegemony across the world. China has been grooming Africa using economic and infrastructure aid. This provides access to minerals and sites to occupy in a conflict. China is able to plan over the long term and a role as peacemaker in the Putin-Ukraine war can only help the cause of international influence. Contrast that with our (the US) role as international policeman. We’ve left a good deal of devastation around the world since WWII in the name of freedom, but we’ve done much good as well. Unfortunately, bad news seems to have a longer shelf life than good.

For China, part of the calculation in determining Russian military aid is the economic effect of entering into a proxy war against one of its main customers, the US. Supplying arms to Russia will be noticed rapidly on the battlefield. This could have an escalating effect on the level of aid supplied by the NATO states. I suspect that China already sees itself in an existential struggle with the US so maybe the decision to supply military aid will be easier. Military aid could be in the form of munitions, armored vehicles, guns of all sorts or just aid in intelligence gathering.

The shooting wars in Korea and Viet Nam as well as the NATO/USSR Cold War were waged by the US side because of something known as the “Domino Theory“. In short, western nations observed expansionism by the two principle communist states- the USSR and China. This expansionism was in the form of client states adopting communist governance shaped like China or the USSR. Western distrust of the USSR after WWII festered into serious paranoia within the US, giving way to a policy of intervention to prevent the expansion of the communist sphere.

All of this coincided with the development of efficient nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles like land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long-range bombers- our Nuclear Triad. Both Russia and China have their nuclear triads. It turns out that inventing a nuclear weapon was much more difficult and expensive than reverse engineering them. Also, the abundance of uranium deposits around the world is greater than many considered.

Either China sees Russia as a like-minded strategic partner or it is worried about what it might become if Putin is overthrown. Maybe both.

Attacking Russia. WTF?

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I’m about to say some things that may seem (or are) hopelessly naive. But sometimes we should stop and reexamine our basic assumptions.

So, I have to ask the question. Why would anyone in their right mind contemplate an unprovoked attack on Russia? The present-day Russian and former Soviet leadership has always made a show of holding back what they call “western aggression”. They justify their military buildup by claiming that NATO is an immediate and existential threat to their security. But seriously, who the hell would want to control Russia? They fear the push back on their own behavior which is to threaten the west. It would be a total disaster for everyone.

Yes, NATO is a threat insofar as they hold the line against Russian expansionism. Should states succumb to Russian control just because the leadership of Russia says so? Obviously not. Russian control seems to come with the loss of freedoms, stultified economic progress and political oppression. Putin’s war was initially justified, at least by what is available in the western press, as a strike on incipient Nazism in Ukraine which Putin declared as a direct threat to the security of the Russian state.

Everyone outside of Russia realizes that this is a bald-faced lie cynically devised to justify Putin’s dream of empire.

For arguments sake let’s say NATO attacks Russia for whatever reason and let’s say NATO wins. What have they won? A giant collapsed country full of permafrost and mosquitos populated with angry citizens living in economic collapse. The US and coalition forces couldn’t even control Afghanistan with its population of neolithic religious maniacs and their opium poppy fields. And we left the poppy fields intact too!!What chance would there be for western forces controlling a defeated Russia? It would be like the dog who caught the car. What next?

The same question applies to Putin. If he conquers and occupies Ukraine and then the other former Warsaw Pact countries, what will he have gained? Apparently, Putin guessed that they would roll over and comply. That was the state of affairs during the days of the Soviet Union. The USSR had a powerful and penetrating police apparatus with a network of remote prison labor camps and little presumption of innocence.

Unfortunately for Putin, Ukraine didn’t just roll over and concede. They are fighting back against certain authoritarian control and loss of their Ukrainian heritage. In doing so, it is revealed to the world that Putin’s conventional military is a paper tiger. Military planners the world over are taking notes on the modern conduct of war. Resources that might have modernized the Russian military have been funneled elsewhere for a long time.

Russia’s nuclear forces, however, are something to worry about. However, Putin and his cronies know about Mutual Assured Destruction. This principle has prevented nuclear war since Russia got the bomb. Putin knows that if he releases nuclear war shots, the resulting nuclear exchange will not only devastate all participants, but will bounce the rubble a few times as well. Even if land-based missiles are destroyed, the respective submarine fleets can continue to unleash nuclear hellfire at leisure. The meaning of victory becomes very hazy here.

As always, the Russian model of conquest seems to impose brutal authoritarian control to suppress opposition. Not because there is something wrong with the Russian people. But Russian leadership has been so oppressive for so long that there is no institutional template for alternative leadership.

This is very simplistic, but does Russia know that nobody wants control of their country? Imagine the folly of it. Since the days of Stalin they have worked themselves into a lather about the west. The cold war was a game of weapon/countermeasure cycles that has quietly developed into Cold War II. It is all so unnecessary.

I think it is fair to say that everyone wants a peaceful Russia that can participate in world trade, tourism, science and cultural affairs. A reclusive and paranoid Russia that is angrily stamping its feet and issuing threats to its neighbors is a Russia that will remain unhappy and dangerous. Decent people and rich culture are abundant in Russia. Their leadership doesn’t let that shine through.

Yes, we understand that Russia was viciously invaded by the Nazis some years back but they prevailed. At some point everyone has to look to a prosperous future. Yes Russia, this includes you. There is no similar threat to Russia in the world today. Just because the west responds to Russian provocations doesn’t mean that there is an intent to attack. Just because the economic engines of the west outperform them at present doesn’t imply imminent attack either.

I would love to visit Russia as a tourist. Russian hospitality is first rate and the countryside is beautiful. Many people around the world would love to visit. But until the people can break free of oppressive leadership, it will remain a hermit kingdom in the manner of NPRK.

Interview of Timothy Snyder on the Putin-Ukraine War

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An interview with the historian Timothy Snyder has appeared in the March 9th, 2023, internet issue of Der Spiegel International. The interview was conducted By Ann-Dorit Boy und Eva-Maria Schnurr. Snyder has very strong Euorpean history credentials with a Ph.D. in History from the University of Oxford. He is presently the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

Photo from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_D._Snyder

The interview starts with an important question for Germany-

“As Germans accept the debate on Putin’s terms, they can miss the obvious point: If we care about the comparison, we have to note right away that it is Putin’s Russia that is behaving more like Germany in 1941: Moscow, like Berlin then, claims that a neighboring people and state do not exist; Moscow, like Berlin then, is fighting a war of aggression; Moscow, like Berlin then, is carrying out eugenic, deportation, and mass killing policies. If Russia is behaving as the Germans did in 1941, then the Germans now have a second chance to respond to fascism. Will they take that second chance?“

Snyder makes the point that German reticence to aid Ukraine in the war is what Putin wants.

“In Russia, his [Putin’s] intention is to build a cult of innocence: No matter what we do, it must be justified, because we are always the righteous victim. Of course, this contradicts the actual history of the Second World War, in which Stalin chose to ally with Hitler, and in which Ukrainians actually suffered more than Russians, by any measure. Putin is also seeking to exploit the historical memory of Germans. He wants to trigger the German reflex that Russians must be victims and Germans must be aggressors.“

I will end here because the article needs no explanation from me. It’s worth the read.

Flaxen Klaxon is the New Speaker Pro Tempore

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This is revolting. A truly sad day for America. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has appointed Marjory Taylor Greene (MTG) as the new Speaker Pro Tempore. In this position, MTG will stand in for Speaker McCarthy when he is absent.

We have to conclude that this is the best our democratic republic can muster at this time. Of all of the capable people in the land, MTG is elevated into the spot. This venomous imbecile. I’m out of words.

Florida Clicks Another Notch Towards Authoritarianism

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State Senator Brodeur of the Republic of DeSantistan has introduced a bill that, among other things, proposes requirements on compensated bloggers. How are compensated bloggers different from professional journalists? Not being a constitutional scholar, it escapes me how this doesn’t violate the first amendment. You remember that one, it is just next to the 2nd amendment.

160 (2) If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state
161 officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that
162 post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as
163 identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first
164 post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.

Bloggers receiving compensation for their posts about elected state officers must register with the state and submnit a report-

181 (d) The reports must include all of the following:
182 1. The individual or entity that compensated the blogger
183 for the blog post.
184 2. The amount of compensation received from the individual
185 or entity, regardless of how the compensation was structured.

============================

Below is the text of the bill. The bill reads-

Florida Senate – 2023 SB 1316
By Senator Brodeur
10-00366B-23 20231316__
Page 1 of 9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
1 A bill to be entitled

2 An act relating to information dissemination; amending
3 s. 45.031, F.S.; deleting a provision requiring a
4 judicial notice of sale to be published for a
5 specified timeframe on a publicly accessible website;
6 amending s. 50.0311, F.S.; specifying that a
7 governmental agency may use the public website of a
8 county to publish legally required advertisements and
9 public notices if the cost for such publication is not
10 paid by or recovered from a person; creating s.
11 286.31, F.S.; defining terms; requiring bloggers to
12 register with the Office of Legislative Services or
13 the Commission on Ethics, as applicable, within a
14 specified timeframe; requiring such bloggers to file
15 monthly reports with the appropriate office by a
16 certain date; providing an exception; specifying
17 reporting requirements; authorizing a magistrate to
18 enter a final order determining the reasonableness of
19 circumstances for an untimely filing or a fine amount;
20 requiring that the Legislature and the Commission on
21 Ethics adopt a specified rule; providing penalties for
22 late filing; prohibiting the assessment of a fine for
23 the first time a report is not timely filed, under
24 specified conditions; authorizing bloggers to appeal a
25 fine within a specified timeframe; specifying the
26 appeal process; authorizing bloggers to request that
27 the appropriate office waive the reporting requirement
28 under specified conditions; providing that unpaid
29 fines for a specified timeframe may be recovered

30 through the courts of this state; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

35 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 45.031, Florida
36 Statutes, is amended to read

<<< Some code relating to government access to publicly available websites is omitted for clarityt. >>>

286.31 Blogger registration and reporting.—
139 (1) As used in this section, the term:
140 (a) “Blog” means a website or webpage that hosts any
141 blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or
142 business content. The term does not include the website of a
143 newspaper or other similar publication.
144 (b) “Blogger” means any person as defined in s. 1.01(3)
145 that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently

146 published.
147 (c) “Blog post” is an individual webpage on a blog which
148 contains an article, a story, or a series of stories.
149 (d) “Compensation” includes anything of value provided to a
150 blogger in exchange for a blog post or series of blog posts. If
151 not provided in currency, it must be the fair-market value of
152 the item or service exchanged.
153 (e) “Elected state officer” means the Governor, the
154 Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the
155 Legislature.
156 (f) “Office” means, in the context of a blog post about a
157 member of the Legislature, the Office of Legislative Services
158 or, in the context of a blog post about a member of the
159 executive branch, the Commission on Ethics, as applicable.
160 (2) If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state
161 officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that
162 post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as
163 identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first
164 post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.
165 (3)(a) Upon registering with the appropriate office, a
166 blogger must file monthly reports on the 10th day following the
167 end of each calendar month from the time a blog post is added to
168 the blog, except that, if the 10th day following the end of a
169 calendar month occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,
170 the report must be filed on the next day that is not a Saturday,
171 Sunday, or legal holiday.
172 (b) If the blogger does not have a blog post on a blog
173 during a given month, the monthly report for that month does not
174 need to be filed

175 (c) The blogger must file reports with the appropriate
176 office using the electronic filing system:
177 1. As provided in s. 11.0455 if the blog post concerns an
178 elected member of the Legislature; or
179 2. As provided in s. 112.32155 if the blog post concerns an
180 officer of the executive branch.
181 (d) The reports must include all of the following:
182 1. The individual or entity that compensated the blogger
183 for the blog post.
184 2. The amount of compensation received from the individual
185 or entity, regardless of how the compensation was structured.
186 a. The amount must be rounded to the nearest $10 increment.
187 b. If the compensation is for a series of blog posts or for
188 a defined period of time, the blogger must disclose the total
189 amount to be received upon the first blog post being published.
190 Thereafter, the blogger must disclose the date or dates
191 additional compensation is received, if any, for the series of
192 blog posts.
193 3. The date the blog post was published. If the blog post
194 is part of a series, the date each blog post is published must
195 be included in the applicable report.
196 4. The website and website address where the blog post can
197 be found.
198 (4) Notwithstanding any other law, a magistrate is
199 authorized to enter a final order in determination of the
200 reasonableness of circumstances for an untimely filing of a
201 required report and the amount of a fine, if any.
202 (5) Each house of the Legislature and the Commission on
203 Ethics shall adopt by rule, for application to bloggers, the

204 same procedure by which lobbyists are notified of the failure to
205 timely file a report and the amount of the assessed fines. The
206 rule must also provide for, but need not be limited to, the
207 following provisions:
208 (a) A fine of $25 per day per report for each day late, not
209 to exceed $2,500 per report.
210 (b) Upon receipt of an untimely filed report, the amount of
211 the fine must be based upon the earlier of the following:
212 1. The date and time that the untimely report is actually
213 received by the office.
214 2. The date and time on the electronic receipt issued
215 pursuant to s. 11.0455 or s. 112.32155.
216 (c) The fine must be paid within 30 days after the notice
217 of payment due is transmitted, unless an appeal is filed with
218 the office. The fine amount must be deposited into:
219 1. If the report in question relates to a post about a
220 member of the Legislature, the Legislative Lobbyist Registration
221 Trust Fund;
222 2. If the report in question relates to a post about a
223 member of the executive branch, the Executive Branch Lobby
224 Registration Trust Fund; or
225 3. If the report in question relates to a post about
226 members of both the Legislature and the executive branch, the
227 lobbyist registration trust funds identified in subparagraphs 1.
228 and 2., in equal amounts.
229 (d) A fine may not be assessed against a blogger the first
230 time a report for which the blogger is responsible is not timely
231 filed. However, to receive this one-time fine waiver, all
232 untimely filed reports for which the blogger remains responsible

233 for filing must be filed with the office within 30 days after
234 the notice of untimely filing was transmitted to the blogger. A
235 fine must be assessed for any subsequent late-filed reports.
236 (e) The blogger is entitled to appeal a fine, based upon
237 reasonable circumstances surrounding the failure to file by the
238 designated date, by making a written request to the office for a
239 hearing before the magistrate from the Second Judicial Circuit.
240 Any such request must be made within 30 days after the notice of
241 payment due is transmitted to the blogger. The office shall
242 transmit all such timely, written requests to the chief judge of
243 the Second Judicial Circuit along with the evidence the office
244 relied on in assessing the fine. The magistrate, after holding a
245 hearing, shall render a final order, upholding the fine or
246 waiving it in full or in part.
247 (f) A blogger may request that the filing of a report be
248 waived upon good cause shown based on reasonable circumstances.
249 The request must be filed with the office, which may grant or
250 deny the request.
251 (g) Fines that remain unpaid for a period in excess of 100
252 days after final determination are eligible for recovery through
253 the courts of this state.
254 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.