Blake Dowling, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Blake DowlingJanuary 20, 2018

The political world has been full of scandals over the years regarding spying and eavesdropping. President Richard Nixon certainly ranks at the top of the list. Our current President may or may not be taping calls and meetings. Lots of U.S. presidents have taped conversations. Opinions differ on the practice, good documentation versus flat out […]

Blake DowlingJanuary 13, 2018

Now that the 2018 Legislative Session is in full swing, lawmakers and lobbyists have taken over our great city. Last night, I bumped into a couple of lobbyists I know, who were hiding from the masses at Whole Foods. Which is genius. Whole Foods has it figured out, they have sports on by the deli, […]

Blake DowlingDecember 22, 2017

Our professional relationships — politics, sports, entertainment, and business — are all dominated by technology. Did you get my text? Did you get my email? Did you see my tweet? Personal relationships have taken a step backward because of technology. I am not saying that tech is not cool, however, there is nothing better than […]

Blake DowlingDecember 16, 2017

The last U.S. president made some changes to the internet and how it is regulated; the new president is now reverting to what the law was before that. Some people are protesting; some are celebrating. As one might say, a standard day in a democracy. So, based on this, maybe you are drawing your lines […]

Blake DowlingDecember 9, 2017

About three years ago, I first started writing about artificial intelligence and the various applications of such. And since then, there’s been much to write about: Starship robot delivery services (introduced to me by the team at Greenberg Traurig), Google (Waymo) self-driving cars, Watson from IBM diagnosing illnesses, various AI legal aids for lawyers, lobbyists […]

Blake DowlingDecember 2, 2017

former-tennessee-coach-lane-kiffin-used-kim-jong-un-to-torch-the-vols-bungled-head-coaching-search-Large.png

Have you ever lost an election, been fired or run out of an organization? Lane Kiffin has. Currently, Kiffin coaches the Florida Atlantic University football team. Before that, he had stopped at the Raiders, USC and (for today’s purposes) the University of Tennessee. I never met Lane, but I knew his ex-wife Layla in college. […]

Blake DowlingNovember 22, 2017

A local TV station just called to ask our take on the Uber breach. When they call, it’s a good cue to write something about the topic. It also means I must stop thinking about turkey, IPA and college football. Rivalry weekend is something to be cherished indeed. What went wrong? A company that has […]

Blake DowlingNovember 18, 2017

Chip Kelly to Florida as head coach; Jimbo Fischer pursued by Texas A&M. Kevin Spacey is a predator; UCLA Hoops players shoplift in China (way to go, guys, making America look great. (Isn’t there another U.S. athlete still in jail in China?) A mistrial for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, Roy Moore, etc. … crazy, sad, […]

Blake DowlingNovember 5, 2017

The last presidential election was unlike any in my lifetime. All predictions and polls wrong. FBI investigation right before Election Day. Crude language about women right before the election. A rogue candidate vs a political elitist. New revelations of social media ads bought by the Russians to influence voters. The experts got it wrong, the […]

Blake DowlingNovember 4, 2017

This year has been exceptionally brutal on the cybersecurity front, and ransomware in particular. You know it is terrible when Webster tosses the name in the book. According to the 2017 Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “ransomware” is malware requiring the victim to pay a ransom to access encrypted files. Also added were other random words that have […]

Blake Dowling
The Yankees organization is generous with Helene relief in Florida. Image via AP.

Blake Dowling: Who is listening?

Blake Dowling: Session, bitcoin and digital currency

Blake Dowling: A call for low(er) tech

Blake Dowling: Net neutrality

Blake Dowling: Knightscope, AI and security

Blake Dowling: Vols, Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher and all the social media #goodstuff

Blake Dowling: Uber troubles

Blake Dowling: Flying taxis for you and me!

Blake Dowling: Elections, psychometrics and social media’s dark side

Blake Dowling: The scourge of ransomware