Hillsborough County Jails

A former special-education teacher says Hillsborough jail deputies violently threw him to the floor of a cell, put a hood over his head while he was in a restraint chair, and intentionally obstructed the view of a surveillance camera before beating him........here

McCain Running Mate? Crist, If GOP Needs Florida?

Four days before the Republican primary election in Florida, when it became apparent to many that Sen. John McCain had a good chance of winning, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist climbed on board the senator's campaign for president.
This is the same Crist who could not find time to appear at a rally with President Bush in Florida's heavily Republican Panhandle near the eve of the 2006 midterm elections.......more

The Sons of Confederate Veterans

The citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America. The preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South's decision to fight the Second American Revolution........here
Other festive "Confederate Heritage"......plates

Florida Forever Successor

When state legislators convene a 60-day legislative session March 4, they will discuss creating and funding a successor to the Florida Forever program, one of the most successful state-funded land acquisition programs in the U.S......here

Cuba Signs Human Rights Treaties

Cuba Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Thursday the signing of two human rights treaties responds to a sovereign decision by the Cuban government, which has never acted under pressure.......more

Burmese Python From Everglades National Park

Burmese pythons, an invasive species now spreading across south Florida, could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States, according to new "climate match" maps developed by the U.S. Geological Survey......here

Florida Governor And The Green Iguana

The story goes that the Florida governor frequented the Green Iguana, a bar in Tampa, back in the early 1990s when he was just starting his political career. He was less careful back then, people say, and during his partying at the Green Iguana, he was openly gay........here

The Floridian Offers $5,000 Reward In Gay Attack

The owner of the popular restaurant where a gay man was verbally and physically assaulted in a possible hate crime has put up a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the attacker......here

Florida Considering Spaceflight Indemnification Bill

The Florida Legislature, following the lead of Virginia, is considering legislation to provide liability immunity for suborbital commercial vehicle operators. The legislation, HB 737, was introduced in the Florida House of Representatives in January by Rep. David Simmons, an Orlando-area Republican, and is currently working its way through various House committees. The legislation would make any “spaceflight entity” (any company or organization with an FAA launch, reentry, or spaceport license) “not liable for injury to or death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of spaceflight launch activities”.....more

Mayor Iorio’s Fitness Walk

Takes place on Saturday, March 8 at Al Lopez Park.
Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 7:30 a.m.
Participants receive a Walking with the Mayor T-shirt. Health and wellness organizations from throughout the city will be on hand with free health screenings and information on how to lead a more active and well lifestyle.

Litbrit Is Two

Exactly two years ago, I typed out the introductory post for my very first blog. Back then it was called The Last Duchess after a favorite Browning poem; later, I decided to use my online nickname, litbrit, which was simpler and far better known around Left Blogistan......more

Dean Says Democrat Party Of Diversity

The Democratic Party is committed to addressing the needs of the African American community and should take over in the upcoming presidential elections, said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in a speech last night in the Intercultural Center Auditorium in honor of Black History Month......here

The Blair Watch Project

Here

Jose Marti In Ybor City

Ybor Street Closure Feeds Culture Of Paranoia

The St. Pertersburg Times reported that Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee stood before City Council members holding a report from the Department of Homeland Security he said detailed all the dangers that could befall his operations center in Ybor City. Gee wouldn't tell them what it said, however........here

Andrea Gonzmart

Fifth-generation member of the Hernandez-Gonzmart family, which founded the Columbia Restaurant in 1905. Through the Ybor City Chamber, Gonzmart has organized various arts and food events that she hopes will turn around Ybor City's negative image. Last year, the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Gulf Coast Business Review recognized Gonzmart as a rising star for her restaurateuring, charity organizing and support for the arts.......more
The Columbia Restaurant

Did Global Voices Bloggers Cause Power Outage In Florida?

My colleague Georgia thinks it wasn’t our fault, but I find it just a little conspicuous that the power went out in all of Southern Florida the moment 10 Global Voices bloggers all plugged their laptops into power sockets in the Miami house we rented for the week......here

Global Voices

Dems Win Special Elections in Florida, New York

In the Florida House race, Democrat Tony Sasso defeated Republican Sean Campbell in a seat in parts of Brevard and Orange Counties that had been held by Rep. Bob Allen, who resigned last year after being convicted of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. It was the ninth special election picked up by Democrats in the House since the 2006 general election......more

Oceans are unhealthy, but don’t blame Florida.

A prestigious group of ocean experts today gave an A- to Florida
and other states because of their efforts to preserve coastal ecologies through legislation and regional compacts. The report by the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative praises Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change for ``showing strong leadership by moving to address the impacts of climate change on the state…’’......more

A FLORIDA LEGEND

As a young girl growing up in the South THE YEARLING was a must read in school. Its author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, won the Pulitizer prize in 1938 for the true story of her neighbors in backwoods Florida......here
Real Florida: Cross Creek revival

Florida’s Wildlife Viewing Growing

Florida’s rich and varied landscape and wildlife offer a wide array of opportunities for residents and tourists. While many Floridians enjoy wildlife viewing in their back yards or close to home, almost a quarter of a million tourists with wildlife watching plans travel to Florida each year, making Florida the No. 1 destination in the country for wildlife viewing......more

Florida Marriage Equality Fight Presses On

Last month, HRC partenered with Florida Red & Blue to hold a series of training sessions that mobilized volunteers to inform voters of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, already illegal in Florida, and eliminate all domestic partnerships. On primary day, HRC staffers and volunteers worked polling locations across the state getting voters to commit to voting against the amendment - with tremendous success........here

"Change Is Good" Tampa Attorney Ralph Fernandez

"We need to call a time out," says Fernandez, who stresses that an America stretched beyond its geopolitical, military and intelligence capacities needs to consider Cuba in a more realistic context. "The sign of an intelligent person is to change with changing times," he says. "We need to revisit everything. Put it all on the table. The embargo. Helms-Burton Act. Asylum claims. 'Wet foot-dry foot' affects our moral position. We want to build fences and kick out people. Then we have people Cubans coming over without any connections to political persecution. It makes us look awful to Mexicans."

And hypocritically ironic. Fernandez cites Saudi Arabia.
"What do we have in common with our ally, the Saudis?" he asks rhetorically. "In Cuba, even if they say so, they don't hate us. They follow the Yankees. They pray to the same God. They drink like us. Their women are opinionated. We have a lot in common. Change is good."......here

Democratic Big Guns Take Aim At Blair

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is co-hosting a fundraiser next week for Kevin Beckner, a Democrat who's challenging Republican Brian Blair for his Hillsborough County Commission seat. Castor served with Blair on the commission before winning her congressional post.......here

Ybor City (Lost Tampa Episode)

Florida Muslims File Suit Over Citizenship Delays

On February 27, the Orlando, Tampa and Miami offices of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center will hold news conferences in those cities to announce the filing of a lawsuit in federal court challenging lengthy delays in processing Muslim citizenship applications........here

WHERE: TAMPA - 11 a.m., Outside the U.S. Federal Courthouse, 801 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL; ORLANDO - 2 p.m., Facing the Federal Courthouse, 401 W. Central Blvd., Suite 2300, Orlando, FL; MIAMI - 11 a.m., Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, 3000 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 400, Miami, FL

Florida Voters Ask Important Questions About Equality

How does marriage between my lesbian sister and her partner of 11 years affect my circumstances? Or anyone else's?.......here

Disney Yanks Florida Classic Sponsorship

Walt Disney World yesterday declared that it is ending support of the annual Florida Classic game between Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University.....here

From Daytona To The Keys

Three of the eight were the nuke stations at Turkey Point. Not trying to get the tinfoil too tight here but power plants of whatever source tend not to take well to a sudden loss of load. I’d still like to know what could have cause this; midwinter, time of least air conditioning, should be the low point of annual demand.......here

Gloomy Outlook For Florida's Economy

With Florida's legislative session set to begin next week, House Speaker Marco Rubio offered a decidedly pessimistic outlook, especially about the state's economy. With tax money coming into state coffers declining, Rubio said reductions in spending are coming for every area funded by government - including education.........here

Meatloaf The Florida Cat

Took a 3-week cross-country ride locked in a storage container, was reunited on Tuesday with his Florida owner. The 2-year-old Meatloaf apparently crawled into the large locker in Pompano Beach as a man loaded it for a move to Phoenix......here

Biologists Use Fire On Florida Wetlands

A team of biologists, including Patrick Bohlen of MacArthur Agro Ecology Research Center, set control burns in February as part of a three-year research study looking at best land management strategies for wetlands within ranch lands........here

World On Fire - Cape Canaveral, Florida

The Photography Of Ron Dubin

Bob Allen Wins Golden Duke Award

Best Scandal -- Local Venue
TPM is pleased to announce the winners of the First Annual Golden Dukes! The Golden Dukes are given in recognition great accomplishments in muckiness including acts of venal corruption, outstanding self-inflicted losses of dignity, crimes against the republic, bribery, exposed hypocrisy and generally malevolent governance.......here

Will Smith as Barack Obama?

Will Smith has played his share of famous men in film, but is he ready to play a (possible) president of the United States? Senator Barack Obama has singled the man in black out as his choice to portray him in a biopic on his life.......here

Take A Swamp Walk To See Florida Orchids

The ghost orchid is among the world's rarest flowers, the star of the popular book "The Orchid Thief" and the movie "Adaptation" and is the biggest lure to the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in southwest Florida..........here

The Old Bartow Cigar Factory

A group of 35 to 40 Bartowans attended the forum at the Crawford Agriculture Center to explore the feasibility of renovating the deteriorating building, located at 255 North Third Ave. Bartow's Community Redevelopment Agency has established for itself a March 24 deadline to decide if it is feasible for the CRA to take over the county-owned building and see it converted for public or private use........here

Residents Want to See Cigar Factory Saved

Cuba-Policy Issue Enlivens Florida Congressional Race

Raul Martinez

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Republican admired by many Cuban exiles, has been reelected handily to the 21st Congressional District since it was created 15 years ago. Raul Martinez, a Democrat, was the popular Hialeah mayor of the majority Cuban-American city for almost a quarter century -- reelected even after a criminal conviction later reversed on appeal........here

Foreign Policy: Barack Obama

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is dressed as a Somali elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan, left, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya. Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, visited the country in 2006.......here

Florida Confederate Flag Specialty Plate

A Florida panhandle lawmaker wants a "Confederate Heritage" license plate to join the 109 specialty tags already available in Florida.....here

Gov. Crist The Democrats Don't Need Your Opinion

If you believe in Democracy… it’s almost ironic to me that in coming from a state like Florida on the Democratic side -- where every vote most count and was such a big deal in our state-- that you have this notion where just because you go a little bit earlier that your delegates may not be seated at the convention whether it’s Denver or Minneapolis. And so, at any rate, I think it’s important to continue to push forward to do that.........here

Random Tampa Photography

here

Tampa Weekend Film School In Ybor City

Filmmaking is perhaps the most expensive art form in which to partake. No matter how talented a filmmaker may be, unless he/she has the proper lights, equipment and crew, the filmmaker may never be able to create that perfect film that properly showcases his/her talent and launches his/her career. The Weekend Film School is going to help Tampa Bay filmmakers solve this problem during a one-day workshop to be held on Saturday March 15, beginning at 8 a.m. at the Cuban Club in Ybor City.

Dean On McCain

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean accused Republican presidential front-runner John McCain of trying to skirt campaign finance laws Sunday by trying to opt out of public financing for his primary campaign. Dean told reporters McCain has already used the prospect of nearly $6 million in federal matching funds -- which he now says he won't claim -- as collateral for a January campaign loan and to obtain automatic ballot access in every state.........here

"He has made a career out of posing as a reformer, And the truth is, the reforms he's proposed apply to everybody but him. We've seen this again and again and again."

Taxi To The Dark Side

Javier Bardem: This is for Spain!

Javier Bardem became the first Spanish actor to win an Oscar on Sunday by taking the best supporting actor award for his chilling portrait of a psychopathic killer in "No Country For Old Men."..........here

"Mama, this is for you. This is for your grandparents and your parents, Rafael and Matilde, This is for the comedians of Spain who like you have brought dignity and pride to our profession.

Before Night Falls

FLORIDA WATER DRYING UP BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE

It was recently decided that the base water rate in Broward County, Florida will be increased by $15.00. Part of the reason for this increase is money loss due to water conservation. This is a joke! The water district needs to implement better fiscal policies rather than tax responsible homeowners for observing conservation practices. If water is so expensive to purchase in Broward County, wouldn´t the better idea be to encourage less water use so the county does not have to buy water at high rates?......here

Xeriscaping

Florida State Officials Take Advantage Of Loophole

Thousands of state workers -- including lawmakers, judges and top managers -- are receiving retirement benefits in addition to full-time paychecks because of a loophole in state law........here

Florida Is Closed

Via.....The Sight Unseen

Florida: Congressional Races Round 2

Florida has 25 representatives: 16 Republicans and 9 Democrats. Filing deadline is May 2, primary is Aug 26. Of the 22 districts with more than 17% veterans, 12 are in Florida; I think this makes Florida an excellent pickup ground - the veterans, traditionally a very solidly Republican group - are tired of the war and tired of being abused by the powers that be. Remember - Democrats support the troops, Republicans support the war.......here

Creationism Lecture At University Of Florida

Mr. Hovind, also known as Dr. Dino, is a young-earth creationist and runs Creation Science Evangelism, in Pensacola, Florida. He claims to have a doctoral degree from Patriot University in Colorado. If PU is accredited, they hide the fact very well........here

Florida Theme Parks Building Ties With Political Parties

Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando are building ties with lawmakers through hundreds of thousands of dollars in free tickets, food, drinks and hotel rooms. Campaign records show the two theme parks gave Democrats and Republicans in-kind contributions worth more than $571,000 from 2001 through 2007..........here

Florida Zoo Takes in Expunged Exotics

With alternately tearful goodbyes and barely contained impatience, more than 100 South Floridians surrendered their exotic animals Saturday at a zoo event designed to give owners an alternative to simply turning them loose........here

Pot Plant Operations In Southwest Florida

With a canal running by one side of his house, a large plot of brush and foliage on the other, and a front yard as big as a tree-filled football field, Joe Cook’s Golden Gate Estates home on 22nd Street Northeast offers a quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of modern life......here

FLORIDA KEYS’ SEVEN MILE BRIDGE RUN

The 27th annual run across the scenic Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon is set for Saturday, April 19, 2008, but interested runners need to act now to secure their participation.......here

Gay Teen Killed In Fort Lauderdale

The shooting death of a gay teenage boy who was dressed in women's clothing is being investigated as a possible hate crime, while detectives try to determine whether he was targeted because of his sexual orientation........here

Marine Major Brian Dennis And Nubs

This image provided by Marine Major Brian Dennis, of St. Pete Beach, Fl., shows Dennis holding his adopted dog, Nubs, near the Iraq-Jordan border Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. It began with a simple act of kindness to save an abused and injured dog from becoming one more victim in the war in Iraq. But what followed for Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and the mutt was a tale of friendship and loyalty that spanned miles, borders, and overcame long odds — a tale that takes a turn Friday Feb. 22, 2008 with the anticipated arrival here of the Marine's best friend........here

The Florida Cracker Trail

About 10 years ago, on assignment for a country music magazine, I accompanied the Bellamy Brothers on a bumpy stretch of the Florida Cracker Trail Ride, a 120-mile, cross-state horseback trip.......here

Central Florida Spring Could Be Sold To Water-Bottling Company

It's a rare natural treasure, but a Central Florida spring could be sold for millions to a water bottling company if no one intervenes. Paradise Springs is fed by two aquifers and if a bottling company has its way, it's going to pump millions of gallons of Central Florida water from the same aquifers that supply local residents........here

Historic South Florida Beach Reopens

Virginia Key Beach Park celebrated the grand opening of its historic beach and park after nine years of being closed. In 1945 Virginia Key Beach was known as Dade County's only black beach under the separate but equal laws of the first half of the twentieth century......here

Diversity in the USF Tampa Library

USF Tampa Library faculty and staff speak about diversity.

Tampa Bay Teens Take Part In Famine To Help Homeless

Teens from the Bay Area will join hundreds of thousands of others nationwide to fight world hunger by taking part in a 30 hour famine starting today at noon. During the the 2008 World Vision Famine, the teens will serve and prepare food for the homeless and collect can goods. The teens will consume liquids only as they fast.......here

The Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway

The Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway received its official state Scenic Byway designation on February 20, 2008 by the Florida Scenic Highways Program’s Scenic Highways Advisory Committee. Connecting Silver Springs with the city of Ormond Beach, the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway (SR 40) traverses some of Florida's most pristine ecosystems, centered on the Big Scrub, the world’s largest scrub forest. Providing access to a wide array of public lands......here

Student Shoots AP Florida Photo Of The Year

The Associated Press named photojournalism student Andrew Stanfill’s “Don’t Tase Me, Bro!” Florida Photo of the Year. It ran in The Independent Florida Alligator and in newspapers around the world after being transmitted by the AP........here

Nancy Pelosi In Ft. Lauderdale This Sunday

Pelosi is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. She is deaf, dumb and blind. She obviously never read the Constitution, doesn't understand her oath of office, and certainly knows nothing of the Geneva Convention or International Laws of Humanity.....here

Iraqi 'Air Force' Plane Lands In Florida

No one knew what to make of it when a small propeller airplane stenciled with the words "Iraqi Air Force" made an emergency landing on a country road near the rural Florida community of Sebring.......here

Howard Dean On John McCain

I have no idea whether the affair story is true or not, and I don't care. What I do care about is John McCain -- and this has been well documented -- is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved........here

Obama Wants To Rule The World

Florida: Obama/Clinton 2008

The Deam Team

Another Incident At The Hillsborough County Jail

The Tampa Pirate Taking a New Direction

We have to stand up and start speaking in a unified voice against the oppression of our government. What was supposed to be a government by and for the people is now a government made by the rich for the rich. If I have to take a bullet in the head by the federal government for trying to help my daughter grow up in a real America I will. I will keep standing up and no longer allow myself to be pushed down and censored by the feds......here

The Poorest Zip Code In Hillsborough County

The poorest zip code in Hillsborough County was 33605 and most of the Tampa foreclosure homes were recorded in Ybor City. It was definitely not a rosy picture and this created a negative polarity in Tampa. Tampa saw a fall in the number of investors and homebuyers in Hillsborough and especially the 33605 neighborhood........here

Ybor City March

Paul Camp and Andrew Huse, USF Librarians, share a 1938 film featuring the Ybor City cigar-making community.

Everglades Earth First! Shuts Down Florida Power Plant Construction

Early Monday morning dozens of concerned community members from Palm Beach County and all over the nation put their bodies on the line to halt construction of FPL’s West County Energy Center (WCEC), demanding energy efficiency, truly clean, renewable energy and a moratorium on development in south Florida.......here

Spike Lee At USF

March 4, 2008 - 7 pm
Sun Dome
Tickets: Free for USF Students with valid USF ID
$3- USF Faculty, Staff, and Alumni with valid USF ID
$8- Public

Florida Gov. Crist: Health Insurance For All

Insurance with "robust" benefits would be available for as little as $150 a month. Young adults could stay on their parents' health insurance until age 30. Every Florida child would be eligible for KidCare health coverage regardless of family income. Gov. Charlie Crist went to bat Tuesday for Florida's estimated 4 million residents without health-care coverage, and he was clearly aiming for a home run......here

2010: Jim Davis vs. Mel Martinez

Other names of possible Democratic candidates for Martinez's include Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, state House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio........here

Kathy Castor Endorses Obama

Barack Obama has just received the endorsement of freshman U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, who also is a superdelegate to the Democratic convention.....here

“It is time for our party to coalesce around Barack Obama’s nomination for President. I ran for Congress in 2006 to fight for a new direction for our country. Senator Obama offers the most determined and coherent plan for a new direction and change and I am proud to endorse him for President of the United States.”

Rightwing Previews Its Anti-Obama Attacks

It is a fundamental rule of politics: If you don’t define yourself, you will be defined by your opponent. Barack Obama’s charisma and inspirational message may have his supporters fainting in the aisles but his bio and voting records are a blank slate for Republicans to fill........here

"Spreading Democracy" on This Day of Fidel Castro's Retirement

And who, while decrying the dictatorial splinter in the collective cornea of yet another palm-tree-lined nation doing us no harm, all the while ignoring the beam lodged in their own myopic eye; and who, to this day, and despite mounting evidence to the contrary, tell the citizenry that promoting freedom is what they've been doing all this time.......here

Time to Retire America's Failed Cuba Policy

This is the event that fifty years of U.S. policy was designed to stop
Fidel Castro has announced his retirement. He will be replaced in a peaceful succession, without the violent upheaval that U.S. policy makers have been predicting since the 1960s.
Now that Fidel Castro has announced his retirement, it's time to retire our Cold War era Cuba policy..........It failed........here

Freedom In Cuba?

Representatives of the students of the University of Ciencias Informa'ticas (UCI) interrogated the president of the Cuban parliament, Ricardo Alarcón, on the policies of the government.In Spanish

The United States Embargo On The Cuban People

The United States embargo against Cuba is an economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed on Cuba on February 7, 1962. The embargo was enacted after Cuba expropriated the properties of United States citizens and corporations (notably those that belonged to the United Fruit Company and the ITT)........Wikipedia

The only candidate I see who is even close to ending the embargo is Barack Obama. He has stated that he favors a loosening of the travel ban so that Cuban Americans can visit family; he also wants fewer restrictions on remittances. Further, he is the only candidate who believes we should be in dialogue with governments that have been determined enemies.......here

Mario Diaz-Balart - Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - Lincoln Diaz-Balart - Mel Martinez

46 YEARS - END THE GODDAMN EMBARGO

Creationism in Florida

The southern racists refused to allow desegregation, despite the fact that they were (a) wrong and (b) breaking the law of the land. Having failed, their children and grandchildren are fighting to impose another evil on children - not racism, but ignorance. Like creationism, racism was once a fashionable pseudoscience. It’s still there, it has just gone out of fashion. The sooner people discard both lies, the better........here

No Sympathy For Florida and Michigan

It isn’t up to Howard Dean. As Chair of the DNC, he has to follow the rules, and the rules for the primary elections were adopted way back in August of 2006. State Parties violated the rules, knowing in advance exactly what they were doing and what the consequences would be. Just because a great injustice has happened in Florida and Michigan, it doesn’t mean we should abandon the process and the rules – that would be a greater injustice........here

Gnooze

The Foreclosure Express Driving Into Florida

The bus tours that have motored across foreclosure-littered neighborhoods of California, Nevada and other slumping states are pulling into the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County. Two local real estate firms in Port St. Lucie and Tequesta are planning their first tours of bank-owned properties Saturday........here

Superb Housing Opportunities In Florida

Tampa Bay Online Engages In Censorship

Tampa Bay Online, which is somehow partnered or owned by The Tampa Tribune and WFLA News Channel 8 has decided to remove reader comments en masse. On February 10, the website posted a story about a group of people protesting Scientologists. A day or 2 later there were over 100 comments, most not favorable to Scientology but none that used profanity or otherwise violated the website's Terms Of Service........here

Who Signed The GOP Anti Gay Petition?

The names of thousands of Floridians are turning up online, for signing a petition supporting a gay marriage ban in the state. Those who posted the names call it a public service; but we found many others who call it an invasion of privacy........here

The List

Earth First Conference In West Palm Beach

Alaina is an activist from the native St'at'imc people of British Columbia, fighting to keep her ancestors' land from being lost to ski resorts and the 2010 Winter Olympics. Ron Huber is trying to protect the livelihood of Maine's lobstermen from the invasion of "resort wannabes," 23 years after he squatted in treetops to stop loggers in Oregon. Both were in the wilds of northwest Palm Beach County on Friday, part of an international gathering of Earth First! activists who came to trade tales, talk tactics and express solidarity with their imprisoned allies........here

The Godfather Backs McCain

John McCain picked up former President George H.W. Bush's support on Monday, a critical blessing by a pillar of the Republican establishment......here
Four More Years!

Howard Dean On Counting Florida's Votes

DNC Chairman Howard Dean responded to NAACP head Julian Bond's call to seat the FL and MI delegations by, well, saying pretty much nothing. Looks like the DNC and FDP strategy/plan is to cross their fingers that a nominee emerges soon......here

CNN: Obama Supporters Becoming Cult-Like

Tampa Pirate Rebel Radio

Click here to listen to our new station. Right now there is more music than commentary, over the next couple days that will change some.

"Justice Without Borders" At Cafe Bohemia

Amnesty International, in conjunction with St. Pete for Peace, presents "Justice Without Borders", a documentary film that explores the global movement seeking justice and accountability for the most grave human rights abuses.

Wednesday, Feb. 20. 8:00pm - Cafe Bohemia, 937 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg.

Words Are Cheap!

Evolutionary Awareness in Florida Seems to be Abysmal

Once again, Floridians disappoint. A poll conducted by St. Petersburg Times indicates that an alarming 51% of people in Florida think that creationism/intelligent design should be the only thing taught in the classroom. Another 18% think that both creationism and evolution should be taught in class. Only 22% of people in Florida think that Evolution only should be taught in science classes.........here

DNC Not Backing Down On FL And MI Delegates

Clinton's operatives want DNC chairman Howard Dean to come up with a resolution, but Dean is staying out of the fight for now........here

"It‘s time for us to shut up and listen to the voters, and that‘s what I‘m going to do".......Howard Dean

McCain's advice Miami-bred

Close aides to McCain caution that it's too early to talk about who will be their campaign's Latin American affairs advisors and that an official team has yet to be put together. But when pressed for names of who have been briefing him recently, they mention Florida's Cuban-American Sen. Mel Martinez and Cuban-American congress members Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros Lehtinen......here

UPHILL BATTLE
Because of his steadfast support for the Iraq War and his foreign policy views molded during the Cold War, McCain would face an uphill battle to convince the world that he represents change and would bring a breath of fresh air to Washington.
That is likely to be McCain's biggest problem, abroad and at home.

Barring a terrorist scare that would put his national security credentials at center stage,

it's hard to see how he could overcome it.

Orlando, Florida Postcard Art

Pictured here are images of celery fields, a fountain in Lake Ivanhoe, the 1892 Orange County courthouse, downtown Orlando, a wig wam village, and a Brahma bull. This is located in a park in downtown Orlando called Heritage Square, beside the History Center........here

The Fairy Godmothers Of Fort Myers, Florida

This program is Only for girls with financial hardships. It is designed to help girls who, without our help, will not be able to attend their Junior or Senior Proms........here

Charlie Crist Veep-O-Meter

With all the chatter nationally about Gov. Charlie Crist maybe getting tapped as John McCain's running mate, how could we resist? This week the Buzz debuts our exclusive Charlie Crist Veep-O-Meter, which tracks his vice presidential prospects.
It's way too early in the process for St. Petersburg's first governor to start measuring drapes at Dick Cheney's place, but our Veep-O-Meter starts out bullish since Mike Huckabee no longer serves as an amiable McCain ally against Mitt Romney but more like a pesky pain in McCain's petard.......here

Tampa's Trolley Runs On Shaky Finances

Five years after it started rumbling down the tracks, Tampa's streetcar is running out of time.
The next few months will be crucial in deciding whether it moves forward -- or takes a big step backward........here

Tempering Florida's Summers Of Protests

On the evening of June 19, 1964, at the height of the civil rights protest in St. Augustine, J. B. Stoner, an ardent racist and Ku Klux Klan leader, stood on the stage of a park gazebo in the heart of old St. Augustine -- where slaves were once formally sold -- speaking to hundreds of hate-filled Klansmen. "The way to white supremacy," he said, "is to rid Congress of those who voted for the civil rights bill and get that ni---r-loving Lyndon Johnson out of Washington."......here

I think the enduring story of the Civil Rights Movement is the uncommon courage of the demonstrators.

For Florida Lawmakers, No More Free Jeb Bush Burgers

A block from the white domes of Florida's state Capitol, suits and ringing cell phones dominated the brick patio of Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, where patrons can order a "Jeb Bush" burger in the shade of broad umbrellas emblazoned with premium beer logos. But not all is well at the famous haven for Sunshine State lobbyists and lawmakers........here

NIU Students: WBC Don't Fuck With Us.

Carpenters Fans Try To Save Former Home

Owners of The Carpenters' former home aren't feeling on top of the world about the legions of fans who keep stopping by to pay tribute. The five-bedroom tract house, where siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and penned some of their greatest hits, was featured on the cover of their 1973 hit album "Now & Then." It was also where an anorexic Karen Carpenter collapsed in 1983 before dying......here
Owners Manuel and Blanca Melendez Parra have apparently grown weary of the parade of fans paying homage.

Ybor City Streetcar

By Chris The Hockey Fan.....Click Here

The Relevant Church in Ybor City

A pastor has a new challenge for his parishioners. It involves sex - a subject that may be taboo in many congregations. The Relevant Church in Ybor City has issued a 30-day sex challenge.

Friend Says Tampa Cops Set Up Jessica Sierra

In a taped interview, a reported longtime friend of "American Idol" contestant Jessica Sierra claims that Sierra's arrest last December was a set up by Tampa police........here

Charlette Marshall-Jones

A Hillsborough County detention deputy who dumped a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair was arrested this morning on a charge of abuse of a disabled person. Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, turned herself in to authorities and was booked into the Orient Road Jail at 5:19 a.m. before being released about an hour later on $3,500 bail, records show. A warrant for her arrest was announced last night by Sheriff David Gee.......here
State Opens Civil Rights Investigation

Room 641A

What's happening in Room 641A of 611 Folsom Street in San Francisco remains one of the most closely-held secrets in the U.S. government......here

Wikipedia

Keith Olbermann Special Comment

MR BUSH YOU ARE A FASCIST!

Hillary Clinton vs the DNC

In the end this shows a lack of integrity, it shows her manipulating and calculating ways, it shows her lack of character, and above all it shows that she is not ready to be president of the United States. Barack Obama may be even more to the left than Hillary, and he may not be ready to be president, but at least he has integrity and character. Two things that Hillary Clinton does not......here

Kathy Castor at Employee Free Choice Act Rally

Wednesday - February 20, 2008 - 4-6 pm - Gaslight Park, Downtown Tampa
Employee Free Choice Act

An Antiwar Black President With An Arab-Sounding Name

Consider our present situation. Thanks to Iraq and water-boarding, Abu Ghraib and the "rendering" of terror suspects, we've achieved the moral status of a pariah nation. The seas are rising. The dollar is sinking. A growing proportion of Americans have no access to health care. Clinton can put forth all the policy proposals she likes--and many of them are admirable ones--but anyone can see that she's of the same generation and even one of the same families that got us into this checkmate situation in the first place. Whatever she does, the semiotics of her campaign boils down to two words--"same old."........here

USA 193

During the next week, a wayward U.S. spy satellite will make passes across North America and western Europe soon after sunset and should be easily visible to the unaided eye. That's if it doesn't get shot down first........here

David Gee And Brian Sterner

The Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff on Wednesday offered a personal apology to a disabled man who was dumped onto the floor from his wheelchair while in deputies' custody.......here

"I am personally embarrassed and shocked by the horrific treatment Mr. Sterner received,"...... Sheriff David Gee

Cohones Found In The House of Representatives

Still, basic human nature -- if nothing else -- dictates that having finally liberated themselves, however fleetingly, from the truly moronic rule of the Ted "Osama-is-Celebrating" Poes of the world, and having seen that -- as McJoan put it -- "the Democrats stood up to Bush, and the world didn't end," Democrats will crave more of the sweet taste of dignity and autonomy.......here

A Florida Treasure

Representative Robert Wexler

Republican Grandstanding

Up and Running: Florida’s Largest Solar Array

Florida this week boosted its supply of renewable energy when its largest solar power array went online. The Sunshine Energy Solar Array was dedicated Monday by Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Power & Light (FPL) officials. The facility is located on a former landfill in Sarasota County........here

“The economic future of our state is linked to our maintaining its natural beauty, and this solar power facility is an excellent example that other communities can work to achieve,”......Charlie Crist

Worried Clinton Vows To Claim 'Phantom' Delegates

The Hillary Clinton campaign has served notice that it expects to claim delegates theoretically garnered in primary votes in Michigan and Florida even though the contests in both states were declared void by the Democratic leadership long before they were held.......here

Group Urges Florida To Reject State Funded Religion

Efforts to repeal a provision in the Florida Constitution that bars government funding of religious institutions should be rejected, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is considering two proposed constitutional amendments that would allow Florida to use public funds to support religious schools and other faith-based ministries.......here

The efforts to amend the Florida Constitution are being led by former members of Gov. Jeb Bush's administration.

Gulf Stream Eyed As New Energy Source

Just 15 miles off Florida's coast, the world's most powerful sustained ocean current — the mighty Gulf Stream — rushes by at nearly 8.5 billion gallons per second. And it never stops. To scientists, it represents a tantalizing possibility: a new, plentiful and uninterrupted source of clean energy. Florida Atlantic University researchers say the current could someday be used to drive thousands of underwater turbines, produce as much energy as perhaps 10 nuclear plants and supply one-third of Florida's electricity.......here

Superdelegates

"The Democratic Party must be democratic. The superdelegates should let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama, then support the people's choice. Can you sign this petition to the superdelegates right away? Click here to add your name.

Bill Nelson's Total Disregard For The U. S. Constitution

The Senate overwhelming voted Tuesday evening to legalize President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and grant amnesty to the phone companies that helped out with the domestic spying........here

Democrats voting for the bill: Evan Bayh (D-IN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Robert Casey (D-PA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Jim Webb (D-VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Florida Is Looking For A Ned Lamont Or A Donna Edwards

Congratulations, Donna Edwards!

Donna Edwards, the insurgent candidate from Fort Washington, has defeated the odds and unseated an eight-term incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn in the Democratic primary in Maryland's 4th Congressional District. Edwards' message of change in Congress and Washington resonated with voters who came out overwhelmingly to support her, due to an unprecedented collaborative effort between the netroots and the progressive movement.........here

Amy Chats With Donna Edwards

You Were Wrong And Howard Dean Was Right

Did Big Sugar Step On The Miami International Film Festival

If you expected that Amy Serrano’s film, “The Sugar Babies: The Plight of the Children of Agricultural Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic” would be exhibited at the upcoming Miami International Film Festival, you would be wrong........here

Crist Seeks 'An Army Of Conservationists'

Surrounded by dozens of Cub, Boy and Girl Scouts in the state Capitol, Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled a new Serve to Preserve scout award Wednesday that was created in partnership with the youth organizations. Troops can earn an award insignia by completing programs that seek to protect the natural environment.........here

Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant

The nation’s first, large scale seawater desalination plant is delivering drinking water to more than two and a half million residents of the Tampa Bay area. It’s a timely solution as continued drought is forecast across the south eastern United States........here

Former Pinellas County Nuclear Workers Suffer Fatal Diseases

Hundreds of area residents who worked at a 97-acre highly classified General Electric facility in Largo that once manufactured atomic and hydrogen bomb components today suffer from cancer and other disorders, affecting the lungs, skin and internal organs........here

Raul TV

Sharpton: Don't Seat Fla., Mich.

Seating delegates from Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention would be a grave injustice, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday in a break with prominent civil rights leaders. "I firmly believe that changing the rules now, and seating delegates from Florida and Michigan at this point would not only violate the Democratic Party's rules of fairness, but also would be a grave injustice," Sharpton said in a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean........here

Baltimore Cop And The 14-Year-Old Skateboarder

You got that camera on if i find myself......

Online Tool Pinpoints Sand For Florida Beach Restoration

Florida today debuted the first database in the country that identifies sand sources for beach restoration and nourishment projects. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, has compiled a comprehensive on-line tool for identifying suitable sand sources from Florida's coastal waters........here

Evolution Under Siege In Florida

As the Florida state board of education prepared to consider a final draft of a new set of state science standards, Floridians offered their opinions at a last-minute meeting held in Orlando on February 11, 2008. Over eighty speakers addressed the state commissioner of education.......more

Florida Prison Drunken Orgies

Softball, drunken orgies and a prison system run like the mafia. That's what Florida's former prison secretary says he inherited when he took over one of the nation's largest prison systems two years ago. In fact, on his first day on the job, James McDonough says he walked into his office -- the same one his predecessor used -- and there was crime scene tape preventing anyone from entering. "Corruption had gone to an extreme," McDonough said, saying it all began at the top. "They seemed to be drunk half the time and had orgies the other half, when they weren't taking money and beating each other up."........here

Governor Jeb Bush has appointed me Secretary of the Department of Corrections. I am both honored and excited.........James Crosby

Hillsborough County Sheriff Deputies

Dump paralyzed man from wheelchair.

Ernesto And Barack

The right-wing noise machine has caught some volunteers for Barack Obama in Texas with a Cuban flag with Che Guevara on it, thus making a piece of dorm-room art from the 1960's the latest flash point in the campaign of the truly trivial talking points.........here

Florida's Superdelegates

Uncommitted:
U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, Boca Raton
U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, Palm Beach Gardens
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Tampa
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, Monticello
Mitch Ceasar, Plantation
Diane Glasser, Tamarac
Karen Thurman, Tallahassee
Jon Ausman, Tallahassee
Andy Tobias, Tallahassee
Janee Murphy Tampa
Rudy Parker, Perry
Terrie Brady, Jacksonville
Hillary Clinton supporters:
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Miami
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, Miramar
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Weston
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, Jacksonville
Raul Martinez, Hialeah
Chuck Mohlke, Naples
Barack Obama supporters:
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler
State Rep. Joyce Cusack, DeLand
Allan Katz, Tallahassee

The Florida Democratic Party can be reached at 850-222-3411 or email@fladems.com

Woman Tasered At Daytona Beach Best Buy

McCain/Bush 2008

Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, added his name today to McCain's campaign endorsements. "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader," Jeb Bush said, in a statement distributed by the McCain campaign. "Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. "He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good.''..........here

Four More Years

Sarasota's Vanished Votes

An Investigation into the Cause of Uncounted Votesin the 2006 Congressional District 13 Race in Sarasota County, Florida. What we uncovered in our investigation is shocking: The iVotronic votingsystem failed to count over 100,000 votes in various races across the state of Florida in the November 2006 election.......here

Yes We Can John McCain!

Superdelegates, Back Off!

If the superdelegates determine the party’s nominee before primary and caucus voters have rendered a clear verdict, Democrats risk losing the trust that we are building with voters today. The perception that the votes of ordinary people don’t count as much as those of the political insiders, who get to pick the nominee in some mythical back room, could hurt our party for decades to come.......here

Howard Dean On The Death Of Rep. Tom Lantos

"Our nation has lost a great public servant with the passing of Representative Tom Lantos. In serving his constituents and his country, Tom never forgot the Democratic Party's ideals of freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was an authority on foreign policy issues and a voice for the oppressed. The only Holocaust survivor in Congress, he was a forceful and passionate advocate for civil liberties and human rights. Today, I join with countless others across the country in offering my thoughts and prayers to Rep. Lantos' family and friends as we honor his life and legacy."

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Joe Garcia For Congress

Joe Garcia, the chairman of Miami Dade's Democratic Party, plans to take on a five year U.S. Representative for his seat in Congress. This district faces severe economic problems. The prices of homes have never been higher, in the capacity of middle class families to afford them, Insurance rates are out of wack while our Congress rules against catastrophic funding for insurance.......here

Barack Obama Wins A Grammy

CNN announces that Barack Obama has won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album Work after recording the audiobook of "The Audacity of Hope"

Annette Taddeo For Congress

Annette Taddeo plans to run against Illeana Ros-Lehtinen for the District 18 U.S. House seat.......here

Florida's Democrats Once Again Too Wily For Own Good

Being a Democrat in Florida is like being the coyote in a Road Runner cartoon. Things start out so promising, but in the end you just screw up everything in a comical way. And so, when America wakes up on Nov. 5 with another Republican president on his way to the White House, Florida Democrats will get the blame again. Beep, beep.........here

Republicans Losing Grip On Miami Cuban Vote

An anti-communist militant who fired a bazooka at a Polish freighter walked free with impunity in this sultry subtropical U.S. city, and Cuban Americans favouring closer ties with their homeland could once expect to be firebombed here. But Miami has changed and the sometimes violent scenes of Cuban exile passion appear to be in the past. That could spell trouble for President George W. Bush's Republican Party in November's general election........here

Florida Turtle Hospital Worth A Visit

You could call it Sunny's finest hour, finally going home - wherever home might be. The send-off was to be nothing short of one befitting a celebrity. It was a cool, almost cold, January day recently in this resort community. Even with a cloudless sky and a blazing sun, a stiff northeast wind left little chance for any warming rays to challenge the chill.......here

The Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Florida's Own Civil Rights Martyr

He has been called America's first civil rights martyr, yet his name rarely arises with those of Medgar Evers or Martin Luther King Jr. Even in Florida, where his quest to bring full equality to blacks led to his untimely and violent end, Harry T. Moore remains unknown to many. Bob Devin Jones is doing what he can to rectify that fact. Jones, a St. Petersburg dramatist, will bring his portrayal of Moore to Bartow Public Library Tuesday evening........here

T. Rex's Quote of the Day

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." - Elmer Davis

Stogie's Quote of Forever

The stakes in November are high. This is an important election. Prosperity and peace are in the balance.".......G.W.Bush

G.W. BUSH IS NOT THE WORST WORLD LEADER EVER........here

A Letter From Barack Obama

We Are The Change We Have Been Waiting For

We just learned that we won all three contests today -- in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington State. We've now won 18 out of 28 states, with New Mexico still in the balance. What's more, we also estimate that we at least doubled our delegate lead today. Our momentum is strong, but another round of tough contests is about to begin. Tomorrow, Democrats will caucus in Maine. And on Tuesday, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia will have their turn........here
To win, we need to bring as many people into the process as possible. We're pushing towards 500,000 donors this year by March 4th, when Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont vote.

Florida Atheists Celebrate Darwin Day

A godless minority will gather Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin and promote unconstrained scientific inquiry. More than 200 atheists are expected at Fern Forest Nature Preserve in Coconut Creek for Darwin Day, an international festival that celebrates the importance of scientific inquiry and the accomplishments of Darwin, who brainstormed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1838........here

Mike Gravel - Corruption

What Do We Do If Hillary Wins?

I feel bad for Howard Dean. Really, I do. The man just has a politician's version of Tourette's syndrome. I'm sure when he said that he wanted to bring "the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement" in order to create unity at the DNC. Will Progressives sacrifice the pureness of their consciences for the sake of backing the only Democratic candidate left standing? Or let's say Barack takes the nomination: will Hillary's people rush to support him? Michael Moore says he is morally prohibited from voting for Hillary Clinton, and I agree with him........here

Highwaymen Provide Students Double-Dose Of Florida History

From the early 1950s through the 1980s, a group of African-American artists who came to be known as the Florida Highwaymen painted utopian scenes of Florida's landscape. No people or sailboats, condos or theme parks. Just sunsets and sunrises, palm trees and lagoons, beaches and oceans, birds watching from overhead, all in bright, clean colors.........here

Weeki Wachee To Become Florida State Park

The famous mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs will become state employees on Nov. 1.
That's when the venerable roadside attraction will become a state park. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the land and spring, approved the deal Jan. 29.......here

Psychic FOX News Anchors

Terrorists In Ybor City?

Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee stood before City Council members Thursday clutching a report from the Department of Homeland Security he said detailed all the dangers that could befall his operations center in Ybor City. But he wouldn't tell them what it said. Instead, he asked the council to let him close off 20th Street, which borders the center, from Palm to Eighth avenues. In the end, the council voted 5-1 to let him gate it off........here

Even council member Mary Mulhern, who is opposed to closing off streets, made an exception: "There are so many other areas that have been closed off for less important things. This is a necessary thing to do." The only dissenter was Linda Saul-Sena.

Sheriff Should Vacate Ybor City

You Wanna Be a Republican?

Trade with Cuba is wrong because Cuba is a communist country. Trade with China and Vietnam is vital to both international harmony and buying cheap baby-killing toys at Wal-Mart........here

Bush Rallies Conservatives "Four More Years"

Bush spoke to a boisterous crowd shortly after 7 a.m. EST. The ballroom erupted in cheers when someone shouted "Are there conservatives in the house?" When the president walked on stage, they clapped and chanted "Four more years! Four more years!".........here

Who Are These People?

"The stakes in November are high. This is an important election. Prosperity and peace are in the balance.".......G.W.Bush

One On One With Congresswoman Castor

2:00pm - 4:00pm, Monday, February 11, 2008, At The College Hill Library
2607 East Martin Luther King Boulevard, Tampa

Representative Kathy Castor

A Chorus of Millions

Conservatism Is Running On Empty

With his preemptive war and seemingly permanent occupation in Iraq, and his attempt to privatize Social Security, George W. Bush pushed American conservatism past the point where the American people were willing to go -- pushed them, in fact, to the point where they recoiled at the conservative project. And with that, American conservatism shuddered to a halt.........here

Florida Orders Sex Offenders From Bridge

The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge that includes a makeshift gym, kitchen, living room and numerous pets. The men have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for more than a year. They say limited money and strict local ordinances make it nearly impossible for them to live anywhere else. But state officials are telling them to leave.......here

Miami Beach Is Running Out Of Sand

It's midmorning in Miami Beach. The sun is shining, the waves are lapping - and the bulldozer is roaring. Orange netting ropes off sections of the shore as heavy equipment moves in to replenish one of the world's most famous beaches. The Atlantic Ocean lies no more than 20 feet away along some stretches, the result of incessant wind and water erosion, not global warming and rising seas. Grain by grain, Miami Beach is losing the fine, bone-white sand that helps draw tourists.........here

Sheriff Should Vacate Ybor City

The sheriff's operations center is actually three parcels of land, which include an auto maintenance facility and several parking lots. The main facility, which occupies about two square blocks, sits on top of sections of 9th and 8th avenues. Not only does the building disrupt Ybor's street grid pattern, but also the sheriff's office provides little benefit to the historic district. The sheriff has no jurisdiction in Ybor; policing the area is the responsibility of the Tampa Police Department........here

Critical Habitat Proposed To Protect Florida’s Disappearing Corals

Today the federal government proposed designating almost 5,000 square miles of reef area off the coasts of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the threatened staghorn and elkhorn corals.......here

Confused Florida Voters Wanted To Vote On Super Tuesday

Millions of Americans in 24 states turned out to vote in Super Tuesday presidential primaries from Georgia to Alaska. Some dedicated if confused Florida voters tried to as well.Elections offices across the state reported hundreds of calls from voters wanting to know where they could vote Tuesday........here

Floridians almost single-handedly did in 2000 what two World Wars and Adolf Hitler couldn't: Bring democracy to a screeching halt. If they're voting on the wrong day and some are trying to vote twice, maybe it's time to cut Florida loose. The whole state is just dangling off the side of the country anyway. Get some movers, save Disneyworld, and push the rest of Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.......Jeff Girod

Ginny Brown-Waite Invokes The Ire Of The Puerto Rican Community

And what did this fine solar-baked Caucasian Congresswoman from the Sunshine State do to deserve that dubious recognition? She argued that any tax breaks provided through the economic stimulus package should be denied to “residents” of Puerto Rico because they are “foreign citizens … who do not pay federal income taxes.” And for good measure, she threw in the good people of Guam as well.......here

Alabama, Florida Declare Victory In Water War With Georgia

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today ruled that a secret settlement agreement entered into between Georgia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Atlanta-area water users is illegal under federal law. The agreement, which was signed in 2003, would have allocated nearly 25 percent of Lake Lanier, a federal reservoir on the Chattahoochee River in northern Georgia, to supply Atlanta's 470,000 residents with water........here

Happy Birhtday Bob Marley!

Super Tuesday’s Biggest Loser: Rush Limbaugh

The truly most divisive figure in the 2008 race is not Hillary Clinton, it’s John McCain. His ascendancy has ripped the Republican Party asunder — and his most vicious and vocal conservative opponents include the loudest mouths in America: Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and, especially, Rush Limbaugh. As has been stated here before, it is too early to write the obituaries for the conservative movement, but the results from the Feb. 5, 2008, primary do provide evidence that these Reagan era dinosaurs are losing their sway among their own kind........here

Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida

Robert De Niro Campaigns With Obama

"I've never made a speech like this at a political event before. So what am I doing here. I'm here because finally one person has inspired me. One person has given me hope. One person has made me believe that we can make a change.".......... Robert De Niro

Jack Nicholson Endorses Hillary

Florida Gets An 'F' For Insurance System

Florida has one of the least effective property and casualty insurance systems in the country, according to a new study that gave Florida and four other states an 'F' grade. Florida had the worst rating in the residual homeowners category, which measures how much of the market is served by government-provided insurance. Jacksonville-based Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer of last resort, is No. 1 in statewide market share.........more

Valerie Plame-Wilson At USF

February 12, 2008- 7 pm, Sun Dome Corral, Tickets: Free for USF Students with valid USF ID, $3- USF Faculty, Staff, and Alumni with valid USF ID, $8- Public, more info......here

DFA Uncounted House Party

In homes across America, DFA members are gathering on February 13 to reveal the truth about our voting system. Please join fellow DFA members, friends, and family for the new documentary film, Uncounted.........here

Amy Goodman Interview

Amy Goodman is one of the leading journalists of our time. She is executive producer and host of Democracy Now, a daily, independent radio and television news program broadcast on 650 stations around the world......here

www.democracynow.org

Yes We Can

Vote Obama 2008

Florida Voters Sign Sworn Statements As To How They Voted

Voters, in fact the majority, were actually filling out the poll—it could also be called a survey—AND printing their names at the top and signing a statement swearing, affirming, or attesting that they voted the way they did. This form was drawn up by people with law degrees, Mark Adams being the mastermind, to stand up in court to PROVE fraud, if the official count differs significantly, especially if the candidate winning was not the one to receive the majority of votes.......here

www.projectvotecount.com

Demonstration On Dale Mabry Highway

Get The FARC Out Of Columbia

Weekending In Florida? Thank Heavens For The Pollution

Nasa scientists have explained why the weekends in Florida are so nice and sunny: because industrial pollution causes bigger rainstoms during the week. Data from a Nasa climate satellite shows that summertime rainfall over the southeastern United States is significantly higher during the working week than at weekends, with 1.8 times more afternoon rain on a Tuesday, the wettest day, than on a Saturday, the driest........here

A Friend Of Stogie Is Running For Mayor

Meet William Hymes

I believe that the City of Natchitoches is ready for change. I graduated from Natchitoches Central High School in 1983 and attended Northwestern State University on a band scholarship. I graduated from Northwestern State University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts - Instrumental Music Education degree. I have taught instrumental music for 15 years in the Natchitoches Parish Public School System and in 2007 earned a Masters Degree in, Education Leadership-School Administration from Northwestern State University.......here

Mr. Hymes is also a gospel singer, for his free cd, click....here

DFA Tampa Bay Meeting

Wed, Feb 6th at Piccadilly Cafeteria, 11810 N Dale Mabry, Tampa, with Frank Sanchez as our guest speaker! 6:30 Social, 7 – 8:30 pm meeting . For more info, visit dfalink.com.

Maria Shriver Announces Her Support for Barack

Tampa's Riverwalk Hits Stumbling Blocks

When the NFL announced three years ago that the Super Bowl would come to Tampa in 2009, Mayor Pam Iorio pledged to fast-track work on a downtown Riverwalk and get as much as possible done in time for the game. So how much is likely to be done by then? Not much......here

DaleMabryHwy.com

DNA Vertical, Inc., a Tampa, Florida-based consulting firm, today announced the January 2008 launch of DaleMabryHwy.com, an all new online business and information directory created exclusively for Dale Mabry Highway, located in Tampa, Florida........here

Are You A Dumb Down American?

Most Cuban Exiles Loop Through Mexico, Not Straits To Florida

During the past three fiscal years, 27,393 of the 32,251 Cubans who arrived in the United States seeking political asylum without prior permission crossed the border at Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security. That amounts to 85 percent. The Mexican route has contributed to one the largest spikes in Cubans coming to the U.S. in the 49 years since Fidel Castro took power......more

Leaders Warn Florida GOP To Unite

Worried about conservative unrest over Sen. John McCain's emergence as Republican presidential front-runner, Florida GOP leaders warned party activists Saturday a Democrat will win the White House unless Republicans put aside philosophical differences and unite......here

"Any Republican holding any public office is better than any Democrat, any day of the week.".......Republican Chairman Jim Greer

Florida Artist Creates New Entrance For The Central Florida Zoo

With chisels in hand and eyes focused on concrete, Eric McCarty barely seems to notice the cars that whiz past him at the entrance to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford.Commuters on U.S. Highway 17-92 beep their horns, lean out the window and shout to him: "It's lookin' good." "Great job.".........here

Lutz Democrats Meeting

Tue, Feb 5th 7:00 pm at the Lutz Civic Center (98 1st Ave NW, Lutz)

For more info, contact Alvin at 813.949.4673 or visit www.lutzdemocrats.us

Right Rallies To Halt John McCain

It was in 1999 that McCain decided to mount his first challenge for the Republican presidential nomination. He ran against Bush and quickly fell victim to some of the dirtiest tricks on record in a White House race. False rumours circulated in South Carolina that he had fathered an illegitimate black child. Then it was suggested that his Vietnam prison experiences had left him mentally unhinged and prone to fits of rage. Bush strolled to the nomination.......here

Sarah Is Fucking Matt Damon

via...tiny little dots

Florida GOP Anti-Gay Amendment Heads To Ballot

Florida LGBT civil rights groups said Saturday they will mount an aggressive campaign to defeat a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. The state Division of Elections late Friday announced that an umbrella group pushing the amendment had collected more than 611,000 signatures to have the issue placed on the November ballot.......here

Ann Coulter Voting For Clinton

The NeoCon Meltdown Continues

Florida Anti-Smoking Ad To Run During Super Bowl

Florida's new effort to fight smoking through advertising starts Sunday with one of the most coveted ad spots, the Super Bowl. The 30-second ad hits the viewer in the emotions: showing a kid out in the backyard throwing a ball - but with nobody there to catch it and throw it back. "Each year, smoking leaves 31,000 children fatherless," the ad says as the sullen kid has to go pick up the ball. The ad cost about $500,000 and will air in all Florida markets during the Super Bowl.......here

Cypress Creek Mall Development Permit Suspended

Federal officials on Friday suspended the development permit for Cypress Creek Town Center, the regional mall under construction at the junction of State Road 56 and Interstate 75 in Wesley Chapel.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended the Richard E. Jacobs Group's wetland-fill permit because of mud that escaped the mall site after heavy rains in late January. The mud fouled Cypress Creek, which flows along the mall site's west and south sides.

Florida And Iowa Join California's Challenge Of EPA Ruling

Iowa and Florida have joined the legal battle over whether states should have the right to set tougher vehicle emission standards than those set by the federal government.......here

Florida: F.B.I. Backs Students On Explosives

Two Egyptian college students arrested near a Navy weapons station in South Carolina last year were carrying low-grade fireworks, as they claimed, not explosives as charged by federal prosecutors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has determined........here

MoveOn Members Endorse Barack Obama

With hundreds of thousands of ballots cast across the country, for the first time in MoveOn's history, we've voted together to endorse a presidential candidate in the primary. That candidate is Barack Obama. Something big is clearly happening. A few weeks ago, MoveOn members we surveyed were split. But with John Edwards bowing out, progressives are coming together. Obama won over 70% of the vote yesterday, and he's moving up in polls nationwide. As comments poured in from MoveOn members across the country, the sense of hope was inspiring.......here