Friday, January 25, 2008

"Sicko" Gets The Oscar High-Five

Of course, every reporter who's called me in the past few days wanted to know if I plan on giving an "anti-war" or "anti-Bush" speech, should "Sicko" win, as I did when we won the Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine" in 2003. (As you may recall, it was the 5th day of the war when those Oscars were held, and I said from the stage that, while I enjoy making nonfiction films, we live in fictitious times with
a man of fiction in the White House.......here

Ron Paul Only Sane Person At GOP Debate

No Delegates? We Don’t Care.

For Democrats, the number of returned absentee ballots in Florida so far exceeds the total number turned in in the 2004 general election, and the number of Democratic early voters plus the number of absentees requested is more than the number of actual voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada combined........here

Off Rob Lorei's Bookshelf

Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic
Chalmers Johnson
Like ancient Rome, America is saddled with an empire that is fatally undermining its republican government, argues Johnson (The Sorrows of Empire), in this bleak jeremiad. He surveys the trappings of empire: the brutal war of choice in Iraq and other foreign interventions going back decades; the militarization of space; the hundreds of overseas U.S. military bases full of "swaggering soldiers who brawl and sometimes rape." At home, the growth of an "imperial presidency," with the CIA as its "private army," has culminated in the Bush administration's resort to warrantless wiretaps, torture, a "gulag" of secret CIA prisons and an unconstitutional arrogation of "dictatorial" powers, while a corrupt Congress bows like the Roman Senate to Caesar.........here

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Thanks For Trying Mr. Kucinich

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio is dropping his second long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination for president, he told his hometown newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He said he would announce the decision officially in a press conference Friday......here

John Edwards On the Late Show

Florida Unions Working Hard for Hillary

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is mailing its 110,000 members in Florida as well as its retirees urging them to vote for Clinton. In addition, the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union, is working its 250,000 members for Clinton as well........here

New Group In Town, Citizens for Equal County Representation

7 Single Member Districts
Citizens for Equal County Representation Is a group of citizens that have come together for the betterment of Hillsborough County Government. We are a countywide, non-partisan organization that believes that we must change the structure of the Board of County Commission to be more accountable to all they serve. To do that, we have a petition drive going to get a County Charter Amendment on the Nov. 8th Ballot which would change the Board of County Commission seats to 7 Single Member Districts.
Nomore Countywide Seats !

This will make all the Commissioners more accountable, give better geographical balance to the board, and bring forth REAL Term Limits. Sound good? If so, we need you!........here

Danny Glover Convicted Of Trespassing In Canada

Danny Glover, the American movie star turned labour activist, was convicted in a court in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Thursday for trespassing in a hotel during a union rally. Glover, who was not in court, was convicted along with union representative Alex Dagg and Ontario Federation of Labour president Wayne Samuelson........here

"It is sad that even though the police acknowledged everyone was well behaved and did not press charges, a rich and powerful company can pay to go forward with a private prosecution,"......Alex Dagg
"We must stand vigilant against Bush in these times,"........Danny Glover 2001

Bill Nelson, Florida's Lieberman

Today, Sen. Nelson was among 12 Democratic senators who voted to table the Senate Judiciary Committee's electronic surveillance bill, which would have withheld retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies. In other words, Sen. Nelson voted to give aid and comfort to massive multinational corporations that may have assisted -- in fact, likely did assist -- the federal government in conducting covert electronic surveillance on American citizens, in clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution........here
Looking For A Ned Lamont

CYPRESS CREEK POLLUTED AGAIN FROM TOWN CENTER SITE!

Video showing the massive amounts of silt-laden polluted water running off of the Cypress Creek Town Center site into Cypress Creek…AGAIN!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A Message From Eli Pariser - moveon.org

Democrats Urged To Campaign In Florida

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
One of only two statewide elected Democrats in Florida, strongly urged national and state Democratic leaders on Wednesday to let Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards campaign here after the South Carolina primary on Saturday. Sink and other top Florida Democrats said it makes no sense to hold presidential candidates to a pledge to boycott Florida after South Carolina Democrats vote. Florida's presidential primary is Jan. 29........here

Dean And Me: Roadshow Of An American Primary

Five years after he met Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and three years after Dean's insurgent presidential campaign ended where it started in Burlington, documentary filmmaker Heath Eiden is ready to show his movie on the campaign........here
Video clips can be seen at http://thegrassrootsmovie.com

Paul, Obama Favored Among U. South Florida Students

The results are in: Barack Obama and Ron Paul are the favorites among University of South Florida students, according to the USF straw poll. Students also approved of Amendment I, which garnered a "yes" from 44 percent of voters, and considered the economy/jobs the most important factor in selecting the presidential candidate.......here

The Florida Progressive Coalition Endorses John Edwards

The Florida Progressive Coalition proudly endorses John Edwards to be the next president of the United States. We did not arrive at this decision lightly. We surveyed our readers, members of Netroots mailing lists and blogs of other Floridians. We debated the issue internally for several days via e-mail. We even talked about endorsing no candidate because of our concerns that endorsing one candidate might alienate supporters of other candidates or that our choice for the presidency might be out of the race before January 29. In the end, we decided to vote for the candidate who offered the most progressive and realistic vision for America’s future — John Edwards........here

Cape Coral Residents Feel The Effect Of Florida's Decline

When Eric Feichthaler became mayor three years ago, this town was booming. The city issued 800 permits that month to build single-family homes. Cape Coral still has thousands of empty lots, but last month, it issued just nine permits. A number of factors explain the downturn, and many of them are not unique to Florida. But it is becoming clear the Sunshine State is losing some of its luster......here

4 Independent Candidates Call Central Florida Home

You know Hillary, Barak Rudy, and Mitt -- but how about Frank and Bob? Frank Zilaitis, of Melbourne, and Bob Adkins, of St. Cloud, are two of four independent presidential candidates who live in Central Florida........here

935 False Statements

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."........here
International Criminal Court

Obama vs. Clinton – October 2002

In summary, on the most critical political question of the decade, a freshman state senator from Illinois was able to figure out what an experienced member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee could not - that Saddam Hussein was no longer a threat and that an invasion of Iraq would harm America’s national security interests. Over the next few weeks, Democratic voters will have the opportunity to decide whether which of these two leading candidates has the best judgment to lead this country during this next critical period........here

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Florida Bloggers Should Hide Their Heads In Shame

I am going to have to put with all the media crap here in this state as the media and Democrats here trumpet their importance. I will have to watch as they write and say devastatingly ugly things about the man who is trying to rebuild the party throughout the country. But I sure do hate seeing it play out here like it has........here

Chelsea and America Ferrera in Nevada

Tampa Soldier Stops Torture At Abu Ghraib

Michael Keller was once a software executive from Florida. Then came September 11, 2001. A few weeks after the al-Qaeda attacks on America, he joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in November of 2005. In this revealing collection of e-mails and photographs, Keller shares his first-hand experiences in the War on Terror.......here

A First, MLK Day Parade Marches On MLK Blvd. In Tampa

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated yesterday across the country and in the Tampa Bay area; major parades were held in both St. Petersburg and Tampa. Because of construction in West Tampa, the parade was held for the first time in East Tampa along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard......here

Florida Voting Facts

here

Monday, January 21, 2008

Barack Obama Speaks At Dr. King's Church

Radar Has A Ruff Job At Florida Airport

Since 2001, a 9-year-old border collie named Radar has been patrolling the runway and chasing away any birds in sight. Birds being sucked into aircraft engines is one of the most persistent safety problems at airports. Border collies scare the birds but don't harm them.......here

Have Lunch With Samm Simposon And Ann Wright

Sunday, Jan 27, 2008
12:30pm-2pm - Ferg's 1320 Central Ave. St. Petersburg
4pm-6pm - Leo's Italian Restaurant 2900 Alt 19 Palm Harbor
If you reserve your seat now, $20 gets you fed and helps put your country back on track. Day of the event: $25 (And bring your checkbook to buy one of Ann's great books for only about $15. Autographed to boot! See http://www.voicesofconscience.com/) So for less than the cost of a lousy movie and dinner, you can get Samm one step closer to Washington, get yourself even more educated on civic responsibility, and have a great time. RSVP, send a check for $20 per event BEFORE THURSDAY to:
Samm Simpson For Congress
PO Box 228
Dunedin, FL 34697
For More Info. Mike Fox 727-320-4502

Living In The Woods Of Central Florida

An estimated 8,000 homeless women and men are living in makeshift camps scattered throughout the woods, cars or other parts of Central Florida. "Nobody wakes up at the age of 18 and says my career goal is to be a homeless person in a camp off John Young Parkway," Executive Director of the Homeless Services Network Kathy Jackson said. Jackson said there are more than 140 camps of homeless people in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties........here