"Olivia's Kiss" A Novel

Catherine Durkin Robinson

I wrote a story that was passed around to several literary agents who suggested I should say the idea was inspired by actual events. Since I could not lie, because my mom would kill me, agents rejected my story and high ideals. Instead of letting the story die, I finally decided to share it with the masses. One chapter at a time. Every month.....here

NBC Is Going Green

NBC Universal's new "Green is Universal" campaign kicks off Nov. 4th with a week of green-themed programming aimed at entertaining, informing and empowering Americans to lead greener lives......here

Because You Chose Red

What Has Jeb Been Smoking?

Hillary Rodham Clinton will probably be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, and any one of five Republican candidates could beat her in next year's election, says former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Bush's younger brother......here

Americans Are Sick and Tired of the Republican Politics of Fear

"President Bush's war of choice in Iraq is making us less safe here at home. For the president to say otherwise just goes to show that he's more interested in scoring political points than finding a way out of Iraq. Americans are sick and tired of the Republican politics of fear. They want to bring our brave troops home from Iraq, a foreign policy that's not only tough but smart, and a president who will refocus on fighting and winning the real war on terror."...........Howard Dean

John Edwards - Heroes

The End Of The Florida Everglades

The rescue of the Florida Everglades, the largest and most expensive environmental restoration project on the planet, is faltering. Seven years into what was supposed to be a four-decade, $8 billion effort to reverse generations of destruction, federal financing has slowed to a trickle. Projects are already years behind schedule. Thousands of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat continue to disappear, paved by developers or blasted by rock miners to feed the hungry construction industry........here

So far, though, most presidential candidates have yet to utter the word "Everglades." In the only mention that has made news, Fred Thompson, a Republican, suggested he might allow oil drilling there.

Ralph Nader; President Of The America I'd Like To Live In

Ralph Nader Sues The Democratic Party

Consumer advocate and three-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader sued the Democratic Party on Tuesday for conspiring to prevent him from running for president in 2004. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Nader, his vice presidential running mate Peter Miguel Camejo and a group of voters from several states.......here

Florida Needs to Get Geeky

Jimmy Wales started Wikipedia in 2001 and moved from California to St. Petersburg, Fla., soon after because of the cheap cost of living. However, as Wikipedia has grown into one of the 10 most-visited Web sites on the Internet with more than 8 million articles in 250 languages, attracting talented tech workers to Florida has been a challenge........more

Ron Paul on Jay Leno

Samm Simpson's Encounter With Senator Bill Nelson

Last Saturday I happened to see Senator Bill Nelson in the hallway at the Democratic convention in Orlando. The Saturday night dinner - which I didn't atttend - had been in progress for fifteen minutes and Senator Nelson was in a side hallway, looking for an open door. Here's the exchange - to the best of my memory......here
"We are not on the same side, you signed the Military Commisions Act last October, you took away the writ of habeas corpus!

Screw The Florida Democratic Party

This has been a terrible time in our state to see the way the state Democrats broke the rules deliberately, worked with the GOP to do so. And then accused Dean of stealing our votes. Amazing how many fell for it all........here

With Bill Nelson Leading The Way.

In Burma, Child Soldiers Bought And Sold

The former Burma is so desperate to replenish its army after desertions and attrition that children are bought and sold by military recruiters. They are beaten and held as virtual prisoners while the government denies it is happening........here
Why Doesn't China Do Something. Am I Suppose To Watch And Enjoy The Upcoming Olympic Games?

Tampa Bay's Dropout Factories

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
East Bay, Hillsborough, King, Leto, Plant City, Robinson, Jefferson, Tampa Bay Tech, Bloomingdale, Wharton

PINELLAS COUNTY
Boca Ciega, Clearwater, Dixie Hollins, Dunedin, Gibbs, Lakewood, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg,
Seminole, Osceola

here

Sunday Show Roundup: The Rhetoric of Iran

Weekend Protests Target War Funding

Tens of thousands of people across the United States staged demonstrations over the weekend to protest the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq and the White House's reported plans to attack Iran. Organised by a diverse array of anti-war groups, the nationwide protests were held in more than 10 major cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle......here In Orlando....here

Congratulations

Litbrit And Susan Smith
Winners of the First Annual Netroots Awards.......here

A Liberal Re-Thinks Ron Paul

Let's Bomb The Persians 2

Neo-Con Guru Norman Podhoretz

A senior foreign policy adviser to the Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani has urged that Iran be bombed using cruise missiles and "bunker busters" to set back Teheran’s nuclear programme by at least five years. The tough message at a time of crisis between the United States and Iraq was delivered by Norman Podhoretz, one of the founders of neoconservatism, who has also imparted his stark advice personally to a receptive President George W. Bush......more

Dean Lashes Out At GOP

Chairman Howard Dean on Saturday criticized Republicans in Congress for not supporting legislation to expand a popular children's health care program........here

"The Republican leaders have made their choice. They want to stay in Iraq and deny our kids health care, America cannot afford four more years of a president who borrows for the war and denies health insurance for our kids"

Bush vetoes 3.5 billion for SCHIP wants $46 billion more for wars.......here

How Do You Spin Something Like This?

Speeders Beware

Your Neighbors Might Have You On Their Radar
That's the message police departments across the country are trying to send by loaning residents radar guns and turning them into neighborhood speed watchers.......here

Harry Potter Is A Lefty

Harry Potter is a left-winger and the seven books by JK Rowling are a diatribe against Thatcherite Britain, a French philosopher said on the day of the last novel's publication in French.......here

Alex Jones' Endgame - Trailer

Lets Move To New Hampshire

Free State Project

The Free State Project is an effort to recruit 20,000 liberty-loving people to move to New Hampshire. We are looking for neighborly, productive, tolerant folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy expressed in our Statement of Intent

Free State Project

70 Years Later, Florida College Fountain Finally Works

Frank Lloyd Wright

Was an architectural genius, but a giant fountain he designed for a Florida college was a dud. Engineers could never make it work right. Now, nearly 70 years after Wright first planned it, the fountain finally gushed into the three-story high dome of water he envisioned. More than 1,000 people cheered its opening Thursday at Florida Southern College, but behind the so-called "Water Dome" were modern engineers, technology and computer control........here

Florida Prison Guards Disciplined For Allowing

Gay Wedding

One prison guard was fired, another resigned and six others were handed suspensions for allowing what the Florida Department of Corrections calls a gay wedding between two female inmates at the Lowell Correctional Institution.......here

On Oct. 27th: End This War

Members of Democracy for America Prefer Gore

Members of Democracy for America (DFA), prefer Al Gore as the Democrats’ 2008 presidential nominee. According to an ongoing poll, the former vice president and recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize attracts nearly 30 percent of the vote as a write-in candidate. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) is second with 22 percent, followed by former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), both of whom have garnered about 17 percent of the vote.....here

Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lags far behind the quartet with 5 percent.

School Board Police Arrest Reporter In Miami

Taser Gator

University of Florida police were justified when they used a Taser against a student who refused to stop questioning Sen. John Kerry at a campus event, according to a state investigation released Wednesday.......here

Vote For Our Hometown Favorites

Best Writer: Litbrit

Best National Blog: Pushing Rope, Best Media Blog: The Buzz, Best Professional Blog: Samm Simpson, Best Candidate Website: Lee Nelson, Best Local Party Website: East Hillsborough Democratic Club, Netroots Candidate of the Year: Mary Mulhern, Netroots Activist of the Year: Susan Smith, Netroots Organization of the Year: DFA, And Best Local Blog: Tampa Bay Blue

Vote.......here

Florida's Butterfly Population Struggles

The Queen Butterfly at Buttonwood Canal in the Everglades

"These represent the first butterflies lost from Florida that we know about," Marc Minno, an entomologist who conducted monthly surveys for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Herald. "There are things down there that are just hanging on by a thread.""Clearly, the diversity of the butterfly population has been compromised," said Dennis Olle, president of the Miami blue chapter of the North American Butterfly Association.......here

Scientists said the destruction of the butterflies' habitat the strongest factor in their disappearance.

John McCombs Shows His Ass

Why Should Venezuela Keep Their Oil, We All Know Exxon/Mobil Needs It.

The Big Show: Kenneth Quinnell With Samm Simpson

click here