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

Tampa Bay Super Tuesday Parties

Party with Pinellas Dems on Super Tuesday at The Beach Theatre in St Pete Beach at 7:00 pm. A $10 donation is glady accepted to help assit in electing Democrats! For more infor, contact Helen at helenhbriley@verizon.net

Super Tuesday Primary/Caucus Watching Party at Anthenia Garden Restaurant & Sports Bar in St Pete. Check www.BarackObama.com for more details - under Events.

Sí Podemos ! Obama Para Presidente. February 5th Watch Party. A gathering of family and friends that support Obama Para Presidente. More info....here

Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the most liberal senator in 2007, according to National Journal's 27th annual vote ratings. The insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate........here
Is Obama the "Most Liberal" Senator?

Catastrophic Era Of The Bush Republican Party

I'm talking instead about the quiet revolution that has overthrown the old order in the Republican Party. We have witnessed nothing less than a bloodless coup this week that promises to have ramifications for America perhaps even larger than the prospect of a black or a woman president.......here

Nader 2008

Maybe the Democrats and Republicans will nominate Presidential candidates this year who will stand up against the war profiteers, the nuclear industry, the credit card industry, the corporate criminals, big oil, and the drug and health insurance industries. We doubt it. But hope springs eternal. In the meantime, take a few minutes and explore with us an idea.......here

Florida Brits Give Their Views On The Race To Be President

This is the Sunshine State - but for the thousands of Brits who came to Florida to escape the British weather, there is a political chill in the air. The collapse in house prices and the parlous economy has brought them a fierce appreciation of how Washington politics can affect their lives as the Primaries sweep through their adopted state.........more

Florida's Fields Dangerous Playground For Children Of Farmworkers

Florida's fields and groves can be dangerous -- sometimes deadly -- playgrounds for children of migrant farmworkers who are often left unattended or are drafted to help pick crops. And while improvements in migrant child care have been made during the past three decades, funding cutbacks have reversed some of those strides, advocates say........here

Thank You, John Edwards

I Thnk Bill Nelson Just Declared The Battle Is Beginning

He did that once before, if you remember. He decided he would take the lead in Florida. Karen Thurman in effect turned the party over to him, and he was boss. A few months ago he declared "I will lead the delegates to Denver whether or not the DNC plans to let them in." Tonight he gave another battle cry in Davie, Florida, with Hillary on the podium with him after her victory here. Sounds to me like a warning that he and Hillary will win, and the rest of us better look out.......here

Stop The East Pasco Landfill

A private company with no previous experience operating a dump wants to put a 900-acre, 220-foot pile of garbage at the headwaters of the Withlacoochee and Hillsborough Rivers, next to the Green Swamp.......here

Why Is Florida God's Waiting Room?

How'd Florida get to be so full of old people? Good weather, effective marketing, low taxes, and a herd mentality. In the first half of the 20th century, the concept of moving to warmer climes upon retirement didn't really exist—seniors generally lived with relatives to conserve funds. But the advent of Social Security payments in 1940, as well as the post-World War II economic boom, made it possible for grannies to live independently........here

High And Dry In Lutz, Florida

Thanks For Trying Mr. Edwards

here

Tony Sasso For State House District 32

I want to work for you in Tallahassee to solve tough problems, but I can't do it without your help. I need your vote in the primary election on January 29, and in the general election on February 26. Please take some time to learn more about my campaign here on my website. And remember—it's not the government, it's our government. The problems we face don't have easy solutions. But together, we can solve them.......here

1,891,040 Floridians

Over 1,891,040 Floridians actually voted for a Republican.

Results

Independents Go Home

Check out this political mystery: Liberals, a.k.a. the Democratic base, are angry. They're so angry that they tried to unseat senior senator and former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman in 2006, who had become synonymous with bipartisanship. Bipartisanship, hell. They're in the mood for payback.......here

John Edwards Kingmaker

Mike Gravel: Bush Our Worst President Ever

Watch Commercials While You Pump Your Gas

St. Petersburg, Florida

Florida Consumer Confidence Index At Its Lowest Level In 16 Years

"Consumer confidence in Florida reflects the same conditions we had during the recession of 1990-1991," said Chris McCarty, who directs the consumer survey for the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research........here

Michael Vick's Pit Bulls Thrive in Loving Homes

There are more great photos at the link. If you're interested in adopting a pit bull, here's a terrific site with loads of information as well as links to your local rescue organizations........here

FDP Netroots Coalition: The Website!

Announcing the newest website in the progressive arsenal - The Florida Democratic Party Netroots Coalition . The official web site of the Florida Democratic Party Netroots Coalition. We’re trying to bring together the Democratic Party and the progressive Netroots in Florida........here

The $1.4 Million Dollar Ass

Five years after ABC showed the rear end of actress Charlotte Ross on "NYPD Blue," government TV censors finally got their own butts in gear by imposing $1.4 million in fines on the stations that aired the controversial episode of the popular show. The FCC found the scene indecent "because it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs - specifically an adult woman's buttocks." And repeatedly showing Ross' butt was "titillating and shocking."

Florida's Cuban Americans Stray From The Republican Fold

There's a lesson here for the Republican candidates competing in Tuesday's Florida primary. Many Cuban exiles blamed the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs, in which 68 exiles died and 1,200 were captured, on the then US president, John F Kennedy, and they flocked in protest into the hands of the Republican party. Now 46 years later the flame is flickering. New generations less versed in the events of 1961 are more open to Democratic advances. "It would be dangerous for the Republicans to take the Cuban-American vote for granted, as the community is becoming more differentiated with younger voters wanting more independence. It's going to be a tough year for the Republicans,".......here

Whooping Cranes Arrive In Florida

A group of endangered whooping cranes has finished its 1,200-mile trip to Florida.The cranes crossed seven states since October 13th and are the seventh group to be guided by ultralights from the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.......here

Trip Journal

Florida's Hispanics Weigh Their Vote

Florida's Hispanic community, and Cuban-Americans in particular, have also become accustomed to assuming office themselves at state and national level. Leading examples in Washington are Senator Mel Martinez and Congressman Lincoln Rafael Diaz-Balart, both Republicans, reflecting the traditionally conservative political leanings of the Cuban exile community.......more

Raul Martinez For Congress

History was being made in South Florida this week as Mayor Raul Martinez announced his campaign for United States Congress. For Democrats, Independents and many Republicans this is great news. Mayor Martinez had unparelleled success for two and half decades as the Strong Mayor of Hialeah, Fl. Florida's fifth largest city and the largest municipality in Florida's 21st congressional district........here

Many of you know the current congressman. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. He is well known as a lock step Bush supporter whose rhetoric and ideology are often offensive and far out-of-step with South Floridians

Tampa 9/11 Truth Meetup Group

Meet other local citizens who are interested in publicizing the truth about the 9/11 NeoCon Strikes, and the Lies & Ommissions Report. Gather for education, activism ideas and action on this critical topic........here

Don't Let Senators Clinton Or Obama Off The Hook

here

Samm And Ann In St. Petersburg

That's How Lincoln Won The Presidency

"I think what he's doing today, talking to these young voters, that's really important. Because it's very hard for us to think that our voice is being heard," Cate Edwards said. "I think most young voters feel that our democracy has been taken away from us, and I think that most of us realize that this election is a big step towards taking it back.".........here

"Dan Rather Reports On Politics" Heads To St. Petersburg, FL

"Dan Rather Reports on Politics: The Florida Primary" will take place in front of a live audience at the Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. A simulcast of the event will be aired at Fox Hall, an auditorium also at the college.........here

In Florida, The Recession Already Is A Reality

In Florida, people don't ask whether we are headed for a recession. They know a recession is here. For those who live in the area, the questions narrow down to two. How much worse will it get? How long will it last?......more

Dan Gelber for Florida Senate

It’s no surprise that Dan Gelber is spending his life dedicated to serving the public. In his family, public service is simply what you do. His father Seymour came to Florida in 1947 after serving in WWII, ultimately spending his life as a prosecutor, juvenile court judge and Mayor of Miami Beach. His mother Edith arrived from New York with teaching degrees from Hunter and Columbia colleges, and spent her life as a foreign languages teacher in Florida’s public schools......here

A President Like My Father

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved. I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.......here