A report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a very reputable and unbiased D.C.- based research outfit. CREW has named Buchanan as the only freshman to be included in its list of the 20 most corrupt U.S. congressmen.......here
For Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, it was a day to let the world know she'd changed her mind on the mammoth $700 billion measure for reeling financial firms........here
Florida Republican leaders hastily convened a top secret meeting this week to grapple with Sen. John McCain's sagging performance in this must-win state........here
It's a sweltering July afternoon in Tampa, Florida, and a small crowd of men are cooling off in the most notorious watering hole in the South, the Mons Venus. A tiny one-story building wedged between fast-food restaurants on busy Dale Mabry Highway, the Mons is known for its exotic dancers (and convenient proximity to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). But the star attraction is the 68-year-old dude with wire-frame glasses and a long gray ponytail talking on the phone in the back: Joe Redner........here
The thematic structure of the right-wing smear campaign against Barack Obama.......here
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A BLAST FROM THE PAST! 
Eileen Hart wiped tears from her eyes minutes after she gave back her Moral Courage Award at today's Hillsborough County Commission meeting. Two weeks ago, the commission voted to rename the award, which is given to citizens who challenge government, for controversial political activist Ralph Hughes.......here
No, Barack Obama Has Not Traveled To Havana. But His Campaign Has 
Empty Chair Charlie's Empty Suit made a roaring comeback with the Sarasota Herald Tribune's Capitol Comments Blog reporting that after weeks of ignoring the fact that Floridians are suffering under the
Ybor City was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World with nearly 12,000 tabaqueros (cigar-makers) employed in 200 factories. Ybor City produced an estimated 700 million cigars a year at the industry's peak. It is now a part of the Tampa area and is home to many restaurants and nightclubs and is a social hub..........here
We have to elect a President that will rebuild the American dream, repair a badly shattered financial system and restore America’s standing in the world. Look at the mess that we have in our financial system. This is not accidental folks. It doesn’t have to be this way........here
Friday night, all over America, people gathered in their homes, in convention centers and anywhere a television was available and Cafe Hey was no exception. Cafe Hey is a tiny coffeehouse opened less than one year ago on the outskirts of downtown Tampa..........here
Don Vicente Inn
The $700 billion financial bailout package failed because most Americans wanted it to fail. Before the vote, members of Congress were getting calls 100 to 1 against the bill........here
Thursday, October 2 at 6:30 PM
Congress balked at bailing out Wall Street today, but Democrats from South Florida held their noses and voted for a financial rescue package. They felt compelled to prop up financial institutions to protect pensioners, homeowners and investors whose savings and investments are potentially at stake........here
Eurocrime Film Invasion Tampa 2008 will bring ’70s Italian cop and gangster flicks to the University of Tampa campus Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4.......here
Is a non-partisan organization that promotes civic responsibility and voter participation through educating Tampa Bay’s youth about the significance of being an educated and engaged citizen. By combining civic learning in the classroom with an authentic voting experience that reflects the adult process we are teaching the importance of voting to sustain our representative democracy...........here
I will work to ensure that this freewheeling deregulation that has brought our great country to this serious day does not happen again. I strongly support the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigations which begin this week, and will push for accountability for those responsible for the damage to our communities...........Congresswoman Kathy Castor
They're called Caribbean crazy ants and it's a good name. "They drive me really crazy," says 9-year-old Daniel Morris. Daniel's family lives near Myakka City and the ants have infested their home and the five acres around it. Everywhere you go there are "ants, ants, ants, ants, and ants........here
The billboard on Ehrlich Road in north Tampa touting the re-election of Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair reads, in fine print at the bottom, "Political advertisement paid for and approved by Brian Blair, Republican for Hillsborough County Commission, District 6." It appears, however, that his campaign did not pay for the billboard advertisement........here
In Florida, an overwhelming number of residents seemingly oppose issuing a permit for another water bottling plant on the Santa Fe River (five permits are in the works), yet a denial of the permit is hardly a done deal - even though the water bottling company involved has yet to be identified by the property owner..........here
Costner and his band Modern West have just recorded a song for the Tampa Bay Rays to celebrate their AL East division title...........here
Democrats -- Yes: Alcee Hastings, Ron Klein, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Robert Wexler, Kendrick Meek, Tim Mahoney, Corrine Brown, Allen Boyd. Democrats -- No: Kathy Castor.
Diaz-Balart (R) 45
Let me explain. ... It’s called the Florida FlyIns -- an international journalism course at the UF. For nine years now, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and professor extraordinaire John Kaplan has been teaching the course. Every year the class flies to a predetermined country and spends a week there, trying to tell its stories...........here
With a new Energy Bill slated to be signed by Florida’s Governor Crist, grassroots organizations from all over the state came together this week to sign a letter urging Governor Crist to take a stance against nuclear energy.......here
