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
2:00pm - 4:00pm, Monday, February 11, 2008, At The College Hill Library 
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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 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
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
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
Meet William Hymes
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.......hereFederal 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.
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
