Mike Gravel: Bush Our Worst President Ever

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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

Will Lehigh Acres Become Second-Largest City In Southwest Florida?

Lehigh Acres could become the second-largest city in Southwest Florida if its voters say so Tuesday. The last time those voters were asked, they rejected incorporation by more than 3-1. Back in 1996, just over 10,000 Lehigh residents voted. There now are 22,700 registered voters in the Lehigh Acres Fire District.......more

Letterman: Barack gives the Top Ten

Chavez: Pull Reserves From US Banks

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged his Latin American allies on Saturday to begin withdrawing billions of dollars in international reserves from U.S. banks, warning of a looming U.S. economic crisis. Chavez warned that U.S. "imperialism is entering into a crisis that can affect all of us" and said Latin America "will save itself alone.".........here

Florida Prepares To Unplug Touchscreen Voting Machines

When you go to the polls next week for Florida's primary, it'll be the last time you use those highly touted touch-screen voting machines. After less than six years, the state is pulling the plug on most of its 25,000 touch-screen voting machines, once heralded as a way to prevent messy, embarrassing elections........here

Miami-Dade County alone must cast aside 7,200 touch-screen machines, for which it paid $24.5 million and still owes $15 million. Statewide, the debt is estimated at $32 million.

Litbrit: I Love My Country Part One

The French have Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Americans can choose from a broad selection of slogans, from the boisterous YOU-ESS-AAAY! to the beautiful and dignified The land of the free and the home of the brave, and everything in between. But what do we Brits have to say about ourselves--what can we say about ourselves?.........here

Linda Saul-Sena Pissing Off Ikea

How long do we have to wait in Tampa for the public to demand its city government be something better, something innovative, something sustainable? How long do we continue to accept mediocrity and laziness? If the hipper, cooler businesses won’t go green, won’t try innovation, how in the hell can we expect to force the Wal-Marts and chain restaurants of the world to do likewise? Saul-Sena and colleague Councilman John Dingfelder have been more strident than the Pam Iorio administration about moving toward greener, more environmentally friendly designs in urban planning and construction.........here

The Coast Of Florida Is Still Clear

Enviro-leftists who oppose drilling in the gulf should know that none other than Fidel Castro is taking advantage of the Outer Shelf. Cuba has gleaned $1.7 billion from oil and gas drilling as close as 60 miles from the Florida coast since 2004, according to Rep. John Peterson of Pennsylvania, and "is drilling closer to sovereign American property than we are."........here

The story did not mention higher fuel standards and mass transit as other options to achieving energy independence.

"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

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!

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