If Clinton Wins Nomination, Nader May Run

I don’t think she has it. And she has this increasingly distasteful habit of pandering and flattering in her public appearances. And she panders to special interest groups that need to be given the straight truth, and she flatters people in her audience. And I think that is a sign that she thinks she’s a frontrunner and she can play cautious......more

The New Mass Migration

There are journeys that change a traveler, that transform him into a different person. And there are travelers who, by the end of their journey, want nothing so much as for life to return to the way it used to be. But they discover that there is no turning back, that their world has changed irrevocably.......more

Democrats praise Dean's much criticized 50-state strategy

The Democratic National Committee showcased the party's presidential candidates at its winter meeting here, but the gathering also was a victory lap for Chairman Howard Dean and his much criticized 50-state strategy.Just months ago, as the 2006 congressional elections were approaching, Dean came under fire from some party officials, who charged that the national party was wasting money in so-called red Republican states instead of pouring resources into blue states that tend to vote Democratic......more

THE CANDIDATES: Presidential hopefuls court the party faithful

Four years ago, Howard Dean burst onto the national stage with a fiery speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting that captured his party's anger toward President Bush and the brewing war in Iraq.......more

Right Sees Lemons in White House Race

Contemplating the current field of Republican presidential candidates, Rush Limbaugh sounded like a man with malaise. "To be honest with you, there's nobody out there that revs me up," he confessed to his audience of several million conservative sympathizers on his radio show last week, "so why should I pretend there is?"......more

Hillary The Opportunist

Orange snow falls in Siberia

Russia's emergency situations ministry said today it was dispatching experts to a Siberian province to find out why yellow and orange snow has been falling in several villages. Snow ranging in colour from light yellow to orange and carrying a distinctive "musty" odour was observed yesterday in five districts of Omsk province, which lies in western Siberia and borders Kazakhstan.....more

Echoes of Dean in '08

"People were going crazy," committee Chairman Howard Dean said to ABC News of the February 2003 speech in which he ignited his presidential campaign by forcefully identifying himself as representing the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.".......more

"By about the fifth sentence, when I gave that line about the Democratic Party, I realized that it was pretty powerful."

The Other Miami

Our relentless tour guides have yet more reality in store for us. We head north to the Umoja Village shantytown, a 45-person squatter settlement on a barren city-owned lot that looks like the sort of thing you might find in Bangladesh. A couple of residents show us around—the “kitchen” area buzzing with flies, the “living room” crammed with tattered old furniture and the dwellings made of plywood, cardboard and tarp.......more

“We can have a democratic society, or we can have the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We cannot have both.”- Louis Brandeis. Supreme Court Justice

Umoja Village USA

"REAL MEN DON'T SEXUALLY ABUSE WOMEN OR ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN."

Spc. Swift, facing a redeployment to Iraq while serving under the command of the same individuals that allowed her to be raped and sexual harassed, suffered a breakdown due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and went absent without leave rather than subject herself to the horrors she experienced during her first tour of duty.......more

Dear 2008 Presidential Candidate

We call on you to oppose any escalation of the Iraq War, to demand a swift end to the occupation, and to propose a plan that brings our brave men and women home.

The Democracy for America community awaits your response

Sign the Petition......here

Bush wants to put giant mirrors in space

The US wants the world's scientists to develop technology to block sunlight as a last-ditch way to halt global warming. It says research into techniques such as giant mirrors in space or reflective dust pumped into the atmosphere would be "important insurance" against rising emissions, and has lobbied for such a strategy to be recommended by a UN report on climate change.......more

WHY THIS SUDDEN INTEREST IN GLOBAL WARMING?

The Real John McCain

Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize?

"The foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today"

Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Limbaugh, was nominated for the prestigious award for his "nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin......more

Ms. Bondi, Lies About Master Tank

I legally fostered and adopted a dying dog who had a serious medical condition that long predated the hurricane," Pam Bondi (Hillsborough County Prosecutor)

"If he had been as close to death as Ms. Bondi claims, he would never have been placed on a transport that would take on a good day over 10 hours to get to the destination," Ceily Trog (Manager of St. Bernard Parish Animal Control)

Judge rules against Katrina dogs' new owners

New Orleans SWAT Team Raids Saint Bernard Housing Project

Last night at 2:30 in the morning, MayDay NOLA, which had been in the middle of a 17-day occupation of the New Day Community Center, with permission of the leaseholders, had been raided by SWAT team members at gunpoint. It was quite scary......more

Right-Wing Follies on UTube

A model wears a creation with a portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her skirt, by Italian fashion designer Gattinoni for his Spring-Summer 2007 collection at Rome's Auditorium.....more

The Right to Live Here!

The political is always personal. I wonder if the lack of interest evident in our local authorities' attitude toward affordable housing stems from the perception that the problem will eventually get resolved on its own. Or from the fact that they personally happened to buy their first homes when housing was indeed affordable......more

St. Pete's Tent City On My Space

Tony Dungy, the NFL and the IFI

The IFI is one of the leading proponents of SJR7, the proposed Indiana Constitutional amendment on marriage rights, and other legislative efforts to deny equal rights to LGBT folks. Under the guise of protecting traditional family values, it helps spread misinformation that fosters bigitory toward our community and our own families......more

"Silence Is No Longer An Option"
Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins Speak Out
Anti-war protesters filled the streets of Washington on Saturday in one
of the largest protests since the invasion of Iraq. Veterans and military
families joined lawmakers, peace groups and celebrities to urge Congress and
President Bush to bring the troops home now. Protest organizers United
For Peace and Justice estimated 500,000 took part in the demonstration. In
California, smaller rallies were held in San Francisco, Los Angeles and
Sacramento. In Washington, marchers converged on the National Mall for a
two-hour rally........more

Dear Howard Dean: What I wanna know...

I have never lost an election. But my career has never been about winning elections. My career in this campaign is about changing the Democratic Party, it's about changing America, and this campaign is about taking back the White House so we can have health insurance, so we can have a balanced budget, so we can have an inclusive society where everybody believes in each other and believes in America.....more

Keith, Happy Birthday Dude
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George's speech to Parliament, January 2007

Anti-troop supporters at the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace

Brian Moore, a former U.S. Senate candidate and the leader of the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace and Justice, tried to create a forum for diverse and opposing viewpoints on the war in Iraq. He invited representatives from several groups that he thought would defend President Bush’s strategy in the war-torn country and help create a robust debate. Instead, the two dozen people who came to the town hall meeting at the Spring Hill Library Thursday night were largely forced to play devil’s advocate........more

Opposing Viewpoint

Department of Peace

Participate in an historic citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace. There is currently a bill before both Houses of Congress. This landmark measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

click here

Bloody Condi

Drinking Liberally is compiling a bartender's guide of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to sell as a fundraiser for the 2007 Drinking Liberally National Conference (DLNC), scheduled for September 14-16 in Des Moines, Iowa

click here

Lee's Summit, Missouri
"My overall view of President Bush is I don't think we could have a better leader" Dwight McGarrah

The bedroom community of about 80,000 just outside Kansas City has a median family income of more than $70,000 and is largely made up of people who are white and well-educated. But while concerns about the war in Iraq, the economy, health care and education are on the minds of many here, a random sampling found few who blame Bush.......more

Progressive Talk Radio – Why not in Tampa?

Many people believe the time has come to have voices heard on our local airwaves other than Rush Limbaugh and his extremist imitators. Several progressive talk radio shows are now available, and most are entertaining and informative. The only way these shows will ever be heard in our area is for our local station managers to know that people are interested.....more

Lawmakers call for Bush impeachment

Two New Mexico lawmakers have introduced a measure calling on Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The measure alleges that Bush and Cheney conspired with others to intentionally mislead Congress and the public about the threat posed by Iraq in order to justify the war. It also cites the administration's warrantless wiretapping program and alleges the torture of prisoners and the denial of constitutional rights to enemy combatants.......more

No Impeachment, Prison

Web a hot medium for campaigns

Howard Dean may have been the first presidential candidate to actively use the Internet to advance his candidacy, but it has already become obvious that he won't be the last. What is also becoming obvious is that politicians in the 2008 presidential campaign can -- and will -- use the Web for things Dean may never have considered........more

Love the Warrior, Hate the War
Why progressives have more in common with the military than they think

When Army Col. Ike Wilson returned home in March 2004 from a 12 month deployment in Iraq, one thought remained with him: “Why such a deliberate plan to fight the war, but none to win the peace to follow?”.......more

Attack on Iran would be catastrophe

"It would be absolutely counterproductive, and it would be catastrophic," ElBaradei said at a discussion on nuclear proliferation at the World Economic Forum. The Bush administration in recent weeks has toughened its stance against Iran, which the West has accused of seeking to secretly build an atomic bomb, raising fears among political and business leaders that the U.S. plans an attack.......more

The fragile myth of the deserving rich

"Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factories, whose lives are filled with cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extradordinary luck......more

There was that tongue again

When the President lies he’s got this weird nervous tick: He sticks the tip of his tongue out between his lips. Like a little boy who knows he’s fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. In his State of the Union tonight the President did his tongue thing 124 times — my kids kept count......more

Dean Responds to President Bush's State of the Union Address

The Real State Of The Union

"Democrats welcome President Bush's call to achieve 'big things' for the American people, but he should remember that the American people know actions speak louder than words. For too long, the words from this President have not matched the action required to solve the problems that hard working Americans face. From the escalation of the war in Iraq' to his new health care tax to the energy crisis, once again tonight, we heard more hollow promises and empty proposals that just won't fix the problems.......more

Where have you gone, Howard Dean?

Once a formidable political force and the supposed embodiment of a Democratic renaissance, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, appears to have left and gone away. Though his job is still one of national prominence, and his party "thumped" Republicans in the most recent election, the former Vermont governor seems to have become merely a shadow of his old self......more

I’m beautiful and Rich—now get out of my city!

The beginning sounds like a real act of self defense. However, the suggestions that Ms. Rich Diamonds comes up with aren’t funny at all. In fact, Ms. Diamonds advocates the beating up of St. Petersburg homeless because, like, they really shouldn’t be in her city, right?......more

Well Said Mr. Webb

"The president took us into this war recklessly, We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed."........more

CNN wants your thoughts on the State of the Union

click here

Blog for Choice Day

What kind of legacy will we leave for our daughters in the future? Will we send them back to the dark ages of back-alley abortions and unregulated, unsafe medical procedures? Or will we fight with all we have to guarantee them the same legal rights that have protected us for the past thirty-four years? This, I believe, is the real challenge......more

Andy Griffith vs. Patriot Act

SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH CONDOLEEZZA RICE
"We Feel We Have a Responsibility to the World"

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discusses America's new engagement in the Middle East, the path to stability in Iraq and explains why Washington is unwilling to compromise in its position against Iran......click here

Alan Colmes is a Punk

U.S. Troops' Deadly Weekend

The deaths come as the U.S. begins to deploy thousands of additional troops into Iraq, the first of 21,500 meant to bolster forces that must confront Shiite and Sunni Arab gunmen in a complex peacekeeping and counterinsurgency mission.....more

St. Petersburg Police On YouTube

Hillary's in. Well, whoopty-doo

Unelectable, and rightly so

Everybody must surely realize that 30 to 40 percent of this country -- the same hard-skulled core of lunatics who still support our Criminal-in-Chief -- will simply never, ever vote for Hillary Clinton. Of the remainder who might vote for Hillary, at least half were opposed to the war from the outset. Remember, the Iraq War was never particularly popular; Zogby figured 42% of the US was opposed before the first bomb ever fell; most of these, obviously, were Democrats. And Hillary, these early war opponents will remember, was an active, enthusiastic accomplice to the crime......more

Massive peace march in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
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The death of the American gentleman

It would not be asking too much for America's most famous businessman to simply behave like a gentleman. With great wealth and fame come responsibility, the foremost of which, for a man of power, is the proper treatment of women.....more

Compassionate Conservatives Run Amok In St. Petersburg

The city of St. Petersburg's battle against its homeless residents escalated today when police slashed their tents to the ground and threw them away. Homeless bystanders stood by and watched in shock, many with tears streaming down their faces.....more

Help pours in for St. Pete homeless

Sell Crack = 5 Years, Sellout Your Country = 30 Months

Former Representative Bob Ney, the only member of Congress to admit guilt in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison, longer than had been requested by the Justice Department.....more

We have a chance to rub her nose in it

The White House had suggested the federal government should take charge in Louisiana because Blanco was a Democrat, while leaving Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, in control in his state......more

House Rolls Back Big Oil Subsidies

The legislation would impose a "conservation fee" on oil and gas taken from deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico; scrap nearly $6 billion worth of oil industry tax breaks enacted by Congress in recent years; and seek to recoup royalties lost to the government because of an Interior Department error in leases issued in the late 1990s......more

http://www.exxonsecrets.org/

The Internet Gets America's Vote

A lot can change in four years. According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the number of people who used the Internet as their main source of information about the 2006 midterm elections more than doubled from the last round of midterm elections in 2002.....more

Surge of the Power Morons

Thoughts on The Surge

What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy

The human mind isn’t very well equipped to make sense of a figure like $1.2 trillion. We don’t deal with a trillion of anything in our daily lives, and so when we come across such a big number, it is hard to distinguish it from any other big number. Millions, billions, a trillion — they all start to sound the same......more

Abandon Ship?

To Flee Or Not To Flee How Republicans Handle A Failing President

For the legislators of today, this problem is largely framed in terms of Bush's proposal to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq. In the next few weeks, the House and the Senate will take up resolutions opposing the "surge." Though these measures will be nonbinding, they will amount to a no-confidence test for the Bush presidency......more

Escalate

Tampa Bay's Hottest Blogger
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Glaciers' retreat in Greenland keeps mapmakers busy

All over Greenland and the Arctic, rising temperatures are not simply melting ice; they are changing the very geography of coastlines. Nunataks — "lonely mountains" in Inuit — that were encased in the margins of Greenland's ice sheet are being freed of their age-old bonds, exposing a new chain of islands.......more

Dean appearance at Patrick’s side fuels speculation

Gov. Deval Patrick was followed throughout Martin Luther King Day by Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, stirring speculation that the governor is already being eyed by power-brokers on the national political stage.“This has been an xtraordinary day for me to come to this state because of Gov. Patrick,” said Dean......more