Drug Addicts Flocking To Florida

While more than 30 other states have taken steps to monitor the legal sale of heavy-duty painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, Florida has stalled -- and that has black market dealers and addicts flocking to the state.......here

Florida's Representative Allen

Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

Florida state representative Bob Allen, stripped of his committee assignments this week by a house speaker seeking his resignation over a gay sex scandal, made more enemies with an apparent slur against Florida's Latino leadership........here

"The fact that he's comparing the consequences of the allegations of his sexual misconduct to the plight of dissidents trapped in Castro's gulag is at best absurd and at worst insulting. He needs to go," Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera

Presidential Advance Manual

How to Stop Dissent

The first step to keeping demonstrators out of events, the manual tells the president's event staff, is to encourage the Secret Service to "ask the local police department to designate a protest area...preferably not in view of the event site or the motorcade route." As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event, the manual instructs.......here

Howard Dean's

Educated Elite

For too long that "educated elite" theme has been allowed to go on. They must find it easy to dumb down education systems when all the while calling educated people elite. We must not allow them to use the two words together in a negative way against any candidates.......more

Protesters At Cheney’s Place In Wyoming

Demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon at the rustic crossroads of U.S. Highway 22 and the Village Road to protest the war in Iraq and local resident Vice President Dick Cheney. Following anti-war speeches and folksy, 60s-style sing-a-longs, the crowd of about 250—ranging in age from toddlers in strollers to a 92-year-old woman—marched peacefully along the mile-plus county bike path before assembling outside the gates of the tony Teton Pines Country Club where the vice president owns a home........more

Florida To Cash In On Caviar

It's not likely to replace the orange as the Sunshine State icon, but caviar could be the state's next cash crop as University of Florida experts look for this fall's harvest to prove there's a fortune to be made with farm-raised fish roe. Caspian Sea sturgeon, prized over their American cousins for their distinctly flavored eggs, were first brought to Florida fish farms about six years ago.........more

Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota also has gotten into the sturgeon business with a 20-acre farm and 53 tons of fish.

Mack's Apples

Londonderry, New Hampshire

A Londonderry apple farmer has posted his political opinions along Route 28, but not everyone likes what he has to say, and some have taken action in the form of vandalism. Mack's Apples owner Andy Mack is not afraid to share his opinions about President George W. Bush. "He's an absolute total disaster for this country, for the world and for the planet," Mack said......here

"I don't agree with Andy Mack's politics, but as far as the veterans at this post, we'd all grab a rifle to defend his right to say what he wants," said Jack Courtney, senior vice commander of American Legion Post 27

Clergy Used In US Martial Law

3,706 And The Killing Continues

Moscow And Beijing

Strategic Partnership

We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic aviation on a permanent basis, the president told reporters at joint military exercises with China and four central Asian states in the Russian Ural mountains. Around 6,000 troops and hundred of armoured vehicles and fighter jets took part in military manoeuvres in the Urals, watched by Mr Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.......more

China Cracks Down

On AIDS Groups And Orphans

In one case, an activist in Henan province, where the nation's AIDS crisis hit early, said police ordered him out of his office on Thursday and suggested that he flee the area for his own safety. Six other volunteers in the group were detained.......here

How Does A Place Like This Get To Host The Olympic Games?

Countdown: Worst Person August 14, 2007

Let's Attack The Persians

An Attempt To Deceive Americans Into Yet Another War

Such is the case with Kucinich's appropriate answer to the latest move by the Bush-Cheney administration to ramp up hostilities with Iran. That move -- the unprecedented attempt to label Iran's 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a "specially designated global terrorist" group.....here

In an era of mass delusion and denial on the party of leaders in both major political parties, stating the obvious can be a radical act.

Recall The C's

Vox Shows Us How......here

Army Suicide Rate Highest In 26 Years
A Quarter While Serving In Iraq And Afghanistan

The 99 suicides included 28 soldiers deployed to the two wars and 71 who weren't. About twice as many women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide as did women not sent to war, the report said........here

Cypress Creek Town Center Runoff To Cypress Creek

Another Round With

The Gang Of Four

Thursday, August 16, 2007, 9am

601 E. Kennedy Blvd. In Beautiful Downtown Tampa

Iraq Has Been Ethnically Cleansed

Athens, Alabama

Pray And Fast In Support

A measure to end the sale of alcohol in Athens is up for a citywide vote, a rare instance where voters could overturn a previous vote to allow sales. Business interests are against repeal, but church leaders who helped organize the petition drive that got the measure on the ballot are asking members to pray and fast in support of a ban........more

Janet's Roadside Memorial

I4 And Charlie Taylor Road

Starving To Death In Argentina

The View From France

Bush And Sarkozy Have A Picnic

Hamburgers and hot-dogs … In his fish shop, Steve Kingston is appalled. It is Mr. Kingston of Kennebunkport, who provides the Bush family with lobsters and swordfish. But this time there was no such request. "I hope that in France, that this won't be misinterpreted." After all, the menu for this Saturday midday picnic at the summer residence of the American president's parents was part of an effort to play down the importance of the meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and George W. Bush............here

Harold Ford vs. Kos

Democrats Say Leaving Iraq May Take Years

Even as they call for an end to the war and pledge to bring the troops home, the Democratic presidential candidates are setting out positions that could leave the United States engaged in Iraq for years......here

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico stands apart, having suggested that he would even leave some military equipment behind to expedite the troop withdrawal. In a forum at a gathering of bloggers last week, he declared: “I have a one-point plan to get out of Iraq: Get out! Get out!”

Dick Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire

Five Cars Hit Man On I4

Only One Stops To Report Accident

Investigators said Roig was in dark clothing as he crossed I-4's westbound lanes from the south and was hit by a car in the center lane. The impact sent him into a 2004 Ford Taurus in the left lane, Coggins said. That collision pushed him back into the center lane, where he was hit by a third car and landed on the roadway. He was hit by two more cars. The Taurus' driver, Alexander Rascionato, 33, of Tampa, stopped to report the accident. The third car likely has damage to its front. The fourth and fifth likely have damage to the undercarriage........here

Take Action Against Hate Crimes

Has Bush Abandoned the Everglades?

So it turned more than a few heads in June when the United Nations' World Heritage Committee, which monitors the globe's important natural and cultural sites, removed the Everglades from its endangered list at the behest of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The circumstances behind the action have infuriated Florida Democrats and environmentalists — and cast more suspicions on the Bush Administration's penchant for bending science to suit its politics........more

Florida's Pave and Slay
Rare Tortoises' Entombment To End

Under Florida's pave-and-pay program, developers obtained "take" permits from the state to build on top of tortoise burrows—essentially entombing them alive. About 94,000 tortoises may have been buried since pave-and-pay began in 1991. Some suffered slow deaths due to dehydration or starvation, while others were crushed by heavy machinery........more

The First GOP Debate

Howard Parties

With Pittsburgh Democrats

Dean, tieless in a blue button-down shirt and Patrick Dowd sticker, electrified a capacity crowd at Lawrenceville's Church Brew Works on a sweltering Aug. 8 evening. The former Vermont governor, who made a name for himself as an outsider energizing young voters through the Internet in a 2004 presidential bid, praised local Democrats' efforts like the 12,000 doors Dowd knocked on while campaigning. Dowd was part of a wave of officials who bucked Pittsburgh's famously hidebound Democratic Party endorsement system in recent primaries......more

The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway Over 22nd Street
Another Tampa Bay Structurally Deficient Bridge

Bushflash - Dump Dick

Florida Groups Push For End To War
Florida For Peace pushed for a meeting with Sen. Bill Nelson at the Kissimmee library on Tuesday. Members said they want Nelson to stand against President George W. Bush and end the war in Iraq. Many groups congregated at the library to meet with Nelson, including Code Pink: Women For Peace.....here

Rudy Loses The Stoner Vote

Florida's Dirty Beaches
Dixie, Taylor, Escambia Counties
Swimmers were advised to avoid the water near Cedar Island in Taylor County and Shired Island in Dixie County for almost all of 2006. Water quality in those areas exceeded acceptable bacteria levels in 89 percent and 85 percent of tests, respectively. In South Florida, Crandon Park's water had high bacteria levels in 18 percent of its tests......more

Joe Biden Wants John Edwards
To Stop Acting Like Howard Dean
Before the last presidential election, John Edwards voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq, then spent most of the actual campaign parrying attacks from antiwar outsider Howard Dean. This time around, Mr. Edwards has slipped into the role of perpetually incensed antiwar crusader, questioning the commitment of his competitors to the liberal ideals he has so unapologetically embraced......here

"For 15 years, I've stood up against the right-wing machine, If you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl.".................... Hillary Rodham Clinton

Bill Nelson
Our Very Own Lieberman
Unfortunately I’m not surprised to find that Florida Senator Bill Nelson has voted in favor of the amendment. The Senator has consistently cast votes hostile to the Constitution and with the Bush Administration. I can only guess he’s been promised a bed in the bunker during the coming coup.......more

John Pilger on Propaganda

The Press, Censorship And Resisting The American Empire

"Liberal Democracy is moving toward a form of corporate dictatorship. This is an historic shift, and the media must not be allowed to be its façade, but itself made into a popular, burning issue, and subjected to direct action," ..........John Pilger

42nd Anniversary Of The Signing Of
The Voting Rights Act

Howard Dean and Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile
Issued the following joint statement on the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act by President Lyndon B. Johnson...........here

SR 39 Over The Hillsborough River

Another One Of Our Structurally Deficient Bridges

Crystal Springs, Florida

Doing Their Part

A Brave Couple At Busch And 30th Street In Tampa

Dean's Speech

He Wants To Remind Us

That people like Martin Luther King Jr. was a human being who had good days and bad days and had to fight and stay active for a long time period, noting it was 13 years between the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and some people died along the way. Other people can do the same kind of things as King if they keep pursuing it. ........more

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends...... Martin Luther King, Jr.

Joe Wilson At Yearly Kos

you might be a right winger if.....
...you hold strong opinions of things you don't understand.

Michael The Pimp

A Florida man, accused of pimping out his wife in a multistate prostitution circuit, was sentenced Thursday to serve about a year in federal prison. After the arrest, Quick told police that he and his wife traveled both Western and Eastern circuits, which included Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and cities in Florida. Quick also told police his wife "acted in pornographic movies" and had an estimated 200 clients in 2005 and in years past earned as much as $200,000.......here

Cypress St. And 275

One Of Our Structurally Deficient Bridges

The Democrats, Same Poop, Diffrent Day

The Vote Was 60-28

The Democratic-led U.S. Senate approved a bill on Friday to revamp President George W. Bush's spying program. The vote was 60-28 under a rule by which both parties agreed to require 60 votes to pass it.......here

"I hope that there are no attacks before we are able to effectively update this important act," Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, top Republican

Yearly Kos '07: Cenk Uygur, Recovering Republican

you might be a right winger if......
...you value your freedom of speech, but think that anyone else who disagrees with you should keep their mouths shut.

Howard Dean @ Yearly Kos

Edwards Turns Left, and Finds Howard Dean

If Edwards can't be Obama, he might just try to be Dean - but maybe without all the shouting. Dean, you'll recall, also used an "us vs. them" style. On the stump he would chant, "You have the power!" His fans ate it up; it carried him to the top of the polls; and it was ultimately his undoing.......here

Dottie And Breezeway Are Getting Evicted

Two Dogs That Have Called A Florida City Water Plant Home For Three Years

They showed up after one of the 2004 hurricanes: two female dogs tied to a tree at the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority's Florida City plant. Workers at the 69-year-old plant did what they've done for other dogs and cats dumped over the years on the isolated property: cleaned them up, got them vet care, ''adopted'' and named them.......more

Florida Has 304 Structurally Deficient Bridges

Five Of Them Are In Tampa Bay

According to the latest information from the Department of Transportation, 304 of the 11,561 bridges in Florida are considered "structurally deficient." That’s the same designation as the collapsed bridge in Minnesota.......here

Dean Woos Faith Voters

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, who once criticized the GOP as a “white Christian party” and also said “my religion doesn’t inform my public policy,” is building a sophisticated infrastructure to woo so-called values voters. Dean has had the same revelation as many other Democrats since their demoralizing loss in the 2004 election: There are more people who vote because of their faith and values than Democrats realized, and Republicans have won a disproportionately large share of them......more

you might be a right winger if....

...You're pro-life, pro-death penalty, and pro-war, as long as it doesn't effect you personally.

Interview With The Legendary Gore Vidal
Part 4: US Media And Society
We're not the United States of Amnesia — we're the United States of Alzheimer's.....here

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Picadio

Moro and Yuca

$5.95 At.......Nayda's 50th St. And Palm River Road Tampa

Forget Corporate - Eat Local

Kathy Castor Wants You To Call Her

Phone: 202-225-3376

The president is using fear to pressure Congress to grant him sweeping new powers to spy on Americans. And Congress is on the verge of giving in to his scare tactics. Call Rep. Castor today and tell her to oppose any efforts to give the president additional authority to wiretap Americans without a warrant.

Rudy The Urban Legend

On Hillsborough Ave

Interview With The Legendary Gore Vidal
Part 3: Liberty
The people who wrote the Constitution hated democracy. We've always been an oligarchy of the well-to-do and are becoming even more so now. What freedoms we had have now been eliminated -- Magna Carta guaranteed us due process of law, the only good thing England left us......here

Party With The Tampa Bay O-Train
Ba-Rock For Change!
Local musicians (Last Day Alive, Shane Ali, Falter Boy, Mind Static, Plush, & Danger Flight) will be rockin the Crowbar in Ybor City in support of Senator Obama. Info.......here

Sunday - Aug 05, 2007 - 7PM

1812 N.17th St
Ybor City

What Stogie Had For Lunch
Antipasto
$4.95 At.......Merino's Deli 6428 North Florida Ave Tampa
Forget Corporate - Eat Local

American Low Wage Workers' Tour