Florida Progressive Coalition And Samm Simpson
"Republicans continue to prove that you just can't trust them with your money. The Bush Republicans in Congress can't claim to be fiscal conservatives one day and then block Democratic efforts to responsibly manage our country's finances the next. Democrats are absolutely committed to stopping a tax hike on millions of unsuspecting middle class Americans but Republicans are blocking efforts to do so responsibly. With our national debt rising by $1.4 billion a day and foreign governments controlling our debt, what will it take for Republicans to act responsibly?"
In a triumph of marketing over reasoning, the bottled water industry has turned us into conspicuously silly consumers.Controlled by a handful of global conglomerates (such as Coca Cola and Nestle), the water industry has created the fantasy that if it's in a bottle, it's purer than what comes out of the tap. But wait – the EPA stringently regulates the public water systems, requiring tests several times a day for bacteria and other contaminants, and these test results are public information. The corporate bottlers, on the other hand, are overseen by the more lackadaisical FDA, which requires them to test their water sources only once a week – and the results are kept secret by the corporations......here
Not surprisingly in a field of eight contenders, no candidate came close to gaining a majority of the total vote in PDA's recently completed presidential straw poll. But two candidates--Dennis Kucinich (41%) and John Edwards (26%)--combined for more than 2/3 of the total vote.......here
The scent of incense hangs in the air as one passes between the columns saying "Welcome Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp." So does a musty odor. The smells come from the small houses that line the narrow streets, the porches decorated with chimes and ornaments. The paint peels from many homes and some of the yards are unkempt and cluttered. The spooky atmosphere is appropriate — the Spiritualists who live here say they converse with the dead.......here
Justin Troller, a Lakeland High School teacher and tireless campaigner, easily defeated Brian Dockery in Tuesday's runoff election for a seat on the Lakeland City Commission. Troller won the nonpartisan race with 61 percent of the vote in an aggressive campaign that in its final days pitted unions vs. business leaders and Republicans vs. Democrats........here
Commissioners from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously voted to postpone a decision to downlist manatees from “endangered” to “threatened” Wednesday. Commissioners also approved the first ever management plan for manatees, which will not only develop better ways to count them but also beef up protections for the sea cow........here
The next intelligent design showdown will take place in Florida, where opposition is mounting to state -mandated emphasis on the importance of evolution to science education. The controversy comes on the heels of a Texas education official's firing for forwarding an email critical of intelligent design, which holds that some phenomena are too complex to be explained except by Godly manufacture.......more
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Democratic National Committee has every right to strip Florida of its 210 delegates as punishment for moving its primary date to Jan. 29. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed a lawsuit against the national party by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, ruling from the bench that ``Florida has to comply by the same rules as everybody else and does not get to insist on its own way.''........here
Liberal Hawk Says Iraq No Longer Matters
"President Bush has lost all credibility with the American people. We were misled on Iraq, now it's Iran. We need to get to the truth so our foreign policy is not only tough but smart. By electing a Democratic president, we can not only begin to renew the American people's trust in its government but also restore America's moral authority in the world.".......Howard Dean
The Christian Family Coalition announced that it has filed the remaining 3,300 petition signatures necessary to place the Florida Marriage Amendment on the November 2008 U.S. Presidential ballot.....here
Public school districts in two Florida counties are refusing to allow members of a peace organisation to counter the presence of military recruiters by talking with high school students about options other than joining the service, according to a spokesperson for the group........here
Trouble, a white Maltese who belonged to billionaire Leona Helmsley until her death in August, was flown by private jet under tight security two months ago after receiving around 20 such threats.........here%5B1%5D.JPG)
The 3,400 soldiers of the 53rd Infantry Brigade will "assume battle space in Afghanistan" to perform a range of operations starting in the summer of 2009, the Pentagon announced Monday. More than 1,200 members of the brigade, headquartered at Pinellas Park, returned from an active-duty tour in Afghanistan as recently as mid-2006.........here
The Jefferson County school district was forced to take out a short-term loan to cover payroll for the 220 teachers and other employees in the system after $2.7 million it held in the pool was frozen yesterday. At least five other districts also obtained last-minute loans.......more
Nearly 16 million Venezuelans will go to the polls to vote on a proposal to reform the 1999 constitution. The proposal would increase President Hugo Chavez's powers, and would allow him to be re-elected indefinitely.........here
"What Virginia Democrats have demonstrated is that if you show up and work hard, not just in Northern Virginia but everywhere, and speak about our values as Democrats and Americans, there is no part of America that Democrats cannot win,"........here
These people are no George Bush. I know George Bush. With George Bush the whole of this knowledge is contained within one person......here
Honestly, I'm sick to fucking death of the terrorism/Nazism comparisons. Hitler had the political intelligence and acumen to maneuver himself into a position of absolute control, with popular support, in a nation that was historically an industrial and military powerhouse........more
Mayor Rick just came onstage to stand and have his photo taken with all the candidates in the gaggle photo op and he wins the “I’m taller than Fred Thompson” award for tonight......here
That will be the rallying cry from 2:00 – 10 P.M. on Wednesday, November 28 at Pioneer Park - located at One Beach Drive South East St. Petersburg. Where hundreds of like-minded Floridians will set aside political differences and peacefully assemble to protest what they describe as a failed system of government. ....info
Central Floridians must stop allowing special interests and big corporations to own our political system and decide how we live. It is time that WE decide how we live. Make Central Florida Ours Again. Make America Ours Again. I’m Corbett Kroehler and I’m running for Congress in Florida’s Eighth District. To learn more about me and why I am running, please.......click here.
If the Sunshine State had a real high-speed rail system, how would it look? Unlike most every other type of mass transit, the Hydrogen Superhighway requires no public investment for construction or maintenance. The Interstate Traveler is solar-powered! It manufactures its own hydrogen fuel with the power of the sun and the excess is sold off to local utilities at a profit. If you'd like to hear all about the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway straight from the inventor, in Orlando this weekend
A unique approach to infrastructure development, which is common in Europe, Australia and other major countries, is focused on creating needed infrastructure while enhancing regional economic development, including congestion relief. While the local governments retain ownership of the highways, project developers are compensated based on what are known as “availability payments”, which are earned only if strict contractual performance measures, such as quality construction, operation and management, are met. Stiff penalties are incurred if performance falls short. Performance priorities are established by the government. Financial risks are shouldered by the concessionaire, not local tax payers........here
The Seminole Tribe of Florida's leaders have spent millions on lavish homes, boxing rings, basketball courts and other gifts for themselves and relatives as the tribe's gambling enterprise has expanded into one of the nation's largest.......here
Faced with a $2.5 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, Florida leaders are considering selling 50-year leases on some state toll roads and bridges in exchange for large sums of cash from private investors. The turnpike's system's roads can't easily be leased because they're all part of a system that's tied together financially.That leaves four roads: Alligator Alley, the Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay, the Pinellas Bayway and a state-owned stretch of the BeachLine Expressway (formerly the Bee Line) in central Florida........here
A Unity Rally & March 
Australia Conservative Prime Minister John Howard, one of the Bush administration's staunchest allies, suffered a humiliating election defeat Saturday at the hands of an opposition leader who has vowed to pull troops out of Iraq.......here
With overwhelming bipartisan support, Rep. Jane Harman's "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act" passed the House 404-6 late last month and now rests in Sen. Joe Lieberman's Homeland Security Committee. Swift Senate passage appears certain. Not since the "Patriot Act" of 2001 has any bill so threatened our constitutionally guaranteed rights......more 
An Associated Press investigation reveals why: possibly thousands of unwanted animals have been tossed off bridges, buried alive and otherwise inhumanely disposed of by taxpayer-financed animal control programs. News that live animals had been thrown to their deaths from a bridge reached the public last month when Animal Control Solutions, a government contractor, was accused of inhumanely killing some 80 dogs and cats seized from three housing projects in the town of Barceloneta. A half dozen survived the fall of at least 50 feet.......here
While the challenges are daunting, we also have some success stories to share and reason for hope. By the early 1990s, the panther population was about 20 to 30, and it became clear that genetic problems were causing a downward spiral that would likely lead to extinction. In response, the state of Florida led a restoration effort that has tripled the population. Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, created in the 1970s and 1980s, are strongholds of this population. Today, roughly 75 percent of the panther’s primary habitat is protected, but there is clearly more work to be done.........here
Florida's Attorney General is urging parents to make a toy list and check it twice, and he's helping you find out who's been naughty or nice. Bill McCollum's "Do Not Shop List.".........here
Attempts To Boost Wages For Florida Tomato Pickers May Fail Under Pressure 
Florida's Key Deer National Refuge 
Robyn Gioia 
The cost of Thanksgiving is soaring, according to investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co, which may help explain the gloom among U.S. consumers as they head into the holiday season.......hereBush continues to ignore the growing deaths in children using psychiatric drugs....
The Florida Keys are at a crossroads, beset by shortages of high-paying jobs and affordable housing, rising property taxes and insurance, and environmental concerns. Yet the move to "upscale" the Keys is gaining steam, a sign of growth that's commonly experienced by tourism-dependent communities. Such growth is leaving many Keys residents feeling priced out or ignored.......here
The economic chasm between the haves and have-nots in Florida is wide and getting wider, fueled by low wages that fail to cover the most basic needs, especially for families with small children, according to a report released Tuesday.........here
Martin County, Florida has a new way to scare people from having sex on their beaches, They are looking to install cameras and loudspeakers that would try to detect and warn anyone seeking nookie. "FlashCAM devices sense motion and then flash a bright light," After being activated, the cameras issue a pre-recorded verbal warning to let people know they are under surveillance. A minute later, the camera starts recording.......here
Ingredients
A soldier from South Florida was killed in Iraq while giving toys and candy to children. Private First Class Marius Ferrero, 23, of Miami, was killed Sunday in Baqouba, Iraq, with two other Army soldiers from his Stryker brigade. Three children also died........here
Democratic activists and a lone Republican asked a Leon County Circuit Court judge Tuesday to tell Florida to push back its early presidential primary one week. The lawsuit, filed in Tallahassee, seeks to order Florida's Secretary of State to change the date of the controversial primary from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5........here
A little-noticed anti-terrorism bill quietly making its through Congress is raising fears of a new affront on activism and constitutional rights. The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act was passed in an overwhelming 400 to six House vote last month......here
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean 
Floridians Offer Their Own Property Tax Plans For Ballot
Florida's Natural Co-Op
Tampa Bay is a “brain gain” zone, defined as “share of a county’s population that is college-educated.”.....via Discourse.net
