Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the most liberal senator in 2007, according to National Journal's 27th annual vote ratings. The insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate........here 
I'm talking instead about the quiet revolution that has overthrown the old order in the Republican Party. We have witnessed nothing less than a bloodless coup this week that promises to have ramifications for America perhaps even larger than the prospect of a black or a woman president.......here
Maybe the Democrats and Republicans will nominate Presidential candidates this year who will stand up against the war profiteers, the nuclear industry, the credit card industry, the corporate criminals, big oil, and the drug and health insurance industries. We doubt it. But hope springs eternal. In the meantime, take a few minutes and explore with us an idea.......here
This is the Sunshine State - but for the thousands of Brits who came to Florida to escape the British weather, there is a political chill in the air. The collapse in house prices and the parlous economy has brought them a fierce appreciation of how Washington politics can affect their lives as the Primaries sweep through their adopted state.........more
Florida's fields and groves can be dangerous -- sometimes deadly -- playgrounds for children of migrant farmworkers who are often left unattended or are drafted to help pick crops. And while improvements in migrant child care have been made during the past three decades, funding cutbacks have reversed some of those strides, advocates say........here
He did that once before, if you remember. He decided he would take the lead in Florida. Karen Thurman in effect turned the party over to him, and he was boss. A few months ago he declared "I will lead the delegates to Denver whether or not the DNC plans to let them in." Tonight he gave another battle cry in Davie, Florida, with Hillary on the podium with him after her victory here. Sounds to me like a warning that he and Hillary will win, and the rest of us better look out.......here
A private company with no previous experience operating a dump wants to put a 900-acre, 220-foot pile of garbage at the headwaters of the Withlacoochee and Hillsborough Rivers, next to the Green Swamp.......here
How'd Florida get to be so full of old people? Good weather, effective marketing, low taxes, and a herd mentality. In the first half of the 20th century, the concept of moving to warmer climes upon retirement didn't really exist—seniors generally lived with relatives to conserve funds. But the advent of Social Security payments in 1940, as well as the post-World War II economic boom, made it possible for grannies to live independently........here
I want to work for you in Tallahassee to solve tough problems, but I can't do it without your help. I need your vote in the primary election on January 29, and in the general election on February 26. Please take some time to learn more about my campaign here on my website. And remember—it's not the government, it's our government. The problems we face don't have easy solutions. But together, we can solve them.......here
Check out this political mystery: Liberals, a.k.a. the Democratic base, are angry. They're so angry that they tried to unseat senior senator and former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman in 2006, who had become synonymous with bipartisanship. Bipartisanship, hell. They're in the mood for payback.......here 
"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
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
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........hereFive 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."
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
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
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
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
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
"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: 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, 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
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
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
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
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
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 
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
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
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
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 
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
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic 
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
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
7 Single Member Districts
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
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 Video showing the massive amounts of silt-laden polluted water running off of the Cypress Creek Town Center site into Cypress Creek…AGAIN!
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
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
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 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
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
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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
