"The Runaway Presidency"

The United States of America was born during the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. America was conceived by a learned generation angry with power-mad absolute rulers. On the eve of the country's birth, as popular outrage bubbled to the surface, Great Britain's King George III and monarchs of other nations were above the law. An adage at the time was "the king can do no wrong."........more

Bush and Cheney function as kings. This isn't what America's founders had in mind.

Statement of Howard Dean on Virginia Tech Tragedy
“Today our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the students, faculty and administration officials at Virginia Tech. Our nation is devastated by this tragedy and mourns with those who lost loved ones today.”

Charlie Joins Tax Protesters

Protesters came to Tallahassee Tuesday to urge legislators to pass a property tax reform measure. Gov. Charlie Crist attended the rally. "You have the power," Crist told the protesters. "You're making the difference. This is your state. It's your money, and you're going to get it back."...........more

Mayor Of Nagasaki Killed by Mobster

Backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Iccho Itoh was campaigning for his fourth term in office before Sunday's elections. He was an active figure in the movement against nuclear proliferation, heading a coalition of Japanese cities calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
"Mayor Itoh had a strong and boundless passion for peace," said Sunao Tsuboi, leader of a survivors' group based in Hiroshima, a city also flattened by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945.......more

things that make you say "hmmm"

Truckloads Of Food Worth More Than $40 million Are Being Thrown Away

After FEMA Ran Out Of Storage Space

As many as 6 million prepared meals stockpiled near potential victims of the 2006 hurricane season spoiled in the Gulf Coast heat last summer when the Federal Emergency Management Agency ran short of warehouse and refrigeration space. Most of the meals were commercial versions of the military's Meals Ready to Eat, which were ruined despite being engineered to withstand the demands of desert and jungle climates......here

Al-Jazeera Big, but Not in U.S.

Al-Jazeeras English language television has gained strong viewership across Europe and in parts of Asia, Australia and even in Israel, according to station executives, but no major cable or satellite provider in the United States is carrying the channel - a decision the network blames on political pressure but which U.S. carriers deny......more

Sarasota Clowns Headed To Auction

After a rough six months on the streets, the 50 clown statues scattered throughout the city are heading to market......more

The Nightwatchman - Tom Morello

A28: Impeachment Summer Begins This Spring!

Let's put the word IMPEACH! everywhere on April 28. If you're in Miami you'll be able to voice your opinion directly to George Bush himself. It just so happens on the day of nationwide impeachment protests Bush is scheduled to give the commencement address at Miami Dade Community College.....here

St. Pete for Peace will be providing transportation from St. Petersburg to Miami

E-mail dianelee33176@yahoo.com for more info

Most Knowledgeable Americans Watch 'Daily Show' and 'Colbert'

Bringing up the rear were regular watchers of Fox News

Democrats and Republicans were about equally represented in the most knowledgeable group but there were more Democrats in the least aware group.......here

Big Media Hall of Shame

Sarasota Protests Genocide In Darfur

Nearly 500 people rallied here Sunday to call attention to the genocide in Darfur, the region of Sudan whose humanitarian crisis has spawned calls for intervention from grass-roots organizations around the country.......more

stopdarfurgenocidesrq.org

Barack Obama At The Cuban Club, Ybor City

Nice Crowd

What We Wanted To Hear

Kate Was In Da House

Greetings

Fans

At The Cuban Club

The O-Train Comes to Tampa

Obama’s fresh wind

Who's Next, Mr. Deggans?

Bigotry and hate speech targeting, among other characteristics, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continue to permeate the airwaves through personalities such as Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Michael Smerconish, and John Gibson......more

Dean's War On Easter

“This press release, absent any reference to Jesus, without whom the Easter resurrection story is meaningless, is apparently a sad reflection of a ‘lowest common denominator’ religious outreach of the Democratic party, Wake up and smell the Easter lillies! This kind of outreach will not pass the smell test of any evangelical.”........more

Grandmother Blogs From Baghdad

Jane Stillwater is an unlikely war correspondent. She's 64, a self-described Berkeley "flower child, 40 years later" and broke. So how did this mother of four grown children end up in Baghdad, churning out commentary ranging from shock at Thursday's bombing of the Iraqi parliament cafeteria, to the weirdness of touring Saddam Hussein's bathroom?......more

On the Net: http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/

Toss The Feather

How Much Do We Spend On Defense?

Dolphins and sea lions to patrol the waters of Washington state's Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which is home to nuclear submarines, ships and laboratories. They are better than anything we have ever made," said Mike Rothe, head of science for the Navy's marine mammal program......more

Stanton Will Not Sue The City Of Largo

Because I think that there's a time for healing as opposed to the decisive process of litigation. I always said from the first time that I really wanted to educate. I wanted to educate, to make people understand that just because you're transsexual doesn't mean you cannot lead, doesn't mean you can't be a productive person. I think I can do that better as an advocate......more

Kurt Vonnegut is The Resident's People

Florida A&M University’s Marching 100

Will play at the Barack Obama Rally Sunday in Tampa

The $25 fundraiser is intended to draw young people and those new to politics

12:45 p.m. Sunday @ The Cuban Club, 2010 Republica De Cuba in Ybor City

Tickets are available on line at BarackObama.com

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding,

This is America, not the damned Titanic

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say.

I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!.......here

America's Pimp 'n' Ho Culture Gets Real
A lot of people owe a lot of apologies to a lot of people

On the same day that North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declared the three white Duke University lacrosse team players innocent of the alleged rape of an African-American stripper, MSNBC canceled its simulcast of the Don Imus radio show for a racial slur against the mostly black Rutgers University women's basketball team......more

Other Thoughts......Imus isn’t the real bad guy.....Who did Imus hurt? .....Imus Fired: Who's Next?

A 14-Hour Film And No Room For Latinos And Native Americans?
The War On PBS
“The War” On PBS, scheduled to premier in September. includes no interviews with any Latino veterans even though over 500,000 Latinos served in the war. The documentary also includes no interviews with any Native American veterans. In response to protests, Ken Burns (filmmaker) announced this week that he would create additional content that focuses on the stories of Latino and Native American veterans.

Amy Interviews Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez Associate Director of the Center for Mexican-American Studies at the University of Texas.....here

Stinky Florida No. 2 For Pollutants

A report issued Thursday puts Florida second nationwide for increases in a major pollutant linked to global warming. From 1990 through 2004, Florida's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption grew 37 percent.....Florida politicians are taking notice. Two bills addressing global warming and clean energy sailed through committees Thursday.......more

Sons And Daughters Of Hitler Day

Praising Dixie

Years of relatively routine proclamations by Hillsborough County commissioners setting aside a Southern Heritage Month or a Confederate Memorial Day appear to be at an end. Commissioners Jim Norman, Ken Hagan and Brian Blair had already signed the document. Commissioners Rose Ferlita, Kevin White and Mark Sharpe refused.......more

"Whether you support the Union or the Confederate at that time or at this time, there were people's ancestors who were killed, If it were one of your ancestors, you'd want them remembered, too."......Brian Blair

Brian Blair, Jim Norman, Ken Hagan, Al Higginbotham and Kevin White

Up Developers Ass

Officials at the county's Environmental Protection Commission were told by a majority of commissioners who oversee the agency that state and federal rules suffice in protecting wetlands from development, and that it was wasteful to have separate local regulations.....more

"That is a copout, That is terrible news."......Jan Platt

Who Elected These Guys?

Vox Populi Ruffles "Media Lizzys" Knickers

Finally, I stand by my statements about being a Republican - no matter who the elected leadership is. It is the principles that matter to me, not the leadership. It's a bit like loving the Atlanta Braves, no matter how good or bad a season - and whether or not they make it to the playoffs. I'm a Republican. Full Stop......here

Kurt Vonnegut

1922 - 2007

vonnegut.com

Priest Cruises Biscayne Boulevard
Looking For Boys To Have Sex

Three men have accused a former Broward County priest awaiting trial on sexual molestation charges of paying them for sex when they were boys and turning them into prostitutes......more

Steve Stanton on Larry King Live, Tonight

He is expected to reveal whether he will sue the city

Commissioners who voted to dismiss Stanton have said they did so because they lost confidence in him, not because he wants to be a woman. Supporters say the timing suggests the firing was motivated by the transgender issue......more

Obama on Letterman

How I Knew Things Were Changing In My Community

I was still teaching, had not yet retired. Jeb was governor, and I was finding myself rapidly out of sync with most everyone around me. In part it was that the right wing was really starting to show its true colors here.....like mothers coming into class to be sure we had no Halloween decorations. (Only I did not know what was going on.)......more

UF's "Jeb Bush College of Education"

The University of Florida's faculty may have denied Gov. Jeb Bush an honorary degree, but his political allies in the state House of Representatives have found another way to honor the former governor on the school's Gainesville campus.......more

Jeb Bush WILL Me Memorialized

Ronda Storms An Embarrassment To Her Community

"When the Ronda Storms of the world show up, people get together and start talking about what we have to do to get rid of bigotry.".......more

Hillsborough Residents Say Bring On Mass Transit

A majority of Hillsborough County residents don't think road building alone will ease congestion, according to a survey released Tuesday. An overwhelming number of residents polled also think the county will need rail or mass transit in the next 50 years, and that new development should pay for its effect on roads and schools........more

Jump on The Iorio Express @ Tampa Rail

Florida A&M University’s Marching 100

May Play For Obama In Tampa On Sunday

Final plans for attending the fundraiser have not been made. The invite “is under consideration,” according to FAMU spokeswoman LaNedra Carroll......more

The Cost Of Iraq On Florida

Based on a March 28, 2007 report by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, the war has cost Florida taxpayers $20.7 Billion dollars. The escalation will cost us an additional $5.6 Billion. That's not the true price of this war. 16,592 Florida National Guard and Reservist have served in the Iraq war. They are the ones making the real sacrifice......more

Couch Color Described By Racial Slur

When the new chocolate-coloured sofa set was delivered to her Brampton home, Doris Moore was stunned to see packing labels describing the shade as "Nigger-brown.".......more

The A La Carte
At The Art Institute of Tampa
The A La Carte restaurant gives culinary students hands-on professional experience learning what it takes to run a restaurant. A La Carte is open to the public......more

The restaurant, located on the second floor of The Art Institute of Tampa at 4401 N. Himes Ave., is open for lunch on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11.30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.