Judith Leekin's Torture Palace

Port St. Lucie, Florida
Nine teenagers and young adults were held like prisoners in a Florida woman's home in what appeared to be a decades-long scheme to receive government payments for adopting and raising them, police say......more

The 18-year-old told police Leekin threatened to cut her head off if she told anyone what was happening.

Searching For The Soul of Florida

The Progressive Spirit

Today, when you say Floridian, what comes to mind? Many Floridians are from somewhere else. Only 33 percent of the state is native-born, according to the 2005 American Community Survey part of the U.S. census. Our identity is shaped by out-of-state residents, and in Central Florida, it is even more pronounced.......more

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Pork Chunks

Red Bean And Rice And Plantains

$5.99 At.......Rosa's Market 4209 W.Martin Luther King Blvd Tampa

Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

FOX Has Declared War On The Blogosphere

So Let's Fight Back!

We're fighting back by identifying and calling all of FOX's advertisers. This is not a boycott. We are simply calling advertisers and informing them about FOX. And making Bill O'Reilly's life a living hell................ Sign up......here

Local Advertisers......here

Bloggers, Join the FOX Attacker coalition.......here........via Madfloridian

The Other Ron Paul

But He Looks Like Such A Nice Guy

What I didn’t expect was that his anti-war advocacy would attract as many evident admirers from the left as it seems to have, particularly those who are dissatisfied with Democrats’ apparent fumbling of the Iraq war issue. Certainly, the message boards at liberal outlets like Crooks and Liars who’ve carried factual counterinformation about Paul have been flooded with raging defenses of the man, as have some of our comments threads.....here

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Shrimp In Lobster Sauce

Fried Rice

$4.25 At.......Peking 6936 N. 56th St. Tampa
Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

SWAT Team Takes Over University of Miami

University of Miami Police, in conjunction with the City of Coral Gables Police Department, will hold an all-day training exercise on the northeast section of UM’s Coral Gables campus from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. The exercise will involve mock explosions, helicopters, SWAT teams, and multiple response teams from most local municipalities......more

Bonerol

Canine Erectile Dysfunction

AM Chuckle

Walking to America
It is one of the truly emblematic journeys of our times, although it never makes it into the travel pages of any newspaper: the million or more people who make the trip each year are poor Latin Americans, trekking north from Mexico, albeit illegally, in search of a better life in the United States.....more

Arm Yourself With a 'SiCKO' Health Care Card

Local Bumpers 7

Oil-Covered Penguins
Off Coast Of South America
Hundreds of oil-covered Magellanic penguins have surfaced off the Atlantic coast of South America in the past few weeks. A continuous stream of oil from spills has created a chronic problem across South American waters and other parts of the world.....more

If You Google Ron Paul

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Fried Crispy Baby Shrimp

Fried Rice

$5.50 At....... Peking 6936 N. 56th St. Tampa

Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

Bay Pines VA Medical Center
Emergency Room Refuse Critically Ill Man
Mark A. Surette a 25-year VA employee, collapsed of a heart attack in Building 24, perhaps 200 feet from the hospital emergency room. Since he wasn't a veteran, confused paramedics asked Bay Pines if its emergency room would treat Surette. Paramedics were directed to take him to St. Petersburg General Hospital, three miles away. A doctor who made the decision did not realize the man, a Bay Pines employee who later died, had collapsed on the Bay Pines campus......more

"In a life-and-death situation it appears to me that any medical professional would be willing and able to help save a life."........Rep. C.W. Bill Young

Havana Nights

Florida GOP Lavish Fundraiser

A yacht cruise, salsa dancing lessons, dinner at the famed Versace Mansion in Miami Beach, and even a personal concierge. Platinum sponsors who fork out $100,000 will get two rooms at the hotel and also get three different private meetings with House leaders over dessert and breakfast. Gold sponsors who donate $50,000 will be given one room at the hotel and be allowed to bring two people to all events.......more

''There's a lot of people out there who think that Tallahassee is out of touch with the rest of the state of Florida; maybe there's some truth to it''.......Rep. Jack Seiler

No Summer Of Love For Howard Dean

With Peace And Understanding In Short Supply

The Democratic National Committee chairman faces several formidable challenges. Some states are determined to move up the dates of their presidential primaries despite the potential for upending the nomination process, and the party's convention in Denver in 2008 is already dealing with nettlesome labor and financial woes......more

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Filete Salteado

White Rice And Collard Green Soup

$7.25 At....La Teresita 7101 66th Street Pinellas Park

Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

Ron Paul

At Hillsborough And Central

Gloves Off Between Hillary And Obama

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Pork Shop

Red Bean And Rice, (Great Red Beans Here) And Platanos

$5.49 At......Pino's Cafe 4627 N. Lois Ave Tampa

Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

Representative Cindy Sheehan
California's Eighth District

Cape Coral Couple

Will Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

More than 20,000 people try to scale Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro every year, but only about half actually make it to the top. One local couple is training for the climb-- and they're doing it right here in Southwest Florida.......more

George Carlin Speaks The Truth

What Stogie Had For Lunch
Palomilla Steak
Yellow Rice And Red Beans (Stogie Likes Onions)
$7.25 At.......China Latina 3715 E. Busch Blvd Tampa

Forget Corporate - Spend Your Money Locally

Contaminated Water Reaches

The Florida Keys

The widespread use of in-ground waste disposal through septic tanks and injection wells appears to be leading to the contamination of submarine groundwater even up to six miles offshore, when the contaminated groundwater mixes with surface water and reaches the reef, the corals as well as human health might be harmed.......more

Keel & Curley Winery
Drink Local
Chase Marden’s recipe starts with crushing fresh blueberries and fermenting them on the skins to give the wines their deep color. The wine is 100% Berries. They also produce Tangerine, Wild Berry, Peach, Mango Citrus and Apple wines. Visit them.......here
NEW TASTING ROOM NOW OPEN!
5202 Thonotosassa Road, Plant City, Florida
Spend Your Money Locally

YouTube Debate: Mike Gravel

Where Is The Money Coming From?

300 Pound Pythons On The Loose In Florida

The South Asian snakes, which can top 300 pounds, or 135 kilograms, and 20 feet, or 6 meters, are presumed to have entered the park as discards or escapees from the bustling international trade in exotic pets. Year-old, foot-long pythons are a popular $70 item at reptile fairs, but in a few years can reach room-spanning, cat-munching size, prompting some owners to abandon them by the roadside. That practice may not pose an ecological problem in Detroit, Snow said, but in a near-tropical Florida park, it is an unfolding nightmare.......more

New Wetlands - Dee Hood