A block from the white domes of Florida's state Capitol, suits and ringing cell phones dominated the brick patio of Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, where patrons can order a "Jeb Bush" burger in the shade of broad umbrellas emblazoned with premium beer logos. But not all is well at the famous haven for Sunshine State lobbyists and lawmakers........here
Sunday, February 17, 2008
For Florida Lawmakers, No More Free Jeb Bush Burgers
A block from the white domes of Florida's state Capitol, suits and ringing cell phones dominated the brick patio of Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, where patrons can order a "Jeb Bush" burger in the shade of broad umbrellas emblazoned with premium beer logos. But not all is well at the famous haven for Sunshine State lobbyists and lawmakers........here
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Carpenters Fans Try To Save Former Home
Owners of The Carpenters' former home aren't feeling on top of the world about the legions of fans who keep stopping by to pay tribute. The five-bedroom tract house, where siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and penned some of their greatest hits, was featured on the cover of their 1973 hit album "Now & Then." It was also where an anorexic Karen Carpenter collapsed in 1983 before dying......hereOwners Manuel and Blanca Melendez Parra have apparently grown weary of the parade of fans paying homage.
The Relevant Church in Ybor City
A pastor has a new challenge for his parishioners. It involves sex - a subject that may be taboo in many congregations. The Relevant Church in Ybor City has issued a 30-day sex challenge.
Friend Says Tampa Cops Set Up Jessica Sierra
In a taped interview, a reported longtime friend of "American Idol" contestant Jessica Sierra claims that Sierra's arrest last December was a set up by Tampa police........here
Charlette Marshall-Jones
A Hillsborough County detention deputy who dumped a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair was arrested this morning on a charge of abuse of a disabled person. Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, turned herself in to authorities and was booked into the Orient Road Jail at 5:19 a.m. before being released about an hour later on $3,500 bail, records show. A warrant for her arrest was announced last night by Sheriff David Gee.......hereState Opens Civil Rights Investigation
Hillary Clinton vs the DNC
In the end this shows a lack of integrity, it shows her manipulating and calculating ways, it shows her lack of character, and above all it shows that she is not ready to be president of the United States. Barack Obama may be even more to the left than Hillary, and he may not be ready to be president, but at least he has integrity and character. Two things that Hillary Clinton does not......here
An Antiwar Black President With An Arab-Sounding Name
Consider our present situation. Thanks to Iraq and water-boarding, Abu Ghraib and the "rendering" of terror suspects, we've achieved the moral status of a pariah nation. The seas are rising. The dollar is sinking. A growing proportion of Americans have no access to health care. Clinton can put forth all the policy proposals she likes--and many of them are admirable ones--but anyone can see that she's of the same generation and even one of the same families that got us into this checkmate situation in the first place. Whatever she does, the semiotics of her campaign boils down to two words--"same old."........here
Friday, February 15, 2008
David Gee And Brian Sterner
The Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff on Wednesday offered a personal apology to a disabled man who was dumped onto the floor from his wheelchair while in deputies' custody.......here "I am personally embarrassed and shocked by the horrific treatment Mr. Sterner received,"...... Sheriff David Gee
Cohones Found In The House of Representatives
Still, basic human nature -- if nothing else -- dictates that having finally liberated themselves, however fleetingly, from the truly moronic rule of the Ted "Osama-is-Celebrating" Poes of the world, and having seen that -- as McJoan put it -- "the Democrats stood up to Bush, and the world didn't end," Democrats will crave more of the sweet taste of dignity and autonomy.......here
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Up and Running: Florida’s Largest Solar Array
Florida this week boosted its supply of renewable energy when its largest solar power array went online. The Sunshine Energy Solar Array was dedicated Monday by Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Power & Light (FPL) officials. The facility is located on a former landfill in Sarasota County........here “The economic future of our state is linked to our maintaining its natural beauty, and this solar power facility is an excellent example that other communities can work to achieve,”......Charlie Crist
Worried Clinton Vows To Claim 'Phantom' Delegates
The Hillary Clinton campaign has served notice that it expects to claim delegates theoretically garnered in primary votes in Michigan and Florida even though the contests in both states were declared void by the Democratic leadership long before they were held.......here
Group Urges Florida To Reject State Funded Religion
Efforts to repeal a provision in the Florida Constitution that bars government funding of religious institutions should be rejected, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is considering two proposed constitutional amendments that would allow Florida to use public funds to support religious schools and other faith-based ministries.......here The efforts to amend the Florida Constitution are being led by former members of Gov. Jeb Bush's administration.
Gulf Stream Eyed As New Energy Source
Just 15 miles off Florida's coast, the world's most powerful sustained ocean current — the mighty Gulf Stream — rushes by at nearly 8.5 billion gallons per second. And it never stops. To scientists, it represents a tantalizing possibility: a new, plentiful and uninterrupted source of clean energy. Florida Atlantic University researchers say the current could someday be used to drive thousands of underwater turbines, produce as much energy as perhaps 10 nuclear plants and supply one-third of Florida's electricity.......here
Superdelegates
"The Democratic Party must be democratic. The superdelegates should let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama, then support the people's choice. Can you sign this petition to the superdelegates right away? Click here to add your name.
Bill Nelson's Total Disregard For The U. S. Constitution
The Senate overwhelming voted Tuesday evening to legalize President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and grant amnesty to the phone companies that helped out with the domestic spying........hereDemocrats voting for the bill: Evan Bayh (D-IN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Robert Casey (D-PA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Jim Webb (D-VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Florida Is Looking For A Ned Lamont Or A Donna Edwards
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Congratulations, Donna Edwards!
Donna Edwards, the insurgent candidate from Fort Washington, has defeated the odds and unseated an eight-term incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn in the Democratic primary in Maryland's 4th Congressional District. Edwards' message of change in Congress and Washington resonated with voters who came out overwhelmingly to support her, due to an unprecedented collaborative effort between the netroots and the progressive movement.........hereDid Big Sugar Step On The Miami International Film Festival
If you expected that Amy Serrano’s film, “The Sugar Babies: The Plight of the Children of Agricultural Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic” would be exhibited at the upcoming Miami International Film Festival, you would be wrong........here
Crist Seeks 'An Army Of Conservationists'
Surrounded by dozens of Cub, Boy and Girl Scouts in the state Capitol, Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled a new Serve to Preserve scout award Wednesday that was created in partnership with the youth organizations. Troops can earn an award insignia by completing programs that seek to protect the natural environment.........here
Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant
The nation’s first, large scale seawater desalination plant is delivering drinking water to more than two and a half million residents of the Tampa Bay area. It’s a timely solution as continued drought is forecast across the south eastern United States........here
Former Pinellas County Nuclear Workers Suffer Fatal Diseases
Hundreds of area residents who worked at a 97-acre highly classified General Electric facility in Largo that once manufactured atomic and hydrogen bomb components today suffer from cancer and other disorders, affecting the lungs, skin and internal organs........here
Sharpton: Don't Seat Fla., Mich.
Seating delegates from Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention would be a grave injustice, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday in a break with prominent civil rights leaders. "I firmly believe that changing the rules now, and seating delegates from Florida and Michigan at this point would not only violate the Democratic Party's rules of fairness, but also would be a grave injustice," Sharpton said in a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean........here
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Online Tool Pinpoints Sand For Florida Beach Restoration
Florida today debuted the first database in the country that identifies sand sources for beach restoration and nourishment projects. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, has compiled a comprehensive on-line tool for identifying suitable sand sources from Florida's coastal waters........here
Evolution Under Siege In Florida
As the Florida state board of education prepared to consider a final draft of a new set of state science standards, Floridians offered their opinions at a last-minute meeting held in Orlando on February 11, 2008. Over eighty speakers addressed the state commissioner of education.......more
Florida Prison Drunken Orgies
Softball, drunken orgies and a prison system run like the mafia. That's what Florida's former prison secretary says he inherited when he took over one of the nation's largest prison systems two years ago. In fact, on his first day on the job, James McDonough says he walked into his office -- the same one his predecessor used -- and there was crime scene tape preventing anyone from entering. "Corruption had gone to an extreme," McDonough said, saying it all began at the top. "They seemed to be drunk half the time and had orgies the other half, when they weren't taking money and beating each other up."........here Governor Jeb Bush has appointed me Secretary of the Department of Corrections. I am both honored and excited.........James Crosby
Ernesto And Barack
The right-wing noise machine has caught some volunteers for Barack Obama in Texas with a Cuban flag with Che Guevara on it, thus making a piece of dorm-room art from the 1960's the latest flash point in the campaign of the truly trivial talking points.........here
Monday, February 11, 2008
Florida's Superdelegates
Uncommitted:U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, Boca Raton
U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, Palm Beach Gardens
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Tampa
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, Monticello
Mitch Ceasar, Plantation
Diane Glasser, Tamarac
Karen Thurman, Tallahassee
Jon Ausman, Tallahassee
Andy Tobias, Tallahassee
Janee Murphy Tampa
Rudy Parker, Perry
Terrie Brady, Jacksonville
Hillary Clinton supporters:
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Miami
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, Miramar
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Weston
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, Jacksonville
Raul Martinez, Hialeah
Chuck Mohlke, Naples
Barack Obama supporters:
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler
State Rep. Joyce Cusack, DeLand
Allan Katz, Tallahassee
The Florida Democratic Party can be reached at 850-222-3411 or email@fladems.com
McCain/Bush 2008
Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, added his name today to McCain's campaign endorsements. "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader," Jeb Bush said, in a statement distributed by the McCain campaign. "Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. "He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good.''..........hereFour More Years
Sarasota's Vanished Votes
An Investigation into the Cause of Uncounted Votesin the 2006 Congressional District 13 Race in Sarasota County, Florida. What we uncovered in our investigation is shocking: The iVotronic votingsystem failed to count over 100,000 votes in various races across the state of Florida in the November 2006 election.......here
Superdelegates, Back Off!
If the superdelegates determine the party’s nominee before primary and caucus voters have rendered a clear verdict, Democrats risk losing the trust that we are building with voters today. The perception that the votes of ordinary people don’t count as much as those of the political insiders, who get to pick the nominee in some mythical back room, could hurt our party for decades to come.......here
Howard Dean On The Death Of Rep. Tom Lantos
"Our nation has lost a great public servant with the passing of Representative Tom Lantos. In serving his constituents and his country, Tom never forgot the Democratic Party's ideals of freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was an authority on foreign policy issues and a voice for the oppressed. The only Holocaust survivor in Congress, he was a forceful and passionate advocate for civil liberties and human rights. Today, I join with countless others across the country in offering my thoughts and prayers to Rep. Lantos' family and friends as we honor his life and legacy."
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Joe Garcia For Congress
Joe Garcia, the chairman of Miami Dade's Democratic Party, plans to take on a five year U.S. Representative for his seat in Congress. This district faces severe economic problems. The prices of homes have never been higher, in the capacity of middle class families to afford them, Insurance rates are out of wack while our Congress rules against catastrophic funding for insurance.......hereBarack Obama Wins A Grammy
CNN announces that Barack Obama has won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album Work after recording the audiobook of "The Audacity of Hope"
Annette Taddeo For Congress
Annette Taddeo plans to run against Illeana Ros-Lehtinen for the District 18 U.S. House seat.......here
Florida's Democrats Once Again Too Wily For Own Good
Being a Democrat in Florida is like being the coyote in a Road Runner cartoon. Things start out so promising, but in the end you just screw up everything in a comical way. And so, when America wakes up on Nov. 5 with another Republican president on his way to the White House, Florida Democrats will get the blame again. Beep, beep.........here
Republicans Losing Grip On Miami Cuban Vote
An anti-communist militant who fired a bazooka at a Polish freighter walked free with impunity in this sultry subtropical U.S. city, and Cuban Americans favouring closer ties with their homeland could once expect to be firebombed here. But Miami has changed and the sometimes violent scenes of Cuban exile passion appear to be in the past. That could spell trouble for President George W. Bush's Republican Party in November's general election........here
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