Thursday, May 28, 2009

National Politics Round-up

Round-ups

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. madfloridian: The reasons we the people of the party are frustrated, feeling left out....

2. BlueHerald 2.0: U.S. Prison System, A Bipartisan Affair

3. Why Now?: More Neocon Agitprop - The Son Of Yellowcake

4. Natch Greyes: "Senator" Burris is Undeniably Corrupt

5. Why Now?: Keeping Us Safe?

Important Reading

Round-ups

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Jinxi Boo: When Same-Sex Marriage Was A Christian Rite

Daily Kos: Gallup Abortion Poll Underscores Problems With Measuring Public Opinion

Ed Wallace: The Great Ethanol Scam

Open Left: A Successful Presidency

Open Left: Maintaining a Left-wing Community

Open Left: OPEN LEFT EXCLUSIVE: PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT GENDERS AND ETHNICITIES VOTE DIFFERENTLY!!!!!

Pam's House Blend: Did California Supreme Court actually help the cause of equal marriage rights?

e.politics: An Impending Explosion of State-Level Online Politics?

Daily Kos: Moving Forward REQUIRES Looking Back

Ammunition

Round-ups

The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...

Torture does not make us safer

Sotomayor doesn't want to ban guns

The Supreme Court has agreed with Sotomayor in the past

Appeals courts have always made policy in America

Obama already released his birth certificate

George W. Bush did not keep us safe

Guantanamo has served as a recruiting tool for terrorists

Resources

Round-ups

Links you can use...

Everything you wanted to know about Twitter, but were embarassed to ask!

Media Matters Action Network

Financial Media Matters

MAPLight.org launches Congress API, providing up-to-date data feeds of special interest groups' positions on key bills

Puerto Rican bloggers in the US you need to know about

Action Alerts

Sign the Petition: Draft Annette Taddeo for CFO

Send an e-mail: Save Critical Habitat for the Florida Panther (Sierra)

Send an e-mail: Tell Governor Crist: Stand Up for Florida's Waters (Sierra)

Send an e-mail: Help workers get organized (AFL-CIO)

Send an e-mail: Congress: Strengthen our Energy Bill! (SC)

Send an e-mail: Send a message to President Obama and show him you support his call for a full construction freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (JStreet)

Make A Phone Call: Tell Your Members of Congress We Need Real Health Care Reform (NWLC)

Send an e-mail: Repeal the AETA (CFCR)

Send an e-mail: Is Rush Limbaugh the voice of the Republican Party? (CoC)

Donate money: Throw Polar Bears a Strong Lifeline (NRDC)

Sign the petition: Hold KBR/Halliburton War Profiteers Accountable (CREDO)

Sign the petition: Support Recognition of the Young Democrats at Liberty University (YDA)

Sign the petition: Museums are Essential to Our National Heritage (SI)

Sign the petition: I demand congress and the President enact single payer universal health care. (Change)

Sign the letter: NBC & Meet the Press: Don't Air Rick Scott's Phony "Documentary" (HCFAN)

Capitol Offense: Draft Taddeo for Florida's CFO

Last week, 2008 congressional challenger Annette Taddeo suggested she might be interested in a possible run for CFO. This would be a very good idea.

If you already know about Annette and agree, go sign the petition and encourage her to jump into the race.

Taddeo ran a strong campaign against Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida's 18th District. Despite widespread support and much excitement generated by her candidacy, she was unable to overcome the popularity of the incubment, who had the vast resources of her office and long career in politics to hold off the newcomer. Taddeo did establish herself as a progressive politician to keep an eye on, though.

Upon hearing that she might consider running to replace Alex Sink as Florida's chief financial officer, several bloggers, Fried Gator and myself included, decided that this was something we really wanted to see happen. So, we've launched a new blog Draft Annette Taddeo for CFO and a petition to convince that this is the best way that Annette can serve the state and this is her best career option right now. Since she has expressed openness to running for CFO, we want her to know that she has the support of the people. Maybe that will convince her to take the plunge and join the race.

And this is the year to do it. It looks like the Republicans will offer up a slate of old white guys for Florida's state-wide offices. And not just any old white guys, the same old white guys that got us in the mess we are in now. Democrats, on the other hand, are looking to field a diverse group of candidates for office -- women, African-Americans, Jewish candidates. Wouldn't it be great to add another woman -- a Colombian woman -- to that field? And wouldn't it be great to see a cabinet with a gender make-up that reflected our actual population.

This is particularly true when the Colombian woman in question is so well-qualified for the job. She's got great experience to serve as CFO. She is the founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, a company with many huge clients across the nation. LanguageSpeak isn't just any corporation, either, it's a company with the goal of bettering society built right in to its mission. They provide language services including translations, interpretors and tutoring in over 100 languages. Taddeo is working on bring the world closer together through better communication. Sounds to me like the type of person I want running our government.

During the 2008 campaign, Annette consistantly came down on the right side of the issues. She endorsed the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. She opposed the Defense of Marriage Act and the Bush global gag rule on abortion. She supported reporductive rights, domestic partnerships, renewable energy and the expansion of early childhood education.

If this sounds like the type of person you want in Tallahassee, sign the petition.

It was stances like those above that helped garner Annette widespread support from Florida bloggers. Florida Progressive Coalition endorsed her and she was frequently supported by blogs like Discourse.net and Miami-Dade Dems, among others.

Many of the best organizations on the left supported her candidacy last time around, showing that it wasn't just Florida bloggers who liked her. She was endorsed by Feminist Majority, NOW, EMILY’s List, Florida AFL-CIO, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, DFA, Women's Campaign Forum, Congressional Hispanic Caucus' BOLD PAC, Russ Feingold's Patriot Corps and Red to Blue.

Another thing I love about Taddeo is that she's very plugged in to the Netroots and is supportive of bloggers and online activists. She appeared on a "Future Leaders" panel at Netroost Nation last year and her campain brought in attention from national blogs such as Daily Kos, Open Left, firedoglake, Swing State Project, Huffington Post, AMERICAblog, MyDD and many others. She raised more than $80 thousand on Act Blue last time around, putting her far ahead of most Florida congressional candidates.

Is that enough to convince you to sign the petition.

If you want to see for yourself how great she is, check Annette out in action at Netroots Nation in 2008:



You can also learn more from her Blue America chat or by watching her memorable Pea Pod ad from last year's campaign:



Did I mention you should sign the petition?

I'm Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.

Read more on Florida politics at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog (http://flaprogressives.org) and the Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki (http://quinnell.us/sspb/wiki/).

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Capitol Offense: Netroots Nation

Netroots Nation 2009 is fastly approaching. The annual convention of progressive and Netroots activists takes place in Pittsburgh this year from August 13-16. There are few events that I look forward to more each year than this one. There are few times it feels more exciting to be a blogger or a progressive activist than when one is at the meeting formerly known as Yearly Kos.

If you are an activist who uses the Internet to try to change the world, there is no better place for you to be. What could be better than being surrounded by thousands of like-minded people, all of whom are dedicated to the same things you are, all of whom have ideas and strategies on how to make change come alive. Regardless of the official program, the key reason you should be at Netroots Nation is the opportunities you get to interact with an undending stream of people from whom you can learn about how to better do whatever it is you do. It's also a great place to make contacts and connections that will further your own activism and your own career.

If you are a regular reader of Florida Progressive Coalition and follow our efforts, two of our key projects were birthed at Netroots Nation. The widely-popular Florida Progressive Radio, which existed before Yearly Kos 2007, had little direction or focus in its early days. Then one night in Chicago, I sat down with Alison Berke Morano, Susan Smith and Cenk Uygar, among others. Most readers probably know that Cenk is the amazing host of the Young Turks show, which was then on Air America. He gracefully sat with us in the bar and answered a seemingly unending series of questions about hosting a radio show and The Big Show with Alison and Kenny was born that night. Susan soon joined us as a host and hundreds of shows, scores of candidate and activist interviews and thousands of listeners soon followed. Our hard-hitting series of Republican watchblogs was also an outgrowth of information that we learned at Netroots Nation. In fact, I set up our first watchblogs via my laptop while sitting at the BlogsUnited booth in 2007.

The formal program of workshops, lectures, discussions and entertainment is also unrivaled when it comes to other similar events. For just about any topic you can imagine, there will be a session, led by experts in the field. Most of what I know about state-level blogging, I learned at Netroots Nation. The full agenda for this year's event isn't up yet, but there were sessions last year on various Netroots strategies, a multitude of issues, for fans of various blogs and Netroots organizations, author and candidate appearances, and opportunities to actually get involved and do something, whether it be the day of service, or phonebanking for a local candidate. The list of speakers and appearances at the event is too long to even begin to delve into, but suffice it to say that if someone is a significant player in the progressive movement -- politician, blogger, activist, journalist, whatever, chances are they'll be on site.

And that's great for those of us who are political junkies. You have ample opportunity to meet and talk to the people who drive progressive politics in America. My liberal bookshelf at home has books from more than a dozen authors I've personally met and talked to at Netroots Nation. And then there was the time that a congressional candidate from California, Steve Young (not that Steve Young), took me to lunch and we discussed strategy. Or there was the time that I made Al Gore laugh. Really. After his keynote speech, he was going down the line shaking hands and taking pictures. When he got to me, I told him that I was with a group of people from Florida and that we were sorry for the 2000 election. He laughed heartily. Then, quickly, he came back with: "Don't be sorry, I won Florida." Only at Netroots Nation.

There are many other positive things about Netroots Nation that I could talk about, but you probably get the idea. I could talk about the opportunities to explore local communites like Chicago, Austin or, this year, Pittsburgh. I could talk about the opportunities to appear on panels like the regional blogger panel or the self-starter sessions. I could talk about the parties, where you can be sharing a local microbrew with bloggers from New York and New Mexico while talking to a professional stand-up comedian. I could talk about the helpful people you'll meet, like the crew at DFA or the members of BlogsUnited who make the experience all the better. I could talk about the fact that I met more Florida politicians and activists at Netroots Nation than I have at most Florida events. I could talk about any of those or any number of other things, but I think I'll start packing instead.

If there is anyway you can make it to the Keystone State this year for Netroots Nation, you should. If you can't make it, donate money to help others get there with a DFA/Netroots Nation scholarship. I was one of those scholarship winners last year and the experience was invaluable. I couldn't have attended without the help of the generous donors who funded the program. You can have that impact on the people who attend this year. You won't regret it either way.

I'm Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.

Read more on Florida politics at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog (http://flaprogressives.org) and the Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki (http://quinnell.us/sspb/wiki/).

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Conservative Radio Host Mancow Waterboarded, Admits It Is Torture

Raw Story has the story.

Video:



Notably, the average person can take waterboarding for 14 seconds. Macho conservative radio host Mancow makes it six seconds.

Is there anything conservatives say that, when tested, actually turns out to be true.

No. No there isn't.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Action Alerts

Make a phone call: Please call and urge Governor Crist to Protect Florida's Special Places from Urban Sprawl (SC)

Send an e-mail: Tell Congress to stop earmarks for campaign cash (CC)

Send an e-mail: Tell BLM no more public lands for the world's dirtiest fossil fuel! (TWS)

Send an e-mail: Urge the Administration to Actively Support Climate Legislation (UCS)

Donate money: Don't let Blue Cross Blue Shield stop Obama's health care plan (MO)

Donate money: Double Your Support for Global Warming Action! (ED)

Donate money: Rethink Afghanistan: What You Can Do (IFAF)

Sign the petition: Support the Federal Reserve Transparency Act (FDL)

Sign the petition: Take Action to Prevent Child Marriage (Change.org)

Sign the petition: I demand congress and the President enact single payer universal health care. (Change.org)

National Politics Round-up

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. Incertus (Brian): How can we be expected to take you seriously if you lie?

2. Sunshine Statements: Abortion Debate Needs Substance

3. Why Now?: Fact Checking

4. Eye on Miami (Gimleteye): Gitmo prisoners: why not jail them in the US?

5. Pushing Rope: Obama Meets Netanyahu

Head of Senate Republican Campaign Committee "Proud" To Have Dick Cheney Campaign For Crist & Rubio In Florida

From the FDP:


Today, as the head of National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, Chairman John Cornyn declared that he would be "proud" for his Senate candidates to campaign with former Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Florida Democratic Party has challenged both Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio to answer if they would appear with Cheney over the course of the campaign.

According to the POLITICO newspaper, at a breakfast, Cornyn was asked if Cheney should campaign for Republican Senate candidates in 2010. Cornyn said, "I'd be proud to appear with the vice president anywhere, anytime." Cornyn - the Senate's top Republican strategist - praised Cheney's growing role as the Republican's chief spokesman. Cornyn went on to say he's very open to Cheney barnstorming the country in support of Senate candidates in 2010. Cornyn proclaimed "I appreciate the vice president speaking out."

In the wake of Cornyn's comments, the Florida Democratic Party is calling on Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio to answer the simple question, "Will you welcome Dick Cheney to Florida to campaign on your behalf?"

"John Cornyn's wholehearted praise of Dick Cheney begs the question, will either Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio welcome Cheney to Florida to campaign on for them?," said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff. "Presumably Crist and Rubio share the NRSC Chairman's views and will welcome Cheney with open arms - if they disagree they should let the people of Florida know right now."

Despite his lofty status as one of the Republican's chief spokesmen, Cheney continues to be stunningly unpopular. According to the Washington Post, the last four personal favorability ratings for Cheney: 37 percent, 18 percent, 19 percent and 30 percent. Despite Cheney's unpopularity, Cornyn and the NRSC are poised to unleash him in battleground states across the country in 2010.

Cornyn Said He Would be "Proud" to Have Cheney Campaign With GOP Senate Candidates. At a breakfast Cornyn was asked if Cheney should campaign for Republican Senate candidates in 2010. Cornyn said, "I'd be proud to appear with the vice president anywhere, anytime." [Politico, 5/21/09]

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

Bush vs. Obama: Not Cool/Cool

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

What's Going On: U.S. Senate Race

The Spencerian: Charlie Crist Lives Up to Empty Chair, Announces for Senate

FLA Politics: Charlie in the Blogosphere

FLA Politics (dantilson): Sorry, Charlie

South Florida Daily Blog: Crist v. Rubio, Et Al.

FLA Politics: Hypocrisy alert

FLA Politics: Charlie makes a mess, leaves a mess

Why Now?: Name Recognition

ReidBlog: The Florida political free-for-all begins

Blast Off!: Crist is in for the Senate. Now what?

Incertus (Brian): Oh please please please

Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): 2010 Statewide Elections: will Floridians finally have a dialogue about the costs of growth?

Why Now?: From Here And There

The Seminole Democrat: Big Surprise: Crist Jumps Ship as Governor

Progressive Pensacola: It’s official: Crist in Senate race

Why Now?: Quick Analysis Of The Announcement

Pushing Rope: Crist Announces Senate Bid

FLA Politics (dantilson): Untruth and Consequences

Dan Gelber: Welcome Gov Crist

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Crist In the Race

Why Now?: Crist Kicks The Anthill

Natch Greyes: Crist Enters Senate Race

Pensito Review (Trish): Breaking: Republican Florida Gov. to Run for Senate Instead

Equality Florida (Mallory Wells): Crist is in

Talk To Me: Charlie Tuna

Miami-Dade Dems: Pretty crazy: Get the Club for Growth to take out Crist

Flablog: For whom should Dems root?

Generation Miami (Alex Barreras): All talk Rubio vs. Teflon Charlie

FLA Politics (Tally): Can Crist Win a Republican Primary?

Democratic Strategist: Florida Opening

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: The primary battle lines are being drawn

MyDD: The NRSC Endorses Crist while the DSCC Welcomes him

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: Marco Rubio took my advice

Down With Tyranny: Cornyn Endorses Crist In Florida But Too Scared Of Blunt's Corruption To Back Him For Missouri Seat

MyDD: NRSC Endorsement "Policy" Shortchanges Conservatives, Minorities

Pam's House Blend: Crist makes it official -- he comes out...as a U.S. Senate candidate

Daily Kos: Crist Announces, Civil War Begins

Down With Tyranny: Charlie Crist Doesn't Come Out As he Announces He's Running For The U.S. Senate

AMERICAblog: Florida's hard core GOPers take aim at Charlie Crist's Senate run

Pam's House Blend: NPR spikes 'Outrage' review that named names

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: Calling Club for Growth

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: Crist Will Run

Open Left: Senate 2010 Update: Crist Keeps Florida Republican

Pam's House Blend: Report: Charlie Crist will run for U.S. Senate

Down With Tyranny: Will The Film "Outrage" Wreck Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign?

Ammunition

The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...

"Voter fraud" is a myth used to limit voting rights

Obama is not seeking to socialize health care

Obama did not say he does not want a justice committed to following law

Obama didn't break with tradition on the National Day of Prayer

Torture doesn't work

Torture's effectiveness isn't proven by those memos Cheney wants released

The stimulus isn't failing

Gay marriage will not lead to marriage between people and goats, ducks, dolphins or turtles

Divided government does not limit spending

Obama didn't go overboard in his reaction to Wanda Sykes joke about Rush Limbaugh

Innocent people have been detained at Guantánamo Bay

Democrats aren't elitets out of touch with the American people

Important Reading

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Open Left: Michael Lind On The Hegemonic War Against Social Security

Open Left: Democratic Gun Owner Outreach = FAIL

Open Left: Too Big To Fail=Too Big To Exist

Open Left: The Grand Argument That Isn't

Open Left: 94 Billion Reasons to Rethink Afghanistan

Open Left: Taking On Big Farm

Pam's House Blend: Sending fundie e-blasts right back at 'em, part 2 - NOM

Daily Kos: What Happens When You Let Bloggers Inside

National Politics Round-up

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. Why Now?: The New Con

2. Blast Off!: The big question: will wingnuts who benefit from stimulus money still hate Obama?

3. Pushing Rope: Why Franken Is Kept From Senate Seat

4. FLA Politics (Senate Guru): PA-Sen: Netroots Overwhelmingly Support a Draft Sestak Effort

5. Bark Bark Woof Woof: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

Bill Maher's New Rules - 5/8/09

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

GOP Survivor...



The Young Turks comment on the topic:

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Important Reading

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Pam's House Blend: Sending fundie e-blasts right back at 'em

Down With Tyranny: Can we recall that LGBT military exclusion is a national security issue, not just a "gay" one?

Open Left: Barack Obama: Legitimate Disappointment And What To Do About It

Democratic Strategist: Is Gun Control Still "Third Rail" for Dems?

Open Left: Star Trek As Progressive Mythology

Open Left: Criticism vs. Vitriol

MyDD: Katrina Recovery Still A Debacle

Pam's House Blend: How the religious right exploits the black community

Shakesville: Button up. Your sexism is showing

techPresident: The Challenges of Surviving (and Thriving) as a Progressive Blogger

Open Left: Earmark Reform to Nowhere: How "Reformers" Threaten Our Constitutional Democracy

The Democratic Strategist: Who Will Cover State and Local Governments?

The Democratic Strategist: 'Regional Party of the South' Meme Busted

What's Going On: U.S. Senate Race for Florida

The Spencerian: Marco Is In for Florida Senate (Marco *Who*?)

FLA Politics: The Charlie effect

FLA Politics: Crist on the verge of announcing Senate bid

Flablog: Fan letter

FLA Politics (Tally): AG Dave and Democratic Hero Crist

Progress Florida (Ray Seaman): Rubio Won't Lose Because He Was House Speaker

Down With Tyranny: Will The Film "Outrage" Wreck Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign?

What's Going On: Florida Congressional Races

The Seminole Democrat: Well Done Kosmas

FLA Politics (Mike): Breaking: Marco Rubio Website Stolen From Hulu UPDATE: Design Now Slightly Changed

The Spencerian: Breaking: Charlie Justice to Challenge Rep. Bill Young for House Seat

Saint Petersblog: Justice's bold move

Daily Kos: FL-10: Justice Shall Be Served

What's Going On: The Future of the Republican Party

South Florida Daily Blog: Republicans In Distress

The Spencerian: CNN Has Just Stopped Trying

Change in Tallahassee: Democratic strategist James Carville explains why he thinks the Democrats will hold power for the next 50 years.

Down With Tyranny: Republican Politicians Burying Themselves?

Think Progress: Sen. Snowe: GOP is ‘the party of Big Business and Big Oil and the rich.’

100 Days of Steele

REGULATION VACATION CELEBRATION!

Out of business

President Obama's Weekly Address: Credit Card Reform

Daily Humor: Obama Is the Funniest President In History

Today's reason to laugh...

Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner:



My president is funny:



Seriously, this dude is hilarious:

WTF? Files, Part 2

The age of the universe is apparently determined by the Texas school board.

Simple Questions. Simple Answers.

From Eye on Miami:


Should Catholic Priests have sex like the rest of us?

Yes.

National Politics Round-up

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. ReidBlog: Democrats for sale

2. madfloridian: David Vitter blocks nomination of Fugate to FEMA.

3. Deep Something: Republicans Oppose Obama’s SCOTUS Nominee

4. madfloridian: Billions for banks, no cost of living raise for Social Security for at least 2 years.

5. Re/Creating Tampa: 10-Year-Old Calls Bullshit on Rice

Friday, May 8, 2009

Daily Humor

Don't know why this struck me as so funny, but McJoan made reference to our recent vice president as Dick "Dick" Cheney. Made me chuckle.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

Shirtless Biden Washes Trans Am In White House Driveway:


Taking advantage of the warm spring weather Monday, Vice President Joe Biden parked his 1981 Trans Am in the White House driveway, removed his undershirt, and spent a leisurely afternoon washing the muscle car and drinking beer.

...

"Back in the day we used to call 'em panty-melters," Biden continued. "One babe caught a glimpse of those rims after a Cinderella concert in '86 and she couldn't get into that backseat fast enough. If any of you girls wanna take a ride, just let ol' Joe know."

For the remainder of the day, Biden occupied himself with hosing off his car, giving the side doors an extra coat of wax, and throwing out a variety of items from beneath its front seats, including crumpled-up fast food wrappers, a number of soft packs of Doral kings, an issue of Cheri magazine from 1991, and Senate bill S. 486.


The fact that he was drinking Coors, though, hurts his liberal cred.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

What's Going On: U.S. Senate Race

FLA Politics (Tally): Go Marco!

Florida Progressive Coalition (Larry Thorson): Rubio in US Senate race, reaction from FlaDems, Meek, Gelber

Florida Democratic News: Democrats React to Marco Rubio's "No" Agenda As He Announces Senate Run

Blast Off!: Discovering the Rubiosaurus

Fried Gator: Cornyn: I am not stopping a Republican party bloodbath between Crist and Rubio in Florida

ReidBlog: No love for Charlie: Marco socks the gov en los cojones

Generation Miami (Alex Barreras): Run Charlie, run

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Rubio Running

Generation Miami (Giancarlo Sopo): The Two Marco Rubios

Dan Gelber: Welcome Marco

Equality Florida (Mallory Wells): Rubio is in and the race is on

Flablog: Old fashioned base-running

Fried Gator: Let the Games Begin: Marco Rubio announces for Senate again and again

Eye on Miami (Gimleteye): Marco Rubio, for US Senate?

Open Left: Senate 2010: May 6th Update

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: Conservative Base Looking To Sink Crist

Howie Klein: Marco Rubio Jumps Into The Florida Senate Race

What's Going On: The Future of the Republican Party

Pensito Review: Can the GOP Survive As a Neo-Confederate Bastion?

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Off Center

Talk to Me: Reagan Who?

Generation Miami (Alex Barreras): Jeb?

The Campaign Manager: RNC Insanity

Generation Miami (Giancarlo Sopo): Jeb is right, Republicans need to move beyond Reagan

Incertus (Brian): Oh no, they're all yours

Saint Petersblog: Jeb Bush: Time to leave Reagan behind

AMERICAblog: Republicans and Southerners, most unpatriotic of all Americans

Democratic Strategist: Reality Check For Republican "Reformers"

Daily Kos: Republicans and the Christian Right: Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don't

MyDD: Is Delusion Part of Re-Branding?

Important Reading

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Open Left: Specter's Move Means Voters Will Ask Dems to Shit Or Get Off the Pot

Politico: Frank Luntz's playbook on how to lie about progressive health care reform

the 13th juror: Take the pledge: Never to judge a homeless person

Open Left: Electorate Becoming Increasingly LGBT

Wonk Room: Report: Wall Street Firms Drove The Subprime Crisis, Fueled Drop In Lending Standards

techPresident: Why Twitter Matters & The Left Should Be Nervous

Open Left: The Future of the Electorate: Religion

Shakesville: Great Books by Smart People

Open Left: Plan B on the Big Banks

Open Left: Heads Up Partisan War Syndrome Victims: It's the Dems, Too

Shakesville: Too Fat for SCOTUS

Shakesville: Totally Not Sexist

Open Left: Future Electorate: Three Race / Ethnicity Tracks

Open Left: The Grassroots/Democratic Establishment Divide

Open Left: The Future Electorate: Race and Ethnicity

Ammunition

The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...

ACORN did not receive stimulus funds

The hate crimes bill doesn't protect pedophiles

Republicans have filibustered Supreme Court nominees

The majority of Americans say gay marriage is not a threat

Making people pay their taxes is not raising taxes

Adding the word "accurate" to your slogan doesn't make you more accurate

The majority of Americans don't think gay soldiers would hurt unit cohesion

Obama isn't spending $400K to study drinking and sex habits of gays in Argentina

Green jobs don't kill other jobs

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

Republicans: The Lost Party

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
Republicans: The Lost Party
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Economic CrisisPolitical Humor

Monday, May 4, 2009

Action Alerts

Send an e-mail: Tell President Obama: Make a Bold Choice to Fill Souter's Seat (PFAW)

Send an e-mail: Tell Congress: Include Single-Payer in Health Reform Debate! (PC)

Send an e-mail: Tell your senators to save our waterways from uncontrolled pollution (NRDC)

Send an e-mail: Urge the Senate to protect sharks (Oceana)

Send an e-mail: Urge Your Senators to Support the Paycheck Fairness Act (WNLC)

Send an e-mail: Rushing to Expand Corn Ethanol is Not Smart Bioenergy (UCS)

Sign the petition: Stop Bigger Trucks

Sign the petition: Protect Our Oceans, Coastal Communities and Consumers (FWW)

Sign the petition: I demand congress and the President enact single payer universal health care. (Change)

Sign the petition: I demand congress and the President enact The Employee Free Choice Act. (Change)

Sign the petition: I demand that the congress and the President enact a $10 an hour minimum wage into law. (Change)

Sign the petition: I demand that Norm Coleman concede the Senate race. (Change)

Sign the petition: I demand that the congress and the President enact The Women's Freedom of Choice Act into law. (Change)

Sign the petition: May 9 is the deadline to roll back Bush regulations on endangered species (Credo)

National Politics Round-up

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. Blast Off!: That's right, kids, Obama personally will come to your house and take away your guns

2. Susan S: Action Alert: Call Sestak

3. Blast Off!: Jeb! Bush: he's baaaaaaaack!

4. Smashed Frog: SCOTUS Thinks Over Auto Privacy Rights

5. Re/Creating Tampa: Mitt’s Confused

We're At War, Pick A Side, Part 2

Clueless Charlie Crist can't decide whether he agrees with Obama's new policies toward Cuba or not:


I'm not sure at this point


Way to commit and take a stand, Charlie.

We're At War, Pick A Side, Part 1

Kendrick Meek can't tell if Gov. Charlie Crist is doing a good job or not.

Simple answers to simple questions: No, he is not. Our economy is in a shambles, our budget is a disaster and Crist knows its bad, so he's going to get the heck out of town. Meek, predicting that he might face Crist in the Senate race in 2010, should probably start hammering on Crist now. Or at least, he should start defending the interests of his constituents, who are being harmed by Crist's policies.

Simple Questions. Simple Answers.

The Buzz blog asks: "Is Grover Norquist credible on cigarette taxes?"

The answer: No.

This has been another episode of "Answering the Easiest Questions in the World," we now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

What's Going On: The Future of the Republican Party

Blast Off!: More proof that Republicans want people to be dumb and stay dumb

Re/Creating Tampa: Just because they don’t identify as Republican, doesn’t mean they don’t vote Republican

Bark Bark Woof Woof: GOP Declares Bankruptcy

Pensacola Beach Blog: The Incredible Shrinking G.O.P.

ReidBlog: The Club for Shrinkage: Olympia Snowe schools the GOP

AMERICAblog: The "New" GOP: “people learn more from listening to Rush Limbaugh than they do in high school or college.”

Open Left: How Republicans Can Regain Power

Important Reading

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Lucky White Girl: No magic number

Florida Netroots: Locally Grown, Organic Blogger

Open Left: The Alternative-A Genuine Cross-Ideological Approach Rooted In Core Liberal Values

MyDD: Wish list for Justice Souter's replacement

Open Left: Obama's First 100 Days--The Black Agenda Report Card

Open Left: Congress Does Exactly What They Want To Do

Open Left: Not All Change Is Made By Government

Open Left: Not so fast, Chris Bowers! :)

Open Left: The Era Of "More Democrats" Officially Ends

Shakesville: Obama Still Not Getting It on Abortion

Open Left: Actual Fiscal Conservatism

Open Left: D.C.'s Entitlement Ideology: Establishment Insists Incumbents Are Entitled to Uncontested Primaries

Open Left: The Phony Big Government Debate

Open Left: We Can't Afford To Ignore the Douchebags

Open Left: Self-Delusion and the Lie of Lifestyle Politics (Core Dilemmas of Community Organizing)

Open Left: Contested Primaries Help, Rather Than Hurt, Democrats in General Elections

Progress Florida (Virginia): Why the Confederate Flag?

Incertus (Brian): Oh, this explains so much

Re/Creating Tampa: File Sharing Manifesto

Ammunition

The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...

Conservatives are a failure on Twitter

Republicans actually fought pandemic preparedness

Republicans said that using the filibuster was un-American

Scientists keep finding evidence to close those gaps in the fossil record

Southern states have a history of refusing help for the needy

Christians are not persecuted in the U.S.

The U.S. has not been a liberator in Central/South America

Conservatives are not originalists, they are judicial activists

Military training is nothing like torture

Obama never vowed to end earmarks

Obama is a popular president

Obama does not favor and has not proposed socialized medicine, single-payer, government-run health care, nationalized health care or anything remotely like the British or Canadian health care models

Texas takes more federal government disaster assistance than any other state

Reagan was more of a socialist than FDR

Republicans keep growing more and more unpopular

The GOP has no interest whatsoever in bipartisanship

Reconciliation would not mean Republicans can't debate health care

The media does not have a love affair with Barack Obama

Obama is not toying with criminal prosecutions for CIA interrogators

Reconciliation has been used many times since 1980

Resources

Links you can use...

A breif synopsis of the budget reconsiliation process in the Senate

Torture Timeline

The Torture Flowchart

Government Blogs

Options for Engagement with Cuba

The White House Joins Facebook, MySpace, Twitter (And Makes Friends with the Rest of Government)

High School Math And Reading Scores Have Been Stagnant Since The 1970’s

Your Weekly Presidential Address

Meet The New GOP

Rep. Kathy Castor - Hate Crimes Legislation

President Obama Issues Support Statement for Hate Crimes Bill

From the president:


This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance – legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action.

Daily Humor

Today's reason to laugh...

Let my wingers go


For the old country, the benefits would be obvious. A more intimately sized Congress would briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. Although Texas itself has been a net contributor to the Treasury—it gets back ninety-four cents for each dollar it sends to Washington—nearly all the other potential F.S. states, especially the ones whose politicians complain most loudly about the federal jackboot, are on the dole. (South Carolina, for example, receives $1.35 on the dollar, as compared with Illinois’s seventy-five cents.) Republicans would have a hard time winning elections for a generation or two, but eventually a responsible opposition party would emerge, along the lines of Britain’s Conservatives, and a normal alternation in power could return.

The Federated States, meanwhile, could get on with the business of protecting the sanctity of marriage, mandating organized prayer sessions and the teaching of creationism in schools, and giving the theory that eliminating taxes increases government revenues a fair test. Although Texas and the other likely F.S. states already conduct some eighty-six per cent of executions, their death rows remain clogged with thousands of prisoners kept alive by meddling judges. These would be rapidly cleared out, providing more prison space for abortion providers. Although there might be some economic dislocation at first, the F.S. could remedy this by taking advantage of its eligibility for OPEC membership and arranging a new “oil shock.” Failing that, foreign aid could be solicited from Washington. But the greatest benefit would be psychological: freed from the condescension of metropolitan élites and Hollywood degenerates, the new country could tap its dormant creativity and develop a truly distinctive Way of Life.

National Politics Round-up

What are Florida bloggers saying about national politics...

1. South Florida Daily Blog: Torture: It Is Not A Partisan Issue

2. Re/Creating Tampa: More than waterboarding

3. Natch Greyes: Evaluating Potential Supreme Court Nominees

4. Pensacola Beach Blog: Supreme Law of Averages

5. Incertus (Brian): How is this not legislating from the bench?