Political Bloviation

Deputies seize plants, equipment from grow house operation.
If you’re running a large marijuana growing operation and the Sheriff’s Dept. shows up at you door and asks if you’re running a grow house, don’t answer “Do you want to see it?” He must have been smoking too much of his own product.
The whole thing [...]

Where’s a Taser toting police officer when you need one? Maybe her community service should be served as Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Dept’s new Taser practice target, after of course a nice jail sentenace where her fellow inmates can beat the crap out of her with a belt, hold her head under water and throw urine [...]

Ah yes, Tampa, a city with real class…

I can say that because I grew up here.

Jean Merola, the infamous french fry Grandma has turned down an offer to pay $88 fine and admit guilt. Her court date is set for July 10th. If your not familiar with the back story here’s a quick summary from January arrest story:
Jean Merola said McDonald’s staff told her to park to wait for her [...]

TAKE ACTION: Your voice is urgently needed to prevent Government from using tax dollars to fund religion

 They’re considering installing traffic light camera just down the street from me. One would hope that a study of the issue by a neutral third parties would give pause to the Hillsborough county government. But republican controlled government don’t need no stinking facts to make a decision.
Scientific American: Counterproductive Cameras At Traffic Lights
Cameras that catch [...]

From today St. Pete Times:
State: Storms joins Darwin debate
In the findings section of the bill, Storms writes that the Legislature finds that many Florida teachers have “experienced or feared discipline, discrimination or other adverse consequences” for presenting a “full range of scientific views” regarding chemical and biological origins.
Her bill would ban penalizing teachers for teaching [...]

Good job! Go Bulls!

Just got back from the game. USF rolled over UCF, pretty much as expected. College games are much more fun than pro games. GO BULLS!!!
USF, USF, USF, USF, USF, USF!!!

I love Big Brother even more now that he’s ordered the surge in Iraq. Things are ever so much better now. Accordingly all conflicting information must be sent down the memory hole to eliminate any hint of cognitive dissonance.
Informed Comment: Arguments over Night of the Living Dead in Iraq
A Government Accounting Office report has [...]

The Moron Magnet « The Opinion Mill
Best comment:
“Is it possible they could build the museum like a roach motel? If so, I suspect we could trap the remaining 28% of Bush supporters.”
Now that’s a project I could get behind.

Citizens group files elections complaint against Sen. Martinez
It is intersting that despite FEC audits showing massive violations of the law, no action has been taken against Mel. Could it just be that he’s the friggin’ chairman of the Republican Party? Nope, nothing to see here folks just move along.

Couey jury wants death for Florida girl’s killer – CNN.com
I’m not a fan of the death penalty because of the gross unfairness with which it’s implemented. Also, we have an imperfect justice system staffed by imperfect people. As long as that’s true the potential for mistakes makes the death penalty problematic. But every once in [...]

Our View: What Rate Cuts?-FloridaToday.com

I guess we’ll get word on this tomorrow when insurers are requried to make their rate filings to the insurance commission. Money quote:
Remember the deal?
They doubled the size of the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which sells storm insurance coverage to insurers at cost, and which you pay for through your premiums.
In [...]

Flirting With Disaster – washingtonpost.com
The Post doesn’t care for the insurance reform in Florida. I tend to agree despite the fact I should benefit from lower rates. I’ve always been annoyed that people with more money than common sense could build mult-million dollar McMansions on the beach. When the inevitable happens and the wrath of [...]

Hernando: FCAT blessing raises a ruckus
The St. Pete Times report that some school staffers at a middle school anonited the desks with prayer oil in an effort help the students do better on the FCAT test. Would it be wrong to suggest that perhaps studying the material and learning something would be better than asking [...]

Shoot First — No Questions Asked – New York Times
Redefining lethal force is bad enough, but it also comes with near-automatic immunity from prosecution and civil lawsuits. Florida’s law is a sick cousin of the work of the gun lobby on Capitol Hill, where it has successfully protected the interstate traffickers of guns used in [...]

Columns: Our tax dollars at work funding antiabortion bunk
Blummer has guts. This piece in the St. Pete Times will get the death threats rolling in from “Christians”.
The CPCs’ true purpose is not to serve women in trouble but to proselytize and block women from receiving valid information about their health and options.
Many CPCs like to [...]

State: Governor sides with nurse in trouble for Schiavo remarks
In her affidavit, Sauer-Iyer, who worked for Palm Garden of Largo as a licensed practical nurse while Schiavo was there, claimed Schiavo said “Mommy” and “Help me,” told nurses she was in pain and chuckled when Sauer-Iyer told her humorous stories.
Jeb! made a statement that clearly [...]

Rising Insurance Rates Push Florida Homeowners to Brink – New York Times
I got a 75% increase last year. No claims have ever been filed against my policy in 6 years. I guess that’s life in the sub-tropics.