Free Republic

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More than $2.3 million in federal economic stimulus grants have gone to eight Tampa Bay area cosmetology and massage schools to pay tuition for the hairdressers, masseuses and nail technicians of tomorrow.

They flashed wads of money and brazenly showed off military-style assault weapons on MySpace.com. They started fights in clubs, distributed drugs throughout Palm Beach County and left a trail of more than a dozen bodies. They called themselves Top 6. And they were the most violent gang in Palm Beach County history. They influenced most of the drug trade in Lake Worth and parts of the trade in Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton during their latter years.

There are times when the pond is like liquid glass. We need rain, the water is getting very low now.

comprehensive review of the uncounted Florida ballots from last year's presidential election reveals that George W. Bush would have won even if the United States Supreme Court had allowed the statewide manual recount of the votes that the Florida Supreme Court had ordered to go forward. Contrary to what many partisans of former Vice President Al Gore have charged, the United States Supreme Court did not award an election to Mr. Bush that otherwise would have been won by Mr. Gore. A close examination of the ballots found that Mr. Bush would have retained a slender margin over Mr. ...

ST. PETERSBURG — More than 100 protesters marched outside the entrance to the main office of the St. Petersburg Times Saturday morning, accusing the newspaper and the media in general of biased reporting on conservative positions on issues such as health care reform and government spending. Protesters carried signs that read "State Run Media," or "Take the Left From Your Slant" and "Journalism Malpractice — Just Report the Facts." Protesters generally complained about media bias on national issues, accusing the "liberal media" of supporting the Obama administration on a variety of issues and then inaccurately portraying the political right as...

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — A teen who police say was set ablaze by five other boys screamed in agony as a breathless 911 caller pleaded for help because "a little boy just caught on fire," according to a recording released Friday. In the most dramatic of four emergency calls released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, the relentless, guttural cries of 15-year-old Michael Brewer often drown out the woman who is dialing dispatchers. "A little boy just caught on fire!" the unidentified woman says, barely able to catch her breath to give her address. Prompted by the dispatcher during the...

DEERFIELD BEACH - A teen out for revenge rallied his friends to douse a 15-year-old with rubbing alcohol, then told them to set the boy on fire Monday afternoon, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Moments before Michael Brewer was engulfed in flames, Matthew Bent, 15, the teen accused of organizing the attack, yelled "Snitch, snitch!" and "Pour it on him!," said Sgt. Steve Feeley, the deputy who investigated the case.

Ibis, Snowy Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills today. I got more but too tired to process until after a nap. Good thing y'all don't pay me by the hour!While I was out today my daughter came in my room, evidently with a bulldozer, it is all neat and tidy for a change! She found all kinds of stuff I thought was lost, LOL!

Two Teens Charged In Fiery Attack Face Judge Michael Brewer's Mother To Appear On CBS' Early Show Thursday Five Teens Are Accused Of Torching Of Michael BrewerDEERFIELD BEACH (CBS4) ― Click to enlarge1 of 2 CBS Click to enlarge2 of 2 CBS Close numSlides of totalImages Related Slideshows Jewish Celebrities Muy Caliente! Fins Cheerleaders Trade Turf For Surf Famous Breast Cancer Survivors World's Most Useless Facts Related StoriesBSO Arrest Three Youths After Teen Is Set On Fire (10/13/2009) Related LinksRead Ted Scouten's Blog On The Story Michael Brewer Foundation On MySpace Two South Florida teens accused of dousing a Deerfield...

Police: Juveniles laughed after setting 15-year-old on fireupdated 1 hour, 43 minutes ago (CNN) -- Five juveniles were in custody Tuesday after a 15-year-old was intentionally set on fire at a Deerfield Beach, Florida, apartment complex, police said. Michael Brewer suffered second-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. "He's in for a long, long recovery," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti told reporters. Three juveniles were arrested Monday night, hours after the incident, and two others were arrested Tuesday, sheriff's Sgt. Steve Feeley said. "A couple of them last night were laughing about it," he said. "One of them arrested...

Grandson Gerry has ROTC drill Tuesday after school, and I pick him up. I leave early and sit by the pond, or cruise around looking for models. I timed it right, the pond crew started showing up about the same time I did. The season change is bringing in a lot of new birds, the Boat Tail Grackles were back in the marsh today.The double Hibiscus was growing in a yard close to the street.

A Florida judge has ruled a teenager from Ohio must return after running away to Florida in fear that her parents would harm her for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Missing collection found, wife was the culprit The country's second-largest Batman memorabilia collection which was stolen from South Florida warehouses last month has been found, and it wasn't the Catwoman. It turns out the wife of slain millionaire Ben Novack Jr. took the collection herself, and she says the toys aren't going anywhere. "It belongs to Narcy Novack. She was married to him for 19 years," lawyer Howard Tanner told the Miami Herald. "It was purchased during their marriage. Wouldn't you rightfully assume the property belongs to you?" The collection, enough to fill two Batcaves, is at the center of...

The Republicans had put Webster among a trio of their best-bet candidates to retake the seat Grayson won last year by ousting four-term incumbent Ric Keller. But two other possible candidates — Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando — both opted out last week. That's left a pair of grass-roots Tea Party activists, Patricia Sullivan of Eustis and Dan Fanelli of Orlando, as the only two candidates to formally file for a Grayson challenge so far. However, South Florida developer and recent Orlando transplant Armando Gutierrez Jr. says he filed to run on Friday, and...

Belkis Gonzalez, an unlicensed abortion worker, was on duty when a 19-year old woman arrived at the abortion clinic to complete an abortion started by Pierre Renelique the previous day. When Renelique failed to show up to finish the abortion, the woman gave birth to a little girl, Shanice Osbourne, who was moving and breathing at the time of the delivery. Gonzalez then cut her umbilical cord, shoved her in a biohazard bag with caustic chemicals, and tossed her up on the abortion clinic roof to hide her body from the authorities. Three years later, after substantial public pressure from...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Weeks after his harsh remarks toward the GOP, a Florida congressman's popularity with Democrats isn't dying quickly. U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who said late last month that Republicans' health care plans amount to wanting sick people to "die quickly," told a wildly enthusiastic crowd of about 2,000 Democrats Saturday that the GOP should change its name to "The Selfish Party." The first-term congressman from Orlando was given a standing ovation for his remarks at the Florida Democratic Party's annual convention. People stood in line to take pictures with him and gush over him, and a...

Gov. Charlie Crist and his ``stimulus czar'' said Friday that a recent federal report supports Florida's go-slow approach to spending federal recovery money earmarked for highway projects and schools. Even so, Florida's overall stimulus spending is a bit ahead of schedule, said czar Don Winstead, whose official title is special advisor to the governor on economic stimulus. Federal officials in February said they expected the state to spend about 20 percent of its estimated $15 billion in stimulus money by the end of September. ``I think we will be ahead of that schedule,'' Winstead said. ``We are seeing rapid deployment...

Fire fighters rescue a 7-foot gator from a storm drain Urban myth our fat fannies! Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pulled a 7-foot, 150-pound alligator from a storm drain in a residential neighborhood Friday afternoon, just before it could burst from underneath the street and take its revenge on the person who flushed it down the toilet. Not really. No one knows how the reptile got stuck in the sewer, but our guess is it was flushed as a baby and then grew up in the sewers while eating rats, beef patties and the occasional chihuahua. Rescue officials think it just wandered...

We always have some of the various sandpipers around, but now the winter migrants are starting to trickle in. These are Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca

Here is video of Congressman Alan Grayson on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" talking Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. When asked for his response to "the response of the Republican Party, and how they've been so negative," Grayson answered "I think I understand their disappointment, they're not going to be winning the Nobel Peace Prize themselves anytime soon, they probably wish that there was a Nobel Prize for fear, a Nobel prize for hatred, a Nobel prize for racism, you know then they'd be in the running." (Video)

After no-name candidate Marco Rubio raised about $300,000 in his first quarter for his primary campaign against Charlie Crist, he announced a cool $1 million pull for his third quarter. A day later, Crist boasted over twice that - but the trends are important, Crist spokesman Alex Burgos says. "Charlie Crist announced his numbers and they're down significnalty from his second quarter total," said Burgos. "So we like the trends. Marco is trending up, and Crist tripped." But some wonder whether or not one million is even enough. It takes roughly $1.5 million to get "one message" out -- to...

HALLANDALE BEACH - Armed with handguns and AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles, the members of the Southeast Broward Republican Club abandoned the usual community center for their club meeting this week, and gathered at a gun range where they fired bullets instead of political bombshells. The aims, said club president Ed Napolitano, were to have fun, educate club members who were new to shooting — and send a political message. "Why are we here? Because we're Republicans and we appreciate the fact that we have the right to bear arms," Napolitano said. "Without the Second Amendment I don't think the...

CORN wants people to register to vote – as long as they’re Democrats. Republican registrations go into the trash. Here is a first-hand account of how it happens. In February 2008, Fathiyyah Muhammad of Jacksonville, Florida, heard that ACORN was paying people three dollars for each voter they could register. ACORN paid her three dollars for each voter she registered, but Fatiyyah Muhammad says that the group threw out her votes and fired her when she brought them registrations of Republican voters. Fathiyyah Muhammad voted for Obama. “I’m a Republican,� she says, “and this was the first time that I...

I've been stranded for several days, the ignition switch on the Ford locked up and stranded the kids in town last Saturday. Replacing an ignition used to be a ten buck, 20 minute job, it isn't anymore! For some reason the car decided that someone was trying to steal it, and shut everything down. Thinking back to all the times I've been 20 miles from a paved road I sure am glad the vehicles I drove were repairable in the field. The pond was busy, All these shots but the Osprey were taken from one spot.

I hope this works as I am doing this wi-fi from Patrick Air Force Base across the street...there are literally thousands lined down the road here waiting for the procession of Sgt. Robert Sanchez, 24, of Satellite Beach, who died Thursday after an explosive device went off while he was fighting enemy forces. Tons of news choppers and fire trucks and flags and military and cops all over present along with the general public...live coverage is streaming on the local channels. MELBOURNE -- The body of a Brevard County soldier killed in Afghanistan is expected to arrive at Melbourne International...

A man nicknamed "Junky Jit" is accused of terrorizing a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood with an AK-47 and storming into an apartment where he threatened a woman and her six children. During the Sept. 30 incident, Terrance Turner allegedly fired 30 rounds as he stood outside and yelled at neighbors, "I'll kill the whole block. I'll kill all of you." He sprayed a crowd of 15-20 people, said one witness to the shooting who did not want to be identified because she was afraid of retaliation. "I didn't know whether I would live or die," the witness said. "I was so...

An Atlas exclusive with a former ACORN employee. In February of 2008, Fathiyyah Muhammad of Jacksonville, Florida, heard that ACORN was paying three dollars for each vote you could register. Fatiyyah claims she registered voters for Acorn there (at three dollars each), but that the group threw out her votes and fired her when she brought them GOP registrations. This is another nail in the coffin of the community organizers and their stealth agenda. Fathiyyah Muhammad is a Republican who voted for Obama. She is an entrepreneur and a great American. She makes custom caps ............ here's a little bit...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More than 1,800 patients treated by one nurse at a South Florida hospital may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis. Broward General Medical Center said Monday the nurse reused saline bags and tubing during cardiac stress tests involving the injection of fluids. The hospital has sent letters to all 1,851 people who may have been affected from January 2004 to early September. Hospital officials say the risk of exposure is low, but all affected patients should be tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C. The nurse, who has not been identified, resigned and was...

A call to drill for oil and natural gas in the narrow strip of Florida-controlled waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be the subject of a forum late this month at Florida State University. Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, wants the Legislature to lift the ban on offshore rigs in state waters and give the Cabinet authority to consider drilling applications. Cannon’s proposal came as a surprise earlier this year -- it died in the waning days of the legislative session -- and he’s now waging a campaign to win support for a drilling bill he plans to file...

Carl Rove on Monday confirmed that he has endorsed Marco Rubio for the US Senate over Governor Charlie Crist.

Over the past few weeks, Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist has found himself being put on the defensive more and more in the primary thanks to the challenge by ex-state House Speaker Marco Rubio. While Crist has financially overwhelmed Rubio to date, there are many Republicans -- particularly those in Flordia that are close to former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush -- who have publicly become more comfortable airing their skepticism about Crist in public. One of those Republicans with close ties to the Bush family, Karl Rove, has signaled his preference with his wallet. Rove confirms to NBC News that...

TAMPA — A report of an armed intruder on the Tampa campus prompted the University of South Florida to send out a warning in a mass text message at 1:51 p.m. "Emergency: Armed intruder on campus. Stay inside. Lock doors. Emergency Personnel Responding.'' The alert followed a 1:36 p.m. call to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office of an armed person at the campus library. The call was routed to the USF Police Department, said spokeswoman Lt. Meg Ross.

"Lakeland, Florida-- A Lakeland woman is recovering from serious injuries in the hospital after sheriff's investigators say she was "gang attacked" by five raccoons Saturday afternoon. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says 74-year-old Gretchen Whitted was trying to shoo the animals away from her front door when they suddenly attacked. "When she fell down, they enveloped her," said Sheriff Judd in a news conference called Sunday to warn the public of the aggressive raccoons.

Great Tea Party in Ft. Lauderdale!! The place was jam-packed. Here are some pictures Hosted by South Florida Tea Party to welcome the American Liberty Tour at their Ft. Lauderdale stop.

A 74-year-old Lakeland woman was attacked and severely injured Saturday evening by five raccoons, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office animal control section is investigating. There is no word on the woman's condition.

Three people are stable condition this afternoon after an accidental shooting this morning at a gun range near Lakeland. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident that happened shortly before 10:40 a.m. at the Saddle Creek Gun Range, 3716 Morgan Combee Road. The victims were identified this afternoon as Michael Patrick Thourot, 47, Sherri Thourot, 46, both of Thomasville Circle in Tampa, and Gary Flynn, 29. Flynn was visiting Davenport from Ireland. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Donna Wood said that just before the shooting, the Thourots and Flynn, who didn't know each other, were all standing in the same...

A Great egret and Snowy egrets from the little pond.

The University of Florida will receive $29.5 million in federal stimulus funds over the next two years from the National Institute on Aging to begin a six-year study on whether a program of structured physical activity can prevent or delay major movement disability in older adults.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) – Inmate John Evander Couey, who was on death row for kidnapping, raping and burying 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005, has died at a Florida hospital, officials said on Wednesday. He was 51 years old. Couey passed away at 11.15 a.m. local time at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, where he was transported to on August 12. Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said Couey died of natural causes. Couey abducted 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, a native of Gastonia, from her bedroom in 2005 before he raped and burried her. If Couey's body is not...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) mocked Republicans Wednesday who demanded he apologize for saying that they want people who get sick to "die quickly." "I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America," Grayson said on the House floor. The "holocaust," he said, was the 44,789 people who die each year in the United States each year because they don't have health insurance, citing a Harvard study. Republicans said Democratic leaders should force Grayson to apologize. “Alan Grayson not only refuses to apologize, he is doubling down on his despicable remarks...

LAKELAND | U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite is the second Florida member of Congress to endorse former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio over Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate. The announcement was made Friday by the Rubio campaign and Brown-Waite's staff confirmed the Brooksville Republican's decision to go with Rubio, who has staked out a position to the right of Crist. Brown-Waite's 5th Congressional District includes the northwestern quarter section of Polk County. Rubio is trying to pull the conservative wing of the party from Crist and has been successful in several nonscientific straw polls among county Republican executive committees....

John Evander Couey, convicted child rapist and murderer has died, depriving Florida and the family of Jessica Lunsford of seeing Couey's death sentence carried out. Mark Lunsford, the victim's father once said of Couey, that he wouldn't mind if Couey died at the hands of another inmate, saying “I would be buying a lot of cigarettes for someone.” Looks like Mr. Lunsford won't have to buy those cigarettes after all. Couey died of cancer today in prison.

I managed to slip through town without getting tarred and feathered by the local democrats, and hung out by the pond for a while. If I time things for high tide there is usually something going on there.

This bird still has yellow up high on the legs, it is one of this years chicks. The feet will stay bright yellow and the legs will turn black.

The Rocky Balboa fight of politics is occurring right before our eyes here in the Sunshine State. Charlie Crist, the ever-popular governor of Florida with approval ratings in the 60's is getting more than he ever bargained for in his race for the United States Senate from Marco Rubio, the former speaker of the house in the Florida state legislature. The pundits predicted an early landslide. The Republican establishment in Florida offered Rubio an easier office to win. Maybe Attorney General? Rubio declined. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) even threw their hat behind Crist the...

. . . . . . the fourth-most-populous state will loom over American politics next summer when Republicans select a Senate nominee. Their primary will test whether the party has become so risk-averse that it flinches from interesting choices.The nominee almost certainly will be either Gov. Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio, former speaker of the Florida House (term limits, which he supports, retired him). Leading national Republicans rushed to endorse Crist. In tennis, such decisions are called unforced errors.. . . . . . .In January 2011, one Floridian will leave for the U.S. Senate. He is unlikely to be...

A St. Petersburg fire truck heading to a call of a bleeding man apparently ran over the man. According to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, the department received a call about 3:45 p.m. today about a "person bleeding'' in the 400 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South. That location is about a block from the fire station. A fire truck headed out of the station's garage bay and immediately hit a man lying on the driveway, the fire department reported. The man appears to be the same person referenced in the earlier call, according to St. Petersburg Fire...

Memo from St. Petersburg Times editor Paul Tash September 24, 2009 To: All Times Publishing Company Staff From: Paul Tash Last week, the board of directors unanimously reached two decisions to bring our expenses into better balance with our revenues, and help the company weather this prolonged economic storm. First, we will implement a 5 percent, across-the-board wage reduction for all employees, starting November 2nd. We recognize that this will add to the strain that staffers are bearing, and we regret that this step is necessary. But in due time, we would regret even more a failure to recognize and...