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FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
"every political insider should be reading right now."

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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

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The Blog for Thursday, March 10, 2005

Bumper Sticker Rage

    "Bumper sticker evokes road rage"." I wonder if there is more th this story?
    Police say Michelle Fernandez, 35, was chased for miles Tuesday by an irate 31-year-old Tampa man who cursed at her as he held up an anti-Bush sign and tried to run her off the road.
    Oh yeah, there is more to the story:
    Winkler told police officers he got upset with Fernandez because she "gave him the finger."
    And, in true Tampa fashion, the cops prejudged the matter; Tampa police flack Joe Durkin said:
    "But she did all the right things. She showed remarkable poise, she didn't engage him. She called us."
    Well, Joe, if she gave him the finger as he claims, she did engage him - but 'ole Joe has his mind made up I suppose. And hey, isn't that the same
    Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin [who] said it was department policy not to comment on pending litigation.

    The suit charges the city and the department with unlawful prior restraint and deprivation of First Amendment rights, unlawful arrests and unlawful police misconduct.

    It also challenges the constitutionality of free speech zones in which dissenters are required to stay away from the main rally.
    Remember the little Bush rally embarassment:
    [T]he group nicknamed "the Tampa Three" filed a lawsuit with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, alleging the Police Department violated their civil rights, including their right to peacefully protest.

    "My hope is that this lawsuit helps send a message that the government cannot silence people just because they choose to exercise their right to dissent or to question the government," said Rosas, 38. "Locally, the Police Department officials at all levels need to read and understand the Constitution."
    "3 protesters sue Tampa police".

    Note: Road rage is inexcusable and we don't know what happened here; it is important, though, not to prejudge and to put the entire event in context.

6:49 AM

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