Cross-posted from Florida Netroots  Note: While the details are specific to Florida, the sentiment applies nationwide.

Whether you’re a libertarian who thinks the Republican party has gone too far in getting invading personal liberties, a progressive you thinks the Democratic party hasn’t done enough on issues of workers rights or social justice, a social conservative who doesn’t think the Republican party has done enough to protect your vision of our country’s moral values, or a Blue Dog Democrat who thinks the party has ventured too far to the left and wants to find some common ground on social and economic issues ... this blog entry is for you.

Cross-posted from Florida Netroots

Passing the Equal Rights Amendment is long overdue. So far, it has been ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states. Currently in the Florida Legislature there are two concurrent resolutions, one in the House (HCR 8001) and one in the Senate (SCR 362) for our state to ratify the amendment.  

Cross-posted from Florida Netroots

Felony disenfranchisement is the term used to describe the practice of prohibiting persons from voting based on the fact that they have been convicted of a felony.

Cross-posted from Florida Netroots

Back in December of 1955, Rosa Parks challeged a city ordinance in Montgomery, Alabama that segregated transit passengers by race in refusing to give up her seat on a bus to make room for a white passenger. This single courageous act of civil disobedience started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a seminal event in the civil rights movement.

Seriously, your vote matters, despite what you may have been told to the contrary. We will have an important role in choosing the Democratic Nominee for President and our delegates, ultimately, will be seated. Not to mention, we need you to vote in local elections and shut down the legislature's lousy property tax proposal.

Cross-Posted from Florida Netroots

They won't seat our delegates? Our votes won't count? Hogwash!

The bloggers and activists who make up the Florida Netroots are having their own conference at the Florida Democratic Party Convention on Saturday October 27.  Please help us make this event a success by donating via Actblue.  Check out our schedule:

Not happy with the state of Florida right now?  Neither are the Florida Netroots - a network of online activists and bloggers who are working on building up the Democratic Party all across the state. Think of it as our 67 county strategy.  We believe Florida will shift Democratic, but in order to do so its going to need a little push. We're willing to give it a shove, but we need your help. Here's 8 reasons to support the Florida Netroots:

One visit to the website of the Florida Legislature and you'll notice that its branded with the label "online sunshine" - a homage to Florida's sunshine laws, specifically the passage of a constitutional amendment in 1992 granting the public access to records and meetings of state and local government.

There is a nifty little loophole - the legislature can decide for itself that certain records and meetings are exempt.  Lately, in discussions on important matters like cutting $1.1 Billion from the state's budget or reforming the state tax system, there have been quite a few meetings behind closed doors. This is not a partisan issue, all Floridians should be concerned when our representatives try to keep us in the dark.

Cross-posted from Florida Netroots

Once upon a time, not so long ago, a novice political blogger opened up her big fat, um, keyboard and suggested that there be a blogger panel at the Florida Democratic Party Convention.

Remember that old environmental expression: think globally, act locally? Well, some folks in the Big Bend region of Florida are doing just that and they need your help. Allow me to introduce you to a newly formed non-profit organization called Sustainable Big Bend which is designed to be a community resource center for sustainable living.  

There are lots of encouraging signs in Florida that make me believe this swing state is turning blue in 2008.  What, pray tell, gives me that idea?  

Well, for starters, the recent DFA training in Tampa had to be capped due to there being more people wanting to sign up than the venue allowed. There's the fact that the progressive blogosphere in Florida is getting organized. Sites like the Florida Progressive Coalition, Florida Kossacks and Florida Netroots are working on projects like Blog Florida Blue, creating a Florida Netroots Coalition within the state party, the creation of a Florida Progressive Radio Show, and organizing events such as the Netroots luncheon at the Jefferson-Jackson Weekend and a series of Netroots panels at the upcoming state convention.  

Want to know more?

This past weekend, I was down in Tampa to attend the Democracy for America training event, which was put together with the help of our very own Susan S.  I soon learned that John Edwards would be in town that Friday night for one of his "Small Change for Big Change" fundraising events. The Pinellas County Chapter of OneCorps, headed by Liz France and my father, were coordinating volunteers, so naturally my dad volunteered me to help out if needed.  I was in for a long night.

Help one of the biggest swing states swing blue!  We have an opportunity to pick up a seat in the Florida Senate!  Not only is this seat winnable, but if we pull it off, the shockwaves you'd send throughout the Republican Party would be HUGE!  

Our candidate, is a very capable woman named Suzan Franks. Please Donate and/or Volunteer Today! If you live in the district, be sure to vote June 26th!

What started out as a mailing list to bring Florida bloggers and online activists together is now officially a blog: Florida Netroots.

A bill to replace the touch-screen voting machines used in 16 of Florida’s 67 counties with optical scanning equipment and paper ballots passed the Florida Legislature this session and Governor Crist, who pushed for the new voting machines, recently signed it into law.

Having paper ballots (not just a paper trail, but actual ballots) is a very good thing for the voters of Florida.  Trouble is it wasn’t a clean bill.  Knowing the demand for paper ballots the Republican dominated legislature piled on a bunch of extras.

While bill analysis is certainly not my specialty, I thought I’d take a stab at combing through all 80 pages of HB 537 to see what I could find.

The Florida Democratic Party is hosting a soiree in Hollywood, Florida this June and guess what?  You're the guest of honor!

Only about 1% of the U.S. population is bearing the true cost of the Iraq war and that is our nation's military men and women.  Most Americans don't know anyone serving our country in Iraq and haven't been asked to sacrifice anything.  So, I decided to look at things from a perspective that is a little closer to home. I gathered some numbers on what it is costing my home state of Florida.