Free Republic

The Florida Supreme Court has approved the wording of two amendments to the state constitution. The Florida Supreme Court rules that two constitutional amendments can be on the election ballot. The amendments include abortion access and the legalization of recreational marijuana. The deadline for the Supreme Court to rule on the ballot initiatives was Monday. Both of these issues will appear on the 2024 ballot in November as currently worded.

TAMPA, Florida—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will open a new asylum office in Tampa on Aug. 2, in response to an increasing asylum workload in Florida. The new office becomes the 11th asylum office in the country and the second in Florida, joining the existing Miami Asylum Office. The Tampa and Miami asylum offices will divide the state’s asylum workload. Florida currently leads the country in asylum applications filed with USCIS, and more than a quarter of the national pending caseload is from Florida residents. The addition of the Tampa Asylum Office will help USCIS resolve urgent cases quickly...

Powered by a record-setting torrent of last-minute early voters in traditional Democratic strongholds, Florida's pre-election turnout reached 6.4 million Monday, by far the largest of any state. That's an all-time Florida record and equivalent to about half of the state's electorate of 12.9 million voters.

For months, Gov. Charlie Crist has insisted that New York socialite Carol Rome is just "a friend," but Tuesday night at a soiree in the Governor's Mansion, he introduced her as "my girlfriend," says the Tallahassee Democrat, which snapped the picture above. In November, the New York Post reported that Rome, in the midst of divorcing Bluestar Jets CEO Todd Rome, was dating Crist. Then, the governor's staff said Rome, a mother of school-age girls, was just "a friend." Still, last month Crist took Rome to the White House for a dinner with President Bush. So far, that's two high-profile...

TIME: DO YOU HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM ISRAEL THAT IT WON'T EXPAND THE WAR INTO SYRIA OR IRAN? RICE: The Israelis have said publicly that they do not want to widen this war. And I take them at their word. TIME: IS THERE A PLAN TO PURSUE A COMPROMISE ON EXCHANGING PRISONERS? RICE: The release of the abducted prisoner [by Hamas] unconditionally has been called for by many international bodies, including the G-8. And everybody recognizes there is an issue with Lebanese prisoners. But in the diplomacy, there isn't contemplation of suggesting a prisoner exchange. TIME: MANY COMMENTATORS BELIEVE THE...

The investor fear of more corporate scandal, and worry that the cure might be worse than the disease, has shattered investor confidence, reduced investment managers appetite for risk and tempered expectations about future growth. Already weak stock prices are further pressured by a "sell first, ask questions later" mentality. As a result, there has been a historic shift in the valuation of U.S. equities relative to government bonds. Today, the earnings yield on the S&P 500 (the inverse of the price ratio) stands at 6.13% while the yield currently available on ten-year treasury bonds is 4.57%. In other words the...

A controversial new book names the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese as one of many dioceses that turns away qualified candidates for the priesthood in favor of a “gay subculture” and threatens the Church with dangerous reforms. The book criticizes a State College psychologist who screens candidates for the diocese, saying his view of homosexuality is too liberal. In response, the diocese says the author never contacted the diocese to verify any facts, and that the author lacks credibility. The psychologist says the characterization is false, the author is a hate-monger, and his conservative critics are “the Catholic Taliban.” The book...

Memo to Catholic priests everywhere: If you plan on attending a future Mardi Gras, try not to be photographed shirtless next to a drag queen and some chiseled guys in biker shorts. Because that photo op just cost Rev. Thomas Bouterie his pastor's post at a church outside of New Orleans. The 47-year-old Bouterie--unknowingly snapped at last year's New Orleans bacchanal--appears in "Masking and Madness: Mardi Gras in New Orleans," photographer Kerri McCaffety's vibrant study of the annual Crescent City celebration. Following a meeting with diocesan brass, Bouterie announced Saturday (5/4) his decision to step down after 13 years as...

April 18 — Some Washington policymakers say marriage can get women out of poverty and off welfare. But for black women, a new study suggests that may be complicated by a difficult fact — employment of the men they're most likely to marry has slipped for the last 20 years, leaving fewer and fewer potential breadwinners. Only 52 percent of young, less-educated black men — ages 16 to 24 with a high school education or less — are employed now, compared to 62 percent 20 years ago, according to a new report by Paul Offner and Harry Holzer of the...

TAMPA -- The Florida Board of Medicine is often charitable with doctors whose misconduct stems from drug addiction and who have tried to turn their lives around. But dropping his pants in front of his patients, discussing medical charts in the buff and other inappropriate behavior put Dr. William Charles Leach of Naples out of reach of the board's good will. On Friday, the board indefinitely suspended Leach's license and ordered him to pay nearly $10,000 in costs and fines. "You are a sick man. You are a very sick man," board Chairman Gaston J. Acosta-Rua told Leach, 50, who ...

The Republicans in Congress should strike while the iron is hot and propose REAL election reform. The topic will be coming up anyway, and if the Republicans are smart and do it properly, they can bring a little more balance to the election process. I would like to put something together to present to my local Congressman and would appreciate input from the FreeRepublic think tank. While I appreciate the humor shown out here, I am interested in serious, realistic reform suggestions and the reasoning behind it. Some of the things I have considered are: 1. Keep the Electoral College ...

Earlier this year, the eyes of the nation were also focused on south Florida as Lazaro Gonzalez filed an appeal with the 11th circuit in a desperate bid to keep Elian in the United States. The court would eventually accept the argument made by the President Clinton’s personal attorney, Greg Craig, and deny the bid on the basis that the law gave Janet Reno discretion in the matter and the court chose to grant her actions deference. Five months to the day, Katherine Harris exercised the discretion granted to her under Florida law to reject a further recount in south ...

This latest picture of the Palm Beach canvassers doing their recount says it all.

US Constitution: Article I, Section 3, Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. Black's Law Dictionary (definitions based on established case law): "Inhabitant" - one who resides actually and permanently in a given place, and has a domicile there. "Reside" - live, dwell, abide, sojourn, stay, remain, lodge. "Domicile" - that place where a man has his true, fixed, and ...