Free Republic

SPC suspect jailed in Michigan The man, who tried to buy St. Petersburg College vehicles, has terrorist ties, police say. By NORA KOCH, Times Staff Writer Published October 28, 2004 A former Clearwater man who tried to buy an old ambulance and two surplus police cruisers from St. Petersburg College in August is an "affiliate of a terrorist organization," according to police documents obtained Wednesday. Abdalla Deiab, 51, was arrested in Michigan on Wednesday on a warrant charging him with failing to return a hired vehicle, a Largo rental car, Pinellas County sheriff's and Largo police officials said. In a...

TAMPA - The Tampa Tribune laid off 18 newsroom employees today as the newspaper works to reduce its costs and cope with a worsening advertising economy. The job cuts included top managers, mid-level editors, photographers, reporters and some of the paper's most visible faces, including longtime columnist Dan Ruth, who has worked more than 36 years in the newspaper industry, and editorial page editor Rosemary Goudreau. "We have tried to make these cuts so the results are not so obvious to the reader," said Janet Coats, executive editor of the Tribune. At the same time, she said "We've tried to...

My daughter and her friends voted in Tampa today. She stood in line for 2 1/2 hours. During that time one woman who wasn't registered to vote and was told to stay in line while they looked again and checked for her name , waited till they went back to table to check,Then she went and voted! they came back to tell her she would have to fill out a special ballot that would be verified she was gone, Tina said workers became frantic. Now if my daughter saw that while she was there, How many other times did that...

Video here. Classic line when she refers to the flag pin, an "accessory" Obama dislikes. Anyone who has pictures of Sarah Palin, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Laura Ingraham, and other both principled and attractive conservative women, please post them all here. Who can post the most? Let the contest begin.

Elizabeth introducing Sarah Palin, the uninteruputed version. If you have seen the News video from AP , it is edited and reduced to a sound bite.

Video here.

Governor Sarah Palin LIVE now

Please excuse the vanity, but I have my tickets, and will be going, but have a smaller child, and didn't want to go too early. Does anyone know a typical schedule for these? The ticket says doors open and 9AM, program starts at 11AM.

Anyone else here going?

KEY REGION COULD BE DIFFERENCE; STATE'S A DEAD HEAT With less than two weeks until Election Day, a new Orlando Sentinel poll hints that Republican Sen. John McCain may be gaining the traction he desperately needs to win Florida -- a state that's still too close to call. The poll, by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, shows McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama 46 percent to 45 percent. With a margin of error of 4 percentage points, that's a dead heat. Pollsters interviewed 625 likely voters Monday and Tuesday. The numbers represent a 3-percentage-point shift from early this month when Obama held...

The Politico is reporting that Sen. Barack Obama told a crowd in Tampa Florida that he was “showing some love for the Rays,” as several members of which joined him onstage. Politico says the only problem with that is that earlier this month Obama declared his love for the Philadelphia Phillies. In baseball you can’t have it both ways – ask Gov. Bill Richardson when he declared his allegiance to the Red Sox and the Yankees, Richardson joked to NBC’s late great Tim Russert on the Meet the Press: "This is the thing about me: I can bring people together....

Barack Obama will be at Legends Field this Morning at 10:30 on Dale Mabry.

John McCain won the endorsement of the Tampa Tribune Saturday, a key newspaper in the battleground state of Florida. The paper, which leans conservative but chose not to endorse a candidate in 2004 over dissatisfaction with President Bush, said the "uncertain times require McCain's tested vigilance." "McCain brings a lifetime of useful experience, including his grueling captivity in Vietnam and long Senate service. He believes in federalism, a strong defense and disciplined self-interest," the paper wrote. "McCain has been willing to cross party lines to work on tough problems. He co-authored a campaign finance law that failed to fulfill its...

We are FREEPing the Obama event in Tampa on Monday, 20 OCT 08 at 10:30 AM. We need all Florida FREEPers to show up with a plunger and a McCain/Palin sign. The link up time is 10:30 AM at Legends Field at the intersection of MLK BLVD and Dale Mabry. This is your chance to stick up for Joe the Plumber!!! Send me a private if you have any questions... We really need help and if you are scared this country will go to trash because of Obama, then please come and be heard!!!

Details to come, but the Buzz is Barack Obama will be campaigning Monday in Tampa. You guys need to get ready to protest the Obama event. Send me a private message if you are interested. I will post another thread later.

Good evening fellow foot-soldiers for McCain/Palin, Joe Biden is coming to the Sun Dome at USF in Tampa tomorrow. Please come out and show your support by helping us rally for John Mccain and Sarah Palin at the Biden event. Biden doesn’t draw the crowds that the other candidates draw. That is why it is so important for us to turn out in droves. It will be a momentum changer in the eyes of the media. I will be at USF with my McCain/Palin T-Shirt and hat on starting at 9 am. We will find a good spot on one...

We are lining the streets on the Biden event to show our support for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Why do people hate Sarah Palin? America has become a nation of cynics. We have come to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human nature. Anyone who adheres to virtues, their religion or a sense of decency have their motives screwed on backwards. We have all become victims of sexism, ageism and racism. We have been victimized by our government in a senseless call to war. We have been victimized by the financial institutions that robbed us of our future. We feel betrayed. We have become frustrated and disillusioned. We are told that happiness can not be achieved through...

Tampa, Florida -- The Obama-Biden campaign released details Friday night of Hillary Clinton's rally in Tampa Monday. She will headline a "Change We Need" rally to be held at the All Peoples Life Center 6105 E. Sligh Ave, in Tampa. The doors open at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. They will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at: * Tampa Campaign for Change Office, 817 East Washington Street, Tampa. Saturday, Sept. 6th: 5 PM-8 PM, Sunday, Sept.7th: 12 PM-9 PM * North Tampa Campaign for Change Office, 14519 North...

Sami Al-Arian has been in prison, away from his digs in the Tampa, Florida suburb of Temple Terrace, for over five years, yet one of the structures that he left behind continues to propagate the same fanatical ideology that led to his punishment. Al-Arian’s mosque, the Islamic Community of Tampa (ICT), has been proudly advertising hatred and violence meant for the eyes of children. The mosque’s connection to an area youth academy should have all Americans concerned.

TEMPLE TERRACE — Bart Siegel, an outspoken advocate for the display of the giant Confederate flag near the intersection of Interstate 4 and I-75, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in his Temple Terrace home Thursday. Siegel, 50, was a Republican accountant who penned long letters to newspapers and verbally sparred with columnists. In 2000, he announced his desire to "stir things up" by running against then-Hillsborough Clerk of the Circuit Court Richard Ake, a Democrat unopposed since 1986. Siegel lost, but kept stirring things up. In the face of a protest, Siegel professed his love for the...

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- The FBI is investigating allegations of vote buying surrounding Tampa city councilman Kevin White. According to Bay News 9's partner newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, former businessman, Matthew B. Cox, arrested for felony mortgage fraud is claiming he solicited thousands of dollars in donations for White in 2002 and 2003. Cox claims White agreed to vote yes on various lands deals in exchange. White said he knew Cox was a supporter of his campaign but said he had no idea about illegal contributions and never offered Cox anything in return. "I thought they came...

Chip Witte doesn't consider himself a Rebel. He doesn't hang Dixie battle flags in his living room, nor does he wear one on the back of his leather jacket. Yet when the Tampa motorcycle mechanic saw the world's largest Confederate battle flag unfurl above the intersection of I-10 and I-4 in June, he felt a jolt of solidarity with the lost cause and lost rights that he says the battle flag represents. "I think it's great that they're allowed to fly it," says Mr. Witte. Despite years of boycotts, schoolyard bans, and banishment from capitol domes, the Southern battle colors...

LARGO -- Five men who protested in last year's St. Pete Pride festival were found guilty of violating a city ordinance today, though the men still could win an acquittal if the judge rules the ordinance is unconstitutional. After about three hours of testimony, Judge Henry Andringa found that the men violated a city ordinance by carrying signs that were wider than their torsos during last year's festival, which drew more than 40,000 people. The signs said things like "Real men marry women" and "Heaven free of f---, hell full of f---." But Andringa said he will take more time...

At least two men and two women are dead, and two Hillsborough County deputies are wounded after a pair of related shootouts in the Carrollwood area, the Hillsborough sheriff's office said today. Investigators are working two homicide scenes in the area of Linebaugh Avenue and Henderson Road, sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said. The gunman, Jorge Orlando Bello Garcia, was fatally shot by deputies, according to Callaway. Neighbors said they knew the man seen leaving the house after the shooting as George and that he had lived at the Elmfield Drive house, though they didn't know his last name. One neighbor...

TAMPA — Next year, a giant Confederate flag may tower above the tree line near the junction of Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. The Sons of Confederate Veterans wants drivers in the Tampa area to see the massive flag — 30 feet high and 50 feet long — atop a 139-foot pole, the highest the Federal Aviation Authority would allow. It would be lit at night. With the pole already in the ground and building permits in hand, the group is on its way to having what it calls the "world's largest" Confederate flag in place by mid 2009. The...

Tampa issued a promissory note for $299.58 to pioneer storekeeper Thomas Pugh Kennedy on June 21, 1861. And his great granddaughter Joan Kennedy Biddle, 77, who has known about the note since she was a little girl, wants to collect with interest. TAMPA — In the early months of the Civil War, the city of Tampa needed ammunition and other supplies to defend against attack but apparently was short on cash. So it issued a promissory note for $299.58 to storekeeper Thomas Pugh Kennedy on June 21, 1861. Kennedy's great-granddaughter says the city never made good on its loan. Now,...

He forgot it was there: TIA Passenger Had Box Cutter In Hollowed-Out Book. TAMPA — A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said. About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.’s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration. When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled “Fear Itself.” The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside. After Baines was read...

TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- A woman who said she was beaten by a deputy at the Orient Road Jail has filed a federal lawsuit. After seeing what happened to Brian Sterner, the wheelchair-bound quadriplegic, dumped from his chair at the same jail facility, Marcella Pourmoghani is speaking out. In an exclusive with Bay News 9, Pourmoghani said she was not surprised when she saw the video involving Sterner. "Unprovoked, just as what happened to myself," she said after watching the wheelchair incident. More Information Sheriff office lawsuit Previous story Pourmoghanie's arrest report Pourmoghani said she was beaten by a...

CAIR, FBI looking into Tampa gas station explosion “We have lost a good young man” Yesterday afternoon I posted this story because it raised questions: a Muslim is involved in a fatal post-midnight explosion in a gas station, and the FBI is investigating -- I wrote that it was "one to watch." And now the plot thickens: CAIR's Ahmed Bedier is on the case, and there may even be a connection to the jihadists whom he notoriously dismissed as "naive kids." Perhaps in the same spirit, Bedier here says of Farid Karaka: “We have lost a good young man.” "FBI...

For the past two years, analysts have been asking how fast-growing WellCare Health Plans of Tampa has been able to make so much money running government health plans for the poor and elderly. Now government investigators may be asking the same thing. On a rainy Wednesday morning, more than 200 federal and state agents swarmed WellCare's campus on Henderson Road in Tampa, forcing employees onto the sidewalk and into their cars. Steven Meitzen, 51, who arrived at WellCare about 9:40 a.m. for a job interview, said he was initially told it was a bomb scare. "Later on, I talked to...

A great time was had by all at the Tampa Bay area freepers dinner held at a New Port Richey restaurant. Good thing we had a semi-private room as the air was thick with animated freeptalk and loud laughter (especially at a certain end of the table !). Diners included M. Kehoe, Mr. and Mrs. Seek the Truth, Mr. and Mrs. Gonzo, Bob Ireland, Quinton Ireland, Scottteng, Rice Bug and MinuteGal....plus Matchett P-I, the Florida Central Chapter Leader who drove in from the Orlando area to join the gathering of Eagles here on the central gulf coast. A table prize...

WellCare Health Plans of Tampa, a firm which has made scads of money administering government health care, and huge profits for George Soros, who was once its largest shareholder, has been raided by the FBI and shuttered. The St. Petersburg Times reports: The company, which went public in July 2004 at $17 a share, has had a meteoric rise, with its stock more than doubling in the past 12 months. On Wednesday, WellCare's shares dropped $6.77 or 5.5 percent, to $115.50 before trading was halted about 11 a.m. It ended the day down $7.10 at $115.17. Soros no longer holds...

TAMPA - Lawyer John Fitzgibbons notified a judge this morning that he officially is representing a University of South Florida student accused of helping terrorists. Fitzgibbons also notified the court that his client, Ahmed Mohamed, is pleading not guilty to charges of illegally transporting explosives and trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. Mohamed waived his right to an arraignment, entering the plea by mail. The high-profile lawyer's clients have included a teacher who had sex with a student, an "American Idol" contestant involved in a dispute at Hyde Park Café and a restaurant owner...

Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons. Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives. He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, where they have been held on state charges. The two men were stopped with pipe bombs...

Temple Terrace, Florida - One week after USF students Youseff Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed made their first court appearance in South Carolina, authorities still haven't said exactly what material was in the trunk of Megahed's car. The students told deputies it was fireworks, the prosecutor called it a pipe bomb. But after visiting him in South Carolina, the Megahed family says they're even more convinced of his innocence. Mariam Megahed, Defendant’s Sister: “Youssef promised us he didn't have any bad intentions and once the true nature of the evidence is displayed, he will be exonerated.” On Sunday, real estate investor...

They said it wasn't terror, but it was. Muslim student pipe bombers with mysterious liquid (fireworks, my ass)  tied to terror search and Ramadan Shallah and Tarik Hamdi (hat tip Bill Warner) RAMADAN ABDULLA IS FBI MOST WANTED TERRORIST Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah is wanted for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the designated international terrorist organization known as the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad" (PIJ) through a pattern of racketeering activities such as bombings, murders, extortions, and money laundering. Shallah was one of the original founding members of the PIJ and is presently the Secretary-General and leader of the organization, which...

I checked the title, and didn't find it posted. ~~~~~~~~~ Update: Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile is gone 6:20pm Eastern. Eeenteresting. Via Dan Riehl, Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile has now been removed: *** Last weekend, I noted the arrest of Yousef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, in the vicinity of the Naval Weapons Station, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina. National media scrutiny since the men were charged with possession of pipe bombs has been scant. Some MSM reports read like CAIR press releases. The AP dispatch carried in the Miami Herald concludes: “Some have suggested the men were targeted...

Authorities executed a search warrant at a Temple Terrace home Saturday in connection with the arrest of two USF students earlier this week.The search took place at 12402 Pampas Place in Temple Terrace. Multiple agencies were at the scene, including the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, ATF, Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement

TAMPA, Fla. -- Amanda Lynn Bailey's T-shirt said it all. When the 41-year-old got picked up on DUI charges she was wearing a shirt that read: "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings." The T-shirt was captured in her mug shot. Bailey, of Riverview, was arrested Tuesday and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license. She posted $750 bond and was released. She also was arrested in April on DUI charges. Police did not capture any T-shirt messages in that mug shot. A telephone listing for Bailey could...

Hillsborough County, Florida TAMPA - A 'suspicious' truck has closed a cargo gate at MacDill Air Force Base, along with several roads close to the base. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal told FOX 13 that the vehicle inspection system at the Port Tampa gate detected something unusual from a truck parked there. The Tampa Police Department reports that they are blocking traffic on Interbay Boulevard between WestShore Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway while base security personnel investigate the truck.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A dispute over a game of Yahtzee ended in a fatal stabbing, police said. Mark Kelvin Allen, 49, was playing the dice game with 47-year-old Edith Elliot at her home in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood on Saturday night, an arrest report said. They began to argue and Elliott went into a bedroom with her 49-year-old boyfriend. Allen kicked in the door, scuffled with the boyfriend and then stabbed him twice, police said. The man, whose name is not being released until his relatives can be notified, later died at a hospital. Allen was charged with second-degree murder...

Thank you in advance for your time in reading my request. I just moved here from Ohio where I converted to the Catholic faith Easter Vigil of 2006. So as you can see I'm a neophyte. I had a wonderful parish home that respected directives from Rome and observed orthodox ways (I trust that is a proper description) and I'm seeking a parish here in the Tampa/Lutz Florida area that observes the same. I have gone to several parishes and even though there were things about them I enjoyed none felt like home to me. If anyone has any knowledge...

TAMPA - Maybe it was his desire to stand and stretch in the airplane. Maybe it was the gruesome images of torture he watched on his laptop that caught attention. Something about Iyad Abuhajjaj's behavior on a Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix to Tampa on Wednesday afternoon concerned airline officials enough to call police. Police have not accused Abuhajjaj, 36, of any wrongdoing on the plane, but a search of his name revealed an Okaloosa County warrant for his arrest. On Thursday, the Palestinian health care worker and actor who lives in California was held without bail in the Hillsborough...

Ralph Mervine, executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, resigned Wednesday after a Tampa Tribune investigation found he is listed as the owner of a gay pornographic film production company. The San Diego-based company, Coast Productions, operates at least two adult Web sites and has an adult Yahoo membership group. All three advertise and display young men, ages 18 to 21, offering photos and video clips of explicit sexual activities. Coast Productions produces DVDs for sale at $39.95 apiece, as well as monthly Web site memberships to view shorter video clips of young men engaging in sex acts alone...

Tampa, Florida (AP) — County records show Hillsborough County officers spent more than $6,000 for 92 lap dances, drinks and tips in an investigation into nudity and liquor law violations at an adult bikini bar. The investigation spanned more than two years. Sheriff David Gee says sometimes that's what it takes to get rid of problems. Gee says vice detectives first targeted Lil Tootsie's nightclub after deputies responded to numerous calls ranging from violence to DUI arrests. The agency recently asked county commissioners to revoke the club's special permit to serve alcohol. Records show sheriff's detectives sought 41 misdemeanor nudity...

Simms In Critical Condition Skip directly to the full story. A Tribune staff report Published: Sep 24, 2006 Bucs QB Chris Simms was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in critical condition because of injuries suffered in today's loss to the Carolina Panthers. The nature of his injuries has not yet been disclosed. Simms briefly left the game in the third quarter to take treatment for deyhdration. He returned and and helped the Bucs rally from a 17-point deficit, though they ultimately lost, 26-24. After the game, Simms was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph's, which is near Raymond James Stadium....

The mother of a Coral Springs woman mauled to death by her dog said she was very afraid of the pet, which had begun to act aggressively. Mary Johnson never thought she'd become a mother again -- especially not like this. Johnson, of Tampa, prepared her home for her two grandchildren, days after a pet dog fatally mauled her 30-year-old daughter, Shawna Willey. ''I told my daughter she was insane for having dogs like that,'' Johnson said Sunday. ``I was always fearful of [the dogs] hurting the kids.'' WITNESS: Shawna Willey, mauled to death by the family dog, hugs her...

8/18/2006 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers broke training camp Thursday and in an unprecedented move for the team, held its day-before-game walk-through at MacDill AFB, Fla. The Buccaneers, who play their second pre-season game against the Miami Dolphins Saturday, have a long-standing relationship and community partnership with the military here. "You guys have no idea what a great morale booster it is for you to come out and do this," said Col. Maggie Woodward, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander. "It means a lot that you think enough of us to do this." Friday's...

As almost 200,000 students head back to Hillsborough County schools this morning, many of them could be late. That's because the district doesn't have enough bus drivers to cover all the routes. Tammy Johnson knows how stressful it can be behind the wheel of a school bus. "We deal with a lot of different issues at one time," Johnson said. For the past 15 years it's been her career. Her daughter and mother also drive Hillsborough County school buses. This year, their work load will likely increase with each load of kids they pick up. "Maybe some extra hours that...