You may have heard about this before, and one Florida lawmaker is finally doing something about it.

Yes, I realize these laws are meant to prevent repeat offenses, but either up the penalties for those offenses or just leave them be. Once somebody gets out of prison, that should be it. End of story. If they [...]

If you are looking for a job in Florida, there are some new requirements in the municipality of Brooksville.
City workers are required to use deodorant before coming to work. It does not appear there will be any spot checks, though.
You should also make sure that you wear underwear. Not wearing undies will get you into [...]

Popular Republican governor Charlie Crist is set to announce whether or not he’ll try to join the federal government, but sources are already saying it’s a done deal.
From Politico:
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will be announcing Tuesday that he will be running for the Senate, according to a source close to the governor, giving Republicans [...]

Maybe you think their claims are overblown, but something tells me that they wouldn’t be spending political capital if they didn’t really need the money.
Because we’re talking about unemployment that’s approaching the double digits in bigger states like California and Florida and unemployment numbers (which is the better gauge of how folks are doing) [...]

If you thought $700 billion was a lot of money, well..
It is.
But $2 trillion is.. ridiculous.

This is Danielle Ivory from ANP.
Congress and the new administration have been focusing their attention on strengthening oversight for the Treasury’s TARP program, but meanwhile few are paying any attention to the Federal Reserve.
Since September, [...]

With the announced retirement of Republican Senators Mel Martinez (FL), Kit Bond (MO) and George Voinovich (OH), 2010 could be a tough year for the GOP in these three swing states. But the outlook isn’t all bad.
In 2008, Republicans had a difficult time finding candidates who could compete for open seats. This time around, the [...]

Proving once again that he’s the wiser son, Jeb puts to rest rumors that he’ll run for the Senate.
From AP:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former Gov. Jeb Bush says he won’t run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 to replace the retiring Mel Martinez.
Bush made the announcement Tuesday, saying “now is not the right time to [...]

He talks about the tragic fact that he was molested by a priest when he was a child, but I still don’t understand why is he’s bringing it up now. After all, he already talked about this back in 2006.
Watch it for yoursef…

Ultimately he may want to get back into politics in whatever way he [...]

Counties that went for Bush are going for Obama so he’ll get the Sunshine State and its 27 electoral votes.
James Joyner thinks so too.
And then it’s REALLY, REALLY, REALLY over.

Again, Ambinder has the numbers…
Bush won the huge swing county of Pinellas — Sarasota area — by a narrow margin in 2004. Obama won it by 8 pts in 2008 — 35,000 votes.
Bush won Seminole County in central Florida with ease; Obama’s leading McCain with half of the vote in.
In the very large [...]

From Ambinder…
Hispanics (projected to be 13% of the electorate in 2008) are giving Obama a 10 point margin; Bush won Hispanics in Florida by 12 points in 2004. Seniors seem to be breaking more heavily in favor of John McCain. Obama has a narrow edge among women; the two are tied among men in the [...]

And actually, just to give you a preview of my election night prediction…this is pretty close to what I’m thinking.
First, the Obama leads…
Florida: Obama +2
Obama: 47%
McCain: 45%
Virginia: Obama +3
Obama: 47%
McCain: 44%
Pennsylvania: Obama +4
Obama: 47%
McCain: 43%
Nevada: Obama +4
Obama: 47%
McCain: 43%
Colorado Obama +5
Obama: 49%
McCain: 44%

And then, the McCain leads…
Missouri: McCain +1
McCain: 47%
Obama: 46%
Ohio: McCain +2
McCain: 47%
Obama: 45%
North [...]

The poll of polls reveals Obama holding steady.
Colorado…
CNN’s new Colorado Poll of Polls shows Obama leading McCain by 6 points 51% to 45%; The last Colorado Poll of Polls –- released Saturday –- showed Obama leading McCain by 7 points.
Florida…
An average of polls conducted in battleground Florida, shows Obama leading McCain by 4 points, 49% [...]

The big news here is that Colorado is really starting to turn blue, and nearly every news organization has changed it to lean Obama.
Because while wins in Georgia and Missouri would be nice, Obama doesn’t need them. But he does need wins in Colorado, Virginia and Nevada if he doesn’t want to worry about Ohio, [...]

Quinnipiac thinks it’s too little too late for McCain in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but thinks he could pull it off in Florida. I still don’t think Obama can pull Ohio off, but I’m willing to be wrong. :-)
The numbers and cross tabs…

Florida: Obama +2
Obama: 47%
McCain: 45%
(Obama was ahead by 5)
Among those who say they already [...]

Good signs on the state level (.pdf), even if Obama’s numbers are slipping a bit nationally in the past couple days.
Colorado: Obama +9
Obama: 50%
McCain: 41%
Florida: Obama + 2
Obama: 45%
McCain: 43%
Nevada: Obama +12
Obama: 52%
McCain: 40%
New Hampshire: Obama +18
Obama: 55%
McCain: 37%
North Carolina: Obama +2
Obama: 48%
McCain: 46%
Ohio: Obama +7
Obama: 48%
McCain: 41%
Pennsylvania: Obama +12
Obama: 52%
McCain: 40%
Virginia: Obama + 7
Obama: [...]

Some good news for McCain today, but considering he has pulled out of Colorado in favor of Pennsylvania, this poll also surfaces some cold, hard truths about his chances to win.
Ohio: McCain +3
McCain 48%
Obama 45%
Florida: McCain +2
McCain 48%
Obama 46%
Pennsylvania: Obama +7
Obama 50%
McCain 43%
While Obama has had a lot of great polling these past few days, [...]

12 days till it’s over, and the numbers keep looking more and more favorable for Obama.
Florida: Obama +5
Obama 49%
McCain 44%
Ohio: Obama + 14
Obama 52%
McCain 38%
Pennsylvania: Obama +13
Obama 53%
McCain 40%
The biggest surprise here is Ohio, which I think is much closer than this 14% spread. In fact, I’d be surprised if Obama takes it [...]

TIME has the numbers.
In Nevada and North Carolina it favors Obama…
Cumulative early-vote totals in the Las Vegas area show ballots were cast by 31,875 Democrats and 13,371 Republicans through midday Monday. Republicans had the advantage in absentee balloting, 6,616 to 6,161 through noon Monday.
In the Reno area, a similar pattern occurred twice as many Democrats [...]

Not much change from last week to this week, so the story is essentially that Obama’s numbers are holding steady in these key battleground states with 21 days left.
Florida
Obama 51, McCain 46
Week ago: Obama 52, McCain 45)
Missouri
Obama 50, McCain 47
Last week: Obama 50, McCain 47
North Carolina
Obama 48, McCain 48
Last week: Obama 49, McCain 48
Ohio
Obama 49, [...]