10 Stories to Read

Written by: Kenneth Quinnell on Aug 21, 2008 11:41 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Florida DFA, Democracy for Florida, Democracy for America Miami-Dade (DFAM), DFA Tallahassee, DFA at Netroots Nation (formerly YearlyKos) July 17-20

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 10 blog posts that I think people should read from the previous day. Posts are included here and ranked based on a combination of originality, focus on Florida, length (longer, more thorough analysis is better), quality of writing and impact of the story.

1. FLA Politics (mentelibre) - Brave New Florida: "The state of Florida teeters on the brink of economic collapse."

2. Eye on Miami (gimleteye) - Needed: Congressional hearings on the newspaper industry: "But many readers are nevertheless motivated to read our blog because they concur with our complaint: the failure of the mainstream media to confront issues deemed controversial by big advertisers."

3. Interstate4Jamming2 - As The Economy Goes South, More Jobs Disappear: "Preliminary data released Friday by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation shows that Polk County's unemployment rate has risen to 7.3 percent during July, the highest level in ten years."

4. Talk to Me - J.E.B.'s Amendments 7 and 9: "Who's that lurking behind Amendments 7 and 9? Why it's Florida's equivalent of Boo Radley, our ex-governor who just won't go away."

5. Progress Florida (Ray Seaman) - Crist's New Deal Lite: "Crist is doing what a responsible leader should do in a time of economic recession: invest in public works to stabilize the economy in the short-run. Don't be fooled though, Crist is doing all of this without doing anything to raise taxes to pay for any kind of sustained spending. It looks like Crist wants to push the economy in a better direction in time for the 2008 election, not because he's a closeted 21st century new dealer."

6. FLA Politics (FDP) - Crist's Accelerate Florida Plan a Bust, Papers Across Florida Report: "Newspapers across Florida are reporting that Charlie Crist's latest gimmick that he attempted to pass off as an economic plan has little chance of pulling Florida out of recession or helping families across the Sunshine State struggling to get by under the Republicans' failed economic policies."

7. The Campaign Manager - What Does "Field" Actually Do on a Campaign?: "What I can intelligently talk about (I hope) is what a traditional field operation, including GOTV (Get Out the Vote) looks like and what is can achieve."

8. Blast Off! - Florida GOP Police Blotter #11: Palm Beach judge involved in Goodling fiasco: "We haven't had an addition to the GOP Police Blotter since May, and while this one is only a tenuous connection, I'm going to say it qualifies, since the investigation is ongoing -- and it might end up involving federal charges."

9. FLA Politics (jonny33598) - Doug Tudor for Congress: "While many are currently focused on the upcoming primaries or a storm named Fay, I want to introduce or re-introduce you to the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House in Florida's 12th Congressional district. Doug Tudor is the real thing, Folks."

10. Blast Off! - Ed Heeney: "Don't vote for me!": "One month ago today I told you about erstwhile Florida Senate candidate Ed Heeney (R-Outer Space), whose erratic statements and behavior landed him on The Daily Show and in the headlines. In fact, Ed himself, or someone purporting to be him, actually swung by this sucky blog and left a couple of comments."

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