A Toyota Prius is not a limousine, according to a panel of federal judges. In a decision affirming a lower court ruling, the Atlanta-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Pinellas County limo company owner Moshe Leib after Hillsborough regulators said it was a stretch calling the gas-stingy Prius a limousine. ...more

February 21, 2009

A Toyota Prius is not a limousine, according to a panel of federal judges. In a decision affirming a lower court ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Pinellas County limo company owner Moshe Leib after Hillsborough regulators said it was a stretch calling the gas-stingy Prius a limousine. ...more

February 20, 2009

Florida has barred homosexuals from adopting children since 1977, yet gays and lesbians are allowed to be foster parents and raise wards of the state for years at a time. ...more

December 8, 2008

Here's the truth about why Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson wants $700 billion of your money to bail out stupid financial companies. It's not about protecting you, the unwitting American. It's about protecting people such as him. ...more

September 24, 2008

A federal appeals court panel seemed reluctant Monday to overturn Hillsborough County's ordinances governing adult businesses. ...more

September 9, 2008

A federal appeals court panel seemed reluctant today to overturn Hillsborough County's ordinances governing adult businesses. ...more

September 8, 2008

I was thinking about the effect of bias in thinking and decision making. It came up in the context of some people indicating they could not vote for Obama for president because he was black, no matter what; a predictable and unfortunate attitude with some in the American South. But it started me thinking about bias in general, where and how much weight it is given in all kinds of thinking, in the process of decision making. Firstly, I was concerned with whether it becomes a factor in evaluation, whether it is included, inappropriately, in a list of concerns which lead to a decision. That would be bad enough but what if it serves as a filter, to block the receipt of otherwise relevant information never let into the process of weighing facts and making choices on a rational basis? I was watching a TV show, book reviewing, and I decided I didn't like the necktie worn by the lecturer. It was a skimpy, pale, stripy bow tie, an utterly silly looking thing and as I looked at it, the words of the lecturer seemed to fade. Was this merely an absurd fashion bias on my part or perhaps my questioning why anyone would wear such a tie and whether the choice of wearing such a tie reflected on the quality of the judgment-making ability of the wearer, and shouldn't I take that into consideration in weighing, or even accepting the quality of his opinion, downgrade his believability or even reject everything he has to say out of hand because of his flawed judgment in necktie selection? ...more

August 11, 2008

A group suing to add a growth management proposal to November's ballot says it is battling a Legislature that has waged "war" on the citizens petition process. ...more

June 13, 2008