After his great victory in Desert Storm, George H.W. Bush went before the United Nations to declare the coming of a New World Order.

As Republican speakers and delegates gear up for their national convention in Tampa, Aug. 27-30, the partys libertarian faction is getting ready to put its own unique stamp on the weeks proceedings: Ron Paul Festival 2012.

The three-day festival honoring the 12-term Texas congressman, at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Aug. 24-26, is taking place just before the Republican National Convention (RNC) kicks off. But an organizer for the event cautions that participants are not necessarily ready to rubber-stamp the GOP presidential ticket.

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, is already expected to face a tough re-election bid. After all, his district grew more Democratic through redistricting.

Now the tide may have grown a little stronger, as he has to towel off a guilt-by-association label from a national publication.

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Democrat from Palm Beach Gardens, had his plastic denied at Macys in The Gardens Mall on Saturday, South Florida gossip guru Jose Lambiet reports on his website.

Mahoney, who was buying clothes while wearing Tom Cruise sunglasses, then was reduced to spelling his first and last names out loud because he used another card, wrote Lambiet on his website, Gossip Extra.

Who am I to tell three federal judges they're crazier than a soup sandwich? But that was my inclination Thursday when a U.S. District Court ruled Florida's reduction in early voting days negatively impacts minority voters.

After a proposed settlement agreement touched off two days of high-stakes maneuvering, the state Public Service Commission will go ahead Monday with a hearing about whether Florida Power & Light should raise base electric rates.

Commission Chairman Ronald Brise late Friday issued an order rejecting a request to suspend the hearing. FPL and three groups of large power users proposed the settlement agreement Wednesday afternoon and also asked for a suspension, as they hoped to get a decision on the settlement by the end of August.

Two of the four machine recounts called for following last Tuesdays primary -- both involving Democrats -- are heading to a second overtime.

In all four close contests, the numbers changed in the machine recounts that were due Sunday afternoon, but not the results.

State Senate District 27: State Rep. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, is still ahead of Rep. Mack Bernard, D-West Palm Beach.

State House District 107: Rep. Barbara Watson, D-Miami Gardens, continues to lead Rep. John Julien, D-North Miami Beach,

Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan was supposed to be a problem for the Republicans.