Sunday, April 15, 2007





Barack Obama At The Cuban Club, Ybor City
Nice Crowd

What We Wanted To Hear


Kate Was In Da House


Greetings
Who's Next, Mr. Deggans?
Bigotry and hate speech targeting, among other characteristics, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continue to permeate the airwaves through personalities such as Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Michael Smerconish, and John Gibson......more
Dean's War On Easter
“This press release, absent any reference to Jesus, without whom the Easter resurrection story is meaningless, is apparently a sad reflection of a ‘lowest common denominator’ religious outreach of the Democratic party, Wake up and smell the Easter lillies! This kind of outreach will not pass the smell test of any evangelical.”........more

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Grandmother Blogs From Baghdad

Jane Stillwater is an unlikely war correspondent. She's 64, a self-described Berkeley "flower child, 40 years later" and broke. So how did this mother of four grown children end up in Baghdad, churning out commentary ranging from shock at Thursday's bombing of the Iraqi parliament cafeteria, to the weirdness of touring Saddam Hussein's bathroom?......more

Toss The Feather


How Much Do We Spend On Defense?

Dolphins and sea lions to patrol the waters of Washington state's Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which is home to nuclear submarines, ships and laboratories. They are better than anything we have ever made," said Mike Rothe, head of science for the Navy's marine mammal program......more
Stanton Will Not Sue The City Of Largo
Because I think that there's a time for healing as opposed to the decisive process of litigation. I always said from the first time that I really wanted to educate. I wanted to educate, to make people understand that just because you're transsexual doesn't mean you cannot lead, doesn't mean you can't be a productive person. I think I can do that better as an advocate......more

Kurt Vonnegut is The Resident's People

Friday, April 13, 2007

Florida A&M University’s Marching 100
Will play at the Barack Obama Rally Sunday in Tampa
The $25 fundraiser is intended to draw young people and those new to politics
12:45 p.m. Sunday @ The Cuban Club, 2010 Republica De Cuba in Ybor City
Tickets are available on line at BarackObama.com
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding,
This is America, not the damned Titanic
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say.
I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!.......here
America's Pimp 'n' Ho Culture Gets Real
A lot of people owe a lot of apologies to a lot of people


On the same day that North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declared the three white Duke University lacrosse team players innocent of the alleged rape of an African-American stripper, MSNBC canceled its simulcast of the Don Imus radio show for a racial slur against the mostly black Rutgers University women's basketball team......more
A 14-Hour Film And No Room For Latinos And Native Americans?
The War On PBS
“The War” On PBS, scheduled to premier in September. includes no interviews with any Latino veterans even though over 500,000 Latinos served in the war. The documentary also includes no interviews with any Native American veterans. In response to protests, Ken Burns (filmmaker) announced this week that he would create additional content that focuses on the stories of Latino and Native American veterans.

Amy Interviews Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez Associate Director of the Center for Mexican-American Studies at the University of Texas.....here
Stinky Florida No. 2 For Pollutants
A report issued Thursday puts Florida second nationwide for increases in a major pollutant linked to global warming. From 1990 through 2004, Florida's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption grew 37 percent.....Florida politicians are taking notice. Two bills addressing global warming and clean energy sailed through committees Thursday.......more
Sons And Daughters Of Hitler Day
Praising Dixie
Years of relatively routine proclamations by Hillsborough County commissioners setting aside a Southern Heritage Month or a Confederate Memorial Day appear to be at an end. Commissioners Jim Norman, Ken Hagan and Brian Blair had already signed the document. Commissioners Rose Ferlita, Kevin White and Mark Sharpe refused.......more
"Whether you support the Union or the Confederate at that time or at this time, there were people's ancestors who were killed, If it were one of your ancestors, you'd want them remembered, too."......Brian Blair

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Brian Blair, Jim Norman, Ken Hagan, Al Higginbotham and Kevin White
Up Developers Ass
Officials at the county's Environmental Protection Commission were told by a majority of commissioners who oversee the agency that state and federal rules suffice in protecting wetlands from development, and that it was wasteful to have separate local regulations.....more
"That is a copout, That is terrible news."......Jan Platt
Who Elected These Guys?
Vox Populi Ruffles "Media Lizzys" Knickers
Finally, I stand by my statements about being a Republican - no matter who the elected leadership is. It is the principles that matter to me, not the leadership. It's a bit like loving the Atlanta Braves, no matter how good or bad a season - and whether or not they make it to the playoffs. I'm a Republican. Full Stop......here
Kurt Vonnegut
1922 - 2007
Priest Cruises Biscayne Boulevard
Looking For Boys To Have Sex

Three men have accused a former Broward County priest awaiting trial on sexual molestation charges of paying them for sex when they were boys and turning them into prostitutes......more
Steve Stanton on Larry King Live, Tonight
He is expected to reveal whether he will sue the city

Commissioners who voted to dismiss Stanton have said they did so because they lost confidence in him, not because he wants to be a woman. Supporters say the timing suggests the firing was motivated by the transgender issue......more

Obama on Letterman

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

How I Knew Things Were Changing In My Community

I was still teaching, had not yet retired. Jeb was governor, and I was finding myself rapidly out of sync with most everyone around me. In part it was that the right wing was really starting to show its true colors here.....like mothers coming into class to be sure we had no Halloween decorations. (Only I did not know what was going on.)......more
UF's "Jeb Bush College of Education"
The University of Florida's faculty may have denied Gov. Jeb Bush an honorary degree, but his political allies in the state House of Representatives have found another way to honor the former governor on the school's Gainesville campus.......more

Ronda Storms An Embarrassment To Her Community

"When the Ronda Storms of the world show up, people get together and start talking about what we have to do to get rid of bigotry.".......more
Hillsborough Residents Say Bring On Mass Transit
A majority of Hillsborough County residents don't think road building alone will ease congestion, according to a survey released Tuesday. An overwhelming number of residents polled also think the county will need rail or mass transit in the next 50 years, and that new development should pay for its effect on roads and schools........more
Jump on The Iorio Express @ Tampa Rail

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Florida A&M University’s Marching 100
May Play For Obama In Tampa On Sunday
Final plans for attending the fundraiser have not been made. The invite “is under consideration,” according to FAMU spokeswoman LaNedra Carroll......more

The Cost Of Iraq On Florida

Based on a March 28, 2007 report by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, the war has cost Florida taxpayers $20.7 Billion dollars. The escalation will cost us an additional $5.6 Billion. That's not the true price of this war. 16,592 Florida National Guard and Reservist have served in the Iraq war. They are the ones making the real sacrifice......more

Couch Color Described By Racial Slur
When the new chocolate-coloured sofa set was delivered to her Brampton home, Doris Moore was stunned to see packing labels describing the shade as "Nigger-brown.".......more
The A La Carte
At The Art Institute of Tampa

The A La Carte restaurant gives culinary students hands-on professional experience learning what it takes to run a restaurant. A La Carte is open to the public......more
The restaurant, located on the second floor of The Art Institute of Tampa at 4401 N. Himes Ave., is open for lunch on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11.30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Stogie Interviews The Local Homeless
Meet Rose
A 68 year old mother of 3 (ages 52 to 44). She was born in Cooperstown, NY, but now resides on the streets of Tampa. She has been homeless since 1972. She recently applied for Section 8, but was denied. She lives off the kindness of strangers.
The Power Of One Voice
Roberta Fernandez
Since watching the Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," Roberta Fernandez has preached the gospel of global warming. She quit her job and join the Climate Project, an organization that teaches people how to spread the global warming message......more

Good News...Gov. Charlie just announced plans to put solar panels on the governor's mansion. Mayor Pam traded her Lincoln Town Car for a Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Florida May Raise Attacks On Homeless To Level Of Hate Crime
As the region's transients reel from recent brutal attacks on the homeless, state lawmakers are considering a proposal that would make it a hate crime to assault a homeless person in Florida. If the measure is approved, Florida would become the first state in the country to include the homeless among the groups protected under the state's existing hate-crime law......more

God Hates Fags
The Most Hated Family in America
A new documentary written and presented by Louis Theroux of the BBC about the family at the heart of the Westboro Baptist Church........watch it here
"I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps. "..Louis Theroux


Sunday, April 8, 2007

No Place Too Red For Dean
"We want change. It wasn't about the Democratic Party. It was about the country."

"There will always be some television involved in campaigns, but the era of the 30-second spot as an effective tool of politics is disappearing, and what is more effective is being on the Internet, where we can hear from you and not just you hear from us."........here
Operation Bright Eyes
Expanding to improve and enhance public safety in neighborhoods
here
Bright House Networks first launched Operation Bright Eyes in 2005 in Tampa

Opie's New Job
Adam Putnam new job is to jump on anything that makes Democrats look bad and exploit it for maximum effect. As chairman of the Republican Conference Committee, Putnam is the face and voice of House Republicans. His agenda: to aggressively display the flaws of the new majority, to convey the ideas of the Republicans, and to work his hardest to help his party win back the House in 2008......more


"Continual Slaughter"
El Papa Tells It Like It Is
Benedict read out a litany of troubling current events, saying he was thinking of the "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons." He singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and sad to say, underestimated, humanitarian situation" in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering, including violence and looting in Congo, fighting in Somalia.......more
Happy Easter?
Polk County program will allow inmates to keep jobs
"On pay day, we're going to charge them to stay in the county jail," said Polk County sheriff Grady Judd. "We're going to charge them to eat here and we're going to charge them for cleaning their clothes at the county jail.".......more
Good Job Polk County

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Stogie Interviews The Local Homeless
Meet Cyndie
A 40 year old mother of 6 (ages 24 to 11) with 1 grandchild. She was born in Clearwater, but now resides on the streets of Tampa. She has been homeless for 3 years. She has tried getting help but says it comes with to many conditions.
Imagine Yet Another Two Years Of Slow Bleed
An Administration's Epic Collapse
The three big Bush stories of 2007--the decision to "surge" in Iraq, the scandalous treatment of wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys for tawdry political reasons--precisely illuminate the three qualities that make this Administration one of the worst in American history: arrogance (the surge), incompetence (Walter Reed) and cynicism (the U.S. Attorneys).......more

Friday, April 6, 2007

There Is A New Blog In Town
The County Pasco Sheriff
They got Viagra, Cialis and Levitra Real Cheap
You Might Want To Check Out The "Sembler Penis Pump"....here
Dean Discusses Strategy At Yale
The one-time front-runner in the 2004 Democratic primaries spoke Thursday about his 50-State Strategy, which aims to build Democratic organizations in every voting precinct in the U.S., including those in predominantly Republican states. Dean, who majored in political science at Yale, delivered the keynote address at a Yale Political Union debate on Thursday evening in addition to holding discussions at a Saybrook Master’s Tea and an event hosted by the Yale Law Democrats earlier in the day.......more
From RightWingStuff.com: December 8, 2005 Looks Like He Is Turning Out To Be A Foreign Policy Expert After All.
Practical Steps towards Energy Security
With Kathy Castor, Linda Saul Sena And Pam Iorio
Tuesday April 10, 2007 10 AM to Noon
Children's Board of Hillsborough County - 1002 Palm Ave Ybor City
No Development On Preserved Land
Brooker Creek Preserve
There are already lines of cars almost to Alt. U.S. 19 waiting to get into Honeymoon Island State Park. Yet, I am told that our state wants more revenue from admissions. More revenue for what purpose? To expand the bureaucratic staff? To build more parking lots and erase fragile lands in doing so?........more