Florida's Culture Of Corruption: HB 999

Gov. Rick Scott has signed HB 999, a bill so detested by a host of environmental groups that they brought in former Sen. Bob Graham to try in vain to stop it.  The bill drew more than 350 letters or emails urging him to veto it, They don't care what we think. They care about people like Frank Matthews, who lobbies on behalf of developers, phosphate miners, boat manufacturers, sugar growers, power companies and a garbage company who said
 ""He couldn't be more accommodating, my clients appreciate the Legislature and the governor continuing to protect Florida's resources while promoting economic development and recovery. It's unfortunate regulatory reform is often sensationalized and characterized as anti-environment."
The bill won approval in the House 98-20, with some Democrats joining the Republicans.
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"I care a lot about the environment," the governor said. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, sponsored the bill. (Patronis is ALEC’s leader in the Florida Legislature.)

Hillsborough County To Revisit LGBT Pride Ban

Cmmissioners will consider a motion to lift the county’s ban on recognizing gay pride events on Wednesday, June 5. at 8:15 a.m. at the County Center at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., in downtown Tampa. Kevin Beckner, the county’s only gay commissioner, introduced a motion at the last commission meeting that would lift the ban which has been in place since notorious anti-gay, former commissioner Rhonda Storms pushed the bill through.
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“We hope the Commissioners will end this national embarrassment and daily insult to gay people in Tampa Bay.”...Ed Lally Equality Florida’s Tampa development coordinator

Right-Wing Conservative Nut Case

Democrat Jamie Grant

 Nearly made the professor gag.
“We’re not speeding up the death penalty. We’re just slowing down fraud. We’re just simply saying you can’t abuse rules of civil procedure in the appellate process.”
Stephen Harper a professor at Florida International University’s College of Law, nearly gags when he’s read Grant’s quote. “All litigation is legitimate litigation if somebody’s life is at stake,” he responds. Harper worked for nearly three decades inside the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office. He says if a state has a death penalty system it’s imperative that there be a “significant amount” of post-conviction remedies available, because it’s “very complicated stuff.”
here
Tell Gov. Scott to veto HB 7083 here

Peter Schorsch A Thing Of Beauty

Next week, Mayor Bill Foster will ask the City Council to appoint Schorsch to the City Beautiful Commission, which promotes the beautification of the Sunshine City. Schorsch, the president of the Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association, said one of his goals is to preserve and enhance the aesthetic value of the city.
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“I spend some of my free time literally mowing the lawns of elderly neighbors who can't do it for themselves and picking up the snipe signs illegally placed in right-of-ways, I hope I can contribute to making St. Pete a great place to live and work.”
Congratulations

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Is A Democrat?

Nan Rich: Dem Party is "inappropriate" for blocking 5-minute gala speech.
Chairwoman, Allison Tant It's blocking former state Senate Democratic leader Nan Rich, a gubernatorial candidate, from speaking at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. Tant, who decided along with party leaders to keep the June 15 fundraiser at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood limited to three speakers: Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and featured speaker Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio. I have a solution, lets boot DINO DWS and let Ms. Rich speak instead.
here, Via Pushing Rope
Nan Rich, Democrat for Governor

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society

The Tampa Bay Chapter of Students for A Democratic Society is a student/youth activist organization. We fight against budget cuts, racism, and social injustice. We organize for good, affordable education, equality, and better future for our community and country.Our aim is to organize ALL students in the Tampa Bay area and give them a voice and power on campus, in their workplaces, and

in their community.

Join them here

Antonio Lee Shot To Death In Tampa

Sligh Middle Magnet School Begging For Books

Why does a public school in Tampa have to beg for books?
On so many levels, this is a disturbing story. In the 9th biggest district in the county (America, …remember America?) a public school (mostly minority) has to beg for books, … while the district has three lavish district headquarter sites (coffee shops included) filled with an army of highly paid administrators… a superintendent making more than $263,000 and many, many others outside the classroom making six figures.
here The story at The Times here

Keyshawn And The Bieber

It seems Justin Bieber likes to drive his  Ferrari around his LA hood like a crazy man. Bucs great Keyshawn Johnson and Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson also live there.  Johnson chased after the singer in his Prius and tried to confront the singer about his dangerous driving habits -- but JB ran away like a scared little child.  Dickerson tweeted "I live in Calabasas too and he needs to slow his ass down."

here

Rally At Rubio's Tampa Office

Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Join us at a rally to let Senator Rubio know that we won't settle for any immigration reform that does not include our GLBT families. Bring signs. Bring a friend. Help us spread the word. We will meet outside the main entrance to the building Can you join us in Tampa on Friday?
Click here for more details and to RSVP

MetroRapid

Free Rides For 2 Weeks
Sleek, shiny, technology-laden and quick — Hillsborough County's newest form of mass transit is meant to lure commuters out of their cars and into a passenger seat.
here
Nice new bus smell.

WMNF: The Third Annual Sunset Tiki Party!

Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd
Post Card Inn on the Beach, 6300 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach
Tickets and information: here

Tampa Is Not An Option

After throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Friday's Tampa Bay Rays game against the New York Yankees, Tampa Mayor Bob said if the Rays are allowed to look elsewhere, “we’ll be ready.”
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As i mention in my post back on Feb. 8th, we have no money over here for the Rays or MLB. Mayor Bob was cought up in the moment and just talking poop. We are not Miami-Dade or Arlington, Texas. If you get it on the ballot it will be defeated.

.MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO In TAMPA

End Cpital Pnishment In Florida

Capital Pnishment In The World
Afghanistan, Bahamas, Belarus, Botswana, China, Cuba, Egypt
Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, North Korea
South Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore
Somalia, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tonga, United Arab Emirates
Vietnam, Yemen, Texas and Florida.
90% of the world's countries are not executing, according to Amnesty International.
100 (51%) have abolished it. @Wikipedia
Nice company we keep.
TheTampa Bay Times called for lawmakers to study the state’s death penalty because of its high number of exonerations and death sentences. Using information from DPIC's recent 2012 Year End Report, the editorial noted that 2012 marked the second consecutive year in which the state led the country in new death sentences. An editorial in the Miami Herald called on Florida Governor Rick Scott to veto a bill recently passed by the legislature requiring the governor to sign a death warrant within 30 days after state Supreme Court review, with the execution taking place within 180 days after that.

Death Penalty Information Center

Florida's Sugar Daddies

Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio
helped defeat, for the second straight year, a move to curtail the federal sugar quota. A big industry in Florida, sugar has close ties to Nelson and Rubio. The Democrat Nelson got more money in the 2012 election cycle than any other member of Congress, $71,250, according to maplight.org. Rubio got $17,400 in his 2010 election and $5,000 in the 2012 cycle. Siding with sugar is one of the few areas Rubio crosses conservative groups such as the Club for Growth.
It dislocates jobs, increases prices for consumers and businesses, and includes a protectionist quota that stifles freer trade," the Club for Growth said.
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Local Views: Florida's Culture Of Corruption

Maybe you are one of those 1 million low-income Floridians who are uninsured and were just informed by the Florida Legislature that if you get sick in this state, buster, you're pretty much on your own. And that's why House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Simon Legree, stuck to his guns in rejecting $51 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, which would have covered those medical moochers. After all, there are more important things state government should be doing with taxpayer resources — like allowing utility companies to gouge customers for nuclear power plants that don't work and/or will never be built.
Daniel Ruth

Sweet deals are business as usual in Florida government
John Romano
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will never win any popularity contests, and here is another reason why. The state-run insurer's board narrowly decided Wednesday to give away $52 million to a new St. Petersburg insurer with no track record and questionable leadership. Gov. Rick Scott, who defends this corporate welfare, and Citizens board members keep finding more ways to hurt consumers.
A Times Editorial
Locals
Voters are watching: Lucy Fuchs, Brandon
Protect pensions from politicians: Susan Greenbaum, Temple Terrace
Disconnected thinking:Donald Ruths, Brooksville
In plain English, it's called bribery: Peter Newton, Clearwater

Memorial Day 2013

American Involvement in Wars

1675 - 1676 King Philip's War New England Colonies vs. Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck Indians.

1689-1697 King William's War The English Colonies vs. France

1702-1713 Queen Anne's War The English Colonies vs. France.

1744-1748 King George's War The French Colonies vs. Great Britain.

1756-1763 French and Indian War  The French Colonies vs. Great Britain.

1759-1761 Cherokee War English Colonists vs. Cherokee Indians

1775-1783 American Revolution English Colonists vs. Great Britain

1798-1800 Franco-American Naval War United States vs. France

1801-1805;1815 Barbary Wars United States vs. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.

1812-1815 War of 1812 United States vs. Great Britain.

1813-1814 Creek War United States vs. Creek Indians.

1836 War of Texas Independence Texas vs. Mexico.

1846-1848 Mexican-American War United States vs. Mexico.

1861-1865 U.S. Civil War Union vs. Confederacy.

1898 Spanish-American War.

1914-1918 World War I Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917.

1939-1945 World War II Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia.

1950-1953 Korean War United States (as part of the United Nations) and South Korea vs. North Korea and Communist China.

1960-1975 Vietnam War United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam.

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion United States vs. Cuba.

1983 Grenada United States Intervention.

1989 US Invasion of Panama, United States vs. Panama.

1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq.

1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia.

2001 Invasion of Afghanistan, United States and Coalition Forces vs. the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

2003 Invasion of Iraq, United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq.

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Pic: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Stogie's Iraq Wall here

Florida GOP Endorse Nan Rich For Governor

 From GOP press release
Rich presumably would love to forward to every Democratic primary voter:
Former State Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich Says Democrats Should Have Liberal South Floridian Like Her As Gubernatorial Nominee. "For 10 years, political pros have taken it almost as gospel that the strongest statewide Democratic candidates are centrists from Florida's top battleground region of Tampa Bay. But 2014 gubernatorial hopeful Nan Rich says that's bunk. 'We tried that three times, and we had three good candidates - we had Jim Davis, Alex Sink and Bill McBride,' Rich said Monday, referring to the last three Democratic nominees for governor. 'And you know what? We didn't win. So let's try something new.

Rich Receives Endorsement From Florida NOW, "Has A Long History As A Liberal." "The political arm of the National Organization for Women has issued an early endorsement for Nan Rich, dark horse Democratic contender for governor.

RICH'S EXTREME LIBERAL POSITIONS ON ABORTION EARNED HER THAT ENDORSEMENT

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Nan Rich For Governor 2014

.The Humane Society Of Tampa Bay Sterilizes 100 Cats Per Week

Tampa Dream Defenders

Tampa Dream Defenders hopes you've seen all of the facebook invites to our NEXT WEEK'S entire week of events to demand Legalization for all 11 million undocumented immigrants! Each day has it's own event! Wednesday's is a revival of our campaign to demand LICENSES FOR ALL 1.5 MILLION undocumented immigrants in Florida.

Join them here

Coalition of Immokalee Workers Rally & March on Wendy's

Silent street theater explaining the CIW Fair Food Program, followed by a march on Wendy's who has not yet signed on to support fairer wages and working conditions for tomato workers.

Havana Crumbling

Tampa Museum of Art exhibit

 "Faded Elegance: Photographs of Havana by Michael Eastman" 
Review by Lennie Bennett, Times Art Critic
here, For some i took myself Feb. of 2007, here

Tampa Bay Homeless

Judy Prine of New Port Richey
Letter to the Tampa Bay Times
I am deeply saddened by Gov. Rick Scott's decision to veto $1.3 million in funding for a Metropolitan Ministries transitional housing facility. I believe the general public has an overall negative and tainted view regarding the homeless. Most of them are just looking for someone to talk to and for someone who would recognize that they are real people just like the rest of us, but who were unfortunate enough to have been dealt various life challenges.

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WMNF Benefits from the Sunset Tiki Party

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Free the Cuban Five!

Since the Revolution in 1959, Cuba has been the target of more terrorist attacks than any other country in the world. 3,478 Cuban citizens have been killed in these attacks and 2,099 have been injured. The overwhelming majority of the attacks originated in southern Florida. Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and René Gonzalez, now collectively known as the Cuban Five, were working to monitor the groups who have led and threatened these terrorist attacks. Their work to prevent further acts of terror from being unleashed on the Cuban people led to their arrest by FBI agents in Miami in September 1998.

Join the week of action for the Cuban 5 in Washington D.C. from May 30 - June 5, 2013.

info, Visit their website here