Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Tamps's Third FNB Food Share
On March 9th, we established Tamps's third FNB share at a new location! From now on we will be sharing with our neighbors every
Thursday, 8am at 131st and 15th. info
Until every belly is full!
Florida GOP Spends $237 Million To Defend Their Right Wing Agendas
Rick Scott and other top Florida Republicans frequently complain about government spending, but they have quietly spent more than $237 million on private lawyers to advance and defend their agendas. here
Monday, March 13, 2017
Conversion Kings: Religious Proselytizing as the Second Wave of Hate In Tampa
It was getting late when I sent the text message.
The same frustration when I learned of a Christian
conversion movement’s religious proselytism in a grassy section of suitcase
city; bird of prey in a field of young, Muslim Refugees.
It was getting late when I sent the text to a person who, I
was informed, was sending lengthy messages to Refugees in my community, stating
they had previously made their acquaintance and wanted to arrange “small cell
groups” to hold Christian fellowship teachings in the Refugee’s living
rooms. (In all cases, the Refugees had
no recollection of meeting those texting them.)
Posing as Bibi, a young, Resettled Muslim in Tampa who had
gotten one of these messages, I began a half hour text exchange with a person
named David Radford. (He shared his name
with me after the third time I requested it.)
He quickly summoned me to his home, to ‘just say hi,’ at 9:16pm. (Prior to stating his name)
Beyond that, he requested my address numerous times.
During this conversation, I pretended to be ecstatic about
his “small cell group” proposal and stated that I wanted to share the Quran with
him, as he wanted to share the bible with me.
His response started with “Ok, um.”
After a very circular conversation; ‘Bibi’ expressing a commitment to Islam and Radford becoming increasingly frustrated, he proceeded to send me 22 text messages in a row in less than a minute. Each text with a single word, stating that the meeting would be at his home on his terms and he ended this prolific series with a tense
“Do.
U.
Get.
David Radford then ended his messages with Bibi, the person
he believed to be a young, enthusiastic Muslim Refugee with a very unfriendly
message stating that “I have a life to attend to. The more you know God, the more relatable you
will be with people. Bye Bye.” And when
I outed myself as not being Bibi, but a person intellectually oppositional to
religious predation, he said, “Oh I only say this because I love you.”
And so it is that the deeper phase of xenophobia and
disturbingly discriminatory behavior plays out from stage left; not by the
nativist Trump supporter groundswell but by those whose discrimination comes
layered under the guise of embrace.
Those inviting themselves to the living rooms of the vulnerable to
Bible-wash their roots, their Islam, their tradition away. Conversion kings who, seemingly, have little
temper to spare with those who value and embody the teachings of their own
Prophet.
Previous to our abrupt end in dialogue, Radford stated that
there were four of these small cell
groups currently carrying on in Tampa. Four
living rooms invaded. Four weekly
intrusions into the faith of a people.
Christian privilege, domination and hegemony that continues
to prey on Refugee communities needs to be confronted when and where it
persists. David Radford, along with the
“Arabic Fest” (there is a legitimate Arabic Festival, however the address
listed on the specific flyer referenced in this piece, ambiguous in most ways,
sans for desperation baiting with all of its ‘free’ offerings, was traced back
to a local, evangelical church) and the small cell groups invading the living
rooms of the Resettled are reminiscent of the Bible-washing xenophobia and
racism I encountered at the first Trump rally I attended to protest and
disrupt.
Trump’s televangelist pastor Mark Burns promptly took to the
podium and declared boisterously that “there are no Black people. There are no Asian people. There are no Arab people. There are no colors. There is
only red, white and blue.” This is
the sort of patriotic rhetoric that fostered in an epic, answered invitation
for white nationalists to arise from under their rocks and dip their feet into
the socio-political atmosphere to see if the temperature was right.
Attacking the dynamics of oppression includes an
explicit struggle against those sidling up to and brushing elbows with the
movement welcoming and embracing Muslims and Refugees joining our community as
a means to garner a foothold to deploy conversion agendas.
The outrageous arrogance of members of an oppressor nation, in most cases complicit in making other countries the ‘mouth of a shark,’ that people are fleeing from, includes a “disciple making” organization offering Muslim children money to read and memorize bible verses.
We welcome the extraordinary writer Dezeray Lyn
To Our Team!
The outrageous arrogance of members of an oppressor nation, in most cases complicit in making other countries the ‘mouth of a shark,’ that people are fleeing from, includes a “disciple making” organization offering Muslim children money to read and memorize bible verses.
The ‘free money’ bait is just the cementation of the
doctrinal pillage of those most desperate
and vulnerable, and the pillage in itself is blind to the traumas of displacement,
war and violence (experiences in which many turn to their holy texts and
spirituality for comfort and healing) the most heinous trait of this ilk. The British-Somali poet Warsan Shire’s piece Home, declared by some to be a
rallying call for Refugees, intimates an angst of displacement in a visceral
way;
it's not something
you ever thought about doing,
and so when you did
- you carried the anthem under your breath, waiting until the
airport toilet to tear up the passport and swallow, each mouthful of
paper making it clear that you would not
be going back.
Enveloping arms do not seize. Nor do they porcupine and pressure away the
sacred parts of people to suit the height of a holy high horse. If you are in the business of conversion, you
are distinctly not in the community
of welcoming.
We welcome the extraordinary writer Dezeray Lyn
To Our Team!
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Fight For 15: #AskAcosta Keyotta Lee of Tampa
Whose Side is Acosta On?
The Fight for $15 scored a major victory when we helped knock out Donald Trump's first pick to lead the Department of Labor – the awful fast-food CEO Andy Puzder.
Now, Trump’s nominated Alexander Acosta for the job – and we want to know: Will he stand up for us?
This is our moment to find out – and make sure our senators hold him accountable.
What do you want to #AskAcosta?
Florida GOP Power Grab
A wide-ranging bill that would rein in local governments’ ability to increase taxes narrowly passed the Florida House Ways & Means Committee. here
Friday, March 10, 2017
Get Well Alan Snel
Alan Snel, a longtime Florida bicycle advocate, is in a Fort Pierce intensive care unit after a motorist hit him from behind while he was riding his bike Tuesday. here
Visit him on Facebook
"I was cycling to Fort Pierce on Old Dixie in St. Lucie County this morning when a motorist hit me from behind."
When I first started blogging Mr. Snel helped us out alot.
Visit his blog here
When I first started blogging Mr. Snel helped us out alot.
Visit his blog here
Rick Scott Loyalists Appointed To The State Constitution Revision Commission
Rick Scott named 14 people — nearly all of them loyalists who have served the governor or been appointed by him in other capacities — to the state Constitution Revision Commission. here
Thursday, March 9, 2017
FPL Customers About To Take It Deep
After losing a major battle in court last year, Florida Power & Light is now turning to the Florida Legislature to change the state law and give it the authority to charge customers, and profit off, speculative natural gas fracking.
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The bill, HB 1043 by Florida GOP Rep. Jason Brodeur, of Sanford, is titled
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"Prudent Utility Investments in Natural Gas Reserves,"
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and the Senate companion is SB 1248
by Florida GOP Sen. Aaron Bean of
Fernandina Beach.
Florida GOP: Foxes In The Henhouse
State of State
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Rick Scott promised to fight for economic-incentive money, business tax cuts (Corporate Welfare) and conservative education reforms. here
Rick Scott promised to fight for economic-incentive money, business tax cuts (Corporate Welfare) and conservative education reforms. here
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A coalition of labor, environmental, LGBT-rights, and other left-leaning groups under the banner “Awake the State” organized more than a dozen rallies across Florida to coincide with the first day of the 2017 legislative session, including an event at the Capitol. Their message: Scott and Republican leaders are not fighting for us.
-“The governor, and frankly the speaker (Richard Corcoran), are living in an alternative reality.” Sen. Gary Farmer
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
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