Failed State: Florida Still Looking For Creative Ways To Suppress Voter Rights

Florida is well known for finding creative methods of suppressing the vote. The latest ploy is a new rule issued by Governor Rick Scott’s chief election official Secretary of State Ken Detzner, directing that absentee ballots be returned by mail or directly to the offices of election supervisors. It has been a common practice in the state to allow ballots to be dropped off at locations such as tax collectors offices, libraries and other sites designated by the local election supervisors.  This was to accommodate those who wished to save the postage or found it more convenient to drop them at a nearby location.......more>

 

 The directive appeared to take dead aim at one supervisor, Deborah Clark in Pinellas County, who aggressively promotes voting absentee and has a small network of remote drop-off locations to make it easier for people to turn in their absentee ballots. The state’s order comes as Clark prepares to send thousands of absentee ballots to voters in the upcoming special election in the 13th Congressional District, vacated when longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Young died last month......more>

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/26/3781765/detzners-directive-on-absentees.html#storylink=cpy

 

Bartlett Park Community

"After five years of growing food and community at the
Bartlett Park Community Garden,
we are excited to announce that we have bought the land the garden sits on.
It goes without saying that this is a major milestone for our garden. We no longer have to wonder each month if we will be able to continue
to grow food for our neighbors.  
We can run the garden as a resource for the
Bartlett Park Community for as long as the community needs it." Tom Tito

It is amazing what we can do when we all work together. Mr. Tito and the Bartlett Park Community  should be commended for their great work, they are a treasure to Tampa Bay. 

George Zimmerman’s Florida Stash

Here are the Weapons Police found in Zimmerman’s Florida Residence

Three handguns
One 12-gauge shotgun
One AR-15 rifle
106 rounds of ammunition, including two AR-15 magazines

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Florida Stingray's Close Encounter

Mark "the Shark" Quartiano has caught thousands of sharks, but never anything like the 800-pound deep-water stingray he landed off Miami Beach. 

It was released after being caught......more>

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Bacalao

With red beans and rice

$5.70 at Tierra Latina, Nebraska Ave and  Linebaugh in Tampa.

Rally For Solar Power In St. Pete

With Special Guest Darden Rice

The rally and a press conference are scheduled for Wednesday 10 a.m. at Williams Park, across from Duke Building, 299 1st Avenue North......more>

WORLD'S TALLEST ROLLER COASTER COMING TO FLORIDA

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Soup and Sandwich

At Little Habana Café in Riverview

Florida Islamophobic Fringe Group

 Citizens For National Security

  Are in DC planning to accuse the Council on American-Islamic Relations of

“advancing its agenda of radical Islam” and backing

a campaign of “extortion, intimidation and subversion.”

Republican members of Congress regularly demonize CAIR:

 One former representative even called the organization a
“terrorist organization.” CFNS previously collaborated with then-congressman Allen West. CFNS chairman William Saxton believes that the Muslim Brotherhood has captured public schools in the US and is training students to become Islamic extremists.....more>
 

 This latest controversy is not new in Florida. The website at Citizens for National Security is heavily devoted to the topic, including a report of the ongoing textbook issue in Florida; a 10-minute instructional video devoted to the topic; and a “Teacher’s Guide” to correcting “Islamic bias.” Saxton calls the Islamic-biased textbooks a “national issue” that’s been ongoing for some time.

THERE'S SOMETHING ROTTEN AT PUBLIX

Florida’s tomato farms supply 50% of all U.S. fresh tomatoes 

but have also been called America’s ‘ground zero for slavery.’

Countless workers held against their will, threatened with violence and forced to haul hundreds of heavy tomato buckets a day for little to no pay. Thankfully, a new solution called the Fair Food Program has been proven successful. The Fair Food Program is working to enforce a policy of

 zero tolerance for slavery on tomato farms. 

But a major U.S. supermarket chain, Publix Super Markets,

is refusing to support the Fair Food Program. Publix continues to buy tomatoes from growers that are not partners of the Fair Food Program and where workers still toil beyond the reach of its proven protection from modern slavery.

info

Tampa Bay Homeless

Meet Eli, he is from Dade City.

"I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.” John F. Kennedy

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label “Liberal?”

…If by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,

” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”

 John F. Kennedy, September 14, 1960
 

Was JFK A Conservative — Or A Socialist?
Let’s Ask The Right-Wingers Of 1963

here

Matt Damon Amazes Audience with Howard Zinn Speech

Florida Ccongressman Trey Radel: The Family Guy

Mother Jones reported last year Radel, a tea party favorite and a Fox News radio host, came to office with an unusual background, having run a business that bought somewhat pornographic sex-themed domain names in both English and Spanish, Radel's business snagged all sorts of un-family-friendly domain names, including www.casadelasputas.com ("whorehouse") and www.mamadita.com ("little blow job"). (After our story, he sent an email to supporters attacking Mother Jones as an "ultra-liberal San Francisco rag" whose "attack" on him he wore like a "badge of honor.")........more>

I Am Rick Scott

Miami Gardens Store Owner Catches A Year Of Police Abuse On Film

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Ken Hagan's Early Christmas Gift

A bright, shiny (Big Box) lawsuit

naming Hillsborough County and Red Cast Bloomingdale LLC

as defendants in a declaratory judgment complaint.....more>

Compliments of Bloomingdale CANDO Inc. This is what happens when the community 
fights back.  Great job Bloomingdale.
Visit Mr. Hagan's Countdown Clock at
www.kenhagan.info

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Pepper Steak

With Moro and Yuca

$5.99 at Bravo Supermarket, 4340 W Hillsborough Ave, Tampa

Shop Hop In Seminole Heights

Stay Local, Help Your Neighbor 

Tampa Bay Homeless

Homeless Living In Tampa

Broken Ohm by Local Artist Dante Hadley

Landslide Support For Florida Medical Marijuana

Florida voters support 82 – 16 percent allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical use if it is prescribed by a doctor, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.......more>

Learn more about the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act......here

Tampa Wal-Mart Black Friday Protest

A sign in the employee lounge in the Wal-Mart reads

“Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates in Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner.”

here

Attend a Black Friday Protest Near You!
Wal-mart Supercenter, Gunn Hwy Tampa
info

Jon Stewart Tackles 'Hip Hop Conservative' Trey Radel

What Stogie Had For Lunch

 

Fried Rice

With Palomilla Steak and after meal coffee

At Arco-Iris Cuban Restaurant in West Tampa

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd And Pig Shit

While out on the farm tipping bulls,
sometimes you run the risk of being hit in the ear with a little pig shit because a scared jackass just won’t stop kicking.
Such is the case after  Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd published a misguided piece of commentary in a Florida newspaper labeling the state’s
medical marijuana initiative a “sham,”
aimed at deceiving voters into legalizing cannabis for the

stoned downtrodden of the state.......more
Florida voters support it 82–16 percent

JFK In Tampa

here

The Guardian: Florida In Secret Talks

To accept funding for Medicaid from [the] Affordable Care Act.

 Linda Cook, a MoveOn member in Scottsmoor, Florida, started a petition on MoveOn.org urging the Florida legislature to accept Medicaid funding.

Will you add your name right now, while talks are ongoing?

here

Florida's Right Wing Infestation

local Congressmembers Take Advantage Of Campaign Loopholes

One notable example is U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan

According to federal campaign financing records, Buchanan used a campaign account to pay $232,082 since 2005 to his sister-in-law, Yvonne Buchanan, for bookkeeping services. The Longboat Key Republican also rented space from three companies owned by the candidate himself — Auto Central Services Inc., Jamatt Properties and 130 Tamiami Trail LLC. Buchanan also paid more than $110,000 in rent to his own business.......more

He is on Florida's Most Corrupt list.

Wake up Sarasota. In 2014 you do have a choice. Check out Mitch Mallett
The Dems are in on it too, Bill Nelson reimbursed himself more than $10,000 in past years. He also repaid his wife several thousand dollars in expenses.

Corporate Welfare In Orlando

 Orange County Commissioners voted to direct $20 million toward the construction of a new soccer-specific stadium, completing the funding necessary for the facility. The county voted 5-2 in favor of funding the stadium, securing the final $20 million needed to build a 20,000-seat venue for the team.

here

Get to know Orlando City SC, the newest club in Major League Soccer.....more>

Public funding for the soccer stadium breaks down like this: the $20 million in tourist taxes approved Tuesday; $20 million from Orlando; and smaller amounts from other jurisdictions, including $2 million from Seminole County.

Hillsborough County Giving Trees

Hillsborough County residents can help make a difference this holiday season by purchasing gift items to support the needs of low-income seniors. Beginning  Tuesday, Dec. 3, Giving Trees will be on display at all Hillsborough County Senior Centers and select Senior Nutrition sites bearing holiday-wish tags benefitting seniors in need.

 

§  Brandon Senior Center, 612 N Parsons Ave. in Brandon; 813-635-8066

§  Lutz Senior Center, 112 First Ave. NW in Lutz; 813-264-3804

§  Oaks at Riverview Senior Center, 101 E. Kirby St. in Tampa; 813-272-6829

§  Busansky Senior Center, 4102 W. Spruce St. in Tampa; 813-554-5160

§  Plant City Senior Center,  1205 S. Waller St. in Plant City; 813-757-3824

§  Ruskin Senior Center, 905 6th St. SE in Ruskin; 813-672-1107

§  Town N' Country Senior Center, 7606 Paula Dr. in Tampa; 813-873-6336

§  Wimauma Senior Center, 5714 North St. in Wimauma; 813-671-7672

§  Gibsonton Senior Nutrition Site, 10017 Vaughn St. in Gibsonton; 813-671-7601

§  Progress Village Senior Nutrition Site,  8701 Progress Blvd. in Tampa; 813-671-7773

§  Sterling Heights Senior Nutrition Site, 11706 Williams Rd. in Thonotosassa; 813-914-4016

§  Division of Aging Services Administrative Offices, 601 East Kennedy Blvd, in Tampa; 813-272-6261

Media Contact: Crystal L. Pruitt, Communications & Digital Media Services, Cell: 727-307-8381

Hypocrite Florida Congressman Trey Radel

Arrested on Cocaine Charges. Voted to Drug Test Welfare Recipients 

He represents Florida’s 19th Congressional District which includes Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Marco Island. Radel voted for a bill that would cut about $40 billion in nutritional aid over ten years and deny benefits to millions of Americans.
 

The bill would also allow states to require drug tests
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Florida GOP Countdown Clocks

Nan Rich In Ybor City

If the progressive wing of the Florida Democratic Party had a dream candidate for governor, he or she would sound pretty similar to Nan Rich, who spoke to the Hillsborough County GLBTA Democratic Caucus at J.J.'s in Ybor City........more

Nan Rich for governor

Marco Rubio Extols Morality to 'Ex-Gay' Supporters

Florida senator Marco Rubio delivered the keynote address at an annual gathering of the right-wing Florida Family Policy Council, which supports 'ex-gay' or 'reparative' therapy.

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What Stogie Had For Lunch

Ribs, Pulled Pork, Dirty Rice and Collard Greens.

 

 

Great food, great prices. In Dade City.

Visit them on Facebook

Florida Congressman Grayson

For several months, journalist Glenn Greenwald has reeled off one blockbuster article after another concerning the National Security Agency's pervasive domestic and international electronic spying programs. Congressman Alan Grayson, wanting to learn more about the scope of domestic spying, has invited Greenwald to provide a briefing to Congress in Washington, D.C. Given the threats to prosecute him, Greenwald has been reluctant to do so in person. So one month ago, Congressman Grayson sent a letter to Attorney General Holder, asking whether the AG would prosecute Greenwald if Greenwald came to D.C. to testify. Yesterday, we learned the answer.

Attorney General] Holder indicated that the Justice Department is not planning to prosecute former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, 

One way or another, Congressman Grayson will continue to seek Greenwald's testimony regarding the scope of domestic spying, so that Congress and the American People can hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Which is one more reason why

Congressman Grayson deserves your support. 

MLB Impeded Florida Health Investigation

Major League Baseball officials impeded an investigation by the Florida Department of Health into Biogensis founder Tony Bosch by purchasing clinic documents they had been asked not to obtain,

here

Florida Regulators Doing The Bidding Of Polluters

2013 has become the deadliest year ever for
Florida’s endangered manatees.

So far this year, 769 manatees have died (Jan. 1 through Oct. 29), the largest annual manatee die-off in Florida since record-keeping began.

Boat collisions are usually the main killer of these mellow sea cows, who float and graze in Florida’s sea grass beds. But this year, boat collisions are down. This year, the biggest manatee die-offs on Florida’s east and west coasts are linked to algae outbreaks, which are worsened by sewage, manure and fertilizer runoff.

Florida regulators are doing the bidding of polluter-lobbyists, and environmental disasters like the record manatee deaths are the sad result. Instead of stepping in to enforce the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has backed off......more

Florida Right Wing Blogger Attacks Saint Petersblog

A Letter To Charlie Crist’s Liberal Blogger, Peter Schorsch

here

Tampa Bay Homeless

Honesty pays in Tampa.

Awesome Dade City Mother Outraged After School Puts Son on Honor Roll

Happy Birthday Howard Dean

On my 65th birthday join me in supporting DFA

Right now, Republicans in Congress are trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and cut earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare. Radical right-wingers are in state legislatures across the country trying to restrict the right to vote and take away women’s reproductive rights. But we will continue to fight back -- it's the only we will win and preserve our version of America. And thanks to the Tea Party's obstructionism, Democrats have a real opportunity to win back the House in 2014. So, instead of receiving gifts on my 65th birthday, I'm asking people to support DFA as we fight to build a more progressive America.

In the spirit of our Dean for America presidential campaign, can you donate to DFA today?

here 

The Sick Mind Of The Right Wing

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Blackened Red Snapper Sandwich 

With potato salad at Abbott Station in Zephyrhills

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Ocala Tea Party Stronghold

here

I Am Rick Scott

Florida Blue

Friends Of Stogie

Hail Ceasar

Tampa Bay Tea Party Members

Accountability

Florida Executes Inmate With Controversial Lethal Injection

Darius Kimbrough – convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a Florida woman in 1991– was executed and pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. EST, roughly 18 minutes after his lethal injection was administered. Kimbrough’s execution was notable because it was the second time the state had used the drug midazolam as a sedative in the first of a three-stage lethal injection procedure.  As Reuters reports, midazolam has come under fire from prisoners, who challenged the use of the drug in a lawsuit. Seven of Florida’s death row inmates sued the state, arguing the drug – typically used as a sedative in minor operations – is not actually an anesthetic. They claimed that in addition to halting the body’s ability to speak or move, midazolam leaves inmates aware of their surroundings and in severe pain as they die........more

I Am Ken Hagan

What Stogie Had For Lunch

 

 

Bloody Mary with a California chicken sandwich and a bowl of chile.

At BJ's Brewhouse in Citrus Park. 

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Music For Manatees Benefit Concert

On November 22, you can be a part of the debut concert of the Tampa Bay Music Society (TBMS) at Spoto High School beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Spoto High School is located at 8538 Eagle Palm Dr. in Riverview. Proceeds from the debut concert will benefit the Florida Manatee and Aquatic Center at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo......more