Monday, December 3, 2018
Sunday, December 2, 2018
2020 Vision with Asher
My candidate will need to be anti war. Someone who supports a full withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen will earn gratitude from those who recognize the atrocity that is our War on Terror. These wars have kept the vacuum of terror wide open, poured billions of dollars per year away like expensive cat litter on an open wound, and cost thousands of American lives, not to mention thousands more veterans traumatically injured for life; not to mention the colossal damage we have done to the countries we have indefinitely occupied, whether in terms of massive instability or thousands dead and maimed. The War on Terror, and the money spent on appeasing defense contractors, must be controlled and stopped. This does not mean end counter terrorism or become isolationist. This means end the wars.
My candidate will need to oppose the War on Drugs. The legalization of cannabis nationwide should be a top priority. The decriminalization of other, harder drugs should also be on the agenda. Putting people in jail for use or possession of drugs does not solve the drug issue, it only exacerbated it, putting a strain on marginalized communities and taxpayers. We should follow examples like in Portugal where drug epidemics have been tackled by ending drug wars. We should hurt the black market and cartels by legalizing cannabis and decriminalizing other drugs. We should liberate non violent drug users/possessors by ending the abysmal War on Drugs.
My candidate will support environmental protection. In this, they should be an advocate for alternative energy, carbon taxes, and keeping corporations from polluting as they please. They should be in favor of healthcare expansion, ADA expansion, and securing liberties for the trans community. They should be opposed to “Teach to Test” education and support the protection of public education. They should support worker rights like a living wage, unionization, and safe workplaces. They should be progressive, independent minded, bold on the issues, and possess quality character.
With all of that said, I like Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Gillum, Jeff Merkley, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Who do you like that will be good on the issues I mentioned?
Florida's Culture Of Corruption
Without draconian voting systems in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas, the GOP may not have survived the midterms with its Senate majority. source
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Rick Scott removes elections supervisor
Katherine Harris 2000
REMEMBER ME Y'all?
Republicans for the Rule of Law
A group of Republicans founded by conservative commentator Bill Kristol who are mobilizing against the president’s efforts to politicize the Department of Justice. It’s funded by the group Defending Democracy Together.
We represent the majority of Republicans who believe Robert Mueller should
not be fired.”
not be fired.”
Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival
"Tampa friends! One of my fave #indiefilm directors/grad school friends Lonnie Martin has a screening in your town next week!"
Dawn Michelle Morgan
Dawn Michelle Morgan
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Gulf of Mexico Fracking Dump
Environmentalists are warning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its draft plan to continue allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico is in violation of federal law. more
Friday, November 30, 2018
Ken Hagan Has Gone Rogue
He wants to sue 10News WTSP over a story claiming he improperly coordinated with Darryl Shaw, the owner of six properties within the footprint of a proposed Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in Ybor City.
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Mayor Rick Kriseman, in a series of tweets, called for Hagan to be removed from his role in leading Hillsborough's efforts to bring the Rays to Tampa.
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"He’s gone rogue from his fellow commissioners throughout this process, and now questions have been raised related to potential unethical or criminal behavior," Kriseman said in a statement. more
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Last year he wanted go after citizens who filed ethics complaints against him. more
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Kenny is out of control,
he should of been beaten,
what happened?
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
10 News Report on Ken Hagan's criminal behavior
I have been trying to obtain the agenda for the next Board of County Commissioners public meeting on December 5 but, conveniently, the person who posts their agendas is on vacation until Nov. 28. From now until Dec. 5, I will be gathering as much information as I can concerning these illegal secret negotiations and will hopefully create an event aimed at allowing the people of Hillsborough County to voice our objections to this corrupt and illegal process. It is already clear that most of the funding for this new stadium would be obtained from public funds, whether by imposing a new county tax or diverting monies from existing public funds, such as the entertainment tax or tourism tax funds. Either would be stealing funds that were meant to improve conditions for the citizens of Hillsborough and not to enrich land developer friends of Ken Hagan and Rays shareholders.
I will keep the readers of the Ybor City Stogie posted.
A socialist look at the Florida 2018 midterm results
The energy and enthusiasm surrounding Gillum’s campaign – from the dozens of well-attended rallies to the historic voter turnout – jolted life in the moribund Florida Democratic Party, which typically runs white business centrists for governor. more
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Team Shoup in Panama City
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Friday, November 23, 2018
CNN Slams Florida
The election was rigged.
West Palm, Broward and Hillsborough?
Florida's 3 Dem Bunkers
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Elvis Piggott Responds
Let’s stay focused on the real issues and make the necessary improvements- there’s no debating that favoritism and inequity exists in this organization! These practices have been allowed to go on for years - well before my run for office. It’s time we all work together to get the job done.
Elvis Piggott
Jae Ali on Elvis Piggot, Asher Edelson and the DEC
Angela Birdsong and her valid concerns with the DEC is troubling to say the least. For a great majority of her campaign Angela mostly floated on the fact that she was the only Dem on the ticket. She wasn't a dynamic speaker, very soft spoken at times. She didn't speak about her actual platform enough or even energize voters by speaking on the past of Ken Hagan enough. It was a weak campaign from the beginning but she did make strides more and more towards the end.
Elvis' live Facebook videos and new persona as a political truth teller is not only a shock but comical. For months on his campaign trail Elvis became a political minstrel. At one time I was his opponent, not only did he try to paint me as the "Angry Black Lives Matter" candidate who hates white people, he tried to present himself as the better option. A calm, cool, collected alternative. Diet negro if you will. For some reason Pastor Piggot couldn't or wouldn't stop going around letting white democrats know, that not only am I too radical but he prefers the company of white people more than black people because they're more relatable. I was fed up with the slander (from a pastor at that!) and called Elvis to ask him why he would keep trying to manipulate racial issues, why is he lying about me saying he wasn't "black enough", and how he could call himself a pastor while doing it all. I don't think Elvis ever thought he would be confronted for his lies. He hung up flustered after acknowledging his lies, then followed up via text to wish me Merry Christmas. I responded to the text letting it be known if he were to continue to spread untruths about me in hopes of gaining support from white people I would show everyone the screenshots. Elvis is a manipulative opportunist. He's not wrong about the DEC being racist because he wanted to capitalize on it to ostracize me and present himself as the only viable candidate. All in all Elvis isn't wrong about the racism within the DEC and Democratic Party as a whole, but he cares nothing about the injustice or neglect Angela faced. His motives are to create enough buzz to mount another (failed) political run.
The DEC is a political machine within America. For those who face oppression under white supremacy they understand what that means. For those who don't, black people and black candidates are not treated the same as white people. Also, it is not the job of black people to recruit more black people to the DEC to cut down on racism by providing more representation. The DEC needs to reach out to black led orgs and PAY THEM to give them classes on racial bias, systemic oppression, and white privilege. The DEC needs to do better.
All in all like my granny says "A broke clock is right twice a day". Elvis is right about the DEC and racism. However, he is only "exposing" wrongdoing in this way to draw attention towards himself to further try to make a name for himself. All done.
Jae Ali
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
A Response to Mr. Piggot on the DEC
I saw Mr. Piggot on the campaign trail. I didn’t hear all too much about issues, and that for me is a big deal. Being bold on specific issues such as cannabis legalization, standardized education, public transit options, and healthcare as a right should be a standard bearer for our candidates and our Democratic Party. The DEC could and should be louder on the issues, whether it helps encourage increased membership, helps candidates/elected officials to do their jobs, or both. One issue I had with Mr. Piggot’s video was his lack of attention to the issues. He discussed racism in detail, but didn’t go into his views (or the DEC’s lack thereof) on issues like Biking while Black, the War on Drugs, affordable housing, or the justice system. I’m not sitting well with that.
He mentioned my friend, State Committeeman Russ Patterson, making a statement wherein Russ said something to the effect of “In the past I haven’t always supported people due to their ethnicity/linguistics” in an effort to establish moving past that possibility toward supporting a more diverse cast of individuals—such as Jose Vasquez whom Russ was an avid surrogate for during his District 58 race. Mr. Piggot has a problem with this—It’s the case where an earnest man is coming to terms with harsh realities, and using past (not current) experiences to encourage genuine support for a candidate. I refute this as evidence of racism in the DEC or being expressed by Russ.
He mentioned how Chairwoman Ione Townsend spoke with him to encourage him out of the County Commission Election. I’m not sure what Ione’s reasons were for saying these things, but I genuinely doubt they came from a place of racism. Maybe she figured Elvis would fare better in a School Board race, or didn’t want him to sour potential relationships before gaining more political experience. Whatever her reasons, I don’t believe they were racist. Her opinion on Elvis leaving the BOCC election was not an indication that he had to leave, rather it was her opinion, and possibly the opinions of other members. He also mentioned Angela Birdsong not getting as much financial assistance from the DEC Victory Fund. I am not sure why, but I can guess that a decision was made to prioritize the countywide races in order to try and pull the entire county out to vote.
The racism argument that Elvis is making seems a lot like an issue centered around him. He only mentioned Angela and low demographics in the DEC beside issues surrounding himself. A lot of people from various identities have struggled with the DEC, the Roberts Rules, the bureaucracy, etc, but they haven’t made it a direct issue of any “ism” — like my distaste with a lack of disability representation and talk on the issues doesn’t urge me to go on an anti DEC tirade. I form good connections with people and work on a mutual decision to make things better. Still, I would like to see more black, disabled, etc labeled people join the DEC to increase membership diversity. I welcome it! I am NOT denying that racism exists in the DEC, or ableism, or sexism, or any other prejudice. I just disagree with Mr. Piggot’s take on it.
Mr. Piggot is posturing himself for a run in 2020, and possibly on December 10th when the DEC holds its next election. Let’s make something clear; at this time (not officially) I like Sky White and Gwen Miller for BOCC District 3, and Chair Ione Townsend for re-election as DEC Chair.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Congratulations Mariella Smith and Kimberly Overman
Investiture Ceremony
County Center - Tampa, Florida
The Beginning Of The End Of The Gillum Campaign
Andrew Gillum, who exploded onto the national political scene with a meteoric victory in the 2018 Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary, was the immediate favorite to win it all
on Nov. 6.
on Nov. 6.
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The stars aligned but only briefly. Gillum’s role as favorite evaporated within the first week of the general election campaign and the blame falls squarely on the candidate—not ballot counting snafus, not an FBI investigation, not racial innuendo employed by the opposition.
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The ex-mayor of Tallahassee made two fateful decisions: choosing fifth-place primary finisher Chris King, a philosophical clone, as his running mate and allowing the incompetent, impotent Florida Democratic Party to co-opt his campaign apparatus.
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