The Ybor City Stogie

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Chris Cano's Tampa City Council Recommendations

District 1: Sonja Brookins

District 2: Robin Lockett

District 3: Lynn Hurtak

District 4: Bill Carlson

District 5: Orlando Gudes

District 6: Hoyt Prindle III

We need a shake up and a council that will challenge Mayor Jane Castor’s plan to dumpy shitty water with chemicals into our drinking water and a council that will stop her rubber stamp of police misconduct at TPD.

Florida GOP permitless gun bill gaining traction

Ron DeSantis Carves Out a Brand as a Book-Burning, Anti-LGBTQ+, Racist Authoritarian

Ideological attacks on public education are central to the politics of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is carving out a brand as a book-burning, gay-phobic, transphobic, racist authoritarian. A Fauci-hater and anti-vax hero of right-wing media, DeSantis restricted instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation with his "Don't Say Gay" law. He limited what schools can teach about racism and diversity with his "Stop WOKE" law. He rejected math textbooks en masse for what the state called "prohibited topics," such as critical race theory; and he banned an Advanced Placement course in African-American studies for high school students on the grounds that it is a tool for "political indoctrination." Playing the wannabe tough guy, he wants to troll his way to the White House as America's premiere culture warrior.

More HERE

Trump Attacks DeSantis In Late Night Tweet Storm

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Harsh Symmetry in Ybor City

Crowbar - Ybor City

Conservatives Are Starting To Panic Over Ron DeSantis' Authoritarian Power Grab

The Tampa Soulwalk will pay tribute to the city's rich Black history

The city of Tampa is celebrating the area's Black heritage with a trail that will spotlight area landmarks and tell the stories of people and events that help shaped the city's rich Black history.

According to a news release, the Tampa Soulwalk will be a 46-mile route that will encompass 25 neighborhoods and take visitors on a tour of some of Tampa's most historic Black landmarks — including churches, cemeteries, and other historic locations.

More HERE

DeSantis gets 7-figure checks from top GOP donors as he soft launches presidential campaign

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intensifies his preparation for a White House bid, several of the wealthiest and most prolific Republican donors are already giving him a major financial boost.

Trader and investor Jeffrey Yass donated $2.5 million to DeSantis’ state political committee on February 7, according to online records maintained by the organization, Friends of Ron DeSantis. And Jude and Christopher Reyes, the billionaire brothers behind one of the country’s largest beer and food distributors, each gave DeSantis’ committee $1 million last week as well.

More HERE

Kate Connolly for New Port Richey Mayor

HELP HER HERE

Sumner Visits Ybor City

Progressive Millennials for Office

Hello Ybor City Stogie readers,

This local election year is fantastic for young, progressive people to run for office. Here are a few that you should support:

Kate Connolly, former Campaign Manager for Commissioner Pat Kemp, consultant, & activist, running for Mayor of New Port Richey! Help her here

Tyler Barrett, Southern Strategies President, activist, & Ybor Stogie highlight running for Tampa City Council! Help him here

Asher Edelson (that’s me!), School Board member, Democratic Town Chair, & teacher running for Bennington Select Board! Help him Here

Please contribute, spread the word, and — depending on where you live —vote for us. Thank you! Stay groovy! - Asher

Local independence or State overreach?

Hello Stogie readers,

Please be on the lookout for ill tempered posturing from Tallahassee, as Governor DeSantis looks to micromanage School districts statewide. He wants to build up challengers to School Board members such as Jessica Vaughn and Nadia Combs.

If you want to keep them in office and prevent a far right ideologue from entering, please volunteer for and vote for school board members who are on the people’s side. I guarantee you that Ron DeSantis and company do not care about technical education, teacher pay, or mental healthcare. He wants to control Florida and exercise quasi authoritarian policies to shape the state into his political playground. Support your local officials over the malfeasance above them.
— Asher

DeSantis’s preferred brand of Fascism

Some of today’s scapegoating Republicans looking to decry the media, attempting to curb the freedoms and liberties of others remind us of other dark figures in world history, leading us to insinuate that they are bordering on Fascism if they have not landed there already.

Lots More HERE

Ron DeSantis hilariously fails at talking foreign policy

Gov. DeSantis targets 5 Tampa Bay area School Board members, including Jessica Vaughn

Gov. Ron DeSantis, along with House Speaker Paul Renner and the conservative group Moms for Liberty, rolled out a list of 14 School Board members they will target in the 2024 election cycle.

The list includes Hillsborough County School Board members Nadia Combs and Jessica Vaughn; Pinellas County School Board members Laura Hine and Eileen Long; and Sarasota County School Board member Tom Edwards.

More HERE

As feds soften on pot, Tina Polsky sees traction for bill protecting medical marijuana users

Sen. Tina Polsky is hoping the third time will be the charm for legislation protecting medical marijuana users from facing job discrimination, as President Joe Biden is now on her side — in a way.

The Boca Raton Democrat’s bill (SB 972) aims to prevent public employees from suffering career setbacks because of a positive marijuana test if they are qualified to use medical marijuana. Polsky said she took up the cause after hearing from a medical marijuana user who was not hired after a urine test came back positive.

More HERE

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Congressman Maxwell Frost Interview

Lawmakers give DeSantis $10 million more to move migrants

Fewer than five months after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration flew about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Mass. – a move that ended up costing the state around $1.5 million and is the subject of legal challenges – the Republican supermajority in the legislature has granted the administration another $10 million to transport migrants from other states.....MORE

Florida high school athletes won't have to report their periods after emergency vote BUT...

The Florida High School Athletic Association's board of directors has voted 14-2 to remove questions about high school athletes' menstrual history from a required health form for participation in high school athletics.

Thursday's emergency meeting focused on the debate around menstrual cycle information. But in a less-discussed change to the requirements for Florida athletes, the newly adopted form asks students to list their "sex assigned at birth." The previous version asked only for "sex."

More HERE

Ron DeSantis’s war on “woke” in Florida schools, explained

This article explains a number of the topics associated with Ron DeSantis' attack on the educational system here in Florida.

The topics explained are:

The ongoing book banning campaign
Rejecting AP African American studies with the Stop WOKE Act
Eliminating DEI programs and initiatives
Cracking down on coursework
Dismantling tenure and tamping down on hiring
Targeting trans health care
The Hostile takeover of the progressive New College of Florida

Read the article HERE

Florida classroom bookshelves left empty as education reform law goes into effect

Jacksonville teacher Andrea Phillips spent Literacy Week packing up her classroom library.

Phillips, who specializes in helping students who have trouble reading, was told that until all books could be vetted and verified to be in compliance with Florida's education laws, they would need to be put away.

More HERE