Justice for the Tampa 5!

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society organizes around progressive issues on the University of South Florida campus.

Our current campaign is to Increase Black Enrollment and to Save Diversity at our school in lieu of recent attacks from governor Ron DeSantis on diversity, critical race theory, LGBTQ+ students, and women and gender studies. We are fighting these attacks from DeSantis, especially in the form of the trans healthcare survey at Florida colleges, the closing of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion boards at New College of Florida, and the newly introduced HB 999 which further restrains diversity, education and even multicultural clubs. Tampa Bay SDS held a protest to Mobilize to Save Diversity at which student protestors were brutalized, arrested, and assaulted by campus police. The Tampa 4 are four of the students that were arrested during this protest held to defend diversity at their school (USF) and resist DeSantis' attacks. A month after the protestor another student was added on to the criminal and academic charges, making them the Tampa 5. Donate to help the Tampa 5 with legal fees as well as those that have lost their jobs to the situation. Justice for the Tampa 5! Drop the charges now!

After having a very successful Emergency Conference to Defend the Tampa 5 with over 100 people attending from across the country, an Emergency Committee to Defend the Tampa 5 was formed from those in attendance. At the conference the committee resolved to do whatever is in our power to demand that the charges on the Tampa 5 be dropped. To raise the awareness of their case and to nationalize their case as well as organize around the country for the cause of Justice for the Tampa 5, the Tampa 5 will be going on a speaking tour. They have already spoken coast to coast in Miami and Seattle with more dates and cities in the planning. With travel and housing costs in mind please support us in this venture to nationalize the case of the Tampa 5. Donate to help the Tampa 5 raise their case to the national level through their national speaking tour!

Sign the petition HERE

Tampa Hoods: Ybor Heights

Nebraska Ave

Geo's Fine Wine & Champagne Bar in Ybor City

Ron DeSantis rolls out plan to remove ‘woke mind virus’ from the military

Ron DeSantis continues to root out the so-called “woke mind virus,” which he now says is in the U.S. Armed Forces, and which he intends to remove if elected President.

In South Carolina, the Florida Governor and presidential candidate excoriated a “military that has been ordered by civilian officials to pursue political ideology, to pursue social experimentation, to be yet another institution in American life that gets infected with the woke mind virus.”

More HERE

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Carne Asada

Rica, Beans and Salad

El Sabor de Mexico

320 W. Waters Ave - Tampa

New College of Florida facing 'ridiculously high' level of faculty turnover

Amid heavy turnover, New College of Florida officials are in the process of filling 36 faculty positions ahead of the fall semester.

New College has secured signed offer letters for 15 incoming visiting faculty members as it looks to address what Provost Brad Thiessen called a “ridiculously high” level of turnover compared to previous years.

More HERE

Trump notified he is target in DOJ’s Jan. 6 investigation

Former President Trump said Tuesday morning that he has been alerted he is a target of the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 investigation focusing on his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. 

Trump said he received the “target letter” Sunday evening.

“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment.”

Mpre HERE

Democrats push DHS for plan to root out internal extremists

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

More than 60 congressional Democrats are calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detail “actions you have taken to weed out extremists within your ranks,” citing a report finding that members of far-right groups have ties to the department.

The letter, signed by members of both chambers, cites a Project on Government Oversight report from last year that found that more than 300 individuals of the far-right Oath Keepers militia “described themselves as current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security.”

More HERE

Migrant workers, advocates sue Florida over immigration law

Migrant workers and legal advocate groups are filing a lawsuit challenging Florida’s newest immigration law, Senate Bill 1718, which some consider to be the state’s toughest immigration crackdown to date.....MORE

It IS a racist state.....and Genocidal

A Democratic member of Congress may be trying to walk back her condemnation of Israel as a “racist state,” but for Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott, it’s too little, too late.....MORE

You've Gotta Try This: Tampa's On Swann

Millions could lose internet access next year — we can’t let that happen

Programs like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) bridge the gap between thriving industries and the over 18.5 million enrolled households that would otherwise lack access to adequate and affordable broadband connections, allowing them to participate and excel in educational and professional pursuits. The ACP has been successful in helping underserved communities thrive, but its funding is projected to exhaust by 2024 if Congress doesn’t approve investments that match the need for connectivity in this country.....MORE

MTG and Gaetz File FRIVOLOUS Federal Lawsuit they will Regret

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Stewed Chicken

Rice, Beans and Cabbage

$6.49 Lunch Special 

Hines Caribbean Cuisine

3313 N. Nebraska Ave, Ybor Heights

Tampa's Best Jamaican Food!

Ybor City Vibrant Nightlife: A Walking Tour Experience

Tampa Hoods: Ybor City

15th St

The Republicans’ culture wars are dooming the party to failure

The Republican Party is ramping up its focus on far-right culture war fights, setting the stage for these hot-button social issues to be the centerpiece of their platform in 2024, which will invariably cost them winnable races next year.....MORE

Protesting is NOT a Crime...Justice for the Tampa 5!

DeSantis knows his policies are deeply unpopular with the people of Florida. That’s why the state (@SuzyLopezSA) is trying to criminalize those who protest against him, including the #Tampa5 who are being charged with felonies. Help us fight the charges!: https://tinyurl.com/tampa5.

Donate to the legal fund HERE

Sign the petition HERE

PRIVATE ARMY: Ex-military DEFECT from DeSantis’ Florida State Guard

The first group of trainees for Florida’s own state army graduated today, but only after many original enlistees quit due to the combat training required — something which was entirely at odds with the stated mission of the newly reformed Florida State Guard.....MORE

Tampa city councilman hopes Ybor City could see return of bricks to historic 7th Avenue

Ybor City is about rolling cigars, crowing roosters and bricks. They’re almost everywhere you look, and some want more bricks.....MORE

Fox Host Asks Ron DeSantis Why His Campaign Sucks So Badly

Fox host Maria Bartiromo didn't hold back during an interview with Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis over the weekend, and she asked him frankly what has happened to his campaign. She pointed out that he is losing ground in the polls as Trump's support grows, and DeSantis simply laughed it off like it was no big deal. DeSantis is quickly becoming the biggest flop that the Republicans have had in a long time, and the real reason is glaringly obvious, as Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains.

DeSantis won’t decriminalize cannabis if elected president, but would any other candidate?

Taking questions on the campaign trail in South Carolina last month, Ron DeSantis was asked by a man, who would identify himself only as speaking on behalf of military veterans who have endured illness and injury while serving, whether he would decriminalize marijuana if elected president next year.

DeSantis said he would not.

More HERE

Florida Gov. DeSantis’ Presidential Camp Cutting Campaign Staff Amid Financial Pressure

GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is cutting campaign staff as he battles to catch up to former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary contest while facing unexpected financial pressure.....MORE

California’s Death Valley reaches 128 degrees

Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.....MORE

Ybor Paparazzi

Charlotte

All Hell Breaks Loose When Dem Lawmaker Tells Matt Gaetz To His Face: 'You Are Exhausting'

Tampa Locavore

Gaby at El Sabor de Mexico in Tampa

Crisis Center of Tampa Bay sees calls triple since 988 implementation

Since the launch of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline one year ago, nearly five million calls, text messages and online chats have been placed through the hotline, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.....MORE

Tampa 5 Rally - 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Tampa

Help them HERE

Sign the petition HERE