HB 7065: Florida's Culture Of Corruption

An Outright Sellout
One of the broadest assaults on the Everglades cleanup effort is speeding toward passage in the Florida House. The measure would put the state's taxpayers on the hook for pollution caused by the agriculture industry — and open an avenue for even more environmental damage down the road. Shifting cleanup costs from Big Sugar to those who are downstream from its dirty fields is Robin Hood in reverse and undermines the intent of a voters' mandate to have polluters pay.

 Gov. Rick Scott and the Senate need to stop it.

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Remembering Joyce

The Irish Belle

I've had the honor of knowing Eva for almost 20 years. I only got to know her mom Joyce for a short time before she was taken from us. She was a beautiful Irish Belle whose door to her home was always open to friends.  She loved to travel and her wanderlust has led her to many different parts of the world.
 Today on St. Patrick's Day i miss her terribly!

The Paul Ryan of Florida

Will Weatherford
This post is not about cronyism, $2,005 monthly mortgages, his troubles in Ybor City, his beautiful family or his parents giving him a fundamentalist education steeped in Scripture. 
(See How Can You Love Jesus And Be A Republican?)
This post is about Democrats. When i said the other day that the reason people like Mr.Weatherford get elected is becouse people don't get out and vote, i was wrong. According to the Times
When he first ran in 2006 Weatherford faced someone his own age: 26-year-old Donovan Brown, a Zephyrhills insurance agent who, during the home stretch of the campaign, was hospitalized for a bipolar disorder. While Democrats didn't give Brown any money, Republicans contributed $70,000 to Weatherford. He outraised Brown 575-to-1. His campaign mailers highlighted Brown's opposition to jail time for people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana."Don't let our values go to pot," the mailer stated, with Brown's face printed on a marijuana leaf.
Democrats didn't oppose Weatherford's re-election in 2008, and he still raised $214,000. When he did face opposition in 2010, he raised nearly $1 million. Weatherford won 66 percent of the vote.
Last year, he was re-elected without opposition while sitting on a war chest of $427,000.
"I've never been ashamed to ask people for big checks," he said
My point is where are the Democratic candidates, where are Libertarians, the Greens. Having a two party system is bad enough but when it becomes one well we have a
problem.Don't you think?
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Morgan and Morgan For The People

John Morgan, a major President Obama fundraiser and the boss of former Gov. Charlie Crist, is taking the reins of a Florida medical marijuana initiative, (Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act) promising to pump major money and political muscle into the popular issue.

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Great News!We should have this in the bag.

Morgan and Morgan

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

No Strip Clubs, Casinos or Liquor, Guns ok.

Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would ban those receiving government assistance from using their electronic benefits (EBT) cards at strip clubs, casinos and liquor stores. The provision banning EBT use in gun shops was stripped out in committee.

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Pic Thanks To World Of Wonder

The Weather Kids on TBCN

Bring your children to TBCN to give their own version of the weather report.
Call us at (813) 977-5200 or visit us at tbcn.org.

Illegal Ggambling's Fat Checks

Allied and affiliates pumped $2M into political campaigns.
Threatened with being shut down, the owners and operators flooded lawmakers with campaign cash and hired a stable of lobbyists with money that police now say was illegally obtained. Among the biggest contributors was Allied Veterans, the purported charity that authorities this week said illegally operated electronic slot machines at 49 Internet cafes across Florida. Allied and related companies donated $2 million to the lawmakers' campaigns and committees over at least three years, police say.
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Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg $40,000
Joe Negron, R-Palm City $25,000
Both voted against  Medicaid Expansion.
Republican Party of Florida $52,000
And even the Dems were in on it.
Florida Democratic Party $75,000

Corporate Welfare: $3,796 Per Job In Florida

 For the past 16 years, more than $80 million in state incentives backed by taxpayer money helped recruit and subsidize companies creating nearly 20,000 jobs around Tampa Bay. In more than 200 deals since 1996 by Enterprise Florida in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, the largest sum handed over to a firm is $19.6 million to California research firm SRI International. In 2009 SRI opened a marine research facility in St. Pe t e r s b u r g . The number of SRI jobs documented by the state so far: 86.

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Bikes On Buses

 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit
Go Hart

The Beer Flows Left And Right

The difference between a Conservative and a Liberal 
And the way they drink their beers.  The Conservative likes cans or bottles, it's all my you can't have any. ie When a group of diehard conservatives gathers at Keegan's on Thursdays, they pay their own tabs. And they drink Guinness or an expensive import. The Liberal likes pitchers, so he can share and when its time to buy another one everyone can chip in. ie When a group of diehard liberals gathers on Wednesday nights at the 331 Club, they all throw money into a kitty and share pitchers of beer.

I must say after drinking many beers with my Right and Left Wing friends over the years that theory is  probably true.

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Hugo's Spanish Restaurant

What Stogie Had For Lunch
Boliche
With Yellow Rice and Platanos
$8.49 at Hugo's Spanish Restaurant, 31 S Howard Ave in Tampa
This place has been on S. Howard for along time. I remember coming here back in the 80's when i lived on Davis Islands. I am sorry i stayed away so long. The food  is delicious and the price and portions are just right.

Marco Rubio: Liberal Freeloaders

Hey Rubio I Got Your Liberal Freeloader Right Here.
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Pic thanks to A Ghost in El Salvador

Tampa Bay Homeless

Meet Chris
He is from Chicago, he has only been homeless for a short time.

The Culture Of Corruption In Florida

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll
The legislature is working to pass "ethics reform" that will do little to stop the culture of corruption that's consuming Florida. Now more than ever, we need real ethics reform that will stop the worst abuses of the public trust that pervade our government.
Sign our petition
To the Florida Legislature demanding real ethics reform.

The March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food reaches Tampa!

The march completed its northward leg yesterday by reaching the city of Tampa, where the marchers were received from start to finish like conquering heroes, a reception that included a massive -- and remarkably creative -- candlelight vigil at a Publix store in Temple Terrace.
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"Don't let making a profit stand in the way of doing the right thing.".....George Jenkins
Do The Right Thing Publix

Celebrate Sunshine Week

As we celebrate Sunshine Week, I encourage readers to get involved in their local communities and promote the importance of open government and access to information. Anyone can play an active role in government and help keep public officials honest, make government more efficient and act as a check against waste, fraud and abuse of power.

Freedom of information isn't just an issue for the press; it's a cornerstone of our democracy. Join us and help make a difference in the battle against unnecessary government secrecy and waste.

You can find out more here

Stogie's Hate Mail

I don't usually post my hate mail but i thought i would share this one with everyone. I got a message in my inbox the other day that suggest i should get a Chemical castration. He/She said that me and all of my Commie Socialist loving friends should get one so as not to make any more of our kind. I didn't know what that was, so i looked it up. According to Wikipedia:

Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity. Unlike surgical castration, where the testicles or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body,[1] chemical castration does not actually castrate the person, nor is it a form of sterilization.

The key words here is "nor is it a form of sterilization". One would think if you were going to take the time to write something like this to someone you would find out what it is frirst.

St. Pete Police Threatened By Pair Of Scissors

The mother of 43-year-old Arthur Dixon Jr. called St. Petersburg police on Sunday evening because he doused himself with gasoline and threatened to take his own life. At around 7:30 p.m., the suicidal man allegedly ran at Officers Devin Jones and Curtis Wright with scissors while they were stationed at the back of the house. Both officers opened fire, hitting Dixon in the torso multiple times. He was transported to Bayfront Medical Center and pronounced dead at around 10 p.m.
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“The police assured me that they weren’t going to hurt him, that they were concerned for his safety. He has no weapons, he’s never hurt anyone ever. So, they forced him out the back of the house and they shot him three times. I want to know why they shot him, he had no weapons and he’s drunk. He has a traumatic brain injury, he’s blind in one eye, can’t see well out of the other. Why did they shoot him?”.......Lydia Andrews, Dixon’s mother.
“Scissors are a deadly weapon, they can cause great harm. They can be just as dangerous as a knife.”.......St. Petersburg police spokesperson Mike Puetz
Poor Guy!

Corporate Welfare In Florida

Stop Rick Scott's Massive Corporate Giveaway
Governor Rick Scott has spent the past two years making devastating cuts to critical services for middle class families. Now he plans to go even further by pushing through a bill this legislative session that will give big corporations another $141 million in tax breaks.
Please sign the petition from Daily Kos and our partners at Florida Watch Action as we demand that the Florida legislature reject this $141 million corporate tax break. Florida Watch Action will deliver the signatures to Florida legislators.
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You Can Beat City Hall

Great Job Dana Shores
When Dana Shores residents wanted to keep 23 acres separating their neighborhood from Tampa International Airport's runways as a scenic reserve, they did things by the book: They attended meetings and spoke to airport officials.
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Will Weatherford: What A Funny Guy

"You're just funny, y'know, the story. It's funny. You're a funny guy." Henry Hill
I read with great amusement this morning

Will Weatherford piece in The Tampa Bay Times. He is trying to explain why he and his Republican cohorts in Tallahassee voted against Medicaid expansion in Florida. He states that he is not confident in the feds given the track record of the federal government, which hasn't balanced a budget in years.
(I have smoked a lot of weed in my life but my memory is still sharp) if i remember correctly bill Clinton not only left a balanced budget but a surplus. if it wasn't for the Republicans reckless spending ( Wars on credit, Tax breaks for the rich and corporations) we would not be in the mess we are in. Then he mentions future funding for our schools, public safety, and protection of our beaches and springs. When the hell did his party ever care about teachers or the environment. He keeps trying to dig himself out of the hole he is in and it is not working. Wesley Chapel is just up the road, i will make it my goal to send this man home after his term is up.
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