Monday, June 17, 2013

J.R.R. Tolkien Would be Arrested Under Florida Law


We can thank our very own Darryl Rouson from St. Pete for all this.

Fundraising Reception In Honor Of Mary Mulhern

Candidate for Hillsborough County Commission, Dist. 7 (county-wide)
Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Home of Mark Anderson & Keith Bucklew
3110 W. Agawan St. Tampa
Cocktails and Appetizers will be served
Suggested Contribution Levels: $50-$100 (Supporter), $250 (Host)
info

Prospective Juror, Potential Voter

On the third day of jury selection f o r State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman
Potential juror No. 2 moved to the area four months ago and could tell you everything that happened on The Real Housewives of New Jersey , her favorite show, but not much about the shooting. 'What is your source of news?' the state attorney asked. 'It's … nothing,' she said.
Potential juror No. 3 Do you subscribe or have an opportunity to read the Orlando Sentinel  ,' the lawyers asked. 'I do subscribe,' No. 3 said, 'but it's mainly for the coupons.'
Potential juror No. 4 The first African-American said he doesn't 'do newspapers' and watches Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. He says he objected to the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson 'saber rattling' and to Rep. Wilson, D-Fla., who said Martin had been 'hunted down like a rabid dog.'
Potential juror No. 5 let the court know she had three dogs, four cats, a couple of lizards, a crow and ferrets (or did she say parrots?), gets the newspaper, but does not read it. She uses it to line the cage. 'The only time I see them is when I put them down on the floor,' she said. 'It's media. I'm not a big fan.' 'How do you get news?' the state attorney asked. 'I don't,' she said. 'I let my hus­band deal with it.'
Potential juror No. 13 Gets all her news from church.
And Potential juror No.19 Gets his/hers from Facebook.
'The jury system puts a ban upon intelligence and honesty, and a premium upon ignorance, stupidity and
perjury,' wrote Mark Twain in Roughing It . 'I wish to so alter it as to put a premium on intelligence and
character, and close the jury box against idiots, blacklegs, and people who do not read newspapers.'
opefully these folks are part of the 50% who don't vote.
here

Florida Summer BreakSpot

Saw this on the side of a HART bus.
•WHAT? Free food and fun all summer long
•WHO? Kids and teens 18 and under
•WHERE? At a location near you!
Through the Summer BreakSpot, free, healthy breakfasts, lunches and snacks are available to anyone 18 and under all summer long!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

In November, We'll Remember


On June 4, 2013 Governor Rick Scott vetoed a commonsense bill that would have let over 100,000 legal immigrants, known as DREAMers, obtain driver's licenses. The bill passed the Florida legislature 151-2. Floridians will remember Scott's failure to embrace bipartisan solutions and impose his rigid ideology on our state.

WMNFs Americana/Roots Festival

Saturday Jun 29 4:00PM - Skipper's Smokehouse Tampa

More Hillsborough County Corporate Welfare

The state and Hillsborough County are poised to reward an out-of-state corporate giant that has avoided collecting Florida sales tax for more than a decade by offering it millions in tax incentives to finally hire Floridians and contribute to the state's economy. Gov. Rick Scott tried to sell his tentative agreement with Amazon on Thursday as another sign that he is improving Florida's economy. Don't be fooled. Amazon is once again getting just what it wants — access to the Florida market at less cost than competitors who have been here for decades.
more
Buy Local!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Tea Party Senators Kick Off Ralph Reed's God Fest


Marco Rubio revisited his campaign theme of American exceptionalism. He used a biblical passage from Matthew chapter 5 to encourage activists to keep bringing their faith into their political activism, especially, he said, at a time when people are told they should silence their faith. Rand Paul of Kentucky told activists that there is a worldwide “war on Christianity” that is being waged not only by “liberal elites” but also by American taxpayers through the country’s financial support of countries that persecute Christians. “American taxpayer dollars are being used to enable a war on Christianity in the Middle East.”
more
Visit my post Republicans And Jesus.

Support Democracy - One Pint At A Time

Drinking Liberally Brandon
Every Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm
Square 1 Burgers, 2042 Badlands Dr in Brandon
info

Big-Box Opponents Demand Written Answers

Certified letters were sent to all seven Hillsborough County Commissioners by representatives of CAN-DO, under whose auspices residents are fighting a proposed big-box retail and apartment complex development off Bloomingdale Avenue.
more

Allen West Blames Progressive Socialist Policies

Former Rep. Allen West and Tea Party favorite who once said President Obama wants Americans to be his slaves, invoked D.C. in his speech at today's Faith and Freedom Coalition conference to make an offensive point about progressive social policies. When discussing President Obama's social policies, West, a Republican who represented Florida for one term, told the predominately white crowd, according to the National Journal:
Some of you maybe will leave this beautiful hotel where you're having this conference and go into some of the black neighborhoods here in Washington, D.C., and see the decimation of progressive socialist policies that have broken down the family unit in what used to be the strongest family community that this great country ever knew.
here

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Hispanic Politicians In Tampa Fight Back

"This is a blatant slap in the face to my constituents in District 62 and the Hispanic community," state Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, said at the news conference Tuesday.
Tampa City Council Chairman Charlie Miranda and Hillsborough County School Board member Susan Valdes were also present.
The bill, HB 235, would have allowed some children of undocumented immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to
get a Florida driver's license through President Barack Obama's "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" policy,
which was instituted last year. HB 235 passed unanimously in the state Senate and 115-2 in the House.
nore, And here, Sign Petition here

Let's Give The Panhandle To Georgia And Alabama

Did rejection of Medicaid expansion help House Republicans?
In the first referendum since House Republicans bypassed more than $50 billion in federal aid for health care, Mike Hill, a 55-year-old tea party Republican insurance agent, won 57.9 percent of the vote in a Northwest Florida district that has an economy dominated by hospitals as well as the military -- which is weathering a sequester deal rife with budget cuts forced by congressional Republicans. Hill’s Democratic opponent, labor-union leader Jeremy Lau, mustered 42.1 percent of the vote in a special election held after Rep. Clay Ford died in March. Lau, a 40-year-old aircraft mechanic for L-3 Com Vertex Aerospace, a military contractor at Pensacola Naval Station, had made Medicaid expansion his No. 1 issue.
here
Put an R at the end of your name and some folks will vote for you no matter what.

Taylor Chapman Of Fort Lauderdale

 Taylor Chapman  filmed and shared a video over the weekend of her screaming racist insults at Dunkin’ Donuts workers in Fort Lauderdale over a request for free food that was not immediately granted. The woman, identified by The Smoking Gun as 27-year-old Taylor Chapman, visited the eatery a night prior and demanded to have her meal price refunded when her cashier was slow to hand over a receipt. Another associate asked her to return the next morning and speak with a manager, which supposedly led to the confrontation seen on the video.
 “This shit’s about to go live, bitch!” Chapman screams at a female employee. “Right on Facebook, ’cause I already posted what your dumb ass did last night, so I hope you’re happy with your little fucking sand n—er self… I’m about to nuke your whole fucking planet from Mars. You think ya’ll are tough, big fat Arabs bombin’ the trade center? I’ll show you tough.”
She also called the employee “a complete cunt sand n—er whore,” and shouted: “I just want my bacon crispy and my people to be nice.” Chapman is even heard on the video wishing the footage gets “a million fucking hits,” which is likely a low estimate of the views it will get thanks to all the media attention since Monday.
more

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Just Say No To Rays Stadium In Tampa

Corporate Welfare For MLB, Billionaire Owners and multi millionaire Players!
Leaders split on using downtown Tampa tax for Rays ballpark. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn's staff caused a stir 18 months ago when they said the city might be able to generate $100 million for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium from downtown property taxes. That could go a long way toward helping to pay for a potential $500 million or $600 million ballpark.
here
As i mention in my post on Feb. 8th, Remember what happened in Arlington, Texas.

2013 Florida Middle Class Champions

Thank Florida's Middle Class Champions
here

Who Is Running The Asylum?

Right-Wing Media Plead With Rubio To "Walk Away" From Senate Immigration Reform Bill
Ingraham: Rubio Will "Rue The Day That He Became The Gang Of Eight's Poodle" Unless He Walks Away From Immigration Reform.
Bill Kristol: Rubio Should Walk Away From Immigration Reform.
Michelle Malkin: "Why Doesn't Rubio Form A Gang Of One And Dare Washington" To Pass Stricter Immigration Security.
Breitbart.com: Rubio Should "Put The Security Of Our Nation First" And Vote No On Immigration Reform.
here

Monday, June 10, 2013

Florida Right-Wing Blogger Running For Congress

Conservative blogger Jorge Bonilla from the right-wing Florida blog the Shark Tank announced that he is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress in Florida. He will be facing off with Congressman
Alan Grayson, in Florida’ 9th Congressional District.
here

Stormsian

What ever The Times is paying Sue Carlton it is not enough.
One day down the road, the silver-haired grandmas and grandpas of Hillsborough County may gather the children close to tell the tale of Ronda Storms and all she once wrought. How she had a heart of fire and brimstone and also the hearts of not a few like-minded voters. And how one day in 2005, in less than two minutes at a Hillsborough County Commission meeting, she used her powers to sway, or maybe in some cases to cow, the board into voting to send a message across the land.

The Worst Charity In America


Is right here In Holiday
 Every year, Kids Wish Network raises millions of dollars in donations in the name of dying children and their families. Every year, it spends less than 3 cents on the dollar helping kids.
here

Sign Posted for Bloomingdale Big-Box Meeting With Al Higginbotham

 Bloomingdale residents opposed to a big-box development in their community are making sure Bloomingdale Avenue residents know about the June 10 meeting with Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham.
here

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Dress Code In Tampa

Amana Food Market Busch Blvd  In Tampa

UPS Teamsters In Tampa Bay Organize

 Around the country, 250,000 Teamsters are voting on a proposed 5-year contract between the Teamsters and United Parcel Service. Teamster President Hoffa and the contract negotiators are also urging members to vote yes. They have sent out three different letters to the 250,000 members, full of skewed information promoting this tentative agreement. In Tampa, workers have been active in getting the word out. At the beginning of contract negotiations, part-time Teamsters started wearing shirts around the building which said, “UPS part-time poverty”In the UPS Tampa building there are part-timers who have waited more than ten years for a full-time job and there are plenty still waiting for the opportunity.

St. Pete Pride

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Green Party of Tampa

Our planning meetings are on the second Wednesday of every month.
This month’s meeting is on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 7:00pm at
Sacred Grounds Coffee House in Tampa. There has never been a better time to come to a planning meeting and introduce yourself to your fellow Greens!  
We’ll see you there!

The Ever-Evolving GOP Arsenal

How Republicans Use Pot Law Enforcement To Disenfranchise African-Americans 
 There are many tactics in the ever-evolving Republican Party arsenal for keeping African-Americans and other minorities from voting in a post Jim Crow era. One of the least understood and most effective way of taking blacks off the voting rolls, especially in the South, has been to prevent felons from voting and then arresting every black man in site on marijuana charges.

I am Bradley Manning


Visit them here

"The 'Storms' Behind Us Celebration

Andrea and Ronda!
Equality Florida and other rights groups are inviting people to the event getting called "Join Commissioner Beckner -- Pride is Back in Hillsborough"  a congratulatory party for local hero Commissioner Kevin Beckner, who helped make it happen. The event is from 4-6 p.m. Sunday at Hamburger Mary's Bar & Grille, 1600 E 7th Ave in Ybor City.
info

Friday, June 7, 2013

A Tampa Bay Treasure: Hong Kong Willie

Watch 112: Hong Kong Willie on PBS. See more from WEDU Arts Plus.

A Tampa Bay arts & artifacts business transforms trash
and found objects.

Sen. Graham: FBI Holding Back On 9/11 Probe

Former Sen. Bob Graham has accused the FBI in court papers of having impeded a joint congressional inquiry into 9/11 by withholding information about a Florida connection to the al-Qaeda attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.The information includes a recently declassified FBI report that ties a Saudi family who once lived in Sarasota "to individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/1 1/2001.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Ronda This One Is For You


Kevin Beckner Rips Hillsborough County's Anti-Gay Pride Law. Before Board Repeals It.
Originally pushed through by hatemonger Ronda Storms in 2005. Back then, only Kathy Castor voted against it. She's now a beloved US Congresswoman, Ms. Srorms is home somewhere in Valrico. Celebrate! A vestige of Ronda's time eliminated with Drinking Liberally tonight 7pm, at Square 1 Burgers in Brandon

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Republican Brand

They eat their own
Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum (a religious right group), and former chairwoman of the Texas Republican party, said in a presentation at a Tea Party meeting that GOP anti-tax activist Grover Norquist is a secret Muslim because, among other things, he sports a beard.
here
Reaching out to African-Americans
Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote,” per Texas Tea Party.
here
Reaching out to young people
A bill filed in the North Carolina General Assembly this week would remove the state income tax deduction for dependents who register at an address other than their parents.  In other words, parents of college kids would be punished with a new tax if their kids registered to vote at school – thus pressuring the kids not to register to vote.
here
Reaching out to women
•Education troubles began when mothers started working.
•"Liberalized policies" encourage military sexual assault.
•"It's not sexist" for men to be dominant over women, "it's science.
•Hormones found in nature" drive men to sexual assault.
All of it came out of the mouths of prominent Republicans. In the last week.
here
Reaching out to hispanics
Coulter: America has too many Latino, Mexican immigrants.
here
Pic: ZZ Top a Kick-ass American rock band from Houston, Texas. They are not Muslim.

The Citrus Taliban: Pahokee Edition

This June, Lake Okeechobee Resort in Florida will be hosting a Summer Solstice festival. The Lake Okeechobee Summer Solstice Festival will feature workshops on Celtic Reconstructionism, drumming, belly dancing, gardening, and runes, with musical performances by Lord Alexian, Hecate’s Wheel, and others. It is the first such festival in Pahokee, Florida, and if the local Christians have their way, it will be the last.

Florida's Michele Bachmann


Allen West Talks Possible Obama Impeachment
What is Alen West up to these days besides trying to impeach Obama?
has converted his campaign committee to a federal PAC and registered it as Deep Strike PAC. Deep Strike PAC will support or oppose more than one federal candidate and is affiliated with the Allen West Guardian Fund, his leadership PAC. The treasurer is Gregory Wilder in Deland, Florida......here
 He might run for president in 2016.....here
And still stoking conservative paranoia.....here

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Tea Party In Tampa

 Obama Is Targeting Whites And Christians
According to John Junstrom of Tampa who along with his crazy comrades hung out at IRS office in Tampa. Decked in red, white and blue and waving American flags, some in the crowd of about 120 people on Columbus Drive wore shirts declaring themselves patriots, proud to be Americans.
more
Wasn't the head of the IRS at the time this was going on appointed by President Bush?

Florida's Bill Nelson - Let The Poor Starve

 28 Senate Democrats voted with the Republicans
Our own Bill Nelson was one of them.
Kirsten Gillibrand a Dem. from NY proposed to restore the $4 billion that the current farm bill--designed by Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS)--cuts from SNAP (Supplemental Food Assistance, known as food stamps and to offset this restored funding with a limitation on crop insurance reimbursements. Our current crop insurance subsidies benefit large farms at the expense of smaller ones and are one of the many glaring manifestations of corporate welfare that Congress never fixes.  Gillibrand's amendment would, in essence, cut corporate welfare spending to restore social welfare spending.......more
Click to Take Action
Nelson will be a speaker at the Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. This is the guy the FDP wants to run for governor? Check out Nan Rich. A real democrat.

Tampa protests Florida Senator Marco Rubio

 Protesters gathered in front of Senator Marco Rubio’s Tampa office to criticize the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate and to demand, “Legalization for all!”
here
Poor guy he is getting it from all directions.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Tampa Light Brigade

Visit them on Facebook

Students Irises Scanned At A Polk County School

JJ-Gate: Liberal Champion Nan Rich

Alot is being said about the Florida Democratic Party not allowing Nan Rich to speak at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. RPOF chairman Lenny Curry is loving every minute. Here's a message he sent out to Democrat Voters in Florida, and they have launch a "FreeNanRich" Twitter campaign.
Anthony Man of the Sun Sentinel writes "Republicans are having some fun rubbing salt in the Democratic Party wounds over the state Democratic chairwoman’s refusal to allow gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich a speaking slot at the big party fundraising dinner next month in Hollywood." But fellow Tampa Bay liberal blogger Michael Hussey of Pushing Rope said it best when he wrote: " This has less to do with the FDP and more to do with the DNC clearing the way for a Charlie Crist or Bill Nelson campaign." Why does the Democratic Party always brush aside as Howard Dean put it many years ago "The Democratic wing of the Democratic Party". Lets look at who is speaking, Charlie Crist? Ex Republican, Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Democrat In Name Only and Bill Nelson? Center Right at best.

The Citrus Taliban Protest 'Gay Day

Several Religious Right groups are protesting Disney's annual 'Gay Day' at their theme parks. The Florida Family Association has two airplanes flying banners in English and Spanish over Central Florida, warning people to avoid Disney World because there will be people “promoting their various alternative lifestyles.” The Christian-advocate group One Million Moms claims Gay Day “is planned with the intent to expose and desensitize children to this lifestyle by
same-sex couples holding hands, hugging and kissing.”
In their e-newsletter, One Million Moms states: "How would you feel if you entered the Magic Kingdom anticipating a normal day of fun with your family only to witness thousands of same-sex couples holding hands, hugging, kissing and wearing tee-shirts that promoted their lifestyle?"
here
“Gay Day” at Disney World is EVIL!
here
Cash is good no matter where it comes from. Walt Disney World merchandise shops are preparing for the upcoming annual Gay Days event at the Magic Kingdom. Shops within the theme park are featuring red shirts with rainbow-colored Mickey Mouse heads, as well as rainbow mugs, wallets and more.
here

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Rally At MacDill For Bradley Manning

For more pics here
I must say the 2 TPD officers that were there were very nice. They even stopped  traffic on  Dale Mabry so the protesters could get across.

Rep. Kathy Castor’s Exceptional Courage

In a first for U.S. politics, a Florida member of Congress is becoming a figurehead for the U.S. movement to normalize relations with Cuba. The Center for Democracy in the Americas, a Washington-based advocacy group, highlights Rep. Kathy Castor’s increasingly prominent role by honoring her on June 27 for “exceptional courage” in speaking and acting in favor
of dropping the U.S. embargo and travel ban.
here
Pic: Ms. Castor with Cuban dissident/blogger Yoani Sanchez Mar 29, 2013 in DC.

Endangered Tiger Cub Trio Born at Busch Gardens

Three endangered Malayan Tiger cubs were born at Busch Gardens Tampa on March 31. The litter consists of two males and one female, each weighing between six and seven pounds.

Cuba Journal: An Open E-Mail to Barack Obama

Cuba Journal repudiates and condemns your failed policies toward Cuba. Cuba IS NOT a terrorist state. What you should do instead is put a stop to your extra-judicial executions with unmanned drones throughout the world. That constitutes real state-sponsored terrorism.
here
Sign Petition

Saturday, June 1, 2013

John Stemberger: Florida Family Policy Council


'Anything That Has the Word 'Gay' on it [is] Inappropriate for Kids'
John Stemberger is the president of the Florida Family Policy Council, a conservative Republican group.

Good News For The Keys

Zarubezhneft abandons offshore drilling in Cuba, for now
More than one month after the owner of a drilling platform said it would pull its rig from Cuba, state oil company Unión CubaPetróleo (Cupet) announced in a terse official note that Russian state company OAO Zarubezhneft postponed further offshore exploration. The pullout effectively ends all offshore exploratory drilling in Cuba, for now.
here
We must do all we can to discourage Cuba from drilling off it's coast. Venezuela has all the oil they need.
 If they want to resurrect the cash-starved Cuban economy they should find another way.

Right-Wing Attacts Rubio In Florida

Anti-Immigration Reform
A group called Californians for Population Stabilization said it has spent $100,000 to run a week's worth of ads. Already seen in Brevard County, anti-immigration reform TV ads have popped up
in Tampa and Orlando.
here
Another group called Floridians for Immigration Enforcement have erected a billboard attacking Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s proposed immigration bill along I-75.
here
Hang in there Mr. Rubio. These people better be thankful they were not around when their ansestors Immigrated to America.

Tampa Hotbed Of Apologists And Proponents Of The Castro Regime

It seems that Tampa has now become a hotbed for apologists and proponents of the vile Castro regime. This motley crew of elected officials and community leaders led by U.S. Representative Kathy Castor are expending large amounts of energy and money to defend and promote the lawless regime of the Castro family, which is the bloodiest dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere.".......Alberto de la Cruz