florida's Land And Legacy Amendment

There's a once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure Florida protects its precious waters, wildlife, and open spaces, and we can't afford to let it pass us by. Florida’s Water and Land Legacy Campaign is working to place an historic conservation amendment on the November 2014 ballot that would ensure Florida is annually investing in critical land conservation. We need to gather 150,000 more signatures from Florida voters in the next five months. Please sign petition

Ben And Duncan's Family Blog

Copper And Wool the blog of the Kirby Family adventures from Gulfport, Florida and beyond. Ben Kirby of The Spencerian and his wife Duncan have started a new family blog. Welcome back, we have missed you guys.

Check them out here

3 Boys Farm Tee Shirt

One of Stogie's favorite local blogger Litbrit and her husband own 3 Boys Farm (Fresh, Florida organic pesticide-free grown food year-round). Check out their new T-Shirt.

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Court Replaces Voting Rights Act with Katherine Harris Acts

Grand OLD Party

Greg Palast writes, they might as well have burned a cross on Dr. King's grave. Last year, the GOP Secretary of State of Florida Ken Detzner tried to purge 180,000 Americans, mostly Hispanic Democrats, from the voter rolls. He was attempting to break Katherine Harris' record. Detzner claimed that all these Brown folk were illegal "aliens." I'll admit there were illegal aliens on Florida's voter rolls – two of them. Let me repeat that: TWO aliens'–One a US Marine serving in Iraq (not yet a citizen); the other an Austrian who registered as a Republican. We can go from state to state in Dixie and see variations of the Florida purge game.

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They know this is the only way they can win. The wealthy are but a few, and the idiots who keep voting against their own interest are dying off. Officials in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama — all states that were covered by the Voting Rights Act right up until Tuesday morning — started announcing their states' previously blocked voter ID laws would take effect immediately. They must not realize that the more they push the more we thrive. Look at what happen in this past election, their best effort at voter suppression failed. We came out in huge numbers. They lost hispanics, African Americans, women, young people and even the Cuban Americans in Miami voted  against them, something that i tought i would never see in my lifetime. They are making fools of themselves all over the country. (Michele bachmann, Jodie Laubenberg,Todd Akin, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Paul LePage) Look at what happened in Texas this past week, this wasn't just a state thing the whole country saw it. The only reason they control the house is becouse of gerrymandering. Just look at what they are doing to Wendy Davis:

the good ol' boy network in Texas has pretty much ensured Ms. Davis won't be reelected in 2014. After SCOTUS gutted section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the Republican leadership is now free to implement the previously ruled unconstitutional gerrymandered redistricting in Texas. Wendy Davis represents a district in Fort Worth that contains a vast majority of minority citizens. The new district as of today has split those minority citizens placing them in three different white districts. This will not only make her reelection almost impossible, it also takes away the strong advocacy that Ms. Davis has provided during her tenure.

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The Republican party is history.

Tampa Bay Homeless

Meet Marco
He is from Detroit. He has been homeless 2 years.

The Stone Soup Company

What Stogie had for lunch
Lobster Bisque
At The Stone Soup Company in Ybor City. More here.

Alan Grayson: Uncle Sam = Big Brother?

In George Orwell's novel 1984, "Big Brother" is the dictator of Oceania. No one knows whether Big Brother is a real person, or simply the personification of the dictatorship. Big Brother spies on every citizen through "telescreens." Everyone is reminded constantly, "Big Brother is Watching You."
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Check out
Republican Dirty Tricks

Florida Elections Chief Ken Detzner

Not our job to measure voting wait times
Florida’s top elections official said Friday the state has no plans to measure where polling place lines are longest, despite the eight-hour wait times that some voters endured last fall.
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The Cuban Sandwich Show

The Cuban Sandwich Show (July 8-August 8) is an annual one-month long series of arts and cultural events about Tampa. Events include cinema, visual arts, music, culinary arts, poetry, happenings.

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InVision Tampa

Using federal grant dollars, InVision Tampa is creating a master plan for the City Center of Tampa, Fla., spanning from downtown to Ybor City on the east, Armenia Avenue on the west, and north along historic Nebraska Avenue to Hillsborough Avenue.

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Tampa Bay Homeless

 Meet Shawn, he is from Alabama. He has been homeless 1 year.

The Merchants Of Ybor

Gaby and Manny of Mace Multimedia having having lunch at
Stone Soup Company in Ybor City. It's nice to see Ybor City merchants supporting each other. 
STAY LOCAL!

.Mi Gente Tampa Bay: Florida Kid Care

Local Artist Manny Potter

mannypotter.com

David Warner's Story

Our own David Warner editor at CL Tampa had his  civil union certificate signed by Howard Dean who in 2000 was the first governor to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. His  husband was on the fundraising team for Dean.
Read his story here

Speak up Tampa Bay: Homelessness

Rick Scott Preemptively Blocks Paid Sick Leave

Florida’s Governor Rick Scott is the latest Republican to block any initiatives in his state to enact paid sick leave for workers. As attempts to dehumanize the workplace go, few could be more sadistic than forcing workers to come to work sick, but that’s precisely what the Florida legislature and Governor Rick Scott recently did. This throwback to the Satanic mills era of industrial relations came in response to a successful petition by 50,000 voters in Orange County, Florida, to place on the ballot an initiative to guarantee a certain number of paid sick days to all workers in the county. Governor Scott and the state legislature did this at the behest of some of Florida’s largest employers, including Disney World, which might otherwise have suffered the inconvenience of employees being able to go to the doctor without losing their jobs.  A survey by the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Centers United found 64% of food service workers have reported working while sick.

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Imagine learning that your favorite restaurant doesn’t provide paid sick days for its employees. This would mean that criminally underpaid chefs and servers would have to come to work every day, even if they’re sneezing up a storm, in order to make ends meet. Pretty gross, right?
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Tampa Bay Driverless Cars

Tampa became one step closer to driverless vehicles on Florida highways.

The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority (THEA) voted to develop a survey on implementing autonomous vehicle technology in Hillsborough County. The study is a collaborative effort between the THEA and the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research.

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Ybor City

 

 Lazy Afternoon

Kevin Beckner Is Making Progress

The Tampa politician brings some much-needed sanity to the Hillsborough County Commission. Beckner at a victory party celebrating the repeal of Hillsborough gay pride ban at Hamburger Mary’s in Ybor City.

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Tampa Bay Homeless

 The city is one step closer to enacting a new set of restrictions on homeless people.
Council members discussed two proposed ordinances that would add more restrictions to an existing six-day-a-week ban on roadside panhandling. The first would ban panhandling near downtown, Ybor City, banks, ATMs, sidewalk cafes and transit stops in an effort to stop people from begging in places others can't easily leave. The second would prohibit people from storing their property in public, urinating in public, and sleeping or camping in parks, on sidewalks or in public rights of way.
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thankfully we have  Mary Mulhern who said the city must first increase its shelter offerings before passing an ordinance like this. Courts have ruled that cities must ensure there are adequate alternatives before banning behaviors — such as sleeping on sidewalks — that are closely associated with homelessness. She was the only council member to vote against both proposed ordinances.

Elvis Sighting In Tampa

Met him on a HART bus.He has gone green and says he has lost a lot of weight since he started riding the bus. He is looking for gigs. Call him at 813.850.3085

Local Right-Wing Reacts

 "I believe the Supreme Court made a serious mistake today when it overstepped its important, but limited role." U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla

"It impacted federal law, not state law. In 2008, Florida voters amended our constitution and said that we are a traditional marriage state — marriage is between a man and a woman. As the governor of this state, I'll uphold the law of the land, and that's the law of our state." Florida Gov. Rick Scott

"Today's Defense of Marriage Act ruling flies in the face of common sense, tradition, reason and morality." Bishop Aubrey Shines of Glory to Glory Ministries in Tampa

"America, and Florida specifically, will continue the debate and advance the truths about why marriage is between a man and a woman and why it matters for children, civil society, and the common good of society." John Stemberger, Florida Family Policy Council

"Courts at every level are definning the social fabric of America" Terry Kemple, Local Bigot
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Turanchik Bay Lines

High-speed ferry backers to hold community meetings. The group, fronted by former Hillsborough commissioner Ed Turanchik, a lawyer with the Akerman Senterfitt firm, holds its first meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Dickman Community College Center at Hillsborough Community College's South Shore campus. The address is 551 24th St NE in Ruskin. The second meeting takes places at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hilton Tampa Downtown in the Buccaneer B Room. The address is 211 N Tampa St.

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Florida Gas Drilling

It is just another sunny day in sunny Florida, but on this quiet day, two men ring your doorbell. You answer, of course, and find out that these men are from Total Safety, Inc., a company contracted by the independent oil company Dan A. Hughes Company, from Beeville, Texas. They ask you to provide your contact information and any other emergency contact info, just in case disaster strikes at the drill site operating barely 1000 feet from your house. For most of the citizens of Naples, Florida, this is the first they have ever heard of drilling, in their neighborhood.

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D iscrimination At Hands On Children’s Museum in Jacksonville

Is very specific about who gets a “family membership,” specifying that a family must include one mom and one dad. Karen Lee-Duffell’s family has had a membership there for three years, but when an employee noticed she had a same-sex partner, she was told she’d have to pay more to renew this year. As far as the museum’s staff is concerned, Lee-Duffell and her partner do not constitute a family.

here
The Museum denies discrimination against renewing couple's membership.
here

Learn How To Swim Miami

By century's end, rising sea levels will turn the nation's urban fantasyland into an American Atlantis. But long before the city is completely underwater, chaos will begin.

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You guys might also want to learn how to scuba dive. You might try Sea Dwellers Dive Center just down the road. I use them all the time.

Clean Out Rep. Jodie Laubenberg R

During a debate in the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg explains that rape kits will "clean out" a rape victim "basically like a D and C." D and C stand for dilation and curettage. It is an abortion procedure. It is not similar to a rape kit. Wow! Put an R at the end of his name and these people would elect Charles Manson.

Sit-In At Marco Rubio's 0ffice In Tampa

The LGBT rights group GetEQUAL--best known for its sometimes confrontational protests of Don't Ask, Don't Tell--today staged a sit-in at Florida Senator Marco Rubio's office in Tampa.

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Brew Benefit in Ybor City

You are invited to Brew Benefit in Ybor City, Sunday, June 30th from 2-5pm.
This benefit is for WMNF and Meals on Wheels.
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Commissioners Pay Millions Of Dollars For 375 Jobs

Commissioners voted unanimously (Shame on you Mr. Beckner) to give Amazon.com millions of dollars in corporate welfare for 375 jobs. TheCommissioners were enthusiastic about the vote. Chairman Ken Hagan called it a "grand slam" A grand slam for who?

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Support Same-Sex Marriage In Florida

A group that supports same-sex marriage in Florida said Wednesday that it isn't confident an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling will nullify the state's gay marriage ban and is starting a public opinion campaign while waiting for the court to decide. The idea is to build public support for gay marriage in Florida and eventually overturn the state's ban regardless of the Supreme Court's rulings.

more, Get Engaged

Jeff Jewett GOP Voter Fraud Whistle-Blower

Last year, Jeff Jewett was the field coordinator for a private vendor used by the Republican Party of Florida in Jacksonville. He discovered that one of his employees turned in seven bogus forms. He fired the employee, contacted elections officials and turned in the counterfeit forms. Yet, he was never interviewed. Such a lack of initiative is baffling for an investigation into a crime that Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers had made a top priority in prosecuting and preventing. Ironically, the only widespread incidents of voter registration fraud in last year's elections involved Republicans.

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Immigration Wall of Shame

Jeb Bush: Immigrants are 'more fertile
Exposing bigoted language in the fight for immigration justice.
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March With The ACLU In Temple Terrace

Tampa: Temple Terrace July 4th Parade

Thursday, July 4, 2013 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm -Greco Middle School

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.Marco Rubio: It Should Be Legal to Fire People for Being Gay

Stogie Recommends

Moonrise Kingdom a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring an ensemble cast.Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

The Right Eat Their Own

Not long ago Marco Rubio was the darling of the tea party, the lovefest is over.
Allen West Threatens To Challenge Marco Rubio In 2016 Primary.

Tampa Has Strippers And It's Probably Dolly Parton's Fault

In the mid-'60s, a gentleman named Bobby Rodriguez purchased a country bar in Tampa called The Deep South. The bar was a rough-and-tumble place where up-and-coming country stars often performed. The bar wasn't that profitable so Bobby decided to make some changes. First off, he attempted to tone down the fighting in the place. With that problem solved but the bar still not making much money, Rodriguez turned his sights on the entertainment. He went to the books and realized that one of the best nights they had in terms of the crowd was the night they had Dolly Parton on stage. Rodriguez realized the majority of her fans were men, and that they were not listening to her talents but rather gawking at them. Pacheco said Rodriguez figured he could toss any beautiful woman on stage, dress her scantily, have her dance and pay her a fraction of what he paid talented musicians, and the same men who came to see Dolly Parton would pay to see the unknown beauty.

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Mi Familia Vota, Florida

Senator Marco Rubio's Tampa Office, 3802 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 106

Come join members of Mi Familia Vota, Florida, clergy members, allies, and MoveOn, as we participate in a vigil at Senator Rubio's office Wednesday at 12 p.m. to ask that he see the error of his ways regarding increased militarization, accepting campaign funds from GEO, an arm of ICE, and also adding English proficiency before undocumented Americans may be legal permanent residents. That's way before they would be eligible for citizenship. We will pray for him to do the right thing. Bring some signs, and we will pray together for the good of all Aspiring Americans. Can you join us in Tampa on Wednesday?

Click below for more details and to RSVP
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