The Rum Runner

This has always been one of my favorite drinks. It has many names, Planter's Punch, Hurricanes etc. here it is called a Dunk Tank. Some of you are to young to remember Clearwater's famous Kapok Tree restaurant. It served it in a tall souvenir glass which you got to keep. I've had them all over the world and one of the best I've ever had is made right here in Tampa by Kristie at Florida Lanes on N. Florida ave.

Ed Narain For Florida

Ed Narain is a dedicated member of the Tampa community who has served in various community and civic roles over the last nineteen years. Ed is a former USF Student Body President and a member of College Leadership Florida. While a student leader, Ed was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Florida Student Association Board and received the first USF Student Affairs Leadership Award.

check him out here

TasedTo Death In Miami

Eighteen-year-old Israel Hernandez-Llach was an award-winning artist in Miami, Florida – a painter, sculptor, photographer and graffiti artist. He was armed with nothing more than a can of spray paint, threatening nothing but the wall of an abandoned McDonalds, when the cops chased him down, tased him, and allegedly laughed and high-fived as he lay motionless and dying on the ground. This is not an isolated incident. The Miami Beach Police Department has an appalling record of using excessive force......more>

Florida Dems

Rep. Ricardo Rangel of Kissimmee; Sen. Joe Abruzzo of Wellington, Sen. Darren Soto of Orlando and Rep. Daphne Campbell of Miami did not bother to vote on whether to hold a special session on Stand Your Ground. A non-vote is the same as a “no” vote, so those four lawmakers, by not voting or having their votes recorded, joined seven other Democrats who voted against the special session. Those Democrats who did bother to let their constituents know that they were breaking with their party were: Rep. Mark Danish of Tampa; Rep. Katie Edwards of Plantation; Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda of Tallahassee, Rep. Michelle Rehwinkelof Orlando; Rep. Carl Zimmermann of Palm Harbor; Rep. Mike Clelland of Lake Mary, and Rep. Dwight Dudley of St. Petersburg. That meant that of the 58 Democrats in the Legislature, only 47 voted for a special session to repeal or change a 2005 law that has sparked some protests in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting......more

Tampa Bay Cameros

Right Wing Bloggers’ Acting Like Nazis

A top House Democrat blasted conservative Internet bloggers for spreading lies and “manufactured controversies” about President Obama, equating their actions to Nazi propagandists......more>
Here is their latest, Obama Does Not Have Any White Dogs!

Nick Ruiz for Congress 2014: "Florida

“As a professor of philosophy and humanities, my commitment to the health, education and well-being of Americans dently progressive and Democratic constituency that is not being adequately represented by the Democratic Party as it stands today. Constituents on the Left are hungry for the real thing.  

What Stogie Had For Breakfast

French Toast with Blueberries.

$4.95 at 3 Coins Diner in Seminole Heights

How much was your last value meal?

John's Pass

 more at Tampa Colada

Democrat Allie Braswell To Challenge Florida CFO Jeff Atwater

Allie Braswell, a Sanford native is head of the central Florida Urban League. He said,

"I’m not a politician. But what we’re getting out of politician Jeff Atwater is a go-along to get-along style that is hurting Floridians. Under his watch, billions in no-bid contracts have been given away and people with insider connections are getting rich off taxpayer money. We need a leader who will help protect taxpayers by cracking down on huge contracts that politicians are handing over to their supporters and political allies. I’ll be a fiscal watchdog who will hold our government and politicians accountable and fight to shift the focus of our leaders away from helping their friends and back to attracting good jobs to Florida.".....more>

Dream Defenders: 31 Days 30 Nights

The Hillsborough County Republican Party

Is developing a ground game for the 2014 election cycle. Brian Swanson, the political director for the Republican Party of Florida who identified himself as the biggest Libertarian in the world said Scott has done a phenomenal job. 
"That's what a conservative governor can do with a phenomenal conservative legislature." What we have to do is look at what we can control and what we can do, and what we can do is organize. Organize early, get involved in your communities, bring new folks into the RNC, strengthen the party from inside. Our grassroots organization is very poor.  We want to bring more minority groups into our party." 
Good luck with that.  Then he blames us. We are the ones making them look like fools all over the country.  
"The left right now is declaring us as something we are completely not, they are saying the Republican party is made up of racists and evil people and that we hate minorities, and they're trying to brand us with that. We can't let them do that."
Swanson summed up his talk with the HCRP by insisting on the importance of the Tampa Bay region in the upcoming election........more>

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Carne con Papa with yellow rice and black beans.

$7.99 at The Cuban Sandwich Café on N. Florida ave in Tampa.

more

Protest In Ft. Lauderdale

Supporters of whistleblower Private First Class Bradley Manning gathered at the Federal Building in downtown Ft. Lauderdale for an emergency protest. They demanded a presidential pardon for the 25-year old whistleblower.......more

2014 Florida Progressive Candidates

U.S. CONGRESS

District 1: Jim Bryan (D)

 District 2: Gwen Graham (D)

 District 5: Corrine Brown (D)

District 6: David Cox (D), Andrew Scott (D)

District 7: Nick Ruiz III (D)

District 8: Gabriel Rothblatt (D), Corry Westbrook (D)

District 9: Alan Grayson (D)*, Michael McKenna (D) 

District 13: Jessica Ehrlich (D)

District 14: Kathy Castor (D)*

District 18: Patrick Murphy

District 19: April Freeman (D)

For more info visit Politics 1

Osama bin Laden In Cuba

Since the right wing is always starting rumors about Obama I thought I would start one of my own. Obama never had bin Laden killed, it was all a show. Castro granted him asylum. He has been living in Cuba. Here he is at a local beach having a mimosa. Pic was taken by a Canadian tourist. The Canadian said he also likes mojitos.

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Philly cheesesteak with New England Clam Chowder

At The Hut in John's Pass.

Stay Local, Eat Local visit Tampa Bay Locavore. 

the Race Factor

I got on an elevator the other day with a group of young people. It looked like they were very good friends. It made me think about what Pres.Obama said about his kids and future generations. Times are changing and for the better.

"The nation shouldn't lose sight of its progress on issues of race and equality. When I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I see them interact, they're better than we are,"....President Obama