Wednesday, December 5, 2018

We warned You About this guy in 2014

Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White plans to sue the county and ask a judge to decide whether a citizens committee that will oversee the spending of the new sales transportation sales tax violates state law by usurping the authority of elected officials. The tax was approved by 57 percent of Hillsborough voters on Nov. 6. here
More on Mr. White here

Tampa Hoods

Ybor City

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

The Proposed Gentrification of Ybor City by the Tampa Bay Rays

Tomorrow morning I, along with several others, will be speaking before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commission in opposition to the proposed relocation of the Tampa Bay Rays to a new stadium in Ybor City. This is the graphic I plan to put on their overhead projector and the speech I plan to give.

Come on out to the meeting if you can and support those who are fighting to preserve the Ybor City community. The commission meeting is at 9:00am on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Hillsborough County Commissioners on their way out the door

Last month, the LAME DUCK County Commission killed the MacDill Ferry Project in one of their final acts. After causing four years of delay, they threw away $500,000 of your money, and prevented the project from delivering REAL plans this January for 
moving forward.

So I'm bringing the ferry back to the new Commission this Wed to reinstate the Ferry Plan which would have been 
completed in January. 

Please email, call and all your commissioners.
I was the only vote to complete the plan, even though it passed with 7 to 0 support in Sept. And come down and speak at public comment before the meeting on Wed. Sign in before 9 am. Let them know you are watching. Thank you! (Stay tuned for more redo's on other terrible actions the old Commission did on the way out the door.) here
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"Pat Kemp is no longer alone on the County Commission where solutions to traffic gridlock have, up to now, been thwarted by narrow minded, shore-sighted, pro-development, pro-pavement, anti-transit troglodytes." 
Kent Bailey

The Merchants Of Ybor

New York, New York

Ybor Paparazzi

Asher and Merri at Chillum

End Of HART 360LX Brandon Mall

We heard it was going well but the mall complained, too many people were parking there to ride it.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

2020 Vision with Asher

If you are a presidential election “junkie” like I am, you are likely thinking about who will step up and run to be our 46th United States President. To me, a good platform on the issues is necessary for me to support someone, especially with a heated Democratic primary just ahead of us.

My candidate will need to be anti war. Someone who supports a full withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen will earn gratitude from those who recognize the atrocity that is our War on Terror. These wars have kept the vacuum of terror wide open, poured billions of dollars per year away like expensive cat litter on an open wound, and cost thousands of American lives, not to mention thousands more veterans traumatically injured for life; not to mention the colossal damage we have done to the countries we have indefinitely occupied, whether in terms of massive instability or thousands dead and maimed. The War on Terror, and the money spent on appeasing defense contractors, must be controlled and stopped. This does not mean end counter terrorism or become isolationist. This means end the wars.

My candidate will need to oppose the War on Drugs. The legalization of cannabis nationwide should be a top priority. The decriminalization of other, harder drugs should also be on the agenda. Putting people in jail for use or possession of drugs does not solve the drug issue, it only exacerbated it, putting a strain on marginalized communities and taxpayers. We should follow examples like in Portugal where drug epidemics have been tackled by ending drug wars. We should hurt the black market and cartels by legalizing cannabis and decriminalizing other drugs. We should liberate non violent drug users/possessors by ending the abysmal War on Drugs.

My candidate will support environmental protection. In this, they should be an advocate for alternative energy, carbon taxes, and keeping corporations from polluting as they please. They should be in favor of healthcare expansion, ADA expansion, and securing liberties for the trans community. They should be opposed to “Teach to Test” education and support the protection of public education. They should support worker rights like a living wage, unionization, and safe workplaces. They should be progressive, independent minded, bold on the issues, and possess quality character.

With all of that said, I like Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Gillum, Jeff Merkley, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Who do you like that will be good on the issues I mentioned?

katrine1101 visits Ybor City

Florida's Culture Of Corruption

Without draconian voting systems in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas, the GOP may not have survived the midterms with its Senate majority. source 
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Rick Scott removes elections supervisor
 Brenda Snipes. Source
Tim Canova warned us.
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Katherine Harris 2000

REMEMBER ME Y'all? 

Ybor Paparazzi

Asher and Glen

Republicans for the Rule of Law

A group of Republicans founded by conservative commentator Bill Kristol who are mobilizing against the president’s efforts to politicize the Department of Justice. It’s funded by the group Defending Democracy Together.
We represent the majority of Republicans who believe Robert Mueller should 
not be fired.”

Tampa Hoods

Ybor City

Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival

"Tampa friends! One of my fave #indiefilm directors/grad school friends Lonnie Martin has a screening in your town next week!" 
Dawn Michelle Morgan

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Ybor Paparazzi

Asher

Tampa Bay DSA 2018

Gulf of Mexico Fracking Dump

Environmentalists are warning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its draft plan to continue allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico is in violation of federal law. more

Friday, November 30, 2018

Tampa Activist Life: January 2018



Vigil For Erica Garner 

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Meals On Wheels of Tampa

Ybor Paparazzi

Danny, Chris and Merri at Chillum

Ybor Rob First Amendment Audit: LEAVE NOW (One Chance) "NO" I'LL TAKE MY CHANCE

Ken Hagan Has Gone Rogue

He wants to sue 10News WTSP over a story claiming he improperly coordinated with Darryl Shaw, the owner of six properties within the footprint of a proposed Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in Ybor City.
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Mayor Rick Kriseman, in a series of tweets, called for Hagan to be removed from his role in leading Hillsborough's efforts to bring the Rays to Tampa.
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"He’s gone rogue from his fellow commissioners throughout this process, and now questions have been raised related to potential unethical or criminal behavior," Kriseman said in a statement. more
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Last year he wanted go after citizens who filed ethics complaints against him. more

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Kenny is out of control, 
he should of been beaten, 
what happened?

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

10 News Report on Ken Hagan's criminal behavior

Negotiations with a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays franchise are still being held behind closed doors by Corrupt County Commissioner Ken Hagan and the Rays have a deadline of December 31 to close a deal.

I have been trying to obtain the agenda for the next Board of County Commissioners public meeting on December 5 but, conveniently, the person who posts their agendas is on vacation until Nov. 28. From now until Dec. 5, I will be gathering as much information as I can concerning these illegal secret negotiations and will hopefully create an event aimed at allowing the people of Hillsborough County to voice our objections to this corrupt and illegal process. It is already clear that most of the funding for this new stadium would be obtained from public funds, whether by imposing a new county tax or diverting monies from existing public funds, such as the entertainment tax or tourism tax funds. Either would be stealing funds that were meant to improve conditions for the citizens of Hillsborough and not to enrich land developer friends of Ken Hagan and Rays shareholders.

I will keep the readers of the Ybor City Stogie posted.

Ybor Rob Owns TPD

Ybor Paparazzi

Glen

A socialist look at the Florida 2018 midterm results

The energy and enthusiasm surrounding Gillum’s campaign – from the dozens of well-attended rallies to the historic voter turnout – jolted life in the moribund Florida Democratic Party, which typically runs white business centrists for governor. more

Vlogger Kathy Curry in Ybor City

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Ybor Paparazzi

Danny

Team Shoup in Panama City


On Thanksgiving Day I was in Panama City helping to distribute food along with members of The Poor People's Campaign, The Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Tallahassee Chapter of DSA. Among the devastation from Hurricane Michael, what I didn't see was FEMA.  Welcome to The United States  disaster relief in 2018. Though Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm, hit Panama City only a few weeks ago, the presence of the Federal Government was minimal and the plight of the residents trying to recover their homes and lives has fallen out of the news cycle. Sadly, this is predictable in the neoliberal era when the Wealthy have effectively stop paying their taxes and the Federal Government devotes more and more of the budget to bloated military spending.  Of course , one reason for the lack of press coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Michael is the condition in California where, like in Panama Beach, man made Global Warming is fueling massive wildfires.

Scott Shoup
Images by Reem Zaitoon

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Elvis Piggott Responds

There will always be people that will choose to attack me but at the end of the day, what I said can’t be denied - The HCDEC does not treat people of color the same. But unlike others, I was relevant before I ran for office in 2018. I will most definitely remain relevant even if I never choose to run for office again. They say I’m an opportunist? As a community leader and a pastor, I have worked to help those facing the real issues I have been accused of not addressing! Interesting, I have nothing personal or political to gain from exposing the truth. As for this advancing my political career- that is most definitely not accurate because many calls have been made to tell me these are things that can hinder my political career! So, with all these insinuations and inaccurate assessments of who I am and of my character, I would choose to remain focused on the topic which I continue to pursue...that the HCDEC must treat everyone fairly. It’s time for the obstacles which they have created to come crumbling down in order to help advance African American candidates. The process must be improved for how the HCDEC chooses to support and endorse candidates . It must be revamped and looked at with a lens of equity in mind.
Let’s stay focused on the real issues and make the necessary improvements- there’s no debating that favoritism and inequity exists in this organization! These practices have been allowed to go on for years - well before my run for office. It’s time we all work together to get the job done.

Elvis Piggott

Jae Ali on Elvis Piggot, Asher Edelson and the DEC

This is a response to address racism within the DEC, Elvis Piggot's recent claims, Angela Birdsong, and Asher Edelson assessment of it all. Ok so first out the gate let's address Asher's claims in response to Elvis. Asher took the position that the DEC isn't racist (a claim as a white man in America he has no authority to determine and only shows the tone deafness and white privilege rampant within the Democratic Party as a whole) He goes on to try to compare him having Tourette's and not being treated differently as the same as black members of the DEC, again completely of the mark. This country was built on white supremacy and patriarchy what that means is society and its structures were built to accommodate those systems of oppression. When white people with disabilities try to compare the fair treatment they get and discount discrimination against able bodied black and brown folks not only are they participating in the erasure of black and brown disabled folks, but they are complicit in white supremacy. So, Asher's stance on the DEC and racism was not only incorrect because he is not able to make the determination given his white privilege, but his stance inadvertently shows the real problem with race relations within the party. 

Angela Birdsong and her valid concerns with the DEC is troubling to say the least. For a great majority of her campaign Angela mostly floated on the fact that she was the only Dem on the ticket. She wasn't a dynamic speaker, very soft spoken at times. She didn't speak about her actual platform enough or even energize voters by speaking on the past of Ken Hagan enough. It was a weak campaign from the beginning but she did make strides more and more towards the end. 

Elvis' live Facebook videos and new persona as a political truth teller is not only a shock but comical. For months on his campaign trail Elvis became a political minstrel. At one time I was his opponent, not only did he try to paint me as the "Angry Black Lives Matter" candidate who hates white people, he tried to present himself as the better option. A calm, cool, collected alternative. Diet negro if you will. For some reason Pastor Piggot couldn't or wouldn't stop going around letting white democrats know, that not only am I too radical but he prefers the company of white people more than black people because they're more relatable. I was fed up with the slander (from a pastor at that!) and called Elvis to ask him why he would keep trying to manipulate racial issues, why is he lying about me saying he wasn't "black enough", and how he could call himself a pastor while doing it all. I don't think Elvis ever thought he would be confronted for his lies. He hung up flustered after acknowledging his lies, then followed up via text to wish me Merry Christmas. I responded to the text letting it be known if he were to continue to spread untruths about me in hopes of gaining support from white people I would show everyone the screenshots. Elvis is a manipulative opportunist. He's not wrong about the DEC being racist because he wanted to capitalize on it to ostracize me and present himself as the only viable candidate. All in all Elvis isn't wrong about the racism within the DEC and Democratic Party as a whole, but he cares nothing about the injustice or neglect Angela faced. His motives are to create enough buzz to mount another (failed) political run. 

The DEC is a political machine within America. For those who face oppression under white supremacy they understand what that means. For those who don't, black people and black candidates are not treated the same as white people. Also, it is not the job of black people to recruit more black people to the DEC to cut down on racism by providing more representation. The DEC needs to reach out to black led orgs and PAY THEM to give them classes on racial bias, systemic oppression, and white privilege. The DEC needs to do better.

 All in all like my granny says "A broke clock is right twice a day". Elvis is right about the DEC and racism. However, he is only "exposing" wrongdoing in this way to draw attention towards himself to further try to make a name for himself. All done.

Jae Ali