February 7, 2017

Allowing guns everywhere won't make Floridians safer

It was Mark Twain who famously — and accurately — ruminated that "no man's life or property are safe when the legislature is in session." You might want to add additional at-risk elements such as common sense, brain function, scruples, independence, work ethics, intellectual curiosity and public service.

The Florida Legislature is preparing to begin its 2017 session next month, which is really another way of saying we're in for 60 days of pure Tallahassee stupid.

It is axiomatic that another legislative feedbag means more bills will be filed to make it easier for Floridians to shoot each other with more abandon and less accountability than the officiating of a World Wrestling Entertainment eye-gouge-fest.

It has fallen to Sen. Greg Steube, R-Yes Ms. Hammner, Whatever You Want Ms. Hammer, to serve as the 2017 stooge for the National Rifle Association in Tallahassee, which is an old Seminole word for "a blank check of lobbyists."

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/ruth-allowing-guns-everywhere-wont-make-floridians-safer/2312243

February 7, 2017

Harambe-shaped Cheeto sells for nearly $100K

This is a real thing.

Start bidding on a Harambe Hot Cheeto. Biding is at $11.99https://t.co/Eg1CS9LMbs pic.twitter.com/G5XPyhjt6s

— Fat Kid Deals (@FatKidDeals) February 6, 2017


A Cheeto that resembles the shape of Harambe, the famous-turned-cult gorilla who was killed last year at the Cincinnati Zoo, sold on eBay overnight for $99,900.

Repeat: $99,900. For. A. Single. Cheeto.

The internet, promptly, reacted as expected.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/harambe-shaped-cheeto-sells-for-nearly-100k/2312311

February 7, 2017

John Morgan, candidate or not, is reshaping Florida politics

John Morgan is determined to leave a political mark on Florida, one way or the other.

The Orlando personal injury lawyer, famously familiar from his ads on TV, buses and billboards, is traveling the state and getting a feel from voters about whether he should run for governor in 2018.

In so doing, he's teasing Florida Democrats with the notion of something they have never had: a well-known candidate with name recognition who's wealthy enough to fund his own race, just like Rick Scott or Donald Trump.

Morgan says he's on a "talking tour." When politicians say they're on a listening tour, he says, "It's a bunch of bull----."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/bousquet-john-morgan-candidate-or-not-is-reshaping-florida-politics/2312254

February 6, 2017

Trump Wall Super Bowl Ad Was Censored.

Here’s The Unedited Version.

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/02/06/trump-wall-super-bowl-ad-censored-heres-unedited-version/

February 6, 2017

The Alt-Right Appropriates Patriots Win

Tom Brady won his fifth Super Bowl Sunday as the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons with a final score of 34-28. As fans across the country celebrate the outcome of the win, the alt-right has gone ahead and termed the victory a triumph of the “White race.”

“The Karl Marx of the Alt Right” and co-editor of AltRight.com, Richard Spencer took to Twitter to hail the Patriots’ win just as he has, in the past, used Nazi-inspired language to “ Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory!” at an Alt-Right conference in November last year.

The Sunday win was so close to the president of the National Policy Institute — a white supremacist think tank — that he went on a Twitter rampage calling out all who were ridiculing the Patriots during the initial part of the game in Houston, Texas, and praising Brady and coach Bill Belichick ’s performance as the team made a spectacular comeback after being down 28-3 late in the third quarter.

“A Patriots victory is a victory for the #AltRight,” tweeted Spencer, while posting images of President Donald Trump, who had said the Patriots would win by eight points against “the other team” as he spoke with Bill O’Reilly in an interview aired on FOX before the game’s coverage.

http://www.ibtimes.com/richard-spencer-turns-patriots-super-bowl-win-racist-agenda-tom-bradys-team-won-white-2486864

February 6, 2017

Mass shootings lead to talk, but little action, on mental illness

(or gun control)

TALLAHASSEE — In the days after five people were shot and killed in Fort Lauderdale's airport, some elected officials adopted a familiar routine.

As news spread that the suspected gunman told FBI agents in Alaska that he was hearing voices, Florida officials called for improvements to mental health care and tougher measures to keep guns away from people with severe psychological disorders.

The Jan. 6 mass shooting was just the latest to be followed by hand-wringing from politicians, particularly gun-rights supporters, who blamed shortcomings in the mental health system for the tragedy.

Despite years connecting mental illness and mass shootings, lawmakers in both parties have been reluctant to pass major legislation taking firearms out of the hands of people diagnosed with severe disorders.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/mass-shootings-lead-to-talk-but-little-action-on-mental-illness/2312050

February 4, 2017

Question for Group

In light of the coming theocracy that may just be around the corner if the loser of the popular vote issues an EO legalizing religious discrimination in a broad range of circumstances.........

What 'religion' would you consider joining, i.e. Satanic Temple, UUA, Universal Life Church, etc. just in order to shield or take advantage of any order? Worthy or crazy thought? TIA

February 4, 2017

Time to Consider One of These Burner Phones?

Xposted on GD, sank like a rock, but I think contains good information for activists going forward

February 4, 2017

Congress Phone System Is BrokenBut Its Still Your Best Shot

But It’s Still Your Best Shot

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/call-congress-phone-system-broken/?mbid=nl_2317_p4&CNDID=30772003

IN TIMES OF political turmoil and controversy, Senate and House office phone lines come under siege. In 2011, Obama exhorted the American people to contact their Congresspeople about the rising debt ceiling, and the flood of callers rendered phone lines useless (and crashed a bunch of websites just for good measure.) In 2010, Lady Gaga’s call to action regarding Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell meant even Gaga herself couldn’t get hold of Senator Chuck Schumer. Heck, two years after the first phones were installed in the Capitol Building in 1880, House doorkeeper Walter Brownlow was so overloaded by calls he asked permission to hire someone dedicated to answering them.

Even in 2017, in the age of Twitter and Facebook and WhatsApp and email and chatbots and internet-enabled fax machines, a phone call is the best way to not just reach your representative, but affect them. “It’s just a matter of how people process information,” says Kris Miler, who researches politics and government at the University of Maryland. Miler’s book, Constituency Representation in Congress, explores the ways legislators understand and respond to their constituents. She distinguished between personal contact—either on the phone or face-to-face—and things like email and faxes. “Both have an impact,” she says, “but the impact of personal and phone calls was much stronger.”

In the ever-present turmoil wrought by the early days of the Trump administration, the volume of phone calls has been off the charts. “People don’t call Congress when they’re happy,” says Daniel Schuman, policy director at advocacy group Demand Progress. “They call when they’re unhappy. And right now they’re scared out of their minds.” People complain about not being able to reach their representatives, while government officials complain about not getting any work done thanks to incessantly ringing phones. One particularly distraught staffer of California Senator Dianne Feinstein was caught on video saying all the calls “broke my BlackBerry. And it’s close to breaking my desktop.”

February 4, 2017

Time to Consider One of These Burner Phones??

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/7-great-burner-phones/?mbid=nl_2317_p3&CNDID=30772003

We’re living in a new era of political unpredictability. Who knows what race, religious group, or professional sector will be scrutinized tomorrow? If you’re concerned that your devices will be targeted for confiscation and search, heed caution now. Start carrying a burner phone—a handset you can wipe clean and destroy without much thought. We’ve rounded up some good options.

One note: The point of using a burner is to avoid leaving a trace of your phone activity. Our list of recommended phones (and one app!) comes with links to online retailers so you can read more about the devices, but if you’re trying to stay private, you should buy both the phone and a pre-paid data allotment with cash. Most of these handsets (and the prepaid cards) are available at big-box stores here and abroad.


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Burner App

This isn’t a phone; it’s an app that anonymizes your texts and phone calls. When you call or text from inside Burner, the app maintains your anonymity by routing your message through a new phone number. It’s a working phone number too, so you can give it out without worrying about revealing your identity. When things get hot, just delete the number and it goes out of service. Burner is available for iOS and Android devices, and while it may be the most convenient option on this list for most people, it won’t make you feel like you’re a flip-phone-carrying drug dealer from The Wire. $5 per month.