Ben Kirby - page 3

Yesterday it was announced via the Ready for Hillary Twitter account that billionaire philanthropist George Soros would be signing on with the super PAC:: Soros, the founder of the Open Society Foundations which promote democracy and human rights around the world, will serve as a finance council co-chair of the super PAC. Like every other member, he will commit to contribute or raise at least $25,000 — which is virtual pocket change for Soros.  The Ready for Hillary PAC has…

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With less than two weeks before Election Day in St. Petersburg, it is a good day to be on Team Kriseman. The Tampa Bay Times, in conjunction with Bay News 9 and WUSF Public Media, just published a poll showing challenger Rick Kriseman up 6 points over incumbent Bill Foster. The Times lays out just what an uphill battle Mayor Foster has over the next 11 days. Writes Mark Puente : With 19 percent of voters undecided and only 11 days left…

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In case you didn’t know, both Rick Kriseman and Bill Foster are attorneys.   One of the things you must master as an attorney is the ability to close your argument. What is the summation of what you have offered? How do you wrap it up? There are now less than two weeks left until Election Day in St. Petersburg. We’ve seen Mayor Foster continue to flail from event to embarrassing event.  What is Rick Kriseman’s case to the people of St.…

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This Friday, Democrats from around the state will gather at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort in Orlando for their annual conference. I expect there will be much discussion around Amanda Murphy’s recent win in State House District 36. I do not know if Representative Murphy will be there, but if she is, she will likely be greeted as a rock star. Another hot topic will inevitably be the St. Petersburg mayor’s race. It is a non-partisan race, but Democrats…

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The first ten words of the piece by Mark Puente and Kameel Stanley tell you almost everything you need to know about Mayor Foster’s latest desperate, cynical grab for votes two weeks before Election Day: “In the wake of blistering criticism on the campaign trail…” In the wake of blistering criticism on the campaign trail.  Even if you are not following the fascinating race for Mayor of St. Petersburg, the story should make you cringe with shame on behalf of…

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I was working on a post about negative attack ads and the recent sweeping comments from Professor Susan MacManus at USF regarding this kind of political advertising: “It could drive down voter turnout.” Could it, Professor MacManus? There is a wide body of professional evidence and academic research, well-reported in the media, that has shown the link between negative advertising and voter turnout is muddy — at best. What people in political circles will tell you is that negative advertising is used… because it…

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This week, Red Bull released an amazing multi-point-of-view video — including altitude, g-force, and air speed — of Felix Baumgartner’s incredible 128,000 foot speed-of-sound-busting free-fall. It has been a year, believe it or not, since Baumgartner made the record-breaking Stratos jump.  Watching that video, I was reminded again of how I felt watching the original jump a year ago — a nearly indescribable feeling of helplessness. And I was sitting at a desk behind a computer.  This week in politics…

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