"General, he's lying to the American people. What you call rambunctious can also be called zealotry. He's inflammatory. Without his rabble-rousing, it's doubtful Congress could have passed the sedition act. . . But now with this Sedition Act, anyone who objects t othe war or president. . . . can be put in jail for it. People are getting beat up, killed because they said something that some of Creel's self appointed deputies thought was anti-american. . . It just seems to me that the government is resorting to extreme measures to convince the American people that there is a good reason for so many casualties."
United States, Statutes at Large, Washington, D.C., 1918, Vol. XL, pp 553 ff.A portion of the amendment to Section 3 of the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917. The act was subsequently repealed in 1921.
SECTION 3. Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports, or false statements, . . . or incite insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct . . . the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, or . . . shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States . . . or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully . . . urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production . . . or advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both....
Local Artists Aren't Allowed To Starve Here
STEVE OTTO
``Do you know about the arts revolution?''
I looked up from the menu, where I was trying to decide on the enchiladas or the stuffed chicken with chilis.
The woman was wearing fatigues and had a bandoleer wrapped across her chest. Her long, sort of blond hair, had purple tips. She did not look like our waitress. ``I am El Commandante,'' she said.
``Out of chaos comes creativity,'' she added, tossing a purple booklet down on the table. It was full of little sayings such as ``Art is a house that tries to be haunted.''
We were at Viva La Frida, which is not only the best Mexican restaurant in these parts, but one of the better restaurants, period.
Angelica Diaz runs this incarnation from the 1960s on Florida Avenue in Seminole Heights.
It is a wondrous confluence of her Sonoran cooking with a decidedly artsy tone of poetry readings, performance art and walls covered with paintings of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
This night apparently was the kickoff of an exhibition of art posters, which would include ``performance art.''
That helped explain the woman dressed as sort of a Greek warrior who walked in carrying a shield and a 6-foot spear that was supposed to be a pen. And when the woman with the sousaphone came marching in playing ``The Impossible Dream,'' I barely looked up from my enchiladas.
The event was a gathering of artists trying to promote, of all things, art.
Being artists, it wasn't always easy to tell who was in costume or who was just there to eat. It was actually a lot of fun. Mexican food, especially Mexican food with good Mexican beer, goes great with people stopping by to read poetry at your table.
Who's Your Dada?
I even liked the Greek warrior, who said that when she isn't in warrior garb, she's an English instructor at St. Petersburg College. She had us cutting words randomly out of the newspaper and taping them into Dadaist poems.
The irony of the evening was that here was a collection of Bay area artists looking for some recognition and support for art.
They were doing it in a town that has already dumped $13 million into a new art museum and so far can't even decide where to put it.
I can promise you that wherever and whatever is ultimately built for 20 million or 30 million bucks will not begin to approach the down- to-earth gathering at the rambling restaurant with the yellow walls on Florida Avenue.
If it were me, I would just give Angelica Diaz a few million dollars and have her open a half-dozen versions of Viva La Frida around town, and whenever you were in the mood for some art and, of course, some enchiladas, you could stop by.
The art posters, by the way, will stay up at Frida's through September.
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This story can be found at: http://tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/columns/MGBAMS6KKCE.html
Aug 18, 2005
Owner Won't Have To Alter 5 Houses
By JOS PATIO GIRONA
jpatino@tampatrib.com
SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - The city of Tampa will allow a property owner to keep five houses as they are, even though they don't meet building guidelines for the neighborhood.
Thom Snelling, the city's manager for land development and zoning, said the city looked at the developer's plans to make the homes comply, but determined they wouldn't work.
The homes in east Seminole Heights, owned by Norman Murray, are supposed to be 18 inches above the finished grade. But the five homes -- at 811-817 E. Paris St. and at 6007 N. King St. -- have little elevation from the ground to meet flood requirements.
"This is going to have to be the one lesson learned," Snelling said.
The builder, All State Homes, proposed removing dirt from the front of the homes to achieve the 18-inch grade. It planned to add a brick veneer to the lower part of the facade and steps leading to the front door. The company also suggested adding a railing and shutters.
But scraping the front lawn could damage the roots of trees on the properties. Developers also proposed a complex drainage system that could make the properties prone to flooding in the future.
Ultimately, the changes wouldn't add enough character to the homes to resemble the others in the neighborhood, Snelling said.
"What they are proposing is not a positive step forward," Snelling said. "It might look more out of place."
The homes are in the Seminole Heights Overlay District. The district, established in 2001, sets standards such as home elevation, roof pitch and the type of fencing. The boundaries are 15th Street on the east, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the south, and the Hillsborough River on the west and north.
Snelling said the city would take measures to prevent a similar mistake from happening again.
Some of the steps include:
• Stamping the words "overlay district" on the site plans to make sure inspectors are aware;
• Demanding elevation plans when designs are presented to city;
• Making overlay districts more uniform. For instance, in the Seminole Heights Overlay, the floor of the homes have to be 18 inches above the finished grade, while in the West Tampa Overlay the floors have to be 24 inches above the finished grade.
• Holding training sessions for city building inspectors and residential planners.
Snelling said residents can appeal his decision on Murray's homes to the Variance Review Board.
Seminole Heights resident Bill Duvall said it's unlikely anyone would appeal, although he was disappointed about the ruling.
Duvall, president of the Tampa Homeowners and Association of Neighborhoods and former president of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association, said he is meeting with city officials in charge of residential building to discuss what happened and to try to avoid future errors.
Murray was pleased with the city's decision. The city had allowed him to rent three of the homes, but didn't extend him a certificate of occupancy for the other two. Those homes have been vacant since April, although people were supposed to move in April 1.
"It was pretty obvious from the start that there was no way to make radical changes," Murray said. "Really there is no good solution. It's like beating a dead horse. You're not going to get anything out of it."
The five homes each have four bedrooms, two bathrooms and about 1,400 square feet. Rents are $975 and $1,010 a month.
The homes are painted in vibrant colors, and the city may ask Murray to paint them a more subtle tone that reflects the neighborhood, Snelling said.
Murray said he would consider the city's request.
This story can be found at: http://centraltampa.tbo.com/centraltampa/MGBP1TTXHCE.html
" As the mother of a 6-year-old daughter, she said she does not want to be forced to explain homosexuality and transexuality if her child passes such a display and starts asking questions.
"I do not want to have to explain to my daughter what it means to question one's sexuality," Storms said during a budget workshop Wednesday." (St. Pete Times 6/7/05)
Sexual predators will have their photographs posted at Hillsborough County parks and recreation centers, county commissioners unanimously decided Wednesday.
It is a sign of the times, commissioners said, adding they want to consider posting photographs and other identifying information about sexual predators at libraries and other buildings that draw children and teens.
``This isn't Mayberry we are living in anymore,'' said Commissioner Brian Blair, who proposed the policy in June. (Tampa Trib 8/18/05)
The complex, which is privately managed, will feature 174 family rental units and apartments for seniors. There also will be a small commercial district and a community center. Another 96 owner-occupied, single-family houses and town houses are under construction on the site and on lots scattered throughout the neighborhood.
About two-thirds of the houses and town houses will be available at normal market prices to the general public. The remainder will go to buyers qualifying for low-interest loans."
