By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published May 16, 2012

My ancestors descended from Salzburg (in present-day Austria) after facing religious persecution from the Catholic Church, which opposed the teachings of Martin Luther that the Lutheran Salzburgers followed. In 1731, 20,000 Protestants were ordered by Count Leopold von Firmian, the Catholic archbishop and prince of the Salzburg state, to dispose of their property and leave the country. Most of the Salzburger outcasts settled in other parts of Europe, but some 300 of them settled in the American colony of Georgia after pleading with King George II of England, who had a German duke and a fellow Lutheran, for help.

The plight of my ancestors is similar to those of countless immigrants who settled in what would become the United States of America.

Despite the fact that most Americans have stories of their ancestors coming here under less-than-desirable circumstances, a few among us seek to deny those Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published May 3, 2012

The Republican National Committee recently released the hotel assignments for state delegations at the convention in Tampa this summer.

The Florida delegation was severely penalized with an assignment at the lovely Innisbrook Resort — 40 miles away and probably a two-hour commute from downtown Tampa the week of the convention. The RNC’s slight came as a result of the Legislature (dominated by Republicans) thumbing its nose at the RNC when the state chose a presidential preference primary date outside the committee’s preferences.

The RNC retaliation means Read the rest of this entry »

“Let my light shine”

By Chris Ingram

Late last year, my daughter Casey (who just turned eight-years-old in April) wrote a song called “Let my light shine.” Casey wrote the song which professes her view of God and expresses the generally optimistic nature all children have. 

Casey wrote the song — without prompting — in the back seat of the car on her way to gymnastics practice. She wrote it in less than ten minutes in a small notebook. She began singing the song and shared the lyrics she had written with me; I encouraged her to share it with her music teacher Ms. Belinda Womack at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, which she did. 

Ms. Womack liked the lyrics so much she worked with Ms. Hannah Rose to set the lyrics to a score and arrange the song. It’s a catchy and optimistic tune from a child’s perspective — even if you’re not particularly religious.

You can watch the video of the first public performance of “Let my light shine on me” Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published April 24, 2012

There is competition for the television show “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” It is not on TV but it is entertainment nonetheless. It’s called the Florida Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Lacking a talented bench, Florida Republicans have nothing but a Charlie Crist re-tread, a blessed to be born with a good name dipstick, and a wing-nut, now that the ultimate political opportunist, Florida’s CFO Jeff Atwater decided not to get into the race.

First there is George LeMieux. LeMieux was the puppet master of the Crist regime. He also gave Republicans Read the rest of this entry »

Internal squabble between Secretary and Audit Committee

By Chris Ingram

The Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee is going through another storm. The party’s internal audit committee in the course of conducting its audit has sought copies of minutes from last year. However, party secretary, Robyn Lankford who has the meeting minutes has declined to provide the minutes to the committee.

When I asked Art Wood, party chairman why the secrecy with the party meeting minutes, he replied, Read the rest of this entry »

An irreverent view of the “Buffett Rules”

By Shamus McConomy

Buffett rules are good for America. They bring harmony, sharing and fairness to Americans.  I don’t understand all the haters of the Buffett rule. Perhaps the lawmakers overreached (again) and wrote a bill laced with some poison pill pork projects that had to be voted down. Perhaps I could take a stab at some legalese that will establish a Buffett Law that is sure to satisfy Congress and the rest of Americans.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mark your calendar! Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober will be the special guest speaker at the next Irreverent View lunch on Wednesday, May 2nd from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Rigatoni on Kennedy in Tampa. If you would like to attend the luncheon, please send and e-mail to Chris@IrreverentView.com More details to follow.

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published April 14, 2012

With Rick Santorum now out of the race for the Republican nomination for president, Mitt Romney has no serious challengers remaining and can begin to focus on beating Barack Obama.

With all the speculation about a hotly contested floor fight now nothing but a dream in the minds of political prognosticators and the media, there are likely benefits to Florida Republicans headed to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, now that Romney is the apparent nominee.

Florida delegates are currently facing a number of sanctions imposed by the Republican National Committee. The Florida delegation is facing Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published March 30, 2012

There is an old saying: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

In 1992, 77 percent of Florida voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution to limit the terms of Florida legislators to eight years.

The consequence of the amendment has created multiple obvious problems, including a lack of institutional knowledge and effective leadership. Tallahassee insiders say the last legislative session was one of the worst in the state’s history — due in large part to a leadership vacuum.

In 2000, the year Florida’s term limits law took effect, 220 years of legislative experience was forced out of the chambers of the state House and Senate.

Since then, power in the capitol has been transferred from Read the rest of this entry »

Mark your calendar! Next month’s Irreverent View lunch will be on Wednesday, April 4th at 11:45 a.m. at Rigatoni Restaurant located at 3437 West Kennedy Blvd. (just east of Himes on the north side of Kennedy). Rigatoni will have an all-inclusive lunch with 3-5 menu choices for under $15.00. Seeting is limited and you must RSVP if you plan to attend. Parking is available in the front, side, and back of the restaurant as well as in the parking lot of the apartment building directly behind Rigatoni.

This month’s guest: Our special guest this month is Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. He will speak about the upcoming GOP convention in Tampa and discuss other issues facing the city and answer your questions. Buckhorn is the first Democrat to speak before an Irreverent View lunch. No, we’re not joining the dark side; Bob is a good man, and a great public servant with Tampa’s best interest at heart. There are a few good Democrats out there, and Bob is one of them. I’m convinced he holds up to the standards of good and fair government that Irreverent View lunch guests expect. So mark your calendar for April 4^th

Please RSVP by noon Tuesday, April 3rd.  As always, feel free to bring a friend.

About the lunch*: The lunch group is informal but we have some loose/suggested criteria. They are: You should either be a card-carrying Republican, professed libertarian, a conservative, or someone who thinks our country is currently going down the toilet because most of the politicians (Rs and Ds) we elect are a bunch of bums and morons (think Kevin White and Mike Haridopolos) who are more concerned with their own egos, their own pocket-books, and getting re-elected than they are concerned about the future of the next generation. You can be a liberal Republican, or a conservative Democrat, or a limousine liberal, though the rest of us may wonder what is wrong with you if you are one of those; still, you’re welcome anyway.

IMPORTANT! Please note the following: If you think all Democrats are useless promoters of socialism; or if you frequently stir and drink the GOP’s Kool-aid; or if you believe Rush Limbaugh calling a young co-ed he has never met and knows nothing about a “slut” is okay; or if you don’t think that Rick Santorum isn’t at least just a little bit of a whack job, this particular lunch is not going to be right for you. As such, we ask that you please plan on packing a sack lunch and eating at your desk while listening to the EIB Network that day.

(*) Irreverent View lunch criteria are not necessarily the views of our guest speakers, (but they should be).