I enjoyed Linda Downing's recent "The Face in the Mirror" contribution and agreed with most of it. However, her logic is seriously flawed when she rants about the "blatant racism" of the Confederate flag, which is ludicrous. Nothing could be further from the truth. ...more

March 25, 2009

The Big Guava - so much to see. In fact, sometimes it's even the things you don't see. How many of you in town this week drove in from the airport and didn't catch that sign after you go over the big overpass, the one that says "Tampa," then switches to "St. Petersburg," so that if you weren't fast enough you found yourself on the Howard Frankland Bridge going to St. Petersburg? ...more

January 29, 2009

By now you might be getting the idea that Tampa is as much a state of mind as a place. ...more

January 28, 2009

Super Bowl visitors coming to the Tampa area expecting a cosmopolitan waterfront city might be surprised to see the giant Confederate flag visible from Interstate 4. ...more

January 27, 2009

Rebels No Longer Rile There has been an unexpected pleasant benefit for me in the victory of Barack Obama. I no longer feel the instant rage and anger that would over-sweep me as I passed the outrageous Confederate flag that lurks over I-75 motorists. ...more

November 11, 2008

Readers at TBO.com responded strongly to news that the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans put up a 30-by-60-foot Confederate flag at the Interstate 75 bridge over U.S. 92. The flag was raised Oct. 12 and is even larger than the one raised there last summer, sparking widespread controversy and national attention. The flag is the centerpiece of a 1.9-acre memorial park. To see a picture of the flag, read related stories or add your views, go to Brandon.tbo.com, keyword "Confederate Flag." Below is a sampling of reader views. ...more

October 22, 2008

Readers at TBO.com responded strongly to news that the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans put up a 30-by-60-foot Confederate flag at the Interstate 75 bridge over U.S. 92. The flag was raised Oct. 12 and is larger than the one raised there last summer, sparking controversy and national attention. The flag is the centerpiece of a 1.9-acre memorial park. To see a picture of the flag, read related stories or add your views, go to Brandon.tbo.com, keyword "Confederate Flag." Below are some reader views. ...more

October 22, 2008

"Bigot!" "Prejudiced." "Hateful" "Ignorant." "Meanness." "Visceral hatred!" ...more

October 19, 2008

It is perhaps unwittingly fitting that the massive Confederate flag fluttering in the breeze is situated at Interstates 4 and 75, a proper reflection of the combined IQs that came up with this hickville idea in the first place. ...more

October 16, 2008

A new, larger Confederate flag flying at the junction of interstates 4 and 75 will be like "lipstick on a pretty woman," attracting more attention to a memorial park at the flag's base, the property owner said Monday. ...more

October 14, 2008