Deep Something

Why Josie Tomkow is Wrong for Tampa

March 17, 2026 B. John 214 Views 0 Comments Josie Tomkow, Tampa Politics, Home Rule, SD 14, Preemption, Local Autonomy, Voter Suppression, Public Education

For decades, the “Home Rule” philosophy was the bedrock of Florida governance—the common-sense idea that the people who live in South Tampa and Northwest Hillsborough are better equipped to run their communities than a bureaucrat in a distant capital. But after the 2026 Legislative session, that principle isn’t just under attack; it’s being systematically dismantled. At the center of this power grab is Representative Josie Tomkow, a Polk County resident now seeking to represent Senate District 14. While her campaign paints a picture of “common sense” leadership, her voting record tells a different story: one of a reliable “yes-man” for a Tallahassee establishment that views your local autonomy as an obstacle to be cleared.

From voting to strip your city council of the power to host local cultural festivals to supporting state-level takeovers of local zoning boards, Tomkow has consistently prioritized state authority over your backyard reality. Whether it’s placing barriers at the ballot box for USF students or diverting your tax dollars away from public classrooms, her record is a blueprint for centralization. Senate District 14 doesn’t need a proxy for the Governor’s office; it needs a champion for its own streets. We’re taking a deep dive into the specific “preemption” bills Tomkow supported and why her vision for Florida is a direct threat to the independence of the Tampa Bay area.

[Read the full analysis here: The Death of Home Rule and the Rise of the Polk County Proxy]

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McCarthy in the Mangroves: Florida’s High-Tech Return to the Red Scare

March 9, 2026 B. John 172 Views 0 Comments HB 945, McCarthyism, Florida State Guard, Rep. Danny Alvarez, Government Surveillance, Thought Police, Red Scare, Lennard High School protest, Constitutional Rights, Political Dissent., Florida Politics, DeSantis administration, First Amendment

A Flagpole, a Principal, and the New “Thought Police”
If you’ve been following the news in Hillsborough County, you’re likely familiar with the recent “scandal” at Lennard High School—or rather, the scandal that wasn’t. We watched in real-time as Representative Danny Alvarez took to social media to demand a principal’s head over a student walkout that, upon even the slightest investigation, proved to be a non-event handled with textbook safety protocols. It was a classic “Red Scare” tactic: loud, factually hollow, and designed to intimidate. But while the principal’s career was thankfully spared, the mindset behind the attack has just been codified into a terrifying piece of legislation.

HB 945 is currently moving through the Florida legislature, and it should have every citizen—regardless of party—checking their digital locks. The bill seeks to create a new counterintelligence unit with the power to monitor our “patterns of life” and target anyone whose “views or opinions” are deemed “inimical” to the state. In a “Free State” that increasingly feels like a digital panopticon, we are being asked to trust our private data to an administration that can’t even get the facts straight about a local high school gathering.

When “inimical” effectively translates to “unfavorable to the Governor,” we have moved past the era of public safety and into the era of the Thought Police. Backed by a growing, personal “State Guard” militia, this isn’t just a policy shift; it’s a constitutional five-alarm fire. I’ve written a full breakdown of why this return to McCarthyism is a danger to the very fabric of our Republic.
Click here to read “McCarthy in the Mangroves” and see why Florida’s newest law is a direct assault on the First Amendment.

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When Justice Outruns Wisdom

February 27, 2026 B. John 199 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, Epictetus, justice, Leadership, Seneca, wisdom, Civic Leadership, Institutional Integrity, Donald Trump, Moral Discipline

“I told her I was ready to give up. I wasn’t. I was frustrated.”

What began as a communication bottleneck in a church office became a lesson in leadership. When drafts moved without review and a public link went live incorrectly, urgency surged. The concern was legitimate. The tone was not. Justice rose quickly. Wisdom lagged behind. Where has urgency outrun wisdom in your week?

In this new essay, I contemplate what the Stoics understood about anger, discipline, and leadership—and why the same dynamic I saw in myself is evident at the highest levels of national leadership. Anger is a signal. It is not a strategy. Wisdom must organize justice, or institutions begin to fray.

Read: When Justice Outruns Wisdom.

Politics Legislature Featured Places Tampa

Where in the World is Josie Tomkow?

February 19, 2026February 19, 2026 B. John 498 Views 0 Comments Medical Freedom, Florida Special Election, Tallahassee Insider, Senate District 14, Josie Tomkow, Carpetbagger, South Tampa Politics, Residency Scandal, Tom Piccolo, Florida Health Committee

Or The Ghost of Polk City and the Great Tampa Gamble South Tampa and Downtown are built on a foundation

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Wisdom: The Organizing Virtue

February 15, 2026February 15, 2026 B. John 290 Views 0 Comments Practical Wisdom, Civic Leadership, Moral Philosophy, Donald Trump, Political Judgment, Appalachian State, Boone NC, Modern Stoicism, Stoicism, wisdom

What happens when leadership confuses force with wisdom?

Learn a 3-step pause to outthink panic and regain control over decision-making. We are living in a moment when reactivity often masquerades as strength. Foreign policy escalates without proportion. Economic decisions shift with the winds of applause. Dissent is treated as disloyalty. But courage without wisdom becomes recklessness. Justice without wisdom becomes punishment. Temperance without wisdom becomes denial. Something essential is missing when judgment fails at scale.

In this new essay, I reflect on what Stoic wisdom actually looks like — not as abstraction, but as disciplined judgment under pressure. From sleepless nights of personal uncertainty to watching national decisions unfold, I explore why wisdom is the organizing virtue that keeps both a life and a nation from unraveling.

Read more in Wisdom: The Organizing Virtue.

A gently rising two-lane road at sunrise, narrowing toward the horizon in soft golden light.

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Looking Back at 2025: A Year of Loss, Resolve, and Reckoning

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 B. John 717 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, Resilience, Civic Engagement, Reflection, grief, aging, Reinvention, Intentional Living

At 66, I did not expect 2025 to take as much as it did. My mother died. I lost my job. Certain illusions about stability quietly disappeared. It was not a year of fireworks or easy victories. It was a year of subtraction. And yet, beneath the loss, something steadier emerged: clarity. About health. About purpose. About what still matters when titles and timelines fall away.
If 2025 was the year of endurance, 2026 must be the year of intention. Fewer illusions. More intention. The road continues. In this year-end reflection, I write honestly about grief, layoffs, aging, civic resolve, and the discipline of choosing steadiness anyway. I hope you’ll read the full piece and walk a little of that road with me.

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When Elected Officials Skip the Phone Call and Go Straight to the Pitchfork

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026 B. John 186 Views 0 Comments Student walkout, education policy, Hillsborough County, DeSantis administration, ICE protest, fact-checking, school governance, Civic Engagement, Florida Politics

Apparently, in Florida politics, the due-diligence phase has been replaced by vibes, outrage, and a quick dash to social media. Two Hillsborough County Republican legislators worked themselves into a moral panic over students protesting ICE at a local high school — and then skipped the most basic step of governance: checking the facts. Instead of making a phone call, they fired off a letter demanding an investigation and the permanent revocation of a principal’s educator license. Because when you hear something alarming, why verify it when you can threaten someone’s career instead?

Here’s the inconvenient truth they missed: the protest happened after instructional time. Not during class. Not instead of math or English. After. That small detail didn’t stop Florida’s education commissioner — a hand-picked appointee of the governor — from piling on with a scolding warning about “diverting students from instruction.” Strong language, zero curiosity. What followed wasn’t leadership or oversight. It was performative outrage, public intimidation, and a clear message to educators and students alike: civic engagement is welcome only when it stays quiet, invisible, and politically convenient.

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The Universal Liturgy: Civic Duty as the Fruit of Faith

February 5, 2026 B. John 223 Views 0 Comments justice and compassion, public square, Civic Engagement, social holiness, moral responsibility, Wesleyan theology, faith and democracy

What if voting, showing up at a council meeting, or speaking up for a neighbor weren’t just civic responsibilities, but acts of faith? Many of us treat spirituality as a private matter, safely contained within the walls of a sanctuary. But across religious traditions, the message is consistent: faith that never enters the public square is incomplete.

From John Wesley’s insistence on social holiness, to the prophets’ demand for justice, to Eastern teachings on interconnectedness, belief is proven through action. Civic life is where compassion becomes concrete, and values are tested. Read the full essay to explore why civic engagement may be the most honest expression of faith we have right now.

Politics Election Legislature Featured Places Tampa

The Ideological Tourist: Why Josie Tomkow is the Wrong Prescription for Tampa

February 4, 2026February 5, 2026 B. John 345 Views 0 Comments Ideological Tourist, Campaign of Terror, Tampa Bay, Florida Politics, Senate District 14, Josie Tomkow, Carpetbagging, Health Committee, Public Health

Josie Tomkow is a career politician currently engaged in an audacious act of “ideological tourism.” Having spent years in rural Polk County, she is now attempting to transplant her record of institutionalized cruelty into the heart of South Tampa and Downtown. As the Chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, she hasn’t just been a witness to the state’s “campaign of terror” against marginalized communities—she has been its gatekeeper. From overseeing draconian abortion bans to weaponizing healthcare against the LGBTQ+ community, Tomkow has treated the law as a tool for “othering” rather than a safeguard for the public.

For a district that serves as the engine of Florida’s medical and research sector, Tomkow’s record is a fundamental mismatch. While Tampa’s doctors and researchers rely on scientific consensus, Tomkow has been the primary legislative enabler for a reckless anti-science agenda that threatens our schools and retirees. She is a “carpetbagger” who views our community as a political fallback, yet she brings with her a “patrimonial” system that prioritizes extremist loyalty over the actual health of our citizens. It is time to tell this opportunist that Tampa’s values—and our healthcare—are not for sale.

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The Constitutional Squatter: Is Jay Collins Even Eligible to Lead?

January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 B. John 1599 Views 0 Comments Patrimonialism, Senate District 14, Tampa Politics, Residency Requirements, Operation BBQ Relief, Florida Constitution, Florida Fighters PAC, Carpetbagging, Dark Money

For months, we’ve watched Tallahassee treat Senate District 14 like a “GOP Arrivals Lounge”—a place where political tourists drop a carpetbag just long enough to get their voter registration stamped.

Our latest investigation into Jay Collins pulls back the curtain on a system where residency is a shell game and public service is a family business.

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Steel-Toed Integrity

January 10, 2026February 4, 2026 B. John 404 Views 0 Comments Brian Nathan, Steel-Toed Integrity, IBEW, Tampa Politics, Veteran, Working Families, Senate District 14

When something breaks in the real world, you don’t call a politician to give a speech; you call someone with a toolbox to fix it. That is the leadership Brian Nathan offers Senate District 14. A Navy veteran and IBEW electrician who chose Tampa as his home during the Great Recession, Brian brings a craftsman’s perspective to a political system that is deeply broken.

Read about Brian’s vision for “steel-toed integrity”—a philosophy born on the job site that prioritizes practical solutions for working families over political theater. He is running to fight for affordable housing, good-paying local jobs, and quality education.

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