Greetings. You have reached the website of the Gainesville Iguana. There is a searchable archive of past issues here, please feel free to browse , but as of now most of 2008 and 2009 are not represented. Hard copies are available by mail or telephone inquiry. Sorry for this inconvenience. The Iguana is in need of a new web-master currently.

THERE IS A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THE IGUANA: It is . The old address is a dead end at this time. Telephone and postal address remain the same.

Iguana's Election Picks
Iguana's Election Picks, in order they'll appear on the ballot . . . . MORE

Early Voting and Vote by Mail info
October 29 at 5:00 PM is your last day to request an absentee ballot be mailed to you. ... Besides absentee, also known as voting by mail, the ability to vote early is both convenient and will speed the voting process for those who DO choose to vote November 4th. . . . MORE

School tax referendum point-counterpoint
Yes: I must disagree with my good friend, Scott Camil, in his decision to oppose the one mill property tax referendum on this November's ballot. As a member of the Alachua County School Board, I readily admit that I have disagreed strongly with several Board decisions about how the taxpayers' money has been spent. However, this request of property owners to vote themselves a one mill increase in their property taxes is different for several reasons.
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No: I agree with my good friend Eileen Roy that the schools desperately need money. The problem is that I have no faith that Dan Boyd, the Superintendent, or the ruling majority on the board will do the right thing. This ruling majority has a history of bad decisions and bad faith. . . . MORE

Support Mike Byerly
In early October Michael Ryals, the "Senior Vice President of the Commercial and Land Division of Bosshardt Realty Services, Inc" sent out a "Dear Friends" letter. It read as follows. . . . MORE

Cliff Stearns, No-show
Women For Wise Growth, an Alachua County PAC since 1998, has conducted a number of successful educational and political forums. WWG decided to sponsor a forum between incumbent Cliff Stearns (R) and challenger Tim Cunha (D). . . . MORE

The economic meltdown and what do about it
In late September, Republicans in Congress were laughing with scorn at the Democrats for suggesting that the U.S. government should buy stakes in the banks to forestall an economic meltdown. This strategy was derided as "too European" and interventionist.

Now Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, with pressure from foreign powers, is dragging Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson into doing just that. . . . MORE

Member of SF 8 faces Florida charges
Harold Taylor, one of the San Francisco 8, is facing a bogus charge in Florida.

The SF 8 are former Black Panthers and Black Panther supporters who have been brought up on 4-decade old California murder chrges which at the time were thrown out of court. The charges were resurrected by prosecutors who still want to get these men for their political views and work. . . . MORE

ACORN's response to McCain's smear ad
ACORN President Maude Hurd released the following statement today in response to the McCain campaign's new ad claiming that, among other things, ACORN is responsible for the mortgage crisis:

"For almost a decade, ACORN, a community organization of 400,000 families in neighborhoods across the country, has been fighting against the predatory lending practices that have robbed our members of their homes, destabilized neighborhoods, and roiled the global economy." . . . MORE

Amendment 2 could strip partner benefits from couples
On November 4, Floridians will not only cast their votes for choice of president, vice president and a number of other elected offices, but will also vote on whether to place a restrictive limit on rights in the Florida constitution.

Although Florida law already prohibits recognizing marriage between individuals of the same sex, Amendment 2, the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment" if enacted would place in the state constitution language stating that "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." . . . MORE

Labor Party to show "Recount" Oct. 28
The Alachua County Labor Party will host a showing of "Recount" the dramatization of the 2000 elections in Florida. . . . MORE

October 18th, 2008
In our early days the Gainesville Iguana once did an April Fools calender to go along with the real one. In addition to various ironic, satirical and joke entries, we had one day where every group in town had their ideal event; all the same day, all the same time.

This October 18th brings that day to mind as we prepared the calendar for this edition of the Iguana. . . . MORE

Civic Media Center's 15th anniversary celebration events
In October we celebrate 15 years of the Civic Media Center's information insurgency, grassroots political education, activist networking and community-building here in Gainesville.

Especially in this, an election year, let us remember that no matter who is in power and who they claim to represent, no matter what they say they'll do "for" the rest of us, power concedes nothing without a demand, and it is essential that we have our own autonomous people's institutions like the CMC in order to organize and fight--in fact, this is the only way real, fundamental social change happens: from the bottom up, by the actions of we the people, armed with knowledge, organizing and working together for our mutual well-being. . . . MORE

Pennie Diann Foster, 1954-2008
We've lost a dear friend and women's liberation movement sister.

It is with sad hearts that we tell you of the passing of Pennie Foster. She had long been a feminist activist, and a strong advocate for women's and workers rights, national health care, and against racism. Her generous spirit and unflagging dedication, not to mention her fabulous cooking skills, will be missed by all of us. . . . MORE