Mystery Woman in Petraeus Investigation is Named

A mystery woman who told the FBI that she had been receiving threatening emails from Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell is a social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, and a friend of the Holly and David Petraeus.

The NYT reports:

The woman, Jill Kelley, 37, is “a very well-known person of influence in the Tampa community,” active in community organizations that support military causes, according to the friend. Tampa is the home of the military’s Central Command, which Mr. Petraeus headed before serving in Afghanistan and then as C.I.A. director. It was during the Petraeuses’ time in Tampa that they became friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband, Dr. Scott Kelley.

In a statement released Sunday night, Ms. Kelley and her husband did not address their involvement in the investigation that ultimately led to Mr. Petraeus’s resignation on Friday from the C.I.A. after admitting that he had had an extramarital affair.

 The Kelleys said that they had been friends with Mr. Petraeus “and his family for over five years.”

“We respect his and his family’s privacy, and want the same for us and our three children,” the family said in a statement.

In related news, Politico looks at Broadwell's access to classified information:

In a speech last month at the University of Denver, Broadwell said that the CIA at one point was holding prisoners at an annex near the consulate, and that the assault may have been an effort to free those prisoners. "I don't know if a lot of you heard this, but the CIA annex had actually—had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back. So, that's still being vetted," she said, according to a video of the Denver event posted online and first reported by the Israeli media outlet Arutz Sheva.

Later in her remarks, Broadwell, said some of her information had come from a Fox News report, but it does not appear to have included that detail, according to Foreign Policy. The CIA has denied holding any prisoners at Benghazi.

Previously...
Report: Broadwell's Threatening Emails Sparked Petraeus' Downfall [tlrd]
Did CIA Ask FBI To Investigate Outsider David Petraeus? VIDEO [tlrd]

Gay Republicans, Young Conservatives Take Out Full Page Marriage Equality Ad in Tampa Tribune

Visitors to the Republican National Convention may catch a full page ad taken out by  Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry and Log Cabin Republicans on Wednesday if they're reading the Tampa Tribune, LCR reports:

The full-page color ad, featuring photos of same-sex couples and their families, emphasizes that the freedom to marry is fully consistent with principles valued by conservatives: freedom, personal responsibility, and the importance of family. The ad comes in the wake of the party's extreme stance on marriage in its draft platform, which includes support for a federal constitutional amendment banning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.  Tony Perkins, the president of the anti-gay Family Research Council, authored the marriage plank, which is expected to be ratified at the convention.

"Gay or straight, Republicans are united in the belief that strong families are critical to a free society," said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "As fellow conservatives, Log Cabin Republicans actually agree with Tony Perkins about the importance of family values. The difference is, we believe that the freedom to marry is directly in line with the core ideals and principles of the Republican Party - less government, more individual freedom, personal responsibility and the importance of family."

Check the full ad out, AFTER THE JUMP...

GOProud's 'Homocon': Dana Loesch Plus A Fetish Club Plus 'Christ-Haters' Equals A Swell Time (VIDEO) (UPDATED)

 

The GOProud folk descending on Central Florida for the Republican National Convention next week have selected a venue for their famed Homocon party, and seem to have solidified the "Special Guest" list.

The venue: The Honey Pot, the premier fetish club in Ybor City -- a little burg in Tampa known primarily for its nightlife, and for drawing booze-mad college kids from their campuses in St. Pete, Tampa, and Lakeland.

The "Special Guest" list includes: the American Conservative Union's David Keene. Grover Norquist. Larry O'Connor, of Breitbart. Will Cain. S.E. Cupp. Margaret Hoover. The long-suffering Richard Grenell. Bigshot Tea Partier Amy Kremer. The very-fun Mary Matalin, the sourpuss CNN commentator, famously married to ideological opponent James Carville. And, for some reason, Dana Loesch.

Dana Loesch, the editor-in-chief of Andrew Breitbart's BigJournalism.com, is notably unfriendly to gay people. AFTER THE JUMP, listen to a squirm-inducing clip from Dana's radio show in which she bullies a young, self-identified Christian woman who calls to express her support of marriage equality, and ends up teling to the poor girl that she must, therefore, "hate Christ." The logical contortions Ms. Loesch must perform to arrive at this conclusion are, I think you'll agree, most impressive. (Or indicative of almost incapacitating idiocy.)

Listening to the clip, it's impossible to imagine this woman glad-handing gays in Ybor City, but apparently that's what'll happen. Salud, GOProud: You make crazy happen.

There have been several online reports that Homocon will feature a Paul Ryan lookalike in an upstairs VIP room, but GOProud doesn't mention that in its advertisements, and I can't find any announcement to that effect on the Honey Pot's Facebook page. I called GOProud to ask about it this morning, but it seems there's nobody manning the phones on the weekends.

Again -- to get your nerves jangled, listen to Loesch AFTER THE JUMP ...

(UPDATE: As I suspected, there will be no Paul Ryan lookalike at Homocon. Also, despite multiple press notices to the contrary, turns out Honey Pot isn't a fetish club at all.) 

How Many RNC Activists Will Take A Shot In The Dark?

Via JMG comes this flier from a gay bathhouse in Tampa offering some deals for GOP delegates in town for the Republican National Convention.

Meanwhile, The Daily Bleach has some other scintillating fliers being handed out ahead of the convention, including an advert from an establishment called Dwight’s Erotique Cabaret, where they patriotically celebrate "American muscle".

Check it out AFTER THE JUMP.

As Tropical Storm Isaac Aims at Tampa, Mayor Says He'll Cancel Republican Convention if Need Be

With Tropical Storm Isaac forecast to approach South Florida by Monday morning, the mayor of Tampa, Bob Buckhorn, says he'll cancel the Republican National Convention if need be:

“Obviously public safety is going to trump politics,” Bob Buckhorn said on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “If we had to make that decision to cancel or to postpone or move the convention, we will do that knowing full well that my obligation and the city’s obligation is to move people out of harm’s way. The politics will take care of itself.”

But why would God do such a thing?

Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays Join 'It Gets Better' Project: VIDEOS

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays have released videos for the "It Gets Better" project.

The Phillies' video, which features, Roy Halladay, John Mayberry Jr., Chase Utley, Hunter Pence and Mike Stutes, debuted on Friday night, which was also Gay Night at Citizens Bank Park.

The Rays' video features Johnny Damon, BJ Upton, Sam Fuld, Joe Maddon, and Sean Rodriguez

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...