A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

BE PART OF THE LEGACY

TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

This FINAL encore experience will be unlike any other. Because like everything we do, it's been "reimagined" from beginning to end. It's not a virtual or hybrid event. It's not a conference. It's not a seminar, a workshop, a meeting, or a symposium. And it's not your typical run-of-the-mill everyday event crammed with stages, keynote speeches, team-building exercises, PowerPoint presentations, and all the other conventional humdrum. Because it's up close & personal by design. Where conversation trumps presentation. And where authentic connection runs deep.

The Survival of Our Democracy As We Know It

We are on the precipice of seeing our Democracy change into what we never would have imagined just a few years ago. The people behind the attempt to dismantle our Democracy have been working towards this for the past few decades, one year at a time and one new piece of legislation at a time. They have been slowly taking away little pieces of our freedoms as subtly as possible, trying not to cause any alarms.

But we are coming to a point in our history that may permanently change America into something most of us never thought possible; a dictatorship. If you doubt that, then let’s look at the facts.

You are seeing legislation that, in some states is making it harder to vote in an election by the GOP mainly because that is the only way they can win elections. And this is happening in more states each year. They try to make us believe it’s to protect the safety of elections when, in fact, it’s simply to prevent those who don’t agree with the GOP agenda from voting. We have the best and safest election process across the board and their reasoning has no basis in facts.

You are seeing legislation that is restricting what we read in schools in the hopes of dumbing down the next generations of children that will then be taught to agree with anything these GOP leaders want them to think instead of letting them make their own decisions on what to believe, agree or disagree about otherwise known as freedom of speech and thought or just dumbing down future generations to stay in power.

They want a government that is without checks and balances so that they can do whatever they want without any repercussions to be accounted for. In short, they want to establish a government with a dictator.

They want to take away the rights of the LBGT community in terms of same-sex marriages with no respect for their rights as citizens. And don’t be surprised if they decide to put them all into concentration camps one day as Hitler did with the Jews. The same goes for people of color.

I do not mean that every member of the GOP is racist; I’m sure many are not, but if those who don’t agree with the rest speak up against this radical thinking, they risk not getting the support to be re-elected. This is not what Democracy should look like.

In addition, they want to take away the rights of women when it comes to abortion and I know this is a very touchy subject by all. But at the end of the day, no government should have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body regardless of what their religious or personal beliefs are. That is still the right of the woman, period.

Much of what I mentioned above is written in that document some of you may have heard of called Project 2025 written by a group in a think tank, all of whom are trying to mold our government with their agenda. You can learn more by going to www.unthinktank.us which has highlights into the concerning pieces that are being advocated.

I could go on and on about all the other things they have on their agenda, but if you are at all concerned about the Democracy of our country, at the least, you should educate yourself about this document.

For those who are Republican citizens, please ask yourself are you a racist? Do you have an issue with the LGBT community? If so, how does their existence directly affect your life? Even if you are not okay with this group, do you think our government should dictate what their rights are?  Do you think any political leader should be above the law if it directly affects your life? Are you okay without having any checks and balances in our government? And are you okay if they take away your freedom of speech?

We as a Country should not sit back and allow this to happen, even if the right person to prevent this is not your preferred candidate to be President.  If you are so caught up with the false rhetoric of your preferred candidate, then ask yourself, is that the person I want to be in charge of my life and Country? If the answer is still yes, then I suggest you take a step back and get outside the box to see this from another person’s perspective and with the understanding that this is what you are voting for for your children and grandchildren keeping in mind that you or their parents won’t be able to dictate what their sexual orientation may be growing up, that is simply not the possible. You have no control over that and all you would be doing is making their lives miserable as a result of this lack of compassion for allowing each individual to choose for themselves what they want with their lives. If this is what YOU call Democracy, then you don’t understand what Democracy is.

Democracy is NOT limiting freedom of speech.
Democracy is NOT dictating a person’s sexual orientation
Democracy is NOT preventing checks and balances
Democracy is NOT having the attitude of my way or the highway
Democracy is NOT just for the wealthy

So, when you go to vote this November, remember you are not just voting for a leader, you are voting for the future of America as we know it.

Jon Landers
Jon Landershttps://tbaims.com/
I actually got into the music industry coming from the lawn & garden and hardware industry. I was a manufacturer's representative selling and servicing Home Depots and big box home centers from Maine to Virginia. In 1999 I went through a divorce from a 29-year marriage. In the three years following my divorce, my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer, my dad attempted suicide because of my mom's condition and my brother was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. This led me into a deep depression. In 2001 I changed careers and purchased a graphic design business called Creative Desktop; closed on the purchase on 9/7/01 not knowing what was about to happen on 9/11. I changed the name of the business to Creative Group LLC as I felt the original name was already outdated and did what I could to keep it going despite the fact that I was still dealing with my depression.  One day I happened to walk into a Circuit City, saw a keyboard, hit the demo keys that played the theme to the James Bond Movies for which I was a big fan of, and, by impulse, purchased the keyboard, labeled the keys, and used the built-in loops to compose my music and write lyrics to go with it. If I had not gone to this Circuit City to buy this keyboard, I know for a fact you would never have seen the start of TBAIMS.  In 2006 I remarried and wrote my vows into a song for our first dance at our wedding called This Special Moment. My producer, Bobbi Tammaro aka FunkeeBoy outsourced the vocals as I was the first to admit I could not sing on key. The only track you will hear me on is a bluesy rapping song called The Midlife Crisis Blues. All of the other song tracks are recorded by other independent music artists that my producer outsourced for the vocals.

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 "MOST COMPREHENSIVE LIFE & CULTURE MULTIMEDIA DIGEST" AWARD

WE ARE NOW FEATURED ON

EXPLORE 360° NATION

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

OUR COMMUNITIES