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Monday October 29, 2007

[Stupid boating tricks] I got to the marina Sunday trailing a 50’ garden hose that was still attached to the flush valve on my outboard motor (talk about your “line overboard”). It’s a good thing the deer broke off the hose bibb when they were mating last week and I had to disconnect the flush hose to repair the faucet; otherwise there would have been water gushing all over my yard while I was out boating! To top it off, while I was out cruising around I smelled gas. My fuel filter had rusted and there was a pin-hole leak sending gas into my bilge. I immediately went back to the dock and pulled my boat out with my new 2006 Silverado 4x4 truck. To add insult to injury the drive shaft to the front wheels broke in two when pulling out the 20’ boat. The thing’s only got 15,000 miles on it. I had to get it and the boat towed. What a piece of junk, what a day. I also had to take it to Key West last month to replace the lower steering column shaft. I guess I’m through with Chevy trucks. I’m through with yesterday too. What an unpleasant afternoon. This all happened within an hour and a half. I drank the rest of the day away.

I am a "regular" at the BOCC meetings for the past year and half. I am there from beginning till end, and if there is an issue I oppose or support, I speak. So, I go up to the podium regularly.

Recently, events have happened which I find over the top and blatant. It is the treatment of our speakers, who oppose any decisions for development. It is so bad that I must write to the public to let our citizens understand what is happening at our Planning and County Commissioner Board meetings. It is these meetings that have brought drastic changes, negative impact and eviction of hundreds of trailer park residents in the Keys.

When the public speaks at these meetings, they share deeper thoughts on most issues and explain what impact the agenda item would have in our communities. Intelligent issues are brought up, which are omitted when developers make their presentations to these boards. These speakers open up "the other side" and bring balance. However, because developers have the majority 3 - 2 votes on both Boards, it does not matter what is said, as it will not change the minds of those three votes.

It goes even further as I witnessed Donna Windle (P/C) and Dixie Spehar (BOCC) (both are members of the Workforce Housing Task Force) who, after confusing discussions, would ask their staff how to word a motion to pass an ordinance. In other words, they did not understand the subject matter enough, to word the motion themselves, so they ask staff to word the motion for them. This astonishes me as I sit in the audience, because instead of tabling the item for further research to answer unanswered questions and understand all elements of the ordinance they force the vote for approval at that meeting.

If you listen to Jerry Coleman, he goes on, at times over an hour, talking about things unrelated to the topic (I remind you, the county pays him $350 an hour of our tax dollars during our current budget crises). He is never interrupted! And he is not staff. He is an outside contractor.

However, lately the speakers are being distracted and ridiculed. While speaking they are interrupted in the middle of their sentences, hurried, told they "are not germane" (they are) and completely intimidated. It is a tactic used to embarrass speakers to make them shy away. I have been treated like this several times by: Mario DiGenaro, Jim Cameron and most recently John Marston.

I resent this, because I may not be speaking to three persons sitting on these boards, but I am speaking to my fellow citizens at these public meetings or watching on T.V.

I am supposed to have the right of freedom of speech, and in those instances when I am badgered, and stopped in mid-sentence, I have lost my right.

I want these boards to respect my right as a citizen and for all citizens who take time to attend these meetings who also want to speak. I want to hear what they have to say.

Regarding Sloan Bashinski's insistence that everyone needs to read the Blue Paper's hatchet job about Weekley and TAMPOA.

Dennis' paper's stories about police malfeasance are worthwhile (though often somewhat overstated) and do help to keep the cops on their toes. And he does expose some corruption here and there. But for those who he's developed a severe attitude toward, he just goes completely overboard. Three people he "hates" more than anybody: Tom Tukey, Julio Avael and Jimmy Weekley. He takes every opportunity to bash any of them, no matter how big a stretch for an excuse to do so. In a previous article he drug out (now private citizen) Avael's emails encouraging people to vote for Weekley and Dennis bashed them both. This week it's Tukey's, as well as the Truman Annex neighborhood's turn.

He dredges up the old "cat thief" thing again since he knows how relevant that is these days. He repeats all the common misconceptions about the Southard Street agreement. Then adds this false statement: "Not surprisingly, Weekley told US1 Radio newsman Bill Becker that he would push for implementation of the controversial 2000 agreement with TAMPOA." I listened to that interview and he said no such thing. He didn't state that he'd "push" for anything. He merely stated that he could see Southard St being closed late at night when the park is closed.(What would that hurt?) That's not anything like the agreement that the city had made and then balked at.

Dennis goes on with: "That’s why we call Jimmy Weekley TAMPOA’s Boy. Make no mistake about it. He is the TAMPOA candidate and he has openly admitted that if elected, he will try to use his position to push the TAMPOA agenda--including restricting traffic on Southard Street and screwing over the residents of Bahama Village." Weekley has neither said nor implied any such thing.

Many in Truman Annex, too, are wary of Jimmy, but since he's not overtly antagonistic against any individual or neighborhood as Morgan has been, it's understandable when many of them lean in Jimmy's direction. Would you vote for a mayor who openly speaks poorly of your neighborhood?

There's really no connection between Jimmy Weekley and TAMPOA except in Dennis' warped imagination. Yet Dennis characterizes the election as being "McPhearson vs TAMPOA". The last I heard, Jimmy got over 3100 votes in the last election, while there are less than 200 registered voters in the Truman Annex (and undoubtedly even less who actually voted).

[teeming with gays] I'm not sure about that, but more than a few times the different places I have traveled when people find out I live in the Keys they say isn't that where Key West is, the town full of gays?

(Ed: the caps are on purpose, it's the only way i can shriek). (Ed: I hear you, but I still had to change case.) Unstable republican: unstable, unstable, how in the hell can you call me unstable? Dammit, I’m not unstable. I’m very, very, very, very, very stable! You are unstable, you are just a freaking unstable freakmonster. You’re so dammed unstable you can’t even sleep unless your on your left side. I’ll bet your car is so unstable it can only turn left. I’ll bet you can’t even stand on your right foot; that’s how unstable you are. Your furniture is so unstable you have bricks under one leg of both pieces. You’re so unstable you call left turns “clockwise.” Everybody knows you hate NASCAR and why. You were so unstable when you were a kid that you were always “left” out when the kids chose teams. Everybody knows how messed up and unstable you are. Remember “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey”? I’ll bet you can’t even pick the right side of your nose with your right hand. That’s how unstable you are. Not me, I’m stable. I gotta go, I just heard from Ronnie Reagan. Right now I’m gonna meet with him and a right-wing troll under the old Bahia Honda Bridge. Unstable…huh!

I do not think our Moosette is the marrying kind of gal. It usually doesn't take. Who knows about him, but I hear he's been married about three times already.

[Then I realized that my friend’s computer wasn’t connected to the internet.] I have done that first thing in the morning when I boot up and forget to switch on the modem. One of life's signals to hit the caffeine a bit harder.

[Real estate agents] Are they really different than car sales people. They tell the seller they can get this much (and overprice the home) then they tell them to reduce the price. They tell the buyer they are getting a great deal, then they tell the seller they have a pretty good offer if you would reduce the price just a little more. I had a realtor tell me I should reduce the price because of the great profit I was making and didn't have a mortgage. I told the idiot, “I made the investment and was lucky. If you want to give the buyer several thousand off my house cut you commission.” I feel sorry that they have to get jobs like the rest of the world, that's life. They should sell their $50,000 to $75,000 cars if they need money. Houses sell houses--not realtors. They fill out the paper work. (Did p.o. all the realtors?)

The Great White Whale

Be who you are and say what you feel because those that matter don't mind. And those that mind don't matter.

Why does Sloan Bashinsky repeatedly refer to his old Birmingham friend by his former religion? Is Sloan referring to his friend’s nation of birth, then, if so, shouldn’t he call him an Israeli? Is it ok because Sloan’s a Jew and if rappers can call each other n****r then he can call his friends Jew? Or is he just trying to stir the pot?

The republicans have made their choice. They want to keep borrowing for the war and deny our children health care. Go Republicans!

[SCHIP] It’s not lifesaving care that the SCHIP legislation is designed for specifically; it’s the notion that a healthier child is less likely to develop more costly medical care in the future. It’s the “An ounce of prevention” theory. I like it. Republicans don’t. They don’t like it because they hate sharing their wealth now, even if it will make for a better tomorrow for all.

I had lunch on Friday with my friend, Ginger G, who goes from Sacramento to Ontario, CA, every week, Monday thru Thursday, for an IT project she's been working on. The office she works in and the hotel she stays in are 10-20 miles from the fire areas but the atmosphere this week around her has been smoky and overcast. Landing at the Ontario airport last Monday morning was horrific as the Santa Ana winds continued to blow, well over 80-90 mph. Her flight had two aborted landings before finally being able to land for real. Lots of Hail Marys going on.

Her hotel room is normally well-ventilated but there is a layer of dust and grit on all surfaces and bedding. The hotel restaurant is serving meals, but everything, including drinks, is covered by napkins for minimal exposure.

[Telegraph Review] So you don't like what you read here? Then don't read it! This is a forum for (almost) all opinions and we already have a reviewer called ED. You fail.

Also that cake was tacky in the extreme. I mean, when they carved it up do they ask if you want breast or butt? It is probably a good thing that ED did not see fit to post the picture I sent along with my post as you would really had something to complain about.

[Rosy Republican Reply] My dear Democrat friends, don’t you love it when you’re right, well you are right. Well, maybe a little right. In 2007 dollars the national debt is too high, in fact it's the highest it has ever been, but, and it’s a huge but, the insightful way to consider the national debt is to gauge it as a percentage of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Today the national debt is at about 64% of our GDP, this is about the same level that it was in 1957. I suggest if you’re a fan of Bill Clinton, you’d better be seated. That level is the same as it was during Clinton’s mid term. Do you know who we owe the money to? Look out, the sky is falling, oil prices are piercing the sky! Yep, the prices are too damned high, but, if you adjust today’s oil prices for inflation, they equal the prices in the late 70’s to early 80’s. Did somebody say Carter? If you champion low oil prices, tell us why we fail to exploit our own national resources, what party promotes drilling and what party is against? If we fail in Iraq, hold onto your ankles on the oil price issue. Is immigration out of control? Egad, how can you deny that the Democrat party fought tooth and nail to avoid any reform or tightening of our sieve like borders? At least the Republicans got us the beginnings of a fence on our Mexican border? We need to do more. Civil rights in shambles? This is an easy wail to make, but it’s impossible to prove, I challenge the poster to explain what American civil rights are in shambles. Are yours, do you know anyone who has suffered any diminution of their civil rights? Iraq? C’mon, even the big 3 networks are reporting that the surge is having success. Will we win? I don’t know, I hope so. I think that the too many Democrats hope we don’t. You are right on Iran and Syria, both nations do harbor Islamic terrorist. I guess you’ve been missing the news about our brand new economic sanctions and diplomatic moves against Iran. I guess you’ve been missing the news about our latest military actions against the Iranian cross border attacks. I’ve got to admit I have no clue about what we are now doing about Syria. Sorry. O.K. what about inflation? Today inflation is about 3.24%, when Bush took office the inflation rate was about 3.38%. Now what was the name of the President that was before Bush? Guess what President earned us an inflation rate of 13.5% (Hint: peanut farmer) What about foreclosures? You are right on this one; the rate is the highest it has been in 50 years. Why do people go into foreclosure? Many reasons, the bottom line is that people spend more than they can afford. Sub prime lenders and aggressive banking practices exploit this human frailty. Subprime mortgages foreclose at about a rate of 14.5%, regular loans fail rate is about 4.75%. There is a message here: “don’t spend more dollars that you have”. Both parties should take heed. Make sure you take time to sniff the flowers, even if they happen to be roses.

My two favorite fish in the world are grouper and cod. Both have large segment to their flesh and stay firm when cooked. Dolphin is my least favorite and is very much over rated.

I think Dr Dread should do his “eviling” on the Gang of Three in the County Commission.

Gary Blodgett moved to N.Y., then to Calif where he is touring with a band, last I heard. Louie moved to N. Carolina.

I smoke and men still find me attractive when I go to bars; so lay off the smokers. I am getting tired of it.

[A man's home isn't his castle] Take 2: The post says nothing about not wanting a house to be built there. It says all the builder had to do was conform (to make like the rest) to the neighborhood; but no, you cannot see a point if someone stuck you with it!

I know a chef who works in Key West (he used to live in Michigan). I asked him if he cuts out the worms in the grouper fillets and he said no way, it takes too much time. He also said that people don't even notice the cooked worms in the meat. I still am disgusted by grouper, which are nothing more than a bag of interlocking worms covered with KY jelly. You local folks that smoke (and most do) can't taste anything, so you are welcome to all my worm infested fillets. Bon appetite!

Gosh, yesterday’s poster was really down on the country. Yeah, we are in for a rough patch, but one thing you can learn is to invest in oil (and the ride has been just super). If you want to keep up you have to be alert to what is making money and steer your little pile that way and then the old pile is too heavy to lug around and you can share with the family. There are plenty of ways to make money, and the way the dividend payments are coming in most of us can't spend it quick enough before Hill and Bill try to take their chunk. I assure you that the majority of the mega rich have all ready moved the big bucks off shore to keep it from their grasp. Lower taxes mean more jobs and investment for business in America. Just keep on clapping at higher taxes on the rich all the way thru the recession that Hills' taxes are going to cause. Dems all ready have most of the power of the House and Senate since the last election and we have been making steady progress backwards since then. You just do not realize that the mega rich are not going to change their style of living one iota, but they just hold back on infrastructure investment (less jobs) and don't replace workers who retire or move (less jobs) and don't build that new factory until they get the tax incentives they need (less jobs). Unless you are all ready wealthy no one is going to give it to you so you need a good job to make it!

Who else can you work for (as an independent contractor, person on the line, time clock puncher etc) except rich people. Without them hiring me years ago to do what I did I wouldn't be down here in the winter fishing. God Bless all rich and poor alike! The thing we all have to realize is that we need each other.

So I guess this long winded ramble is just to counter the down, down, down poster from yesterday. From this old hard working sot’s viewpoint, things could not be better, the summers hard work is over and its time to coast thru the winter catching fish in the Keys and having a great laid back time recharging the old batteries. The war in Iraq is starting to turn the corner, and our brave sons and daughters will be able to slowly turn that country over to an elected democratic government which can choose to do as they wish. They may choose to go back to the old ways and that is their right, at least we made it so they had a voice. There are a lot less terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and it may be, that wherever they are, they will think twice before they come back over here and kill over 3,000 innocent Americans just going about their days work. Here is a novel idea, lets all pull for the good old USA like in the old days and try to make it the best it can be? It has been done.

Who is Woody? Does anyone have a picture?

I see someone brings the Realtor's commission back in the picture. My guess is the person who wrote this is either someone who has no clue about business or is one of the carpet bagger Realtors who will lower themselves to a lower commission. Let's just go over a common economics lesson here and cover a bit of business as well.

Fact: The Real Estate Market is very low. Fact: Real Estate buyers are very rare. Fact: The Realtor who represents that rare buyer receives 50% of the 6% commission being paid.

Here’s an example: Sales are down and a Realtor has a rare buyer. Two houses are similar and close in price. Which house does the intelligent person think the Realtor controlling the buyer will show more? House A is paying 1/2 of a 4% commission to the Realtor who has the buyer. House B is paying 1/2 of a 6% commission to the Realtor who has the buyer. How many people guessed house B, which is paying more money? Still want a 4% discount broker?

There is one exception where too much money may be charged. Some local Big Pine Key Real Estate firms will tell you they charge 7% and your home will get shown more because of that. Make sure you ask them if it is a 3.5% split with the Realtor who brings the buyer. A company will very often will keep 4% and split 3% with the Realtor who brings the buyer. You are paying more and getting nothing extra in return. That is an extra 1% for nothing. If that happens word gets around and their listings actually get shown even less because the buyer's Realtor feels they have been cheated. If your house is listed with a Realtor at a 7% commission be sure to ask to see the "Agent" version of the MLS print out that shows the commission split as 3.5%. I'm glad I retired from selling Real Estate.

I have news for you, Bubba; we are already in a recession.

[Film is so obsolete] The only reason film is now obsolete is that people have been dumbed-down to think digital imagery is good, when in fact is sucks compared to the quality of film.

[Hugh burning object over Cudjoe] That ball of fire was most likely the back-end of a Navy jet which now cruise regularly over Cudjoe Key since they have changed their flight pattern. It’s funny that since the ex-head of NAS Key West retired and now works for the City of Key West and has moved or is planning to move to Key West from Cudjoe Key, the flight patterns have been changed? It also may be to help Ed Swift who is planning major development in the area on Key West where the jets used to fly over. I thought the Navy needed permission to change flight routes or did this happen under the table like so many other things.

[SCHIP] This makes me sick. If you can't afford them or you can't control them, you shouldn't have had them period! Don't come knocking on my wallet to feed, house, and insure your horde of mistakes, get fixed.

[trouble with your new link] There is absolutely nothing wrong with your new link. The problem is most people who own computers shouldn't! Way back when computers and the web started, I prayed people needed to be licensed to have one.

[Screw the property rights of the guy who owned the waterfront land] Not exactly, the property owner, if he had any class, any honor, any care for others would have built a conforming structure that would not have hampered his neighbors, but like you, he must not give a damn about anything except profit. The Keys are full of mutants like that!

Halloween sky.

I noticed in your classifieds that someone is giving a 50 pint dehumidifier away free because it doesn't work. If you scroll down the same person is selling it for $40 claiming it works great. (Ed Take the free one.)

I just love all the horror films on TV these days. Some of them are so bad that I watch them as I would a comedy.

I agree with the comment on the real estate sales percentage in the Keys. Nothing is moving, yet the realtors insist that they get their 6%. I am guessing most of those Lexus-driving women are just dabbling in real estate and don't really need to earn anything as they are living off of their husband's money. Maybe they should open up gift shops in Key West and leave real estate to the professionals.

[Rude awakening] just planed a 365 day trip to see my own country, America. I priced everything both high and low, and through two travel agents who specialize in this type package. I got it all down to the penny, or so I thought. Then my friend showed me his trick. He emailed my itinerary to his cousin in France, who processed it through their people. It was half the cost for the exact same trip. It pisses me off to know an American pays more to see his own country than a foreigner. It sucks!

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Monday October 29, 2007