Saturday February 28, 2009

[Freedom at What Cost] It's really disappointing to learn that the people who stole items from my neighbors and I are now back at home.  The police chased them down in the woods, identified the property, and returned it to us. Now, after all their hours of work, it must be kind of a downer for them to have to set these guys free. What's wrong with our system? We live in a nice neighborhood and must now be suspicious of everyone who enters. What a way to live? The first time I saw bars at home windows was in Miami, now I know why!

We got  your money - gonna  spend your money - gonna  print some more money!

[Crab Cracker] That is sure a nice unit. I would appreciate some dimensions. I would like to make one too. Thanks.

Yes sir, you are a bigot. The only positive thing I can say about your beliefs is, at least with every passing year, there are fewer and fewer of your kind left in the world. I love the way you highlight the negative "facts" about black soldiers and hurry by the positive ones, even managing to put a negative spin on them. You are, indeed, a true Republican.

The truth is, you can find positive and negative stories about men of any race. The Europeans have been laughing at us for years under GW. Do you honestly think they've admired us the past 8 years?  Never mind - you probably do.

Obama's doing a wonderful job. He's been in office a month and he's initiated more than GW had in his first year. Just know, we liberals are laughing our asses off at these desperate posts you guys make every day - as if your bitter rants even mattered (yes, what you wrote was a rant). The main reason I visit the Telegraph these days is to laugh at how hard you guys are taking this. (snicker)

[US Airways Crash] This is a genuine wow. The animation is matched up to the tower radio as events happened. YouTube - Hudson River Plane Landing (US Airways 1549) Animation with Audio

[Socialism] Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 - December 19, 1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. He said this in a 1944 speech:  "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.  I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democratic Party has adopted our platform."

[Mars] This first of its kind three-dimensional picture of Mars' north pole, taken in 1999, enables scientists to estimate the volume of its water ice cap with unprecedented precision, and to study its surface variations and the heights of clouds in the region for the first time.

[Rectal Implement] Nurses in Lake Geneva, Wis. accused of photographing a patient and posting the pictures on the Internet have been fired. The investigation started with an anonymous call from an employee at Mercy Walworth Medical Center in Lake Geneva, with the allegation that a nurse took pictures of a patient with her cell phone and posted them on her FaceBook page. Last week, the nurse said she never posted the pictures on the Internet. Investigators have since interviewed the nurse and said she offered more details.

There were two nurses that independently took a picture each of an X-ray of a patient. The patient was admitted to the emergency room with an object lodged in his rectum. Police said the nurse explained she and a co-worker snapped photos when they learned it was a sex device. Police said discussion about the incident was posted on her FaceBook page, but they haven't found anyone who actually saw the pictures.

The nurse removed her FaceBook page from the Internet last week. This conduct does not appear to violate any state laws.  The case was to the FBI.

[Surf's Up] Students will soon be able to spend two years learning to surf in a new college course costing the taxpayer £100,000. Ananova - College launches two year surfing course

[Obama Bad] Obama’s speech to the Marines about Iraq was shameful. Forget about the probable consequences of his policy, but simply consider the pride of our valiant warriors. Our warriors have executed American policy by vanquishing a determined and dangerous foe. There is a word for vanquishing your foe; that word is victory. Obama blatantly chooses to ignore that our warriors have established the only functioning Democracy in the 20 Arabic nations in that region. Our warriors have freed about 30 million Iraqi’s from one of the most cruel dictators in memory. Obama denigrates their accomplishments. Regime change in Iraq first became the policy of the United States under President Clinton. That policy was ultimately executed by our warriors. Obama proved that he is nothing more than a shallow craven political hack when he refused to even utter the word victory simply to deny any credit for that victory to his predecessor. To gain petty political vengeance, Obama purposefully shamed our troops. I must note the policy that he is now adopted is possible only because of the efforts and policies of his predecessor. He promised change, he delivers only calumny.

Audi’s new flying vehicle. http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/audi-shark-gives-the-glimpse-of-a-thrilling-aerial-ride/

[Chauvinist] They’re the ones who can't make a logical, meaningful point in less then 800 words!

[E.T. Fnger Light] Does anyone else see something disturbing about the E.T. finger-light?  Maybe it's inherent appeal to lonely ladies?

[Socialism] Damnit Damnit Damnit, it just ain’t friggin fair that my tax dollars are bailing out every stinking bozo that’s made bad personal and rotten business decisions. Now we’ve nationalized Citibank. Obama won’t permit it to be called that, but you and I and every swinging pee pee of an American taxpayer have bought the controlling interest in Citibank. About 50% of the stock of that company is now the property of the USA. Guess what; when that happened, the stock price took a huge dump. Each share is now worth about the cost of the fee to use an ATM. At the instant we bought, because we bought it, it lost most of its value.

We’re in the process of subsidizing the mortgages of people who bought over priced properties that they couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage on, and they didn’t put any money down on. It goes on and on and on. I just heard today that a nationwide movement is beginning to protest this crap, you know with marches and signs and placards. Anybody interested? http://washingtonindependent.com/31868/scenes-from-the-new-american-tea-party

I have a Dream. Medical Marijuana Stance Changing Under Obama | CommonDreams.org

[Pay Pee Pee] Ryanair considers charging passengers to use lavatories. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/4861918/Ryanair-considers-charging-passengers-to-use-lavatories.html

[Cub Scouts] (this is an old one) "I was thrown out of cub scouts for eating a brownie after lunch."

[US Airway] When they took the plane out of the Hudson they ended up having to detour through East Rutherford, NJ. US Airways 1549 -- Taxis through East Rutherford NJ... - ExpressJet Forum

[Trust a Politician] I find it amazing that the American public, after all these years, actually believe the lies that all politicians tell us every day. Remember the one supposed joke, how can you tell when their lying?  Their lips are moving.  Still people sit and listen intently to every word they say and believe it. Even though the economy is in the toilet they want pay raises for themselves, not to mention family vacations earmarked as fact-finding missions to Europe. These fact-finding missions turn out to be a shopping sprees for the families, all at tax payer expense. We have a man running a country with no leadership history from a state that is noted for corruption with a mostly Clinton cabinet of the most visibly corrupt members that there has ever been.  My optimism is not really rising about our situation. Maybe it's like the computer industry that hire people who can hack into secure programs to figure how to stop it.

Topless, overweight male dance team strikes a deal with Ellen's producers: They get 8000 hits on their YouTube video and they will be on the show(?).  YouTube - Porkers Dance Team Debut

Chuck Norris Facts: When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris doesn't read books.  He stares them down until he gets the information he wants. There is no theory of evolution.  Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

1957 Sandwich Menu from Woolworth's

[Monkey, Goat, Wire] YouTube - AWESOME Circus trick!! (???? ? ????? ??????????)

[The White House] This is either a bad joke or you are a complete and utter moron. My gut is saying moron.

[More Bar Wisdom] Have you ever been so drunk that you slurred your thoughts?

Prisioners at Innisfail's work camp enjoyed pornography, mobile phone calls and unsupervised use of a vehicle to roam the district, sources have claimed. Prisoners live it up - Local News - Cairns, QLD, Australia

Denny's is offering a new breakfast meal called the Suleman: You get eight eggs, no sausage, and the guy next to you has to pay the bill.

[Now, they’re swearing in tongues] "The Sound of Desperation". Not hardly, I live well, in spite of you mean spirited SOBs. I didn't expect anything less from a countrymen

or somebody who closely fits that mold. I have a message for you in Hungarian: Baszd meg azt a büdös kurva ribancz anyádat, te rothadt majom geczi faszkalap. 

Play with blocks. http://www.flashbynight.com/bongo/

[Pull Out] Dismay at Obama Plan to leave 50,000 Troops in Iraq after 2010. Dismay at Obama Plan to Leave 50,000 US Troops in Iraq after 2010 | CommonDreams.org

[Angry Farang Syndrome] The enraged Australian managed to injure a number of officers before he was finally overpowered, in the process of which he, disturbingly, lost his trousers. The photo of the incident in the Thai press shows the Aussie with his trousers round his ankles, his dignity somewhat spared by a small superimposed red shape.

[Republicans Freed the Slaves] Many of us really do wish that we could support our President; it would make our hearts swell with pride to support our first President with a mixed race heritage. Many Republicans such as myself have pride in the fact that it was Republican initiatives that delivered the Blacks from slavery, indeed the Republican party sprang directly from its opposition to slavery and were it not for staunch Republican support, LBJ’s Civil Rights act of 1964 could not have become the law of land over vicious Democrat resistance. Remember that it was a Democrat Jim Crow south that ground civil rights into dust.

We regret that our current President’s core beliefs are so diametrically opposed to our beliefs. He believes in a strong socialist government, we believe in minimalist government, we believe in the basic strengths of capitalism, he does not. Obama believes that the government should own and control big industry and big labor. We believe that such a scheme is fascism. We believe that our Constitution is a nearly perfect document, he believes in situational interpretation. His “rescue plan” is not a rescue plan; it is a purposeful scrapping of huge swaths of our economy and our freedoms in pursuit of his socialist vision. We believe in the human right of the pursuit of happiness, not stupefying government controlled existence. His plan is ruinous debt without end that we will regret for decades.

To support our president running in the red to the tune of trillions of dollars is not responsible government. I'm not a right winger but a fiscal conservative, and George Bush certainly was not fiscally conservative. So we did not get "our shot" with Bush.

[Credit Cards--Go Debit] I hope they make all credit cards into pure debit cards so those who live from pay check to pay check have to do without all the crap they can't afford anyway. If you can't afford it, you don't need it.

[The Sixties] This is the one of the best Memory Lane of the sixties. Click on the link and sit back and enjoy the memories, photos and facts.   the sixties 

[Most common remark made by 60 plus year olds when they enter antique stores]  Or possibly, "Hey, maybe I should bring mine in to sell".

[Shoot one crow and they will not come back] It works in Naples. I guess we have a different murder.

[New Faith-Based Treatment for Lunacy] Serenity Street, Lunatics Anonymous Foundation, a traditional 12-Step residential lunacy treatment facility, is proud to announce the addition of Papa Doc Charlie Nobo Bluff of Haiti to the staff, to enhance the spectrum of faith-based treatment options available at the center. Papa Nobo Bluff is a master voodoo witch doctor, who has 30 years of experience in the practice of spiritual medicine for the treatment of lunacy, hexes, evil spells, demonic possession, and zombification. Papa Nobo Bluff explains that he favors the pointing of the chicken leg bone for treating lunacy, combined with the shaking of an amayomama voodoo rattle, and chanting secret incantations. And, says Papa Doc, occasionally "You steek dee acupuncture needles in dee voodoo doll, mon, and eet keep you sane."

Papa Doc Nobo Bluff continues, "Rarely, mon, has dees seemple program been known to fail, except for a few unfortunates, mon, who are constitutionally eencapable of being honest weeth demselves, mon, while dey is having duh chicken bones shoved in dey faces."

Indeed, the patients are already enthusiastically recommending the new therapy. Said one, "This new spiritual program of treating the whole patient, mind, body, and spirit, is wonderful. Just as soon as we even began to accept the Voodoo Trinity of Bon Dieu, Kander, Legba, and Damballah as our Higher Power, we commenced to get results."

Papa added, "Dee Voodoo program never fails, mon, eet eez dee eendeeveedual who fails dee Voodoo program."

Another patient remarked, "Papa Ngobo Bluff has an infallible method for ending all selfishness and self-seeking immediately. When you surrender to the Higher Powers of Bon Dieu, Kander, Legba, and Damballah, you become a mindless zombie without a shred of ego, self-will or self-centeredness remaining. It's wonderful!"

And a patient who had been an agnostic said: "That floored me. It began looking as though the lunatics were right after all. My ideas about miracles were dramatically revised right then."

Papa Doc commented, "Dees Voodoo program eez spiritual, not reeleegious, mon. Eef eet were reeleegious, mon, den I couldn't get all of dat Medicare and health eensurance money, mon."

Papa Doc Nobo Bluff left us with one last piece of advice for handling cravings, "You steek dee lime in dee coconut, and dreenk eet all up. You steek dee lime in dee coconut, and call me in dee morning..."

Serenity Street for the Lunatics Anonymous Foundation is also proud to announce that they have signed an employment contract with Ms. Helga the Witch, of Devonshire, England, who will soon be bringing her own special brand of faith-based, "eye of newt, wing of bat", spiritual cures to the clinic.

This is a new fish species (Psychedelica) just discovered off the coast of Ambon Island, Indonesia. http://www.watoday.com.au/world/divers-discover-psychedelic-bouncing-fish-with-legs-20090227-8kbz.html

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Saturday February 28, 2009

Friday February 27, 2009

[Feeding Key Deer] This is to anyone who thinks you shouldn't feed the key deer. Don't worry about the tourists, they can't harm them anymore.

Have you ever noticed the deer are getting bigger every year? That's because us locals feed them and we’ve been putting steroids in the food they enjoy the most. We are currently making a key deer that would be able to withstand a 45 mph head on collision. This way we could once again raise the speed limit to 45.  We’d totally eliminate traffic jams on Big Pine. (Now you’re getting it) These new deer will be stronger, faster, larger, and be able to even out run code Enforcement! 

We are also re-locating deer to other islands in the Keys.  I bet you've seen them on Sugarloaf. Yeah, I know you have. We put four on Big Coppitt, but I assume they have been eaten because their wire transmitters were found in the dumpster behind Dion's. (their Cuban mix sandwiches have been a little gamy lately) So if anyone sees a deer on Big Coppitt call our hotline 1-800-big-deer. so we can re-tag the new breed.

Don't sweat the tourists feeding these cute little deer, things like potato chips and Twinkies. It can't hurt the new breed. They thrive on Cheetos and they will only continue to grow every day, larger and stronger. Together we can make a difference. We will build a stronger species that will overcome all human negligence--up to 45 mpg!

[Shoot one Crow and they won’t come back] I grew up on a dairy farm, just shooting them will not make them go away. Once you kill one you have to hang it from a tree. Then they will circle the dead, mourning, I assume? Then they will be gone for a couple of months.  They always return.

[Caskets Can Be Shown] This military veteran applauds Secretary Gates’ decision to allow the families of our fallen, to make the decision to have their loved ones caskets be shown. A nation needs to see first hand the cost of our wars. At a time when it is a completely volunteer military we are shielded from seeing and respecting our most honorable citizens serving their country. If a President dies in office or a Senator dies in office they are paraded thru Washington. People wait hours in lines to see their caskets. Our military members deserve the same reverence and honor politicians receive. We cannot be shielded from seeing the realities of fighting for our type of freedom. I found it kind of a sad tale when I was able to see the casket of Anna Nicole Simpson being taken to the gravesite but we don’t take a second of our day and stop in our tracks and see the ultimate sacrifice being made by America’s youth. It shouldn’t be a President’s personal decision and I applaud President Obama for allowing the American Secretary of Defense to make that decision for his own troops and for the Secretary to allow the parents of our fallen to make the final decision. These are changes I see as a step towards making American’s return to the days of honor and faith. Never forget the sacrifice. No retreat. No surrender.

[Down With Islam] 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven.  If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?'

He replied, 'Non-believers!'

I  responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight.  All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven.  Is that correct?'

The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.' He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'
 
I then stated, 'Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place  in heaven! I also have a problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers that if we don’t change our beliefs you’ll kill me! Let me ask you a question:  Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with  me?

This is the way of exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.  We all need to know that in 20 years, those of us who are not Muslims will be the religious minority.

[Where is Sloan] Sloan is at http://goodmorningkeywest.com/

[Cub Scouts] The post yesterday advertising for new Cub Scouts sites some of the reasons to joins such as “teach ideals such as honesty, good citizenship, and respect” They forgot to include discrimination and intolerance of others, which they also teach.

The Cub Scouts teach young boys to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.  They do not teach discrimination and/or intolerance of others, but the poster apparently does.  

[Shoot one crow and they will not come back] It didn't work in Camden, NJ and it sure won't work here in the Keys (even though we don’t have crows).

[Restrict Hiring of Lobbyists to Only Wastewater Financing] Commissioner Murphy has convinced me that speaking to you publicly during BOCC meetings is fruitless, a waste of everybody's time. (She has said to me many times, “Well, did we change our minds?”) She has assured me that the only way to communicate with you is directly and in advance of meetings.

Regarding hiring the lobbyists: At the first public meeting in Marathon, I heard Mr. Gastesi say that we should hire these lobbyists for wastewater, and then he quietly and hesitantly mumbled "…other things".

In the public meeting notice (for the 2/27 dream team meeting) printed in the newspaper, the title of the meeting referred to wastewater and other things.

I question “the other things”. It sounds like Mr. Gastesi intends to provide permanent employment to lobbyists for reasons beyond the scope of wastewater and into areas the County may not be ready to address, or cannot afford right now. It sounds like he's trying to establish the idea that the county needs lobbyists on an on-going, let's do it for everything, basis.

Hiring lobbyists for wastewater issues may be acceptable to the other municipalities, but municipalities may not be interested in being partners in any other projects. That “other things” may discourage them from joining the County for the wastewater issue.

Please restrict the hiring of any lobbyists to only wastewater financing efforts.  Do not allow Mr Gastesi to get the idea that using lobbyists is going to be the norm.

[Jewelry Repair] I tried to contain myself. Customers like that are the reason businesses are dying. Whoever told you retiring to the Keys was cheap lied to you!  Here it is culturally acceptable to pay to have your boat pulled from the flats when you run aground, pay the mechanic to tell you the spark plug was fouled when the boat won't start, tip for decent service and a good meal, etc.

It is not acceptable to bitch about everything and talk about how much better it is “up home”. If it's so good “up home”, let us know and I’ll volunteer my time to help you pack.

[Crows' incessant cawing irritating] Sorry, that's not the sound of crows you hear, but the sound of republicans pissing and moaning.

[Jewelry Moron] He or she’s probably one of those cheap bastards that don't tip, either.

[Just Say No] Jeffery Immelt, CEO of General Electric, has turned down his $11.7 million bonus because of the company’s poor performance. This is truly how it should be. This is the only place I know that rewards poor performance. If a company does well then the executives should get bonuses. We should stop rewarding executives for running a company into the dirt.

[Lousy Tech Support] If the flash on your camera is so bright that it washes out, or creates glare on your photos, tape a piece of paper over it. Experiment with different types of paper and colors.

[What is the correct way to get a radio check on my marine VHF radio]  I'd say you need to take a boating course.  Are you from NY, NJ, or one of the Great "Lake" states?

[Chauvinist] Reading this blog for a number of years has taught me who the female posters are: They’re the ones who can't make a logical, meaningful point in less then 800 words!

[Where is Sloan? I miss him more] Ahh! Come on, you know damn well those long-winded, make-little-sense posts, are his.

[Lunatics Anonymous Does Work]  A recent scientific study has determined that being a lunatic is heavily influenced by genetics, according to Dr. Kander Bluff, research psychiatrist at Prestigious University. Dr. Bluffs study compared identical lunatic twins with fraternal lunatic twins, proving, in the same manner in which the genetic link to lunacy in men/women was proven, that because of bad genes, lunatics are powerless to quit on their own. The study found that if one identical twin was a lunatic, the odds were 80% that the other twin was also a lunatic. In non-identical twins the odds were only 40% that both would be lunatics. "This shows that genetics is at least 50% responsible for lunacy," says the distinguished professor. "Over ninety percent of all lunatics had fathers who were lunatics."

Some researchers, however, are not so sure. Dr. Slander Bluff, Dr. Kander Bluff’s twin sister, of the Central University for lunacy says, "Environment plays the most important role. Boys learn lunacy from their fathers who spend way too much time in tiki bars. "However, Dr. Kander Bluff responds that "Quibbling about semantics is of no help whatsoever. Whether it is a genetic disease, or has other origins, those who want to quit must know that help is available." Although there is no cure, success rates as high as 3% percent are reported for those who really want to quit with a twelve step support group.

Mr. Thirteen Step of the National Council on Lunacy, an independent group only concerned with helping other lunatics, says of the seriousness of the problem of lunacy, "It is a disease just like tuberculosis, alcoholism or cancer. We have learned from experience that lunatics suffer denial just like alcoholics”.

We recently did an intervention with my brother-in-law. When his wife confronted him with the need for treatment after being away all weekend on a lunacy binge, he initially became angry and denied he needed help. 'I'll quit on my own,” he insisted. Fortunately, we had a professional counselor from Dollars Hospital Lunacy Unit on hand to help us break through the denial and get him into treatment. Although he was angry at first, he is now thankful to his family and the treatment program for saving his life. As he tells it, "I would have died without help. I had no idea how powerless I was. Now that I know God's will, all I want to do is to freely give that which was so freely given and help others recover from lunacy. In three weeks I will take the test to become a state certified lunacy addiction counselor.”

For impartial, accurate advice on the physical, spiritual and emotional disease of Lunaticism, call Lunatics Anonymous, 24/7 at 800-555-1234. Operators are standing by and you will receive, just for calling, a free guide to becoming a certified Lunatic.

I missed most of the news on US 1 radio this morning but it seems that dog the President’s family is getting and the American Idol program is more important then the real news.  Is this not a part of Socialism’s dummying down the real news?  Even FOX’s website seems to be lacking.  No stories on persecuting those who have helped put this nation in a financial mess.   Is Madoff still running lose?  By the time we figure it out it may be too late.

[Guarantee Question] I have a $1,000 that says the man crying about paying $10 to repair a broken clasp after wearing it for two years is a conservative. He also probably wants everyone’s taxes raised to pay for his home sewer hook up.

[Sewer Line to House] Please tell me that they are going to take into consideration the simple fact that many of the houses are on the ground and the sewer line at many houses ([?]going into the multiple tanks that churn etc. and so on and finally ends up 100 feet down in a bore hole) is much lower than houses on stilts?

The sewer line coming out of the house is 2 or more feet under the house and if it is going to be gravity feed to the new line we need real deep lines or are we expected to have a pump to pump it to the new system?  Then to carry on this train of uneducated thought on sewers, the main lines will be way down in the ground, mostly floating on water, so what happens in the next Wilma, cause if the lines are not full and have air in them, will they float, out of the ground, like an empty swimming pool?  I would just love to know how this works in such a flood prone area. 

Those who have installed 2010 compliant sewer systems are going to have the choice of hooking up to the municipal system; or is it mandatory? Does anyone think we are going to get municipal sewers, ever?

When you post about a robbery in your neighborhood, could you give us a hint as to where in the general area you are in on Big Pine Key? Is it the Avenues, Eden Pines, Port Pine Heights, Doctor's Arm, etc?  We’d like to have a more general idea where to look out for him/her/them/it.  We can help the police catch them if we know where to be on the lookout.  On the radio they said the Avenues and US1 was the general area, but they must be spreading out after more than 40 robberies.  Face it, after a while there is no one left to rob, they have to go back and start again.

I was robbed last March and we live in Eden Pines. The robberies around me as far as I can tell have stopped when a certain young gent was put in prison.  Let's do it again!

[Islam: The religion of peace] That had an attached parody video with the post. It showed the true side of Islamic demonstrations in England and what their goals are. The mainstream media refused to show the posters and signs they were carrying. It is the same thing the media did covering the May Day demonstrations, no close ups! Americans would be too outraged if they knew the truth. It is far from being a religion of peace and the illegals are not coming here to assimilate into being Americans. Wow, what a surprise. Wake up America.

[Spend, Spend] Well gang, we've seen the new budget, what do you thing of the biggest budget that's heading us to the biggest deficit, the biggest taxes, and the biggest government that we've ever seen. What we've allowed to happen is for us to go into Obama's Rock and Roll Cafe, sit down, ask for the check, pay for it, leave a huge tip and then ask the waiter "what's on the menu?" Only now after all's done in the stimulus package do we hear of the record shredding amount of rancid pork in his plan. Obama actually had to begin his speech by assuring us that he was going to be "honest", what we heard wasn't honesty, it was Fantasia. I have an image of a unending line of mouse water boys dipping into the tax well and sloshing the tax water into the sewers until the well goes dry. I will admit that O would be an excellent used car or snake oil salesman. To quote O, "Trust me!".  He says that he will pay for this unprecedented growth in government by raising taxes on that 5% of the population that already pays 90% of the taxes. He says that even with the huge growth that he's going to cut taxes on you and me, that's just not true. There are no bills that would cut us little guy's tax rate. There are plans for a one shot $600 tax rebate. Will you remodel your home or buy a new car? He says that he will save money by drawing down Iraq n '10 and '11, he gang, that's not new, we'll be mostly all out of there by mid '10 anyway. We're rushing headlong into reestablishing a generation of folks who are absolutely convinced that you and I owe them a warm and cozy living, in a huge, corrupt and bloated welfare society. Many of us thought that Bill Clinton had done a decent job in curtailing the welfare state, but the Jimmy Carter corner of the socialist society is back in power. We should really cut taxes across the board, eliminate the earned income credit, and develop real incentives for business to hire, expand, and innovate. Look, be honest, do you work hard and try to get improve your life, or do you want to work had to pay taxes so that some one else who doesn't work as hard as you do can be more comfortable? It looks like the fiscal whiz kids have zero faith in our new leader. Every time he or one of his hired hands give a major speech, the markets take a crap.

[I am Guilty of Bigotry] Yes, I belong among those who like to read what they wrote. Instead of ranting, and raving from one issue to another, which isn’t going to change anything, and means diddley-squat anyway. I prefer to inform. It makes much better reading than frothy-mouthed raving.

All you good Americans who are very happy about Obama being your president, I think you might be rejoicing too early. Give the man enough rope to hang himself…

All of you should know that after the Civil War, when northern liberals insisted on having blacks in southern State Houses, the exercise was a total disaster. During the First World War the US Army was segregated. There were black American units, but they were officered by whites. Some of these black American soldiers distinguished themselves through their bravery and were awarded battlefield commissions. As new officers and leaders of men, not all, but most were miserable failures. They had not the experience to lead. Sound familiar? I do not wish to belittle the service of the 99th Fighter Squadron (The Tuskegee Airmen), but the truth is that by the time they were sent to Europe, late '44, the German Air Force was finished. Had they been sent there to escort bombers during '42, and '43, when swarms of German fighters were still present (with multiple  aces like Adolph Gallant, an Eric Hartman) the would not have fared well. Tuskegee Airman would not be able to brag about never loosing a bomber because they would have been slaughtered--all because of lack of experience.

Was it the quote of Benjamin Franklin,” Birds of a feather, stick together." Just take note of the people President Obama gathers about him. In European government circles, they are laughing their ass off. It's like if the House of Lords chose a Pakistani for prime minister, or the French chose an Algerian Arab. Besides it's the White House for God's sake!

Here's what the Obama budget will do you and yours, does that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? (Ed: This chart makes my eyes fuzzy!)

I'm an Obama critic, vocal and angry at what I'm convinced are his atrocious visions of where he wants to take our nation. When the Obama apologists wail about the economy and Bush, at best they're hypocrites, or they are just full of crap. I'll be gentle and kind and simply state that Bush, like Obama, inherited a recession. During  6 1/2  of Bush's 8 years we enjoyed a healthy and growing economy, notwithstanding having to rebuild a military that had been gutted by Clinton, major natural catastrophes, the economic effects of 9/11, building (from scratch) a new national security apparatus, rebuilding our intelligence gathering apparatus, and don't forget a war on terror. 

Hell we had record highs in our stock markets and employment was nearly universal and the real estate market had never been better.  Our fiscal house of cards began tumbling down when the new Democrat controlled congress, even after repeated Republican warnings, refused to do their job and appropriately oversee our financial markets. You liberals may not like it, but that's the truth. I will partially agree with your contention that "Obama just can't win", at least I hope so, because if he does, it will be a tragedy for our nation.

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Friday February 27, 2009

Wednesday February 25, 2009

To the poster complaining about the weekly amount of his stimulus check, George Bush's tax rebate of $600 (if you were lucky enough to even qualify) amounted to only $11.52 per week.  How quickly you Cons and Half-Truth folks forget. How come the Republicans were all for Bush’s rebate and not this one? Oh, I know, it’s because Obama is doing it.

[Guarantee Question] I was wondering if my actions with a local merchant were appropriate or not. My wife bought me a bracelet for a gift two years ago. After wearing it 24/7 for that amount of time the hasp broke. I brought it back to the same jeweler to have him fix. The owner did a good job repairing the piece and charged me ten dollars to fix is. I told the owner I was disappointed and that it was his piece of work and I felt he needed to stand by his product. This was nothing but normal wear and tear and I did not think the charge was appropriate. None the less, he did not agree and I paid the charge and told him how disappointed I was and that all our jewelry purchases were at this jewelry store. They are not a great deal, but at least twice a year we purchased items for each other there and spend at least $500-$600 a year; and that I would no longer purchase from his store. He said he did not care. I am curious if my actions were fair and did my expectations exceed what were in fact a fair practice? 

[Republican Response to Speech] Gov Jindal did a poor job of speech-making giving the Republican response to Obama’s speech. I don’t care who you are, Obama’s a hard act to follow. Jindal didn’t say anything positive and didn’t really offer any new ideas.

[Dragnet] I think it’s either funny or irony that Sergeant Joe Friday’s badge number was also the code name for Quaaludes, that destructive downer from the 70s-80s. 714 was printed on the tablets.
 
 

[Gort & Klaatu] This brought back a memory. In the winter of 70-71 I was in Key West and a couple of hippies showed up in a sports car all painted psychedelic and on the side it said ONE NATION UNDER GORT. They were bumming around town for a few weeks and then one of them got busted for vagrancy at Monroe County Beach. He was transported to the jail. It seems he was what we call today a "trust fund baby" who was bumming it around the country. He proceeded to bail himself out along with about 30 other occupants of the jail who were also in there for minor charges with low bail. There was huge party at the bars on Duval that night with many toasts to him...all paid for by him, and then they were gone soon afterwards. Does anyone else remember this?

Kudos to President Obama for nixing a DOD request to replace his helicopter with a new one costing more than Air Force One.  Thankfully we'll never know, but can you imagine King George turning down such a perk? Obama said he’s never had a helicopter before and he sure likes this one.

[Have Obama supporters forgotten that his votes as a Senator helped put this country in the current economic crises] Did you forget who our commander and chief was; and the bums he was taking advice from--Cheney and Rumsfeld? Not to mention that the republicans controlled the three branches of government for 6 of the 8 years Bush was in office, and the remaining 2 years he had a veto-proof majority.

The Florida Keys Dragon Boat Club will be at the Key West Boat Show at Truman annex, Saturday. If you want to get out on the water a bit, come paddle with us for 20 minutes and learn the art of paddling a dragon boat. Hope to see you there. Any questions call 304 5100. http://www.floridakeysdragonboat.com

[Stock Market] To the person that wrote in wanting to know why someone doesn't write in when the market goes up.  The market went down another 250 points yesterday. It is down 20% since Jan. 1  and  is at its lowest level in over a decade. That's why!

Why do I get the impression that the person ranting about AA may have had a bad experience with the group?

That reminds me of the old joke. A drunk walks up to the AA place and knocks on the door. A twelve-stepper answers and asks, “May I help you?” The drunk slurs, “Ish this Alcoholics Anonymoush?” The other man replies, “Yes sir, would you like to join?” The drunk says, “ No shir, I jush came here to quit.”

The Department of Energy was instituted 08-04-1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.  At the time everybody thought it very appropriate.  Pretty efficient department, eh? And now it's 2009, 32 years later and the budget for their budget is at $24.2 billion a year. They have 16,000 Federal employees, and approximately 100,000 contract employees. Just look at the excellent job they have all done.  This is where you slap your forehead and say, "What were we thinking?"  Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy.  And now we are going to turn the banking system over to them?

[Free Health Care] I wonder why Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, one of the most wealthy men in the world, decided to have a major operation done in the USA instead of a country that has socialized medicine, like Saudi Arabia, or Britain, or Canada, or Cuba, or France, or where ever!  Do you suppose he was trying to get the best care in the world?

[Alternate Energy Solution] The only time we seriously think about alternatives to gasoline is when the price goes way up. When it goes way down we forget about it. The only way to stay focused is if there were a low price limit. Gas would always stay at the same level and we could plan accordingly. Any monies above the real cost of the gas could be used to fund research or repair our roads and bridges. The first nation to find a practical alternative energy source wins. And the winner will be rich. If Americans put our collective brains to a task we will accomplish it, but as it is now we’re doing it half-assed until the gas price goes up again.

[Half Truth Guy] The other day a woman was wondering if her husband was the half-truth guy.  I suggest that if you catch him touching himself in front of FOX News or see him rifling through the medicine cabinet while listening to Rush Limbaugh, he probably is.

[More good health care news] Though India is recognized as a world leader in promoting the health benefits of urine, its dominance will be assured by the end of the year when a cow urine-based soft drink comes to market. Om Prakash, chief of the Cow Protection Department of the RSS organization (India's largest Hindu nationalist group), trying to reassure a Times of London reporter in February, promised, "It won't smell like urine and will be tasty, too," noting that medicinal herbs would be added and toxins removed. In addition to improved health, he said, India needs a domestic (and especially Hindu) beverage to compete with the foreign influence of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

[Space Station] They could name the new node on the space station "Nodus Operandi."  It has a nice ring to it!

[Food Safety] You are what you eat. Who's Minding Your Food? Surprise! It Depends | CommonDreams.org

Join the Fun Join Cub Scouting. Cub Scouting wants you. Now is the time to join the fun and excitement of America’s foremost youth program for boys. A sign-up night will be held at 6pm tomorrow, Thursday February 26th at the Sugarloaf School Cafeteria. Fliers with additional details will be distributed at school. Designed for boys ages 7 to 10 (grades 1-5), Cub Scouting combines outdoor activities, sports, academics, and more in a fun and exciting program that helps families teach ideals such as honesty, good citizenship, and respect. For more information contact Allen Pinkley, (305) 394-0630 (Day Sleeper please call after 6pm).

[Humble Hero] Airline Capt Sully’s wife commented on reporters calling her husband a hero. She said a hero is someone who runs into a burning building to save someone. Her husband was a expert professional pilot who didn’t want to die either.

[I watched a really good movie about an abused mother] Now isn't that nice? How wonderful to see the highly intellectual entertainment folks watch in the Keys. No wonder we're known as the Lower Keys!

[California’s Much Needed Revenue] This would be like the first man on the Moon moment. Not so half-baked: Pot could net state $1 billion - Inside Bay Area

[Change formant of the Coco Tele] See that little button on your mouse…no the computer mouse. Click it and go to another site which has a XXX rating. You really need it bad, but don't hurt yourself! 

I made a big mistake during the campaign when I said that Obama was nothing but an empty suit. I'm sorry for my error. Obama is no empty suit. So far Obama has told us that he is Honest Abe Lincoln, Obama did everything but grow a beard and change the first ladies name to convince us that he was Ole Abe. Hell, he even swiped Abe's train ride. Then he and his told us that he was JFK, some of the pix that we've seen just reeked of Camelot. Now he's decided that he's going to be Reagan. He's decided that his doom and gloom economic palaver must be silenced and that it's now time to talk of a shining city on a hill. It's absolutely fascinating how the man can change his skin so quickly that it would make a chameleon dizzy. The Reagan gig is going to be hard to pull off because, as of now, virtually all of his rhetoric has been disparaging everything American. Until now we've heard nothing about the goodness and strength of  American character and will. How many times have you heard him say that he's proud to be an American? But we've heard volumes of the evil nature of capitalism and the victimization of downtrodden by Americans. It's of interest that O's disapproval ratings have doubled since inauguration while his approval ratings have dropped 10 points, so if you were an Obama supporter and are becoming disenchanted, you're in good and growing company. By the way, the Democrat controlled House is now getting ready to pass a new $810 Billion spending bill that’s loaded with thousands of pork projects, at least that what AP said in a story today.

[Obama] I'm really afraid that our new president (or at least his staff) has become delusional.  They made the serious claim today that his has been the "most successful first month" of any president since FDR.

To the people up north looking for Beth Smith--we found her! Check yesterday's arrest report. Warning, may not be suitable for squeamish adults or children. She looks a mess.   Menu > Arrest Reports Mug Shots > http://www2.keysso.net/ArrestReports/ArrestLog2.htm

My gas mileage post from yesterday needs a small addition. I should have given the auto makers credit where it is due. Although they haven't improved our MPG, They have given us more power on about the same amount of fuel.
Old car: 1.2 liter engine with 70 hp. at 40 to 42 mpg. New car: 1.6 liter engine with 110 hp. at 36 to 38 mpg.

Old truck: 2.2 liter engine with 90 hp. New truck: 2.7 liter engine with 150 hp. Both trucks get the same mpg. Vehicles have improved, just not at the gas pump.

[Snakes on a Plane] In a scenario at least as enjoyable as that motion picture a reptile smuggler got caught. The X-ray image shown here pretty much tells the tale. Cops saw some slithering and confiscated the bag. Inside it were 24 shingleback lizards, 16 bluetongue lizards, three black-headed pythons and an endangered albino carpet python. smuggler was caught in Australia on Friday after attempting to transport a stash of reptiles in his suitcase en route to Bangkok

[Dream Team Lobbyist] Initially we were told that the Fl Keys must work in unison to acquire Federal Stimulus Funds. A fragmented effort by individual Key’s entities would result in a calamity. Commissioner Carruthers confirmed and supports that prerequisite based upon her Washington meeting with the proposed federal lobbyist. One Voice, One Request, One Federal Check, and that sounds rational.

What is disconcerting is the lack of foresight and political savvy exhibited by the County Administrator. Remember he fired our federal lobbyist last year for lack of reporting. (Hmmm, I wonder what other consultants on our County payroll brought nothing to the table that year but remain on the County dole?) This belated attempt to rally the troops around this fanatical lobbying attempt could and will alienate the County from any future communication with our Key’s neighbors. Gift-wrapping this effort in Sopranoisms, to portray the need for immediate BOCC approval, is outright cunning--too cunning to be attributed to Mr. Gastesi.

Out of the five entities contacted by citizens, four have expressed without reservation, their reluctance in joining Gastesi’s cause. Their reservations were politely expressed in their comments at both the original Dream Team Summit and at the BOCC meeting in Key Largo. One point, which continues to resonate within those concerns, is the possible interruption of currently funded lobbying efforts previously set in motion by our neighbors. These are costly efforts, which have proven to be fruitful in the past.

What if one member of the Dream Team finds a way to divert federal funds to our County that were previously committed to one of our neighboring Key’s municipalities? (From what I have read, that seems to be the focus of the Dream Team lobbyist playbook.) How would you defend our initial “One Voice, One Request, One Federal Check” mantra to our Key’s neighbors? They would isolate the County and never support or speak to us again.

The previously confirmed lobbying fees submitted by Gastesi were $3,300 per month plus expenses. After the BOCC meeting, the costs had risen to $5,500 per month plus expenses without notice to anyone. What financial incident unraveled that affected this increased payment proposal in just two days? Are we expecting to see this figure increase yet again at the next meeting? So far, I do not see one Dream Team attendee signing on to this botched crusade for Federal Stimulus Funds.

For decades, our political relationship has remained professional and focused within the Tallahassee political arena. Is it now necessary to distort our earnest principles to provide Gastesi a team of extortionists? (Remember “If we don’t pay them to work for us, then they will work against us” Is that sound reasoning from a County Administrator?) The BOCC’s reputation, collectively and as individuals is at stake. The Florida Keys reputation is at stake. Monroe County’s reputation is at stake. Are you willing to put all that at risk to satisfy a County Administrator’s crusade?

Gastesi’s blunder should not be compounded by the resentment of our municipal neighbors. If Gastesi wins your support for this expenditure, the onus will be placed on you. And you will be held responsible for this infection of unethical scallywags within our County Government. To quote Tony Soprano, “ Once we get in, they can’t get us out.”

Please face reality. We are not in that race. That’s okay, we have Mario, Charlie Crist’s best bud. Maybe Mario will call Charlie and save the County all those lobbyist fees. M-A-R-I-O… M-A-R-I-O… M-A-R-I-O... Why didn’t Gastesi think of this? Or did he? And you read it here first. ~Paul S Caruso

[Tool Sale] Habitat for Humanity's ReStore at MM 30.5 on Big Pine Key is holding a tool sale this Saturday, February 28 from 8am - 4pm.  Lots of great deals! Of course, the ReStore will be open, selling used furniture, appliances, building supplies and home accessories.  The CoConut Closet, upstairs above the ReStore, is also open 9am-2pm with out-of-this-world pricing on excellent, high-end used clothing for men and women.  All proceeds go to support Habitat's mission of providing affordable housing for our area's workforce, so come out and enjoy some great deals while funding a worthy cause.   Bulletin Board

[Sewers] Why can't the homeowner have the option of installing his own lateral sewer line to save money.  Everyone I know could do the job if they wanted to.

[1984] George Orwell’s 1949 Edition in full. http://www.msxnet.org/orwell/print/1984.pdf

[Obama’s votes as a Senator helped put this country in the current economic crises] I'm not an Obama fan, but wasn't he just voting 'present' all the time?

[Food Art] Maybe mom was wrong and we should play with our food! Japanese have no rivals when it comes to creative ways to get their kids to eat balanced meals. Slide Show

Nice website, but I agree that Big Pine Key is a toilet and most of the people there are crap.

The other side of Mount Rushmore.

[Stock Market is a bunch of bastards who get money from fools to invest and make unearned capital off the sweat of others] Let me guess; bad stock tips didn't pay off?

[Yellow Lines] Want to talk about a waste of tax payers’ money? Why is Monroe County putting yellow lines on a subdivision block’s street? Are you kidding me?  I came home from KW today and had to wait for them to paint yellow lines. What a joke? I'm shocked, they are turning our quiet hood into a main street. I want a refund, what a waste. This is not a city street; this is not a big time city!

[Auto Industry] It would seem that my comments about the auto industry’s ineptness was misunderstood.  The fact that it seems the auto industry’s only answer to higher mpg is putting larger rims on vehicles (going from 14" rims to now almost 20").  Engines haven't changed all that much since we came out of the horse and buggy era, other than being fitted with anti-pollution gear, fuel injection, and computerization.

And speaking of the big 3, I haven't heard a peep about their business plan for the bailout that was supposed to have been submitted by the middle of February.   How smart is it to keep building something that no one wants or can afford?

[Song] Please take a moment and listen to this boy's song. So wonderful to see it learned in Youth. Video

[Burglaries to Big Pine businesses a couple of weeks ago seem to have stopped. Do you think it was a Snowburglar] Nope, it's more likely because the kid that did them is currently locked up in the detention center on some other charge.

[Republican] How can people be so dumb to vote for and believe the Democrats have the best interests of this country at heart?

[Bye Bye] Wow! I sure wish that I was as smart as the dude who knows all about gif gimcracks and neat stuff like that. I'm just a little old slow witted gnat type who really enjoys the reading, posting, jousting, and exchanging ideas with other folks who share my limited experience with the web and blogs. You know--local folks just like me, anxious to opine on local, state, and national matters. 

I do know that I can recognize a smug faux elitist jerk when I read his rail thin rants. Yeah, I'm a gnat, but I'm not a Dog Pecker Gnat like that pompous blowhard. Ed, please harm not a hair on this site’s old gray head. I've got to wonder why the DPG would even deign to sully his screen by posting here. Maybe if we all made our postings just a little easier to read, then he'd be able to keep up with the "flow of the conversation". Or maybe he might have a brain fart and look at yesterday’s postings or the archives if he's interested in "flow". Just go bye-bye little birdie.

[New Survey] See the state of the County. http://fixmonroeflorida.blogspot.com/ 

Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking. That is what I am giving up for LENT.

Stimulus checks are a joke on the fools who keep putting the same greedies into office every election. All it is doing is keep the sheep occupied and promising them free everything and money. Every time there is a tax cut, a corporate wage increase or the stock market goes nuts, the only people who benefit are the merchants and the companies that supply them.

Yesterday, Lunatics Anonymous scientists stated that men should take a look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.

The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn into women. To test the finding, 100 men were allowed to consume 12 cans of brand XXXX of beer each day, for 12 days. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, started crying/laughing, argued over nothing, purchased excessive amounts of costly jewelry, stopped working and refused to apologize when right.

No further testing is planned by Lunatics Anonymous at this time.

[Crows] I hate crows. I find their incessant cawing irritating. I wanted you all to know that!

[Biden a Crook] I don’t know if I can take it any more. Now I hear Biden’s a crook with some kind of Antigua scam. Isn’t anyone on the up and up anymore?

[Health Care] None of the arguments seem well founded. All I know is that if I get cancer we’ll lose our house. We can’t afford insurance and still pay our mortgage and car payments. We both work but don’t have the extra bucks we need.

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Wednesday February 25, 2009

Tuesday February 24, 2009

[Islam Religion of Peace] You will not see any western religion anywhere; take to the streets ready to destroy everything because someone burned a bible. Free speech and freedom of religion is a tool used against the west to talk down western religions and lifestyles. But to express free speech against Islam or Muslims gets turned into hate speech. God bless America because we are so understanding.

The demonstrations in England woke up a lot of people. The problem is that just like the illegal immigration demonstrations, the media shielded us from seeing exactly what they were demonstrating for. The poster was absolutely right in writing that they are irrational and dying for their beliefs and in defending Islam is a wonderful honor for them. What was left out was that no matter what country they are in, even America, they want to take over!

Some times its easy to see why Americans are so divided. A poster yesterday started off saying that they don’t know what to do with their big $38 per month stimulus tax cut. I don’t understand why that person thinks they should get gobs of money intended to help stimulate the economy by repairing a portion of America’s failing infrastructure and other projects. This isn’t supposed to be a big "gimmie" program. If that person owns a construction company or needs a loan to hire more employees, chances are their portion could indeed be a substantial increase over $38 a month.

What I found interesting was that the person stated that they will "Save the money every month and give it to anyone running against our President". So if I read that right, even if the program does do very well and the country’s financial well-being is improved, that person will vote against the person that helped put the country back on its feet again. That’s a bit strange to me. Why wouldn’t someone want to wait first and see if the ship gets righted? You cannot expect everything to be roses after one month of a new administration—no matter what administration.

The republican answer to everything, from why my car isn’t running right to why we give older people more money for Medicare is tax cuts. If anyone suggest any other solution besides tax cuts—they-re against it. After 8 years of a republican sitting President which had a majority of republicans sitting in the senate and house for most of his term we saw massive tax breaks. Well, if tax cuts are the do all end all, where’s the prosperity? Trickle down became trickle on.

The stimulus does indeed get 30% of its funding from reduced taxes. The top of the food chain will get an increase in their taxes. That was proven to work very well during the Clinton era. Remember the increase of taxes to the top 2-3% and the way the country responded with a record economy? Job creation was rising and America was very healthy financially.

Don’t be fooled by the empty sour grapes rhetoric, just compare America’s economy in the 90s and Americas economy after the republicans left office. You decide. Some are already voting against the president even if he succeeds. It’s actually kind of sad. The nice thing about voting as an independent is you can vote for the person that will do a good job of governing America and you don’t have to vote down a President after one month because your party lost a few elections. It should be America first, party second.

If you want to hear about how horrible America is, listen to Limbaugh or Hannity and you will hear the voices of doom. If you also want to hear the other side and  just as insane ranting tune in to Maddow’s show and Keith Olberman’s show. Chances are you are a person in the middle trying to stay away from wing-nuts on both sides. The middle elected this president and the middle will give the president a chance to shine. You whackos can fight among yourselves..

[Let the Good Time Roll] My wife and I try to have a date at least once a week. Last night we both received our first senior discount. We saved 3 bucks each. Now with that added to our President's withholding tax cut of about 10 to 12 bucks per week we are rolling in high cotton. I just don’t see what all the worry is about. It just doesn't get much better. Shoot, if I had a tail I would be wagging it.

[Bad Performance Bonus] The Postal Service General is getting $800,000 bonus for running the postal service into the ground.

Redneck limo

Mondays C T was a classic. The elephant painter was amazing. The Armageddon rants and cosmic what-evers were cool too. Days like this make all the other crap worth tolerating.

What a bunch of negativity on this site.  At least Obama is trying something with his economic stimulus package. I think it just might work. I also think that the $13 a week is a great idea.  It's been proven that if you give people a chunk of money they save it.  If everyone gets another $13 a week they will probably spend it, and hopefully spend it locally.  It might buy a pizza.

[Here’s My Plan] We’ve got the second highest business tax bite in the world. Slash it, let business flourish. Cut spending on all but basic public safety associated matters. Freeze all raises and all expansion of the public pay roll. Postpone all spending on public art, amusement or culture associated matters. Eliminate stimulus payments to individuals. A stimulus check won’t buy a new house, new appliances, or a new car. Put in place substantial and meaningful permanent across the board cuts in income taxes.  Lock up our borders. Put in place large tax cuts to business to purchase new equipment.  Run the government like 1950’s families ran their homes, if you don’t have it, don’t spend it. Kill any legislation that would raise the cost or impede the building new energy sources such as nukes, gas or clean coal power supply. Reverse the new trend of increasing entitlement spending. Follow the lead of JFK and Reagan, cut taxes, so doing always increase the number of dollars going into the Treasury. Recognize that it has been industry and commerce that has caused our nation to flourish. Drive a stake in the heart of any notion that government is your friend, that you are a dummy who must have Nanny Government to take care of you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1

[Gort & Klaatu] Oh great, now you did it! You said the words wrong. To prevent Gort from destroying us you must repeat these word exactly: "Klaatu Barrada Nicto". Now the world will be reduced to a burned out cinder because of your bad grammar!
 
That is one of my all time favorite movies, I memorized the script.

[Flood Insurance] What happens when surge born debris damages your pilings and dumps your house, but your flood insurance still finds an excuse not to pay you? That's exactly what's going to happen. I'll bet you end up having to sue the insurance company of the boat that broke its mooring and slammed into your house. What a drawn-out process that will be while you're living in a motel. I'll take the gamble. I've already been screwed by flood insurance once and that was enough.

[Gas Mileage] Carburetors went away on vehicles around 1985-86 and were replaced with throttle body injection, a single fuel injector in place of the carburetor. It was much better. Later it became multi-port fuel injection, which has an injector for each cylinder. Much, much better. Since then, fuel economy has not improved.

Recently, after much research, I purchased a new economy car and can tell you this. The Smart Car (not what I bought) is the only gasoline powered car today that gets better mileage than my 1997 Geo. Other than the Smart Car and hybrids, there have been no economy improvements in the last twelve years by any auto maker. My Geo gets 42 mpg.  Check it out, you'll find the Kia Rio is the next closest competitor to my 12 year old car!

Comet's Heart May Have Struck Earth

[Last Bastion of Free Speech] Proposed Internet censorship in Australia will slow it down 87% and censorship will spread around the world ending the internet’s usefulness. If you think Ed’s editing is bad, wait until governments get into the censorship business. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfPeCrxHk1s

[Going for the Woody] This is described as one of Japan's three oddest festivals.  9K nearly naked men seek sacred wood - UPI.com

Mardi Gras around the world. Carnival - The Big Picture - Boston.com

[Where is my bailout] I pay my bills year after year and buy a house within my means and the only ones that are getting bailed out are the ones that don't need it and people who screw up. Where is the justice in all of this? Please tell me. Does capitalism mean that if you don't pay your taxes or do the right things you get rewarded? That is what I'm getting out of the new Administration. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Muslims freak out if they have to touch pork] Maybe that's the president’s plan. By filling our new stimulus package with all that pork he's sure to keep Muslims off American soil. How fiendishly clever!

[Slap Your Monkey] I’m so sick of hearing about the monkey that ate its master on the tube.

[Wine about Milk] Winn Dixie ran out of milk on Monday afternoon.  Then I went to CVS and I got their last gallon. It seems Winn Dixie bought all their milk at $3.39 a gallon and turned around and sold it for $6.99 a gallon. What a great country. I wish we had another choice other than driving 30 miles.

Isn't that the same Comet that passed Earth 65 million years ago?  Uh Oh! Unusual Green Comet

What's with the US1 construction on Big Coppitt Key? They have been playing erector set for over two years. Every time I drive to KW the same guy on the same bull dozer is pushing the same pile of dirt back and forth the same way. It this under the Stimulus deal or just a union job? How many of those contractor  and workers live in the Keys? We should have hired the SeaBees and the entire project would have been done in a month!

[Burglar] It's almost funny that the police are asking for the communities help in finding the BPK robbers. A person whom I used to have respect had told me that he closes the blinds, turns on the AC and does not give a damn what happens in his neighborhood. I’m happy to not live near him. Maybe after he gets rolled-over he would pull his drunken bubba head out of the sand. 

It's not about being a busy-body, it is about being alert to abnormal goings-on in your community. If I see a suspicious individual doing something weird, I call the police. That's what they're paid for. We were robbed in broad daylight and nobody had our back and we received absolutely no help from the police. Big Pine Key is like living in the wild west where there is complete lawlessness. Known drug dealers, felons, drunk drivers still blatantly drinking while driving and going through and stealing signage rule the roost. When Police were called in our case, very few reports were made like there was not even an incident. They gave their reports to someone else. This will not help property values as people talk and these kinds of reports travel all over the world. Keep dropping your wind and flood insurance because Big Pine Key is a toilet.

[The Movies] I watched a really good movie about an abused mother and daughter who received shelter at a safe house in the country. The plot thickened when the mother found why they were the only ones staying at the house. The house mom would kill the abused woman she didn’t think she could teach not to be abused. One night the abused mom found a tortured woman chained in the barn and plenty of evidence of other murders. She tries to leave but the crazy lady won’t give her her car keys. Suddenly the police show up looking for the missing woman and they have a photo of the abused mom and her daughter. Salvation? No, the abused woman and her kid run upstairs and hide in the closet from the police! That’s when I turned it off.

[Reducing the price I pay to get my taxes prepared] That's called the Fair Tax.  Imagine putting all tax preparers, tax lawyers and most of the lobbyists out to find a new job in one swoop!

Dear Hasbro, if you're going to lay off people in your company, make sure it isn't the person who screens the Word of the Day feature for your website. This was captured before they changed it earlier today.

Foreclosures in Monroe County are up 50% from last January! I’m wondering if they are mostly house-flippers, who I have no sympathy for and don’t think should be bailed out or given any consideration.

[Credit Card Scam] One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the important part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are p art of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question .. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.  What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

The Silent Auction of Yard Art created by the Artists in Paradise Gallery resulted in a very enjoyable evening and many happy winners of the works of art. Half of the proceeds went to the artists themselves and the other half went to the gallery as a fundraiser. The event was attended by over eighty bidders. Pictured is “Shorty” Allen, winner of Valerie Fecher’s jellyfish mobile, held by his brother Heindrek looking through the railing. Also pictured is the creator herself, Valerie Fecher.

[Every time the stock market has gone down since the election someone writes in bragging about it. How come that person doesn’t write in when the market goes up] Because the market hasn't gone up since Obama was elected!

Lent starts this week. I'm giving up—Lent!

End the US occupation! Withdraw all military forces now. Work for peace for Iraq.

[Boat Cleaning] Why overpay some punk to clean your vessel when it is a DYI job? Plus you need the exercise. Get busy! http://www.mobileworks.com/boatdetailing.html

Lunatics Anonymous has merged with the following anonymous groups. AA - Alcoholics Anonymous, CA - Cocaine Anonymous, LA - Clutterers Anonymous, DA - Debtors Anonymous, EA - Emotions Anonymous, GA - Gamblers Anonymous, MA - Marijuana Anonymous, NA - Neurotics Anonymous, OA - Overeaters Anonymous, OLGA - Online Gamers Anonymous, SA - Sexaholics Anonymous, SA - Smokers Anonymous

Our new name will simply be: LA,   AA, CA, CLA, DA, EA, GA, MA, NA, OA, OLGA & SA2

Dr. Kander Bluff and her twin half sister, Dr. Candid Bluff, are proud to introduce you to this new combined inter lunacy program. By combining the above 12 listed anonymous programs we hope to serve all your lunacy problems under one roof. There will be 12 groups practicing the 12 steps and the 12 traditions. The leaders will use the names of the 12 attendees of the last super. The BB-BIG BOSS will make guest appearances from time to time. That will be the 12x12x12x12+1 meetings.

Think of the cost savings alone. There will be only one rental payment and all groups can meet in the same hall on the same night. Whereas all of the above listed groups are copy cats of Lunatics Anonymous we could save millions on the cost of printing only 1 version of the BB-Biggest Book. The new meetings will be held at the church of LSN-Lunacy Spiritual Nuts, location and times to be determined. At this time we are in contact with the owners of the old Scotty’s location on Big Time Key. We will be able to have seating and parking for over one thousand members. As we are all self supporting, when we pass the basket for your $1 donation, we could collect a thousand dollars a meeting. If we held two meetings a day we could double the house take. The average annual house take will be over $730,000 just from the daily self supporting donations. Think of the financial boast to our lousy economy and the increase in civic pride with having LA-Lunatics Anonymous at this location. Bus service could be provided to and from Key Weird and Key Largo. Of course we will have Law Enforcement, and fire-rescue services on standby in case there is a need. Food, beverages and medications could be catered by the BTT-Big Time Fleas. Local bands could donate their time and talents. US 505 radio could do live remotes. We could have KDIC-Key Deer and Iguana Cook offs using fresh road kill to cut down on the cost. We could have the TDC (Tourist Don’t Come) promote our new program nationwide. We could start a new annual event, like LF-Lunatics Fest or LPP-Lunatics Pet (women) Parade or LBBB-Lunatics Beer & Bong Bash or LO-Lunatics Orgy.

All members will have to wear different colored robes so that the paying visiting tourists that witness and photograph these events and rituals will be able to identify each sect and cult. The possibilities are endless. We will have a tee shirt shop to earn more money selling LM-Lunatics Memorabilia. We do have other problems to overcome to get this new program started but, we do have faith that if all the Anonymous groups work together this will be a great success. If you have suggestions or comments on this, please forward them to the CT-Coconut Telegraph for Dr. Kander Buff’s serious consideration.  Thank you all in advance.

ABATE’s Southernmost Chapter general meeting at 11 AM Sunday, March 1 has been changed to the Dockside Lounge, 35 Sombrero Blvd, Marathon, Florida. Bulletin Board

[Name The New Room on the Space Station]  There you go again, giving nitwit names to inanimate things. Why do people keep living in a Disney World of sissies? The Node’s a freaking big pipe with parts inside, not a living thing. Grow up!

Honey is that you? Nope, it’s not. It’s Sgt. Friday, “Just the Facts Ma’am”. But I’ve got to admit you sound a lot like my wife. Like you, on those rare occasions when she goofs, she can be reluctant to admit that she’s made a goof.   First, please, dear lady, please look at the web site below; when you do you’ll see that the costs of lobbying are only a tiny, even wee,  fraction of the total cost of getting drugs to the market place, R&D costs are a part of that greater total. So, Dear Lady, lobbying costs are actually an even smaller portion of a tiny fragment of the total cost. In the example cited, the total lobbying expenses of all U.S. drug firms were 1/60^th of the of the R&D costs of Pfizer alone. If you want to add Pfizer’s marketing to their R&D costs it will add up to about $25 billion. Here’s the math problem: $123 Million spent by all drug companies on lobbying vs $25 billion spent by one drug company getting their product to market.

Dear lady, if you can find more current data that supports your claim that the companies spend twice as much on lobbying as they do on R&D, why won’t you share it with us? The Obama admin is chock-a-block full of lobbyists, perhaps they can help. http://projects.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=723

The slew of burglaries to Big Pine businesses a couple of weeks ago seems to have stopped. Do you think it was a Snowburglar (a burglar who is on vacation from burglaring up north)?

[The internet gives the false illusion that what you have to say might be important] I absolutely agree.  All these blogs and forums are just noise. Their ability to influence is non-existent. Have you ever read a thread that changed your mind on a subject?  And does anyone honestly believe their argument will change someone else's mind?  The only meaningful therapy any of these sites offer is the ability to get something off your chest.

[Muslims freak out if they have to touch pork] That's the key to ending this terror, send them a few billion Porksicles.

Can you catch the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction before sunrise with your unaided eyes? In these diagrams, brightnesses are always exaggerated for objects when they're seen in bright twilight.

AIG wants billions more in bailout money on top of what you and I have already given them.

[More bleach in the gene pool] Police in Holland Township, N.J., removed three kids from the home of Heath and Deborah Campbell in January at the behest of the state Division of Youth and Family Services. The kids are 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell and his 1-year-old sisters, Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell. The family was also in the news in December when their local ShopRite supermarket bakery refused to make a birthday cake with little Adolf's name on it.

Stock Market is a bunch of bastards who get money from fools to invest and make unearned capital off the sweat of others then keep it. They do not physically work or get dirty. They laugh at the working class for supporting their lifestyle. When they do make bad investments they know the government will bail them out.

[Expelling foreigners from Muslim lands is one of their beliefs]  Good plan. I agree 100%. And, what goes around comes around.  For this American, expelling foreigners from my country is my American belief.  Foreigners do not even try to assimilate into my country's language. They do not make enough of a contribution to America to justify letting them stay, or even get in--enough already. All foreigners out, and take your beliefs with you.  This may sound ugly, but it's the reality. 

The gas mileage of American cars and trucks remains lower then is possible because you all still want giant cars and trucks.  There is no free lunch.

[Change formant of the Coco Tele] The Coco Tele is not a blog or forum. It is just full text on a page, surrounded by obnoxious, moving gifs. There is no flow to the conversation, comments are not linked in any way, and it is heavily edited. It is just random text. No logic here!

Supporters of the current format are technical gnats just barely able to read text on a page (did I say: surrounded by obnoxious gifs), which is what the Coco Tele is.

[Blame Obama] Have all of you blind Obama supporters forgotten that his votes as a Senator helped put this country in the current economic crises?  Now you expect him to fix it? 

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Tuesday February 24, 2009

Monday February 23, 2009

[Insha’ Allah] Muslims freak out if they have to touch pork. They actually think it will deny them entrance into heaven. It’s hard for us in the West to understand this, but we must try. There are all kinds of whacko religions believing in all kinds of off-the-wall foolishness. Muslims believe that having non-Muslims in Muslim lands is a sacrilege—they really believe it. That too sounds foolish to us. That’s why we don’t pay any attention to them when they say they want all American troops out of Muslim lands, or else. We laugh at their silly demands, they blow up the Twin Towers. Until we pay more attention to their beliefs we’re in trouble. We must always remember that they are irrational; and dying for their beliefs in defending Islam is a wonderful honor for them. Expelling foreigners from Muslim lands is one of their beliefs.

[Civilian Conservation Corps] Yesterday’s post reminded me that my father worked in the CCC during rough times in the country and it was the only thing keeping his new wife and him going. How can history say that the WPA and the CCC didn’t help the country get out of the depression? They both created jobs, even though they were only for a few years they allowed people to earn money and keep their dignity while doing some good at the same time. All those workers put that money back in the economy thus stimulating it until things eventually worked out on their own.

To Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, As a seasoned, honest and hard working local mortgage lending professional,  I would like to say thank you for all your diligent efforts pursuing the scum who prey on vulnerable, less fortunate  and ever-so desperate homeowners.

Everything Oscar. OSCAR.com - 81st Annual Academy Awards - Homepage

[Federal Reserve] You're absolutely right about the evils of the Fed and the ways that they manipulate us and our economy. I've been studying the issue for a while and it's amazing how they can pull this off and Americans allow it to happen.   Henry Ford once said "It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

Klaatu and his guardian robot, Gort “klatto barada nicto”

We were hoping to spend a night or two in Key West after we received Obama’s stimulus tax cut. Well…if any of the hotels in Key West drop there rates to $1.13 a day we will be there! If they don't drop their rates we will use the whole 38 dollars a month (every month) and donate to anybody who is running against Obama in 2012.

Hopefully we will see you in 2013.

[I have a Dream] Something Sloan wrote in one of his postings jogged a memory of mine, relating to a dream I had that was remarkable, relating to Gurumayi, Chidvilasananda giri, the female Indian Saint that inherited the Muktananda ashram.I had never been much of a fan of Muktananda. In order to appreciate a so-called saint, I must determine if there's a spiritual connection based on how I experience for myself their divine energy (if  it is divine). The only way I can know something is to experience it for myself. So you may call me crazy. But nearly everyone has experiences they cannot explain (I grew up non-denominational Christian).

At the time that I first heard of Gurumayi, I was around 20 years old, and had been working in an office where someone had brought in a notice with her photo and about an upcoming workshop she was teaching in Miami Beach and a large gathering for darshan (blessings) that was free and open to the public. Several co-workers had planned on attending, and they enthusiastically invited me. I was tentative, as I had never heard of her before.

That night, I recalled her appearing in my dream. She visited me in the dream, and I recall feeling that she blessed me. When I awoke the next morning, I felt amazing! And all my chronic sciatica back pain was gone. I decided to attend the event that night.

When we got there, there were hundreds of people sitting on the floor singing Indian bhajans songs of praise to God, while waiting their turn to go up to greet her. Six abreast at a time would walk up to where she sat, and stand before her for a few moments. And then they would move on, and another 6 would step up before her. When my turn came, I remember thinking that I wanted to thank her for the healing in my dream the night before. She swiped a look at my eyes across all of us standing there. I whispered to her "Thank you, Gurumayi, for the healing". She looked at her assistant, and I said it louder, since she didn't seem to have heard me clearly, "Thank you Gurumayi, for the healing last night". And she looked at me again after I said that, and when her eyes met mine, the inside of my head was immediately flooded with light, a light explosion, so to speak, and I felt propelled backwards into my mind, to what felt like a mile from the surface of my eyes. I could see out, but I was in this very deep calm-meditative-feeling-state. This lasted for several days, and during this time I had very little inclination to speak, but felt unbelievably calm and well and tingly.

This was a beautiful experience that has assisted me in my meditation (stilling the mind and opening towards God's Guidance) ever since.

Not all so-called saints are for real; Indian, Christian, or otherwise. We must go by our own experience, and look to the life lived. This is called discernment - which is different than judgment. (to be truly non-judgmental is a very humble way of being). Of the Christians, I have found that Catholics are most open to meditation and a mystical connection with Christ. And the beautiful great saint Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda (who developed the Self Realization Fellowship) in California around the early 1900's did much to bring the science of meditation and breath-work to the western world. He taught us to always be  in harmony with the teachings of Jesus, his spiritual brother - and he never tried to convince anyone to leave Christianity. Instead, he was showing all the parallels in the teachings and principles, even in such seemingly different cultures and religions.

Someone calling me or any believer or spiritual student “crazy” means nothing, and hurts me not. Ignorance needs to defend itself. Changing, learning and growing does not. God speaks in all languages, to all cultures in whatever language they need in order to hear and understand Him. Om…

[Name That Room] NASA is building a new addition to the space station. You can help name the new node. Help NASA Name Node 3!

[Stimulus] How can reducing taxes of citizens, stimulate the economy? I have so many deductions that I pay more to get my taxes prepared than I do in taxes. Now if you suggested reducing the price I pay to get my taxes prepared—that might stimulate the economy.

[Stocks] Every time the stock market has gone down since the election someone writes in bragging about it. How come that person doesn’t write in when the market goes up?

[Health Care Reform] There were some really good ideas for reforming our health care system printed yesterday. Although, I don’t recall anyone calling for the scrapping of our present system. I only recall someone asking for expanding the present system to include the middle folks that are left out.

A new church opens in Key West.

[Annoying People To Be Fined] In December, the city council in Brighton, Mich., passed an ordinance making it illegal for anyone to be annoying in public, by word of mouth, sign or motions. Violators can be ticketed and fined.

Parrotdise Waterfront now has a great new live webcam showing their beach, dock and boat traffic in Newfound Harbor. I think it’s one of the most interesting cams in the Keys. LiveBeachCam

[Captain Half Truth Defending Pharmaceutical Companies] He did it again. The original writer’s statement was that drug companies spend twice as much money on lobbyist than they do on research. Research is the word, not “making and distributing their product”. Using five year old statistics don’t count. I think the good Captain might secretly be my husband; he too changes the debate half way through. Honey, is that you?

You’ve all seen monkeys painting, humans painting like monkeys, now we have an elephant painting like a monkey. You’re not going to believe this unless you see it for yourself. Can it be true? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk

[George is Great] George Bush spent money for things that mattered. Katrina, 9/11 whom everyone seems to have forgotten, our troops who should matter most of all. That is why you are safe in this country. I don't care what any of you have to say about
George Bush, at least he was a man of integrity.  I can't wait till the next four years are over. What a joke.

Does this mean it's a recycled comet? Unusual Green Comet Set to Pass Earth

[Bailout] Yesterday, from the floor of the NY Stock Exchange, one of the Greedys was shouting out against refinancing citizen’s mortgages.  The traders behind him were all cheering their support for him. Somehow I wasn’t surprised that these very same people who caused this meltdown by their greed were against any help for the homeowner.

[Fannie Mae] Must reading for liberal and conservative alike. Where the mess really started in 1999.

The plummeting stock market is hurting American youth a lot more than it is hurting our baby boomers. Millions of baby boomers have been anticipating retirement this year and in the next 5 or so years; those plans are now in the toilet. The value of their retirement funds has, to date, been cut in half and is probably headed lower. Stock market investors have no confidence in Obama’s ability to turn the economy around. As of today, the stock market is down nearly 50% of what it was when Obama became the Democrat nominee less than a year ago. The baby boomers will not retire, they can no longer afford to.  They will simply stay in their relatively high paying jobs by the millions. That’s millions of jobs that will not be opened up to our youth. It’s ironic that the youth were some of Obama’s most enthusiastic supporters. The market will not turn around until Obama learns that socializing banks and industry is absolute poison to a thriving economy.

[Stimulus Check] What are you going to do with your extra $13.00 a week? Don't spend it all in one place.

Yesterday a lady told us that she’s angry at those of us who are totally opposed to socialized medicine. The lady said that even though she and her husband worked hard and that they were frugal, they just couldn’t afford health insurance. A quick look at the web would have found the following information.  “The monthly cost of a typical family health insurance policy in Florida was $586 for a traditional low-deductible policy and $204 for a high deductible policy.” I’m sure that there are lots more sources of info and quotes for her to examine, but those numbers are a hell of a lot less than the $800 per month she claimed. However, a major part of her complaint is valid.

Our health care is too expensive. It’s good, but it’s expensive because it’s full of waste, inefficiencies, government intrusion, and theft. We should be demanding that our leaders find ways to cut the costs, not to scrap the whole damned system and replace it with an inferior one. If we had socialized medicine, that lady would have absolutely no choice in the matter. The paychecks of she and her husband would be looted by the government to pay for socialized medicine. The government would decide how much she and her family would pay, the government would decide when, where, and how much health care her family could receive. Socialized medicine is a real bad deal, especially for the folks who have to work hard to get health care. Bye the way, leprosy is extremely rare in the USA, virtually every victim is an illegal immigrant, and of course they get health care at no cost to them. You pay. http://www.healthplanone.com/healthinsurance/florida/:

How many famous faces can you fine in this picture? I saw Bruce Lee. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GAGgcGbzFpk/SX4ArWHlQJI/AAAAAAAAFVU/cy0VEyZgiPU/s1600-h/people.jpg

Two Points of View 

The Paranoid View: The question we have to ask ourselves is what will happen to the Keys if or when tourism - the economic lifeblood of Paradise - dries up completely due to dire circumstances in the northern land?  Will services continue to be available; and at what level and at what cost?  Given disruptions of energy and raw materials up north, will our supplies be guaranteed down here?  The military will provide for its own, to be sure, but the rest of the citizenry may find itself constrained to do a mass exodus north as most will not be in a position to fend for themselves due to age, physical limitations or inability to forage for grubs?  No?

The Armageddon View: This is what I've been screaming for the past few years. If the mainland crashes, we little peasants are done. You kept preaching that they will take care of us by boat or air drop.  Yeah right. The military will take care of their own until these islands are no longer defendable, then they will be pulled back to a new skirmish line. You know that as well as I do.  If the power and water are cut off we are done for in three days.  If you can't flush it - eat it!  Then what? Do you really think the Yankees will want more Southern trash up there? NO! Do you think the markets will do anything they cannot make profit on? NO! Do you think the Fed will give a shit about us? No. We are history and that is that. Even with an airplane there won't have any place to go. What the shame is. Even if you and I set up gardens and water storage from rain water and whatever else we need, it is still a stupid joke--on us. There's no real way to survive in the Keys. A handful of bad guys raid us and we're meat.  Forget the Rambo BS. Sail away? Where to and how? I don't know how or have a boat big enough to store that much supplies or bullet proof enough to fight off the renegade military who want my stash.  Love thy neighbor--with a little soy sauce--because there won’t be any bars or grub shops open. Have a nice sleep, it may be your last. http://www.infowars.com/

Since I'm a member of Senator Charles Schumer's chattering class, I wonder:
1. Who else is a member of the chattering class?
2. Why is Schumer such an elitist?
3. What exactly are those teeny-weeny pieces of pork that New York’s pride thinks is so insignificant?
4. Where do I sign up for the revolution?

If you think the Iraq war was a war on terror, you really don't get it. Prior to that war, Iraq kept Iran in check. The outcome of the Iraq war, destabilize the area even more, higher oil prices which helped kill our economy, massive debt and still no Bin Laden or WMDs. And you want to drive a stake into the heart of the economic recovery plan because you don't think it will work? Your plan has to be much worse because you have none. No one likes to put our future in debt, but lets not forget who and what got us into this tail spin and do our best to get us out of it.

[Chernobyl] That was interesting info on Chernobyl in Sunday's CT.  Here is a great site developed by a lady biker known as Gamma Girl who has ridden through out the wasteland around Chernobyl and documented her experience in photos and videos. http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/index.html

[We Are Doomed] Watch for the slide of the stock market to drop into free fall soon. Obama’s now floating trial balloons about his first budget wherein he actually plans to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy. He plans to cut spending in Afghanistan. He’s crazy! Right now the USA has the second highest tax rate on business of any country in the world.

Does any reader of this site actually believe that raising taxes on business will cause that business to grow and prosper? Will higher taxes promote investment, and will it promote new hires or buying new equipment? Will higher taxes on any Big Pine business make that business more profitable? Obama will drive more business off shore.  I’m not anywhere near Obama’s current definition of being wealthy, but his plot to raise taxes on the wealthy will directly hurt me. Obama’s tax-the-rich plot might make some folks who want to redistribute wealth feel all giggly, but it will take tons of money out of circulation that would be spent on things like new cars, vacations, new boats, remodeling vacation homes, buying vacation homes, and even retiring in the Keys. If our wealthy friends don’t have money, they can’t spend it, they can’t invest it, they can’t hire workers, and they’ll start hiding it. As Obama cuts back our commitment to the war on terror we can be absolutely positive that we will see a resurgence of AQI’s influence on Muslim youth and a serious increase in terrorist activity. I fear Obama’s meek reputation in the Muslim world will embolden them to kill on US soil again. Welcome back Jimmy Carter, it’s time to dust off the “misery index”.

[Stop buying Hersey products.]  Not a snowball's chance in KW for that one!

[Lunatics Anonymous meetings] I thought they were on Sundays in those weird buildings with the points on the roofs.

Go Navy not Army. Recruiting Video

[Hats] I expected Obama to show up wearing a baseball cap backwards. I expected President Bush to show up wearing a dunce cap, but that didn’t happen either.

CNBC’s Rick Santelli rousing support from the NYSE against bailing out homeowners.  http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853?boooo

A poster was defending President Bush’s economy by asking the previous day’s poster "don’t forget Bush had to deal with Hurricane Katrina, Iraq and 9/11". That’s a great statement, but why did we have to pay for the Iraq war when they didn’t attack us on 9/11? According to our own president they didn’t have WMD either. We were told that before the war All the poster did was remind us all of the folly of confusing the war in Afghanistan - which is right – and with the fairy tale war in Iraq (for no reason at all). Remind me to never hire this poster as my defense attorney. Thanks for reminding us also why we shouldn’t believe anything Republicans tell us.

[Lunatics Beware] Local law enforcement agencies are warning all lunatic men who frequent clubs, parties and local bars to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman. Many females use a new date rape drug on the market called "Beer."

The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large kegs. Beer, combined with female cleavage, forced smiles, hair spray, perfume and tight fitting shorts, is used by female sexual predators at Lunatics Anonymous meetings, which are held in local bars, to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a lunatic male to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex.

Lunatic men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with any women whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that something bad occurred.

At other times these unfortunate lunatic men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship" which often leads to another trap called “engagement” where you will have to spend all of your own  money on a finger ring. In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage." Lunatic men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females.

Please! Forward this warning to every lunatic male you know. If you fall victim to this Beer scam and the women administering it, there are lunatic male support groups where you can discuss 24/7 the details of your shockingly horrible encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up Lunatics Anonymous cult meetings in the phone book.

[Bush Warned Congress] Timeline shows Bush, McCain warning Dems of financial and housing crisis; meltdown.  http://WWW.youtube.Com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 

[Power To The People] In this day and age of everybody's running to the government for a handout of tax payer dollars. A group of residents in Key Largo have developed a way for the people to provide recreational properties in Key Largo without the use of ad valorem tax money, or liability by Monroe County Government for it's success or failure. It can't be done the naysayers say. Tell that to the hearty citizens who drove their wagons West and developed this country without bailout money or a Stimulus Package from Washington. Tell that to President Abraham Lincoln who said that we are a country "Of the people, For the people and by the  people"

We badly need more and better public recreational properties in Monroe County, not only for our residents but to attract tourists to Key Largo. Visitors will spend their money to visit these recreational areas and will provide much needed revenue to our local economy.  Monroe County's Government's mantra "We can't do it, we are broke" is a tired song. So it is time to give the power to the people to get it done.

Florida State Law allows the people of an unincorporated area such as Key Largo to create a “dependent recreational district’ by a petition signed by the majority of voters within that district. To have the Board Of County Commissioners establish such a district can be accomplished by passage of a simple ordinance. Once formed this district becomes self-funded through grants, donations and receipts from its public recreational properties.

A few of the projects under consideration are a 17 Acre Public Passive Park at mm 100.5 where residents and visitors alike can hike trails and view nature as it exists in it's natural form. Another is a Public Recreational Park at the former Rowell Property (Bayside) where boaters can launch from a publicly owned boat ramp. Where families can picnic and major events such as chili cook-offs, boat shows and flea markets or charitable fund raisers can be held, just to name a few ideas. An Historical and Marine Museum on a yet to be designated site could be created too.

If you live in the area of Key Largo you will soon be asked to approve this petition. And no matter where you live in the Florida Keys let your Commissioners know you support this return of power to the people without the use of ad valorem tax money. 

Stupid greed or just bad business practices? When times are tough local businesses will naturally lose customers because people have lost their jobs or have other money problems. This affects all businesses, especially the food and liquor businesses. Now logically, any business that is losing money will reduce their retail prices to keep in step with the local economy and remain open until they can no longer pay their rent, employees salaries and costs of operation. Then they have to close the doors. They don’t do that in the Keys though. Here the businesses raise their prices until they drive all customers into the poor house. They cut serving sizes, buy cheaper grades of supplies to sell, and still expect customers to pay through the nose. It is no wonder the tourist industry dies a cold death in the Keys.  Greed in not good! 

[Change] How could anyone want to change the formant of the Coco Tele? Since reading the complaints I went looking at other blogs and they all suck. None of them were as easy to read as this one. And none of them had the pictures and animations like they do here. I love those pictures!

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Monday February 23, 2009

Sunday February 22, 2009

Where is our money for sewers? It looks like homeowners in Big Pine will have to chip in $25,000 each, not including the pipe that connects each house to the sewer system. It seems that we haven't been able to secure state or federal funds for the government-mandated sewer system.  Other communities, including New York, Cleveland and Washington DC are planning make-work sewer projects to dig up existing (working) sewers and replace the old sewer pipes with new ones in order to create jobs.  Milwaukee has requested $180 million for sewer projects and boasts of creating 2500 jobs, including an estimated 357 workers to be hired to install lying in the pipes connecting homes to the street sewers.  Although this project would spend taxpayer money in the front yards of homeowners, it is needed, officials say, to prevent melting snow from contaminating the sewer system.

[Gas Mileage] Does anybody remember when anti-pollution equipment was first required on vehicles. Do you remember how after giving the auto industry five years to comply, they asked for an extension while foreign autos makers had compliance before the deadline? With all of the engineers and supposed intelligent folks working in the auto industry it seems there is a stalemate of sorts happening. They have the pollution under control--that's good. They've computerized--that's good too.  What they haven’t done is improve mileage.

When I started driving back in the 60s, the standard tire size was a 7.50 x 14.  It seems they have gone low tech and just put bigger rims on vehicles to increase mileage by 1or 2 mpg.

With all the engineers, mechanics and other professional in the field it would seem that someone would come up with something better if only by accident. 

[Birds] I’ve been hearing a single cardinal for about two months and last month I finally heard the pair. This morning just before sunrise I heard 2 pair’s morning song. There is no prettier music to my ears. I love the Keys.

[Health Care] Why should we have to sacrifice our lives’ comforts for fear of cancer? We’ve lived frugally. My husband and I have always worked at regular jobs. We’ve had different jobs at different times and some of them had health insurance, but most didn’t. We don’t travel or have a big TV or fancy cars. Most of our money is spent on our house. Maybe we’re doing it wrong, but I don’t think so. We have to watch our pennies in order to pay our mortgage. There is absolutely no way for us to pay for health insurance. I’ve looked into minimal insurance and it’s about $200 a week for the both of us. If that $200 paid for everything we could afford it, but it doesn’t.

Neither one of us makes enough money to pay for that insurance because that insurance only pays for big time illness (like cancer or leprosy [sic]). We still have to pay for doctor visits, medicine, dentist and eyeglasses (for him) out of our pockets. That adds up to a lot of money and we don’t have it.

I think that you people who have always had your insurance paid for you forgot how much it costs us for all the extras. I’m sick of you people insulting us and looking down your nose at us because we don’t make enough money to pay for insurance. We sacrifice a lot in our lives and just can’t sacrifice anymore for insurance.

[Flood Insurance] We canceled ours on out stilt house and kept it on our on-the-ground-on-a-canal house. Your auto insurance covers you car for about ten dollars a year. I don’t think flood insurance is worth the expense or the inspection. I move my tools upstairs during storms.

[Race Relations] I watched a program titled "Car Cruisin’ where a group of black hip-hop rappers were interviewed by a car expert who was asking them about their exotic cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mesaratti, and Porsche. All were painted canary yellow, lime green, or hot pink. It was obvious that these black Americans had more money than God, but with an IQ of about 73. Every second sentence that came out of their mouth was, "You see what I mean? or You see where I commin’ from?" The baseball caps were worn sideways just to show the world how stupid they were. The baggy shorts were hanging under their butt cheeks. The biggest thrill of one of these mental giants was, how he crashed his brand new Porsche 911 into a “firehydran, it's only money, you know what I mean?"

You tell me, how in the hell the average white person will see eye to eye with someone who doesn't even know how to wear a baseball cap, or to pull up his pants? I expect president Obama to show up at a press conference wearing a baseball cap backwards, and his ass hanging out, just to legitimize his black brothers. I would be willing to bet that the four black young men didn't have one high school diploma between them.

[Don't change anything about this blog, especially the GIF file] I absolutely agree. The CT is diverse, entertaining and very easy to peruse although Ed should have a church lady filter installed. Here’s some more GIFs and a game to go along with them. Block and Roll

Hillary and Obama’s new rap song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S48Xe8YltM&NR=1

[Stimulus] Ht, My name's Spin-ur-ass, but they have been spelling it wrong lately. I'm here to show you how you are getting it up the giggie and how you think you're going to get a slice of the fictional pie. Now bend over and get ready for your exam. Like many diseases or conditions when doctors don't know the cause, they treat the symptoms and let the disease run it's course. Our politicians are spending lots of our money to do the same thing to our economy.  Here's the pork - if you can find it. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Finding-the-Pork-in-the-Obama-usnews-14418781.html

Flood insurance is of no use at all; that is, until a huge storm surge come ashore at your address. Hurricane Wilma’s winds didn’t reach hurricane force in the Keys, but still the surge waters damn near made it on to my floors. My home, on pillars, was built in ’94 and is code compliant.  Storm surges much higher than Wilma’s are common. In 1935 the Labor Day Hurricane put huge swaths of the middle keys deep under water. Plus, you should think about the possibility of surge born debris damaging your pilings and dumping your house--that’s flood damage. I buy flood insurance.  I'm not as smart as those folks who don't, but I worry a lot less.

[Chernobyl] On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to  Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the  Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

The 7 Most Exclusive Clubs in the World

[Federal Reserve] Let's talk cause, not symptoms.  I am an 82 year old U.S. Army veteran.  I would like to offer some seasoned observation and encouragement to my fellow citizens.  First, until the American people understand the unconstitutional character of the central criminal bank called the Federal Reserve, all this other endless chatter about bailouts, stimulus packages and bad mortgage debt, will do nothing to affect positive change for the better.  How in the hell can you have a so-called free market when you have an organized band of crooks who control your M-1 money supply and manipulate interests rates at will to fit their continuing crooked agenda? 

The Fed is not any part of the U.S. Federal Government. It is a consortium of private international bankers.  These are the bums your tax dollars bailed out in the recent banking fiasco.  These are the same pack of thieves who hold this country in their economic stranglehold. They are the owners of the same banking houses who have funded both sides of all our recent wars.  This is fact. 

One would do well to research the history of the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.  Talk about chicanery and sleaze!   The slave owners of the past never had so many people under their economic control as does this cabal of criminals.  When will the duped populace of this plundered nation grow the 'nads to begin to indict, hold trials and then build the gallows for these scoundrels?  This country was formed out of rebellion.  Rest assured, it will take another rebellion if it has any hope of eliminating this de facto regime of criminals of the highest order.  There's more to being patriotic than just flying the flag and having a cookout on the 4th of July. 

[Boat Collision] One motor boat ran into another motor boat last night out in the bay. 6 injured 1 fatality. It’s so sad.

Gary Condit lost his political career because of suspicions that the killed his girlfriend, Sondra Levy. We know find that the real killer has been caught. I guess we should say, “Oops, sorry. Gary.”

The new TSA scanners remove your cloths and the x-rays show your private parts.

Coming soon to an internet near you—naked TSA photos of just about everyone!

After being married for 44 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, "Honey, 44 years ago we had a cheap apartment, a cheap car, slept on a sofa-bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep every night with a hot 21-year-old gal. Now I have a  $500,000 home, a $45,000 car, a nice big bed and a  plasma screen TV, but I’m sleeping with a 65-year-old  woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things." 

My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 21-year-old gal, and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap apartment, driving a cheap car, sleeping on a sofa-bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV. Aren't older women great?  They really know how to solve your mid-life crisis!

At a Key West luncheon held in honor of non-profit volunteers county-wide, The Community Foundation of the Florida Keys presented Jimmy Anderson a certificate of recognition which he received with an exploding grin and his hand raised in the international sign for love. That silent, symbolic act characterizes exactly why Anderson was selected as the 2008/2009 Monroe Youth Challenge Program Unsung Hero.

Anderson is one of MYCP's first volunteers. He served as a chaperone to accompany Monroe teens to a leadership conference in California. Later that year he played a significant part organizing the first Challenge Day in the Upper Keys. Nine years later Anderson still takes personal leave from his job at the Department of Health to support MYCP by chaperoning youth at three-day camping trips. He lugs food and water to youth programs or serves as an adult facilitator whenever asked. MCYP Director Sunny Booker said, “Jimmy goes out of his way to support our youth quietly and behind the scenes whenever needed.”   

CFFK's mission is to make the Florida Keys a better place to life and in the further by encouraging philanthropy and matching these acts of kindness to community needs. Monroe Youth Challenge Program is a project of the Monroe County Education Foundation to foster acceptance, respect, and success in the youth of Monroe County. For more information call MYCP Director Sunny Booker at (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319 or visit www.monroe.k12.fl.us/mycp <http://www.monroe.k12.fl.us/mycp>.

Pictured left to right: Community Foundation of the Florida Keys President & CEO Dianna Sutton, MYCP District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter, MCEF Board Member Kathy Reitzel, MYCP Unsung Hero Jimmy Anderson, and MYCP Director Sunny Booker

[Jersey Girls] I saw a car with a bumper sticker that said, "Jersey girls don't pump gas."  Well, I don't know about that, but it's been my experience that they will pump just about anybody and most of them do have gas!

Practice your beer pouring skills. Put the curser on the glass and move it to get the perfect pour. Click to start the tap. A ¾” head is the perfect pour and the perfect temperature is 42°.  http://www.1001-bieres.com/index-choix-jeu-tireuse-biere.html                                                                                

[Science and God] God doesn't exist in reality just like Santa and the rest of the traditional characters, but it's fun collecting money for them, isn't it? And there are no taxes to pay either. It’s sort of like religious welfare!

[Massive Debt] Yesterday a poster whipped his-self into a verbal frenzy spattering spittle about how Bush accumulated massive debt in his pursuit of the war on terror. The poster wailed about Bush’s failed stimulus attempt and it’s attendant debt, but then praises the Obama plan of sinking us into more debt than we’ve ever had, more debt than any nation has ever had, debt that will enslave our kids, their kids, and their kid’s kids. (that is if we can even survive as a nation).

Honest to God, one of the worst inventions ever is email and the internet. It gives people the false illusion that what they have to say might be important.  

[Obama Sends Stocks Down] The Stock Market went down because it is mostly a balloon full of Fantasy Gas that something poked a hole in.

Ah, if only this was possible!  Video

[Happy Happy] I really enjoyed the Despondex link. Although, I must confess I can be relentlessly cheerful myself, sometimes. Maybe I need a prescription for Despondex! Or maybe I should find a Lunatics Anonymous 12 step program.

[Right wingers complaining about the stimulus package] Did you forget about paying for 9/11? About Katrina? About the Iraq war? About beefing up the military and national security? At the rate the Obama is spending money we will be in the hole for another 5 trillion.

[Police Shooting] Watch the video and what do you see; officers ordering the suspect to put the gun down. It appears he is complying and then he gets shot! Is that what you see? Want to know what it is like to work the streets and what you face? Watch the video again and watch the suspect’s right hand while he places the weapon down with his left hand. What you don't see, but the officer behind the suspect does see is the suspect pulling a hidden handgun from his rear pants with his right hand. The officer yells, “Gun!”

What you think you see at first does not always tell the truth. Watch it again and again and learn. Watch the hands, they pull triggers. Video

The Obama administration is like pecan praline ice cream. “We want change, “Yes pecan!”. It is cloying icy goo that conceals a remarkable number of nuts (thanks Mark Steyn). Plenty of folks really like it, especially for a change, but, it gives you a toothache, it leaves a bad after taste. It’s full of artificial additives, it’s way too expensive, and it’s really, really bad for your health. The taste thrill lasts for a few seconds, but the harm lives on.

[Collecting all the GIF animations] To the person who is collecting 'the whole set' of these obnoxious distractions, get real. If you think you will ever collect them all, do a quick search on clip art, smileys, gifs. With the volume of DVD offerings containing millions of images, you will be at it a long time. Can't you find something more constructive to do?

Flood Insurance is another government rip-off. We lost $30,000 in Wilma and only got $1,600 from our flood insurance. Screw them.

[Sniper] This nineteen-year-old ex-cheerleader (now an Air Force Security Forces Sniper) was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road. She engaged the target (i.e., she shot him). Turned out he was a bomb maker for the Taliban and he was burying an IED that was to be detonated when a US patrol walked by 30 minutes la ter. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

[Conspiracy Olé] The Illuminati always tell you what they are going to do but in subtle ways. Glenn Beck is misleading, but preparing us for the lie. In the mean time, 350,000 Mexican troops, backed by Chinese and Russians are massing on our border, under the lie of fighting drugs. It's a set up!

I had peanut butter on Cuban toast this morning. It might be my imagination, but knowing that the peanut butter could kill me just seems to make it taste better.

PeaceJam (not to be confused with Pearl Jam)] Ten years ago the founders of PeaceJam brought together 10 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. They identified the world’s top 10 issues and a global call to action. Over the next ten years PeaceJam, with the support of the Nobel Peace Laureates, aims to engage young people on a massive level, working toward the creation of one billion acts of service and peace.

The successes already range from clean water access for the poor in India to “A Day Without Hate” in the U.S. created to spread the message that, “we won’t live in fear in school and that we believe in non-violent solutions to problems.”

Students who elect to be a part of PeaceJam attend weekly sessions, often held on Sundays, at lunch, and after school, to learn about the 10 core issues. Two students study the curriculum and teach their dozen or so counterparts.

In the violence chapter, each group has drawn a map of their respective communities and identified where violent hot spots are. Another topic being researched is clean water. “I think our team will end up doing a project on that based on the passion I see in them already,” said Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator Mindy Vinson.

The 10 core issues are: Equal Access to Water and Other Natural Resources; Ending Racism and Hate; Halting the Spread of Global Disease; Eliminating Extreme Poverty; Social Justice and Human Rights for All; Rights for Women and Children, and their Role as Leaders; Restoring Earth’s Environment; Controlling the Proliferation of Weapons; Investing in Human Security; and Breaking the Cycle of Violence.

The Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent efforts to resolve the Tibetan conflict and for his worldwide role as a man of peace and advocate for the environment, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his courageous leadership in efforts to find a nonviolent solution to the conflicts over the policy of apartheid in South Africa, are two of the Nobel Laureates who serve as advisors to the youth.

After completing all 10 training sessions, youth from Coral Shores, Marathon and Key West High Schools anticipate traveling to the state convention this spring where they get to present their project for peace in response to the global call to action.

While this is not promoted as a follow up to Challenge Day to the youth, that is part of its purpose. PeaceJam is designed to meet the needs to engage youth in learning, help them develop positive bonds toward school, and build relationships with adults. All youth who attended Challenge Day were invited to become a part of PeaceJam. www.monroe.k12.fl.us/mycp


Shea Reger, a senior at Key West High School, instructs his peers on the definition of oppression as part of the PeaceJam “Ending Racism and Hate” chapter.

Key West High School students Kaya Lydamore, Devynn Kraus, and Lindsey Vinson  laugh together during a PeaceJam session.

(?)Someone needed to slap Mr. Slaphappy. Where do they get these people? At least the scumbags were not to be seen.

[Boycott] Hershey Chocolate closes another American plant. They're firing 300 workers and heading to Mexico where they have been re-establishing their empire. The real slap in the face is they continue to advertise: Hershey's great American chocolate. If their south of the border actions and their deceiving ad slogan bother or upset you, as much as me, stop buying all Hersey products.

What's next, the Ed in a sombrero doing up the Coconut Telegraph live from Tijuana? https://www.hersheys.com/contactus/contact-form.asp

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Sunday February 22, 2009

Saturday February 21, 2009

[Right wingers complaining about the stimulus package] Where were you when Bush turned a 237 billion dollar budget surplus into the country’s largest deficit when he left office? How about the over $700 billion spent in Iraq on a war of choice; and the hundreds of millions of dollars that went to Halliburton who have since moved their Headquarters to Dubai? How about a 772 million dollar embassy in Iraq? Let’s not forget the first bailout engineered by the Bush administration that did nothing but put $700 billion into the hands of bankers so they could get their bonuses and buy out their competition and not put a penny into lending? Don't forget that it was Bush who insisted that Paulson write a provision in that bill stating that any institution that did not use the TARP money to purchase bad assets could use money for bonuses--more money to concentrate wealth to his buddies. Heaven forbid that we will now see more than $500 billion go to local governments to fund programs Bush had cut, causing the degradation of our roads, bridges and communities. And let us not forget that over 250 billion of the nearly 800 billion is not spending, but tax cuts.

And don't think it's just the poor who drug our country down. What about the investor that has several million-dollar homes and now needs to short sale them or have them foreclosed on because they leveraged themselves so much? Most of them probably won't see punishment befitting the crime and will only get a slap on the wrist in a lower credit score for two years.

Stop your winning, but most of all stop hoping the country fails. That attitude is what you hear from Rush, Grease ball, Limbaugh. Be American and suck it up, think positive and patriotic and hope only for the best for this great country of ours. If you don't your own philosophy of my way or the highway may mean the highway for you all in the next election--again.

I paid flood insurance on my Eden Pines home for 18 years.  It was a total waste of my premiums.  My one and only claim (Wilma - I had 30 inches of water in my downstairs storage) was denied.  It's not a basement and not a living space. So I cancelled it the next day.  I figure if I were ever to have a legitimate flood claim the insurance man would have to swim out to Looe key to look at the house, because that's where it will be if a storm surge is high enough to get into my living space up stairs.

[Kudos to Winn Dixie] I went in at 1:30 p.m. Thurs to get the Buy one, Get one free offer on the $5.29 -9lb. bags of  Winn Dixie charcoal briquettes, but they were all gone. I asked employee Ann if they had any more; she took me to a Chris, who got the manager Robert, who looked, saw there were no more 9 lb. bags, and offered me an 18 lb. bag for the same price. He met me at the register, and arranged it so that I actually got the 18 lb. bag for $4.99. Pretty good service!

[Lobbyist Work on Commission] Once Monroe County finds our Dream Team Lobbyist let's ask the lobbyist to take the job on a contingency fee basis. If they get money for the Country they get paid based upon an agreed to percentage based upon a sliding scale.  I’ll bet we would not get many who claim to be Dream Teamers to apply. 

To the lady that found the $20 bill I dropped out of my shirt pocket at Winn Dixie and turned it in to the bank, thank you and God bless you. I am sorry to admit that I might not have done the same.

[God and Crazy] One thing that I have learned for sure in my 60 years on this planet is that God does not fix football, hockey, baseball or any other game. God will not help me win the lottery. God will not help me find my lost glasses or pay my car payments. Praying to God to do this for me is futile and a waste of time and energy. I know that the Lunatic Anonymous approach of assuming that God will fix your lunacy for you will get about the same success rate as praying for a sports victory or winning the lottery. I tried this and it didn't work. Lunatics Anonymous will tell me that I didn't pray hard enough, that I didn't pray on my knees or that I am not truly working the program or that I am just a dry lunatic.

[CVS Pharmacy Penalized] CVS Pays Up In Privacy Investigation - WalletPop

I am sitting here on this beautiful day in paradise trying to think of something to bitch about. I have lots of friends, good food, liquor, money in my pocket and a man who loves me. Ho Hum, another day in paradise.

[You Can't Fix Stupid] People are fun and really make me get a good belly laugh. Video

Question: Why would someone want National Health Care? Answer:

[Science and God] I hardly know where to begin except to say that the smug, arrogant tone of the writer reeks of Sloan. You start out stating that science proves God. If you had the slightest understanding of science you would know that since God cannot be disproved (a matter of faith) there is no way to prove his existence. That’s basic science 101 and you fail. Nowhere in your post do you even offer a hypothesis let alone a proof, just a rambling story about how you supposedly impressed someone with a BS one-liner. You fail again. Another obvious flaw in your fabrication is that you claim that she was of the monkey/ape to human view. What are you talking about? There is no such view in science, fool. We evolved from a common ape-like ancestor. Only the anti-science loons perpetuate the lie that we evolved from apes. Failed again! I know that stupidity like yours is impossible to reach with reason and logic as critical thinking is beyond your meager abilities, but I still cannot allow this kind of crap to go unchallenged. Go away Sloan, or Sloan-clone or whoever you are. We have enough stupid on this board without your invisible sky wizard fairy tales. ~arthur_phrain@hotmail.com

[More bar wisdom] All marriages are same sex marriages. Because once you're married it's the same sex over and over and over.

[Science and God] That is a true example of an oxymoron. How can anyone say that God is science? I believe in God, but I know my belief is not scientific fact. In fact, that’s why they call it faith.

Flood insurance in the Keys for newer homes is the biggest rip-off that can be Imagined.  The only reason to have flood insurance is because your lender requires it.  The lower levels, below base flood elevation, are not even covered for damage.  Just another form of government sanctioned robbery.   

[Stimulus] All the pork in the stimulus will create jobs (although I hate to admit it). They’re not the kinds of jobs I would have chosen, but you wanted change and it looks like this is it. Obama had to promise pork to everyone to get their vote, that’s what pork is; bribes.

[Healthcare] Ask yourself why a doctor will charge the insurance company $100 for a given task and charge you $250 for the same task if you don't have insurance and pay cash. It seems it should be the other way around!

Please don't change anything about this blog, especially the GIF file animations. I'm up to almost 4000 and want the whole set. Thanks!

Flood Insurance = Waste of Money

My mistake, I said millions in Halliburton contracts, it was billions--mostly no bid. If you don't believe this and the fact the G W had more to do with this mess than any other factor, just Google Halliburton. The Bush administration increased procurement spending by over $275 billion between 2000 and 2005, making federal contracts the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending. An increase of over 86%! And you still think you are the party of fiscal responsibility?

[New Sandwich] I heard a rumor that Parrotdise soon will have an Iguana Ruben sandwich on their menu. The meat will be all local, from Bahia Honda.

[They Came From Outer Space] Incredibly, a mosquito slept for 18 months on the outer International Space Station’s surface. Drat! Mosquito Survives In Outer Space

[Flood insurance] I am glad someone brought this up for discussion. I paid for flood insurance from 1989 to 2007, had two floods, George and Wilma, and they paid out a grand total of $35. I told my wife when we received the check that if the insurance company was that strapped for money maybe we should send it back. We no longer have flood insurance, that little inspection that big brother wanted to do, and have us pay for, was the last straw.

[Little Palm Island boat] I was down in Key West yesterday and saw the Little Palm Island boat that crashed the channel marker.  I am amazed nobody was hurt more that they were.  There was a hole, probably 2 feet by 3 feet in the front side.  How fast were they going when they hit that marker?  I can't believe they are even going to try to fix it.

[Feedback] I need repairs to my hot tub heater. Does anyone have any feedback on this Victor guy who advertises in the local papers. Or do you have any recommendations on other repair guys?

[Loan Scams] My office has seen a substantial increase in the number of scams based on offers to modify homeowners' loans or rescue them from impending foreclosures. Last year I worked with our Legislature to pass a new law protecting consumers from foreclosure rescue fraud, and my Mortgage Fraud Task Force has already sued several companies for allegedly collecting up front fees and not providing any promised services.

Preying on homeowners in a time of desperation is really one of the lowest things a con artist could do. Imagine a homeowner's frantic realization that the company he or she was working with to save his or her home was actually taking that homeowner's hard-earned money and allowing the mortgage to fall further behind in payments.

My office will continue to aggressively pursue companies and individuals who are targeting Florida's homeowners and trying to profit from their desperate situations.  ~Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

[Canceling Flood Insurance] If you don't have a mortgage, go for it.  It's a stupid waste of money for a home 9-10 feet in the air but mortgage companies require it regardless.

[Feel Better, Fast] This video is for all the cheerful people that frequent the Tiki Bar and Winn Dixie but spend half their day griping about their experience.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4tugPM83c

[Palin's Taxes]  So do all the Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices, political appointees, and just about everyone else in government get per diem when they leave Washington and go home?  I don't think so.  No wonder Palin smelled a rat and came clean under the guise of vetting herself.  But thanks for you answer.  I knew there had to have one. 

Entering your PIN backwards at an ATM does not alert the police.  That was an internet practical joke that was debunked last year.  There is no such system in existence.  The only way the police will be notified is if you take a hammer to the ATM and set off the alarm. http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/pinalert.asp

[Health Care Lobby] Some folks have routinely been claiming that the pharmaceutical companies spend twice as much on lobbying as they spend on all the costs of making and distributing their product. Those folks are flat wrong.  I checked, the only numbers I could find were for 2004. That year $123 million total was spent by all the drug makers combined to lobby in the USA. There are dozens of drug manufacturers. In 2004, Pfizer, the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company, alone had global sales of just under $50 billion dollars. In 2004 Pfizer’s Research and Development = $7.68 Billion. Please take note that’s only one of dozens of companies. Remember that it was $123 million spent for lobbying by all the drug makers vs $7.68 billion for Pfizer's R&D alone. You posters might be more credible if you’d occasionally speak the truth. http://projects.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=723

[One guy being held responsible for the economic crisis must be one powerful person indeed.] Not really only one guy, but several guys who run the World Banks. Who also start all the wars?

[Medicare] Medicare is not free!  It cost me $96 a month straight out of my, oh so big, SS check, then on top of that I pay $100 plus a month for a secondary insurance to pick up what Medicare will not pay.  My husband pays the same so figure it up.  The economy has gone to hell so we will be working until the day we drop.  So stop whining, grow up and do something to help yourself.  We're all in the big boat together. 

[Unedited school drop out] I’m afraid I am. I’ve been lost since Woodstock. Give credit to the lunatic anonymous guy he is relentless. Keep up the work, it is entertaining.

[2009 Annual GLEE Meeting Today] Green Living & Energy Education (GLEE) will host its Annual Meeting and 2nd Annual Green Living Awards from 4-7 p.m. Today, Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Gardens, 5210 College Rd.  A short presentation of what GLEE has accomplished in 2008, will be followed by our featured speaker and then the 2nd Annual Green Living Awards. 

Schedule: 4 p.m. Socializing  4:30 p.m. GLEE Business Meeting  4:45 p.m. Featured Speaker  5:15 p.m. 2nd Annual Green Living Awards  6 p.m. Reception and Sunset  7 p.m. End 

Featured Speaker Andres Mejides: Owner of Elfin Acres Organic Farm, DBA/Tropical Delights, teacher at Miami Dade College and zone 10 advisor for Rodale's Organic Gardening magazine, will address the state of organic farming in the Redlands and creating an organic raised bed vegetable garden. 

The Awards Ceremony: As chosen in a blind vote by the Board, four Green Living Award winners as well as the four popular vote award winners will be announced and recognized. Information on each eligible Awardee can be found here: http://www.keysglee.com/html/09_Annual_Meeting.html

There are only three classes of people on this rock, the rulers, their guards: the military, and the rest of use drooling idiots.

Those who say that our health care system is too expensive are right! But, it’s a damned good system for the vast majority of us nonetheless. Why should we scrap the whole damned thing to give freebies to freeloaders and illegals. Rather than scrapping the whole damned system, we should attack the causes of the high prices. Lets attack tort reform, gov required inefficiencies,  official waste and corruption,  the common medical practice of defensive Doctoring, incredible amounts of theft from the system, and a full revamping of the process of taking drugs and treatments from invention to the marketplace. Any one or combination of these measures will drive down healthcare costs. None of these measures will kill our system.

[Stimulus] The financial community has no confidence is Obama’s ability to fix this crisis. They think that his programs and negative talk will slaughter any near future potential for recovery. In May 2008 the stock market was at about 13,500. In May 2008 it became apparent that Barak Obama would probably clinch the Democrat nomination and would probably be our next President. By 11/2/08 the stock market had fallen to 9625, by 1/20/09, inauguration, it had fallen again to 7949, then it fell by about 300 at the announcement of the stimulus plan, then it fell by about 400 at Tim Geithner’s debut. It’s fallen by 2200 points since the election, about 41% in the last 52 weeks. It’s hasn’t been a smooth downward slide, it drops like a rock at nearly every announcement or action by Obama. The trial balloon that he floated about nationalizing our banks damn near caused a run and Obama had to make an announcement denying it. The financial community is telling us that they have no confidence in Obama.

[God Proved by Science] Yeah, and God invented the internet too, along with Holy Vaseline and door locks on bathrooms. Grow up and get help!

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Saturday February 21, 2009

Friday February 20, 2009

[Medical Innovation] Kudos to America for being on the forefront of medical innovation, but the fact remains that the medical industry still spends twice as much on Washington lobbyist as it does on research. And just what are they lobbying for? It is to prevent government health care for everyone and prevent new regulations that protect us all.

[Flood Insurance] I’m considering cancellation of my flood insurance. It does not seem worth the yearly premium, the time and stress of a FEMA inspection, and the potential costs that might result from that. Does anyone know if there is a real need or advantage to buying flood insurance when essentially the entire house is on pillars (the downstairs enclosure has little use to me and adds little value to the structure)?

[Stimulus Money] Yesterday a person was talking to me about the stimulus money and the "Dream Team Lobbyist" package that Monroe County Administrator is trying to put together to get stimulus money down to Monroe County. 

This person said to me it is "taxpayer's money trying to get taxpayer's money".  Is that the truth or not?

[Works Projects Administration] My father was out of work during the Depression but worked on a WPA job in Detroit shoveling snow.  That Government bailout worked for him.

[CEO vs Governor] Can somebody please explain to me the difference between incompetent CEOs who bankrupt their business then go to the feds with their hands out for bailout money (which everyone seems to agree is bad) and incompetent governors who bankrupt their states with their hands out (which no one seems to think twice about).

The Best Of Toni Bou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNXPflPh-8M   

[Racial Matters] Is Eric Holder is right, are we a nation of cowards afraid to discuss racial matters?  Perhaps we should talk more about the hundreds of thousands of white and black Union soldiers who died freeing the slaves. Perhaps we should talk about how much blood has been spilled in the cause of racial equality. I wonder if Eric Holder is aware that this nation has shed more blood and spent more treasure in the pursuit of racial equality than any nation in history. I wonder if Eric Holder is aware that Lincoln was a Republican and that the LBJ civil rights legislation was in fact Republican legislation? Do we really need to talk about what is to be learned from the fact that our supposedly bigoted country elected a mixed race President who appointed a mixed race Attorney General? I wonder if what we can learn from the fact that blacks are now routinely hold high office.  What can we deduce from the fact that 95% of blacks voted for that President? Was their vote racist? I wonder why Eric Holder mentioned none of that, does he lack courage? 

Perhaps we should discuss whether or not a uniquely black ethos exists; if so, is it horribly flawed because in America today a black male at birth has a 32% probability of being jailed vs. a 6% chance for a white.  If so, shouldn’t we wonder if anyone will endeavor to reform that black ethos?  I wonder why the vast majority of black committed crimes have a black victim.  I wonder if some folks are still claiming that segregation is at play in the work place. I wonder why some still claim that blacks are victims of their racial heritage. If they are, who are the victimizers? I wonder if anyone has done any studies to determine if black workers are as productive or as valued as non blacks.  I wonder why the idea of a National Association of Colored People is respectable.  What of a National Association of Pink People? Perhaps we should discuss ways to jail more white people because while black people account for only 13% of our population, blacks occupy nearly 50% of our jail cells. Is this from white repression? I wonder if Eric Holder’s racial anger can permit him to function in a nonbiased manner. I wonder if Barak Obama shares his anger.  I wonder if Eric Holder has any sense at all.  I doubt it.

Idiots in New Jersey are endangering planes by sending balloon-borne red flares into the nighttime skies on a major approach to Newark Airport, http://www.nypost.com/seven/02192009/news/regionalnews/bal_loonies_plane_nuts_155923.htm

[Palin’s Taxes] Palin’s duty station as Governor is in Juneau. She lives in Wasilla. In Juneau the State of Alaska provides an official Governors residence. That residence is the official home of the Governor of Alaska. If Palin were to choose to stay in a hotel in Wasilla, there would be no question but that she would be entitled to per diem reimbursement. She did receive reimbursement for the nights that she stayed in Wasilla away from the Governor’s mansion. Alaska state officials okayed the practice saying that Juneau was her duty station and any time spent in Wasilla meant she was allowed the state allotment of $60 a day. There is no investigation. Palin herself asked the state to double check, to review and to determine if the practice is correct. That review determined that the per deim payments should be considered as taxable income. I have no reason to believe that Governor Palin will not pay her taxes and whatever penalties are appropriate. Man, you libs sure are afraid of her. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpos
tinvestigations/2009/02/sarah_palins_tax_matters.html?hpid=news-col-blog

[They're Back!] Looks like some old friends have returned to the telegraph but they don't wish to be recognized. The jail food post has got to be from Sloan or Sandy. Those LA posts were too bizarre for even those two so maybe it was Sal on a bender? Either way they are trying to sneak back in here like thieves in the night.

The government already pays for health care.  I have insurance and I went to the hospital for an x-ray.  My insurance was billed $17 for the normally $148 x-ray.  Hospitals claim that they have to charge inflated prices because many patients without insurance cannot pay; but when a $148 x-ray is written off their taxes, it's really the government that pays.

[United States?] From what I've been seeing and hearing and reading I'd say that this Country needs a new name.  Certainly "The United States of America" does not apply anymore.

[A government health system would buy medicine in bulk] Remember how much NASA paid for a toilet seat?  Here's another place the market is slowly working; Wal-mart offers $3 prescriptions, other pharmacies follow their lead.  It's called 'competition'.  Government has no competition and is never the best way to get something done.  Remember those efficient operations named FEMA, DMV, TSA, etc.  You want doctors to work that way, too?

[Lousy Tech Support] Recycle Bin Icon. Vista has a habit of making your Recycle Bin icon disappear. In order to get it back go to Start > Control Panel > Personalization > (In the left pane) Change Desktop Icons > (at the top) put a check mark in the Recycle Bin > OK

I’m retired and get free Medicare so I’m against minimum national health care for everyone not covered. That’s basically what a writer posted yesterday. “I got mine, how you doin’?”

[God Proved by Science] The use of the word science is correct. There is human science, and their is science beyond that. I once had a girlfriend in Los Alamos, who was a scientist in of the labs there. A biologist, she was doing work with vegetation to try to soak up and stop the filtration of chemicals coming out of the Los Alamos labs into the ground. She had a mystical and a scientific side. One day she and her daughter and a young fellow they were letting stay at their home, after his parents moved to California, so he could finish high school in Los Alamos, got to talking about evolution. She was of the strict monkey/ape to human view. After listening to it for a while, I said, "Human beings did not descend from apes." She looked in horror at me, asked if I was a Bible creationist? No, I said there are two evolutions: sciences and God's, and the former is within the latter. Her daughter and their young friend had been skeptical of me, but after that they thought I was pretty cool when I wasn't stepping on my dick (ego).
 
I suppose some where in the space-time continuum science and God merge. But human beings are way short of there. Way short, and that's why God attempts to reach them. Attempts. Not much success so far.

[Socialized Medicine] Yesterday this site was littered with the opinions of folks who are hell bent determined to pay more to get less through socialized medicine. Currently, many if not most, middle class folks give their health a primo spot in their choice of spending priorities, they buy health insurance. My wife and I were both wage slaves, she worked as a waitress and I often worked two jobs.  We lived in a home we could afford. We raised two kids. Both kids had jobs from the time they were 13. We never bought a new car, never had cable tv, and lived on within budget. We always had health insurance. The notion that the middle class can’t afford it is BS, if you don’t have it, it’s because you choose not to. It’s your choice, you simply have decided to spend your bucks on other things. Can you explain to me why your choice not to take care of you and yours should cost me?  The USA now does have health care available to those who can’t or won’t pay for it. There is Medicare, Medicaid, tons of programs aimed at kids. In today’s America no one is denied care for an illness because they’re broke. Illegal aliens, welfare cheats, and the uninsured routinely get treated. Ask any hospital how much debt they carry from unpaid treatments.  It’s illegal for a hospital to turn you away if you can’t pay.

Make no mistake, if we are forced to have socialized medicine, every single person in this country will be required to sign up. You will have no choice. Every single job holder will have to pay with funds taken from his paycheck. Those who are not employed will be taxed in other fashions. Participation will be mandatory. Yes, there will be health care police. Guaranteed! Doctors will be forced to participate, guaranteed. You lambs can deny this all you wish, at least for the time being, it's a free country. Mandatory is hard wired into the Obama plan, and it is a fact of life in every country that has socialized medicine. It’s also a fact of life in those countries that they ration health care and treatment choices are made by bureaucrats. Ask Canadians about the wait for surgery or heart care. My biggest beef is that innovation will be stifled and that I’ll lose control of my health care all the while I’ll be paying more. I agree health care is expensive, too expensive.

[The Slowest Brain Cells] A herd of buffalo can move only as fast as the slowest buffalo. When the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular culling of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol we all know kills brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

[Boycott the CT] Does this mean we won't see the infamous Easter egg shooter this year? (Ed: It’s coming. We’ve already notified our advertisers and the Church Lady too.)

Take this simple test to see if Lunatics Anonymous is a cult
Salvation : Group proposes a superior state of being or salvation.
Love bombing: Group promotes displaying excess consideration or even affection towards a new recruit in order to give him a sense of belonging and keep him in the organization.
Cognitive dissonance: Contradictions are used in conditioning members to accept the group's doctrine or mechanisms. The act of accepting and rationalizing these contradictions is an important element of brainwashing.
Charismatic leadership: Emphasis is placed on the leader or leaders. These leaders can issue commands or edicts obeyed without question. Worshipping and loyalty are paramount.
Deception in recruiting: When one is involved in the group, lies and deceptions in the recruiting material are soon apparent.
Separation from friends and family: People are invited to stop talking to friends or family who do not encourage their participation in the group.
Non-critical thinking: Doubting questions about the mechanisms or doctrine of the group are deflected or rejected. Usually, one must experience or be a leader in order to "understand".
Discrediting outside information: Any criticism from the outside is wrong. Only people on the inside really know what the doctrine or mechanisms are all about.

Loss of independent judgment: The person must rely on other people, usually people above him in the hierarchy, a sponsor or old timer before making any kind of decision, even personal decisions.
Fear of leaving: Group promotes the idea that leaving the group is a very bad decision, even death, which may make the member's future life hellish (in religious doctrines, literally hellish).

Now do you still think L.A. is not a cult.

Preacher who praised the Mumbai terror attacks, said anyone becoming intoxicated by alcohol should be given 40 lashes in public. He claimed alcohol was "the root of all evil". The 41-year-old made the remarks on his website Islam4UK, which argues that Britain should become an Islamic state ruled by Sharia law. Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary calls for people who get drunk to be flogged - Telegraph

[No police will make you use the national care system]  Part of Hillary's proposal was to make it impossible to receive healthcare any other way than to go through the national system to decide what care you were entitled to and where you could receive it and which doctor would treat you.  Any other route would be blocked by fines to both you and any doctor who treated you without their authorization.

Largest drug bust in U.S. history, 2 tons of crack. Is it still porn if you’re turned off?  

[Captain Half-Truth] No one said our healthcare system is rotten. We say that it is discriminatory and exclusionary. We have a great health care system if you can gain access to it without loosing your home or selling your first born.

Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers, so we could identify their corporate sponsors.

[Where's Ours] I'm wondering if anyone in the Monroe County government was smart enough to have plans ready for submission to the Obama administration to fast-track sewer systems for the lower Keys. Since the Obama stimulus program is the biggest boondoggle spending in our nation's history, you'd think Monroe County would be in line for a handout. I'm doubting our politicians were too dumb to get a piece of that pie; it’s easier to stick it to the tourists and local-yocals.

Dr. Paul, have you ever considered having some real live naked girls at your practice?  It could really get your business the shot in the arm it needs!  I come for adjustments every day!

My business is getting so slow that I’ve wondered what it would be like to sell some porn. Let's face it, that lady didn't call you to tell you how nice your ad was, or how hard you worked on building a small business in extremely hard times. No, it was the thong that got her to pick up the phone. So maybe if we all ad some porn to our businesses we could all make the money we need to live in paradise. 

[Cost of Litigation] Kudos to the poster who said they work for a personal injury lawyer. I don't have the nerve to say I work for scum.  And you must not be busy since every other lawyer doesn't charge unless they have clients with such ridiculous lawsuits, which cause more problem in the system. 

If we expect to have free healthcare and then have the ability to sue them for millions of dollars if it is not at all perfect, who on earth would be doctors and nurses?

[Healthcare] I had to pay for those $25 pills too. I would have paid anything. I would have even sold my house to get well again I was so sick and worried. That’s why we need help with our health care in this country. Why should I lose my house if I get really sick? I can’t afford insurance no matter what the secure retirees say about me and calling me lazy.

Authentic Polish snow tires on your old Fork truck.  Enough to shake your fillings loose! 3 Slides

[Health Care] As for the guy with $25 pills.  Your pill was $5, but you paid for 4 other people who couldn't afford the $5 pill which seems pretty cheap for saving you life.  How much did you spend at the gas pump lately?

[Jail Him]  One guy being held responsible for the economic crisis must be one powerful person indeed.  He must have more political clout than all the other Congressmen and women combined.  Where were the Republican majority in 2000-2006 who let this get out of control?  Looking for same sex liaisons you say?  If Bush was pointing the finger at Freddie and Fannie who come he didn't take action? 

The thing that really bothers me about Nationalized Health Care, is the knowledge of past government foul-ups in the administration of the Postal Service, The Secretary of State’s office, the IRS, the DOT, the Department of Welfare, just to name a few. The only difference here is in health care, the decisions of Big Brother are decisions of life and death. Oh, and let’s not forget the county jail food service or the county commissioners in general. Not only are costs of administration increased by 900% when the government takes over, but a whole new layer of bureaucratic arrogance is created. To believe that “This time they’ll get it right” is the definition of insanity.

[Coming soon to a capitol near you]
     

This Arizona rancher stopped over 14,000 illegals from crossing his land at gunpoint. They sued him and won. http://www.comcast.net/data/fan/html/popup.html?v=1039417083&pl=1038586652.xml&plc=1038586652&launchpoint=Cover&cid=fancover&
attr=default_headline&config=/config/common/fan/default.xml

[ATM Thieves] If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your pin number in reverse (check out snopes.com on this first). For example, if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine. The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you. This information was recently broadcast on FOX TV and it stated that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists.

[National Health Care]  I’ve been working for over 40 years now. My salary has ranged from $1.25 an hour to a nice salary. I’ve always had health care. I didn’t think I could afford not to have it. In my early years it was a sacrifice to pay for it, but I made the choice. Maybe I could have had a couple of more beers each week or ate out an extra time, but I made the choice. Just as most of the hard working people make a choice now. I go to as many benefits as I can and donate quite well, mostly because I know the people and want to help. I’m not being taxed to pay for health care because they didn’t want to pay for their health care. I still think that they made a mistake, but I still try to help them out. I just don’t want more government and I definitely don’t want them telling me what to do with my hard earned money.

[Send Barney Frank to jail] I don't think that do much in the way of punishing him. After all locking him in a confined space with all those men would be like locking up a kid in a candy store or Oprah in a supermarket.

[Middle class are uninsured, low class get it for free] So expanding the lower class upward will fix this somehow?  If you leave the market alone it will correct itself, just not fast enough to suit most people.  That's why there's already been "urgent care" clinics opening; entrepreneurs see a business opportunity in all those overcrowded emergency rooms and rush to fill it.  As others recognize the opportunity they open their own clinics and competition drives prices down.  If they go so cheap the service suffers, people move back up the price list and the cheap joints close.  The market handles this, not the govt. 

[Stimulus] Have you been following the great "Economic Stimulus Package" being proposed by the Democrats?  It contains such things as beach replenishment, STD prevention funding, building a city fountain in a town in Oregon, money for the National Endowment for the Arts and money for birth control. This isn't a package to revitalize the economy.  This is a compendium of every pork barrel project any congressman can think of.

[Racial Matters]  From the postings I've seen on this site over the past two years I would say that Eric Holder's comments are more truth than fiction.  I'll bet that yesterday's poster still looks cross-eyed at a black and white together in public. 

[Koala] You know about the intense heat wave and the enormous fires raging in Australia at the moment, causing much death and destruction. This Koala walked onto a back porch looking for a bit of heat-relief.   The woman of the house filled up a basin for it. Now, that's cute!
  

Monroe County's Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee will be meeting for the purpose of reviewing suggested revisions to the Personnel Policies and Procedures. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 24^th, 2009, 10:00a.m. in Conference Room 1, The Historic Gato Cigar Factory, 1100 Simonton Street, Key West, Florida.  For further information, please contact Teresa Aguiar, Division Director, Monroe County Employee Services, 305-292-4458. Bulletin Board

[Conspiracy] The new strain of TB sure looks suspicious, like germ warfare.

[Oxymoron] If the tomatoes are vine ripe, why do they need a few days to ripen?

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Friday February 20, 2009

Tuesday February 17, 2009

[Bad Trip] Friends of many years finally came to visit our little slice of paradise.  A nice family, Dad is a computer guy, Mom a former high school teacher and now a full time homemaker, and their two kids, a boy and a girl 10 and 12.  Looking forward to a day in Key West they left early for a full day of exploring with the understanding that I would meet them at 6:30 for a nice dinner.  At 4:00pm they were back at my home saying that they had enough of Key West and had no desire to return.  I asked them what happened and was told that the day started out nice enough with a visit at the Mel Fisher museum and a walk around Mallory square. 

Then they got to Duval Street, (I neglected to tell them about the Duval Crawl).  They were pan-handled by an aggressive bum who followed them for a short distance swearing at them for refusing him money.  They’re certainly not prudes by any means, but were still disgusted by the display of the raunchy and vulgar t-shirts, drug paraphernalia and sexual aids in shop windows that their children were exposed to. They were treated rudely by a shop owner when they inquired about the price of some souvenir t-shirts and refused to pay the exorbitant price.  At the Southernmost Point they were approached again by another obviously intoxicated bum who wanted to take their picture for them.  After getting the picture (without the bum) they made the mistake of heading for a beach where they encountered more bums laying around drinking from paper bags, and believed one of them was urinating in the bushes. From their description it sounded like Higgs Beach.

They commented about the litter and trash along the streets and the general poor appearance of Key West.  Granted they judged Key West mostly by Duval St. but they were tourists and just didn’t find the quaint little town they expected and read about.  Mom and Dad wanted to stop for a cocktail but didn’t want to take their kids into any of the rowdy bars they passed.  Finally, following my earlier directions, they found their way to Pepe’s on Caroline St. where they sat in back on the patio and had cocktails and beverages and enjoyed lunch. They were impressed by the friendly staff and the old time atmosphere and said, “That was the Key West that we were looking for.” 

As a local, I know that Key West isn’t especially kid friendly and is more of an adult venue.  But, it’s too bad that people have to leave with such a poor impression thinking that Duval Street is the “real” Key West.  The Mayor and City Commission would do well to forget about a monster hotel at the airport, more condos and the rest of the nonsense and concentrate on cleaning up the look of things along the main tourist corridor.  They might be surprised to find that a little housecleaning would do wonders for business.

[Is there a bigger bunch of whiners on the planet then the republicans?] Wow, all this time I thought that high pitched noise was jets landing at the Marathon airport. 

[The myth of AA] I rarely drink alcohol.  It is certainly a social disgrace to see those pitiful characters that are publicly drunk to the point of begging on the streets for more booze money in our midst.  For those unfortunate souls who seem hopelessly consumed by alcohol, AA is no doubt their last hope.  With that said, please allow me to offer another couple of observations per AA.

First, I am not one of those persons who buys the "disease" theory.  Alcohol, drugs, gambling, and life's other vices involves one’s will.  One willfully bends his or her elbow to get that drink (or drug) to the mouth.  Does a "disease" govern the will, or is it one’s willful intent to consume that is the governing dynamic in the act?

I am 65 years old.  When I was a foolish young man in my early twenties, I fell into the use of heroine for just long enough (a few short months) to encounter its addictive nature.  I quit that nonsense and cleaned-up my act in short order.  That was over 40 years ago.  So, my question is, should I attend an NA meeting 4 decades later and declare that I am a drug addict?  The proposition of such an action is preposterous.  The point being, I've heard people who haven't had a drink in over 40 years that are AA brainwashed to the point of declaring their addiction to alcohol 4 decades later.  How foolish, what nonsense! 

AA was founded by a couple of businessmen---not a team of research doctors with irrefutable evidence to support the "disease" proposition.  Furthermore,  AA---over time---has evolved into a religion---the Christian one at that.  This is attested to by the ritual closing of its meetings by the reciting of The Lord's Prayer. If alcoholism is indeed a disease, it is evidently the only one that does not require a legitimate diagnosis by any medical authority.  All that is necessary to determine one’s disease of alcoholism is to stand up in a public forum and declare it so.  Hardly a professional medical diagnosis. 

I'm reminded of one of  the cartoonist Larson's Far Side where a dog is standing in front of a group meeting of other dogs and declares "Hello, my name is Rusty and I drink out of the toilet".  It also appears that those addicted to the "disease of alcoholism" are comfortable with trading their addiction to alcohol for a public display of excessive caffeine (coffee), sugar and cigarette consumption.  Visit one of their meetings and see for yourself.

It is my considered opinion that in accepting the disease concept, one tends to find it all too easy to dismiss his or her personal responsibility for willfully bending that elbow. 

AA, it appears, does have some positive benefit for those who are pathetically over life's edge with their drinking issues. An AA meeting is no doubt a better alternative for these poor folks as opposed dying in the streets.  The other matter about AA/NA that really seems utterly ridiculous to me is the idea that I need a "sponsor".  The day that one needs another to "sponsor" his or her life is the day that one no longer possesses or controls his or hers’ own life or destiny.  Good luck to the "diseased".  

Nelson Government and Cultural Center in Key Largo is opening today at 3:15pm. You can even get there by boat and tie up at the Center’s dock. Pretty cool, huh!

Wanted: Tudor for help with English class.

[President’s Day] I went to the bank and post office yesterday and both were closed. I think it’s time to keep them open during insignificant and uncelebrated holidays. Why should we close commerce when we can’t even remember it’s a holiday?

The GM hybrid pickup truck costs about $13,000 more than the regular Vortec engine truck and only gets 5 miles more per gallon! I think they’re going to have to do a little more work on their hybrids before I shell out that kind of extra money for a few measly miles more per gallon.

Paradise Quilters’ Guild will hold their biennial Piecing in Paradise quilt show on Saturday and Sunday, February 21 & 22 from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sugarloaf  School located at Mile Marker 19.5 on Sugarloaf Key. In addition to the 200 quilts on display, there will be commercial vendors, door prizes, silent auction, quilt sales and demonstrations taking place during the show. Lunch and snacks at the concession stand will be provided each day by Lord of the Seas Lutheran Church. Bulletin Board

[Lunatics Anonymous] I think the lunatic who writes those posts went to the Sloan School of Journalism.

Criminals For Gun Control. Video

[National Health Care] I went on line to see if the people in here were correctly saying that America’s health care is the very best in the world. This is an over all rating based on all factors of health care not just nit picking this and that. The people on here were wrong according to the ranking done by www.aneki.com website. The top 5 are 1. France (national health care country) 2. Japan (national) 3. Australia (national) 4. Spain (national health care and 5, Italy (national health care). America is 19th in the world.

I’m starting to think it is indeed the propaganda from the health care industry that is preventing us from sound health care for every one. The proof is in the pudding. Good health care should be available to everyone in this country rich, poor or whatever. Of course there should be guidelines such as if you are an illegal alien the country of your origin should be billed directly and after you receive the care you should be deported. We cannot provide for the world let them provide long term care for their own citizens. If the country of their origin does not pay the bill raise that country’s tariffs to do business here. I’m sure this post will receive comments with a lot of nit picking and "yeah, buts" but there’s "yeah buts" in every subject. Anyone that can find a website that’s not controlled by the health care industry that independently tells us we are #1 in healthcare please post its address.

You just can't fix stupid.
 
 

An amnesiac walks up to a beautiful woman in a bar and says, “So, do I come here often?”

[Tattoos] The thing you need to focus on in your 20s it not to get a bad tattoo.  You don’t want to be 40 and going, “No, dude, it was different back then—everyone loved SpongeBob.”

The Way to Eat a Carp
1. Get a No.2 Southern Yellow Pine board (approximately the same length as the fish).
2. Clean carp and nail it to the board.
3. Cook on an open fire until fish and board are very well done (burned).
4. Remove fish and eat the board.

[The loser of a lawsuit should pay for it]  That will never happen because over 90% of the politicians are lawyers who make the laws. This is the biggest problem with the cost of medical cost. As another poster said, we need tort reform. Thank a personal injury lawyer for high costs. They’re the scum of the earth!

[National Health Care] It is our inalienable right even though it’s not written in the constitution. You can’t help it when you’re sick-- in most cases it’s not your fault. All the democracies of the world have national health care except the USA. We have the Health Care Lobby instead.

The Girls of Big Pine Key http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1tCiq8bZ74&feature=related

[Butt Porn Thong] I just bought my love one of them there teeny thong thingies. Damn it was expensive. Now my credit account is in arrears.

[Where’s Bum Farto] 33 years ago yesterday--February 16th, 1976--Bum Farto left us. No one’s sure where he went; some say Costa Rica, others say he went swimming with the fishes compliments of those on whom he was going to drop a dime. Nobody could rock some sweet red-tinted eyeglasses like El Jefe! And all I got was this stupid T-shirt inquiring as to his whereabouts.

[Privacy in the Digital Age] As data collection grows, privacy disappears. It was only a few months ago that Bush bashers were wailing that the Bush admin routinely invaded our privacy in their zeal to combat terrorism. To the bashers, it was outrage enough for them to demand impeachment. Now we have a new administration that is hell bent on the most massive intrusion into your privacy ever. Ever!  The silence of the liberal lambs is deafening. If Obama has his way, everything about you will receive federal scrutiny when all medical records are digitized and collected by the Obama government.

We’re told that the records will be forever private, secure, and used only to facilitate cost cutting and efficient delivery of health care. A-Rod was told exactly the same thing. Alex Rodriguez was just outed as a steroid abuser. His career is in shambles, he will lose millions, he will suffer. His “forever private”, “secure”, and “for research only” digitized medical records were released the public.

Why don’t we hear any wailing about Obama’s headlong rush to socialism which requires access to your personal data to succeed? With the advent of socialized medicine, the Obama administration will, without doubt, use your records to ration health care. Simply put, that means that a government bureaucrat will decide who will get treated, when, where, and how. Those decisions will not be yours or your physicians to make. In the quest of efficiency you can be certain that there will be long waits for care, and denial of treatment. In ’06 the wait time just to see a specialist after referral from a Canadian GP was 17.8 weeks. The wait for treatment was even longer. Elderly patients are often refused treatment.

Under the Obama scheme the American elderly will be hurt the most. Do you really want this abomination? Where are the shouts of outrage? Are we frightened into submission already? Aside from the health care implications, let your imagination reveal to you in what other ways an intrusive powerful government might use your private and personal digitized data.

[Missed Plane] Well, maybe a little extreme, but only the rolling on the floor part. YouTube - A woman missed her flight at the boarding gate HKIA

[Fear of Socialism] Star Parker hits the nail on the head.  I believe our great country is on the brink of imploding. The actions of our Liberal (read Socialist) friends is at the root.  The welfare mentality will destroy us.  The push by some here for socialized health care is a prime example.  Though I understand, and even applaud their compassion, what results is nothing but equal misery for all but the very wealthy, and the rest of us living our lives in serfdom.

"Six years ago I wrote a book called 'Uncle Sam's Plantation.' I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it. I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas. A poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism. A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from 'How do I take care of myself?' to 'What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?' Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems. The kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others. The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

Through God's grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is. I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996, passed by a Republican congress and signed into law by a Democrat president. A few years after enactment, welfare roles were down fifty percent. I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth producing American capitalism. But, incredibly, we are going in the opposite direction. Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism." ~columnist Star Parker

[Stupidest woman on Big Pine Key] This story of the woman not knowing the size of the moon is a complete fabrication as even the most superficial of searches would have revealed to you. So I must assume that you posted this knowing that it is false for some unknown reason. Maybe you think it is amusing, maybe you want to mislead people or maybe you are just really, really stupid. Please stay off the internet. You obviously are not mature enough to use it properly.

[Obama Blamed for Economy] If you tell a kid that he’s dumb and ugly enough times, the kid will become dumb and ugly. For years the Democrats and more currently, Obama, has been unrelenting in screaming that our economy is dumb and ugly. That rhetoric finally worked, for the past year or so we’ve had a dumb and ugly economy. That same rhetoric now is a substantial impediment to recovery. A short article in the Wall Street Journal is a must read: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123457303244386495.html

Lufthansa Attempted Landing. FARK.com: Fark Video Player (4212257) I'm a butterfly in the wind

[Stimulus Package] Is not 746 Billion divided by 250 million people equals to about $3,000 not $30,600. With these gargantuan figures it is difficult to wrap ones’ brain around them,

Finally, a woman who understands fishing.

[Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Data] Attorney General Bill McCollum today encouraged Floridians and other consumers to monitor their credit statements to ensure their personal information is not compromised as a result of a data breach that impacted Wyndham Hotels & Resorts last year. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is the latest victim in a data breach that was caught and disabled but may have affected up to 21,000 Florida residents. Wyndham reported to the Attorney General’s Office it contacted affected consumers in December and notified them that unauthorized access to Wyndham systems had potentially compromised the personal data on their debit and credit cards. At this time, Wyndham believes no criminal identity theft related to the use of the consumer data has been identified.

[Fog] Did anyone notice a strange taste in the fog?

[Health Care] Watch the Sicko video and once you get past Michael Moore’s hype you’ll see what is really happening in this country’s health care industry.

[USA has at least five times more personal injury attorneys than Canada-A simple fix: the loser pays] That won't happen. the Trial lawyers supported, lobbied and financed the Democrats. That isn't small change we can believe in.

The newly married man laid down the following rules: 'I'll be home when I want, if I want and at what time  I want -- and I don't expect any hassle from you.  I expect a great dinner to be on the table.  I'll go hunting, fishing, boozing, and card-playing  when I want with my old buddies, and don't you  give me a hard time about it.  Those are my rules, any comments?'

His new bride said:  'No, that's fine with me. Just understand that there will be sex here at seven o'clock every night...whether you're here or not.'

New Illinois License Plate 

[Clean and sober in the Keys]  Well, there's your problem!

Why don't you go to a different bar? We like it here at the Tiki. Maybe the bar across the street would be more to your liking. Most of the people at the Tiki are hard working stiffs just trying to let off a little steam from their 6 or 7 day a week jobs. Maybe you're one of those Yankees that can't stand anything that's not like you do it up North. Some of us remember what it was like before you high and mighty folks came down here. Quit your God awful whining please. Believe me you're in the minority, and you suck. Get a job like the rest of us and you won't have so much time on your hands to cry. There is more crap going on at any other bar in the neighborhood than the Tiki. Try one of those, and leave us alone. If you’re so high and mighty why don't you give us your name, or are you just a sleazy slug that hides behind a computer? Maybe if we knew who you were we could put some real color to your dissatisfaction. Maybe nobody is kissing your ass and it hurts your feelings.

The fat bartender that used to work at Conch ‘n Stein that got fired for stealing knows more about what’s going on than she is letting on. Maybe you should talk to her.

[School Board] We do hope Monroe County voters remember which school board members are asking questions when the next election rolls around?  It’s very heartening to see school board members that know the public’s money should be used wisely and directed to the classroom for our children's education and not for political payoffs.  Have we had yes men and woman sitting at the board table?

We should be thankful that school board members are scrutinizing the district’s spending of our tax dollars?  We now find out that employees’ contracts are changed without school board approval and the administration cries foul when questioned about it.  What if those board members didn't question this inappropriate action, would it have lead to further back door raises?  In this time of budget reductions we should be looking over all spending and especially these extra perks being doled out by the district administration.

[Polish Barbershop] This is an actual barbershop in Poland. Be honest, If this barbershop was in your community how many haircuts would you get a month?
       

Part 4 of the 12 steps of Lunatics Anonymous.
Step 7. You must make yourself entirely ready to have Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy to fix all your character defects. Be prepared if your bed pan flat-out tells you no, he can’t fix a thing for you. You’re told to sleep in your own bed as you made it. You’re told that He has bigger problems on His mind, things like global warming, wars, 1.6 billion Chinese people trying to poison the world, the new American President, the global economy and other such trivial things. You’re firmly told not to bother Him anymore with you little bullshit problems. Or you just ask God to remove your defects of character and, poof, they are gone. You don’t have to do anything, just ask God and your desire to drink, drug, lie, steal, cheat, deceive, whatever, they are gone poof, poof, poof. Prove to yourself that you are a lazy, useless sloth.

Step 8. You may write a letter to Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy humbly begging your bed pan and groveling before your motorcycle to remove all of your shortcomings. If you are not sure where to send the letter, just ask your higher power for the proper mailing address to your bed pan manufacturer. Maybe just mail it to the North Pole. Keep following and bowing down to the seven deadly old timers named Grumpy, Greedy, Whiney, Lazy, Snotty, Piggy and Sleazy. Plan on attending lots of funerals because LA kills more people than it saves. That is a fact. The success rate of LA is around 3%.

Addendum: The L.A. people are always saying that their program is "Spiritual, not Religious."  Some people were asking, "What's the difference between religion and spirituality?"  The answer is simple:  The religious people meet in a church — specifically, in the church’s main hall.  The L.A. 'spiritual' people meet down in the church basement, or some other attached room, along with the roaches and church mice.  And you can't let those nuts out of the basement, either, because if they get upstairs, they'll put a doorknob, a motorcycle, or a bedpan on the alter and call it their "Higher Power" and start praying to it.

A few days ago a French nuclear sub and a British nuclear sub collided deep under the Atlantic.  It's reported that the French sub immediately surrendered.

[Howard Livingston] We have had just a great weekend in the Keys. It started out on Thursday for our Tunes In A Tropical Key concert at the San Carlos. Thanks again to everyone for your support. Each concert is so special to us and this one was no different. A group of folks from Germany just melted my heart after the show. They said they drive around the countryside in Germany and listen to our music with the top down. They then decided to look at our schedule and to come to the Keys to see what my songs are about. What wonderful people and it makes me realize how small this world really is.

After our show last Thursday we went next door to Margaritaville and saw a couple of guys you may know. Our buddy Mac McAnally and his boss, Jimmy Buffett played for a couple of hours and they were fantastic as always.  I love this place.  On Saturday I grabbed my guitar and we made a visit to a friend having a surprise birthday party.  Those are the best ones.  A special happy birthday to Jennifer and a big hug to our girl Jessica.  We love you guys.

[Butterfly] The Dept of Agriculture is removing the iguanas in Bahia Honda State Park to protect the endangered butterfly that lives there. This is ludicrous.  This same agency continues to allow Mosquito Control to spray specific pesticides on the rest of the Keys that wiped out and made this butterfly endangered in the first place! 

[Unedited School Drop Out] Deer Ed, why do you bother to edit posts? (I do realize you did not edit this one) Let the morons speak for themselves, in their own language. If no one understands their 5th grade writing skills, who cares? It is so sad, it is comical. Drop the editing. Save yourself some time. Let the grade school dropouts speak. It is far more entertaining than what you think they are really trying to say.

[Democrats] I've come to believe that it's the Democrats crying the blues not the Republicans. The Democrats see watermelons in the mail. The Republicans see cash in the mail.

[Developers] It is a darn shame when people work hard and save most of their lives to come to paradise, settle down and make a beautiful home for themselves and then some 2 cent tasteless developer wants to turn your neighborhood into a strip mall or motorcycle shop, or worse a condo/store building which invites the lowest form of business persons known to mankind. Within months, the million dollar homes are reduced to rubble and worth a penny on the dollar. Why? Because who in their right mind, having dignity, class, self-respect and taste would want to live on streets headed by a dumpster laden greasy parking lot fronted with low rent stores, when it had been a nice local setting of trees and local growth? And people wonder why there are violent tendencies towards such atrocities. They are needed so we can survive. Keep the Keys the Keys!

The waning crescent Moon joins the dawn challenge sightings on Saturday and Sunday mornings, Feb. 21 and 22. It will almost certainly be too low by the 23rd.

Is there a bigger bunch of whiners on the planet then the republicans] This Independent says "Hell, yes--you Democrats"! Your sorry asses have been whining and bitching non-stop for 8 years. It's your turn to listen now. Better brace yourself for these Obama campaign promises and issues facing America.

Barack Obama says, yes, terrorists have Constitutional rights and a right to America's courts. Yes, every American should have the same health care coverage that he and America's lawmakers have. Yes, illegals have a right to a driver's license. Yes, I support the Dream Act. Yes, to a path to citizenship for people who pissed on America's laws. Yes, I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody 

Sen. Obama pledged to union leaders the Employee Free Choice Act will become the law of the land if he were elected president. (Guess who owes the unions big time now?) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting the Act because it eliminates the democratic rights and freedoms of workers to cast secret ballots. The American voter's right for secret ballots is a pillar of our democracy. This issue will require you to wear extra thick ear muffs: Democratic rights taken from Americans by Democrats? Please tell me it isn’t so.

Let's end for today with Obama speaking on George Stephanopoulos' show whether John McCain has attacked Obama's religion. "Let's not play games," Obama said. "What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that has not come." Mr. Stephanopoulos interrupted Obama with, "Christian faith." I'm told many Americans, under pressure, get completely confused as to what religion they are. Next time, Obama's broken promises or what my dad called lies.

Here's some stuff to ponder & really whine about. Read the article about Obama at http://www.barackobama.com/2007/03/06/obama_man_of_the_world.php 

My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."

And that's when the fight started.

Those liberal newspapers are great. I use them to wrap fish carcasses in, and they also come in handy when I'm painting or beefing up the bottom of my kitchen trash bag. If they weren't available, I would have to use good paper for those things. Once again the Democrats are saving our trees!

I was in Sippin’ Cafe the other day and Sloan and his bums had the whole place smelling and too loud. Good thing he's no longer on the blog.

The best condom commercial ever. Is this porn? Video

[Would he rather see a person intoxicated] Intoxicated by what, booze, drugs,