Archives of
The Coconut Telegraph
An Historical Diary of what Keyheads were talking about
Since 2002

Wednesday June 30, 2010

[Alicia Putney] Don't you just love it when someone has no facts to support their argument, so they just make stuff up? That sure seems to be the case with the person who went on the rant against Alicia Putney yesterday.

Fact:  Alicia Putney had nothing to do with the founding of the Key Deer Protection Alliance.  It was founded by Marain Goldner several years before the Putney's even moved to the Keys.

Fact:  Alice Putney had nothing to do with the founding of the Florida Keys Citizens' Coalition.  As its name states, it is a coalition of a number of organizations stretching from Key Largo yo Key West.  It, too, was started before the Putney's moved to the Keys.

Fact:  The IRS had nothing to do with the demise of the Big Pine Key Civic Association.  They were never investigated nor was there ever any question about their status as a non-profit organization.  Indeed, the fact is that nearly every political action committee is a non-profit.  I'm guessing that the person on the rant was implying that the Civic Association was masquerading as a charity but he/she just wasn't bright enough to understand the difference.  Charities are chartered under Section 501 (c)(3) of the IRS Code.  The Civic Association never was nor did it ever purport to be recognized as that type of organization.

I just finished Monday's Coconut Telegraph. Wow, it was excellent. My complements to the editor, for which none of this is possible without him, and to the fellow readers that sent in so many great slide shows and funny cartoons (money for nothing), which I don't agree with, but totally enjoyed it anyway. I feel bad that I can't find goodies like those to send in. Thank you to all the people that take the time to share and to the editor for taking the time to write this CT.

The difference between an environmentalist and a developer is that a developer wants to build a house in the woods, an environmentalist already has one. 

I just finished the 23 rd chapter of African Adventure. I thought that your readers might want to read it. I would like some feedback on my piece, let it be positive or negative. I would appreciate it very much. Best regards, take care. Wish you all the best. ~The Hungarian African Adventure

[No Name Electric] Yesterday’s poster stated that NNK homeowners who wanted electricity were trying to change the rules.  That poster couldn’t be more wrong as there are no valid or legal rules against electricity to No Name Key!

Nothing says summertime in the Keys, like a fat man with man-boobs riding a moped with no shirt on.

[No Name Electric] Here is exactly what I was talking about yesterday when I said how the pro-utilities folk on No Name are trying to discredit Alicia Putney through their lies and deceit. 

A poster claimed that Alicia Putney founded the Key Deer Protection Alliance and the Florida Keys Citizens Coalition, which is an out and out lie.  The KDPA was founded in 1988, several years before the Putneys moved to the Keys, and the same goes for the Citizens Coalition.  To my knowledge, the Putneys were not even members of the BPK Civic Association, which was founded in the 50's (by the way it was not a non-profit), so the claim of the IRS investigating them is another lie.  They simply lost a lot of their leadership, as people had to move away or died, so the organization fell apart.

I rest my case, but how many of your 70% signed on for utilities based on the lies you told them?

[Fun with Christians and Jews] Just some questions I have for you bible-believing religious types who pick and choose what you like from the bible and ignore the rest.

Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual unseemliness – Lev. 15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev. 1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination – Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev. 24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

[Toilet Bomb] In October 1965, CDR Clarence J. Stoddard carried a special bomb to the North Vietnamese in commemoration of the 6-millionth pound of ordnance dropped. This bomb was unique because of the type. It was a toilet!

The flight was a Dixie Station strike (off South Vietnam) going to the Delta. When they arrived in the target area and Stoddard was reading the ordnance list to the FAC, he ended with “and one code name Sani-flush”.  He couldn't believe it and joined up to see it. It was dropped in a dive with another plane flying tight wing position to film the drop. When it came off, it turned hole-to-the-wind and almost struck his airplane.

It made a great ready room movie. The FAC said that it whistled all the way down.  The toilet was a damaged toilet, which was going to be thrown overboard. One of our plane captains rescued it and the ordnance crew made a rack, tailfins and nose fuse for it. The squadron flight deck checkers maintained a position to block the view of the Captain and Air Boss while the aircraft was taxiing onto the catapult.  Just as it was being shot off we got a message from the bridge, “What the hell was on 572's right wing?”

[Fun With Muslims] In the Muslim faith to prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.  Often, after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family, and the family must return the dowry.  The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family.

The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply.   The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river; one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon River is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.

[No Name Electric] Be careful what you wish for. That's what my mother used to say to balance the dreams of a dreamer. My husband's father, or perhaps it was it was his grandfather, may they both be in peace, used to say where there's smoke, there's fire. When it comes to this Alicia Putney and the small band of followers there sure seems a lot of smoke. So much so there must be fire, or so I thought. Thought hard enough it led me to check the facts and find out what the woman actually did to her neighbors on No Name. Facts that we should all be worried deeply about. 

No matter your side of No Name's issues, or who your friends are, the facts tell the truth.

1. On June 8, 2001 the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Monroe County accepted the request by No Name residents Dr. Snell and Alicia Roemmele Putney to become the "Intervenors" in a lawsuit from Taxpayers for the Electrification of No Name Key Versus Monroe County. Mrs. Putney had, therefore, on that day placed herself as the lead person to fight those who wanted power on that island.

2. In September 2001 then County Commissioner appointed Alicia Roemmele Putney a Planning Commissioner to replace Lyon Mapes. 

3. This same Ms. Putney had been busy all of 2001, traveling to meet with County Staff, Commissioner's, others on the Planning Commission. She told the same story over and over again. The story seemed plausible to those not living on No Name, those who wondered why one would want to live there in the first place. She told everyone who would listen, in private and in public, that everyone on No Name was against commercial power, against a sewer connection, against potable water, against phones. She told people that the island was united, that everyone shared her same views, views that arrived in 1992 when she bought the first lot in Galleon Bay. She spoke with authority, with passion, with the conviction of one who believed what she was saying even thought what she told people were lies. 

4. On September 26, 2001 the County Planning Commission held a 'public' meeting over the proposed resolution to outlaw public utilities on No Name, a topic the County actually had no purview over yet felt compelled to enact a law on. Strangely, no one living on No Name who was in favor of such utilities, people in many cases that bought their property many years earlier when such utilities were promised, when billboards on the island announced their forthcoming arrival, when pipes were placed in the ground to deliver such utilities, ever received word of such a 'public meeting'. Surely it must have been 'announced', even in those pre-internet days, yet not one resident in favor of something so common as commercial power knew of the meeting, he 'public' hearing, until years later. "Odd" how those type of strange things happen on that little island time and time again since Ms. Putney arrived in 1992. 

5. On that very same day, September 26th, 2001, the public record does, however, clearly reflect that newly appointed Planning Commissioner Putney was kind enough to vote YES in favor of this, her, Resolution. That's right Dear CT Readers, no matter the 'side' you are on over this issue, or whether you tire of reading endless posts about the smoke that now becomes a raging fire, what is indisputable over this issue is that Ms. Putney, while the lead person in a lawsuit against commercial power in your local Court, while a resident in the very community such a Resolution would impact, did not feel one bit compelled to recuse herself from the issue, to step aside from the debate much less the vote. It is indisputable that this person some suggest is bright and good and decent was not bright enough or good enough to acknowledge what a grade school child's moral compass would tell them, that she should have stepped away from the issue, surely she should not have voted in favor of it while living on the very island impacted much less embroiled, at her own request, in litigation against one of the central topics of the Resolution, power. 

History is sadly filled with those who suggest they speak for the masses yet only do their own selfish, evil, work. If your government can allow one zealot to lie, to speak loudly as if speaking for you and your neighbors, to pretend to be a helpful expert or, god forbid, a 'public servant' then you too will get what you 'deserve'. In 2001 the people of No Name Key, the majority there, had their rights stolen by this one vocal woman who manipulated your government by spending countless hours, week after week, month after month, lying. Saying that, my friends, is not a personal attack but a statement of the facts, supported by reams of public records. To this day those who have been discriminated against, and that is the majority, fight to restore their rights and to correct what your government and this one woman largely did at the detriment of her neighbors. Debate the issues on No Name if you wish but take a look at the facts if you really care about any of this and, in doing so, consider how it would feel to have this happen to you.    

[Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott] Highlights from that historic championship boxing match in Philadelphia in 1952. Of course you'll see that boffo KO comeback in the 13th round. This is the true Rocky. http://xoteria.com/CH64.html

There are environmentalists out there who are really trying to protect the environment and not stop progress. These people are logical and do their best to find green solutions to problems without just being a barrier. Then there are other environmentalists who use it as a tool to stop all progress that they don't approve of. It is a form of power for them. 

Finally there are the capitalistic environmentalists (the worst kind) who are people pretending to care for the earth, but who are really interested in the money they can make. They learned a long time ago that caring sells. And these folks really appeal to the "stop all progress" greenies.

[Alicia Putney Day] She should get the medal of honor for protecting the Keys from you money-grubbing greedy whores who care nothing  for the peace and quiet of paradise.  I hope she will crusade to protect Christmas Tree Island too!

[In reference to Sloan's blog yesterday] The "doomsday" article that was referred to in Sloan's blog was not written by scientists nor are there any credible sources cited for these statements, which makes all of the statements made completely un-provable.  This fear-mongering has no place in the discussion or finding of solutions to our problem in the Gulf.  If I have read the article correctly, in fact the entire excerpt quoted by Sloan was written by a Dr. James P. Wickstrom, quoting unknown and un-provable sources, and thereby completely unverifiable.  To present it as fact is irresponsible.

James P. Wickstrom is a far right radio talk-show host as well as a Christian Identity minister, who resides in Rhodes, Michigan. He is known for his strong opinions on racial issues, globalization, and Jews. He is also noted to be intensely anti-communist.

“Wickstrom derives his beliefs from his interpretation of the Christian Bible. He preaches what he refers to as Two Seedline Racial Covenant Identity, an ideology which among other things, postulates that the Caucasian race is the only race made in the image of God, and thus is the only racial group possessing a soul. Furthermore, people of Jewish descent are not considered the "children of God", but rather the children of Satan. Wickstrom categorically rejects the Jewish religious doctrine which states that Jews are "God's chosen people", stating that in fact members of the "white western, European" race are the actual Israelites referred to in the Christian Bible. According to Wickstrom, any person with any trace of Jewish ancestry is automatically condemned to eternal damnation”

There is a great deal of danger in this kind of journalism where facts become secondary to sensationalism.   Politico-religious scaremonger-ism has no place in any logical discussion and does nothing to further the cause of correcting the situation in the Gulf of Mexico.  What was presented in Sloan's blog was not science.

Does the “Board of Directors” believe that fear-mongering the community with fictitious doomsday scenarios for political or religious gains is good and the right action? Does the Board of Directors endorse science-like fictitious-speculation as a logical conduit to an answer to our oil leak problem? Does the Board of Directors endorse those racist and anti-Jewish sentiments in general such as Dr. Wickstrom's?

Perhaps it's a different Board that Sloan talks to, as the One I am in touch with does not suggest that the irresponsible use of false science-like ideas and fear-based sensationalism is the answer to the Gulf oil disaster problem.

Good journalism requires credible sources.

Shit may just be the most functional word in the English language.
You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit.

Some people know their shit, while others can't tell the difference between shit and shineola

There are lucky shits, dumb shits, and crazy shits. There is bull shit, horse shit, and chicken shit. You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, shoot the shit, or duck when the shit hits the fan.

You can give a shit or serve shit on a shingle. You can find yourself in deep shit or be happier than a pig in shit. Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty.

Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, and there are times when you feel like shit. You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit. You can carry shit, have a mountain of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.

Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you fall in a bucket of shit and come out smelling like a rose.

When you stop to consider all the facts, it's the basic building block of the English language. And remember, once you know your shit, you don't need to know anything else! Well, shit, it's time for me to go. I just wanted you to know that I do give a shit and hope you have a nice day without a bunch of shit. But, if you happened to catch a load of shit from some shit-head, well, shit happens!

[Rolling Stones Correction] “And I went down to the demonstration, To get my fair share of abuse." That's from the Stones’ "You  Can't Always Get What You Want", not "Memo From Turner".

[Commercial] This is the new beautiful “wear your seatbelt” ad the UK is doing. It started by some dude who was not hired to do it but because the cause is important to him, he came up with this idea, and now it’s being hailed across the world as a beautiful commercial. And now the video has gone viral, which means, it has become so popular with the general public that people are forwarding it to friends/family on their own so quickly that it has spread all over the world in a very short time. Video

[Liquid diet] The Alaska Distillery in Wasilla just recently launched its Smoked Salmon Flavored Vodka; about a year after the Seattle-based Black Rock Spirits introduced a bacon-flavored vodka. Both savory spirits were intended to complement Bloody Marys, but are finding wider uses among mixologists. The key to the newest vodka's flavor is how they smoke the salmon, and that's a trade secret. Once the fish is smoked, the skin is removed and employees masticate the fillets. The chunks are placed into a large vat, where highly concentrated ethanol is mixed in. The bacon infused vodka has found versatile uses, from being used in cream-based drinks with chocolate to a drink called a Luau, a mixture of vodka, pineapple juice and a dash of butterscotch.  Besides chipotle Bloody Marys, bartender Ken Ryther has served it straight and one of his fisherman customers had back-to-back martinis with the salmon vodka.

[Become a Waterkeeper] At the core of every Waterkeeper organization is a commitment to grassroots advocacy and an unfaltering belief that everyone has a right to clean water.  

Prospective Waterkeeper organizations must submit a solid proposal that highlights why they are the right person for this challenging endeavor. In the proposal, the prospective organization must specify how, over time, they will meet Waterkeeper Alliance’s Quality Standards—a set of licensing requirements that help new programs understand and fully honor what it means to be a Waterkeeper; provide consistency in the Waterkeeper movement; and demonstrate to the world that the licensed trademark users and the trademark holders are vigilant in ensuring that all Waterkeeper programs are fulfilling the expectations of a Waterkeeper and are complying with the requirements of the trademark.

For more information on starting a Waterkeeper organization contact us at startawaterkeeper@waterkeeper.org.

[Sand dollars] The ones I saw were off Sugarloaf Key, but I would imagine they will be anywhere the conditions are right for them. They could, more than likely, be seen up or down Hawk Channel.

This No Name Key utility thing seems so simple to me it's beyond stupid. Those who want utilities connect. Those who don't want utilities don't connect. That way everyone gets what they want.  Problem Solved.

People need to stop trying to tell other people what to do in their own homes. After all, no one is forced to have utilities. Stop paying your bills and I guarantee you won't have utilities either.

Finger painting.

[Outboards] Honda is the only way to go. 

[NASA's Moonbase Alpha Game] Video game reviewers have an opportunity to preview a new NASA video game in advance of its worldwide release.  Moonbase Alpha is a game with single and multiplayer options where players step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement. Their mission is to restore critical systems and oxygen flow after a nearby meteor strike cripples a solar array and life support equipment.

NASA will release the game on Valve's Steam network on Tuesday, July 6. The Army Game Studio produced the game with development by Virtual Heroes, a division of Applied Research Associates in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Reviewers can get early access to the game by contacting Mitch Gross of Virtual Heroes at 347-688-9703 or mgross@virtualheroes.com by July 1. The game is a proof of concept to show how NASA content could be combined with a cutting-edge game engine to produce an experience that inspires interest in science, technology, engineering and math -- skills critical to achieving NASA's exploration goals. http://bit.ly/c4StMP

[AA Basher] I don't know much about AA.  Alcohol isn't one of my vises.  However, I am getting kind of tired of the AA Basher putting down an organization that has helped so many people.  So, he doesn't like it.  So, it didn't work for him.  Evidently millions of other people have been helped.  I think it's time for this closed-minded, judgmental person to back off and let others choose what works for them.  Different strokes for different folks.

[Fashion Police] Rompers. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, they're essentially short-shorts that happen to also be like this weird one-piece thing. I've seen women wear the rompers (great name, by the by) and look amazing, and then I've seen them wear the rompers and look like they should be drinking out of a juice box with a booger in their nose.

The writer implied that the County should allow any development if they sue us, so we won’t have to pay their claims. I find that to be strange logic from anyone who really loves the Keys.

[Air Heads] I chuckle at the Weather Channel when they put on a new on-screen presenter babe.  As she points out the weather patterns and shows off her silhouette, she mispronounces the names of major cities in various states. If we needed further proof they don't hire based on knowledge or field experience.

[AA Basher] Here’s how to stop drinking with joining AA.

1. Do anything except taking a drink today, this morning, this hour, this minute. Keep busy, get to work, exercise, start a project, read something, take a walk, make a cup of coffee.

2. Trust your instincts, often the first reaction you have. Time tells you to learn to tolerate, and then to accept, things which you initially were repelled by.

3. Life is always complicated, frequently unfair, and often painful. It's ok to feel bad, hurt, angry, frustrated, lonely, and so forth, sometimes. You will always have problems. This is just a part of living, so get used to it.

4. There are also complications and pain which are bad in and of them self. Avoid these. Or, if you can't avoid them, get help to deal with them.

5. Avoid people and places with sick and unhealthy attitudes, beliefs, and ways of acting. I don't mean to avoid truly sick people-in fact, it is very healthy to let go of your resistances and visit and help the sick! However, if you hang around people with sick attitudes like the steppers, you learn to become intellectually and emotionally sick.

6. Eat well. Get good nutrition. Get enough sleep.

7. Get exercise and fresh air. Spend some time with friends. Spend some time with your pets or others people's pets. Do something for yourself.

8. Do something creative, fun, or interesting that has nothing to do with your job or work. Develop interests in music, art, sports, or nature. Realize that these take practice, time, and effort, but this is good effort.

9. Find someone to love. Volunteer. Work to be a better partner, husband, lover, friend, associate, colleague, boss, employer, and so forth. Stop being selfish, get out of yourself and pay attention to others.

10. Do something good without anyone expecting any reward or without anyone knowing about it. Try to do this every day. Learn to keep your mouth shut about yourself.

11. Realize that no person, place, or thing will ever live up to your expectations. Every person in your life will somehow at some time let you down. They are simply human more than they are anything else. So what? This is life. Deal with it!

12. You've only got one life, that's it. You were unborn for a long time and (sorry to say) you’ll be dead a very, very long time. Do something to live today. Every day above ground is a good day.

Well, my list is probably not exactly your list. Won't yours be much better than anything AA is telling you? Put the plug in the jug and get on with your life.

OIL SPILL

Have we all become so complacent, so apathetic that we no longer regard nature, life--human life, with enough regard to fight for it? What more must it take to outrage this nation? http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/ 

NATIONAL POLITICS

I do not like this Uncle Sam,
I do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.
I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker, Nan,
I do not like this 'Yes we can.'
I do not like this spending spree,
I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

[Tea party divorce] Here is a model separation agreement.

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.  We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

[Health Insurance] Starting in 2011 the W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are provided. It doesn't matter if you're retired; your gross income will go up by the amount of insurance your employer paid for. So you'll be required to pay taxes on a larger sum of money that you actually received. Take the tax form you just finished and see what $15,000.00 or $20,000.00 additional gross income does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.

Attention teabaggers: News from the fatherland! German government rejects proposal from member of chancellor Merkel's party to subject potential immigrants to intelligence tests.

[83% of Americans never heard of Elena Kagan] If you saw her picture, you would realize that nobody wants to know anything about her; that woman is way too manly and too ugly to focus on. If she looked like Lady Gaga more people would be interested. I think it is mandatory for a woman to be unattractive to be on the Supreme Court.

The war on drugs is really a war on African Americans. "You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this all while not appearing to." Richard Nixon as quoted by H.R. Halderman, supporting a -get-tough-on drugs strategy.

[What is Right or Left] I was a rebellious kid in high school, cutting classes to protest the US invasion of Cambodia, chasing hippy chicks, and smoking pot.  After one too many of these escapades I was ordered to report to Vice Principal Dudak's office with my mother in tow.  After a comprehensive recital of my misdeeds, Vice Principal Dudak wrote something on a scrap of paper, ceremoniously folded it in two, and slid it across his desk towards me.  On it was written the word "responsibility".  He asked me if I knew what responsibility was and I admitted I didn't have a clue.  He should have asked me what irresponsibility was, for I was an expert on that subject.  Vice Principal Dudak then cleared his throat, squinted  (as he always did before making stern proclamations), and said gravely, "Responsibility is the ability to respond!"

I thought of old Dudak while reading yesterday's lengthy discourse on the difference between Right and Left.  I'd forgotten so many of the distinctions mentioned and I'm sure many others were rightly in need of such a refresher course.  Yes, sadly many seem to have forgotten that "lefteousness" is the opposite of "righteousness". 

It's very comforting to retire each evening to dreams untroubled by moral doubt; snugly tucked under the covers, a gentle breeze wafting through the curtains.  I should know, I'm the one who left the window open.

If Osama bin Laden was still alive, what might he be doing at this very moment?  Perhaps brushing his hair while rehearsing his next speech.  Or maybe meeting with his press agent, as they discuss how those precious 15 minutes of fame might be extended.  I hear it's not easy to find a good, reliable kidney dialysis service in Waziristan, so he might have to spend some time comparing value.  Most likely though, is that he'd be sitting on a 3-legged stool in front of a well-lit bed sheet holding up the front page of yesterday's New York Times; laughing gleefully, taunting, and promising death to America.  All while the cameras rolled.  His followers sure would have gotten a big inspirational kick from that. 

It is embarrassing when that Freudian slip is showing.  I noticed FTR spelled Palin's name "Plain" the other day.  Not once but twice.  

[Obama] Unknot your knickers. Yes, President Obama was indeed elected to office by the American people and won in a landslide be it electoral or not. That’s the only poll number that mattered. Welcome to America. Approval ratings go up and down and I applaud Obama for not running the country according to the poll numbers of the week. Team Obstruction is just having a hard time getting over it.

[Chicago Guns] To the constitutional scholar who was whining about the 2nd Amendment ruling. People like you are the exact reason they had to waste time on this issue. Yes, the Bill of Rights spells it out plainly so any dummy can under stand. Just what part of "shall not be infringed" don’t you and all the other anti self-protection clowns understand?  Everyone takes all the other Amendments at face value, but you lovers of an all encompassing Gov't keep trying to twist the 2nd Amendment around to fit your people-controlling needs. That is what the 2nd is about, keeping those who would be dictators from having an easy ride and guaranteeing the people the right to protect them selves from "all enemies, foreign and domestic”. Instead or rolling in their graves, the founding fathers must have felt a bit of relief and hope for this troubled nation.

We are losing our nation to lies about the necessity of war. Bring out troops home. End the war. Secure our economy. Kucinich: We Are Losing Our Nation to Lies About the Necessity of War | CommonDreams.org

[Borders] Put a bounty on anyone coming north from Mexico, it's the cheapest solution and will provide work for out of work Americans. APNewsBreak: Courts need $40M for border plan (AP)

[From the Right] I’m beginning to wonder about the current fascination that Team Obama seems to have with buttocks. What’s going on? Are they the new Sal? First there was Mr. Obama who told us he was looking for ass to kick. Then there was one of Team Obama’s best buddies, Ron Blackwell. Blackwell is the chief economist for AFL/CIO. Blackwell called Neil Cavuto an “ass hole” during an interview. Then, there is Joltin’ Joe, “Bite Me”, Biden, who called a frozen custard store operator an “ass hole” when the shopkeeper jokingly asked for a cut in taxes. Now let’s see, all of those dudes are hard core Democrat. The symbol of the Democrat party is the ass. Doesn’t that make those prickly left wing dudes complete asses?

I’ll bet you’ve noticed how cranky our Liberal/Progressive pals are lately. Even their big shots have been reduced to name calling. Then they threaten, and they act like bullies. The rank and file scowl, insult, and write nasty stuff here. The Liberal/Progressive folks are in charge now, why don’t they ever smile? To some extent, I can understand the black mood of the rank and file, they’ve got to be really hacked at how badly their big shots have mucked things up. The big wigs just can’t seem to keep it up, they can’t keep their promises. The message of left has become nothing more than limp rhetoric. They talk a lot, but they just can't perform. It’s no wonder that their morale is drooping. The L/P’s sagging fortunes reflect their memberships’s performance anxiety exacerbated by the chronic dysfunction of it's leadership. Maybe the rank and file is realizing that the big wigs never intended to keep the promises they made before the elections. Oh well, I guess that left is suffering from “Probity Envy.” (look it up in Webster's) Dr. FTR recommends Leftitra. It can be sent to your home in plain brown wrapper.

The deadline for publishing is 6am
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will delete it and we can't read it.
Menu

Wednesday June 30, 2010

Tuesday June 29, 2010

[Water Bridge in Germany] This is a channel-bridge over the River  Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany , as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg , near Berlin. Even after you see it, it is still hard to believe.  What a feat. Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long. Now, this is engineering! 

The photo was taken on the day of inauguration. To those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers and physicists. Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water? 

Answer: It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water. Why? A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.

[Finding Sand dollars] Is this area off Marathon or Big Pine?  From what I know that Hawk Channel is from Key Largo to North West Channel off KW.

[Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them] Is this a threat? This person needs help. You should report him and his email address to the police. (Ed: Lighten up, it was humor.)

[Alicia Putney Day] Alicia Putney and her late dear husband Mick have put countless hours into this community and county-wide for the betterment and improvement for all of the residents here.  Can’t we say thank you to Ms. Putney and stop the harassment, bad mouthing and making a nuisance of yourself and get over it and on with your life? 

[Fun With Muslims] In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child, consummating the marriage, by her age of 9.

In the Muslim faith the dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as his toy. Even though a woman is abused, she can not obtain a divorce.

[Vote in Primary] In 2007 Monroe County Administrator Tom Willi raided $10 million from reserve funds to produce the 2007-08 budget, a move that drew sharp rebuke from one county commissioner and a stern warning from County Clerk Danny Kolhage.

Remember which Commissioner wanted to keep Tom Willi as our Administrator?  Is his first name Mario?

Hey, I'm trying to fish here!

[Canadian Outboards Are Best] Dude, are you joking? It must be a joke about Mercury and Evenrude ETEC being the best. They are absolutely the worst!

[Google 411] Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-GOOG411. This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free. It’s great when you are driving on the road with no pen, pencil or paper handy. Don't waste your money on expensive information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number.

Suppose I am driving along in my car and I need to call bigpinekey.com and I don't know the number. I hit the speed dial for 1-800-GOOG411 that I have programmed. The voice at the other end says, "City & State." I say, "Big Pine Key, Florida". He says, "Business, Name or Type of Service." I say, Bigpinekey.com." He says, "Connecting" and Deer Ed answers the phone.

How great is that? This is nationwide and it is absolutely free. Just leave it up to Google to come up with something like this! Watch the short clip for a quick demonstration. http://www.google.com/goog411/

[International Space Station Sex Ban] Commanders do not allow sexual intercourse on the International Space Station, it has been disclosed. I guess that means priests cannot serve communion in the Space Station.

[No Name Electric] You pro-utilities folk on No Name sure do give Alicia Putney a lot of credit.  How this one woman single-handedly changed all the rules to benefit herself and her late husband is amazing. 

One would have to be an idiot to believe all of this.  I have never seen such low-ball, devious, contemptuous tactics to try to ruin one person's reputation, and it's not working.  I have no respect for anyone that can stoop to the levels that you people have.

Someone said it so well the other day.  The government should take the whole island by eminent domain and move you all off of it.  Then you won't have anyone to blame but yourself, for trying to change the rules.

No evil goes unpunished. Hating is a waste of energy. Why not channel that energy into something positive? What goes around comes around.

[National Day of Prayer] Throughout our Nation's history, Americans have come together in moments of great challenge and uncertainty to humble themselves in prayer. In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new Nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer. Almost a century later, as the flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the American people to pray as the fate of their Nation hung in the balance.

It is in that spirit of unity and reflection that we once again designate the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. Let us remember those who came before us, and let us each give thanks for the courage and compassion shown by so many in this country and around the world.

On this day of unity and prayer, let us also honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. We celebrate their commitment to uphold our highest ideals, and we recognize that it is because of them that we continue to live in a Nation where people of all faiths can worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience.

My answer to AA basher,  I tried for many years making my own steps, to quit drinking, none of them ever worked, when I tried A.A's. they worked just fine, My father always told me if something works stick with it.

[Fashion Police] Fringed tops of any sort  You know what your clothes don't need? Fake hair.

In Florida Key Deer vs. Brown (Director of FEMA), the Pacific Legal Foundation which is the oldest and most successful public-interest legal organization that litigates for property rights, limited government, free enterprise and a balanced approach to environmental regulation, in courts across the country stated the following specifically targeting Putney and Florida Keys local environmental activists: " In their efforts to halt beneficial development of private property, the environmental activists have resorted to litigation antics that directly and explicitly subordinate the needs of human beings to those of a few animal populations. In this case, they used the courts to prevent the building of private homes by cutting off access to flood insurance."

As the lawsuits continue to increase, I expect that the legal community and perhaps the courts themselves will increasingly be outspoken and critical of what has happened in the Florida Keys to private property rights under the guise of environmental activism. 

Only a skilled pilot could pull this off! Hall's amazing recovery :: Red Bull Air Race Videos

OIL SPILL

[Chubby Hands Across The Oil] The first thing I noticed from your picture is that every single man, woman and child were fat. Looks like you all have been soaking up some cooking oil.

[How Bad Is It] A new video from an Alabama environmental investigator shows more than 50 dolphins, some of them dying, in the BP oil slick. The video also shows a sperm whale with oil all around its blow hole and red splotches down its back, as if it's been "basted in crude."

John Wathen provided perhaps the most dramatic early images of the oil spill and uttered the unforgettable phrase: "The Gulf appears to be bleeding." In his latest video--filmed June 21--Wathen provides disturbing images of the struggle for life in the Gulf of Mexico.

Wathen spots several pods of dolphins, one of 18 animals and another of 36. Some of the dolphins appear to be struggling to breathe, others appear to be dead or dying. Some of the dolphins, Wathen says, seem to be looking up at his aircraft, "Wondering, 'Why is my world burning down around me?'"

The video includes stark footage of at least seven fires that are set in an effort to burn off oil. "From the size of these fires, it seems as though we are trying not only to kill everything in the Gulf of Mexico, but everything that flies over it, as well," Wathen says.

At one point, he refers to a "massive fire from hell, putting toxins into the air. Will the Gulf ever be the same again?"

How bad is the situation in the Gulf? Wathen says he and his pilot picked up heavy oil at 1.2 miles off Gulf Shores, Alabama. At 17 miles out, there was no more clear water in sight. At 23 miles out, the water took on a purplish, bluish hue. Wathen calls those areas "rainbows of death that cover the entire horizon. From 1.2 miles off Gulf Shores, Alabama, to the Ground Zero site some 90 miles away, we haven't flown over a single square inch of clean water." Video: Dolphins and a Whale Struggle to Survive in BP Oil Slick

[Sloan] I found myself thinking day before yesterday that the BP officials who directly participated in BP’s malignant drilling procedure, and their supervising officials who knew of/ordered them to act, already should have been arrested, jailed and indicted for acts of terrorism, and detained as the 911 terrorists were detained after they were apprehended. BP committed an act of war against America and is no different than Osama bin Laden, whose financial sustenance is provided clandestinely by Saudi Arabia and other so-called American allies, as well as by nations openly at odds with America.

Alas, I stand as guilty as any American who uses oil-based products. WE, the People, brought this upon ourselves, a nation that uses 25 percent, I think I read online the other day, of the entire world’s oil output. 300,000 people, on a planet of around 7,000,000,000 people, use 25 percent of the world’s oil output. A tad out of whack, don’t you think? Shame on us.

Shame on us for tolerating the two oil wars launched by George W. Bush and now being prosecuted by President Obama. Oil wars that set into motion the oilageddon rising up out of the Gulf of Mexico. We America taxpayers are as responsible for that black death as BP and President Obama, who got into bed with Big Oil on offshore oil drilling. We American taxpayers are as responsible for all of the dead and wounded, American and non-American, in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the Moslems who financed Osama bin Laden are responsible for 911.

Shame on our military leaders, who obeyed George W. Bush’s patently corrupt orders to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. Shame on our military leaders who follow Barack Obama’s orders to continue fighting in those two countries. On behalf of the many men and women under their command, our military leaders, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then Secretary of State Colin Powell, should have declined to follow Presidents Bush and Obama’s orders, on the ground that those were corrupt orders they did not have to obey.

Instead of learning to live as Jesus said to live, when they were growing up, American Christians, in the main, learned to live as the Koran tells Moslems to live; as the Old Testament tells Jews to live. American Christians, in the main, threw way the New Covenant that Jesus brought to replace the old covenant. American Christians, in the main, hate their enemies and practice an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth. American Christians, in the main, threw the New Covenant away. They threw Jesus away. They denied him.

Americans cannot make America a nation under God by putting those words into the Pledge of Allegiance, or by creating a National Day of Prayer. Americans make America a nation under God by living as God wants us to live. There is no other way. If Americans claim to be saved by Jesus, that means they have a higher standard by which to live than do Jews and Islamics. They have the standard Jesus lived and taught.

The Anti-Christ is already here. The Anti-Christ is Christianity that does not do what Jesus said to do. That Christianity behaves like Moses and the Old Testament prophets. That Christianity behaves like Mohammed and his descendent prophets. That Christianity is today’s Pharisees; the hypocrites Jesus decried and said not to do what they did.

That’s why I don’t call myself a Christian. That, and the blacksmith has been standing on my neck since 1995. If you knew the Jesus I know, you would wish you had never been born. You would know the true meaning of jihad. You would know it is the war against Satan in the nation in yourself, waged by God through you. In the Gospels, Jesus called that war the baptism in fire.

I described a prayer for a Divine Intervention for America and all of humanity at the end of yesterday’s post. If you read that post, I hope you made that prayer. If you did not read that post yet, you can get to it by going to yesterday’s (June 28, 2010) Today’s FlaKey Drivel at http://goodmorningfloridakeys.com

“De oil, de oil” Map of the oil disaster. http://map.floridadisaster.org/gator/

[Oil Below Sand] A trench dug by a group of USF geologists shows a continuous layer of oil approximately six inches beneath the surface of Pensacola Beach near Gulf Islands National Seashore on June 24. http://blogs.tampabay.com/photo/2010/06/gulf-oil-disaster-pensacola-beach.html

[Oil Cleanup] It is kind of easy to figure out who is real and who is a phony. Look at the oiled beaches for people filthy and stinky who are picking up the debris, cleaning the animals and trying hard to save the coastline. Then look for the candle carrying Kumbaya singers who are absolutely clean and asking for money. Get it, or are you too busy singing?

Key West Chamber to host public Gulf Watch Forum. The Key West Chamber of Commerce will provide the most factual and up-to-date information on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at a Gulf Watch Forum on Thursday, July 1st at 6:00 p.m. at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort. Business owners, community leaders and residents will benefit from the factual information presented.

The Gulf Watch forum is open to the public. For more information: Bulletin Board

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Electoral College] Someone yesterday posted "The free people of America by an overwhelming majority voted Barack Obama to be the President".  Let's set the record straight please.  The Electoral College elected Obama by a landslide.  The popular vote was much closer, Obama 52.9% and McCain 45.6%.  Let's put that in a language that you can understand.  Basically, out of every 15 voters, 8 voted for Obama and 7 for McCain -- not exactly an overwhelming majority.  

The Electoral College needs to be done away with to let the popular vote decide who would be President.  If that had been the case, Bush would not have been elected in the 2000 election, as the popular vote went to Al Gore, whereas Bush won the electoral vote.  

I noticed the poster called Obama the President of the "Untied States"?  Was this a misspelling, or a Freudian slip?  I think you nailed it on the head, even though you didn't realize it.

[Gun Rights] The Supreme Court ruling extending gun rights to all cockroaches in all crevices has just been announced. I turned on the TV to see what the radio just told me.  There was Charlton Heston, err, I mean Wayne LaPierre of the NRA.  You'd think that old Wayne would have been happy as Howdy Doody with a new pogo stick, but he looked like he had a bad case of agita.  While extending ownership rights nationwide, the court has also indicated that it would not necessarily consider local registration requirements as an impediment to 2nd Amendment rights. There he was, red-faced, complaining vociferously about "byzantine" and "unaffordable" regulations and requirements that the states and municipalities were now sure to impose as they each attempt to deal with their own unique situations.  It seems the Chicago boys saw this ruling coming and have been dreaming up ways to mitigate its impact in the Windy City.  It must be frustrating for guys like Lapierre, fighting so hard to climb over that mountain, only to find an endless succession of peaks and ridges.

The 2nd Amendment is remarkably short, just a couple of lines:  "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." 

That’s pretty clear at first reading.  In their unerring vision of our future, the founding fathers undoubtedly saw an eternal need for militias, strife being the natural state of patriots. "We'll probably need to militarize the locals again at some point," they said, "but have you seen what new musketry is selling for in Springfield?  Better to have them bring their own guns, it’s much cheaper that way."   

I wonder what Lapierre thinks about the term "the security of a free State".  Are states free to determine what best suits their own security, or is that a job for the federal government?

Hotel and casino magnet Steve Wynn describes this administration and Congress's policies. As he says repeatedly, it is a combination of the insane spending and regulatory policies of the Democrats and the complete uncertainty this creates for business.

Watch this four minute clip. He's right on the money! http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/06/las_
vegas_hotel_owner_tells_it.html

[Right Wing Spew] FTR Guy, Beck, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Noonan, Hannity, Coulter, Robertson and Malkin. You have to admire their ability to take themselves seriously.

[From the “RIGHT”] I’ve got a lot of respect for our Deer Ed; he’s got a tough and thankless job. He's the right (correct) dude for the job.  I’ll bet that it is rare when the folks who bitch about site content ever contribute. My guess is that the bitchers are leftist, they all seem to want something for nothing.  Deer Ed is right (correct) when he says that I’m Right of Limbaugh. I’m sick of Limbaugh using my humble postings for his show prep. But, and it’s a big butt, I’ve got to take exception to Deer Ed’s suggestion that Sloan and God are on the same side of the aisle.  I believe that if God has any politics, he/she is a Right-Winger. I think I’m right (correct) in my belief that we Right-Wingers are on the side of the Angels. After all, the really good folks are said to sit at the Right hand of God. The word denoting goodness is “righteous”, not “lefteous”. The word that identifies correctness is “right”.  “Very good Johnny, your answer is left” just doesn’t make any sense. Arguably our most important founding document is the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Lefts. That document begins with a declaration that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable 'rights', not inalienable "lefts." We cops advise bad guys of their ‘rights”, not their ‘lefts.’  People who get excluded are said to be “left out.” People who seem confused or irrational are said to be way out in “left field.” In the USA we drive on the “right” side of the road. In a boat, you are supposed to cleave to the “right” side when meeting another vessel head on. Your heart is located nearer to your “right” hand than to the left. The best person for the job is the ‘right’ one, not the left one. When someone seems addled or fuddled, they are said to be “not in their ‘right’ mind”. When something appears to be genuine, proper, or appropriate, it is said to be “right”, not “left”. Would you hire an applicant who was the “left” person for the job? The song lyrics say “That’s all ‘right’”. They don’t say “That’s all ‘left’.” Come to think of it, there are a hell of a lot more “right” handed folks than left handed folks. “Right”-wingers now outnumber left wingers by more than 2-1. Someone who is "connected" is said to “know all the ‘right’ people.” I could go on, but I think that I’ll quit “right” here. As I write this, I’ve got my tongue firmly in my “right” cheek, but that’s all right. Am I right?

(Part II) Yesterday there was quite a bit of jawboning about the recent substantial increase in health care premiums.  Some posters blamed Obama, some blamed the evil insurance companies. They all missed the point. They all failed to look into the matter before they jumped. The increase was chronicled in a Kaiser Institute study. They reported that their study revealed that only private, personally paid policies were affected. Hence, the increase affects only about 14 million Americans. That's 14 million out of about 310 million Americans.  Kaiser reported that the increase is: A) A function of the meteoric rise in the actual costs of delivery of health care.  And B) A function of younger, healthier people opting out. The fewer payers, the more the remaining individuals must pay. Obama care will not remedy either of the foregoing problems. It does nothing to drive down the real, the actual costs of the delivery of medical care. It does nothing to reduce what it costs hospitals, drug manufactures, device manufactures, etc. to deliver medical care to you. Nothing! It is undeniable that the insurance companies only pay what is billed to them. Insurance companies don't set fees or prices. Obamacare increases in taxation and fees on the medical industry will actually increase  the cost of your medical care. Obamacare rationing will decrease the quality of your care. Then there is the matter of cutting Medicare and Medicaid. Then there is the matter of the tens of millions of folks who will flood healthcare delivery because of the promise of absolutely no cost to them medical care. They see it as free care. Don’t kid yourself gang, Obamacare will cost you big time. Remember that the CBO admitted that it’s initial cost estimates were horribly flawed. Now they say the cost will well exceed one trillion bucks. Obamacare is horribly flawed' It should be repealed and new real, not PR/political measures put in place that actually reduce the cost of the delivery of health care. It can be done; it just hasn’t been done yet.     

The deadline for publishing is 6am
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will
delete it and we can't publish it.
Menu

Tuesday June 29, 2010

Monday June 28, 2010

Humane ways to deer-proof your garden. Humane Ways to Deer-Proof Your Garden - DIY Life

Stupid Monday morning greenhouse gasses.

[Sloan] It enrages me that Key West Citizen still accepts full-page ads from BP, like the one on page 8A of today’s edition.

It shocks me that Key West Citizen is worried about what Tropical Storm Alex might or might not do to aggravate the Gulf War (page 5A), but does not report far more troubling and all too believable concerns being supplied to me by readers.

I really do not like saying, “political advertisement, approved and paid for by Sloan Bashinsky, county commission candidate,” when I publish such awful stuff. I really do not like thinking, and dreaming, about how bad this could truly be. I really do not like thinking about leaving the Keys, perhaps forever. I really do not like thinking oil-eating microbes might turn out to be a total waste of time. The more I read of religious-types having apocalyptic end times-second coming visions, the more I wonder if maybe there might be something to it. If the cavern under the Gulf of Mexico explodes, that could dwarf Mt. St. Helen. It could trigger the end of this age, the end of life as we know it, not unlike what happened when an asteroid splintered and struck off the Yucatan the South Carolina coasts, ending the dinosaur age.

President Obama abolished National Prayer Day last year, because, he said, it might offend some people. I remember the photo of him praying, on the front page of Time Magazine, before he had secured the Democratic Party nomination for president. I remember thinking he was using that to get himself elected. I remember being enraged. I remember how hard I tried to talk people out of voting for him, and I remember how disheartened I became when people told me I was wrong about him; when I saw how mesmerized they were by him. In the name of God, if it is permitted to this old, tired, reluctant shaman, I ask for a Divine Intervention for America and all of humanity. In the name of God, I invite all people who wish to do so, to join me in this prayer. Do it privately. Do it sincerely. Do not talk about it. Just do it. The rest... goodmorningfloridakeys.com

The CT is now nothing more than the personal blogs of FTR, the AA Basher and Sloan and it's just no fun anymore. I know there's not much you can do about these three dreadful old bores, but I'm just going to quit visiting the site for a few months until they either move away or choke on their own bile. The Telegraph used to be so entertaining, but now at least a third of it is made up of the masturbatory ramblings of three old men clearly disappointed by life.  I don't know how someone can live in Paradise and yet devote hours and hours to composing and defending that drivel. As for me, I'm going to the beach.

(Ed: If you want something more entertaining than From the Right guy, who's to the right of Rush Limbaugh or Sloan Bashinsky, who's to the left of God then I suggest you write something interesting or spend your time on Facebook. Bye-bye.)

If they were really hip they would drink tap water because the landfills and oceans are filled with plastic bottles. At least, there should be a deposit on the bottles to be redeemed when the bottle is returned to the store. Plastic bottles are made from oil and increase the little girls’ carbon footprint, which is surprising, because little girls are so aware of being “green”. It’s too bad their water bottles are full and their heads are empty.

Fertilize your garden with household scraps. The rats and raccoons will love it if your plants don’t. Oh, boy, a garden full of garbage. Fertilize Your Garden with Household Scraps - DIY Life

[Fashion Police] Excess pleats, ockets and crotch material. What woman needs this many folds and pockets? Why do I feel like these are pants for French mimes? You already have the giant purse to store stuff, and besides, technology keeps making everything smaller. I'm pretty sure Apple makes a baby-carrot-sized iPod at this point. Yet there you are, an otherwise attractive woman wearing a pair of pants with enough fabric to parachute a cat off of a roof.

[Plumbing] We have a good home improvement guy on local radio who swears by reverse-osmosis filtration systems to really clean water for the house.  He recommends Culligan.  He says it’s better to take out all the dirt and chemicals than just adding more.

Life Change Stress Test. It told me to seek therapy, and avoid stress at all costs. Life Change Stress Test - AOL Health

[Sickle of Leo] Action is happening in the western twilight lineup. Watch Venus close in on Regulus day by day, while Mars closes in on Saturn.

I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.

[No Name Electric] How can you compare fighting development with Ms Putney`s efforts to prohibit a group of homeowner from having grid electricity or water or sewers brought to legally permitted homes?  Monroe County has layers of protection in place to limit or stop development in Tier One property. No where in the County’s Land Use Regulations will you find homes being prohibited from being provided with the infrastructure that Keys Energy and the Aqueduct Authority were created to bring to homeowners in Monroe County.   No where but No Name Key.  Ms Putney crafted the local regulations that effect only No Name Key. 

I can only wish Ms. Putney had thought enough about No Name Key to try and stop the two open pit mines that have removed thousand and thousand of tons of native material from our Key.  I guess she had to give up something to gain the political favors she was granted all these years. 

Being a self-proclaimed land use specialist, Ms Putney offered to do the homework for some of our local politicians and they let her.  Only now are they finding out she wasn’t even on the right page.    

When Hurricane Ike's storm surge covered Galveston Island most of their huge old trees were killed.  Chainsaw sculptors were invited to create beauty from the remaining trunks. Slide Show

[Sand Dollars] If you want to see sand dollars, go to the outer edge of Hawk Channel in about 35 ft of water, find the sand and grass bottom and you will see, literally, millions of them. Don't go on the mud bottom or all you will see are the sand dollar's close relative -- the sea pancake.

[AA] I never got into all those word games the AA Basher alludes to, I just put the cork in the bottle, went to meetings and listened to what they told me, and quit drinking.

[Atheism] When I read my newspaper this fine Sunday morn, I saw several editorial responses from the citizenry, evidently directed at some recent article that delved into the subject of atheism.  I didn't happen to read the article that was being referenced, but the gist of the commentary implied that its author had at some point succumbed to the cult of the non-believers, and his sermon therefore needed to be put into its proper context.

Mentioned more than once was the familiar construct that atheism is as much a religion as any of those espoused by believers, since it too requires an extreme leap of faith to accept its basic tenet.  That’s an interesting argument, and worthy of some discussion.  While I've personally given the matter a considerable amount of thought over the years, I can't speak for my fellow atheists.  

We don't have a written creed that we follow nor do we frequently hold large gatherings were matters of atheist doctrine and ritual are discussed.  There are no rules that decide who is or isn't an atheist; self-proclamation is good enough.  We're an informal bunch, spelling atheism with a small "a", and throwing our doors open to anyone who wants to come in. The one thing we all have in common is that we don't attempt to answer the unanswerable by simply making things up. We're not much into free association.  An atheist will honestly reply "I don't know" when asked about the ultimate origins of all that is. "Show me, don't tell me" could be our motto.

As mentioned, I've spent some hours pondering how certain I really am that I'm certain I'm right; that there exists not one of the thousands of gods that have been described by the mind of man.  I have to admit that I don't possess a single shred of evidence to support my position, save an utter lack of evidence to the contrary.  "Then why not play Pascal's Wager?" some would ask.  If I'm not certain then why take the chance?  I wonder. To which god should I then deliver myself?  Which one will forgive my eloquence and accept my insincerity?

[Cleaning Pipes] Use plenty of fiber, it will clean your pipes. Colon cleaner will also work.

Take a tour inside a vintage WWII submarine. Click on the photo and drag your mouse for a 360 degree view of every room – up and down. Click on “next page” to change compartments. 
 www.nonplused.org/panos/uss_pampanito/html/01.html

[Canadian Outboards] The best all around motor in the US is the Evinrude ETEC. While Evenrude is owned by a Canadian company and parts come from several other countries including Mexico their major components and assembly is in the US. If you insist on a four stroke (I don't know why) the Mercury Verado is the only choice.  So take your misconceptions about the superiority of Jap engines and …

OIL SPILL

[Hands Across the Oil] I was born in Chicago and have lived in the area for 49 of my 55 years.  I've never been to the Keys.  I found this site when I was trying to unearth some information about a woman I loved, a long-ago resident of Key West and a Big Pine 29 player.  She's since moved on and is now hauling square grouper from some heavenly ocean, but I decided to stick around after observing some of the extra-salty characters lurking here.  Being honor-bound as a defender of the rights of man, I feel compelled to play whack-a-mole whenever and wherever the scurrilous gopher of McCarthyism pokes its muddled head above the soil.

As I said, I live in Chicago, and at first glance it may appear that us flatlanders have little in common with you folks in the Gulf.  No oil spills up here; just year round snow and a non-stop hail of bullets to contend with on the way to the grocery store.  Luckily, I can afford to dress warmly and I know how to duck.

There wasn't a puff of wind when I got up on Saturday morning and went out to my garage. After about 5 minutes of rummaging around in the loft I found my old freak flag.  Hadn't used it in decades, but somehow I could never bring myself to throw it away.  It was looking pretty torn and tattered after I unfurled it and shook off the dust out in the driveway, but as soon as I raised it up, damned if a fresh breeze didn't suddenly straighten her out!  I pulled on my protest-kid shoes, fired up the old mountain bike, and trucked on down the road to the demonstration, determined to get my fair share of abuse. 

What a disappointment!  No angry faces with strident voices demanding change. No Obama-as-witch doctor posters.  No weapons in holsters.  No one got spit on.  There wasn't a tea-bagger in sight (I guess they had other things to do).  The folks that showed up were Obama's people of course.  I spent about 2 hours talking with a couple dozen fellow travelers about the oil spill and about the response so far, and about what future energy policy should be.  Several folks expressed rational disappointment with the way the administration has handled some elements of the response (the issues revolving around booms and skimmers were mentioned several times) thus far, but most were also of the opinion that no matter who happened to be in office when such an event occurred, they were sure to be screwed. 

The calm focus of the discussion was on the future.  How do we wean ourselves from oil and coal as soon as possible?  Unacceptable was the notion that we continue to explore for new sources of fuel at the expense of the environment and as an alternative to investments in green energy.  The usual mentions of solar, wind, and bio-fuel technologies were heard, but no one suggested anything as radical as immediately stopping all drilling.  Everyone I talked to was in favor of the deep water moratorium, at least until the industry and government can provide some solid evidence that such a disaster will never happen again.  To a prudent man that sounds reasonable.

Yes, Chicago is not the Florida Keys, but it is America and there are elements in life that bind us all, no matter where we lay our heads at night.  I've attached a photo of "Chicago-style" politics in action, taken at Saturday's gathering of local militants, and hopefully Deer Ed will see fit to publish it.  I'm in the picture -- guess which one.  Photo taken at high noon on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Gillson Park Beach, Wilmette, IL.  The water was crystal clear.  

If you observe or find a sea turtle that appears oiled or injured, please immediately call 1-866-557-1401.  Individuals are urged not to attempt to help injured or oiled sea turtles, but to report the sightings to the toll-free number

[Methane Bubble Tsunami] There's a made-for-TV movie in there, for sure.

Even as an ecological catastrophe makes the future of U.S. offshore drilling less certain, Brazil is plowing ahead with a $220 billion five-year plan to tap oil fields even deeper than BP’s ill-fated Gulf well, which is still leaking crude.

With an estimated 35 rigs idled in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil is already receiving inquiries from companies looking to move their rigs here, where vast discoveries in recent years may soon turn the country into a major crude exporter.

[Obama dive and cap the leak himself]  Stuff it full of czars, maybe?

[Oil Drilling is Safe] Oil rigs have operated safely in the Gulf for years.  Even if the US were to stop all drilling, many other countries drilling out there would not, and their safety standards worry me a lot more.  Jobs and the environment can co-exist.

I called for nuking the oil leak on the third day of the leak, but no one took it seriously. All this could have been avoided if they listened to me. I could have been the savior. No one listened to Him either.

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Healthcare up 20%] Don’t blame it on Obamacare. Obamacare won’t go into effect for another couple of years. Thank God for Obamacare. You can see that something needs to be done because costs are skyrocketing. It has nothing to do with Obamacare which doesn’t go into effect until 2014.

Did anyone notice the CITGO ad that ran on ABC following last Monday's quasi-news show?  Is supporting a Venezuelan dictator and his allies in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, etc. and supporting his expressed desire to destroy the United States the new multiculturalism.

ABC news reporters were banned this week from wearing a U.S. flag pin on their lapels because this expresses bias?  What?  I was under the impression that being biased towards our country was a good thing!  Now I'm going to have to use some of the little time I get to sit in my recliner to get up and change channels to a real news program.  I might even miss Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.  I suppose that's a pretty small price to pay to support America.

[Are We Next] A Muslim was elected in Britain. Can we be far behind? It makes me sick to my stomach to think that anyone other than a Christian could be elected in a democracy. Video

[Share the Wealth] "Money for Nothing". Great graphics and high quality video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RojRPQq2-Q&feature=player_embedded

I keep hearing about healthcare costs going up. They predicted they would increase 20-40% before Obama got into office, now it’s gone up and everybody blames the new healthcare.

It won’t even start for a couple more years, but wait, FOX said it’s true so it must be (that’s sarcasm).

[Obama] I looked up the most important poll numbers in the last 2 years and the results were official. The free people of America by an overwhelming majority voted Barack Obama to be the President of the Untied States. Well done America. He has a full plate and he’s the right man for the job.

[From the Right] It’s said that brevity is the soul of wit. I don’t think that is so. Yesterday’s very brief posting that praised Mr. Obama for “reforming the financial sector” was not funny. Nor was it correct. The new legislation is change; it is change for the worse. This is not reform. It is a mammoth power grab by an administration determined to socialize our nation. It is an attack on economic freedom. It guarantees an increase in the cost of living, and it completely ignores the institutions that caused our recession.  Thats Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The architects of this legislation are Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. If you are not aware of their personal blatant incestuous relations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then you just are not paying attention. The failed management and failed regulation of FM/FM were the direct cause of our recession. Those failures were caused by Democrats. Frank/Dodd have the dirtiest hands.  If you doubt it, just say so and I’ll prove it. FM/FM are now going broke again and are demanding more tax payer bailouts. They say they now need billions if not a trillion. Frank/Dodd specifically excluded FMx2 from the legislation. It must be noted that FMx2 are protectorates of the Democrat party. The bill will add a new tax on banks, which will be passed on to persons who use banks. That is you. The bill gives the government the power to shut down or to take over, businesses that some government bureaucrat says might fail. The bill does have some salutary provisions, but the bad overwhelms the minimal good.

(Part II) Why are Republicans pissed? What did Obama do wrong about BP?  Republicans are pissed about the Deep Horizon disaster because Team Obama either refused or failed in its announced mission to reform Mineral Management Services. That's the agency that is charged with the federal oversight of oil drilling. Team Obama made a promise to continue the MMS reforms begun by Bush. They didn’t keep that promise. They failed. As a result the rig operated virtually unchecked and unregulated by MMS.  Had Team Obama done the job it promised, the disaster could not have happened. I’ll bet you never heard of Tim Petumenos. He’s the independent counsel who was hired by Alaska to investigate and rule on the ethics charges against Ms. Plain. The charges surrounded the technical make up of a defense fund that had been set up to help her defray the costs of her defense from the myriad political attacks made on her.  Petemenos’ decided that she had probably violated the Alaska ethics act without knowing that she was violating it. Ms. Plain agreed, and decided to pay back all the contributions to her defense fund. The fund had been set up on the advice of out of state lawyers who did not have knowledge of the Alaska statute. Check it out in Reuters.

The deadline for publishing is 6am
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will
delete it and we can't publish it.
Menu

Monday June 28, 2010

Sunday June 27, 2010

[Alicia Putney] How come some people are mad at Ms Putney for being against development? I thought we were already over-developed.

I completely understand not wanting to deplete the blue crab population. When crabbing, we only take enough for a meal and never take females (eggs or not), and never shedders. 

[Plumbing] After replacing a few feet of copper water pipes with PVC, I realized how dirty the inside of the pipes are. Is there any way to clean out the house’s fresh water lines? Maybe a chemical dispensing apparatus hooked into the street meter or does the water company offer a clean-out service. Any businesses out there do this? Replacing all the piping is a no-no.

After the Keys, where are the better places to scuba dive in South Florida? Dade, Broward or Palm Beach?  My research shows only drift diving in Palm Beach County.  I would love to know some insider information about any reef or wreck diving up on the mainland. 

[Tiki George] Attached is a YouTube link to a video I took of Tiki Bar George singing "My Way" at his going away party at Keb's Parrotdise Waterfront Bar & Grill. It was a great sendoff. George and his family left for Sebring Fl. Saturday. Look at the faces in the crowd, we'll really miss George (but not his singing). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoPmrRw5h28

[Gang of Three] A poster stated yesterday there is one sycophantic guy that doesn’t belong on the BOCC, is the guy’s name Mario DiGennaro?  Can we get him out of office on the 24^th of August?

Does anyone remember how we changed our voter registration from Democrat to Republican so we could all vote for one Commissioners 2 years ago?  We changed voter registration so we could get rid of Spehar and McCoy and vote in whom we wanted to serve as our Commissioner.  Again, do we need to vote out the remainder of “The Gang of Three”?

A.A. worked fine for me, just like magic.

[Alicia Putney] Public Information Request? The recent posts about Galleon Bay and Alicia Putney got me wondering. Perhaps someone in the County can tell us how many lawsuits Alicia Putney herself, or through her organization memberships (Key Deer Alliance, Last Stand, Citizens Coalition, BPK Civic assoc, etc) has she been involved with, instigated, interfered with?

In addition to the $10 million dollar Galleon Bay fiasco, how much has this one person cost the tax-paying citizens of this County for all these lawsuits? I started searching through County and Court records, but got overwhelmed

[Fashion Police] Maxi Dresses. What are you hiding under there? A peg leg? Chemical explosives? An army of small children about to dance out from underneath you, like in The Nutcracker?

[Yahweh] I received part 2 of this judgment warning. It is very sobering as well.   

“Rise up, oh blessed daughter of Mine! For, I am your Father Yahweh, yea Jehovah, Most High God, King of Kings, and the Only Savior!  Sit and write; for My word must go out to a hungry people, to a dry and parched land!” Read it here.

[Exercise] Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, 'Well, she looks good doesn't she.'

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years, just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.

You could run this over to your friends, but just e-mail it to them

If you don't forward this to one of your friends within the next 5 minutes your belly button will unscrew and your butt will fall off. Really, it's true!

[Yamaha] I was at a marina in Marathon and every outboard motor there was a Yamaha. Can’t the Americans make a good outboard motor?

[Stealing] A researcher conducted a study of industrial nations. He tempted people from each country to steal. Each country was convinced that people from their country would steal the most, but it wasn’t so. All the countries stole the same amount. The only difference he found was his sampling of New York bankers. They stole twice as much as any other country or group even Washington DC politicos.

[Oral sex] My wife thinks oral sex means just talking about it. 

[Spectacle] In 1896 the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad put on a spectacle. They sold $2 tickets to see the 30-ton locomotives crash head-on at 45 miles per hour in a baron Texas prairie. It didn’t go sop good. The trains met with such force that their boilers exploded, sending shrapnel and train into the 40,000 spectators killing 3 and injuring more.   A photographer lost an eye.

[AA Basher] I’ve been reading with some amusement the ongoing commentary between the AA Basher and the AA defender(s). The Basher accuses, among other things, AA of being a religious group and the Defender denies it saying members can chose their own version of a higher power. I was siding with the Defender when up pops up the Atheist. The Atheist says he has no faith in anything which put the Defender in hiding; and the Basher in happiness.

I’m curious what the Defender will say in defense of AA now that that organization has been revealed to be, indeed, a religious society, albeit one of alcoholics.

A key for a new car cost about $120 because it has a chip in it that helps prevents car theft. The Keys with transponders in them can cost 3-4 hundred dollars so don't let them fall overboard.

If you can’t make a photo look good when you shoot in black and white you should throw away your camera. Color photography is another matter and requires a real good eye and some degree of talent.

My Indian name was Running Bar Tab. Now that I've grown up it's Drives With Valid License.

Desert roses are easy to propagate. Simply break off branches up to about 3/4 of an inch in diameter, plant them in potting soil, water them, and jump back. They take off very quickly, they are very hardy. I've got ours on a watering timer where they get 10 minutes of drip irrigation every day. They need full sun, the more the better.

[Cell phone] 3G is the old standard and 4G is the newest technology. It’s like comparing slow dial-up to high speed DSL. I think the 4G is three times faster than 3G. 4G is definitely the way to go; everything’s much faster and you can talk on the phone while surfing the net. You can't do that with the iPhone, but you can with a Droid.

[Gardening in the Keys] I’ve never been able to propagate a desert rose, but here’s a tree that I’m crazy about and you can’t kill it. I don’t know its name, but if you break off a branch and stick it in the ground it will grow. It flowers almost all the time. The leaves are shaped like spear heads. I bought one bush/tree a couple of years ago and when I prune it I stick the cuttings in the ground. I now have about thirty of them all over the place.

[Soyuz spacecraft docking] NASA Television will broadcast live the repositioning of a Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Monday, June 28. The capsule’s half-hour journey from the Zvezda Service Module to the Rassvet Module will begin at 12:58 p.m. CDT. NASA - Space Station Crew Vehicle Will Move June 28 for Cargo Ship Arrival

[Cannibalism] I just watched another hour of Will Travel For Food where a fat guy eats his way around the world. I now fear the Oriental people 100%. They will eat anything including dung, bugs and anything that moves or doesn't. With that in mind, and the food wars about to happen big time, Human will be on the menu if it isn't already in some countries. They will conquer the world because of this.

Two cats killing several birds?  Those were either super cats or suicidal birds.  It doesn't work that way.  But it sounds like you qualify for the animal killers and dueling banjoes cult.

I hear that if you torture and kill enough, they'll promote you to Slime Ball.  Hang in there!

[AA Basher] Dysfunctional Carpenter Part 2. I liked what this poster had to share.  I agree and I know that it will be unpopular with alcoholics, but I agree.

The annoying horn that plays during World Cup is called a "vuvuzela". The boring game that ensues is called soccer or futball.

Alcoholics Anonymous is somewhat clever in countering our natural and commonsense instincts of self preservation.  They state that you can believe whatever you want "about a higher power," provided, of course that you have some kind of a higher power-or you'd better quickly find one, in yourself, nature, or, more likely in AA's magical system itself.  Your higher power can even be, as someone said, a Chia Pet or a doorknob.  But, this isn't important.  Rather, it is their way, their means, their process, that is really essential, the attitude toward the power, not the actual kind of power which is supposed to be there.  This is the key to all fundamentalism and all cults, like AA.

Again, it bears repeating that the central danger of AA, however, is not they make you believe in this and that (content), it is that they make you fall into a way of acting and a way of thinking (process).  As a philosopher once put it, "You are much more likely to act your way into new ways of thinking than to think your way into new ways of acting."  That’s good advice which AA not only knows very well, but uses against you from the first second you hear of them to the final moment you escape their "rooms."

OIL SPILL

I get the feeling we are screwed no matter which way the wind blows.

Could Gulf oil leak lead to methane-bubble tsunami? The frightening "low-probability" scenario described today by entrepreneur and philanthropist DK Matai includes the possibility of a "massive bubble trapped for thousands of years under the Gulf of Mexico sea floor" exploding and setting off a "tsunami traveling at a high speed of hundreds of miles per hour."

Florida might be most exposed to the fury of a tsunami wave. The entire Gulf coastline would be vulnerable, if the tsunami is manifest. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and southern region of Georgia might experience the effects of the tsunami according to some sources.

He also warns of a "second tsunami via vaporization." This could result after the initial explosion displaced all the oil, gas and water around it, producing a gigantic, extremely hot (300-degree Fahrenheit) cavity, which would vaporize all the incoming water, turning it into steam and causing another rupture in the gulf floor. He notes that as time goes on and the gulf well remains unplugged, the "risk increases."

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Bad Loans] In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify.  His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, "Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it."

[Take government Back] Do they want to take it back so they can deregulate everything and lower corporate taxes and taxes on the rich? Do they want it back so they can start some more wars? Just what do they want to do with the government if they get it back? I hated everything they did when they were in power. Through their deregulation they ruined the economy. They have no solutions to anything except to go to war and lower taxes.

This country should belong to the people not the corporations. The TEA Party represents corporate interests.

[American workers to take to the streets] For what? What is wrong? I must have missed something? I don't listen to biased media so I don't know what they think is wrong.

(Part II) I have some disquieting information for our Obacentric readers. Americans who identify themselves as Conservatives now more than double those folks who identify themselves as being liberal. Just the other day Gallup told us that we right-wingers are on track to record the highest annual statistics in the Gallup poll’s 18-year history of measuring conservative/liberal ideologies. The figure now is 42% Conservative (up 2% since last year) versus the 20% who will admit to being Liberal.    

The deadline for publishing is 6am.
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will
delete it and we can't publish it.
Menu

Sunday June 27, 2010

Saturday June 26, 2010

(eD:  No edIT SatuRDAY!!!!!!......b-cuz u assd 4 iT!!!!!!!!!

[No-Edit Saturday] For those of you visiting for the first time, don’t judge the Coconut Telegraph by today’s un-edited episode. This is almost the Editor's day off. Tune in tomorrow for the edited version. You’ll find its format and graphics more pleasing. (Note to friends of the Editor: I can get out of here a lot sooner on Saturday if you don't send in any photos, attachments or Classified Ads for Saturday publication. That's because it takes a lot of time to resize and re-format them. Please email them to us by 6am on Sunday  for Sunday's publication. I'll appreciate it a lot.)

HISTORY REPEATED

 

 

World Cup latest~!!

 

So..... The French surrender early, the Italians have retreated, the USA arrived late and England is left to take on the Germans ... sound familiar?

The rest... goodmorningfloridakeys.com
 

Suing that No Name Key woman

While that No Name Key past-planning commissioner was able to skate the state ethics charges of using a political office for personal gain (statute of limitations), there are no such statute of limitations on personal lawsuits.

As far as suing her goes, I think the neighboring homeowners can make a good case for harm and damages against her, but I think we the taxpaying citizens of Monroe County are hard pressed to get her to pay for the $10 Million dollars worth of Galleon Bay damages we are bearing.

If her neighbors do sue her, I’ll be rooting for them; small justice is better than no justice.

OIL SPILL

NATIONAL POLITICS

Saturday June 26, 2010

Thursday June 24, 2010

[No Name Electric] I am not a lawyer, but maybe someone out there can answer my question. If one woman on No Name is responsible for making the rest of us pay 10 million dollars in tax increases just so that she can have her privacy as you claim, it is possible for us to sue her for damages to our income?

Randy Acevedo redo. http://keysnews.com/node/24344

[Iguanapping] Just when you thought you’ve heard it all; the Great Iguana Ignapping Conspiracy arises from the depths of absurdity and into the thoughts of the intellectual readers of the CT. I have enjoyed the battle of wits between the pro and anti Iguana forces of the Keys for the last year.

First and foremost, I loathe the reptilian creatures. They serve no purpose in the Keys other than to defoliate our plants and trees and scare the bejesus out of my cat. The actual Iguanapping has me perplexed. The iguanas were taken the night or morning of June 19th - Big difference, when did you notice their absence? They are like my children – Did you see them the night before you went to bed or in the morning when you got up? Taken by individuals who climbed the fence-  These individuals, climbed your fence? How high is the fence? How do you suppose these individuals got away with two large mature Iguanas after they were inside the fence? Is there a gate? Now the really big questions: isn’t there security at the Banana Bay?

$2000 reward for junior Dinosaurs? How did you come up with that figure? (I have always thought some people have way too much money). Is that a $1000 each? Which one needs the meds, the orange or green one? Shouldn’t you let the scoundrels who are holding your pets for ransom know? What are their names and do they answer to them when you call, “Here Scaly”? Do you drink or use mind altering substances?

The IKC is real. They have done great work throughout Florida helping taxpaying homeowners rid their property of invasive and destructive Iguanas. This over-population and infestation of Iguanas was caused by their owners who did not take care of their pets. To the gentleman looking for the IKC bumper stickers: I’ve seen them all the way from Key West to Key Largo. Lighten up, go to their website and order one or better yet, join up! It really sounds like you could use a little control. Such anger.

[Blue Crabs] Is there any good place to catch blue crabs around here? I know we have stone crabs, etc. When we bought our home 7 years ago we saw them in our canal, but that was the last we saw of them.

[BPK Road Work]  Those box's with pipe stubs are for storm water drains. As with most all DOT road improvement projects these are almost always a mandated. They amount to absolutely nothing other than a high priced drain field. Other than by the Big Pine Motel, flooding along US1 in Big Pine is practically non existent.

As far as sewers for Big Pine: as I write, the County engineers have not so much as a drawing on a cocktail napkin for the sewers. Nada. Another example of your dollars at work.

[Restaurant Review] We went to the new Shirley’s and we were very disappointed. Prices for ice cream were sky high for what you get. We tried the pork and a sandwich and, well, so-so. Stick to ice cream. All in all, so-so. To the thin owner-type guy: stop talking about what you’re going to do and concentrate on doing one thing well, and then expand. ~podric100@aol.com

[Meat StairingI was in California on vacation last week. When I was in the supermarket to pick up some essentials, I saw the same phenomena that I have observed at the Winn Dixie in the Keys: women staring at meat. I think this may be a worldwide situation. Maybe some smart university people can apply for a research grant for further study of this unusual behavior.

[Grand jury probes airport expansion project] A state grand jury is investigating a $35 million Monroe County project to expand Key West International Airport, confidential sources say. County Administrator Tom Willi and County Engineer Dave Koppel have testified, sources say. Both refused to comment Thursday, citing grand jury secrecy laws. Those laws prohibit grand jury witnesses from disclosing the content of the questions and answers in such hearings, according to The Citizen's attorney, Robert Rivas of Sachs & Sax. Other key figures associated with the airport expansion project, including County Mayor Mario DiGennaro, Airports Director Peter Horton and County Clerk Danny Kolhage also refused to comment Thursday.

Since March, Kolhage has been conducting an internal investigation, poring over every invoice submitted for the project, to make sure the architect and contractor are complying with their contracts. On Thursday, he said that probe is ongoing. Koppel, who Willi asked to oversee construction of the new terminal and parking deck when serious problems arose 10 months ago, defended the project, saying the early infighting between The Morganti Group and URS Corp. has long been resolved. Morganti is the contractor and URS is the architect. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration was refusing to release grant money until it had received all the necessary paperwork from the county and contractor. Koppel also defended Willi's decision to not fire Morganti when the project stalled last fall. Horton and former project director Larry Chalmers were urging the County Commission to fire Morganti, but Willi had a change of heart and didn't fire the contractor. Willi later blamed the situation on mismanagement by Chalmers, who was reassigned. Koppel said it would have cost the county more money to delay construction and expose the county to a potential lawsuit from the contractors. "We saved by not going out to rebid," Koppel said Thursday. "The ramifications of firing Morganti would have resulted in higher costs for taxpayers. "The job is going very well. As with all construction jobs, there are problems and we are constantly working to resolve them," he said. "They are doing a first-rate quality job. They are working really hard."

Koppel did not paint as rosy a picture in a July 5 e-mail to Willi, in which he lobbied to receive the $7,000 balance of a $15,000 bonus Willi promised him for taking over the controversial project. But Willi later decided to withhold the rest of the bonus. Koppel earns $114,000 annually. "I have regretted agreeing to take over the project for some time now, even with the raise," Koppel wrote. "It has been contentious, and continues to be such especially due to the grand jury, URS' argumentative nature, [Kolhage's] internal audit and scrutiny and the lack of support from the airport department (according to my records they continued to work on firing Morganti as late as February 2007)," Koppel wrote. "Everyday is a challenge and the project can be in jeopardy at any moment without constant intervention. With all the paperwork, bond and financial information, changes in work to save money, direct purchase of materials, PMIS reports and accounting reports, and on and on, it is overwhelming. $15,000 is not worth it. Now, even that has been taken away. I'm not happy," the e-mail said.

Koppel said he discussed the salary situation with Willi on Thursday and both agreed Willi made the right decision to withhold the $7,000, considering the budget crunch the county is facing. "I removed the extra pay because the job was over the 'hurdle' we had experienced and was settling down," Willi told The Citizen via e-mail Thursday. "Dave was spending an inordinate amount of time dedicated to the project. I will be addressing his compensation package in the near future to be sure it is commensurate with his responsibilities."

The county has admitted making some costly errors since the project began in 2005. It paid Morganti to start work in the summer, before it signed a contract. The contract both parties eventually signed in the fall said the $25 million project cost included Morganti's fee, but noted the guaranteed maximum price was pending. Also that year, Chalmers delayed the project and racked up more fees by sending URS back to the drawing board to redesign the project, Koppel said.

In January 2006, a bond consultant estimated the project would cost $29 million. A second report in May said the cost would be more like $31.2 million. But when Morganti received the construction bids in September, the cost had risen to $31.7 million. Plus, the county learned that County Attorney Pedro Mercado had erred in the contract language, so Morganti's $3.7 million fee was not included as previously thought.

This is the second time in recent years that a grand jury has reviewed a county infrastructure project. Koppel, who was public works director at the time of the first grand jury, testified in that case as well. A grand jury spent 18 months reviewing the county's project to install central sewer pipes on Stock Island. The findings stated the county failed to adequately protect property owners and was negligent in its oversight.

The county paid Key West Resort Utilities $3.7 million for the infrastructure that would allow 1,500 Stock Island residents to connect to the company's existing sewage treatment plant. When the project was completed in 2003, commissioners touted the project as on time and under budget. However, residents complained that their costs to run sewer pipes from their properties to pipes in the road and hookup fees were exorbitant.   tohara@keysnews.com

While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant, and resumed their trip.When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving for about forty minutes.

By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses. All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up for a single minute.

To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. As the woman got out of the car, and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, “While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card.”

[IKC] I just shot my second iguana in two days. Both of them were large. I hadn't had an iguana in my garden for a few months.

I saw one on Key Haven a couple of days ago. I guess we haven't done as good a job of eradicating them as I thought. They're spreading south.

Letter bomb returned for lake of postage is BS!  http://www.snopes.com/humor/lists/fakenews.asp

Support for Windows Vista without any service packs installed ended on April 13. To continue receiving security updates for Windows vista make sure you're running it with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968930

[Let us pick each channel we wanted and pay for them] Yea, me too. There was a bill in US House to make the cable companies do just that. Obviously it did not pass. It’s too bad for us all.

Tiki Bar George.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzC0z-ec50w

The median sales price of new houses sold in May 2010 was $200,900; the average sales price was $263,400. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 213,000. This represents a supply of 8.5 months at the current sales rate.

[Hijacking] Frank Sinatra - Strangers on my flight. http://www.animatronics.org/strangers/strangers.htm

[AA Basher] Dysfunctional Carpenter Parable. You were having difficulty making a bookshelf.  You've tried it on your own, but you're not a carpenter, nor are you a "hands-on" type of person.  You may even have trouble hammering a nail in the wall to hang a picture, or you're befuddled by putting a bike together for a child's birthday.  In short, you've tried to make a functional and useful bookshelf on your own, but it simply came out awful.  You obviously need help.

So you go to a carpenter who is certain that he can tell you how to make a bookshelf.  No problem.  Lots of people have learned to make bookshelves.  It's not something terribly complicated like flying an airplane, learning to pitch a knuckleball in baseball, or playing a Mozart sonata on the piano.  Indeed, almost everyone can build a simple bookshelf if he or she wants to.

The expert whom you ask for help offers to work with you to build it, providing step by step instructions.  As you follow his directions, you discover that this bookshelf is, well, weird.  It doesn't look like any bookshelf you've seen before, and only this self-styled carpenter-and his friends-maintain that this is a satisfactory bookshelf.  Unfortunately, it is all askew.  The shelves are not level, the spacing is not right, and things either don't fit on it, or they fall off, and the bookshelf keeps coming apart and crashing to the floor.

The carpenter then tells you that it's not the fault of his bookshelf's design, or in his instructions about how to build it.  No, the problem is that you, the builder, are powerless to build a bookshelf on your own.  You are, by definition, a defective builder.  And yet, precisely because you're defective, you need to keep trying to build a bookshelf according to the carpenter's directions, over and over again, following each and every time exactly the same directions you are told, building the same kind of odd bookshelf.  You are told that when the bookshelf doesn't work, it's your fault.

Eventually you're frustrated and you ask the carpenter where he learned to make this type of bookshelf.  He tells you that it comes from directions that were written in 1935 by someone who was actually not a carpenter, but was a failed businessman, who wanted to act like a carpenter, and had a strong interest not in building bookshelves for himself, but to show everyone else how to build bookshelves.  Furthermore, as you question your carpenter and his friends further, you learn that this book was written under the influence of a philosophy of building bookshelves given to him by a group of people who called themselves "The Builders."  These were organized around some very strange thoughts about building things, led by a very strange man who styled himself "The Architect."  In other words, you find out that you're being asked to build your basic functional bookshelf based on some "spiritual architecture wisdom" promulgated by a group led by a very disturbing character many years ago.  This is just too strange for you to make sense of.

When you share your concerns with this group of carpenters, they tell you to keep working on it.  You "just don't get it."  They keep telling you, five or seven times a week, sometimes two or three times a day, that only by regularly and consistently admitting your defectiveness in carpentry can you become happy in the process of not building a successful bookshelf.  This makes no sense to you.  However, if you're unfortunate enough, you might keep listening to the builders and get brainwashed into believing their nonsense.  If you could just step away from the carpenter and his buddies, you'd realize what your instincts and common sense were telling you. Leave. To stay with this nonsense is simply too painful.
      
If this scenario looks and sounds absurd, it is because it is.  However, I'm sure you've realized that this is not really about bookshelves, carpentry, or building.  It's about Alcoholics Anonymous and all the "step" programs that have derived from it.  A drinker with a drinker's problems going to AA is like someone needing a bookshelf going to a dysfunctional, illogical, and nonsensical tutor (your AA leader, sponsor, or local predator) who belongs to a dysfunctional, illogical, and nonsensical group of self-styled carpenters (AA members), who originate in an authoritarian and fundamentalist cult of "builders" (The Oxford Group) based on the rigid teachings of the leader and fabricator of the doctrine of "Moral Re-Architecture" (the "moral re-armament" of Frank N D Buchman).  Yet despite all the evidence that has been growing over the years, this group of builders still absolutely maintain that there are "steps," or the way to building lives free of something called "addiction," a philosophy and practice which is not grounded in reality or evidence, but in magical, pseudo-mystical, vague, illogical and just plain weird ways of thinking.

OIL SPILL

[Deepwater Horizon] when history looks back, it will be reported as the greatest human disaster in the history of mankind.

Some readers might recall my earlier post asking why they didn't try to activate the blowout preventer after the leak started. Also, why didn't the cap get clamped on to get all the oil? This all was answered indirectly this morning on the "Ed Show" and will probably have been reported  in bits and pieces by the time this appears in the Coconut Telegraph. I doubt they will put it all together and report it all coherently anytime soon however.

The fact of the matter is that the volume of oil coming out of the well is physically impossible to capture to any significant degree. The blowout preventer was not used after the fact because of damage from 5,000 feet of pipe collapsing and the damage that was done to the riser pipe under the blowout preventer. These pipes are under a great deal of stress.

According to an oil geologist called DougR posting on an industry message board, pipes under the sea floor are leaking. Putting too much stress on the preventer could cause the pipes under the sea floor to rupture, releasing an uncontrollable amount of oil in a totally uncontrolled manner.

The worst news is that the blowout preventer is now leaning at a 10-12 degree angle and is in danger of total collapse, which would release an uncontrolled flow of oil into the Gulf.

The mini sub that knocked the cap off the well for 10 hours is only a minor hiccup compared to what might happen.

The relief wells are probably the only way to get this under control but they won't be finished until August. Hopefully BP and our moron collection of politicians on both sides of the aisle will get a clue and start listening to fresh ideas for controlling and stopping the leak, then cleaning up the mess.

We have helped countless countries around the world in war and natural disasters. It is time we accept help from wherever we can get it. And for anyone who believes that prayer can affect the physical world--start praying.

I'm shocked! Who’d of thought? Judge who nixed drilling ban has oil investments (AP)

The USFWS won't even let trained wildlife rehabilitators rescue birds, yet they send up law enforcement officers to do it.  Just what kind of training have they had?

Topless protest against oil spill? does that mean no hats?  Women plan topless protest in Key West

NATIONAL POLITICS

Glenn Beck has a bully pulpit that greatly appeals to "real Americans", those god-fearing, commie/liberal-hating salt of the earth folks that, dammit, are gonna take their country back to the way things used to be.  Not all the way back, mind you.  Leave It To Beaver time feels about right. They don't seem to care that others have less fond memories of the way things used to be, but hey, it's all in how you look at it.  They see Beck as the guy at the end of the bar.  The one who's always cracking funny one-liners and buying one for the barkeeper and loudly telling it like it is.  Mr. Common Man. 

You don't say what it is that Beck is right about, but it's hard to take seriously any man who prances around like an unsupervised 6 year-old, annoying the elders with his mugging antics.  He's heavy on the symbolism, his favorites being the hammer and sickle, the Nazi swastika, and George Soros.  His visuals could use a little work: chalk drawn arrows and circles filled with unintelligible gibberish pale in comparison to a good Power Point.  But I do like it when he sits in a chair and strikes a thoughtful pose, his hands held in front of his face, feigning pensive reflection.  Very professorial.  Or as Jon Stewart described him "Finally, a guy who says what people who aren't thinking are thinking."

Beck is a self-parody.  He just doesn't know it.  Not surprising for someone who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  It's true that he's raking in cash by the truckload, with an estimated annual income of at least 32 million dollars, but he lives in a modest double-wide in Fairfield County, CT where he reportedly falls asleep to the peaceful chirping of crickets.  Paul Simon is a neighbor and it could be that's what got him uneasy.  He knows it's not wise to mingle with celebrity types so he's put the double wide on the market and is eyeing a more suitable trailer in New Haven.  Come take the tour. http://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-becks-house-2010-6/-1

That's pretty good for the guy sitting at the end of bar.  Just think that good ole boy could be drinking anywhere, but he prefers to rub elbows with the locals down at the Stumble Inn.

H.L. Mencken once observed that, "A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn't know."  He also said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people". 

It is time for the American workers to take to the streets. If it's peaceful, if not the powers that are in charge will blame it on the Tea Party. We didn't get in this mess overnight. It will take a little time to send the message. Five months, 150 days, November. We are going to be just fine. The Tea Party just had another big win in South Carolina. Get involved. The Tea Party is not a bunch of nuts. Do some homework and above all, vote!

[Take government Back] I would love to see just exactly how the Tea Party-courting politicians are going to "return the government back to the People"?   What a bunch of lying creep demagogs who will promise anything to get on the gravy train. Demagog is the perfect word to describe them.

Demagog: A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace. In other words, a person who lies and manipulates a crowd by giving them false hopes by just telling them what they want to hear, no matter how outrageous and wrong it is. Usually done to gain votes.

President Obama was having that one, lone brief conversation this year with General McChrystal about Afghanistan. Things were obviously not going the way the General had hoped.  Obama could sense this and told him, "I bet when I die, you'll pee on my grave."

To which General McChrystal answers, "No sir, I've always said that when I get out of the Army, I'll never again wait in another line."

Wednesday June 23, 2010

[Scenic Summer Drives] #5 suggestion is Overseas Highway to Key West. I could have told them that! Scenic Summer Drives

[Sewers and Unincorporated Monroe County] I tried to look into how our commissioners in Monroe Country measure up against Marathon, Key West, Key Largo on the Sewer Projects. Here are some bits of data I found.

Monroe County government was unable to take advantage of federal funding and meet the July 2010 deadline to bring the  Unincorporated Monroe County onto a central sewer system. Those  appeared to be shovel ready projects that would benefit the environment, residents and the Keys economy, but instead they are using the stimulus funds to put in a nice bike path. Couldn't they at least put the sewer pipe down when they spent all that money on the bike path?  In order to give the Keys  a big breather the Florida Senate and House approved a bill in April to extend the deadline to sewer the Keys from this coming July to the end of 2015. 

The omnibus water bill awaiting Gov. Charlie Crist's signature also reauthorizes $200 million worth of state funding for Monroe County  projects.  However, it's no sure thing. None of the previously authorized $200 million came south last year because the state had met its borrowing cap and couldn't afford it. The state budget is in no better shape this year.  That has been the case for the past decade. The tough projects get sidelined for toy projects.  The county over the past several years has committed too much infrastructure money that could have been used for subsidies on other  projects. A frequent complaint of Neugent is we have $4 to $5 million of infrastructure money tied up in toys like the Hickory House and the Vandenberg artificial reef project. The county spent $1.3 million buying the vacant Stock Island restaurant and marina, and has committed $2  million to sinking the decommissioned military ship six miles off Key West. 

Florida Keys property owners could face $20,000 fees to connect to central sewer systems if Monroe County cannot secure federal and state subsidies, which are becoming increasingly harder to come by in this national economic crisis.  That's a far cry from the $2,700 that property owners on Conch Key and Bay Point in the Saddlebunch Keys paid several years ago, and the $4,500 that Monroe County in 2007 agreed it would charge property owners on Big Coppitt Key and in the upscale community of Duck Key when subsidies were available.

Looking at several sources online that detail allocation of grants  and funds I fail to find Unincorporated Monroe County in pace  with Islamorada, Marathon, Key West and other municipalities who  implemented the plan and took advantage of funds allocated.  Why is Unincorporated Monroe Country so far behind the Municipalities? It's like our representatives spent time talking instead of doing. In the meantime the limited funds are being spent elsewhere and the Unincorporated Monroe County residents will be stuck with a $20,000 sewer connection bill. 

It's election time. You may want to keep your representatives aware that it's time to get things done.  Like the saying goes "Do not mistake activity for accomplishment." The ones who will be penalized for our official’s lack of accomplishment will be us, the Keys’ homeowners holding a $20,000 plus tab.      

[7 Mile Bridge] Why take a chance of screwing up the bridge filming a TV show and maybe that car doing 150mph wouldn't do any damage if it crashed? Thank the Lord that it wasn't BP filming a commercial on the 7 Mile Bridge? 

[Eminent Domain] It isn’t often that my conservative brothers and I agree on anything, but there’s an issue lingering out there in the ozone that we all contend needs to be nipped in the bud.  It’s called eminent domain,  and it’s about as sinister and nefarious as a local municipality can get.  I know it sounds like some obscure Pete Townshend tune but it’s as real as it gets and simply put, it permits governing entities like the Marathon City Council to condemn and then purchase private property if they believe it would be in the public’s best interest to acquire the land in question.

[No Name Electric] For those who continue to use the argument, You knew what it was like when you moved to NNK.  Alicia Putney had to know that plans for the Galleon Bay subdivision existed before she and her late husband bought their property. There was a large Galleon Bay sign on the street that borders the Putney`s house.  I remember it well.   It was a planed subdivision before the Putneys bought their property. 

Ms Putney sat on the Monroe County Planning Board during the time the permits for Galleon Bay were denied time and time again. That change in how things were will cost the taxpayers of Monroe millions of our dollars. 

The change the NNK Property Owners Association is trying to legally bring to NNK will only help rid the island of large diesel generators (which the solar group hate with a passion) and help rid any grid tie house of dependence on a large battery bank. Both of these things alone will help clean up our environment. 

All cost associated with bringing electricity to NNK will be born only by those in the NNK Property Owners Association not the citizens elsewhere in Monroe County. 

[Jury Duty] If they call you up again too soon and you don't feel civic-minded enough to serve right away, just make clear early on that you're in favor of the death penalty.  Defense attorney can't get you out of there fast enough.

[Postage] Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.

[Comcast] It looks like we have to get that stupid extra digital converter box if we want it or not, or else no TV.  Comcast is changing over and for those of you who already lost half of your channels call them to check. I wish they’d just let us pick each channel we wanted and just pay for them. I could live with ten or twenty instead of a thousand BS channels.

[The Vuvuzela] Before blowing into one, ascertain where it came from.

[No Name Electric] Who’s really responsible for the $10 million dollar Galleon Bay fiasco? For those of you who don’t know who, what or where Galleon Bay is, Galleon Bay was to be a high-end luxury, open-water-view development consisting of 13 homes, each with access to a private yacht basin.  This development was to be located on No Name Key, at the end of No Name Drive, directly next door to the (then) new NNK neighbor Alicia Putney.

Before Ms Putney arrived on NNK, the Galleon Bay basin was dredged, the lots scraped, the drives and road scraped, and signs were up on the property touting the new luxury homes soon for sale. 

We already know exactly who did and said what to stop Galleon Bay, and we know who cost us, Monroe County Taxpayers, 10,000,000 dollars. And there’s nothing funny about that. I want to know if we give Galleon Bay the 13 stupid permits, can we get our $10 million back?  $10 million and 30 harmed neighbors is too high a price to pay for my neighbors’ private queendom.

The Green Zone is at Now Showing Video. This movie will not be available from RedBox or Netflix for another four weeks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F20ovcLI29s

Why the world won't end? http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

[Burma Shave roadside series of signs] When frisky -- With whiskey -- Don’t drive -- Cause its risky! 

OIL SPILL

Jimmy Buffett is doing a fund raising concert for the Gulf Coast in Gulf Shores, Al. The concert will be broadcast live on CMT at 8 pm, July 1st.

[Oil by the Numbers] Isn't this wonderful how they have broken it all down for us morons, I feel so much better now. By the numbers: Oil leak wouldn't fill Superdome

[Tender Boats] In this latest news story from the Gulf Coast the boat tender companies (they ferry people and goods out to the drilling rigs in the Gulf) want Obama to lift his no drilling moratorium so they can go back to work ferrying. Right now there’s no drilling on any rigs so there’s no ferrying needed. Ferry people are unemployed. Just one more category of victims. In the end, it's always about the money.

Maybe BP should hire all those put out of work by their spill to work in various phases of cleaning up their spill.

[Respirators] Can you believe that you are not allowed to wear a respirator near where there is any oil and fumes? Who's country is this? Are the fumes only toxic at the pump where there is a caution posting on every single gas pump?  Is the product only toxic after it's refined?

I am in the process of getting my hazmat certificate so that I can go up to the Panhandle and help clean birds. I will send BP my bill for gas, food, lodging and the cost of my hazmat training. We all really need to stick together on this one my fellow Americans. Did you know that the Republicans want to start drilling again right now without further regulations and safeguards?

If it's all so damn safe why don't they go drill in the English Channel? Gulf rig owner criticizes Obama's drilling halt (AP)

[Sloan] BP's World Championship Shark Surf Fishing Rodeo. I received something horrible yesterday from Alabama woman, which can be gandered by clicking on the web link at the end of this paragraph. Be sure to keep reading the article until you get to the video, which is the part that is so cheerful. I don't think people who see the video will have much trouble transposing it to other areas of the upper Gulf Coast, the Florida west coast, and the Keys. Ought to do wonders for Gulf coast and Keys tourism. All the more incentive for we in the Keys to gather our own navies together, arm them with microbes and incubation vats and water hoses and pumps, and whatever else we can come up with to defend ourselves, so they can sally forth into the Gulf War hoping to keep what you will see in the video from turning the Florida Keys into the shark surf fishing capitol of the Universe, until all the bait fish get eaten or jump up on the land trying to get away from the sharks and the oil. Bon apertif  Sharks and Submerged Oil Spell Trouble Off the Alabama Coast

The rest... goodmorningfloridakeys.com

NATIONAL POLITICS

[AZ Immigration] I sent $5 to Arizona with a note supporting the Buy-Cott Arizona.  Yes it was only a token amount, but I want them to know there are people all over this country who agree with what their doing.   I don't have a problem with legal immigration.  I don't have a problem with people of many makes and colors.  I have a problem with liars and thieves and scammers who don't contribute to the well-being of my fellow American citizens, no matter their racial background.  I love this country, this is my country, and if they want to be here, do it the right way, or get out.

If you would like to support AZ's immigration law, and the border closing, please send them what you can (a token amount is still support). I don't want them to spend more legitimizing the support than they actually get.  I'd prefer it goes to a nail for the border fence.

This is still our country, of the people, by the people, for the people, which requires we the people speak up!

[Glenn Beck] Cut Beck a little slack. The scary part is that Beck is correct more often then not. Which means we are in a butt load of trouble if he is even half correct. 

It's too bad that The Drudge Report couldn't stay a good, neutral source for news and has now become just another partisan sounding board. It started off as a fairly balanced blog with lost of breaking news.

[Censorship] North Korea picked the wrong moment to allow its people to see a bit more of the outside world. The authoritarian regime was so proud of its soccer team in the World Cup that it allowed an unprecedented live broadcast back home of the match against Portugal — a rarity for the communist nation that normally exerts strict control over the media.

As the 7-0 loss to Portugal concluded, the North Koreans quickly halted Monday's coverage. "The Portuguese won the game and now have four points," the Korean Central Broadcasting commentator said. "We are ending our live broadcast now."

If you get an email titled "Nude photo of Nancy Pelosi" don't open it. It contains a nude photo of Nancy Pelosi.

[School associated violent deaths and school shootings] I figured FTR would start howling, so see for yourself. http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/school_violence.html

[Politicians] I've noticed a couple of good future prospects.  LA Gov Jindal is showing real leadership and common sense and deserves our attention. He may grow into a real presidential prospect. Louisiana needs him for now. Herman Cain is a successful businessman and now a talk show host who also talks sense. (Yes, he's black, so jam your racist comments where the sun don't shine. I don't like Obama's policies but his skin does not determine my attitude.)  Cain has dropped hints he may be considering running for office.  We have a couple of years to go and I think other lights may yet shine. Herman Cain: T*H*E New Voice

[From the Right] It is no secret that I have little use for the regime of Team Obama. But, if General McChrystal and/or his staff said the things that they are reported to have said in a Rolling Stone interview, McChrystal and the offending staff members should submit their resignations if these were normal times. Let me repeat the important word -- if. The context of the remarks are also vital. Every military person is entitled to his own personal opinion, but they have a sworn duty serve and protect. Part of that duty is to obey lawful orders and to show proper respect for superiors. By all accounts, General McChrystal is a dedicated and highly skilled officer. It appears that his biggest fault is his penchant for being outspoken.  I can completely understand and empathize with the military being angry, even incensed by Mr. Obama’s incredibly irresponsible declaration of a time table for our withdrawal, and a myriad of other boneheaded declarations from Team Obama.  The decision to announce a time limit has likely already proved deadly to American soldiers. Nonetheless remarks and actions such as those attributed to McChrystal are unacceptable.  And so now because of McChrystal’s intemperance, Mr. Obama finds himself in a Gordian posture. You see, at this moment in time, McChrystal may well be the indispensable man.  McChrystal reportedly provides us with the very best chance of prevailing in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama’s kissy face approach to dealing with our enemies and mooning our friends has resulted in an unparalleled loss of international respect. If we “lose” in Afghanistan, our days of being the leader of the world are over.  Mr. Obama is in an incredibly difficult position; every choice available to him is fraught with peril.  Mr. Obama is perfectly comfortable with keeping Ken Salazar, Sec of Interior, whose nonfeasance permitted BP’s Deep Horizon catastrophe. It remains to be seen if Mr. Obama can swallow his towering ego and keep McChrystal who may be our single best chance of keeping Muslim terrorism bottled up in Afghanistan. I guess it will all hinge on which issue is of the most importance to Mr. Obama. His ego, or Afghanistan? We’ll see. 

(Part II) “Individual wealth is evil. Collective wealth is the only virtue, social justice is the destination and Barack is the shepherd leading us down that path. We must remove the barriers to equality created by capitalism and embrace the righteousness of socialism. Vote Democrat! Vote Union!”  I found this on  NBC Chicago web site, it was a posting submitted by an anonymous poster.  I wonder how many CT fans harbor the same convictions.

The deadline for publishing is 6am
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will delete it and we can't read it.
Menu

Wednesday June 23, 2010

Tuesday June 22, 2010

Whatever emails I don’t get to post today I’ll get to them soon. I hope you understand and won’t call me a name.)

I usually don't try to feed the troll that is the IKC douche bag but that last post, so full of faux concern for the missing iguanas, requires a response. Your pathetic little attempt at humor lost any appeal it may have had last year. How about those IKC bumper stickers? Where are they? I keep looking for them everywhere so that I can express my appreciation for you dirtbags  fellows in person, but I never can find a single one. As for your statement “there are some really sick bastards in the Keys”, you should certainly know that best. Take a look in the mirror to find the nearest one. Pathetic looking SOB, ain’t he?  And its spelled t-a-i-l not tale.

Dear Jury Selector Person:  Please excuse Ed from jury duty because his loyal followers on the CT will go into mass withdrawal if they don't get their daily fix.  This should qualify as "compassionate leave" or "prevention of mental emergencies" or something similar.  Thanks, ~Ed's audience.

The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates.  ~Tacitus

Rare photos of famous people. My favorite is of B.Bardot with what's his name? Video

[Windows 7 does not have the classic setting] Yeah, that's bugging me too.  I'm adapting slowly.  I seem to have missed the menu with the dancing girls, though.  Something to look forward to!

[Trying to work in Mexico] During that six months our Mexican and U.S. attorneys  were working to secure a permanent work visa called a  'FM3'. It was in addition to my U.S. passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same, except hers did not permit her to work.

To apply for the FM3, I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies):
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating that I had no arrest record in the U.S. and no outstanding warrants and, was a citizen in good standing.
7. Finally, I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our 'I am the greatest person on Earth' letter. It was fun to write.

All of the above were in English that had to be  translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations, and our signatures notarized. It produced a  folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side  &
Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about  five hours, accompanied by a Mexican attorney, touring  Mexican government office locations and being photographed  and fingerprinted at least three times at each location, and we remember at least four locations where we were  instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law  and that we were required to obey their laws or face the  consequences. We could not protest any of the government's actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four
thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process.

Kitten meets mirror for the first time.YouTube - Kitten Freaks Himself Out

Howard Livingston's song "The Vandenberg" is to be used during PBS Television's "Changing Seas" tomorrow, Tuesday June 22nd at 7:30 Eastern. WPBT Channel 2 in Southern Florida and www.changingseas.tv around the world. Howard was honored to have been asked to write a song about the ship, and to be one of the few that were able to tour the ship before she was sunk off the coast of Key West.  

To see a sneak preview of this episode, that features the magnificent ship "The Vandenberg" http://www.changingseas.tv/episode_guide.html

OIL SPILL

Continuing his commitment to recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, Governor Charlie Crist will visit  the State Emergency Operations Center today, Monday, June 21, 2010. He will hold a media availability following the visit.

NATIONAL POLITICS

National Inflation Society videos. http://inflation.us/videos.html   

Can't we go back to reading FTR through a Korean language translator? It was so much more interesting.

Obama is hell bent on destroying this nation, his inactions with the Gulf oil spill are inexcusable, the tax on our health insurance is coming in 2011, and the lack of border control and supporting illegal immigrants is disgusting.   Can we make it to the next election?  If we can, who can we vote for?  I do not see an intelligent choice on the horizon.   It is time for the American workers to take to the streets.

"The FTR types are worried Obama wants to take away their guns. In fact, Obama is against improving the regulation of gun stores which is seriously lacking. A gun store is not inspected but every two to five years. The most important thing is spotting straw buyers. This is how many criminals get their guns. Few stores are ever shut down and all an owner has to do is pass it to a relative and the store has a spotless record. I guess there aren't enough drive-by shootings and murders in Chicago yet."

Al Capone is alive and well.  Last fall I watched Glen Beck stand before the cameras and use a 4 foot long 8x8 post as a stand-in for the "railroad tie" reportedly used to beat Chicago high schooler Derrion Albert to death.  This occurred well after the video of the murder went viral, video which plainly showed that the weapons of choice were long boards or perhaps 2x4s grabbed from a nearby construction site, with nary a "railroad tie" in sight.  I have railroad ties around my flower beds.  They're standard length (about 8 feet) and weigh about 150 lbs apiece.  The thought that someone might pick one up and swing it down on another's head is absurd, but that didn't stop Beck.  Brutal as the murder was, long boards apparently weren't sexy enough.  He stood there, not daring to try to lift and swing his "railroad tie" lest he demonstrate such impossibility, but still trying his best to show what a vicious and evil place Chicago really is because, you know, it must have something to do with Obama.

Continuously we see a blinding spotlight directed at the lawless streets of Chicago; kept that way, no doubt, by the conjoined interests of Obama and the NRA.  The minute-minded-militia-types get to prepare for the Mother Of All Self-Righteous Insurrections by buying in truckload quantities, few questions asked.  The criminals and gangbangers and their "straw buyers", the psychos, the suicidal, the spurned lover who flies into an uncontrollable rage will all do their part to fulfill what must undoubtedly be Obama's vision: to jack up that murder rate.  It's been illegal to possess or purchase a handgun (unless specifically authorized by local, state, or federal law) within the Chicago city limits since 1982, although a Supreme Court challenge ruling may strike that law down at any moment.  I guess Obama will be pulling for repeal.

I haven't seen much use of the term "reality check" lately, so perhaps it's time for one.  Beginning in the late 1960's and continuing throughout the 80's, Chicago's murder rate averaged about 750 per year.  Starting in the early 90's as part of a continuing national trend, it began a gradual decline and over the last 10 years the average stands at 531.  There has been a further precipitous decline since 2005 and if we look only at the last 5 years the figure is 465.  Another perusal of the facts indicates that the vast majority of these murders involved gang-on-gang-related violence and are largely confined within that subculture.  For example, in 2005 the murder rate among blacks in Chicago was 34 per 100,000.  Among Hispanics the figure was 11 per 100,000 while whites were done away with at rate of 3 per 100,000.  It should come as no surprise to anyone that in Chicago blacks and Hispanics make up the bulk of the population in the poorer inner-city neighborhoods were gang crime is most prevalent.  Poverty breeds crime, always has.   

The news media's (I use the term very loosely) continual demand for footage of balloon boy or a water skiing squirrel can't be met so they pour gasoline on a smoldering fire in order to fan the flames of interest.  This lends a gold leaf veneer of legitimacy to the shrieking harpies on the right, or so they claim.  Every time a school kid gets blown away in a gang crossfire, it's worldwide news, but the actual statistics that prove that fewer kids are dying are ignored.  In the 2009-10 school years there were a total of 11 fatal school-related crimes nationwide.  The Derrion Albert case was the only one that occurred in Illinois.  I don't think this amounts to an epidemic of violence suddenly breaking out because liberals are in power, so why is Beck jumping on a chair and acting like a chimpanzee trying get attention?  I think most of us are smart enough to figure that out for ourselves.  The most important thing is not spotting straw buyers, its spotting straw men. 

A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.

[If we secure the border, you all won’t have any reason to support ‘comprehensive immigration reform]  So border security is a political bargaining chip to him while it's a matter of life and death to a lot of people who live there.  That's despicable.

 [The President did not allow other countries to help us with the oil because of the Jones Act]  Which has been set aside in a matter of hours or days in other national emergencies.  No excuse for this.

The deadline for publishing is 6am
Include Coconut Telegraph in the subject line of your email or our spam filters will
delete it and we can't publish it.
Menu

Tuesday June 22, 2010

Monday June 21, 2010

[First Day of Summer] Today is the 
Summer Solstice, 
Jun 21 2010 at 7:28 AM EDT. 

[Wisteria Island] I thought we all live in a national marine sanctuary. I thought we all live in an area of critical state concern. Why are we even considering development on Wisteria Island?

I just returned from a vacation that was kind of a "walk about" of the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, and Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas). I saw nothing remotely as beautiful as what we came home to here in the Keys.

Thoughts.
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.
A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.
Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
All generalizations are false, including this one.

[No Name Electric] I applaud your interest in obtaining facts from the source instead of hearsay. I think you are the first person who has shown an interest in facts rather than relying on rumor and innuendo. Ask to read the No Name Key Property Owner’s Association, Inc.’s mission statement.

Contact any member or officer of the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) and ask your questions.

[Keys Disease] We the people in the Florida Keys expect perfection out of each other, but are not willing to pay for it. An example is the drugstore manager who insists on a drug test because it is company policy then proceeds to get a DUI on the way home. That’s typical Florida Keys.

I still contend you my be able to get the people out of the Keys one day, but you will never get the Keys out of the people, never, never. We’ll act this way no matter where we go. That is why I love this place so much. Once again I have proven my point,

PS And the policy makers here are as always wrong.

[Ancient, traditional injection-molded polyurethane horn of the Zulu people]  Those Zulu were far more advanced than I ever suspected. Who knew they had polyurethanes out there in ancient times to make vuvuzelas?

[No Name Electric] What about the Galleon Bay development on no name Key? Is that kaput or dormant, waiting for utilities?

[2 Stolen Iguanas]  I sincerely hope your pets are returned safely and soon.  Anyone who has loved an animal can understand how desperate you must feel. Classified Ads > Lost & Found

My dad got an Internet TV in Miami, and not only did it become extremely expensive after the 6th month but every time the Internet went down so did his TV. Then he remembered that if a hurricane hit us he wouldn't be able to watch TV so he switched back to DirecTV where all he has to do is connect his generator to the DirecTV box and his TV screen and he'll have TV service. While everyone else with U-VERSE and Comcast will be out.

That's why I love my daddy, cause he's smart! Happy Father's Day dad. I'm glad to be your daughter!

[Stolen Pet Iguanas] I would look no further than the IKC.

22 yr old Omar Martinez Moya of Hialeah converted the two bedroom house at 65 Park Dr in Key Largo into a full-blown marijuana grow lab.  This is the future of Key Largo, and eventually the rest of the Keys. Monroe County is going to be nothing more than one big grow house for the crooks from up north. With the money-thirsty real estate agents and property sellers in the Keys not caring to whom they sell, Monroe is ripe. I think the only ones who can afford to buy here are buying with drug or other illegal money. Monroe's day-tripper neighbors from the north already treat Monroe’s citizens, environment and lifestyle with complete disrespect and abuse.

The rest of the local druggies busted last week:
6621 Maloney Ave #26 in Stock Island. 74 yr old William Muir Dechenel (trailer park owner is Rian and Philip Townsend)

127 Airport Rd Tavernier.  42 yr old Marilee Jo Dodge (home owner is Dewind Rentals LLC , 9150 96th Ave, Zeeland, Mi

49464 Greg and Becky Dewind, Dewind Airport, 899 Lobster Ln, Key Largo

[Anonymous] Here's the best reason pestering Deer Ed to p