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

Tuesday November 30, 2010

I made this cutting board out of 5 native species of wood from here on Big Pine. They include mahoe, mahogany, slash pine, Jamaica dogwood and lignum vitae.

[The Sound of Music--or not] South Florida Symphony Orchestra In Trouble. The show will not go on, and financial troubles continue to plague the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. This week's concerts scheduled for Wed., Thurs., and Sun. have been postponed until March. Symphony: Three concerts 'postponed' | KeysNews.com

[Plastic] Did you know? Plastic bags are among the top two items of debris found most often in coastal cleanups (Ocean Conservancy).

Plastic bags wrap around living corals, quickly "suffocating" and killing them. (U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Plastic pieces outweigh surface zooplankton in the Central North Pacific by a factor of 6-1. (Algalita Marine Research Foundation).

Plastic pieces can attract and hold hydrophobic elements like PCB and DDT up to one-million times background levels. As a result, floating plastic is like a poison pill. (Algalita Marine Research Foundation)

Approximately 500 nautical miles off the California coast sits a growing "plastic island," a gargantuan patch of floating plastic trash held together by currents stretching across the northern Pacific almost as far as Japan. This "plastic island" is made up of about 7 billion pounds of plastic garbage and measures about twice the size of Texas.

Each year, enough trash, most of it plastics, floats down the Los Angeles River to fill the Rose Bowl two stories deep. (Los Angeles Times, "Altered Oceans").

Of 500,000 albatross chicks born each year on Midway Atoll, about 200,000 die of starvation. Adult albatrosses mistake plastic trash for food and end up feeding it to their chicks. (L.A. Times)

On a single day in 2007, nearly 400,000 volunteers around the world picked up more than 6 million pounds of trash. A majority of the items were single-use disposable plastic items, such as plastic bags and Styrofoam containers. (Ocean Conservancy International)

Since water keeps the plastic cool and algae blocks ultraviolet rays, every little piece of plastic manufactured in the past 50 years that made it into the ocean is still out there somewhere. (Research Triangle Institute)

[Made in China] “If you want to buy American then do not buy any Apple Products” If you want to buy American don't buy any computer products! That's right, no desktops, no laptops, no monitors, no keyboards, no hard drives, memory, not even a lowly mouse. Nothing. Not a single computer component is made in USA. How's that for a revelation?

While we are at that don't buy any electronics at all. No TVs, no CD players, no DVD players, no MP3 players, none of the gaming systems, just don't buy anything that includes any electronic components because not a single consumer electronic device is made in USA.

On the same topic, walk the rows of any Walmart, the only things made in USA are household chemicals and very large plastic items (shelves etc) because they are cheap to produce, require zero skills and are difficult to transport. And to think that only 15 years ago, on every Walmart, there was a sign that read Made in USA. What a difference a few years makes.

As of 2010 USA makes absolutely nothing when it comes to consumer products. The only things still made in USA are weapons and weapon technology, a bit of heavy machinery (though that's being moved offshore as well) and Boeing planes (though if 787 Dreamliner fiasco continues, not for long) and large, unreliable vehicles.

In fact, my daughter just joined Girl Scouts. The vest they sell you is Made in USA (no doubt, by jail labor - judging by its quality). Everything else, all iron-on labels, tags and accessories are made in China. That includes the US flag label they wear. You know what was printed on that US flag packaging? "Wavy flag, made in China". Yep, that's what it is now, just a wavy flag.

[Sloan] Looking through the mirror to learn about self and schizophrenia that occurs in 1 out of every 100 people .
 
Looking at, not through, the mirror is where the angels started me out when they abducted me in early 1987, after I prayed for help and offered my life to human service. "Hypocrite, fist take the beam out of your own eye" became my mantra for many years, ruthlessly applied to me by the angels whom I often accused of selecting the worst piece of shit they could find, to see if they could do something with it; if so, perhaps they would have more success with less worse pieces of shit. You do not want me to tell you the ways the angels showed me what a huge piece of shit I was, and they still get on me when I do something to stir their ire.

Given willingness and a great deal of courage in the author of yesteday's comment, and three or four hours to do it in a setting where we would not be interrupted by telephones, visitors, and so forth, with some help from the angels, I could introduce the author to his/her own schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is in all people, but it only manifests visibly in the way psychiatry views it in perhaps 1 in 100 people. The demonic twin also is in all people, but there is no classification for that in psychiatry, although religion sometimes comes close to giving the twin its due. Even Jesus had a demonic twin, which was the point of the report of the three temptations in the wilderness. If he had been taken into what his mother had done to him, which his pejorative speaking to and of her in the Gospels gives away, he would have come face to face with his own schizophrenia. 
 
What you who keep pecking at me like a body being ravaged by turkey vultures might wish try is to look through me to what I write. Try to ignore me, try to sit with what is on the page and let it speak to you through your thoughts, feelings, etc. Then try to stop thinking like a human. Try to start being a radar dish, which receives information useful to you. If you keep pecking at me, you will never get there.

You can see today's "Smorgashborg from the cuckoo's nest" post by clicking on the link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com. Bon apertif.

The post from the Russian telling all us Americans that we’re a bunch of dumb-asses is a hoax. This guy does not work in IT or he would know that IT stands for Information Technology, not Internet Technology. (Ed: That was the dumbass editor’s fault. The Russian wrote IT and the dumbass Editor, me, tried to clarify it and got it wrong.)

[Eat more peacocks] Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pheasants are pretty also. We non-vegans eat them. Peacocks taste good too. You raise them, you eat them. That is called agriculture.

[Kids Christmas Party] The Big Pine Key Chapter of the Women of the Moose will hold the 29^th Annual Children’s Pizza with Santa Christmas Party on Saturday December 11 at 11AM.  There will be cookies, pizza, which are all donated to this event by A Slice Of Paradise Pizza on Summerland Key, sodas, Christmas stockings, a gift for each child from Santa Clause himself, individual pictures with Santa and the children and several free raffles for bicycles, saving bonds and other donated items will be at the end.

We would like to invite all of the children of our community, from infant to 10 years of age, to join us.  All children must be signed up in advance by December 4.  Just drop by the Moose Lodge on Wilder Road and sign up your child or call the project chairperson, Dorothy Mauriello at 305-797-3009.  If there are any of the Moms that would like to donate baked goods to this party we will be glad to have them.  Please have them at the Moose lodge on Friday afternoon, December 10 or at the latest by 9:00 AM Saturday of the party. Bulletin Board

Always buy your Chinese crap from an American!

The Iguana Killers Club at its next board meeting will be taking a vote to determine if the IKC should get involved with the non-indigenous peacock invasion. The Peruvian tree chickens have been a good source of fresh poultry of years. The feathers have a very high market value.

Ed, you’re a joke. (Ed: Ha ha.)

[Mark Twain] On this date in 1835, America's iconographic humorist and writer Mark Twain (née Samuel Clemens) was born. His nom de plume was inspired by the call, "mark twain," that river workers made to signal a safe passage of two fathoms' depth.

Twain's works included the prose poem "The War Prayer",  a scathing indictment of war and religious hypocrisy." The Mysterious Stranger, debunks Providence. Pudd'nhead Wilson begins each chapter with an aphorism from "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar," including: "Faith is believing what you know ain't so." "There is no humor in heaven." "The man with a new idea is a Crank until the idea succeeds." He called the Book of Mormon "chloroform in print." He wrote Christian Science, exposing Mary Baker Eddy's "desert vacancy, as regards thought." Twain's sardonic humor increasingly coated social criticism.

“I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious--except he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force.”  ~Mark Twain

In tribute to this brilliant man, from PBS, "The War Prayer"

[Distracted Driving] The US Dept. of Transportation wants to ban cell phone usage while driving. They can't jam signals, the FCC wouldn't let them. The head honcho says over 5,000 have died because of distracted driving. In my book distracted driving is not just cell phone usage or texting, but also includes eating or drinking while driving, being distracted by a back seat driver or (if your lucky) by someone sitting next to you and your engaged in some hanky-panky. 

[Fashion Police of the Old Testament] "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety; not with broided [braided] hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array." (I Timothy 2:9)
 
The Old Testament indeed prohibits cross dressing: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all who do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 22:5)

Are women's pantsuits and men's earrings an abomination? Are Christian women breaking God's law by wearing gold wedding rings to church? Or pearls or braids or expensive clothing? Or is this all part of the biblical plan to keep women in their place?

[Zeitgeist, The Greatest Story Ever Told] This film is two hours long, but it might be the best two hours you have spent on the internet lately.  Be sure to watch all three segments.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kHhc67GopM 

Kingsford the piglet. The Piglet

[A Bomb] On July 24, 1944, 30,000 US Marines landed on the beaches of Tinian.  Eight days later, over 8,000 of the 8,800 Japanese soldiers on the island were dead (vs. 328 Marines), and four months later the Seabees had built the busiest airfield of WWII - dubbed North Field -  enabling B-29 Superfortresses to launch air attacks on the Philippines, Okinawa, and mainland Japan.

Late in the afternoon of August 5, 1945, a B-29 was maneuvered over a bomb loading pit, then after lengthy preparations, taxied to the east end of North Field's main runway, Runway Able, and at 2:45am in the early morning darkness of August 6, took off.

The B-29 was piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets of the US Army Air Force, who had named the plane after his mother, Enola Gay.  The crew named the bomb they were carrying Little Boy.  6½ hours later at 8:15am Japan time, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima . 

Three days later, in the pre-dawn hours of August 9, a B-29 named Bockscar (a pun on "boxcar" after its flight commander Capt. Fred Bock), piloted by Major Charles Sweeney took off from Runway Able.  Finding its primary target of Kokura obscured by clouds, Sweeney proceeded to the secondary target of Nagasaki, over which, at 11:01am, bombardier Kermit Beahan released the atomic bomb dubbed Fat Man.

Here is "Atomic Bomb Pit #1" where Little Boy was loaded onto Enola Gay. There are pictures displayed in the pit, now glass-enclosed.  This one shows Little Boy being hoisted into Enola Gay's bomb bay.

[Reparations] In November, after her fourth-grade son was allegedly slapped by his teacher at a Kansas City, Mo., elementary school (son, black; teacher, white), Lisa Henry Bowen submitted a 40-page list of reparations she expects from President Obama and two dozen other officials. Included in the many demands: $1.25 million in cash, $13,500 in Wal-Mart gift cards, free college education, Disney World vacations, private tennis lessons, an African safari, her mortgage paid off, home remodeling, nine years of free medical and dental coverage, and a nine-year "consulting contract" with the school district at $15,000 a month. Anticipating criticism that she had gone too far, she added that opponents can "kiss my entire black ass! I haven't begun to go far enough!”

What to plant and what to do in your December garden. Brought to you by the Monroe County Extension Service/ Univ of Florida. http://monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/Hort/Gardening%20Calendar/December.pdf

[Spirituality] Are there any thinkers in the house?  Lest anyone here confuse religion with spirituality:  one is a man-made tool and the other, a true connection with the Universe.  For your consideration:

"The Christian bible, like other bibles, having been written in an age when science was but budding into life, and philosophy had attained but a feeble growth, should be expected to teach many things incompatible with the principles of modern science. And accordingly it is found to contain, like other bibles, numerous statements so obviously at war with present established scientific truths that almost any school-boy, at the present day, can demonstrate their falsity.  That the Christian bible, in some respects, is superior to some of the other bibles, but only to the extent to which the age in which it was written was superior in intelligence and natural mental capacity to the era in which the older bibles were penned; and that this superiority consists not its more exalted religious conceptions, but only in the fact that, being of more modern origin, the progress of mind had worn away some of the legendary rubbish of the past. Being written in a later and more enlightened age, it is consequently a little less encrusted with mythological tradition and oriental imagery. Though not free from these elements, it possesses them in less degree. And by comparing Christ's history with those of the oriental Gods, it will be found.

1. That he taught no new doctrine or moral precept.
2. That he inculcated the same religion and morality, which he elaborated, as other moral teachers, to great extremes.
3. That Christ differs so little in his character, preaching, and practical life from some of the oriental Gods, that no person whose mind is not deplorably warped and biased by early training can call one divine while he considers the other human. That if Christ was a God, then all were Gods." ~excerpted from the Preface of The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors, by Kersey Graves, 1875

[More bleach in the gene pool] UPS or terrorist?

[Peacocks on the move] These peacocks are being moved to a relative's farm. Need a last minute Christmas gift? New business: Peacocks in Paradise? http://cbs4.com/local/michele.sumner.peacocks.2.2026700.html  

What tree are you? What date we're you born on?  Birthday Tree! - Care2 eCards, Free Online Animated Greeting Cards

[Polluted Water] The Supreme Court won't stop Florida water managers from getting permits to pump contaminated water from farmland into Lake Reconvene. The high court refused to hear an appeal from the Friends of the Everglades, Florida Wildlife Federation and other groups. The U.S. Court of Appeals had agreed with the Environmental Protection Agency that transferring polluted water from one navigable body to another does not require a permit.   

Celebrity Deaths: 2010's Fallen Stars. A bad year for some of the great ones!http://comcast.eonline.com/photos/gallery.jsp?galleryUUID=1997#102411

[Beggar] It looks like my idea of becoming a street beggar for $300 plus per day, tax free, may be my future. Or like most will do, go underground with a small sell or swap routine.

High-Tech Credit Card Thieves. http://video.foxnews.com/v/4439754/high-tech-credit-card-thieves

[Making a Point] It occurs to me that perhaps some posters may not know how to make their point. For example if a poster is convinced that the progressive tax system is in the nation’s best interest, and if he wants to convince other persons of that, then he might begin as follows. “I believe that the progressive tax system is in the nation’s best interest because …”  Or perhaps: “The progressive tax system is the best way to improve federal revenues because …”   Or even “The progressive tax system is the equitable method of funding government because …” 

You see, the idea is to state reasons to support your beliefs. I hope this helps you out.

Toys for Tots Motorcycle run at BPK on Sunday. Sammysam, Alex and friend.

Lionfish Derby results and more. Educating with the Monroe County Extension Service. November issue: Master Gardener Program. http://monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/Ed%20w%20Ext%20Newsletter/EwE%202010/November_2010.pdf  

NATIONAL POLITICS

I turned on FOX News the other day.  I found it very interesting that they referred to our President as Mr. Obama and the Governor who quit after half a term as Governor Palin!   Fair and balanced?   No matter how much I disliked President Bush, I never referred to him as Mr. Bush.  It's a matter of decency, patriotism and respect for Democracy, where the majority of voters elected him as our President.

[Meet the Liberal Elite]  Funny video breaks down all the liberal talking points. Get some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZrqdZFFb5c

[Pay Freeze] I applaud President Obama’s plan to freeze federal employees pay. It’s very sound judgment in these lean but improving times.  Republicans will say it was their idea and mention the times they "discussed it", but let’s be honest, President Bush didn’t do it so its at least moving past the plan of good intentions. Well done Mr. President. We can trust the Right to say the idea was all theirs. Its mandatory of them to not give credit where its due even on positive steps. Lets see how many Republicans come out on national TV and say, “Well done Mr President.” I’m guessing very few.

Mr Obama’s incompetence never seems to surprise us. His administration is now responsible for the biggest information leak (wikileaks) in the history of the USA. What a disgrace this man has become.

[From the Right] The other day there was a posting in support of the progressive tax theory. The poster offered some data in support of that position and seemed to make some rational arguments with a minimum of vituperation. The following day I complimented that person and then posted my contrary view. I then invited the poster to respond to my position. In his/her response the poster became abrasive and failed utterly to even try to dispute my views. Instead the poster chided me for even contemplating the idea of “fairness” in tax matters. The poster mocked me for being a “naïve” old fart who should know better. He/she characterized my views as "laughable", “crap”, "whining", and "rubbish". I must confess that I was disappointed, but not surprised nor offended with the tone of the response.  He or she is right on one count. It is naïve of this old fart, or anyone else, to expect that any Democrat or liberal or progressive myrmidon could possibly string rational thoughts together when engaged in fantasizing over the notion of getting their hot hands on money that some else has earned. Their credo is redistribution of wealth. Their sacrament is tax the rich. Their mantra is “gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.” I must note that my critic embraced the Democrat/liberal/progressives view that life is not “fair”. One must believe from his/her posting that even the poster believes the progressive income tax is truly “not fair.” I gathered from the posting that he/she also embraces the notion that even though it is not fair, it is the way of the world, and therefore must be tolerated. On that too, I disagree. Indeed, to the liberal/progressive ethos, life is fair only when vengeance in being wreaked on those who have more. To these greedy true believers, seizing what is not theirs is “fair”, all they have to do is to want. A demand for gratification soon follows. I wonder if my critic feels that it is fair to take up a gun, and to take money away from any other person because you have little money and your victim has what you want.  That notion is at the heart and soul of the entitlement mentality.  For example: “I want to go to college. I can’t afford it now, so it’s only fair that someone else pay for it.”  ”So, gimme your money!”  “I can’t find the job that I want, all the jobs that are available aren’t good enough for me, and so it’s only fair that I get unemployment insurance for two years.” ”So, gimme your money!” “I decided not to buy health insurance, now I need it.” “So, gimme your money!” As I said in the first posting, the notion of “fair” is really not the issue. The real issue is: what is the best way to dig our way out of this mess? I think that we can agree that we must radically slash government spending. The Democrats, Team Obama, and the liberal/progressive true believers pay only lip service that that truth.  The idea of simply freezing anything governmental at existing levels is farcical. Government has become obscenely obese feeding on your money.  Mr. Obama proudly today announced a 2 year pay “freeze”. That is simply more Team Obama feel good speak.  It’s analogous to Mme. Antoinette’s infamous “Let them eat cake” utterance. If Team Obama is serious about debt cutting, they should demand that Congress slash all government programs by 10% or more.  We certainly can do without bike paths and research into bovine flatulence. Each of those government payouts has cost us and continues to cost us truck loads of your hard earned money. Even though the savings from those foolish federal projects would not be much relatively speaking,  it would be a start.  He should immediately dedicate all unused TARP and stimulus funds to paying down the debt/deficit. He certainly could make a great symbolic gesture by slashing his travel and cutting his personal staff. Team Obama should post a white paper demanding that all Democrat legislators vow not to introduce any new earmarks or embark on any new capital improvement projects unless they are urgently required for safety reasons. All entitlement programs should be slashed by at least 5%. He should immediately demand at least a  3 year increase in the SS retirement age and seriously contemplate means testing. He should speak out against the Dem proposal to send each of us old farts $250 as an unlawful supplement to our SS pensions. If it comes to his desk, he should veto it. He should immediately urge Congress to repeal Obamacare because it is certain to burn our economy.

For purposes of this discussion, the real questions are, how efficacious is the progressive income tax?  And should we actually raise taxes? First, the Obama tax progressive tax hike will actually cut federal revenues. Beginning in 1930 Hoover kicked off a parade of sharp tax increases. Federal revenues plummeted, the economy further tanked. Then in 1937 FDR again raised taxes sharply in an attempt to balance the budget. Once tax increases took effect, the economy collapsed. The Depression was broken only because we were forced into WW2. Please remember that during many of FDR’s years, the high marginal tax rates exceeded 90%. Did the economy prosper? No, the Depression endured. Then in 1945 Mr. Truman and Congress cut marginal tax rates and surprise, surprise, rather than sliding back into recession as many had feared, the economy soared toward full-employment. Of course, we all remember JFK’s famous call to cut taxes. He was right, and it worked.  Clinton raised taxes at the tail end of his recession when the economy was in good recovery. In spite of that, for a time, the economy grew.  Then the rate of growth declined and a modest tax cut was passed. Then, predictably, the economic growth improved by a full percentage point faster in his second term vs. his first term. Check that out boys and girls, for a third time tax cuts preceded an improvement in the economy. Remember that during the Clinton admin he had a Republican Congress. In those days, Republicans were committed to government austerity, the economy soared. The Republicans ultimately lost their way and began to spend insanely, their spending was exceeded only by the Democrats who won Congress in 2007. We are now suffering the consequences of that unbridled spending by both parties. today, the Republicans are again committed to government austerity.

In the interests of brevity that’s enough for now, but there is strong evidence from the Bush years that add proof to the concept that low taxes improve federal revenues and improve the economy. If you ask I will prove it. If you are a liberal/progressive or a Democrat, and if you are pain averse, don't ask for it.   And so, my Deer Friends that is my opinion.  

NO NAME KEY ELECTRIC

[Long-winded "Ronny.Brown" poster] Talk about spreading misinformation!  Two volunteers for the USFWS have observed Stock Island Tree Snails on both sides of Watson on No Name Key in recent years, so you don't know what you are talking about.  Please provide copies of the so-called research that you are quoting from.  The more I hear from you pro-power people, the sicker I get of you.  I am so glad that I did not move to that island, even though we considered it at one time.

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Tuesday November 30, 2010

Monday November 29, 2010

Leslie Nielson is dead. Pilot, “Surely, you can’t be serious.” Nielsen, “Don’t call me Shirley.”

[The Old Testament] There were a lot of very sick people back then, but there are more today than ever. Bless you, bless you!

[Sloan] Today's utterly off the wall continuation of yesterday's "multiple personality disorder" serving examines the pros and cons of using MRI to study my brain and prove or disprove it functions normally or abnormally. This subject should be of great interest to people who think I'm crazy, hate me, hope I will move out of the Keys, be abducted by aliens permanently, or just die. It might or might not be of some interest to anyone else. What can I say? S**t happens. Anyway, you can read all about it by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com.
 
I have known some psychiatrists, a few very well. Three came to me for help. I also treated psychologists, clinical social workers, licensed psychological counselors, addiction counselors, and alternative practitioners who received no recognition from mainstream and sometimes were prosecuted by mainstream for practicing their trade/art. Until you wrote today, I had never heard of using MRI to diagnose mental illness of any kind. Even if there are doctors who know how to use MRI for that, I would be very surprised to find one in the Keys.
 
I found a 2005 report by the University Pennsylvania claiming close to 90 percent accuracy in a lab test using MRI to detect pre-onset of schizophrenia mostly in younger people. Also found a 2010 article by NAMI (National Association of Mentally Ill) acknowledging U of Penn report, but not saying there is a definitive way to use MRI for that purpose, or to diagnose any mental illness. I know a couple in Birmingham, the man is diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, the woman bipolar, who have been very active in NAMI on the national level. I spent a great deal of time around them during the black hell hole time, and I lived in their home several months in the fall of 2005 and early winter of 2006, when I was stationed in Birmingham after my father died. They never mentioned MRI for diagnosing mental illness. If MRI was being used to diagnose mental illness, NAMI would know of it.   
 

To fearlessly look through the mirror, is to reflect on ones self from the anonymity and the safety of a different face seen reflected in the looking-glass.  Did you know that Schizophrenia is as common as it is?  1 in every 100 people we all know have this illness:  

As for re-incarnation, we were all Thomas Jefferson and Mary Queen of Scots and all the street urchins no one remembers the names of as well as Judas and Hitler et al.  And we all carry the torches and burdens of those personalities who came before us.  Re-incarnation is not about picking out a person in history and laying claim to his or her accomplishments and valor as our own.  All that was is contained in all that is right now and all that will be. http://helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm

Sloan, you've taken all the good historical figures.  Leave some for the rest of us.  You can't be the re-incarnation of every well know historical figure at your slightest whim.  Wasn't being Judas good enough?  Can I have Abe or George Washington, or are those yours for next week?  Between you and all your consorts, you have Mary Magdalene, Judas, Joan of Arc, Hitler (twice?), Jefferson, and more.  When will you decide to tell us you're Buddha?  Darn, shouldn't have given that away.  PS, are there any other Thomas Jeffersons out there?  I wanted to be Cleopatra Queen of the Nile, is that still available?  I'm pretty sure that was me...no, wait!  I was High Priestess of Avalon!  Yes, that's it, and my husband was the Great Merlin!  Cool, we can all make this up as we go along just like Sloan.  C'mon everyone, who were you?

The United States of Amarijuana. How Marijuana Got Mainstreamed - TIME  .

[Texas' epidemic of whooping cough] That’s exactly my point. As a matter of population protection, mandatory quarantine, or physical restraint and testing for everybody  coming in anywhere from anywhere.

[War machines] Recruiting robots for combat. War Machines: Recruiting Robots for Combat | CommonDreams.org

[Looking for Great Pork Chops] Try Bubba's BBQ in Marathon. They have a great Pan Fried Pork Chop dinner that is sure to please and they have good prices and friendly service. Several people here on the CT have commented on how good it is. The number is 289-4BBQ

Here's our Greatest Generation in action.  Most of these guys were drafted at about 18 years old.  They saved the world for all us slackers. http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/03/18/captured-blog-the-pacific-and-adjacent-theaters/

[The Man Test] This is a test for men only, and all real men will answer C to all of these questions. However, women will also benefit by reviewing them so that they get to understand men and thereby enrich their own lives.

1. Alien beings from a highly advanced society visit the Earth, and you are the first human they encounter. As a token of intergalactic friendship, they present you with a small but incredibly sophisticated device that is capable of curing all disease, providing an infinite supply of clean energy, wiping out hunger and poverty, and permanently eliminating oppression and violence all over the entire earth. You decide to:
A. Present it to the President of the United States.
B. Present it to the Secretary General of the United Nations.
C. Take it apart.
2. As you grow older, what lost quality of your youthful life do you miss the most?
A. Innocence.
B. Idealism.
C. Cherry bombs.
3. When is it okay to kiss another male?
A. When you wish to display simple and pure affection without regard for narrow-minded social conventions.
B. When he is the Pope. (Not on the lips.)
C. When he is your brother and you are Al Pacino and this is the only really sportsmanlike way to let him know that, for business reasons, you have to have him killed.
4. In your opinion, the ideal pet is:
A. A cat.
B. A dog.
C. A dog that eats cats.
5. You have been seeing a woman for several years. She's attractive and intelligent, and you always enjoy being with her. One leisurely Sunday afternoon the two of you are taking it easy. You're watching a football game; she's reading the papers when she suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, tells you that she thinks she really loves you, but, she can no longer bear the uncertainty of not knowing where your relationship is going. She says she's not asking whether you want to get married; only whether you believe that you have some kind of future together.
What do you say?
A. That you sincerely believe the two of you do have a future, but you don't want to rush it.
B. That although you also have strong feelings for her, you cannot honestly say that you'll be ready anytime soon to make a lasting commitment, and you don't want to hurt her by holding out false hope.
C. That you cannot believe the Broncos called a draw play on third and seventeen.
6. Okay, so you have decided that you truly love a woman and you want to spend the rest of your life with her, sharing the joys and the sorrows the world has to offer, come what may. How do you tell her?
A. You take her to a nice restaurant and tell her after dinner.
B. You take her for a walk on a moonlit beach, and you say her name, and when she turns to you, with the sea breeze blowing through her hair and the stars in her eyes, you tell her.
C. Tell her what?
7. One weekday morning your wife wakes up feeling ill and asks you to get your three children ready for school.
Your first question to her is:
A. "Do they need to eat or anything?"
B. "They're in school already?"
C. "There are three of them?"
8. When is it okay to throw away a set of veteran underwear?
A. When it has turned the color of a dead whale and developed new holes so large that you're not sure which ones were originally intended for your legs.
B. When it is down to eight loosely connected underwear molecules and has to be handled with tweezers.
C. It is never okay to throw away veteran underwear. A real guy checks the garbage regularly in case somebody, and we are not naming names here, but this would be his wife, is quietly trying to discard his underwear.
9. What is the human race's single greatest achievement?
A. Democracy.
B. Religion.
C. Remote control.
10. What, in your opinion, is the most reasonable explanation for the fact that Moses led the Israelites all over the place for forty years before they finally got to the Promised Land?
A. He was being tested.
B. He wanted them to really appreciate the Promised Land when they finally got there.
C. He refused to ask for directions to Ireland!

[Russian Mafia] Since you are Russian, I don't blame you for being upset and I'll give you a break for blaming rednecks.  The truth is there's an ever growing segment of our population who've been raised to believe that everything is someone else's fault.  It couldn't possibly be that they've messed up their own lives with bad decisions, somebody (read: government) should fix all their problems and smooth life's road for them.  Our Greatest Generation has tried to make life better for their children, resulting in a lot of them thinking they deserve it with no personal effort.  Fewer and fewer have any interest in earning that better life.  Pride is taken from what you conned out of others, not what you worked for yourself.  It’s pathetic.

[Leviticus] Whoever keeps trying to make a point by quoting this Old Testament book is eventually going to tick off our Jewish brethren. AIPAC(?) and Mossad may visit one day.

[Eat more peacocks] Are you crazy? What in God's name possesses you to encourage killing and eating this most beautiful creature, when it is not necessary for your sustenance? I believe the original idea put forth by some agency that they be relocated, not killed.

I don't even know why such an idea would come up. What damage do they do? Tell me please, because I just don't understand why anyone would want to rid the islands of this most exotic, extremely beautiful birds. It's not indigenous to the Keys -- so what? Go catch some snakehead fish, who really will decimate fish species in the Keys and other parts of the country. Oh, it’s easier to shoot and kill? Too much trouble to lend yourself to an important cause? Ignorant, stupid, schmuck. I am sick to death of all the shoot 'em up types. “Yeah, let's go find ourselves somethin' to kill.” As if there isn't enough killing and maiming going on.

This creature is what you want to kill and eat? You and all those like you deserve to be stalked, shot, killed and given to the gators. They'd love it and so would I. Some humans do not deserve the name human. More like monster.

Help save the Big Pine Key peacocks. Ask questions, demand answers, and don’t give up.

Homage to the Peacock and All Wildlife on Big Pine Key
A great beacon shone down from the sky
And what did it leave the creatures of Big Pine?
Some brave souls to protect them from people that hate. 
You live on a wildlife refuge for heaven’s sake.
The animals were here first but they let us stay.
So I guess if you don’t like them then just move away.

Behold the most white trash family photo ever taken.

[Thomas Jefferson] In his Notes on Virginia, Jefferson wrote: "Millions of innocent men, women and children since the introduction of Christianity have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned. Yet have we not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." The Deist wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." Jefferson, who contemptuously rejected the trinity concept and regarded Jesus as a human teacher only, made a 46-page extraction of the teachings of Jesus that he accepted, discarding the rest.

As President, Jefferson issued his famous letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, explaining that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment builds "a wall of separation between church and state." He refused to issue any days of prayer or thanksgiving, believing civil powers alone were conferred on public officials.

Could space farmers grow crops on other planets?  Would you like to learn to grow the right plant in the right place in the Florida Keys? Check out the Monroe County Master Gardener Program info on the Coconut Telegraph Bulletin Board. SPACE.com -- Could Space Farmers Grow Crops On Other Planets?

The Big Pine restaurant has great pork chops.  They are not the double thick chops that you were describing however they are pretty damn good.  

[The Old Testament] "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division." (Luke 12:49-51)

Even if our spelling isn't correct we know good food and over-priced drinks when we experience them. Should we have spelling and grammatical errors I'm sure someone will be happy to correct them.

[98.7 FM Country Radio] Thanks for holding off on the Christmas carols, please do it as long as you can.

[Restaurant Review] Boondocks. Always good and always there every Sunday with dollar mimosas and 39 cent wings. Wait staff is prompt and friendly. Of course the place was packed for Sunday football so there was no lack of entertainment.  You’ve got to love the football fanatics at a bar. Bathrooms are clean and I love the new salt scrub in the bathroom. They do frown upon taking the bowl into the unisex bathroom for your own private body scrub. With the high cost of living in the Keys we have to find white trash spa moments when ever and where ever possible. Thank you to Boondocks for our thrifty yet quality outing.

Bad day.

Now we know that mental illness runs in Sloan's family. What a surprise.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park turns 50 video. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/25/1943625/aquatic-gem.html

Buying a home in the Keys is a buyer beware zone and also a lesson in hard knocks if you are not abreast of all the special codes we live under. Knowledge is power. Habitat rule blocks flood insurance | KeysNews.com 

[Springsteen] "The Boss" (the one that actually exists) gives a great interview with Edward Norton. Listen here!

[HP Customer Service] Thanks for showing us the video, I am no longer going to buy HP products. If they can't help and support our troops, I can no longer support that company.

If you want to buy American then do not buy any Apple Products.  Everything, every single one, is made in China or South East Asia.  They are imported here for an astronomical increase to revenue for them.  They are made for pennies on the dollar. 

The only jobs that Apple has in America are the design team to make their next generation gadgets.

Holiday pie recipes. Holiday Pie Recipes | Taste of Home Recipes 

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Sarah Palin going to North Korea] Sarah wants all the publicity like Jane Fonda got.

[Fair Taxes] You forget who you are dealing with. All arguments concerning those who have and those who have not always tend to go greedy. The peasant class will never have the capacity to admit, that it is ludicrous to differentiate between those with the intelligence and drive to earn the gold and those inept eaters who do not. It has been this way since man walked up-right, and some still have not mastered that yet.

Run Sarah, run.   This is from an Obama supporter.

Dear FTR, I accept your invitation to respond to yesterday’s response to my post. I remember when my teenage son said to me, “It’s not fair!” I laughed. To have an old fart ramble on about it not being fair I laugh and respond as I did to my son, “Who told you life is fair?” Come on FTR, life isn’t fair and those that scream for fairness are naïve. As to your computation of taxes on $350,000 taxable income today it is not $122,500; it is $93,321. Still a significant amount of money, but remember income tax is progressive. As to social security, 85% of your social security is taxable if you make over $34,000.  You forgot to whine that it is not fair, passed by the 1992 Republican Congress and signed by Clinton in their attempt to balance the budget. We now have a Republican House so to say Obama would use this money for “bike paths” is just plain silly. Your suggestion that the extra money taxed on the rich will go to “local restaurants” etc. is rubbish. It has been well documented that the very rich will not spend more money locally. It will go to investments and to the ultra rich probably overseas. I do think it could be argued that the $250,000 is too low to increase taxes but I have no qualms to see an increase in income tax at the million-dollar mark. You constantly suggest that the “rich” are small business owners. I gather you believe Wall Street is a small business. The top 5% of the top earners have increased their wealth by five fold in the last 30 years compared to the other 95%. Put another way, that is the true “redistribution of wealth.” That’s why the top 5% now pay 60% of all income taxes. In closing, adding all that Obama crap into your response has nothing to do with my post. I also suggested cutting spending to reduce the deficit. I urge you to watch Fareed Zakaria’s interview today with David Stockton, Regan’s budget director, about his take on our budget woes and post your opinion of it. It’s available as a pod cast on CNN.

(Part II) I agree with your underlying argument that some of the media are stupid to make a big deal of a tiny gaffe from a politician However, your list of Obama’s gaffes tells me they’ve been published. As to Palin’s North Korea gaffe, the following news organizations never mentioned it: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Post, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday, Denver Post, Arizona Republic, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Seattle Times, Chicago Sun-Times, CBS, ABC, NPR (that Commie organization), NBC, FOX, and CNN.

I'm a long time airline employee.  If I want to fly bad enough I'll put up with whatever security requirements stand between me and the plane.  My gripe with the TSA is the typical govt misdirected overkill that brought this on.  Airlines have profiled passengers since hijackings came into fashion in the late '60s.  Certain age, behavior and a few other factors will get you checked more closely.  Why in tarnation can't the govt figure that out?  When's the last time any Israeli plane was taken?  Hire those guys to train our guys.

[60% of Americans were fine with the TSA rules] Were these people polled the ones who fly more than once every ten years?  It not, the poll is totally bogus like most polls.

[L'ill Kim] There should be a new classification for mental illness. You're so delusional and paranoid that you're mentally Kim Jong Il.

[From the Right] Surprise, surprise, here is something started by Mr. Obama that I can agree with (at least in part). Mr. Obama appointed a Debt Reduction Commission. He chose Allan Simpson, 79, an old timer retired Republican Senator to be Co Chair. The committee recently released a prelim report, some of which was sensible, a lot of which was pap. As a certified old fart, I most certainly agree with old fart Senator Simpson’s recent quote: "We had the greatest generation -- I think this is the greediest generation." Simpson was speaking of our current national ravenous greed for entitlements. His comment was prompted by  the firestorm of criticism that he received after the commission reported the stark truth that we must remake Social Security. SS and other entitlement programs now eat up nearly .50 cents of every dollar we spend. And that is certain to increase unless we sternly intervene. The Dems refuse to acknowledge that the system is in horrible danger. We can expect the Dems to push for a payment of about $250 for SS recipients in the next two weeks. They will say that it is to make up for the fact that SS recipients will not be getting a cost of living raise this year. They plan to ignore the law that requires that a certain level of inflation be present before SS recipients (that’s me) can have an increase in their benefits. That level has not been reached and there is no legal reason to send out these checks. This Democrat bribe of old farts will put us further in debt to the tune of $14 Billion bucks. Nonetheless, the Dems will try, they will use the $’s as PR tool to bribe the old farts amongst us. Many of us old farts are screaming that they want the checks that they are not entitled to. They are greedy. One of the reforms we must impose on SS is to raise the early retirement age to at least 65. Making 70 the age for full retirement would make absolute sense given that we live much longer now that when the rules were instituted. That alone would save hundreds of billions of dollars. It could be phased in over 10 or so years. Even though it would not directly impact them, many already retired people fight against it. They are greedy and foolish. You may not know that once you earn a certain amount per year (about $95K), you get a huge break on your SS taxes. Everything you earn beyond that magic number is exempt from SS taxes. My Deer Friends, that is just stupid; every stinking penny of payroll earnings should be taxed. That exemption should be revoked. Many object, they are greedy and irresponsible.  If you are between 30 and 45, it is nearly certain that SS will be broke by the time you retire, you younger folks of both parties should be screaming for reform. Like it or not, privatization is a powerful alternative which should be seriously considered. One of the most important changes that should be made is to take all of the SS trust funds out of the the general revenue fund, and make it illegal to use the SS tax receipts for anything other than SS payouts. Now, the SS funds can be used for general expenses.

NO NAME KEY

[The Stock Island Tree Snail a challenge to USFWS opinion]  Really? Alicia Putney, youare insane!  You and the your Everglades Law Center attorney can read the USFWS reports for yourself - unless your intent is to continue to disregard the truth and continue to spread your "misinformation" to the entire world about No Name Key.    There are NO tree snails on the north side of Watson Blvd. and certainly none in the residential area on the north side of Watson Blvd. on the North residential side of No Name Key.  Yes, yes, we all know that you stopped the County's Public Works Department from trimming the public right-of way on your street No Name Drive and Bahia Drive for over ten years.  Now these two streets are dangerous and kill more Key Deer than any other residential streets on No Name Key.  No wonder that the rational person doubts your real motives for fighting so hard to keep utilities off of No Name Key.

Now these two streets are so overgrown that they create a public danger to travel, pedestrians, endangered species and everyone traveling these streets. The Key Deer step directly from the trees into the traffic lane and the most Key Deer have been killed on these two roads in the past over the past ten years, thanks to you.  In many places the travel is reduced to one lane and there is no where for walkers, cyclists, cars or Key Deer to go in a crunch except into the lane of traffic.  The only tree snails found on No Name Key are on the south side of Watson Blvd.  Have you never noticed that Mosquito Control routinely sprays the north side of Watson Blvd., but not the south side?  Suggested reading includes the following unless you intend to continue to spread misinformation.

Stock Island Tree Snail and right of way vegetation maintenance. No Name Key: hazardous and neglected conditions. The purported location area of the Stock Island Tree Snails on No Name Key is in solely in hardwood hammocks located the National Wildlife Refuge owned and managed lands South of the main road (Watson); whereas the residential areas are privately held lands located on the North side of the main road (Watson). Furthermore, to protect the health, welfare and safety of humans, the residential areas are routinely sprayed with insecticides for both adult and larvae mosquito’s.  As insecticides are known to kill Stock Island Tree Snails, the possibility of live Stock Island Tree Snails located in the vegetation growing into, or hanging over, the rights-of-ways and easements in these established residential areas are extremely unlikely. 

See USFWS Stock Island Conservation Guidelines: “Any pesticides (including mosquito sprays), herbicides, and any other biocides. Usage on or near snail habitat can kill snails directly or alter behavior associated with feeding and reproduction.”

A review of the 2009 USFWS Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges would benefit all concerned with the location of the Stock Island Tree Snail, as the 2009 USFWS CCP identifies Watson Hammock as the primary location for the Stock Island Tree Snail, and the same CCP authorizes rights of way maintenance: “Work with all right-of-way maintenance entities to ensure that best management practices are implemented to minimize impacts to tree snails.”

Additionally, according to this 2009 Final CCP for the Florida Keys NWR, one might note that research into the exact locations of said Stock Island Tree Snails was funded by USFWS and as such was recently conducted by Elizabeth Mihalcik, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

According to USFWS 2009 5-year review of the Stock Island Tree Snail, the only populations existing on Big Pine and No Name Keys are located in “natural hardwood hammocks located entirely within the National Key Deer Refuge lands, in protected and managed habitats”; with “Watson Hammock designated as the as an inviolate area” (i.e. closed to the public).

Given this recent and relevant USFWS location information, there is no legitimate reason for the County owned rights-of-way in the residential areas on No Name Key (not known to contain Stock Island Tree Snails, and subject to insecticide spraying) to be subject to vegetation maintenance restrictions, as these areas are not part of the recognized habitat.  Should USFWS determine (see Mihalcik report) that these residential areas contain Stock Island Tree Snails, then these NNK residential areas should not be subject to any vegetation maintenance restrictions beyond the USFWS established and approved tree trimming protocol in place and in practice for Key Largo.

 
All three islands (Key Largo, Big Pine Key and No Name Key) must be treated equally and equitably in regards to Stock Island Tree Snail protocols and right-of-way vegetation maintenance. Any protocols applied to No Name Key must be applied to Big Pine Key as well, and any such protocols must be consistent with the protocols already applied to Key Largo, lest they be seen as inconsistent, unfair, and inequitable or biased.  ~ronny.brown65@yahoo.com

28 solar panels $14,000, 2500 watt inverter, replaced every 3 to 5 years $2,000,  four, 320 pound lead acid batteries $1,100 each, 12kw diesel generator $10,000, diesel fuel to run generator for air conditioning approximately 8 hours a day $800 a month, cost to Monroe County taxpayers so Alicia Putney won’t have next door neighbors $6 million, piece of mind that No Name Key will finally have electricity ---priceless!

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Monday November 29, 2010

Sunday November 28, 2010

[Russian Mafia] Rednecks talk about Russian Mafia when they've got no one else to blame. I am Russian, I work in IT (Internet Technology). I do it because pretty much none of you can multiply a two-digit number without mumbling, fumbling and going for your calculator. And it isn’t just your education system, it's that you people are what I call intellectually lazy. Look around the CT, the amount of stupid crap people write is amazing. Sometimes I wonder how these people can do anything useful and have any gainful employment. As George Carlin used to say, "Think about how stupid an average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that".

As far as Subway goes, for a few years the owners (who are decidedly local) hired Russian girls (from the exchange program that lets young people stay and work in US for a while). Then conditions at Subway deteriorated and Russian girls left (the last one left a few months ago). Now they have locals working there and service is just terrible, so I stopped going to Subway.

Yeah, sure, it must be the evil mafia that makes things go wrong for you.

[Customer Service] This soldier in Iraq had an HP printer which quit working. He contacted HP tech support for help to fix it. HP told the soldier that he would have to pay them for the advice. Watch this 60 second video for his response to them. I don't know how many folks will end up seeing this but HP customer relations probably wished they had helped him out or even sent him a new printer.  (Ed: They did after the video went viral, but by then it was too late for them.) Video

[Pot Luck and General Meeting] Lower Keys Property Owners Association. Monday December 6th at our club house on Bogie Road (just before the No Name Bridge) in Big Pine Key. 5:00pm Horse Shoes-6:00pm B.Y.O. Happy Hour (hors d'œuvres and set-ups provided) 6:45 Pot Luck with a very short meeting to follow. All lower Keys residents are welcome. Bring a dish to share. For more info contact Erma 872-9410. Bulletin Board

[Christmas cards] What is your favorite organization with Christmas cards? Holiday greeting cards help organizations help others near and far | freep.com | Detroit Free Press  

This dog’s name is Courage. (I thought dogs didn’t like cats?)

[The Old Testament] Modern sexism and inequality have their roots in the Bible. Depending on age, a female is worth approximately half as much as a male: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female,then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels." (Leviticus 27:1-7)

A wonderful flashback with Tom Snyder, Ken Kesey, and Jerry Garcia. Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

[Engine Light On] Go to Advanced Auto, Auto Zone or possibly Napa. For free they will use an engine light reader to give you the possible problem. However, if your car is newer than a 2004 you will need a dealership for the diagnosis. My 2001 Grand Marquis needs a new EGR(?) sensor every 2 years. Don't panic, as long as your oil pressure and temp is good it is probably just an O2 sensor or EGR.

[Airport cholera person may not have cholera]  I'm less worried about those who had the price of a ticket to fly than I am of the ones who are walking in from the south.  Texas now has an epidemic of whooping cough in progress, something nearly eradicated decades ago. 

[Plastic Bags] A smile, thanks and kudos to all who have taken the initiative to reduce their single use plastic bag consumption and increased their use of reusable bags. http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/about-irelands-plastax

Plantable gift tags. Plantable Gift Tags | Birds & Blooms.

[Eat More Peacock] Eat the birds, exploit the resource. http://www.ehow.com/how_2066631_cook-peacock.html

[Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do] For all the folks with cell phones this should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.) 

Emergencies. The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out. 

Locked Keys in Car. Does your car have remote keyless entry? If you lock your keys in your car and the spare keys to your car are at home : from your cell phone, call the cell phone number of someone at home . After they answer, hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button on the spare keys, holding it near the mobile phone at their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). 

Hidden Battery Power. If your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time. 

Disable a stolen mobile phone. To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone *#06#.  A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. 

If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. 

Free Directory Service for Cell Phones. Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial (800) FREE411 or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge.  Program this into your cell phone now. 

2011 TSA Pin-Up Calendar available now, but hurry, while supplies last and she's still alive from the x-rays! Here's Miss January through April:

[Corruption] As a community service to all, anyone that has proof that a Keys elected official has misused or stolen our tax dollars please report it to us and you can remain anonymous.

[Traveler with cholera] Cholera is not an airborne disease. It is spread by unsafe drinking water.

Attention CT restaurant critics, help me out. I've been jonesing for a really good pork chop dinner. Really good pork chops mean center cut, preferably bone in, thick, juicy, tender, and grilled or broiled medium rare.

How to get the "check engine" light to go off] Turn off the engine, it works every time.

[Check Engine Light] It would depend on the year, make and model as to how you get it to turn off. Read the Idiot (owners) manual first. If that doesn't help, take your vehicle to a qualified mechanic soon. In the mean time, take a piece of electrical tape and cover this annoying light. There may be a minor problem that is easy to fix, but then again it may be something major. You'll find that out real fast, when the engine blows up.

[Vietnam Wall] Click on a state.  When it opens, scroll down to the city and the names will appear.  Then click on their names.  It should show you a picture of the person, or at least their bio and medals. http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm

Males of all species seem to have the same problem!

[Street Beggars]  If they can endure constant humiliation, then they’re 're welcome to the $300 they beg a day. Personally, I'd rather live in the mangroves with my dog than ask perfect strangers for their money. And since I'm more or less always broke, I know what I'm talking about.

Jump Rope Team.  http://www.kingsfirecrackers.com/

Volunteer drivers needed to transport cancer patients to appointments, etc. To volunteer call the American Cancer Society at 305 292-2333. Volunteer drivers help survivors | KeysNews.com

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Sarah Palin going to North Korea to support her allies] Sorry Northern and South Korea, but south of north...north-south of Middle Korea.

Even if the TSA renders FTR guy completely unconscious, his message to them will still be loud and clear from his brand new tattoo.

Bashing Sarah because she said North Korea, but in the next sentence she corrected herself.

[Empty Container Ships] A recent documentary in late March, 2010, on the History Channel noted that all of these containers are shipped back to China empty. Yes, that's right, we send nothing back on these ships.  What does that tell you about the current financial state of this country?  Just keep buying those imported goods (mostly gadgets) until you run out of money then you may wonder what might be the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job) in the U.S. and Canada.

[Immigration] If you had tickets to a sports event, concert, Disneyland , or for an airline flight, and when you got to your assigned seat you found someone else was in that seat, what would you do? You would call for a person in charge of ticket checking and have the person in your seat removed. You would properly be asked to show your ticket, and you would gladly and proudly do so, for you have bought and paid for that seat. The person in your seat would also be asked for a ticket, which they would not be able to produce. They would be called "gate crashers" and they would properly be removed.

Now in this huge stadium called the USA we have had millions of gate crashers. We have been asking security to check for tickets and remove the gate crashers. We have been asking security to have better controls in checking at the door. We have asked security to lock the back doors. Security has failed us. They are still looking the other way. They are afraid to ask to see the tickets. Many people say there is unlimited seating, and whether there is or not, no one should be allowed in for free while the rest of us pay full price!

In ' Section AZ ', of 'Stadium USA ', we have had enough of the failures of Security. We have decided to do our own ticket checking, and properly remove those who do not have tickets. Now it seems very strange to me that so many people in the other 49 'section', and even many in our own 'section' do not want tickets checked, or even to be asked to show their ticket! Even the head of Security is chastising us, while not doing his own job which he has sworn to do.

My own ticket has been bought and paid for, so I am proudly going to show it when asked to do so. I have a right to my seat, and I want the gate crashers to be asked to show their tickets too. The only reason that I can imagine anyone objecting to being asked for their ticket is that they are in favor of gate crashing, and all of the illegal activities that go with it, such as drug smuggling, gang wars, murder, human smuggling for profit, and many more illegal and inhumane acts that we are trying to prevent with our new legislation. Is that what I am hearing from all of the protestors such as Phoenix Mayor Gordon , US Rep. Grijalva , even President Obama ? If you are not in favor of showing tickets, (proof of citizenship, passport, green card, or other legal document) when asked, as I would do proudly, then you must be condoning those illegal activities.

60% of Americans were fine with the TSA rules and understood that if they were flying thru a major airport they could choose to go thru a body scanner and not get touched. I think I hit a nerve with FTR because he immediately pointed out a few more polls that backed his view and turned it into a school game of "Oh yeah, my poll can beat your poll".

I was simply pointing out the bipartisan poll that I got my information from. He shouldn’t be so sensitive when others point out verified information different then his views. It’s not personal.

[From the Right] I was delighted to read yesterday’s posting wherein a thinking person challenged my opinions with rational thought and data to support his/her opinion. The poster asked: “Why shouldn’t the “rich” pay more taxes?” The posters data actually is supportive of my strong conviction that taxes should not be increased on any income level. First of all, I believe that in any discussion of tax rates the primary argument for raising taxes always comes back to someone’s idea of “fair”. That notion is beyond my comprehension. Why it is fair for one person to pay more for anything simply based of his/her income. If that is your belief, perhaps you believe that a SS pensioner should pay only pennies for a new Mercedes while a “rich” person should pay many hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars. Or perhaps a SS pensioner “deserves” a new Mercedes without paying anything at all. Should your mortgage payment be more or less than your neighbors based only your income? Can anyone explain why paying taxes should be any different than paying any other indebtedness. To bolster his/her argument, the poster listed the dollar amount that Team Obama wants to increase taxes on the achievers of wealth. The poster stated that in addition to the taxes they currently pay,  a taxpayer with an income of $350,000.00 will have an added $3600 in taxes seized. I don’t know If the posters data is accurate. But if it is, then that newly seized $3600 will not enter into commerce, it too will be lost to the insatiable maw of our government. By the way, the taxpayer in the 35% tax bracket is already liable for $122,500.00 in taxes. That is one hell of a lot of money.   The newly seized money will not go to our local restaurants or to the movie theatres, or to Bass Pro Shops, or Anthony’s. The money Mr. Obama wants to seize from only 10 such tax payers would fund at least one new job in the private sector. Near the other end of the scale, a similar metric applies. Persons earning $10,000,000.00 already have a tax liability of $3,500,000.00. On top of that Mr. Obama wants to sieze an additional $351,000.00. That’s a fleet of Chevy’s or Navigators. That would buy a great boat. It would fund at least 10 good paying private sector, profit making, jobs. Most important it is a huge pile of money lost to capital investment. The dollars that Mr. Obama lusts to seize will be lost and not will not be available for the expansion of existing business or the start up of new business. It is money that the Feds will use to build bike paths and fund research into the gaseous components of duck flatuelence. The bottom line is that the money is better managed by its owners than wasted by the government.  Let’s go back to “fairness.” Today, the top 5% of Americans pay nearly 60% of all Federal Income taxes paid (The Tax Foundation). Where is the fairness in that? Nearly half of all Americans pay no income taxes whatsoever. Am I wrong in believing that those persons are the biggest users of governmental services? Please explain the “fairness” of that. Team Obama is not chasing this largest tax increase in our history as a means to improve our national economy; he is chasing it in his never ending pursuit of redistribution of wealth. This is his core belief, his raison d’etre. He is so committed that he is ready to impose a brand new 5% tax burden on all Americans, rich and poor, so that he will be able to punish the few who pay most of the taxes.

(Part II) The poster mentioned the prosperity of the ‘50’s, suggesting that it was halcyon times for the “middle class”. Lets first talk about SS. In 1955 one could not collect SS until age 65, the average payment was $69 per month. LBJ’s great society was not yet upon us. Neither Medicare nor Medicaid existed. Segregation was alive and well. An intact family unit was considered to be important to a stable and prosperous society. Yet, even then the government was grossly addicted to spending. The achievers suffered a huge tax burden. At one point FDR had actually imposed a 90% rate. 

The national debt became troublesome to the point that newly elected Democrat icon, JFK, in an speech to Congress in early 1961 said, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus."  And so my Deer Friends, on this issue, I find myself in total agreement with a Democrat icon, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I’m in agreement because JFK’s was right then, and his tax policies worked. JFK's reasoning is as sound today as it was 4 decades ago.  I sincerely hope that the inquiring poster will take the time to respond.               

(Part III) Quiz for the day: What do the following quotes have in common? (1)'My fellow Americans in all 57 states...'  (2) 'the time has changed for come...'  (3) 'There is much to celebrate from the FBI's first 100 days...', (4) 'The reforms we seek will bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system.' (5) 'We know that countries like Europe…'. (6) "Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer…” (7) The US is... 'resolved to halt the rise of privacy. (8) 'Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s.’  Each quote is from a present day politician, who is that politician?  Hint: It isn’t Sarah Palin.

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Monday November 28, 2010

Saturday November 27, 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.)

Freethought Radio, from the secular point of view, offers programming for nonreligious listeners, as well as countering the religious-right domination of our public airwaves.
 

Saturdays, noon -1pm on Progressive Talk The Mic 92.1.

“It is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.”

—Thomas Paine (1737-1809), The Age of Reason, I (1794)

We want the public to have the chance to vote on near-shore oil drilling and to ban the possibility of this destructive practice. Our state relies on clean beaches for our economic and environmental well-being. Oil drilling in our state marine waters, which extend approximately three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, is simply too great a risk to take.

Please sign the Constitutional Amendment Petition to allow us to vote on protecting Florida’s near shore waters, beaches and economy from oil drilling. We hope to have this question before the voters in November 2012. We want to let the people of Florida decide!  

If you agree, help this organization to get the required 700,000 signatures.  They have taken on a huge task, but it will benefit the people of Florida.

NATIONAL POLITICS

NO NAME UTILITIES

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Saturday November 27, 2010

Friday November 26, 2010

[Sloan] Gov.-elect Rick Scott never saw a development he didn't like. We have had county commissions in the past that never saw a development they didn't like. We called them the Gang of Three. We had two successive Gang of Three commissions, which the two dissenting commissioners were helpless to stop. So DCA stopped them, sometimes.
 
With the exception of Don Vasil, all county commission candidates in the recent races, including incumbent County Commissioner George Neugent, strongly supported the continuation of the Keys' Area of Critical Concern designation and oversight by the Department of Community Affairs. George was a dissenting commissioner on both Gang of Three county commissions. He tried his darndest to convince them to stop lying down and spreading their legs for developers, and he was unsuccessful. Sylvia Murphy was George's dissenting ally on the second Gang of Three commission. She learned first-hand that persuasion is futile when you have three commissioners in the developers' pockets.
 
I applaud Sylvia's desire to create a super majority requirement for comprehensive plan changes, and for our county to become a Charter county so we can recall elected officials and at least try to use the referendum method to create our own local Amendment 4. If we'd had a local Amendment 4 all along, we the people could have overridden the Gangs of Three on any development that required a comprehensive plan change, including developments the Department of Community Affairs approved.
 
It  was Sylvia, then county mayor, who lowered the boom on the Wisteria Island development. She did it twice. The first time was when she said she wasn't going to do anything on Wisteria until the City of Key West had had a chance to weigh in. She did that because it was obvious the entire development depended on Key West agreeing to provide sewerage treatment and other government services. Key West weighed in, NO THANK YOU.!
 
The next day, the Wisteria developers pulled their application from that day's county commission agenda, so it could not be heard and voted down by the county commissioners. Not to be snooked, Silvia lowered the boom again by moving the commissioners to instruct county staff to come up with a Future Land Use Designation (FLUM) for Wisteria Island, which it did not have, which oversight had allowed the developers to try to turn the island into another hideous Sunset Key, which one of the developers owns. The new FLUM designating, according to Commissioner Kim Wigington on US 1 Radio this morning, will limit development on Wisteria to five homes at most, perhaps as few as two, as opposed to eighty-five residential units the developers had wanted to put there.
 
The new FLUM designation will be before the county commissioners shortly, and the Wisteria developers aren't at all happy about it and probably will file a lawsuit to try to get it overturned and made by a court into something they like a lot better. Guided all the way behind the scenes by Jim Hendrick, the developers' disbarred, convicted-felon Field Marshall, who isn't supposed to be practicing law - LOL.

See the whole post by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com.

With all the TSA BS flying around, did you ever think they could deposit something while searching your personal area? And who is to say they are health conscience when they handle everyone's shoes and parts?

TSA airport scanners: radiation truths and lies. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20023805-10391704.html

[Restaurant Review] I had dinner the other night at the new Ma Casa Mexican restaurant on Big Pine Key and I will say that it is very different from most restaurant/bars in the Keys. As I entered the parking lot there didn’t seem to be the usual passed out drunks sleeping it off. Nor was there a police vehicle in the parking lot with its blue lights flashing. As I entered the place the first difference I noticed was that it was very clean. I got to go into the kitchen and it looked more like a sterile stainless steel operating room. Also there were no load mouth drunks sitting at the bar acting like the usual local a**holes. There were no dogs inside the restaurant. There were no local drug dealers or whores working the customers. There was no loud music from some lousy band. You could actually hear yourself talking. The wait staff was practicing good hygiene and didn’t look hung over or doped up. They were very friendly and actually seemed to care about the type of service you would be receiving. So if you want to go someplace different where you can feel safe in a clean friendly environment you should try Ma Casa. As for the food, it was very good compared to what you get at most of the local establishments.

November 23, 2010 – Marathon – L. E. Shaffer: Mayor & Vice Mayor. Expect a quiet rest of the year. The penchant of council to violate its own rules and worse the charter still lurks behind the scenes. All is not well sources say. Hopefully, more of the same during 2011 will be completely wrong. The council will get ethical and strengthen its Standing Rules & Orders with the addition of the state’s code of conduct and code of ethics written out in plain language not just referenced. Most of us don’t go past the first document let alone click on more links. New Year’s resolution is that the council serves all residents not just their circle of people. Some get it; some do not.

Mayor Snead won two elections in a row with the highest vote, not exactly a mandate, but, hey, first is first. Then Mayor Snead nominated Councilman Keating for vice mayor. He seemed a bit reluctant, but you know he would have done a bang-up job.

Surprise! Surprise! Councilman Pete Worthington nominated a surprised Councilman Dick Ramsay. I didn’t hear any moans, groans, or protestations. He was voted vice mayor unanimously.

After some reflection, given who nominated Dick and the bashing Dick took from the Journal, I think Councilman Pete Worthington is one smart city official.

While Dick seems always to be asleep at the dais, he says that he has some important projects to work on. Okay, I buy that. I think Dick needs to keep his head up and his eyes open and look residents in the eye. He might appear a little less cold and calculating.

And, please, stop the monotone dialogues! Dick, say what you mean, to the point, short, and look at people when you talk. Simple, direct, and making contact could make Dick a good boy. The allusion is to the Dick and Jane first-grade readers in the 50s.

As far as the red-faced comments in previous articles, apparently it is not funny. I get it sometimes. Let us hope that not all the council members get lumps of coal in their stockings. Yes, I really said that.

New photos, new audio recordings, new stories are all coming to the Journal as soon as I stop being lazy. Hopefully, that will be today. We need an editor like Marilyn Tempest; several applicants have applied. Aviation day was at the airport the 13^th and no new Ramsay structures were erected. Hug a veteran on Veteran’s Day, except for me. I want a little time off from shaking hands, hugging all the pretty people, and other eye-to-eye contact. I will be over it tomorrow. lol...

Yes, I know it is the 25^th, Black Friday. What part of lazy did you not read in the above paragraph? There will be more, much more, you can bet on it. ~Publisher@MarathonJournal.US

[Law of The Garbage Truck] One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.

Return of the Peacock Poet

Peacock, Peacock where are you?
Where you trapped and sent to the zoo?
Or is it Sanibel Island you are
To bring in tourists from near and from far.
They’ll spend money to see you,
But who really pays
It’s the poor people of Big Pine
In so many ways.

Save the Peacocks

Redneck furniture shop.

[Restaurant Review] Hey guys, if the food at these joints is so bad, send it back and don't pay. If the places are dirty, buggy or otherwise unsanitary, report them to the man. If the service sucks, tell the boss and the server. The only way these places straighten out is when they do not make any money or get fined. But don't forget you are in the Keys so don’t expect too much.

Record your directions step-by-step and email it to her.

First minimize or close all windows and extra monitors because they will all show on your recording, further confusing Aunt Lucy.

In Windows 7 > Start > in the search window type: psr (for problem step recorder) > Start Recording.

Then perform the fix you tried to describe to her. When done click Stop Record > Save the file it created > Email the file to Aunt Lucy.

When she clicks the file it will open in her browser and there will be step-by-step pictures with clear instructions for each step already filled in. http://bigpinekey.com/Pages/lousy_tech_support.htm
 

[Peacocks] Look into the harm exotic species are doing to our native animal and plant species. The writer complained about peacock’s noise and one scratching his car. Although they are lousy attributes of peacocks, those attributes do not harm our native species. Peacocks do no harm to the refuge.

[Banks] I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Invisible wounds: mental health and the military. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/salsa/web/tellafriend/public/?tell_a_friend_KEY=2572

The National Debt can be cleaned off the slate if we, for starters, taxed all religions as the businesses they are, eliminate not for profit businesses, made all grants loans with interest, and made all who get welfare pay it back.

Harrat Khaybar, Saudi Arabia lies in the western half of the Arabian Peninsula and contains not only large expanses of sand and gravel, but also extensive lava fields known as haraat (harrat for a named field). According to scientists, the volcanic field was formed by eruptions along a long north-south linear vent system over the past 5 million years; the most recent recorded eruption took place between 600-700 A.D.

The presence of tuff cones -- formed by eruption of lava in the presence of water together with other volcanic features indicative of water -- in the Harrat Khaybar suggest that the local climate was much wetter during some periods of volcanic activity. Today, however, the regional climate is hyperarid -- little to no yearly precipitation -- leading to an almost total lack of vegetation.

The image was taken by the Expedition 16 crew aboard the Inernational Space Station in March 2008.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. ~Albert Einstein

[More bar wisdom] I like my women like I like my beer bottles: Tops off, bottoms up!

[Grammar Police] “I will not read any more reviews until the spelling and grammar are improved.”  Then you'll likely miss a lot of good info.  Some of the most well-informed minds I've met have been lacking in formal education, but with a lot of good life experience

Is that her boobs hanging or her fat belly? I think the bag does go well with her outfit.

I thought about all of the people yelling about illegal people in the country, and about what I hear people saying about jobs that were taken from them. (?)

The next meeting of our computer club is coming up Saturday, November 27, 10 am at the Senior Center.  Hope to see you there. Bulletin Board

The new Mexican restaurant. Come on people, give them a chance on there new venture. I'm sure Eric is reading the lousy reviews. He is a wise business person and will get a real good Mexican cook. I'm sure there are some excellent cooks out there who can cook Mexican, looking for a job.

Blockbuster in Key West is going out of business. They have been liquidating for two weeks. If you like having the DVD, this is an opportunity to pick some up at a good price. Not much time left.

Tavernier's Blockbuster is already closed I have been told.

If you like renting games, see blueplanetrental.com, a local company renting consoles and games to tourists, but locals are welcome. Only Sony Playstation 2. Playstation 3 plays the games just fine.

[TSA Pickup Line] "Are those pop-up timers on your chest, or are you just happy to see me?"

There are a lot of foreigners operating business here in Key West, mostly Russian or from that region. I heard that when a city is weak and corrupt like Key West and the police force has no presence in the town it opens the door to foreign organizations to move in. Do think that is what's happening? 

[AA Basher] Step 3. Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. It seems like we don't actually ever have to get around to doing anything else. In Steps 6 and 7, Bill belabors another point like this, taking one step to think about doing something, and the next step to actually do it, but this time, we never really do it, we just think about it. We just "make a decision" to do something, maybe later. Okay, I'll think about it.

Another thought that never seems to occur to the A.A. true believers is the idea that maybe God doesn't want to be bothered with restoring all of the A.A. members to sanity in Step Two, and taking care of the members' wills and lives for them in Step Three. Maybe God has other things to do. Maybe God gave people their own wills and lives so that they could live their own lives themselves. There is an incredible amount of arrogance in this Third Step. A.A. members assume that they can just shove their wills and their lives at God for repair and God will do it without even asking God what He wants.

Alcoholics Anonymous emphasizes an external, rather than internal, focus of control. Rather than assuming responsibility for their own actions and lives by saying, "I screwed up and made myself sick by drinking too much, so now I'm going to change my ways and heal myself", A.A. believers declare themselves incompetent and powerless over their problems, and wait for Somebody or Something outside of themselves to solve all of their problems for them.

If you give your will to a Higher Power, how could you have the will to continue to control your will? And if you don't have the will to control your will, and can't control your own will any longer, then how could you continue to place your will in the care of your Higher Power? What's to stop you from accidentally "taking your will back" without meaning to do so?

After all, whatever happened to "The Lord helps those who help themselves."

NATIONAL POLITICS

Republicans only care about corporate America who only cares about corporate America. Read their posts and gripes. They are always about money and never about people except in a disparaging way.

Allen West on how to defeat Radical Islam. http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2010/11/allen-west-on-how-to-defeat-radical.html

[Obama responsible for the TSA screening procedures] Good grief. Take a look at Politico.com’s website and see that over 60% of Americans have no problems with the policies at all. Most people realize that you can always go thru the body scanner at major airports and never get touched. If you don’t like either method, take a Greyhound.

[From the Right] What would happen to you and to your family if you had to borrow forty cents for every dollar that you spend? Not a comforting thought.  Well, that is exactly our current national fiscal situation. This session of Congress is nearly over, we have spend ourselves into near collapse, and believe it or not as this lame duck Congress is withering and dying, it still has not passed a budget. Unless they pass emergency legislation called a continuing resolution, the U.S. Government will shut down. Even with that they have managed to waste more money on programs that didn’t work than any Congress and Administration in history. What a marvelous job our leaders have done. This Congress and Team Obama have known that unless new taxation legislation is passed, your taxes will jump as of the first of the year. Get ready for your government to seize even more of your pay check. Team Obama is hell bent on punishing everyone if they don’t get their way.

NO NAME ELECTRIC

[Putney Power] Ms. Putney wanted to stop utilities on NNK in order to stop Galleon Bay, the 13 home sub-division, from being built next to her house.  There are written letters between her and City Electric (mid-1995) where she petitioned for electric (which City was bidding out) to not be installed on NNK.  Somehow, within the year, Ms. Putney had convinced Monroe County to halt the electrification process, thereby leaving her neighbors, living in legally permitted homes, to turn to generators and rudimentary solar systems for power.

The atrocity of this situation was highlighted in a Feb 15, 1996 letter from David Koppel (County Engineer) to Dale Finigan (City Electric).  He stated (regarding NNK electric) "While we feel confident that the technical details can be worked out, this issue is a political one.  Thus said, approval must come from the Monroe County Commission". 

What isn't clear is why the County Commission supported (and continues to support) Ms. Putney in every possible way.  Does anyone know what their actual motive was/is?  I find it hard to believe they wish to continue wasting taxpayer money on an issue that seems to be a no-brainer.  State law says people are entitled to electricity, federal wildlife people said there was no impact to wildlife, 70% of NNK residents want electricity and are paying for it, and those who don't want it don't have to have it, so why are the Monroe Commissioners so adamantly opposed to it?  The county seems fixated on their on Comp Plan and Resolutions (the one that Putney actually co-wrote and voted on in 2001) when their own Attorney says it isn't valid because the State Law overrides it. 

But this begs the question- Does anyone have any idea what the Commissioners real motive is??  Are there any "whistle blowers" out there in Monroe County government that have some insight into this?   The Monroe County taxpayers are already footing the bill for the Galleon Bay takings case (10 million), why are the Commissioners continually sticking their necks out for Ms. Putney and risking the loss of more of our tax dollars?  What part of this story don't we know?

[NNK poster yesterday] Boy, you sure do give Ms. Putney a lot of credit and power.  It is simply amazing that one woman was able to do all of this, including setting up phony not-for-profit environmental groups as fronts, and convincing the powers that be to stop electricity. 

The organizations that I know she is or was a member of were around long before Ms. Putney ever even thought of moving to the Keys, but I guess she looked into her crystal ball long before that and hexed some people into forming these groups.  And you say that NNK has never been a solar community?  When was it ever an electric community before that?  The Putneys only moved to NNK in the early to mid 90's, and yet you say it is a shame what has happened to the residents of NNK over the past 30 years?  Damn, she's good!

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Friday November 26, 2010

Thursday November 25, 2010

It's just not Thanksgiving without Alice's Restaurant.
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyXTOHC3w8&feature=related

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2nn1HtMzuk&feature=related

Officer Obie is retired from TSA, you know!

[SammySam Saves The Day] My DirecTV box stopped working yesterday and I called DirecTV and after waiting 20 minutes for a real person, they told me that they can have someone from Miami at my place next Wednesday. I then called SammySam this morning, left him a message on his voicemail and when he returned my call I demanded that he come to my place and fix this problem. I explained that tomorrow (Thanksgiving) I'm having people over for the weekend and I can't be without TV. Sammy didn't even get upset over the phone like anyone else probably would have. I now realize that I must have sounded, or been, a real a-hole over the phone.

Anyway, Sammy showed up at my place the same day as his last call and resolved my problem and charged me an extra fee for being so demanding. I gladly paid him his fee and even gave him a little extra for coming thru. This guy saved my day and all my guests’ weekend. Woohoo! Florida Keys Satellite we love you!

Top 10 leftover turkey recipes. Top 10 Turkey Leftovers | Taste of Home Recipes 

Answers to yesterday’s oldies quiz.
1.    (c)    The movie's over,  it's 4 o'clock
2.    (b)    Blackboard Jungle
3.    (a)    Angel
4.    (c)    Blueberry Hill
5.    (a)    Mr. Sandman
6.    (c)    Sun
7.    (b)    Charlie Brown
8.    (a)    Mac Heath
9.    (c)    Tutti Fruitti
10. (c)    Alan Freed
11.  (a)    Little Richard
12.  (c)     Annette Funicello
13.  (b)     Don and Phil
14.  (a)    Jiles P. Richardson
15.  (c)    Motown
16.  (a)    77 Sunset Strip
17.  (b)    Sandra Dee
18.  (b)    The Monotones
19.  (b)    Kissed
20.  (c)    Maybelline
21.  (b)    Bully
22.  (c)    peepin' in a seafood store
23.  (b)    cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
24.  (a)    Mr. Earl
25.  (b)    butt
26.  (c)    ding a ling
27.  (b)    she's my baby
28.  (a)    right here
29.  (c)    motorcycle boots
30.  (c)    Boney Maroney 

Fleeing Communist East Germany in 1970 their port of entry was Big Pine Key. This year is the 40th anniversary of a Thanksgiving reunion unlike any other. Erich and Karl Bley were born and raised in East Germany, but separated when the iron curtain was lowered. Erich, the older brother, escaped with his fiancé. Karl was just a boy and was left behind with his mother. But Karl never gave up the idea of fleeing Communist East Germany. As a young man, he began sending coded letters to his brother Erich in the U.S., laying out a mission you might see in a James Bond movie. It was a bold, daring escape, and the brothers' lives were forever changed that Thanksgiving. http://thestory.org/sidebars/the-bley-brothers-photo-gallery

[Crab trap buoys in Newfound Harbor] Someone painted their stone crab trap buoys with animal faces.  They are quite good and they make me smile whenever I boat past them.  I just want to let them know that their effort is not wasted, and I do enjoy seeing the buoys.  I hope someday I can see this person checking their traps as this is the kind of person I would like to meet someday.

[Parrotdise downfall] Where have all of the personalities gone? It seems like a conch fest now.  I remember a Canadian who served us who was so very nice.  A Brit girl wanted to take her home.  Tom is gone too. He was a great listener.  The food is still unreasonable, but I always went for the interaction with the regular employees.  What a shame, where are they now? ~blazenpinda@gmail.com

[Reviewing the Reviewer] Well, we have a self-appointed restaurant reviewer with a special email, but I noticed he or she has trouble spelling. So, I’ll review the reviewer from yesterday.

"wondered into" instead of wandered into, "cheezy" should be cheesy, "was suppose to" should be supposed to (past tense), "Lead" should be Led, "who are Asian" should be that are Asian.

I could go on about the fragmented and poorly structured sentences. I hope with time the spelling and grammar will improve. I will not read any more reviews until the spelling and grammar are improved. When and, if, they are, please let me know so I can update my review. 

Felt up or blown up? The psychology of the TSA, body scans and risk perception. http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=tsa-body-scans-and-risk-perception-2010-11-23&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20101124

My hubby is away and this is what he sent me. I would like to share it with all on this Thanksgiving Day.

Missing Treasure
The missing treasure of this sinking vessel
On the seafloor, where it would nestle
Against the base for years it'd lay
Patiently waiting for that special day
When I would come to claim my prize
Hoping the chest to my surprise
Would hold the heart that I've been missing
The talks, the laughs, the hugs, the kissing
That day has come and now I'll find
What lies ahead, no longer behind
I've searched through darkness, to the deepest sea
And found that chest staring back at me
What lies inside, I do not know
Unlock the latch and open slow
I peek within, with nerves I'm shaking
The prize inside could stop the aching
Cause within the chest that I've searched for
I found the heart and even more
The talks, the laughs, they all were there
The hugs, the kisses, for me to share
The most beautiful treasure I've finally seized
Did not imagine I could be so pleased
I searched so long through the deep sea blue
I love you baby, my prize is you

The Drudge Report now fully sucks.

[Peacocks in Peril] I don’t have a problem with the peacocks near as much the stray and house cats that neighbors let run around all day and night. Paw prints, puke, and hair are what I have to deal with on my vehicle daily.

A few months ago a bunch of coconuts fell from a tree at the abandoned house next door and caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to my car.

Oh yes and then there’s the jerk who hit my car door yesterday in the Winn Dixie parking lot. The moron only had a foot of room between car and truck to get out. The business name was plastered all over it and I had my camera. Thanks a lot dude, I’ll be sending you the bill.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’ll just take my chance with the Peacocks on Big Pine as they have never been a problem for me.

Charter Government is just another ploy to enable certain special interest groups to exert their influence over the community and further their own agendas, such as fighting FEMA over their illegal downstairs enclosures and pushing more short term vacation rentals into our neighborhoods.   No individual county citizen will be able to stand up to the power of these organized groups, even though charter government sounds like a great concept in it's purest form.  Stay alert.

[Thanksgiving In The Keys] It’s a beautiful day in the Florida Keys as we prepare for turkey day. Today it’s 80° with a few scattered cumulus clouds and a light breeze. Why the heck and I sitting on the porch and not on my boat? Now that’s one to ponder. However, Ester, our soon-to-be 14-year-old Portuguese Water Dog has just jumped on the couch with me and somehow this seems like the place to be. The boat will always be there. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on the wonderful things that surround us.  I'm thankful for my family, our puppies and for having each of you as a friend.

We would love to invite you to an after Thanksgiving party on Saturday, November 27 at Boondocks on Ramrod Key. We’ll have a Meet and Greet at 6:30 and the band takes the stage at 7 PM. I’m picking up the old Johnson outboard from the shop and hopefully she’ll fire up and we can make y’all some margaritas.

The 4th episode of our 13-week TV series Key West Time airs Thursday on DirecTV’s R&R network channel 354 at 9:00 PM EST.  If you don’t have DirecTV you can watch the show on demand at www.KeyWestTime.com. The show will air the following Saturday at 4:00 PM, Sunday at 7:30 PM and Tuesday at 11:00 PM.

We’ll be playing December 5th at the grand opening of the Geiger Key Smoke House 5:00 PM until 8:30 PM.

~Happy thanksgiving from Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band.

[Sloan] As some people who keep up with my daily yowlings remember, last March my brother Major went missing and I started writing about it nearly daily. Within a few days of receiving the news of his disappearance, I was interviewed by an award-winning Birmingham News business journalist. During our interview, he asked what did I think might have become of Major? I said perhaps he skipped the country. He was a tax lawyer, an expert in computers and telecommunications. He probably knew how to disappear without a trace.
 
Then I paused, said just before he (the journalist) had called to see if I would do the interview, out of the blue I had found myself wondering if Major had killed himself in  a way that caused it to look like he had been murdered? The journalist said cold chills were going up and down his back because he had been wondering the same thing himself. I wrote about that, and continued to write that I felt that indeed was what had happened to Major, even before his body was found in a Birmingham public golf course pond. I knew the area well, having played golf there when I was a boy and having lived for a decade in a home that backed up to the golf course.
 
Some time later, the coroner and police arrived at the same conclusion: Major killed himself and tried to make it look like someone else had done it.
 
My writings about all of that got around pretty well in Birmingham and Alabama. Some people wrote saying they really liked what I was writing. Others didn’t like it. The blogs were afire with comments, some kindly toward me, others saying I was crazy, others saying I was evil. Some people accepted the coroner and police’s suicide finding, some people didn’t. After it cooled down, I ended up with a few Alabama email friends I had not known before Major went missing.
 
One of these new email friends said she had known Major and his first wife, Gayle, when they lived in Fairhope, Alabama. Fairhope lies east of Mobile, across the causeway over Mobile Bay. After the November 2 election, this woman, who now lives in Virginia, invited me to go to Fairhope where she still owned a home, and chill out there. I didn’t get any “signals” to go there, so it didn’t happen. But I wondered what it was about, and I kept dreaming that she was important in some way. Before dawn this morning, I dreamt I was in Fairhope looking for a place to rent for a while. The walls of a house I looked at were being padded with old newspapers. I awoke thinking something was coming in about Major.
 
After he went missing last March, I described him in some of my posts as having been moody, mysterious. I likened him to the character, Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights. I said my first wife and I had viewed Major that way, and my second wife had also. Both of my wives got to where they didn’t like Major. He had a side about him that sometimes came out, which they didn’t want to be around. A side I heard others speak of. A side that was, well, mean, powerful and inexplicable.
 
In a very deep nap late this morning, two days before Thanksgiving, I heard, “Two wills.” I awoke, figured that also somehow was about Major. Today is a very hard spirit-work day. I am barely moving. I took a second very deep nap this afternoon. Coming out of it, I was overwhelmed with the strong sense that Major had multiple personality disorder. I was stunned. But of course! Why had I not made that diagnosis myself last spring? Why had I not made that diagnosis years ago? I’m trained to make such a diagnosis.
 
To see the entire post, click on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com.

I’m thankful that my lousy wife isn’t always lousy.

[Illegal] Whenever we see a group protesting that it’s illegal to stop or harass illegals we should round them all up right then because most of them will be illegals.

Return of the Peacock Poet

Peacocks, peacocks everywhere?

Peacocks, peacocks in your hair?

Not in your hair

‘cause they are caught in a snare

That was put there

By people who don’t care. 

Will key deer be next?

Or should they learn to text?

Groups like PETA

That have helped save the cheetah.

Just treat them kind
And all will be fine.

Happy Thanksgiving!  You have so much to be thankful for if you live on Big Pine Key.  I feel blessed to be able to spend my winter with you.

In about a month, legal weed will be illegal. Bah, humbug! http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-emergency-ban-legal-weed-20101124,0,6376581.story  

I am in the joyous process of removing a downstairs enclosure that was there when I bought the house. The county requires building permits for the job, and permits for both the electrician and plumber. It has cost around $800 so far and no work has been started. This is not a complicated job, just removing some paneling and an AC unit. I guess they need to make money to support their staff. I should be charging them for allowing it to be built in the first place. Something is very wrong about all of this.

[Monroe County a Charter County?] I remember when Tom Willi tried to float the Charter plan. As I recall, if Monroe goes Charter, Monroe loses the County Clerk position,  so we lose Danny Kolhege,  who's oversight is, I think, more important to Monroe County. Yes, losing DCA is a bad thing, but let's not compound errors by getting rid of out fiscal protection watchdog.

A BOCC super majority vote requirement on land use changes is also an effective method to control development.  Any BOCC commissioner who votes no to “super majority" is definitely pro developer, and that will sit in the spotlight at their next re-election run.

[Turkey Pickup Line] "Is that a pop-up timer in your belly or are you just happy to see me?"

[Parrotdise is great] If its so great, why don't you go there for turkey dinner? It’s only $22.50 per person, plus mandatory 20% tip.

[I Want This] For Thanksgiving a bird, in a bird, in a bird, in a bird in a pig and bacon strips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ

[And then it is winter] You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.  It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams. But here it is, the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise. How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

[Thanksgiving Day Dinner at the Big Pine Moose Lodge is Free] Thanks Moose. The moose always has free dinners open to the public. Not all of us can afford to feed the family and still pay the elevated prices down here. I wanted to say thanks to all the members of the Moose Lodge for their generous contribution to the community. I probably wont be able to attend, but thanks for the offer.

[Restaurant Review] Masquerading as a Mexican Restaurant, Mi Casa was hugely disappointing.  My boyfriend and I went there a few weeks ago and it was freezing in there.  The kitchen must have been cold too because our food came out lukewarm.  The rice was inedible.  Neither one of us have ever seen refried beans sitting up on a plate like a scoop of ice cream.  I ordered the ground beef hard tacos.  They tasted just like the Looe Key tiki bar's tacos.  But the Tiki's are only 75 cents each.  My boyfriend ordered the steak burrito.  His flour tortilla was dried out and hard.  The burrito was really a taco wannabe.  It was filled with lettuce, tomato, cheese, rice and the hard to find steak.  He had great difficulty cutting through that steak with the butter knife.  It was like chewing on leather. Additionally there was lousy salsa and margaritas made with sour mix instead of traditional lime juice -- totally generic stuff. 

Not even close to good Mexican fare.  Don't waste your time or money. ~ trixiecohee@gmail.com

I am wishing for peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world on Thanksgiving. Thanks for all you do, Deer Ed. Making sense of it all, is no easy task. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and to all my fellow Coconut Telegrapher's.

[Bingo At The Senior Center] Starting on Sunday, December 5 at 1:30 pm, and continuing every Sunday, the Dallas MacDonald Senior Center will be hosting Bingo, led by Betty Brown.

Other events continuing according to their regular schedule are Daily Nutrition Lunch at noon, Computer Club on the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday of each month at 10:00 am, Line Dancing Mondays at 3pm, and Wednesdays at 7 pm, and Daily Exercise from 8:45 to 10:00 am.

The Center is located at 380 Key Deer Blvd. in Big Pine Key, right behind the firehouse.
Bulletin Board > Continuing Events

NATIONAL POLITICS

I am thankful to the approximately 97,000 U. S. troops in Afghanistan; and for however many more all over the world.  Thank you. You are not forgotten. Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.

Now FTR is telling us stories about his Aunt Millie’s crotch. I told you folks, when a person starts talking about their own genitalia it only gets worse as the conversations go on and the mentality of the postings go farther and farther away from sound discussion. I hope Thanksgiving isn’t at Aunt Millie’s this year.

Why Republican men are happier.

[From the Right] The bi partisan security bulwark, TSA, is actually a good idea. The problem is not with the existence of the TSA, but rather the current management of the agency. TSA’s sole purpose is to keep you safe while traveling. To do that they have hired thousands of security guards. Be sure that there is a huge movement afoot to unionize TSA.  Imagine that.  The starting salary is about $25K. plus the big pile of government bennies. So, we have charged a bunch of mall cops with the responsibility of keeping us alive when we travel. Team Obama has clouded the focus of these security folks by squandering attention and action on millions of passengers who pose no threat whatsoever. The grope and gawk squadrons spend billions of man hours a year searching kids and grannies. Those hours should be focused on those persons who are most apt to present a threat. We have the electronic info and technical ability to do a near instant background check on every single passenger. The TSA should be profiling. They especially should also be profiling behavior, they should be trained to evaluate the behavior of persons in line. Skilled interviewers should engage each passenger in dialog so as to evaluate the mind set of the passengers.  Only passengers who generate reasonable suspicion should be groped and gawked. Until such time as every single passenger is stripped nude, searched,  and submitted to a body cavity search, we will not be able to stop a committed fanatic from bringing explosives onto a an airliner. Look folks, TSA’s focus on finding things (explosives) is misdirected, they should be spent focused on identifying the people who are most likely to be carrying the things. Plus, we’ve just learned that the government is contemplating putting grope and gawk procedures on trains, urban mass transit, and large public gatherings. The M.F. Terrorists are winning.                                 

(Part II) I sincerely hope that all who read this have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.  As for myself, I sure am thankful that my loved ones and I are blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation that has ever existed on this earth. I’m thankful that it looks like a great wave of common sense is beginning to sweep this great nation. I pray that it will sweep us back from the brink of the chaos that other nations have recently stumbled into. I’m thankful that we do not live in today’s Britain, Spain, Greece, Ireland, and a host of other nations around the world. Far too many of these nations are strangling in their debt. They are entangled in a Gordian knot of government entitlements that has dragged them over the cliff. In those nations we see massive riots, draconian cuts in wages, welfare, minimum wage, and the agony of their society. They have caused their own chaos by their reckless spending and their addiction to an entitlement ruled society. They now suffer the pain caused by imposition of huge new taxes and huge draw downs of entitlement programs. Some countries are finally slashing the size and scope of their government. I’m thankful that we have a decent chance of pulling away from the brink suffering only discomfort not wrenching pain that others must endure. We can do it if we have the will.  I’m thankful that we have avoided new war and I’m thankful that the current administration has only another 2 years so that we may again be set on the road to global leadership and prosperity. I’m thankful for my youth and health, and especially for the love of my family. I’m thankful for being able to spend this grand day with my friends. I'm thankful for the good fortune of having great friends.  I’m a better person because of them. I’m thankful for the continuing readership of my liberal critics, they occasionally make my day. Oh yea, one more thing, I’m thankful that our Deer Ed had the idea for this forum and still has the energy to keep it going. Enjoy the day.

NO NAME ELECTRIC

For those who would like to listen to NPR's coverage of the No Name Key controversy go to http://www.npr.org/2010/11/23/131543151/tiny-fla-island-debates-joining-electric-grid

[No Name Key is one of the last communities in America that is off the grid]  Yes, and there is a good reason why 99.99% of Americans have electricity.  It is a shame what has happened to the residents of No Name Key over the past 30 years.   Solar without grid-tie is a green lie.  Solar residents were even denied state and federal energy rebates for all the solar equipment they had to buy until recently.  In order to be energy efficient and qualify for the rebates you had to be connected to the grid.   The community has never been a solar community - they were forced to become a "generator community" only because Ms. Putney unlawfully stop the electricity from coming over the bridge in the early 1990's with the help of several county commissioners and the phony not-for-profit environmental groups she set up as fronts for her own personal agenda.  Her actions speak louder than her words:  she does not care about the key deer, the environment or anyone else but herself.  Beware Big Pine Key, she is not done with you either. Just remember she was the loudest advocate to get the county to do the Habitat Conservation Plan and Incidental Take Permit done first for Big Pine Key and No Name Key.  No Name Key and electricity issue is only the tip of the iceberg of what she has been doing with the county's comprehensive plan and land development regulations about your private property.   The Tier system will be your next big battle.  I wonder what else damages she has done that we have yet to discover?  

A friend of Ms. Putney told me that Alicia wanted to leave No Name Key as her legacy.  Another self-prophecy has been fulfilled, but I doubt she will be proud of how the history is recorded.  ~ronny.brown65@yahoo.com

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Thursday November 25, 2010

Wednesday November 24, 2010

Thanks to B for today's coconut Telegraph banner.

[Pregnant Turkey] Happy Thanksgiving Y'all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDn-RFEcBo

[Teacher Thieves] If the teachers do not repay the money they stole from the schools (yes if you don’t report the extra money you receive in paychecks its stealing) then it will prove that the school system is nothing more then more of the same. Every single teacher that was getting paid twice for doing their job should hang their heads in shame. And to think they teach our children. Shame on them.

I was starting to think the mentality of the school board was changing but it hasn’t. The ridiculous excuse that they didn’t know their checks were bigger is such an insult that the person saying it may be the most out of touch with reality employee of all.

Pay back the money you stole, teachers. Have some dignity for heavens’ sake. I will never look at teachers the same again. So much for a noble profession! Get in line behind the snake oil salesmen.

[Peacocks] "I have a brand new car that a peacock scratched the heck out of on one side because he saw his reflection and attacked.” This is how dumb rednecks define "invasive species". If it hurts your car, then it's invasive.

Really, Deer Ed! Your editing compulsion is getting out of hand. The original animated gif I included with my post was better than the one you replaced it with. And this one is better than both of them.

[Sloan] Today’s Key West Citizen leads off with an excellent, comprehensive article about not only DCA perhaps impending demise at the hands of the new Republican administration in Tallahassee, but also County Commissioner Sylvia Murphy’s stated intentions to try to create a requirement that it takes a super majority on the county commission to change our comprehensive plan, and to make Monroe County a Charter county, so it can pass its own version of Amendment 4.
 
Citizens Not Serfs has started a hard push, which I applaud, to get Monroe County changed to a Charter county. It’s going to take a lot of work in both Tallahassee and in the Keys, as there surely will be resistance on the county commission to that happening, and to a super majority being required to change our comprehensive plan. My understanding is, to change to a Charter county ultimately will require a voter referendum approving it.
 
My sense is, resistance on the county commissioner to changing to a Charter county and requiring a super majority to change the comprehensive plan will come from three commissioners: George Neugent, David Rice and Heather Carruthers, who now is serving as Mayor of Monroe County. I believe Commissioner Kim Wigington will join Commissioner Sylvia Murphy in pushing for the two changes.
 
Distressing as it is for me to have that view, it strikes my funny bone. You see, at every candidate forum, we county commission candidates were asked where we stood on keeping DCA and the area of critical concern designation. Every candidate said he was in favor, except Danny Coll wanted to get rid of DCA oversight, and he got beat by George Neugent in the Republican primary for that commission seat.
 
Running parallel to that, George Neugent and David Rice consistently opposed Amendment 4 at candidate forums, and David Vasil joined them in that opposition. Mike Forster and I lobbied hard for Amendment 4 at the forums. We explained 4 to the audiences, who mostly had no clue what it was about. Sylvia Murphy wore “Yes on 4? buttons to candidate forums, which she attended as a spectator. I wrote many posts in favor of 4 on my websites and to my bulk email list. Key West the Newspaper strongly endorsed 4, just before the November 2 election. 4 got killed in every Florida county but this one, where it got slightly over 50 percent of the votes in favor.
 
Ironically, David Rice got 56.6 percent of the votes in his race against Don Vasil and Mike Forster, and George got 72.53 percent of the votes in his race against me. Saying it another way, if the people of Monroe County who voted Yes on 4 had also voted for Mike Forster and me, what Commissioner Sylvia Murphy is trying to do, get a super majority requirement for comprehensive plan changes and a Charter county, would be a shoe-in from the Keys side of the equation. A shoe-in.
 
Do I think the Republicans will get rid of DCA, or turn it into a developer’s best friend? Yep. Did George Neugent and David Rice, and Sylvia Murphy, all of whom are Republicans, know during the campaign season that this is what the Republicans would do, if they got control in Tallahassee? Yep. Did any of them talk publicly about what they knew during the campaign season? Nope.
 
Do I think the Republicans in Tallahassee will smile with favor on Monroe County trying to become a Charter County? Not if George Neugent and David Rice tell the Republicans in Tallahassee they don’t want to see it happen. Snowball’s chance in hell.
 
See the "whole thing" by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com.
 

The Roy Rogers Museum has closed its doors forever. Almost everyone who watched him is dead. Roy's 1964 Bonneville sold for $254,500, it was estimated to sell between 100 and 150 thousand dollars.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

I loved the booby juggles!

[Oldies Quiz] 1. When did ''Little Suzie'' finally wake up? (a) The movie's over, it's 2 o'clock (b) The movie's over, it's 3 o'clock (c) The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock
2. ''Rock Around The Clock'' was used in what movie? (a) Rebel Without A Cause (b) Blackboard Jungle (c) The Wild Ones
3. What's missing from a Rock & Roll standpoint? Earth _____ (a) Angel (b) Mother (c) Worm
4. ''I found my thrill . . ..'' where? (a) Kansas City (b) Heartbreak Hotel (c) Blueberry Hill
5. ''Please turn on your magic beam,___ ___ bring me a dream,'': (a) Mr. Sandman (b) Earth Angel (c) Dream Lover
6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record? (a) Atlantic (b) RCA (c) Sun
7. He asked, ''Why's everybody always pickin' on me?'' Who was he? (a) Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (b) Charlie Brown (c) Buster Brown
8. In Bobby Darin's ''Mack The Knife,'' the one with the knife, was named: (a) MacHeath (b) MacCloud (c) MacNamara
9. Name the song with ''A-wop bop a-loo bop a-lop bam boom.'' (a) Good Golly, Miss Molly (b) Be-Bop-A-Lula (c) Tutti Fruitti
10. Who is generally given credit for originating the term ''Rock And Roll''? (a) Dick Clark (b) Wolfman Jack (c) Alan Freed
11. In 1957, he left the music business to become a preacher: (a) Little Richard (b) Frankie Lymon (c) Tony Orlando
12. Paul Anka's ''Puppy Love'' is written to what star? (a) Brenda Lee (b) Connie Francis (c) Annette Funicello
13. The Everly Brothers are: (a) Pete and Dick (b) Don and Phil (c) Bob and Bill
14. The Big Bopper's real name was: (a) Jiles P. Richardson (b) Roy Harold Scherer Jr. (c) Marion Michael Morrison
15. In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr., started a small record company called: (a) Decca (b) Cameo (c) Motown
16. Edd Brynes had a hit with ''Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb''.  What TV show was he on? (a) 77 Sunset Strip (b) Hawaiian Eye (c) Surfside Six
17. In 1960 Bobby Darin married: (a) Carol Lynley (b) Sandra Dee (c) Natalie Wood
18. They were a one hit wonder with ''Book Of Love'': (a) The Penguins (b) The Monotones (c) The Moonglows
19. The Everly Brothers sang a song called ''Till I ______ You.'' (a) Loved (b) Kissed (c) Met
20. Chuck Berry sang ''Oh,____ ____, why can't you be true?'' (a) Suzie Q (b) Peggy Sue (c) Maybelline
21. ''Wooly__ __'' (a) Mammouth (b) Bully (c) Pully
22. ''I'm like a one-eyed cat ..." (a) can't go into town no more (b) sleepin' on a cold hard floor (c) peepin' in a seafood store
23. ''Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do ...'' (a) cause there ain't no answer for a life without booze (b) cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues  (c) cause my car's gassed up and I'm ready to cruise
24. ''They often call me Speedo, but my real name is...'' (a) Mr. Earl (b) Jackie Pearl (c) Milton Berle
25. ''You're my Fanny and nobody else's...'' (a) girl (b) butt (c) love
26. ''I want you to play with my... '' (a) heart (b) dreams (c) ding a ling
27. ''Be Bop A Lula...'' (a) she's got the rabies (b) she's my baby. (c) she loves me, maybe
28. ''Fine Love, Fine Kissing ...'' (a) right here (b) fifty cents (c) just for you
29. ''He wore black denim trousers and...'' (a) a pink carnation (b) pink leotards (c) motorcycle boots
30. ''I got a gal named...'' (a) Jenny Zamboni (b) Gerri Mahoney (c) Boney Maroney

Answers in tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day Coconut Telegraph.

The only good Mexican food is in Texas and its surrounding states.

[Bike Path Guard Rail] The pretty aluminum railing is $100 a foot. The contractor is from outside the Keys, and the aluminum is from China! So much for helping the locals.

This production won the Best Video Grammy in Sweden. I wonder what they’re saying.  Awesome German Evangelical!

[Restaurant Review] El Casa Mexican Cantina. Tuesday night we finally had the time to wonder in to Big Pines newest restaurant and here is our review.

High hopes were to be had looking at the colorful sign, then we walked in to a generic decor that could have placed us in any cafeteria.  I don't know about any one else, but part of the joy of attending a Mexican water hole (there is a bar there) is the colorful cultural motif.  

Our first choice of seating was at the bar to get our drinks.  I’m 5' 11" and the bar stools where so high and the bar so low that my legs hit the underneath. My counter part is only 5' 2" and didn't like how the bar didn't come out far enough to sit up next to the bar without hitting the knees.
For the two minutes we were at the bar the bartender never made eye contact with us even though he was getting someone a draft beer right in front of us.

So we decided to move to the dining area.  We where cheerfully greeted by a hostess/waitress that quickly seated us. A few moments later our drink order was taken and quickly arrived. While waiting we spent time discussing the cheezy 80's style shirts the waitresses were wearing. With all the clothing options was this the best they can do?

We ordered a couple appetizers that came promptly (Mexican pizza and guacamole).  Both tasted good, but the Mexican pizza wasn't better then one we could have made at home or Taco Bell’s for that matter. The guacamole was suppose to come in a fried tortilla bowl. We must have missed something in the description. The guacamole came in a bowl on a plate with tortilla chips around it. No one came to us to tell us of the change. This lead me to re-read the menu to make sure I read it right the first time. Yup, I did; something must have gotten lost in translation.

While eating we continued to discuss the boring decor and our ideas on how we could have better spent some of the money used on the renovations like spending less money on the bar top and putting it into some Mexican colors and tiles, after all, aren't we in a Mexican restaurant?

Of course there had to be a trip to the bathroom. Really only one toilet?  Hope no one has to shoot it out in a hurry. Where are the portable toilets that Crazy Fish had to have before they closed? Once in the bathroom it was more of the same boring shades of tan. Is there anything in the place that has to do with anything Mexican? Nope, not even the staff who are Asian, African-American, and American-American. Not once did we see someone that resembled someone with a hint of Spanish in them.

Over all the food was okay, but not okay enough to entice us to go back. The décor was so bland we couldn't stand to go look at it again. Service at the bar—none. Service in the dining room--excellent! But even the best service is over shadowed but the lack of everything else.

We hope with time the kinks will get worked. When, and if they do, someone please let us know so we can update our review. ~bpkreview123@gmail.com

[Tipping] The real reason for tipping is so the waitress wont spit in your food if she doesn’t like you, so you will get good, stiff drinks from a bartender, and so you wont get a bad haircut from a barber because you want to look good while your out in public eating and getting drunk. Everyone else just climbed on the tip gravy train.

[Jobs] Did anyone notice yesterday that there were a number of good jobs advertised in the Key West Citizen? Only one problem, the Citizen ran the ads from that date one year ago.  None of those jobs are available.

Is anyone paying attention? The republicans want to vote for a $750 billion dollar tax break for the rich, but they voted down a 3 month unemployment benefit extension for the 3 million people whose unemployment benefits run out on December 1.

[Wi-Fi Bad for Trees] A new study concluded that 70 percent of the trees in urban areas of the Netherlands were negatively affected by the proliferation of Wi-Fi technology. Your Wi-Fi Connection Is Bad for Trees, Study Finds

Another "words fail me" candid photo of a Walmart shopper.

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.

[The best pizza is the one I make right in my own kitchen.]  I have the exact opposite outlook; food I don't have to make always tastes better!

[Snakes on a Plane?] Holy flying snakes! http://news.yahoo.com/s//livescience/2010
1123/sc_livescience/flyingsnakessecretrevealed/

Law enforcement officer left loaded gun magazine on plane. Are you feeling any safer? http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/23/plane.magazine.found/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[Key Lime Pie Factory Closes] Pie company blames closing on economy. Pie company blames closing on economy | KeysNews.com

[Ms. Blah-Blah] My grandaddy told me a long time ago to stay away from women having two last names. I never quite understood what he was talking about, but he usually was right.  I have found that these women tend to be on the uppity side.

[Lionfish Research program] Kill 'em & grill 'em. They are supposed to taste like Hogfish. 659 we're killed in the 1st Inaugural Keys Derbies. Lionfish Research Program | Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)

[The Old Testament] O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us, he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.  ~~Psalm 137:8-9

[Pizza] Try BigPineKey.com’s homemade pizza. Here’s a step-by-step recipe. ~Ed          Recipes > Pizza

The new Mexican restaurant needs to hire the Tomato Lady, she makes the best salsa.

Key West bicyclers beware a local editor (not our beloved Deer Ed) has waged war. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-11-18/news/key-west-bicyclers-beware-local-editor-has-waged-war/ 

[No Liquids on Plane] I was slightly annoyed when the clerk insisted I was going to want a bottle of something to wash down the snacks I just bought.  She was even more annoyed when I pointed out security would only take it away from me another 100 yards down the walkway.  Then she really got ticked when a couple other customers put their drinks back when I mentioned it.

[Parrotdise is great]  The person who is downing this great business is just mad. To give you a few good reviews they will be having a great Turkey Day dinner Traditional Turkey Dinner with all the fixings.  Or you can order Family Style for 6 or more with reservations.  They also have excellent happy hours and everyone in Parrotdise are genuinely caring, from the bartenders, waitresses and the owner.  We go several times a week, lunch and dinners and the food is always fresh and consistent.  Salads, sushi, seafood, rib eye, burgers and much more are always good.  Great kids menu too. The happy hour prices are fantastic! All you folks out there don't listen to the deadbeats out there saying it's not good because it’s great.

Tortillaville, is coming to Big Pine Key and various other spots between BPK and KW this December. They hope to make it an annual ritual, with its owners owning places in both, the lower keys and upstate, NY. Check out the website, the menu, the Press page and photos. The plan is to cater to Big Pine Fishing Lodge, KOA and Lazy Lakes, one afternoon a week each. But, a more permanent location; US 1 location or fulltime RV park is desired, as is a closer commissary, Dept of Health approved kitchen where they can prep, fill water and rid trash in exchange for rent. They currently have a commissary in Key West, but closer to Big Pine is more desirable (if anyone can offer this). Says its owners, "We believe that you will love our tacos and burritos. But, like we do elsewhere, we'll just do our best to serve delicious, clean, affordable food and await your return visit, and hopefully positive  / raving review. That's what we work for. www.tortillaville.com

[Bow-Wow] if you would get off your lazy ass and take your dogs for a walk, they would probably shut up; then everyone could have some peace and quiet.

[Restaurant Review] Masquerading as a Mexican Restaurant, Mi Casa was hugely disappointing.  My boyfriend and I went a few weeks ago and it was freezing in there.  ~trixie8889@gmail.com

Big Pine Bocce tournament winner, the Fab-U-Lushes!

[TSA] Sign the Petition to Investigate the TSA. The TSA’s porno scanners are a gross invasion of privacy. After the House voted down invasive porno scanners, the TSA ignored the will of Congress and bought the machines anyway, wasting $25 million in stimulus funds to create just a single job. http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/tsa?source=em20101116&subsource=side

Thanksgiving Day Dinner at the Big Pine Moose Lodge. Free and open to the public 1PM to 4 PM Thanksgiving day. Delivery available for the disabled from Cudjoe Key to the Seven Mile Bridge. Please call 305-872-4063 if you are handicapped or shut-in and would like a delicious Thanksgiving meal delivered to you by one of our volunteers.

Sent from my iPhone

I too wonder how one can declare opossums as non-natives. From everything I have read their range is the entire state of Florida. I would like to eradicate man from the Keys, myself included, before the lonely opossums. Please give my babies a brake.

[AA Basher] The Twelve Steps are all about quitting drinking. Never mind the fact that the Twelve Steps never tell you to quit drinking, or to help anyone else to quit drinking either. Never mind the fact that the Twelve Steps don't contain any of these words or phrases: "quit drinking," "abstain from drinking," "drink less," "recovery," "abstinence," "sobriety," "health," "happiness," "prosperity," or "love."

Never mind the fact that 6 of the 12 steps refer to God, and surrendering to God, confessing to God, begging God for miracles, praying to God, and seeking and doing God's will, and getting power from God. The Twelve Steps are still all about quitting drinking, not religion. It’s truly a spiritual program.

For that matter, also never mind the fact that 7 of the 12 steps — Steps Four through Ten — are designed to make you feel guilty: They are all about you listing and confessing all of your sins, character defects, moral shortcomings, the exact nature of your wrongs, and everyone you ever harmed or offended. The Twelve Steps are still all about quitting drinking, they say; the Steps are not the mind-bending guilt-induction routines of a cult religion.

And never mind the fact that Bill Wilson's Twelve Steps, and Frank Buchman's procedures from which Bill derived those steps, strongly resemble the Red Chinese program of mind control, with all of its guilt-inducing "self-criticism" sessions.

You really are stupid and evil. You are far too stupid to be able to quit drinking by yourself. Your thinking is all messed up, and you can't trust your own mind. Your character is full of defects. Your thinking is alcoholic. You are selfish and self-centered and just want to be happy and feel good. Your true innermost nature is that you are inherently sinful and disgusting. That’s according to Bill (Billshit) Wilson, co-founder of AA.

NATIONAL POLITICS 

[All Republicans care about is money] Are you a Democrat?  If so please write about something else

Patriot Act author was Joseph Biden in 1996.  Any questions?

[TSA] We are hearing some griping about the airport searches, but just imagine the screaming and tearing of hair we would have to put up with if Bush was still President.

[Terror] 4 common myths about the war on terrorism] In the past 9 years, the U.S. has built over a dozen new military bases throughout the Middle East and Asia. The U.S. has over 750 military bases at home and around the world. The natives want us out of the Mideast, but we keep building more bases, while telling them we have no intention of staying there. 4 Common Myths about the War on Terrorism | CommonDreams.org

[From the Right] we’ve learned a lot from the posters who have blamed the current TSA outrages on Mr. Bush. They are correct in their belief that Mr. Bush signed the Patriot act into law back in 2001. The law gave the Feds broad new powers to fight terrorism.  The aggravated posters have forgotten that The Patriot Act is a near perfect copy of legislation that was drafted and proposed in 1995 by Joe Biden. Maybe they just didn’t know that Joltin’ Joe has bragged about that. The Republicans slammed the door on the legislation. There are scholars who actually credit Joe Biden with authorship of the Patriot Act. I guess that the deluded posters see the world through Democrat colored glasses. They have forgotten that the Patriot Act did not become law until after 9/11. I wonder if they were in tune of the mood of the country post 9/11. Did they ever even know that the Patriot Act  was wildly popular at the time it was proposed and passed? Did they even know only one Senator voted against the bill (Feingold-D-Wisc)? There have been several modifications/updates of the Patriot Act since the bill first passed. Each overwhelmingly received Democrat support. Mr. Obama has sought and received much broader powers since he became President. I wonder how many will remember when TSA was first proposed that there was strong Republican opposition to TSA. Many Reps argued against expansion of the government and urged that the process be privatized. None the less, TSA became a federal agency.  Like it, or hate it, The Patriot act is true bi-partisan legislation. We’ve re-learned an old lesson: a whale of a lot of CT posters should fact check before they bitch.                                        

(Part II) When you’re thinking about the new gawk and grope TSA practices, please consider the following: Each TSA worker wears surgical gloves. Each worker gropes or lays hands on and in the groins, arm pits, skin, hair, sweat, body fluids, etc. of hundreds of passengers every day. Why do the workers wear gloves? To protect you, the flying public? Nope! They wear them to protect themselves. The gloves on the hands of the TSA groper who is handling your body has the germs and viruses of the multi scores of people who has been groped before you. If you consent to being groped, at least demand that the TSA groper change gloves before handling you. I damn sure will. When you’re done thinking about that, think about the fact that the TSA has revealed that hordes of government big shots, including legislators and staff are exempted from the gawk and grope policy. Now then, doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Do you really think that you are safer because Aunt Millie has had her crotch rubbed?

NO NAME ELECTRIC

[Electricity] It's obvious from yesterday’s post that you are very involved with the pro-electric people on NNK, so don't try to act like you're just a resident of the Keys with no allegiance.  Keep spewing lies about Ms. Putney.  You people need to give it a rest.  You're probably going to get your stupid electricity and the rest of us better not have to pay a dime--yeah, right.

Republican is the Party for the Rich. For the rest, it’s the Party of F**k You.

[Electricity is Coming] I just read yesterdays NPR article on the No Name Key electric issue.  I find Ms. Putney's comments in the article to be surprising. "Putney says she won't be signing up (for electricity). Even so, she says grid supporters and the power company will be taking something from her that's irreplaceable.  They're asking you to change the rules — the status quo — to take away something from me and the people that have a psychological, vested interest in seeing a solar community thrive".

Ms. Putney, how is it that you don't see what is so clear to most of us?  It was you that changed the rules, it is you that took status quo from the residents of NNK.  NNK was never a planned off-grid community; I challenge anyone to present any evidence to the contrary.  Electricity was scheduled to come, there is a Florida State Statute that entitles citizens to it.  It was you, Ms. Putney, that got on the Monroe Planning Commission in Sept. 2001, and helped write Resolution (P-61-01) that prohibited utilities to NNK.  You did this while you were a named intervener in a lawsuit against people on NNK who were suing for electricity.  You didn't recues yourself from the vote to prohibit utilities to your NNK neighbors.  This was unconscionable.  If you choose to live off-grid, that's your choice, but it still baffles me how you felt empowered to take that choice from your neighbors.

Ms. Putney, as an environmentalist, you should understand that the generator noise, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from generators are not good for people or wildlife.  Grid-tie solar and net metering are the modern day solution to solar power system limitations of the past.  We all want to see this unique solar community thrive, but the people should have the choice of whether they want to remain off-grid or become grid-tie solar.  It shouldn't be something you or the County Commission should choose for them. 

No Name Electric was featured on NPR yesterday. They interviewed the No Name electric association and Ms Putney. It is one of the last communities in America that is off the grid.

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Wednesday November 24, 2010

Tuesday November 23, 2010

[Possums] Since when are possums not native to the Keys? I used to see them a lot until the late '70s when they kind of disappeared for a while. Now their numbers have increased again. All animal populations go through cycles (except humans). Some years you see them everywhere and some years you don't. I find it interesting that the invasive snow birds who quit migrating and have taken up residence in the Keys are so quick to defend the existence of all the other invasive species we have down here.

[Restaurant Review]
Drink but do not eat -- Looe Key tiki bar.
Drink but be careful what you eat -- Boondocks
Best sandwich -- Romas in BPK, try the Reuben.
Best pizza -- Pizza works.
Best home cooked meal -- BPK restaurant.
Best no frills seafood – Wharf.
Best food, best presentation, best service -- Square Grouper
Best Italian -- Bon appetite (fantastic special nights)
Best Mexican food -- Homestead 
~joln99@bellsouth.net

[Bob Dylan then and now]  When you're that homely and young you can only improve with age.  Wrinkles make good camouflage, look at Keith Richard. Oh, wait, he always looked like that.

Kid Rock "In Times Like These". What a great tune about standing up for what you love and care about--in times like these! You rock, Kid Rock. YouTube - Kid Rock In Times Like These

[Lower Keys Lighted Boat Parade]  Sometime I'm going to get there to see that.  Until then, keep the pictures coming, please.  It's a regular part of my Christmas now, even from several states away.

[Tipping] I agree with the posters who bashed the non-tipping jack-off who doesn't want to tip a server or bartender. He should go back to his cave and serve yourself.

However, I do have a problem with tip cups at convenience stores, gas stations etc. These people do make at least minimum wage for a low level job.  The employees of any establishment expecting a tip for making a sandwich or any other paid service is ridiculous. Those who make minimum wage or over should work in the service industry for real if they expect tips.

I always tip at least 20% for typical good service, and those who work on making me a really happy customer will see 30% for their efforts. I have been in their shoes. It's tough, demanding work 2-3 hours a day with a ton of prep work for low bucks in the idle hours. Don't forget many times in the slow times these service people become underpaid janitors for the owners too.

Classy.

[Best airport dining for holiday travel]

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: African food at the taxi driver's cafeteria seven minutes walk outside of North baggage claim, Concourse E. Look for dishes from Ethiopia, Somalia, and Nigeria.

Looking for a different vacation experience?  Read the reviews for Area 51. http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=16858307230302011181&q=area+51&hl=en&gl=us&view=
feature&mcsrc=google_reviews&num=10&start=0&ved=0CCYQtQU&sa=X&ei=
e8PmTOnwJpa8zASdvJDRCw

[Children for Profit] Woman’s five children by three dads all taken into care after she was jailed for neglect is pregnant again. Jobless Lavine Samma, 28, vowed yesterday, "I'll keep having kids until I'm given a council house." Lavine's baby will be her sixth in nine years. Lavine Samma, mother of five children all taken into care, is pregnant again | The Sun |News

Aurora over Alaska

[Sloan] Today brings another look at No Name Key and sustainable engery, which might not receive Beth Ramsay-Vickery's seal of approval. You can read all about it by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com.
 
Today also brings another look at America at war, which again probably will not make FTR guy's day. You can read all about that at goodmorningkeywest.com.
 
Or you can skip all of it and read or do something else today. It doesn't matter to me if you read what I write, or if you don't read it. It matters to the angels that I write on topics they give me to cover, and how they feel about what you do or don't do with it is between you and them. 

[Killing Tips] It's always best to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

[Famous last words] Ms. Rajini Narayan's lawyer told the court in Adelaide, Australia, in September that she killed her husband by accident after intending only to torch his penis for alleged infidelities. The lawyer said she might have lost control of the gasoline she was holding when her husband said, "No, you won't (burn me), you fat dumb bitch."

Harmless peacocks? Not quite. Just because you don't understand all the variables involved with exotic species, it doesn't make them harmless. The least of the problems on pristine lands is their squawking noise. I have a brand new car that a peacock scratched the heck out of on one side because he saw his reflection and attacked.  Please look into the harm exotic species are doing to our native animal and plant species.

China's Tiangong 1 space laboratory will launch at some point in early 2011. This spacecraft will later host crews of Chinese astronauts launched aboard Shenzhou spacecraft. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Tasks_For_Tiangong_999.html

[Best pizza] I have found that the best pizza is the one I make right in my own kitchen. I make it just the way I like, I don't skimp on the ingredients and it's always hot and on time.

The new Big Pine Mexican restaurant ought to have the lady who owns the new Wharf restaurant on Summerland come up and advise their kitchen staff.   She used to own the Mexican restaurant on Duval called Gringos' Cantina.   They had the best Mexican food I have ever tasted.

[Airport Security] Price gouging is another result of airport security.  The no liquids across the line rule is creating a windfall for the soda and water companies and their delivery contractors. All their sales and profit figures are skyrocketing.  The "liquid" companies' lobbyists are working overtime to keep the liquid rule in place. An additional incentive to keep the liquid rule is that every airport in the US gets a kickback based on sales. 

In one town, the airport director wanted to at least reduce the soda/water costs to match the price in regular stores, because he was tired of the passengers getting gouged by the higher prices. He got fired.

Look at the industries created and people employed because of airport security. The secret camera installation business is booming. All transportation security is a cottage industry.

[Restaurant Review] No to Parrotdise. We stopped going there a long time ago. The food is not worth the price. It used to be a great place. I guess that is normal evolution.  ~cliffschneideronline@gmail.com

[Help Wanted] Cudjoe Key Blimp site is accepting resumes for the positions of laborer and guard. Candidate must be physically fit and have general computer skills

and be able to work nights. Benefit package included. Random drug testing is a condition of employment. Classified Ads > Help Wanted  

[Restaurant Revue] Having grown up and lived in the southwest before moving to the Keys I know good Mexican food.  I looked forward to Mi Casa opening on Big Pine. Disappointing is the only word to describe my two visits. The food is bland without any real authentic Mexican flavor.  Rice was served cold on my first visit with the taco meat (beef) simply tasteless.  My second visit (chicken enchilada dinner) was somewhat better, but the chicken was quite dry, and while the rice and beans came out warm, the dish was basically blah.  On the upside, the chips were fresh and warm, but were the multi-colored tourista chips.  Better to stick to the traditional plane corn tortilla chips.  The salsa was too watery and lacked any real zing and zest.  

The interior is very nicely done and nicely furnished.  Bar seating is generous and comfortable and bar service was good on both visits. 
 
While the decor and totally re-modeled interior is great, the food is lacking in several areas. (Tossing in a bunch of cilantro and/or cumin does not make it real Mexican.)  We can only hope that this will improve with a little time.  Perhaps a chef with a heavy Mexican food/restaurant background is needed.  I'll try again in a couple of weeks.  ~chartrac@bellsouth.net

What happened to the peacock poet? I miss reading those poems.

[Restaurant Review] Yes for sure don't go to Parrotdise unless you want to pay 20 bucks for a burger that anyone could make better. The last time I went there I got charged 10 bucks for the burger and bun. 3 dollars for cheese, 3 dollars for mushrooms, and  3 dollars for fries. They don't, or didn't, include fries. Plus the service was lousy. I asked for a locals discount and was told that was already included. They must make a killing over there. ~ dntueva@gmail.com

Is the new Mexican restaurant open for lunch?

I have not had sex in a while so I booked a flight so I could get a invasive pat down.

1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
17. A backward poet writes inverse.
18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.

To the poster who is a fan of Mr. Z's. Good news, he's opening a store in the Overseas Market where parking won't be the trick it is on Southard Street, especially during tourist season.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my dogs chewed up for me …
12 Punks a hanging
11 Bikers a roaring
10 Tax collectors collecting
9 Drunks a drinking
8 Democrats a damning
7 Illegal's a wondering
6 Flag burners burning
5 Muslims praying
4 Rappers rapping
3 Losers looting
2 Priests a Petting
And a Pakistani taxi driver up our pear tree.
For the last time, the dogs are not for sale!

Laura and Gail are back for another season at Big Pine Key Flea Market. Come see us. We have all the rhinestuded shirts, dresses, capris, and all your fashion needs. Come by and say hello.

Bad Monday. “Oh crap!” Video

Optimize Windows Vista for better performance. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Optimize-Windows-Vista-for-better-performance

[Chico's on Stock Island] Isn't that owned by German's?  There's no such thing as good Mexican food anywhere.

Damn it, Ed! I lost hours of valuable time today, mesmerized by the anti-jiggle bra animation. In punishment I will subject you and the CT readers to this one.

I love all the aluminum railings going up along the Bike Path to protect our little children and bicycle riders from falling into the dangerous mangroves. Should not these be put along all canals and waterways too? Who is the contractor and supplier of these wonderfully polished structures?  How much do they cost per foot or by the freaking mile?

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Airport security] Where were you when the Patriot Act got proposed, then implemented and then extended? Where have you been every time the ACLU (gasp!) says, “Hey,  wait a minute, this violates ...” 

This erosion of individual power and invasive escalation of government power has been going on since mid 70's  and probably earlier.

The shocking truth why FTR guy got his "junk" felt up by the TSA.

[Businesses sitting on trillions of dollars]  Small businesses keep enough cash on hand to cover expenses.  If you don't know what those expenses are going to be, you hold on to the cash till you get more information.  Currently, how much they're going to be taxed has not been decided, so they aren't going to add to other expenses until that amount is known.  Other expenses can include more employees, new equipment, pay raises, etc, all of which are the boss's decision. 

[You’re fired] Donald Trump has mentioned that he is considering seeking the Republican nomination for President in 2012. That sounds good to me. If elected, he could just "fire" Iran, North Korea, Russia and the Taliban, ending those problems.

[Body scanners] Here’s a very interesting item to consider. The CEO of the company that manufactures most of the body scanners now in use (Rapiscan Systems) by Obama's TSA is a product of OSI Systems. The CEO of OSI, Deepak Chopra, was one of the chosen few to accompany Mr. Obama on his recent visit to the US India Business Entrepreneurship meeting in Mumbai. The Rapiscan purchase by Obama’s TSA is an ongoing multi million dollar deal. 

All Republicans care about is money. Just read their posts. That's all they write about.

[Liberals don’t agree with the Right media because they tell the truth]  No we don’t believe the Right wing hacks because they say and post things such as "We know where the WMDs in Iraq are. They are north, south, east and west of Tikrit." It turns out they lied.  Fool me once …  What’s next? "I can see Russia from my house".  Sure you can. You betcha.

[Healthcare] 60% of us want Obama care repealed. Ironically, those in the healthcare business don’t. They would like some modifications, but not repeal.

[From the Right] I’m thinking that a welcome wave of good, solid, common sense is sweeping our nation. I think that it transcends party lines. For example: The most recent elections absolutely show an America that is anxious to throw out the spend and tax culture that has been ruling us in the recent past. Then we've just learned that a new poll reveals that fully 2/3rds of us have had it with bloated government. That 2/3rds are calling for a 10% cut in the Federal payroll. Need I say wow? Then there's the news that thelatest data shows that nearly 60% of us want Obamacare repealed. Bearing in mind that it is likely that the Democrats outnumber the Republicans, the news bodes well for America.                                                          

(Part II) Well, what is it? A poster complained that not too long ago companies claimed that they couldn’t expand because they couldn’t borrow money, then just recently we’ve heard that really big business has taken as much as Trillions of dollars to the side lines that could be used for expansion. Each condition was blamed on Mr. Obama. What's the truth? The truth is “yes”  to all three questions. Then and now it is still very difficult for business to borrow for expansion. The lenders have returned to some semblance of sanity in deciding who will get loans. The new/old metric is that there has to be a reasonable probability that the borrower will repay the loan. Our current mess was caused in large measure by Democrat mandated lending rules that demanded that lenders loan to those who had little or no ability to repay the loans. Mr. Obama is not directly responsible for that situation, but he had the opportunity, as a Senator, to try a fix it. He did not. He embraces the political world view that led the imposition of the laws requiring loans regardless of the likelihood of repayment.  It is reliably reported that large companies have taken Trillions of dollars to the sidelines. It is probably very true. For the last 4 years we have seen big business demonized and vilified. We’ve seen Democrat jawboning that promised to spend more government dollars and to finance that spending with taxation on big business and the achievers of our society. America currently has the 2^nd highest corporate tax rate of any nation. For the past two years we have continue to hear that Team Obama is demanding higher taxes and more even more regulation. Team Obama seems to be hell bent on creating the most hostile business climate that one can imagine. Team Obama has passed and instituted legislation that is stunningly harmful to American business and to the American economy. Big business is not the business of fools; they protect their interests by shielding their assets. Wouldn’t you make every attempt to protect that which is yours? 

NO NAME ELECTRIC

[NNK Electricity] Here is a fascinating CBRS fact:  there are portions of the Florida Keys that are designated as CBRS areas that, in theory, should therefore preclude everyone south of Islamorada from having any water or electricity that was generated north of that point, as roads and utilities should, in theory, not be allowed to go through those areas

Regardless of the hyperbole from both sides of the NNK utilities issue, the simple fact is this:  there is no true legal reasons why the residences who live there should not have what everyone else has, and the consequences of not allowing that, of forcing their continued reliance on pollution and noise spewing generators are greater than the cost of allowing them the freedom of a comfortable electrically enabled abode.  The usually cited reasons and documents that prevent NNK from having utilities are false facts and are the result of manipulated documentation that supports the wrong conclusion.

Ms. Ramsay-Vickery is simply doing what she, in the interest of her comrades, is entitled to do:  fight for her right to have what everyone else already has.  Conversely, what Ms. Putney has already done, is pull the wool over the eyes of everyone and unjustly seen to it that no one on NNK could get, in the past, what she herself does not want.  And the original impetus for her actions was to prevent a particular development from being built next door to her.  For the sake of Ms. Putney's NIMBY-ism, no one on NNK has had utilities ever since, although they have houses like yours and mine.  Does that really make sense and does it seem fair and reasonable?  No deer, no rats, no snakes, and no snails will be hurt by the introduction of utilities to NNK.

I do not live on NNK, I owe no one on NNK any allegiance whatsoever, and I am not a developer.  But I am a resident of the Keys who abhors rabid self-interest over the rights of others, and the ridiculous argument that any utilities introduced will harm NNK any more than what is already there or any more than it harms any other neighborhood.  And whether they choose to be a model community with regards to green living or not is up to them, although I have already wrote on the likelihood that very little electricity will really be available to be put back into the grid.  The simple facts speak the truth, and any white-washing and candy-coating simply diminishes credibility and should be avoided.

If you disagree that the residents of NNK should have electricity and water, then you should be fully prepared to disconnect your home from these same utilities, because this whole archipelago called The Florida Keys is entirely an environmentally sensitive area.

http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/State_Locator_Maps/Small_FL.pdf

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Tuesday November 23, 2010

Monday November 22, 2010

The Burmese python, invasive iguana and opossum are being joined by the four foot Tegu lizard as the latest threat to our refuges; and our refuge is wasting time worrying about the harmless peacock.

John Kennedy was assassinated on this day in 1963 in Dallas Texas.

[Tipping is a con game] Don’t try to justify your cheap self by blaming tipping on the restaurant owner. If they paid the waitperson more, your bill would increase a lot more than the 20% you should be tipping you cheap bastard.

The Lower Keys Lighted Boat Parade is coming up on December 18th this year. All boats are welcome to enter the parade including deep sea-cruisers, dinghies, kayaks, and canoes. Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected to arrive and hand out candy to the kids. The best recommended viewing is from the Pine Channel Causeway or Parrotdise Waterfront Bar. For details, call Holly at 872-0106. Last year it was nice. Come on people with boats! Let's make this year glow even brighter with local pride. Bulletin Board

[Burglaries in Tavernier and Key Largo] We've been invaded by the crooks. We let them in our neighborhoods because KL wastewater construction company employees go around and scope out the neighborhoods and go back up north and tell their buddies where to steal stuff.

Some smart cop should do an overlay map, compare all the burglary street addresses and all the streets where the construction companies have been. The streets will match up, guaranteed.

There are 4 different construction companies working (or worked) for KL Wastewater. And those companies keep records of which employees worked where and when. Now go investigate those employees and their associates. There's your burglars!  Just wait until the construction companies move down the Keys. Burglary rates will be up wherever the construction goes. There's no way to stop it, because there's no accountability. The construction companies do not come with background checks for their employees. 

[Sloan] I am no expert on sustainable energy and environmentally-friendly homes, but I started studying it over thirty years ago, and if I ever get the money for it, I will build a home on my place on Little Torch that will be so sustainable that Alicia Putney will be green with envy.
 
I would love to see No Name Key become a model environmental community, but what I have heard from your group is more of the same being provided elsewhere by Keys Energy, FKAA and Waste Management. I have heard nothing in any public meeting about No Name Key that indicated your group was moving toward sustainable energy.
 
What Beth Ramsay-Vickery is doing would be a joke, if it weren’t so darn serious. Too bad she got in the lead out there. Maybe if someone truly committed to sustainable energy had taken the lead for the No Name group, and Beth had not opened her mouth once, it would have gone very differently.
 
If you cannot see she poisoned your group’s well out there, you truly need to check yourself in for a psych workup.
 

Another anti-war rant, which probably won't come close to making FTR guy's day and can be gotten to by clicking on this link: goodmorningkeywest.com.

A spicy "review" of the solar war raging on No Name Key, which can be gotten to by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com

I caught another opossum in my Have-a-Heart trap last night in Eden Pines. They definitely should not be west of the 7 Mile Bridge.

[Driving Range] I am truly shocked by the responses some of this site's readers give when confronted by the occasional sensible idea.

[The Owl Named Kitty] Who? I mean hoo. The owl in this video has a set of eyes that will melt your heart, as it acts like a cat or dog when you scratch behind their ears.  The type of owl is called a "Forest Eagle" or "Malay Eagle" owl, while the scientific name is "Bubo Nipalensis".  The owner named the owl Kitty, and just like a cat, it really enjoys getting scratched on the back of the neck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r577ytYTZM&feature=player_embedded

[Restaurant Review] I wouldn't bother looking for Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant. The food is not good. Bland and definitely not Mexican. The chicken was dry. The steak was marinated in mojo (I thought that was Cuban) and who puts carrots in a fajita? If you want Mexican go to Chico's on Stock Island.

Here’s a handy free app to organize your files across several computers and cell phones. https://www.dropbox.com/#

[Key Largo Bargains] Those in the know have known about this for a while. Marine del Mare even has a  stay-2-nights-for-$109 (per night) and get the 3rd night free and that includes breakfast. Sharkie’s is right next door, so if you have indulged in too much beer, you can make it back with a slight list to starboard or port.

[Killing Tips] Break-ins and robberies are on the rise for sure. What is the law?  Google Florida State Statutes and research them.

Are we allowed to defend our property and ourselves here in Florida? Apparently you're not from around here.  Most people know us as the Gun-shine State. The natives bow to former Governor Jeb Bush for his courage in signing our gun laws.

If we encounter a person on our property can we use a weapon against that person? If you believe your life (or that of another) is in imminent danger or you're in fear for your own life, absolutely, and in some cases, the Castle Doctrine is extended to wherever you may be.

I heard the law in Florida supports this, but I need to know for sure. Then either pay a local attorney for an hour of his time or take a gun class at a local gun shop or gun range. 

If I shoot and kill will I suffer legal harassment? That depends on how clean your kill is. If you shoot an intruder inside your home, the event will be investigated by the State. That said, you have no duty to retreat inside your home.

Will the relatives of the bad guy sue me? They can file a wrongful death lawsuit  that will cost you attorney's fees.  Whether a judge ever hears the case takes time to grind through the system.

Will I feel bad for the rest of my life that I killed a crook? Judging from the nature of your questions -- probably. It takes more than a gun to shoot someone. You’ve got to have the guts to do it, and then live with taking a human life.

Will I be looked upon as a hero or just another nut case? If you want to be a hero go volunteer at a local food pantry this holiday season.

I am sure that if more bad guys are killed by us law-abiding citizens the crime will go down. Yeah, that's it. You go first Wyatt. See you at the OK Corral.

[Weed Whacking Golf Driver] This is the golf driver with a built-in grass trimmer, ideal for surreptitiously improving one's lie. Destined for use by friendly foursomes that often find themselves in the rough, the club looks like an oversized driver that fits into any golf bag, yet a simple flick of a button on its plastic bottom flips open the club's bottom to reveal a single-string trimmer. Requiring only the semblance of a square stance and proper grip for operation, two thumb buttons built into the handle activate the trimmer for a quick clearing of obstructive grass. Requires six AA batteries. 39" L.

The best pizza on Big Pine is at Pizza Works in the Big Pine Plaza. It's the closest to New York pizza the Key has to offer, hands down.  Chicago pizza or deep dish pizza, as it is known in New York, is Sicilian pizza.

A kitten pile. http://purinaanimalal
lstars.yahoo.com/?v=8571610&l=1
00000085 

[Restaurant Review] No to Parrotdise. We do not go out often, but we did the other night.  I agree that the tacos and mini-hotdogs from Boondocks and Looe Key are not worth anything.  So we went to Parrotdise Bar and Grill on Barry road.  What a waste of time that was.  I could not wait until the ordeal was over.  The service was bad, the prices were high and the food was mediocre at best.  That and I was charged a mandatory gratuity.  I think I should decide the level of compensation for service.  I, at least, want a sober server.  My wife and I do not recommend this restaurant. ~blazenpinda@gmail.com

Stairs

[Body Pat Downs] Why can't we have sex on commercial airliners?  Haven't we all just had foreplay before boarding?

Took the words out of my mouth!

Plants of Paradise, a new book is being released by Robin Robinson. Tropical Horticulture: Key West Garden Club. Copies are available at www.keywestgardenclub.com or visit the West Martello Tower at Higgs Beach. Or call 305 294-3210. Come visit the garden. Free admission.

The really strange story of Sunday's Blue Moon. http://www.space.com/spacewatch/november-full-moon-blue-moon-101119.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Killing burglars won’t stop burglary. That only stops the ones you kill. If crooks were reasonable they wouldn’t be crooks.

I spent all day Sunday watching Dexter on Netflix. He’s the most likeable serial killer on TV.

Headlights on for Safety was a scam by Volvo in the late 1980's to get people to notice their cars so then might be brainwashed into thinking Volvo's were safer than any other car. It worked

[Anti-Jiggle Brassiere] Dr. Will Scrape, a scientist working with Lunatics Anonymous has invented a bra that keeps women's breasts from jiggling, bouncing up and down, and prevents the nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in and shows no cleavage.

At a news conference, after announcing the invention, a large group of men took Dr. Scrape outside and kicked the s**t out of him.

[Dough] You cannot make good pizza in Florida because the water sucks. The same goes for a good hogie roll and white bread. You need good, thick Philly water to make good thick dough.

[Burglaries in Tavernier and Key Largo] It coincides with the road and sewer work going on and it's headed our way.

Bob Dylan then and now. The times they are 'a changin'. Silly hat.

[Tipping is a con game] Whenever I see comments like this I know the writer is a cheapskate, usually a snowbird. They will rant and rave and then screw the waitperson out of money and justify it by saying, "The owner should pay them more."

St. Louis tops list of most dangerous US cities. http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20101122/US.Dangerous.Cities/

Alcoholism is a chronic disease in which your body becomes dependent on alcohol. When you have alcoholism, you lose control over your drinking. You may not be able to control when you drink, how much you drink, or how long you drink on each occasion. If you have alcoholism, you continue to drink even though you know it's causing problems with your relationships, health, work or finances.   ~By Mayo Clinic staff

It seems the AA Basher has some home work to do. He is entitled to his opinion but not his own facts. My opinion, he is mean & hurtful to all folks that have to deal with alcoholism on many levels.

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Tax Cuts] Just a while ago the story was that business couldn't expand and hire more people because it couldn't borrow the money to finance that expansion and, of course, that was Obama's fault. 

Now the story goes that these businesses have been sitting on trillions of dollars in cash (the exact number grows daily), sounding as if they didn't really need to do any borrowing, and are refusing to spend it because mean, ol’ Obama will tax it.  Now, what's really going on? 

[Burglary] Regarding the recent dramatic increase in burglary rates in Key Largo, I hate to sound like the colorful persons near the bottom of this publication, but blame Democrats.

The increase in crime began around the same time as the Cash For Clunkers program, and Miamians are clearly getting farther on a tank of gas as a result.

[TSA Pat Downs] Do members of Congress and the Senate, have to go thru the same indignity? They should because you do wonder about some of them.

Ted Nugent on self defense. http://www.biggeekdaddy.com/miscvideos/TedNugent.html

Republicans are the bad guys.  They are doing everything they can to delay signing the START treaty in order to deny Obama another good thing for America. They can’t come up with any valid reason to delay signing except that they “need more time”. Republicans are getting more un-American every day. When will they start putting America first and not their quest for power?

[Wrinkly Old Parts] FTR, you might deny that your nether-bits are old and wrinkly, but I hear they offered someone a shiny quarter and a piece of ribbon candy to dust the cobwebs off them.

[The End is Near] The more Sarah Palin talks to the media about running for president in 2012, the closer we get to Googling “Mayan Calendar”.

Just who started all this TSA crap?  It certainly wasn't who's in power now. True to form they start a whole new bureaucracy then blame the next regime.

So if the Drudge Report has sunk to the level of FOX News, does that mean they are reporting the truth and have finally seen thru the smoke and mirrors of the liberal-socialist agenda? I love the way you liberals demonize anything you don't agree with. Saul Alinski would be proud.

[Bailouts] Ireland forced to take EU and IMF bail-out package thought to be worth up to £77 billion after emergency telephone conference talks. They have to pay the Bankers bills just like we were forced to do with the bailout and again through Bernankes QE2 this is a bailout for the Banks! The Bankers socialized the losses just like they did here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5QwKEwo4Bc

We have sunk so low that we are discussing FTR’s crinkled old genitalia. I guess that proves it, America gets dumber every time the Republicans win an election. Watch the next few years and you will not believe how much an average American’s I.Q. drops. Sarah Palin will be considered a genius by many of them. That’s proof enough for me.

[From the Right] A lot of folks think that the latest TSA gawk and grope search practices are nothing to worry about. Quite a few say to themselves “What the hell, it hardly affects me at all, why worry!”  Those folks are deluding themselves. These brand new government practices impact every human living in America because they are resetting the bench marks by which we view the power of our government. By quietly acquiescing we trudge further down the road that leads to an all powerful government.  Even if you believe that taking that road is your idea of a safer America, you have to think about the efficacy of the TSA procedures.

Today’s headlines: “Traveler arrested for ‘failure to complete security process” (he opted out after it had started. “TSA strip searches 7 year old boy in public view.” (the video is on the web) “TSA search leaves cancer survivor humiliated and covered in urine.”  “Massive security lines already at O’Hare Airport” (this is written at noon Sunday), “Hillary, No body search for me!”  (She suggests profiling or something similar) “Work Slowdown? TSA Revenge for criticism?”  The web is full of similar headlines. While you are thinking about the legitimacy of the gawk and grope process demanded by Team Obama. You should also know that if you attempt to video or photo the TSA people while they are conducting a search, it is probable that you will be stopped or arrested and your equipment seized.  I urge you to doubt this and to check it out on the web. It is true, but it is nearly beyond belief. How can this be in America?

But does any of this work? Are they making us safer? TSA will tell you that they have seized a lot of prohibited, dangerous, and illegal things since they have started this. They will only tell us that these things are small knives, illegal drugs, etc. If the “things” had the potential to bring down an aircraft, they would have bragged about it. The putative bomber would have been be arrested and the media would have run riot with news. Please be aware that Team Obama appears to be rethinking the issue. Incredibly they made an announcement today that the only people who will be forced to endure the invasive procedure will be those folks who activate the “conventional” screening devices. So, if your name is Achmed Muhammed, and you’re a 19 year old mid eastern Muslim male, traveling on a cash paid one way ticket from Yemen that was purchased yesterday, your good to go.  And if you have no baggage, and if you’re muttering Allau Akbar while fingering a string of prayer beads, then you will pass through without incident. No worries mate, the half pound of PETN that you have in your rectum, or in your underwear, will not trigger the metal detector, nor will the non metallic blast initiation device. If we could hear his prayer, we would hear Achmed thanking Allah for not permitting the Infidels to search based on profile. There is a better way.

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Sunday November 21, 2010

[Key Largo Bargains] I just got back from a week working in Key Largo at mm 100. Hotel rooms were $89 (Marina del Mar) and $119 (Marriott) both Walsh owned properties (Sunset Key is also Walsh I'm told)  I watched dive boat after dive boat leaving on trips to the reef twice a day. Most were full.

I ate at a place called Sharkey's every night because every night there's a $10.95 all-you-can-eat special with lots of good home cooking including meatloaf and pot roast nights with all the fixings.  Friday topped the week with a fish fry, all-you-can-eat dolphin (Mahi) that came with an ear of corn, veggies slaw and fries.  Big pieces of fish too, served 5-6 at a time on re-orders.  20 ounce domestic drafts were $2 – two bucks every night! 

A far cry from the tacos, mini-hot dogs, and empty $15 po' boy sammiches the Lower Keys are "getting famous" for.

[Making Family Gatherings Stress-Free] Hosting a large dinner is always stressful, but when it's a family gathering for a holiday like Thanksgiving, it can be downright excruciating. Here are some tips to help you survive your relatives this holiday season:

To keep your mother happy, seat her directly across from her one good child who actually did something with his life.

Splurge and get the more expensive turkey; then, make sure to mention at least once an hour how you splurged and got the more expensive turkey.

If your in-laws are religious, respect their beliefs and pretend there's a God for one night.

Appease Uncle Karl early by fitting the Second Amendment into your blessing.

Do not invite any newspaper or magazine columnists who publish an annual column about how we Americans have lost sight of the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Put the adults at the kids' table, and keep the kids in the car.

An air horn will help let your guests know when they've overstayed their welcome.

Dress in disguise, posing as a distant relative from Italy, and find out how they really talk about you when you're not around.

Finally learn how to make a Rob Roy the right goddamn way like Uncle Doug's been telling you for years.

Have a bunch of old National Geographic magazines on hand for that one cousin who doesn't watch football.

Never host Thanksgiving.

[Old Food] I read the post recently regarding a husband and his wife competing to see who could find the oldest item in Winn Dixie. In my ten years at shopping at the Big Pine Winn Dixie I have not really checked the dates that often, mostly milk was checked until today.  My wife and I went in to pick up just a few items and we were not in any hurry so we decided to check the dates on the items we were purchasing.  I was pretty shocked when after picking up a few items we discovered a use-by date of July 2009, which means it should have been consumed 16 months ago.  I will say that when I quietly brought it to the attention of two young gentlemen stocking the freezers they dug in and checked all the frozen sweet potatoes we were thinking of purchasing.  It was tempting to go and get some fresh produce instead, but we did not.  In the ten years that we have been shopping at the Big Pine Winn Dixie and making weekly purchases of ice cream, it is almost always thawed and refrozen.  I guess from now on our shopping experience is going to take a little longer because we’ll be checking the use-by dates.

Lower Keys in desperate need of golf driving range] Jump on the damn bus and go to KW Golf Course.

A dog and his dolphin. Video

Where is Mi Casa Mexican restaurant in Big Pine? I live on Cudjoe but I can't find it and I love Mexican food. Also what are the hours?

Don't over indulge this Thanksgiving.

[Dumb and Dumber] When my husband and I arrived at Duncan Ford to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it.  We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked.  “Hey,” I announced to Bubba, “it's open!”   
His reply, “I know.  I already got that side.” 

Break-ins and robberies are on the rise for sure. What is the law? Are we allowed to defend our property and ourselves here in Florida? If we encounter a person on our property can we use a weapon against that person? I heard the law in Florida supports this, but I need to know for sure. If I shoot and kill will I suffer legal harassment? Will the relatives of the bad guy sue me? Will I feel bad for the rest of my life that I killed a crook? Will I be looked upon as a hero or just another nut case? I am sure that if more bad guys are killed by us law-abiding citizens the crime will go down.

Dear TSA, the technology to see through people's clothing has been around for decades - as long as you had 12 cereal box tops and $6.95 shipping.

[Sloan] Today's yowling brings a belated report of my adventures on last Wednesday's County Commission battlefront, which you can see by clicking on this link: goodmorningfloridakeys.com. Here's the lead: "I tried to get out of writing about my experience at the last county commission meeting on Key Largo, the first county commission meeting for the newly-constituted Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). Alas, led by Commissioners George Neugent and Sylvia Murphy in my dreams, the angels insisted that I write about it. So here goes."
 
(Part II) Just as I was starting out the morning, hoping it would be a nice day, I opened my delivered Sunday copy of Key West Citizen and found on the front page a very long story about a Key West man, who went off to Iraq on a soldier of fortune adventure with a high profile private security firm paying big bucks and got one of his legs blown up and eventually amputated. Sorry, Key West Citizen, I think you lost your mind making that man’s soldier-of-fortuning a front-page story. I found myself telling myself yesterday that it is very hard for combat Viet and later American combat vets to face the true nature of the wars in which they fought, yet that is what it will take for any real change to happen in America’s foreign policy and in its citizens. People like me, who never fought in those wars, simply do not have the clout to make a difference, even though it is our responsibility to speak anyway." 

 I figured I was going to Vietnam after my son died, for by then they were drafting married men and students, but not fathers. I had one more semester of law school and went through a terrible internal struggle between enlisting in the Marine Corps vs. applying for a student deferment, which would allow me to finish law school, then I would be inducted. Perhaps I could get into the JAG Corps, with a law degree, avoid combat. Finally, I drove from Tuscaloosa to the Draft Board in Birmingham and applied for a student deferment. I drove back to Tuscaloosa feeling like I had died.

About two weeks later, my wife learned she had conceived. Hoping against hope, I drove back to the Draft Board and told the same woman clerk who had taken the student deferment application what had happened. She said there was nothing that could be done, the student deferment was irrevocable. She went to a filing cabinet to pull my file and show me what I had signed, to prove to me what I already knew. When she opened the file and pulled out the application, she looked at it, stopped – like the world stopped breathing.

Then she said, “There’s been some mistake.”

“What mistake?” I asked.

“You applied on the wrong form, the application is void. You will have to reapply for the student deferment.”

I laughed, said, “Thanks, but I’ll just keep what I had,” and I walked out of there and never went back.

That’s how God saved me from Vietnam, and I knew then God had done it. It was a long time, though, before I got over the survivor’s guilt, and much longer than that before I understood I had learned on that fated day how God viewed Vietnam. goodmorningkeywest.com

[Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution] I live over a mile from the Looe Key Tiki Bar on Ramrod. It is al most 11:00pm and I can hear the band clearly -- from a mile away. Does it have to be that loud?

What ego drives the musicians to play loud enough for me to hear their words on the other side of the island inside my apartment? I feel sorry for those that live closer to the bar and the unfortunate  people that booked rooms in Looe Key Motel and are trying to sleep.

[Rant & Rave sectio