Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
 I love it when people put words in my mouth that were never said and spouted by people who were never part of the original conversation. So, in response to Tuesday’s fabricated diatribe:
The News-Barometer has never covered political events other than elections, unless the national politician was in attendance. No marches, no meet-n-greets, no socials, no town halls other than the ones at which we served as a part of the moderator team and they had to be open to everyone for everyone. At no time, let me repeat that for those who will refuse to understand, at no time did we ever say that there could be no more Trump support ads run in our hometown weekly. We will accept paid political advertising from any, and all sources as long as the legal disclaimer is included that identifies the person or persons, groups or organizations, political action committees or political party apparatus that paid for the ads. That is the law. We adhere to it. The front page banner location that Trump supporters have been fond of the last couple of months is sold on a first-come first-serve basis and can be booked in advance should a recurring customer asks for specific weeks each month. Those locations have been spoken for, on a first-come basis, through the end of October and onto the first week of November, and the first week of December at this point. Everyone gets treated the same, although we have refused some advertising in the past due to its prurient nature and/or our feeling that it did not meld with our community’s values, a position that has been regularly (20 years almost without a single break for those words) espoused on our pages. There are 16 or more other pages available, usually five or more in color, that anyone can buy space on. We do not, under any circumstances, donate advertising space for political candidates, nor balloted initiatives. To do so would be unfair because we could make political statements without attribution. That’s not something we will do. These are the ethics we were taught more than 40 years ago and still live by today. Just because my personal political views may or may not align with yours, doesn’t mean, by any stretch, that I toss my ethics or legal training out the window. If you must make stuff up about me, please make it exciting. I love a good fiction as much as the next person. |
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[Make America Great Again] We Americans need a shared idea of nation. Otherwise we are no more a country. United we stand. Why are we intentionally being divided? Superman used to fight for truth, justice and the American way. What is truth now that we’ve been fed “alternate truths”? What is the American way? Greed? the mighty over the less fortunate? “I got mine, how you doin’?” |
| [Bull Shark Bite] A 30-year-old Georgia man was taken by air ambulance to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami Sunday morning after he was bitten in the shoulder by a shark at Sombrero Key Light. The Sheriff’s Office received information there was a bull shark in that area by boaters who were there previously. The shark was described by witnesses as eight to 10 feet in length. Eddy was snorkeling on the reef with family on a private boat. Witnesses stated Eddy was attacked almost immediately after entering the water. There was no one fishing or chumming the water where the group was snorkeling. |
I like the new format of the KW Citizen online. They’ve started publishing their newspaper like the printed edition next to the online version. I like it much better. It resembles an actual newspaper. I was going to cancel but now I’m thinking it over. It’s still too expensive for what you get. |
| [The Plague] Now that I’ve lived through an actual plague, I totally understand why Italian Renaissance paintings are full of naked fat people laying on couches. |
The Hindu Goddess Durga (or Maa) is the Swiss Army knife of deities. |
| [Cultured] I hate it when people act all intellectual and talk about Mozart while they’ve never even seen one of his paintings. |
[A Nation In Decline] Regarding the rioting in US streets. Consider me naïve, but cannot water cannons as well as some type of sticky foam product be used to stop the violence without human use of force? I’m an old guy, live in Key West, with no television, but just looking at the online news sickens me. We were the most respected country in the world, other nations are watching us crumble from within. |
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| [Get A House] Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys is accepting applications for interested homebuyers for a refurbished home at Habitat Landing on Big Pine Key and a refurbished home at Bayside Landing on Big Coppitt Key. The application period is open until October 2nd, 2020 at 5:00 pm. We will not accept applications received after the deadline. Habitat home buyers must be qualified under the Monroe County Affordable Workforce Housing Guidelines and Habitat for Humanity Guidelines. For information about program qualifications or information about applying for a home visit habitatlowrkeys.org. For additional information contact Susan Kent at familyservices@habitatlowerkeys.org or call (305) 294-9006 ext 2. Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys is an equal housing lender. |
It’s Fall in Florida. Know what that means? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! It’s still nearly 90 degrees outside. No, we don’t sit on the beach and watch the fronds change color. |
| [Hurricane Scammers] Does anyone know anyone who got money from Rebuild Florida? I heard that in three years of their existence they only helped two people. I believe it. After receiving emails encouraging us to apply, like every day, we applied and they dragged out the process for months, all the while me asking them if we made too much money to qualify. They said no and encouraged us to keep filing documents. I asked them a month later–same answer. After months of trying to work their crappy website and sending more documents and phone calls, they told us we made too much money to qualify. I asked why they made me go through all that trouble when we knew we made too much and I asked them about it twice—they didn’t reply. At the time I complained that they were there only to keep employed. I think they think their job is to keep their job. |
[The Well Dressed Man] The only thing we can all agree on about Trump is that he has a great tailor who is able to hide his enormous bulk in his custom made suits. The price for an off-the-rack Brioni suit starts at around $5,000. If that same Brioni suit was custom tailored to a perfect fit, like his, it might cost upwards of $8,000. |
| [When I’m President] The tourist industry in Key West is not a God sent, but a God curse. Ships and drive-ins are nothing but pack rats wanting “something different” to burn off their home spun boredom and frustrations. If I ran the country, I would ban all tourism and eliminate those who trash our shores, our way of life and all the greedy useless merchants who sell nothing but debris and garbage. Tourism is worse than any world plague. |
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| [“Sympathy for the devil”] In response to the Sept. 15 post questioning the meaning of “laying traps for troubadours” it refers to the death of Rolling Stone band mate Brian Jones. |
If you don’t like the blue fire station on Cudjoe? How about the pink one on Big Coppitt? |
| [“9/11 cartoon despicable”] Yes, it was, but not as despicable as the 911 disaster. The cartoon was in bad taste, but did prove a point that today’s generation doesn’t really give a shiite about that anymore and has more interesting thing to worry about like their Facebook image, the other web connections, games and that little thingy they play with one hand, their Cell pole…err…phone. |
The windshield washer supply line’s little check valve broke. Rather than bring it to KW to the dealer I went online and found it to cost about twenty-something dollars. On eBay, from a Toyota authorized parts supply, it was $6 — delivered! Plus no day wasted at Keys Auto. |
| [Masks Work] Doctor at ‘mask optional’ clinic in Melbourne dies; tests positive for coronavirus post-mortem. Link |
Hummingbirds use hawks as their bodyguards. They often live under hawk nests to seek protection from jays, one of the biggest threats to their babies. Hawks like to stalk their prey from above, so jays avoid foraging below them, which creates a hummingbird safety zone. Link |
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| [Police Killing Blacks] Inequality v training not to blow their top. Police need to be trained to handle extreme pressure without acting like murderers. They don’t have to like the bad guys, that’s not going to happen. They just have to realize that they are not Judges and to act professional. |
Napoleon’s Penis looks like a wet noodle or a shoestring. Link |
| [Name That Bug] Lately I’ve seen a big iridescent green bee. It looks like a big bottle fly except it’s a bee! I saw the first one climbing out of a Mexican Pansy bloom with its back legs covered with pollen. I haven’t been able to get a photo of it yet. I’ve seen it twice or maybe it’s its brother. |
A “Buy American Seafood” sign under the anchovies at Winn Dixie. |
| [Captain Doom and Gloom] The Social Dilemma is only there because the over propagating useless eaters have nothing better to work on. They breed and breed while the glowing screen dictates their subliminal lifestyles and instructions for the next trough of eats. Humanity is not going to make it by what has been produced in this newest generation of misfit dysfunctional. No schooling can correct this madness because those teaching are just as must the culprits as the New World Order students. |
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 [Masks] I saw something very interesting on The Doctors TV. It was a way to test your mask for efficiency. It’s the water test, and the candle test. If you put a little water into the mask and it drips through, your mask is not safe. If you put the mask on and can blow on a candle flame your mask is not efficient.
So I checked all of my masks and I found that most of them did not pass the water test. A cotton mask is not good unless it is lined with an impervious material. Polyester with a cotton lining makes a good mask. (I think that some of Kathy’s early masks are very good because she lined them with left over puppy pee pads [unused].) You can beef up a leaky mask by lining it with something. Someone suggested unscented panty liners. They might be quite comfortable, presenting a soft surface to the face. Or cut up a pee pad. |
| [“Social media”] Democracy is in jeopardy because people only see opinions like theirs on social media. It’s designed that way where AI only feeds you like-minded stuff. In Myamar all of a sudden there were cheap cell phone with only Facebook installed. Within six months their democracy was overthrown by like minded right wingers. The regular citizens didn’t even know it was going on. Social media is a breeding ground for fascism, restricting human rights until there’s nothing left. |
OK I’ll admit I’m still confused on how Bitcoins work, so I’m completely lost on how this works? |
| [“Social media”] You all might have realized by now that social media’s main thing is criticizing others. Fake news travels 6 times faster on Twitter. |
Wearing masks should be absolutely mandatory, but real surgical 100% filter masks, not the jokes we are stuck with. Any breathing protection should seal 100% of all in-coming and out-going air, not allow leakage anyplace. If you are that stupid to think it does not matter, don’t wear a mask, but you better ware a bullet proof vest if you come within 50 feet of me. Forget the 6 foot BS! Any “sneeze or cough” can send particles over 50 feet and more with a trailing wind. When will this plague stop? When you die off and leave us to have good air |
| Social media is a trap. AI is persuasive technology and a check on humanity. We only see what the engineers want us to see. |
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