[Dredging the Channel] I wish the pro dredging, channel widening, cruiseship  lobbyists folks with their “It’s only a study” line had to do the same disclosures that the drug companies do when they tell you about the possible side effects of their newest wonder drug. You know, like when they have to tell you it can also cause tuberculosis, cancer or suicidal thoughts, but, hey,  you’ll breathe better or your skin will be clearer, right?  

Instead they remind me of what I used to tell my high school girlfriend, “Hey, it’s just the tip!”

[Postage]  Here they go again. Stamps are going up 3 cents! They go and buy Gramps a Hallmark card for 3, 4 or 5 dollars, whatever, and the USPS will carry it from their door to Gramps in Anchorage, or Honolulu, or Bangor, or Texas, wherever, for 49 cents — and they complain. Yet the same complainers about a stamp, go into Circle K and their purchases come to $4.94, they give the clerk $5 and put the 6 cents change in that dish for “got a penny, leave a penny, need a penny, take a penny”. Go figure ?

[Sewer Litigation] I’ve lived the sewering of the lakes in northern Indiana and also have a home on Cudjoe. I have read the comments that are being made. Here is what I know. We had lawsuits filed against the sewers up here and it delayed the process and added on another twenty dollars or so to our monthly bills. We still got the sewers as they were originally designed. I do have a grinder pump and in 5-6 years of service I have not had a problem with it.

[ Obamacare] As a business owner and provider of health insurance. I must say that there is nothing to date on Obamacare. October 1st is a few days away and there is no help in sight. I have seen several post about how much some folks are saving — what a great deal this new program is for them. I would like to know where they are getting their info & price quotes. If anyone wants to know the real deal on this, try to find out what your new rate will be or who will be your provider. You can’t. You will see “Coming soon” in place of information. Link

[Lunatics] We are told not to judge all Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge all gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

How do I know when to prune according to the Moon or nature? I know there’s a time for everything (Paul Simon said so). Poor Richard’s Almanac used to have a list of what to plant and prune, but I think that was a long time ago. “… a time to plant and a time to uproot …”

[Dredging Port Everglades] The National Marine Fisheries Service believes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers significantly understated the project’s environmental impact and underestimated the amount of work needed to mitigate the damage. Link

Today in 1908, the first Model T automobile left the Ford factory in Detroit.

On this day in 1954, “Tonight Starring Steve Allen,” the late-night talk show that eventually became “The Tonight  Show,” premiered on NBC.

[Subsidy Calculator] Here is a subsidy calculator from the Kaiser Family Foundation. If you make less than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), your premiums are subsidized. Your premiums are based on x% of your income, based on a Silver plan, not the premium amount.  If you make less than 200% of the FPL, your out-of-pocket costs (co-pays, deductibles) are capped at $2250 per person.  It would be in your interest to buy the Silver plan (what the subsidies are based on) and not upgrade to Gold or Platinum which has a higher premium and lower deductible because your out-of-pocket is capped anyway. You could buy the lowest plan (Bronze) and your premiums will go down too. Again, your premiums are based on your income if you make less than 400% of the FPL and the Silver plan premiums that are subsidized.

You can’t actually sign-up until October 1 at healthcare.gov, but maybe this sheds some light on the premium subsidies based on your 2014 income estimate. Calculator

[Big Brother Air] The FBI has spent $3M on drones to spy on Americans.

[Friday Joke] You know you’re a redneck when: 1. You take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree.2. You can entertain yourself for more than 15 minutes with a fly swatter.3. Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years.4. You burn your yard rather than mow it.6. The Salvation Army declines your furniture.7. You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don’t want it.8. You have the local taxidermist on speed dial.9. You come back from the dump with more than you took.10. You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table.11. Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat.12. Your grandmother has ‘ammo’ on her Christmas list.13. You keep flea and tick soap in the shower.14. You’ve been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog.15. You go to the stock car races and don’t need a program.16. You know how many bales of hay your car will hold.17. You have a rag for a gas cap. 18. Your house doesn’t have curtains, but your truck does.19. You wonder how service stations keep their rest-rooms so clean..20. You can spit without opening your mouth.21. You consider your license plate personalized because your father made it.22. Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand.23. You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say ‘Cool Whip’ on the side.24. The biggest city you’ve ever been to is Wal-Mart.25. Your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV.26. You’ve used your ironing board as a buffet table.27. A tornado hits your neighborhood and does $100,000 worth of improvements.28. You’ve used a toilet brush to scratch your back.29. You missed your 5th grade graduation because you were on jury duty.30. You think fast food is hitting a deer at 35.

I’m not sure what this Craigslist post is all about, but I do know this guy is the most annoying gadabout town endlessly publishing pictures of himself with other local gadabout Key Westers. But this is too funny to miss:

I just read the publishers editorial in the Conch Color, boy this guy really knows how to exaggerate the truth. First things first his first surgery A success, The person that botched all the work the doctor did was the patient by not following through with the doctors recommendations for physical therapy and being a lazy asshole. This is why he had to have the second surgery because he destroyed all the work the first surgery fixed. The reason the first surgeon would do the second operation is because He never paid what he owed the hospital for the first operation , even after his Ins paid there part,so is he was put on the do not treat list, that’s why he had to find a new doctor and the new hospital.

As for being helicopter all the way to Miami that’s a big fat lie, they haven’t constructed a helicopter big enough to carry that much shit!

I have no idea what t-shirt shops are about, but I do know the one I worked for for a while was doing around 10k to 15k in sales and paying 18k in rent, yet stayed in business.

Deer Ed, Please remove the classified ad for the 2012 Ice Bear Ninja trike. It sold today. BPK.com generated leads. Thanks for posting the picture and have a great day!

(Ed: Our free Classified Ads now include a picture and email link and those two add-ons are now free too.)

[Si muchacho] I’m guessing Miami has an Engrish problay? 

[Drugstore discount cards] Tips and tricks to watch out for. Link

I noticed that the FTR guy signs off using the word “respectfully”.   Why is that?

[Software] The government website for Obamacare must be a colossal nightmare for the developers. They have to provide access to all the states and all the insurance companies with all their rates updated instantly, and a ton of other information that would try any software engineer. I don’t think as complicated of a website has ever been designed before. The closest I can compare it too is Amazon.com’s. 

[The Two Dollar Tomato] Two years from now you Keys folks will pay more for your property taxes, you will pay more for home insurance both flood and windstorm, you will pay more for basic services, you will pay more for health insurance. Likely total, an extra $500 per month more so, what to do? Buy a boat to live on.

I just bought a camera battery from Amazon for 1 cent! Shipping was $5.99 from China. A battery from Canon costs $35 from Amazon.

[More bar wisdom] I have a problem with alcohol — the prices!

How will “Get rid of NOAA in the Keys” “rid the land of the exotic snake and lionfish”?
Is the guy with all the casitas?

Obamacare is the biggest thing ever to happen to our country besides war and it’s going to be just as messy. Time and public support will fix it and we’ll all be healthier. 

[Dredging] KW business is sure spending a lot of money to get the dredging referendum passed. The citizens don’t want more tourists, just the business along Duval St do.

[Millipedes] They’re under the dirt. After Hurricane Georges we had a millipede infestation. They were all up the trunks of the trees and the on the columns of our house, about shoulder high. Another guy said he had so many that he used a rake to pile them into garbage bags. Link

I also watch TV for news only, and at that, the local news is mostly the low life report and then the national news is about Washington. O well, forget it.

FTR says Medicare isn’t socialism because he paid the pittance that was deducted from his paycheck. Just one of his operations wiped out any pittance remittance he ever paid. Taxpayers are footing his bill–that’s Socialism at it’s finest. Admit it, man, you’re sucking on the nation’s teat. He also says he has no choice but to use Medicare. Yes he does. He could pay for private insurance, but he’ll say that’s too expensive and he’d rather take the socialized Medicare.

[“Obama is a supporter of live birth abortions”] The following verifiable events are presented as evidence, to the point, that Obama is an avid supporter of live birth abortions. No spin nor hate for the Moderate Democrat’s inquiry. Just the facts.

On March 30, 2001, Mr. Obama was the only Illinois senator who rose to speak out against a bill that would have protected babies who had survived a late term labor-induced abortion.

Mr. Obama indicated that a nine-month-old fetus, which survived a late term labor-induced abortion would be deemed to be a person, therefore, it would have a right to live.

Mr. Obama further explained that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment would not allow somebody to terminate the life of this unwanted baby. That is why he could not support a law that rendered any type of medical treatment to a baby who survived an attempted abortion.

On three separate occasions, as an Illinois senator, Mr. Obama voted against a bill that would require medical treatment for a baby that was born alive from a botched abortion.

On May 30, 2012, President Obama gave the Medal of Freedom to retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. This justice concurred with Justice Breyer’s opinion, finding it was OK to: “Deliberately and intentionally deliver into the vagina a living unborn child, or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure that the person performing such procedure knows will kill the unborn child”.

It was further determined that: “Evidence before the trial court makes clear that this procedure will often involve a physician pulling a “substantial portion” of a still living fetus, say, an arm, head or leg, into the vagina prior to the death of the fetus”.

Their opinion continued that: “This procedure involves dismemberment…the dismemberment occurs between the traction of the instrument and the counter-traction of the cervix. And these events often do not occur until after a portion of a living fetus has been pulled into the vagina.”

Obama’s Medal of Freedom winner Stevens said that preserving the right to dismember what he called a “potential life” was really a question about the “liberty” of the mother protected by the 14th Amendment.

As described by these justices, butchering a viable fetus or a baby is horrifying.  Obama and his cadre of supporters are OK with this gruesome procedure. However, many people believe that it is outright murder.

[Socialism] If you are on Medicaid or Medicare you are on a Socialized medical plan no matter how hard you try and talk yourself out of it. A poster said they have paid into it for years, as if that means it can’t be Socialized medicine? Sorry, but countries with Socialized health care pay for theirs in taxes. The type of payment you make isn’t the determining factor to be Socialized, the determining factor is, does the government pay the bill to the medical issuers or does an independent insurance company pay the bill? Medicaid and Medicare usually do not pay the entire bill and either does private insurers. That’s part of the Rights irony. They want their Medicare left untouched the same way Congress doesn’t want their coverages changed. They are more alike each other then different.

[FTR “Miami premiums”] I’m a right-winger too, but believe it is fair to point out the fine print at the bottom of the chart he cited: “Premiums available on the health-insurance exchanges are for the lowest-priced bronze-level plan in 2014. Current lowest rates are for a nonsmoker, for coverage to begin Oct. 1, 2013, and may cover more limited benefits.”

This means that the lowest rate may be for limited benefits, so it may not even be a “true” major medical policy.

I also agree that Obama said if you like your plan you can keep it, and that is not true. What happened is the ACA has minimum requirements for an insurance plan. Yes, if you want to keep your limited benefit plan and the premium you should be able to, but unfortunately that is not what has happened with ACA.

One positive is that women get a free mammogram annually after 40, screening colonoscopies are free after 50, everyone gets an annual wellness visit. These are not subject to deductibles or co-pays. I got a free colonoscopy last year and Obama saved me $5,000 between my husband and I.

Please look at the entire picture and don’t focus clearly on premiums. At the end of the day, everyone will have insurance. If they make less than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level their premiums are subsidized. A lot of people without insurance go to the ER and that money is coming from somewhere because it’s not out of their pocket.

Ted Cruz forgot to mention during his 21-hr flubbabuster that he voted to take food stamps away from veterans.

[Jobless claims hit another new low] So let’s hear the rest of the story from Fox News and our very own FTR guy why that’s so bad? Let’s hear his unique spin from good news to bad news.

[Joke Friday] A young cowboy from Texas goes off to college. Half way through the semester, having foolishly squandered all his money he calls home. “Dad,” he says, “You won’t believe what modern education is developing! They actually have a program here at A&M that will teach our dog, Ol’ Blue how to talk!”

“That’s amazing,” his Dad says. “How do I get Ol’ Blue in that program?”

“Just send him down here with $1,000” the young cowboy says “and I’ll get him in the course.”

So, his father sends the dog and $1,000. About two-thirds of the way through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home. “So how’s Ol’ Blue doing son?” his father asks.

“Awesome, Dad, he’s talking up a storm,” he says, “but you just won’t believe this — they’ve had such good results they have started to teach the animals how to read!”

“Read!?” says his father, “No kidding! How do we get Blue in that program?”

“Just send $2,500, I’ll get him in the class.”

The money promptly arrives. But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog

can neither talk, nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father

is all excited. “Where’s Ol’ Blue? I just can’t wait to see him read

something and talk!”

“Dad,” the boy says, “I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol’ Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does. Then Ol’ Blue turned to me and asked, so, is your daddy still messing around with that little redhead who lives down the street?”

The father went white and exclaimed, “I hope you shot that lying dog before he talks to your Mother!”

“I sure did, Dad!”

“That’s my boy!”

The kid went on to law school, and now serves in Washington D.C. as a U.S. Congressman.

If yesterday’s poster who challenged the assertion that Obama opposed legislation that would have required physicians to provide lifesaving care for babies that survived abortion, is really interested in the truth, I suggest that s/he do your own research and begin at: Link

Here’s what Wikipedia said about Obama and the three separate items of legislation that would have required lifesaving care for infants that survived abortion and partial birth abortions: “In the Illinois state legislature, Obama opposed the Induced Infant Liability Act[6] and repeatedly voted against requirements and restrictions intended to stop what opponents label “born alive” abortions.”  “Obama expressed displeasure with the Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on “partial-birth” abortions saying the ban didn’t sufficiently consider the mother’s health.”

Part 2) Unfortunately yesterday’s poster who suggested that Iran’s new President, Hassan Rouhani, is interested in peace with the US is dead wrong. The Presidency in Iran is a functionary position with little real power. The real leader of the nation is called the “Supreme Leader” and is Ali Khamenei, he has been in power since 1989.  Khamenei is a true believe Islamic fundamentalist who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and for the death of all who are not Muslim. It Is in his DNA.

At the UN Obama reached out to Rouhani and offered a face to face meeting. Rouhani blew him off. That cost Obama “face.” It was a really serious slap in Obama’s face. Iran is playing Obama like a fiddle and is managing to gain more and more time to manufacture more and more weapons grade fissile material. Even worse the credibility and reputation of the US and of Obama is in tatters in the region.  One morning soon we will wake up and learn that Iran has exploded, tested, a nuke. Given that Iran is an enemy of the US and Israel and is a state sponsor of terrorism, that will be mean a whole new world order. I assure you, we will not like it.

Part 3) I’ll bet you’ve  never heard of Lakim Faust.  I know that I had never heard of him until yesterday. I’ll bet that you never heard of a multiple shooting in Greenville NC in June. I know I never had heard a thing about it.  The shooter was Lakim Frost. He had more than 100 rounds of ammunition when he started shooting at people who were standing outside at a law firm and a shopping center in June, authorities said. Three of the four people wounded in the shooting suffered permanent and debilitating injuries.  Faust was just indicted by a NC Grand Jury.

I wonder if the reason that the shooting was not heavily covered by major media was because Faust is black, and according to the indictment, he specifically chose only white victims. Was their failure yet another example of political correctness run amok?