[Slideshow "number2" not found]
Anonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition
 David Wolkowsky is looking at donating Ballast Key to the University of Miami for use as an offshore research facility. Wolkowsky has met with representatives with the University of Miami, The Nature Conservancy, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has jurisdiction of Ballast Key and the surrounding islands. But in a letter sent to the Monroe County Commission last week, Wolkowsky specifically mentioned giving the 26-acre island to the University of Miami. However, the millionaire developer needs the Monroe County government to change the land-use and zoning rules for the island to make it happen.The island, nine miles off Key West, is designated an “offshore island” by the county and county land use rules would only allow one home to be placed every 10 acres, which would result in most of the current structures being “non conforming” and not to be allowed to be rebuilt if a hurricane destroyed them. The designation only allows for residential use, not educational or commercial, said Wolkowsky’s private planner, Jim Hendrick. Wolkowsky and Hendrick argue Ballast Key does not meet the county’s definition of an offshore island like many of the other naturally formed islands in the refuge. Ballast Key is a man-made spoil island created from dredging, they said. “We don’t want Ballast Key lumped in with pristine mangrove islands,” Hendrick said. “It is my hope and intention that use of Ballast Key will be expanded to accommodate education and research in the marine sciences,” Wolkowsky wrote. “Unfortunately, the proposed Offshore Island’ amendments would greatly impede, if not prevent, that objective. And they would also render much of the existing improvements nonconforming …. As you may know, I have owned Ballast Key for several decades. During that time, I have made substantial improvements to the island, including construction of two residential buildings, a utility building, dock, gazebos and extensive landscaping.”Wolkowsky had been trying to sell the island for more than 20 years, at one point asking $13 million for it. In June, Wolkowsky hosted representatives with the University of Miami, The Nature Conservancy, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to discuss a joint-use facility by some or all of the agencies, according to Donna Bosold, a private planner for Wolkowsky. At a previous county comp plan meeting, representatives of F.E.B. Corp. asked for a special land-use definition that would allow a resort and other large scale development on the island. The representatives, which are embroiled in a lawsuit with the federal government about ownership of Wisteria, have asked the commission to create a land-use definition for the island called “Resort Island.” The Resort Island definition would allow the developers to apply for future land-use map categories that permit hotels and other large-scale development. For years, F.E.B. Corp. has been trying to develop Wisteria Island. Its representatives will be at today’s meeting, they said. The county commission meets at 10 a.m. today at the Marathon Government Center. Link |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ad, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 [Haunted House Tips] “The 13th Gate” guests try to push their way through a darkened room, 8-foot-tall air-filled sacs envelop them, turning the space into a claustrophobe’s nightmare. Watch out—at some houses, actors might grab at you from inside. |
| Do something nice for someone today. Concentrate on the good that is around you, and go outside your comfort zone to help others. |
 |
| Technically rap music is not music, but poetry synchronized to a heavy beat. That’s why old people hate it so much. They confuse it with their notion of traditional music |
 The next meeting of our Big Pine Computer Club is coming up this Saturday, October 11, 10 am at the senior center. Hope to see you there! |
| Movie subtitles: [SNIFFS ANGRILY] |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ad, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 The Bone Clocks. By David Mitchell. This ambitious, much-anticipated new novel from the author of Cloud Atlas is one to lose yourself in. Episode 1 of 15 Listen |
| [“A person is either African or Caucasian“] Caucasian is too broad of a definition as it includes Asians, which is another race, plus their offshoots of Polynesians, Aborigines and Indians, which are their own races. |
 |
| Why don’t lizards get dizzy? When I hang up-side-down from the ceiling I do |
 Bill Murray: “The terror of marijuana was probably overstated” We’re talking about recreation, which everyone is in favor of. You are also talking about something that has been illegal for so many years, and marijuana is responsible for such a large part of the prison population, for the crime of self-medication. And it takes millions and billions of dollars by incarcerating people for this crime against oneself as best can be determined. People are realizing that the war on drugs is a failure, that the amount of money spent, you could have bought all the drugs with that much money rather than create this army of people and incarcerated people. I think the terror of marijuana was probably overstated. I don’t think people are really concerned about it the way they once were. Now that we have crack and crystal and whatnot, people don’t even think about marijuana anymore, it’s like someone watching too many video games in comparison. The fact that states are passing laws allowing it means that its threat has been over-exaggerated. Psychologists recommend smoking marijuana rather than drinking if you are in a stressful situation. These are ancient remedies, alcohol and smoking, and they only started passing laws against them 100 years ago. |
| The cheapest flights are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday when there are fewer business travelers. Book trips after 3 and they will be even cheaper. Sunday travel is the most expensive.. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ad, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 [“You are what you eat”] If we truly are what we eat I would strongly suggest that women stop eating elephant meat! Yesterday there were herds of them seen roaming and foraging in the lower Keys. Good thing nothing spooked them into stampeding, it could have been a disaster. |
| [Mosquito Control] I’m voting for whoever wants just one location, not locations all over the Keys. I say use that money to kill mosquitoes or lower our taxes. Pouring money into buildings and more employees doesn’t kill mosquitoes. Not one. It’s just like America and education. We think pouring money into building schools makes kids smarter. It doesn’t. Pouring money into good teachers does. A good teacher teaching under a shade tree educates kids better than a crummy teacher in a new high tech school can. |
 |
| [Old Folks] This is funny, but don’t be freaked out when it shows photos, they are part of it. Just listen to this guy, he is a hoot. Humor out of everyday living (in old age), as narrated by a man. If you are old, you will relate to a lot of this. And it seems funny, looking at it from a distance. If you are young, you will learn a lot about being old that no one has or will tell you about. Video |
 [“Cooked Iguana”] Several restaurants in the lower Keys will cook your fresh caught fish for a fee. Contact them and see if they will fry up your fresh killed iguana for you. I would make sure that you gut, skin and decapitate it before taking it to restaurant. The Iguana Killers Club still holds it’s annual cook off. Check with them to find out the date and location |
| [“Interview with God”] I had one when I was about six years old, but my father caught me and told me I would need glasses if I kept saying “Oh God” all the time! |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ad, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 Catholic gift shop. This says it all. |
| [Angry Prohibitionist] Weed smoking. I wish all the dumb ass weed smokers would shut up and go to Colorado. You have to be a resident for a year before they let you work for a big money grower, so pack your stuff and go smoke your little brains out. They will be happy to pay you dirt wages to bust your back making them rich. Why do you think they call it dope? Dope. |
 |
| [Bible] “Cain and Able: Holy Incest” If you are concerned about this story, you are not a very good candidate for the whole “just have faith” scenario. Because of the parts of the book that can not be true you should just use it as a guide to how to treat others and live a good life. The End. |
 [“You are what you eat”] Interesting post, but it got me wondering what happens to all those men who get intimate (down there) with a Jersey girl? One can only imagine the thing that this DNA will evolve into. |
| I’m not brave. I’m just past the age where running is an option. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ads, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 Ballast Key is not the only privately owned island where the county’s designation is in question. At Tuesday’s meeting, the county will also discuss several other island’s offshore island designation, including Wisteria Island, Little Palm Island and Tarpon Belly Key off Cudjoe Key. All in the developer’s eye. The representatives, which are embroiled in a lawsuit with the federal government about ownership of Wisteria, have asked the commission to create a land-use definition for the island called “Resort Island.” The Resort Island definition would allow the developers to apply for future land-use map categories that permit hotels and other large-scale development. For years, F.E.B. Corp. has been trying to develop Wisteria Island. |
| Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining. |
 |
| [The Long Walk Home News] A few months ago we did our first interactive workshop for Veterans and their families to help with the re-integration process which was a huge success. We have been looking at buildings to have our first gym free for Veterans to help prevent the lose of life due to PTSD after they come home. I want to thank all of you for your support and if any of you has a talent you would like to share with us in making this dream a reality please contact me or call me at 305 504 3795. Ron /TheLongWalkHome.org |
 Yes there is a difference between happiness and inner peace? Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not. Inner peace requires practice. You are what you practice most. (Pic: Munson Is at sunrise) |
| [“Vietnam vet whiner”] To the individual who reamed the crap out of him in Wed’s CT. From a retired US Marine, I salute you. I’d love to meet you not at Watson Park, but for a drink or two on me! You said what I was thinking. I’m tired of these folks who have never spent a damn day in uniform or who have, bitching about a Vet and who neither has any freakin’ idea what that Vet has or hasn’t endured, witnessed, been exposed to or the reason they took that oath.And readers, don’t pull that political party crap, Veterans should be immune from that shit, period. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ads, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 Mathews, Va. has to replace their vacuum system sewage pits. 40 years old, nothing in your yard but the 3 inch pipe, pits on the right-of-way, 4 inch pipe to their pumps, 6 inch pipe to main system 60 miles away. You do not need a pit, you do not need electric, you need nothing. No problems if the electric goes out, it’s the sewer company’s generator working not yours. |
| [Spin Master Pro] Here is an example of how FTR would view Jesus if he was a Democrat. Ancient news reporter: “Today in Jerusalem Jesus met with the crippled and maimed in the main square and healed the sick.” FTR’s spin the next day in the CT: “Yesterday Jesus in his efforts to kill jobs healed the sick putting doctors and nurses out of work. He also put the hard working crutch makers and pharmacy employees on the notice that healthy Americans are job killers. Jesus and his socialist agenda are destroying American jobs thru his Healthy America programs. |
 |
| What’s happening to the CT? It seems like it’s getting awful warm and fuzzyish. |
 |
| [Classified Ads Seamstress] The phone number for the person who needs a seamstress to sew couch cushions doesn’t work. But there’s a great seamstress in Marathon. Nettie 305-394-2441 specializes in upholstery. She has done two projects for me, the work on both is exceptionally good and very affordable. I don’t like recommending people but her I highly recommend. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ads, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 Send your name to Mars. Last day to register is Oct. 31. Get your ticket here. Link |
| Licensing a contractor does not mean that the work will not be shoddy. It means that that man/company/woman got a license and might charge more than the local handyman. It does not mean that ‘a licensed contractor will do it correctly.’ Everything is subjective. |
 |
| Gamers more important than you think. Mobile gaming to push industry above $100 billion by 2017. Link |
 [Privacy] I have a Smart Phone with two cameras. I put black electric tape over the lens so no one is watching! You never know. |
| PTSD continues to afflict Vietnam veterans 40 years after the war. Welcome home boys! Link |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ads, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 [“Bagger”] If there is no bagger in your lane the cashier must bag your groceries. It is part of there job requirement. The customer is doing the cashier a favor by bagging their own groceries |
| [“Leon Panetta”] FTR is glossing over some important facts about Leon Panetta. First and foremost, Panetta is a politician. His army experience as an intelligence officer have bought him some ground truth basics, most of which seem to have been trumped by political accommodation. He supported his larger constituency at the Defense Language Institute of Monterey, CA that was beholden to NSA more then he did human intelligence confreres’ critical needs. He was there with the Clintons while the Serbs were being demonized, only to usher out Aidid out of Somalia and accuse Russians of being to harsh against Chechens. He culminated his career with a cover up of Benghazi and the killings of our diplomatic corps personnel there. If he was so forthright, he’d have set the record straight in his book on some of those travesties that now cost us plenty in he Muslim world. The bottom line is appeasement and accommodation do not work and never will, but scoundrels try to gain pecuniary reward and legacy in the process. Shame on him |
 |
| [Cats] I know I might as well be talking to the wall when I say this, but, one more time: keep your cats inside your house and somebody please get rid of the ones that are running wild. |
 [War] I thought that every third round was a tracer. Someone told me it was every fifth round. Who is correct? |
| Hay, leave the gamers alone! Who knows if one of them will be lucky enough to be piloting those Predator drones smoking those diaperheads in the mideast. We can only hope. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ads, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
 [Security Trick for your Hard Drive] Never delete an important file or picture because the operating system only deletes the file name and not the contents. Always overwrite the file with zeros or ones and save it to the same name. This will truly delete what was in the file. You can make a dummy file/picture full of zeros or ones and save that to use as a overwrite file by naming it as the file you want to delete. Make sure the dummy file is larger than the objective file. To delete an entire hard drive, take it to a welding shop and have them melt it into sinkers for fishing! |
| [“Unemployment down to 5.9%”] Obamacare mandates all those working over 30 hours a week be designate as Full Time and employers have to pay health care. So what employers did was hired one and cut the others hours down to stay below 30 hours a week for both. As a result more people are working, but only part-time and artificially lowing the unemployment figures (and the public assistance rolls). For many it’s not worth it to get a job as they will net gain so little only getting 20 something hours a week. Two part time jobs across town is going to cost more in transportation costs than one 40 hour a week job, so now there is noonday traffic as well as morning and evening traffic. This is what we get for hiring the popular and not the intelligent. |
 |
| The best seamstress around is the lady at The Seam Shop on Truman Ave in Key West. |
 If, as a poster stated Wednesday, 75% of people smoke pot, well that explains a lot about how we seem to be devolving as a country. Perhaps the poster meant 75% of Monroe County? Now that I can believe. |
| [“You are what you eat”] Holy s#&:@t Batman! Awesome crazy. I am impressed. |
 |
| Contact Us. Click this link to post any opinion, ad, changes to an ad, complaint, kudos, or anything else. One link fits all. We read them all. Contact Us |
| ftr says ” Unless Obama recognizes the threat posed by militant Islam, and takes aggressive action, Iraq will fall to ISIS, Syria will fall to ISIS. Armed with the resources of those nations, they will then set about a massive campaign of terror, not just here, but worldwide. They will, one by one, take control of the Mideast Arabic nations. Israel will be doomed. Europe will be under siege, and they may even realize their dream of a worldwide caliphate.” And this will happen when? |
 |
| A POSTER WROTE: “FTR I like your stuff A LOT. But people like john mcain and Boener are Exactly why People like WYLLE are a viable alternative Enough of the corporate controlled republican party! If Enough people Embrace what you yourself pointed out More personal freedom and choice! then The libertarians can and will win. They do not mirror the current republican party The current republican party is just DEM LITE Bro.”FTR’S RESPONSE. Thanks for the good words, and for reading FTR. I understand your exasperation with many of the national Republican legislators. I often share it. But Florida isn’t Washington, and results count. Scott and the Republican legislature has done a damn good job of playing catchup from the massive screw ups that Crist made. Even though when Crist was Governor he claimed to be a Republican, nearly everything he did was Democrat. He did all but plant a big wet kiss on Obama’s posterior. Florida suffered from his governance. By every measure Florida is better off now because of Scott’s leadership.
No one has even claimed that the Libertarian Wyllie will have the skills necessary to lead one of the most vibrant and multi-cultural states in the Union. He is a journalist and the host of a radio show that airs on four AM and one FM radio station. Not all present-day libertarians advocate capitalism and strong private property rights such as in land, infrastructure and natural resources, others, notably libertarian socialists, seek to abolish capitalism and private ownership of the means of production in favor of their common or cooperative ownership and management. If you lean to the right, but are troubled with certain Washington Republican officeholders and/or their actions, do something about. Send the offender an e-mail, write a letter, donate to his/her opposition, and work within the party to make change. Voting for a Libertarian will make no difference in Washington politics, and it will be even worse than a lost vote. Your “protest vote” will diminish the number of votes that Scott will get. This is going to be a very close election, Scott needs every single vote. You will note that even though the Tea Party was very critical of certain Republican actions, they have now largely decided to support Republican candidates. Third party candidates are loose hand grenades. Charlie Crist tried it and was humiliated. If their views are leftist, they siphon Democrat votes, if their views are rightist, the siphon Republican votes. Remember that it was Ross Perrot that cost a Republican Presidential candidate the election, and it was Ralph Nader who cost a Democrat candidate a Presidential election. Results count. Scott in his private life has proven that he is a skilled administrator with great business acumen. As Governor he has remedied a host of ills that were delivered to Florida by Crist. Florida needs and deserves to have another four years of Governor Scott’s leadership. Your vote matters. |
In addition to Adrian Wyllie, Libertarian, there are two other Independent candidates. Those two candidates don’t even register in the polling. Scott and Crist are nearly dead even, with Scott having a small, but growing, lead. Wyllie is in the dust. He stands not a zit of chance.