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2014 September

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

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The-Coconut-Telegraph-w-CoconutsAnonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition

hook16[“Charter fisherman poormouthing”] As with any business, there are those who are motivated by greed. The charter fisherman depicted in one post truly resents an act of nature because its not in their best interest. A 35 year veteran charter fisherman doesn’t have the eyesight or drive that a younger charter fisherman is capable of.The charter fishermen I’ve hired are skilled at navigating the area they fish, have a passion and happy personality for this business and are experienced fishermen who accept the good days and the bad days. They don’t drive a duallie diesel to their 4 bedroom 4 bath home with a heated swimming pool either as they are not the boat owner. Stop your negative complaining. There are charter fishermen who deserve every cent they got from BP and more. If you want an amazing fishing experience, ask someone who can’t stop talking about their great catch and memorable personal experience. Those are the charter fishermen who get repeat business!
second-nature6.1.14
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the day the earth stood still
[Si-Fi Heaven] “Go to Gort … Klaatu barada nikto.” The Day The Earth Stood Still 1951. If Klaatu is killed his giant robot Gort has instructions to destroy the people who have harmed him, unless he gets other instructions.
[“Looking for blindfolded gourmet tasting experience”] Key West, Marathon or Key Largo might offer something like that, but I seriously doubt it. And I do know you won’t get anything like that around here in the lower Keys. Most of these joints just give big servings of fried chicken wings. Gourmet dining to them means not using a plastic fork.
Cousineau-Ad-7.3.14
happy hour16
[“Free drinks at the bar“]  I, like many people who enjoy a good Happy Hour, have a favorite watering hole to slake my thirst on a hot (or cold) afternoon.  In fact I have three of them.   All a bit different and all welcoming to me.   It is not unusual for me to get a comped beverage.  Why?  Because,   1) I am a frequent customer.  2) The staff and owners know me as a regular customer.  3) I tip well.  Don’t expect to wander into a local bar and be given free drinks when you haven’t been seen in a month or more.  And don’t alienate the bartender with loud or rude behavior or leaving a cheapskate tip and then expect them to comp you a cocktail.  Bartenders and owners know the value of a regular customer and they encourage them to revisit.  If you can’t behave like a responsible polite adult or won’t or can’t afford to tip well, grab a six pack of cheap beer and stay home with the dog, ESPN and a bag of chips.  You won’t be missed.
Radio-Shack-750w
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student thesaurus16
For the love of God, FTR, quit dithering! Get a thesaurus! Your killing our children.
I find it amazing how when one person’s ideology clashes with another’s, so often one is then automatically castigated as a hater and selfish person. Case in point, F.T.R. has been described by a poster as a hater of our political leaders and the middle class, never mind that the direction the present administration is taking is certainly providing serious legitimate debates on both sides of the aisle, yet some take the tack that if the debate does not concur with their ideology then the other debater is automatically a selfish hater.
lower keys boat rental7.11.14
[Strategy Against ISIL] This morning General Dempsey and Secretary of Defense Hagel testified before the Senate that this Administration’s strategy to quell the ISIL menace will be to get the locals to fight them. If Muslims rise up and are supported by us, they will succeed. We’re going to start training 5,000 ‘moderate’ Muslims and increase that number as we’re able. When they quell ISIL we train another bunch to quell them (They didn’t say that last part, I did.). Dempsey also opened the door to sending our troops back in!
exercise_response
How your body responds to exercise at different times of your life.
[What Email Service to Use] The following tables compare general and technical features of a number of email client programs. Please see the individual products’ articles for further information. Link
george-neugent9.3.14
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online book club16
What do you think about starting a online book club where we discuss a book on the Telegraph? Any suggestions on books? Do you think this is a good idea?
[“World’s rarest bat is discovered living on a golf course in Miami”] So he must be retired.
Isaksen-ad-750w
[“‘Spanking the monkey’ proves fatal”] 4 times, spread out over ten days at 23? He must have had a bad heart to begin with unless he was doing it more at home or behind the Dumpster and not telling.
boeing16
[WW2-Era Boeing Clipper] Gas was $0.17 a gallon if you could afford a car. The death rate was higher from diarrhea than heart attacks and most wives stayed at home to raise their family. No one knew about lung cancer, global warming or the stinking Arabs — or cared for that matter. There was room for a crew of 10 to serve as many as 74 passengers. Link
Dear Ed, have a fabulous time at your friends wedding, you more than deserve the time off. Oh and kiss the bride for me.
BP-Flea-Market-closed
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sky9.16.14
At last something sensible on the Middle East from the Monday Key West Citizen newspaper. (Ed: You’ll have to go the Monday’s Citizen to read the editorial because it was too large a file to post.)
manley-deboer-7.11.14
[“ISIS No central location”] We have been conditioned to turn the other cheek in our Christian culture and to put the best foot forward in the hope the other side will reciprocate. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are viewed as easy pickings unless we show some teeth. It’s not a war as much as a clash of civilizations! There is no easy way out if we want to prevail. To prevail we have to resort to whatever tactics will get us on top of the heap and do it now before it is to late.
naked-hillary16
[“Doing nothing to stop ISIS”] Hillary has a plan. She will strip naked at her inaugural and be televised world wide. Pulaski will be there too and maybe Sarah. That should make all Muslims commit suicide. Me too maybe!
[“Good genes”] 102 years old! That’s truly good genes. I might take exception to his thinking about exercise though. My philosophy is: Use it or lose it.
Coconuts-sign-ad-750w
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hot-sauce16
[“County employees no smoking”] I think it’s an excellent idea to charge the smoking employee a higher out of pocket supplement for their premium. You can ask two questions when applying for insurance and premiums are based on them — tobacco use and age. Someone who smokes should pay more. They are actually getting off cheap. The Affordable Care Act allows double the premium for tobacco usage
Springers-ad-750w
[Obamacare and Family Values: Parents Get to Stay Home With Children] Tens of millions of people had been living with the fear that if they lost their jobs, they would also lose their health insurance. This would be a big deal for most families but especially those in which one or more family members had a serious health condition. Insurers do not like to insure sick people. The ACA changed that. Link
gods kill16
Soldiers pray
to God, Allah, Yahweh, Zeus, and others to protect them before they go out and kill people!
[L.L. Shaffer’s Marathon Journal] Marathon City Council appointed 8 members to the Affordable Housing Committee. Boiled down to the essentials, the Committee must consider funding, acquire housing, and find a way to build housing for the moderate and middle income. Sounds somewhat easy. Let me tell as a past member of the Middle Keys Community that nothing about this process is easy. Still, the effort is needed.Election season. You can find the physical candidate list at your nearest election’s office. Marathon’s elections office is on 100th Street. Park in the parking lot and go in to meet some dedicated people running the place. You can pick up your absentee ballot too. Don’t forget about early voting as well. Candidates List. Click on a name to get candidate info. Link

The Journal endorses:
for Marathon City Council Michael Cinque and Chris Bull
for County Commissioner George Neugent
for Islamorada Seat 2 Dave Purdo
for Islamorada Seat 1 Deb Gillis

The R. Daniel Zieg party will be September 25 at Keys Fisheries, 5:30–7:30pm. R Daniel Zieg, MD is running for Marathon City Council

Phil-Goodman8.14.14
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Oatmeal Raisin Chip Cookie16Oatmeal Raisin Chip Cookies
2cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1cup sugar
1cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 6oz package semisweet chocolate bits
1 cup raising
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease cookie sheet. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and set aside.
Next, cream butter. Add sugars and beat. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture a little at a time, scraping bowl and beating after each addition. Add oatmeal and beat well. Stir in chocolate bits and raisins.
Drop by tablespoon-full, 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Makes approximately 4 dozen.
johnsons-7.9.14
[ISIS] They want to infiltrate with love and friendship then cut your figging throat!
oath fingers crossed16
[“So Help Me God”] The Air Force has given an atheist airman until November to take his enlistment oath, which includes the phrase “so help me God.” If he refuses, he will not be allowed to rejoin his unit. Atheist groups have taken up the unnamed airman’s cause, but he may find himself caught in a battle over the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The Appignani Humanist Legal Center will sue if the airman is barred from re-enlisting.
eleanor-mcadams9.1.14
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combat boots16
There are 35,000 Taliban in Afghanistan and we did not come even close to killing them in ten long, bloody, costly years of boots on the ground there.  What makes anyone think we can kill off every member of ISIS in a few months of combat in Iraq?  Obama was totally right when he said we will try to knock them back to a “manageable” number.  Let our war mongers put their boots on, along with their kids and grand kids and jump on into the front lines if a ground war is what they want.
(Ed: Deer friends, I will be away for a few days to attend a wedding and my laptop died and I’m not buying another so I won’t be publishing this Sunday, Monday, Tues and maybe Wednesday unless someone up in America has a laptop I can use.)
hareens-hats8.29.14c
[We Love You FTR] It is very amusing to watch the haters out there attack FTR. I am sure if you ask them, they would say they are humanitarians and love all of mankind — except for that subhuman FTR (and anyone else who they disagree with).
orchid lover16
[Orchid Lovers] Here’s our September Newsletter. This month’s meeting is next Sunday, the 21st at Jay Pfahl’s house, 10am to 2pm. Directions are in the Newsletter. Full Menu > Ongoing Events
[“Looking for blindfolded gourmet tasting experience”] You must live outside of the Keys or you never would make such a hopeless, frustrating request!
bluewater-750w
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secret-service
Very interesting but not surprising. Read what Kessler thinks of the Presidents he served. And now you’ll know the rest of the story. Interesting snippets from Ronald Kessler’s book about our Presidents. Link
B.B. King —Happy Birthday Blues
Chamber-ad-750w
According to a recent story in the Barometer most of the Florida Keys will be underwater by 2030 due to global climate change. So why are we putting in central sewers? Is it the off chance that the predictors might be wrong?
spader16
The new series Blacklist stars James Spader who acts like he’s playing John Lithgow at his most sinister. Spader playing a master criminal who makes the FBI do his bidding in killing bad guys on his Blacklist. An odd thing about the series is that everyone and everything seems to be less than five minutes away from wherever in the world they are and no one follows any police procedure that I’ve ever heard of. Spader’s performance is some of the best I’ve seen in a while. He’s absolutely perfect.
[Poor FTR] I feel sorry for FTR who is trying to communicate with anti-everything posters on this site. He still does not realize they only see what they want to see. If any of them could write something intelligent and important I would cheer them, but it will never happen!
Nira-Tocco-6.14
[“Naked picture of Bette Midler on food: Muslims starve to death”] If we put a naked picture of Bette Midler on food than we’ll all starve to death!
Mexifornia-License16
A Florida immigration reform group is trying to get drivers licenses for illegals. The illegals are saying that they constantly worry when they drive (illegally) that they will be stopped and deported. They can’t get work, or buy a house without a drivers license. Excuse me! Your are breaking the law by being here! You do not pay taxes! You get free health care! You break the law and drive without a license!I really want to sign that petition, ha!
[Monday] What a beautiful day it is today!
accurate-home-insp-750w
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tea party16[“No Smoking. Smoking cost County $753 in health cost per employee”]  Another example of government, local, state or federal, invading our lives with more and more restrictions. They reason that the use of tobacco products costs money due to lost work time and illness.  Bull crap.  How about hangovers?  Will they outlaw those too?  And no more menstrual cramps stuff either — take a Midol, ladies.If there is documented evidence that tobacco use interferes with productivity in the workplace let them prove it.  If their health insurance provider wants to assess a surcharge for smokers, fine, let them.  But, hey, government, get off our backs!  Are you next going to target persons who dip snuff too.  Can I no longer enjoy a nice cigar after my Thanksgiving or holiday dinner without being fined for my simple pleasure?  Are we now going to be subject to intrusive, random blood testing to prove that we’ve complied with your edict?  Does the boss give employees a sniff test daily to detect the smell of tobacco?  We’ve had enough of government intrusion into our private lives.  The people supporting these restrictions are, of course, mostly above and not subject to these draconian policies.  Enough is enough. Get off our backs!
Am I the only one who thinks ISIS isn’t really that big of a deal? If it wasn’t for the internet, we would have never even heard of them. Now any nut with a camera and the ability to upload to YouTube can have direct dialog with the President of the United States. I think we are giving them too much credit. We need to learn to dance with the devil and support governments of countries such as Syria. The middle east was more stable years ago when dictators ruled their countries with an iron fist. Egypt used be a tourist destination, now its too dangerous. We need to rethink our strategy over there.
fanci8.4.14
All this blather about working out, dieting and lard asses… Do it because you want to, not because you’re shamed into it. My motto? Exercise, eat right, die anyway.
bill-9.16.14
FTR Guy’s readers poll: Is Obama is refusing to invade Iraq because he’s a …
A) coward
B) secret Muslim
C) member of ISIL
D) all of the above
politics-zone-750w
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from the right
Friends regularly ask me why I’m so critical of liberals and Democrats. The reason is simple; it’s not them personally, its their style, philosophy, and manner of governance that have failed us repeatedly. Even worse, they have hurt us. It is nothing new, it goes back many decades. The liberal belief system has delivered us to a time when marriage is eschewed, often even scorned. About half of all babies are born out of wedlock. In the black community, more than 70% are born out of wedlock. Far too many biological fathers are nothing more than sperm donors. Their offspring are far more likely to be in poverty and to commit crimes than children living in a stable marriage. A stable marriage provides children with both male and female role models.marxist16Democrat policies and dicta have created a permanent underclass that is mired in poverty. That poverty is a cancer that is consuming far too many blacks, white, and Latinos. That poverty creates hate, envy, racial bias, and an encyclopedia of social problems. 46 million Americans are on food stamps. Dependence on government provided sustenance has become a comfortable lifestyle of choice.

Liberality has delivered us to a time when it is easier not to earn a living than it is to work for a living. There are many studies that demonstrate that extended unemployment compensation stifles the ambition to find work.

Liberals and Democrats are fully convinced that spending your money is the be all end all for all problems of governance. Their voices are constantly demanding ever higher taxes. They are never silent. Yet, it has been proven over and over again that reasoned taxation promotes business growth which leads to new jobs.

Even though we had record federal tax revenue in the last quarter, Democrats are demanding even higher business taxes. It must be noted that even with the near record revenue, the deficit is double what it was in 2007. Today, US business suffers from some of the highest taxes in the world. If state taxes are included, we are eclipsed only by Spain and Italy, both fiscal cripples. There are many countries such as Finland, Germany, Norway and Great Britain that liberals routinely tout as being nirvanas of “enlightened” big government, all have much lower business tax rates that the US. And yet Democrats are even now raising the hue and cry to increase taxes even higher.

The American people fully believe that our country is on the wrong track. Never forget that under Democrat governance, ¾’s of Americans report that their personal finances have not improved in the last year. In July 2014 median household income was about $1600 dollars less than it was in 2009 when the recession ended. 19 million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed. Fortunately, 89% of registered voters say that the economy will be a very or extremely important factor in determining their votes in the mid terms that are only about 50 days away. It’s incredibly ironic that the Democrats peddle the notion that they are champions of the underdog.

In Florida, under the Republican governance of Rick Scott, we’ve seen that lower taxes revitalizes the economy. New businesses flourish, and new jobs are created. Florida is a national leader among leaders in job creation. Other Republican governed states are close behind.

These are only a few of the reasons why this Olde Fart is critical of liberal/Democrat governance. More to come later